PatientSafe raises $27M in funding; Qualcomm Life secures three new European mHealth customers;

News From Around the Web

> Mobile health device developer PatientSafe Solutions, which developed a tool to improve patient safety and avoid adverse drug events, has closed a Series C round to fund the continued U.S. adoption of PatientSafe's smart point-of-care mobile solution and expansion of the company to the Asia-Pacific market. With the $27 million, PatientSafe will open an office in Singapore that will anchor its expansion in the region, according to a company statement. Article

> Qualcomm Life, the chip maker's mobile health subsidiary, has announced three new customers in Europe for its 2net Platform and Hub, which enable health providers to connect medical devices wirelessly to a cloud platform. Germany's vitaphone health solutions (specializing in mHealth and telemedicine) has signed up, as has UK-based Solutions4Health and Denmark's DELTA. Solutions4Health is an independent provider of telehealth and health improvement services including chronic disease self-management, health trainer services, coronary heart disease prevention advice, sexual health and smoking cessation services. Article

> Voxiva, a provider of interactive mobile health and wellness programs, has announced that their services have delivered more than 100 million health messages to consumers by text message. Voxiva's Care4life portfolio of programs promote maternal & child health (Text4baby & Text4kids), adult health & wellness (Txt4health), smoking cessation (Text2quit), and diabetes self-management (Care4life Diabetes). These services are designed to help users take appropriate preventative health actions to stay healthy, more effectively manage chronic illness, and improve the quality metrics the health care industry is measured by, according to the company, which claims its programs are "designed to give people the knowledge and confidence they need to live the healthiest life possible." Article

EMR News

> Emergency doctors spend significantly more time entering data into electronic health records than they do with patients, a study published this month in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine finds. In the study, the average percentage of time spent on data entry by physicians was 43 percent, while time spent directly interacting with patients was only 28 percent. Reviewing tests and records took up an average of 12 percent of doctors' time, while talking to colleagues took up 13 percent. During a 10-hour busy shift, total mouse clicks neared 4,000. Article

Healthcare IT News

> GOP senators lead by Utah's Orrin Hatch stuck to their word that they'd work to repeal the 2.3 percent medical device tax that went into effect January as part of the Affordable Care Act--House Republicans included the provision in their bill to fund federal agencies into the next fiscal year, passed by the House late Saturday night. The med device tax--intended to help pay for costs associated with the healthcare reform law--is a point of contention for many legislators, as well as device makers, innovators and providers. Hatch, ranting about the tax last week, referred to it as "one of the stupidest aspects" of the ACA. Some Democrats have shown support for the repeal of the medical device tax as well, but not the idea of including it in the continuing resolution. Article

And Finally… Carnivore gone wild. Article