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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a report Thursday on how information technology can improve healthcare for Americans living in rural communities.

The health information exchange (HIE) landscape is changing rapidly since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), according to one healthcare consultant.

Kaiser Permanente will join Health 2.0 Accelerator, a consortium focused on advancing consumer-centric healthcare.

With concern high over surge capacity associated with a potential H1N1 outbreak or terrorist-related emergency, the Inova Health System recently completed a full-scale drill to test its response to an emergency.

The federal stimulus incentives to adopt health IT are a "nice add-on," however they are not driving hospitals' overall IT initiatives, hospital executives said last week at a healthcare summit here.

Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions has signed two more contracts to provide healthcare IT solutions for healthcare providers and affiliated physicians in four states.

Healthcare providers looking to collect late payments before they become bad debt will soon have a new tool at their disposal.

Motorola rolls out MT2000 bar code scanners HOLTSVILLE, NY – Motorola, Inc., has deployed a new line of data capture solutions designed to optimize operational efficiencies and enhance user experience. Motorola’s MT2000 series of mobile terminals combines the simplicity of a scanner with the brainpower of a mobile computer – packaged in an ergonomic form factor, Motorola executives say. The mobile terminals provide the power of a mobile computer in a handheld, rugged bar code scanner. The MT2000 series device is capable of streamlining scan-intensive business operations for small to medium sized customers in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, warehouse and supply chain industries. Trizetto launches careadvance enterprise upgrade NEWPORT BEACH, CA – The TriZetto Group rolled out a new version of its CareAdvance Enterprise system. Version 4.6 will be immediately available to the more than 20 payers that have implemented the software. The update includes improvements to case, disease, utilization and population management, all operating on a single health management platform. The increased flexibility, usability and system performance is expected to enable its users to improve patient care while at the same time reducing cost. Faastrack deployed to improve efficiency PLAINVIEW, NY – Fastrack has developed new enhanced features  to help improve productivity for homecare providers. Fastrack now includes the ability to generate system e-mails automatically upon confirmation of delivery of an order. The e-mail can be customized by the user to suit specific needs and is expected to eliminate manual calls regarding order status. Other new features include an improved PDA functionality to units like the Blackberry, iPhone, Palm and Windows Mobile devices as well as compatibility with Windows XP and Vista compatible tablet PCs. Electronic stethoscope recently developed by 3M PRINCETON, NJ – 3M has designed the next generation of electronic stethoscopes. The Model 3200 features Bluetooth capabilities that wirelessly transfer heart rate, lung and body sounds to hospital software to be analyzed. 3M partnered with Connecticut-based Zargis Medical to design two companion software packages to work with the new electronic stethoscope. Zargis Cardoscan pairs with the new stethoscope to help clinicians with the four main cardiac sites. The stethoscope then indicates the patient’s clinical status. Zargis StethAssist was designed with the Model 3200 to enable clinicians to visualize heart, lung and other body sounds and play recordings at slow speeds to hear more clearly. Online messaging system iss deployed by socket mobile NEWARK, CA – Socket Mobile, a provider of mobile productivity solutions, has partnered with iBleep and Dakota Integrated Solutions to provide advanced wireless communication systems to healthcare organizations throughout the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. iBleep is an interactive Web-based messaging system designed to contact on-call doctors and communicate critical information gathered from hospital ward nurses via wireless network. Using a color-coded system similar to that of a traffic signal, ward nurses rank the calls red, amber or green according to the urgency of assistance required, with red being the most urgent. Intersystems focuses on rapid enterprise integration CAMBRIDGE, MA – InterSystems Corp. has implemented several new enhancements to its InterSystems Ensemble rapid integration and development platform. The new features improve Ensemble’s capabilities to connect and coordinate systems across the enterprise and provide extended services for development and testing of EDI and messaging applications. The upgrades afford users better flexibility and end-user control that is required to solve complex scenarios. The new updates also include a virtual documentation feature. This new feature  is utilized to compactly describe the EDI document and transmit it to recipients as rapidly as possible. eMed-ID launches emergency medical GPS tracking tool ST. PETERSBURG, FL - eMed-ID, developer of emergency medical information technology has rolled out eMed-Trac, a live instant tracking device designed for people with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive impairments, or children who require close supervision by parents for medical or other reasons. The eMed-Trac device operates through global positioning satellites and employs additional features that include live monitoring from any Internet-enabled computer, geofencing to establish a perimeter, text and email alerts and an SOS call function. With more than 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, eMed-Trac is designed to provide an additional measure of safety for these patients and their families. The eMed-Trac device is relatively small and operates on a rechargeable battery that lasts an average of up to seven days. The device is tracked via an online portal that provides live location updates and can be viewed in three formats – map, hybrid and satellite. The location is mapped by address, as well as by latitude and longitude. In addition, the tracking system can provide a history of where the device has been in a given timeframe. The eMed-Trac device also can be programmed with a geofence, an area in which the person can travel. If an individual leaves the programmed area, an alert will be sent via text, e-mail or voice. Perot systems rolls out new 'cloud' integration service PLANO, TX - Perot Systems Corporation has launched its Cloud Integration Services and Virtual Services,  a network of secure, enterprise-class pay-per-use IT infrastructure and desktop services designed to help users improve efficiencies it their business.  The new services are expected to enable clients to improve cost efficiencies by selecting from a variety of proven pre-configured services. Users may also choose a custom-designed solution to meet a company’s specific needs. Perot Systems Cloud Integration Services provide enterprises with a trusted adviser and integration specialist to help clients navigate the universe of cloud offerings in the market and appropriately apply various solutions through alliances, according to the company. By providing integration expertise through the complete lifecycle of cloud services, including consulting, implementation, transformation and operations, Perot Systems looks to help companies achieve the specific level of services that best meet their needs.  

Promising to “get the data, house the data, mine the data, apply the data and offer solutions,” a team of healthcare veterans has launched Humedica.

From the Rockies to the plains, close to 400 healthcare providers in Colorado will be linked through a new communications platform in what’s being billed as one of the largest healthcare information networks in the nation.