News From Around the Web
> On July 31, WebMD reported its second quarter 2013 results indicating the growing importance of mobile devices to its business. In a conference call, the company's interim CEO David Schlanger said that during the quarter approximately 37 percent of the website's page view traffic was from the U.S. desktop, 29 percent was from U.S. smartphone, and 8 percent was from U.S. tablet device. The 21 percent decline, as compared to the prior year period, in desktop page view traffic was "partially offset by our growth in tablet traffic," according to Schlanger. Article
> Security firm Symantec has identified the first known malicious use of Android's "master key" vulnerability which allows attackers to install code on phones running Google's mobile operating system and then take control of them. The firm said that it had been added to two legitimate apps used in China to find and make appointments with a doctor and more attacks are expected to leverage the vulnerability to infect unsuspecting user devices. Article
> A grant from the Medtronic Foundation will fund the development, implementation and evaluation of a secure, smartphone-based mobile platform to facilitate the treatment of noncommunicable diseases in resource-limited environments. The new mobile platform will initially be used by health care workers for home-based and clinic visits, targeted revisits and mobile-based counseling guided by computer-generated alerts. Additionally, it will help provide continuous medical education and mobile tele-consultation services for diabetes and hypertension. The technology will be freely available and integrated into AMRS, the electronic medical record system serving 500,000 individuals within the western Kenya catchment area of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, or AMPATH. Article
EMR News
> Incorporating clinical decision support predictive tools into electronic health record use can "significantly" decrease the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers, from Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, noted that CDS tools hold promise in reducing costs and overtreatment, but that this has not been shown in clinical trials. They examined 168 primary care providers in two urban settings. The intervention group had two clinical prediction rules on respiratory tract infections--one on streptococcal pharyngitis and one on pneumonia--integrated into their EHRs. Article
Healthcare IT News
> Remote patient telemonitoring is the biggest driver of the global telemedicine market, according to a new report from Research and Markets. The analysis predicts that the global telemedicine market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 18.9 percent from 2012 to 2016, primarily due to an increase remote patient telemonitoring and strategic partnerships among vendors. An announcement from Research and Markets points out that a lack of common standards could challenge the market's growth. Article
And Finally… Getting hot under the collar. Article