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Israeli infusion system specialist Q Core Medical has opened a new European hub in Marseille, France, to capitalise on growing demand for its smart pumps in both hospital and ambulatory care settings. The European HQ will be led by country manager Laurent Schektman, who said that the location was the doorway to the French and European healthcare markets. “France is especially ready for Q Core’s level of infusion system innovation,” he said. “With a growing elderly population, an increased need for infusion and a 5 to 10 percent increase in patients being treated in homecare settings rather than hospitals, France has a real market need for intuitive, easy-to-use and reliable infusion systems.” Q Core’s Sapphire infusion pumps provide lightweight, advanced and intuitive infusion systems that can be used in a range of IV therapies, including pain management, oncology drug delivery, epidural infusion, parenteral nutrition and antibiotic treatments. What’s the impact? France’s healthcare system reflects the global shift of moving patients from hospitals into homecare settings, and has seen a 40 percent year-on-year growth in patients receiving homecare treatments over the past four years. Q Core Director Shaul Eitan said that advanced reimbursement models have done a very good job of creating a relatively lucrative proposition for private companies to participate in the provision of ambulatory homecare in France. With its touch screen and ease of use, the Sapphire infusion pump is already popular with homecare pharmacies. “There are not that many small ambulatory pumps out there, and we have established good market traction since we introduced our first models in 2013,” he said. “We see a lot of interest, not just in France but also in Germany, Holland and the UK.” What’s the trend? While data protection regulations continue to inhibit the role of technologies such as infusion systems in the rise of the Internet of Medical Things (IOMT), Eitan said that gathering data about the use and performance of the pumps has been crucial in their development. Every Sapphire pump requires an annual preventative maintenance service, and Q Core takes the opportunity to pull historical data about its use and analysing it to improve new models. In the short term, enhancements will focus on communications functionality, which will benefit both care providers and patients. On the record “There are a lot of potential solutions for communications into the home space,” said Eitan. “The most critical place for data is on the patient adherence side. On the caregiver side it’s about managing capital cost and maintenance. We’re driving to a place where homecare should be going much faster, getting patients out of hospital and making it cost-effective.”

From clinical trials to supply chain, the pharma industry is using cloud computing models in numerous ways. 

Cambridge-headquartered InterSystems today announced that MediWay Technology, a China-based healthcare software company, has built and deployed its new iMedical Cloud healthcare IT ecosystem platform using InterSystems IRIS for Health. IRIS for Health was launched in October 2018 and is built upon the InterSystems IRIS Data Platform (which was made generally available in February 2018), combines transaction processing and analytics with embedded interoperability to offer a fast development platform for building mission-critical applications at scale. Some of the IRIS for Health data platform’s features include: An application framework for rapid development of solutions using Health Level Seven (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), including FHIR Server and SMART on FHIR capabilities. Out–of-the-box support for every major U.S. and regional l healthcare interoperability standard and certification, including HL7 Versions 2 and 3, Consolidated CDA (C-CDA), integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), ASTM International, X12, NCPDP, DICOM, and others. A normalised and extensible healthcare data model that allows for seamless transitions between standards. Why it matters MediWay’s iMedical healthcare information system (HIS) is used by around 500 healthcare organisations, including more than 300 tertiary hospitals and 30 top-100 hospitals in China. To accelerate the digital transformation of healthcare, however, MediWay and its partner Tencent Cloud require higher levels of accessibility, scalability and interoperability. Two iMedical Cloud applications, available to all healthcare stakeholders hosted on Tencent Cloud, have been launched with two core functionalities – transactional cloud collaboration (Cloud HIS) and data cloud collaboration (HealthChain). iMedical Cloud can be used within a region for real-time healthcare information exchange, centralised management control and unified allocation of resources. IRIS for Health supports the vastly increased data volumes required with features like sharding. This distributes data across a number of cloud-based servers to provide flexible, inexpensive performance scaling. IRIS for Health’s support for cloud-first development using container technology also allows MediWay Technology to take full advantage of the strategic partnership between its parent company, DHC Software, and Tencent Cloud. This enables MediWay to continue to integrate technologies such as AI, blockchain, and speech input with its cloud-based healthcare solution. On the record “A cloud solution solves many pain points in healthcare,” said William Han, Chairman and CEO of MediWay Technology. “For example, it can provide a healthcare information system for county clinics, community healthcare centres and small-to-medium sized hospitals without the need for computer rooms, local servers or maintenance staff. By supporting our strategic pivot, InterSystems and its IRIS for Health technology have yet again shown the true partnership we’ve come to expect after 20 years of collaboration.”

In keeping with its commitment to the ongoing improvement of patient experience and in attempting to rebuild trust following last year’s scandal, HealthEngine has created a new advisory group. HITNA reported, mid-last year, that the future of the organisation appeared uncertain after patients and doctors rose to condemn its privacy practices and its operations came under review for possibly funnelling private patient information to legal firms searching for personal injury cases. In order to restore the public’s confidence in HealthEngine, the organisation has since been making “substantial changes” to its business model and company direction. HealthEngine Founder, CEO and Medical Director Dr Marcus Tan told HITNA that in ensuring the interests of practices and patients remain top priority, the newly formed advisory group will consult on both macro and micro levels of the HealthEngine business and the industry it operates in. In addition, the group will aim to provide independent industry guidance and counsel on business strategy, product direction and services, strategic issues and perceived risks around digital healthcare. “We’re at a point in healthcare now where people were with online banking and ecommerce. Everyone is nervous about having their health information online. The broader conversation is around people understanding the benefits of digital health; and that’s the purpose of this group,” he said. “We need to reach the point where the benefits of digital far outweigh the risks and it’s our role to educate patients and industry.” Tan said the focus could be on specific technologies and products in development, and identifying areas of opportunity or concern for the broader healthcare industry. “Advisory groups exist to provide more diversity of industry and consumer perspective. Our constituents aren’t just GPs anymore; our expansion into allies, dental and specialist warrants more views from those parts of the health sector,” he said. “This group was created to address industry issues that go beyond just the practice level, like policy. Just seeing where the pain points are when it comes to patient experience is valuable for our industry. Initiating these conversations is important to us, instead of having them swept under the rug.” Tan identified two key areas of concern where the working group can play a vital role: The first is helping patients and industry understand the benefits and opportunities of digital health. He said the negative aspects of digital health are prevalent, resulting in the group being able to identify strategies for gains. This includes increased efficiency, decreased waste and enhanced patient experiences. “For example, there have been concerns in the industry around electronic health records and what to do with it. So, it’s up to leaders in the market, as well as peak bodies, to help address these challenges and drive change.” Another example is learning from the negative reviews healthcare providers are facing in the industry. “Reviews online seem to be very popular for hotels and other kinds of industries, so why is there such a big backlash against health providers online? Knowing this will allow us to change behaviours that benefit patients,” he said. [Read more: Hyper-growth at HealthEngine as it looks to expand globally and transform to a one-stop online health shop | Unblurring the lines and rebuilding trust: HITNA talks to HealthEngine’s CEO] Tan said another area of concern is the unintended consequences of technological advancement. “This is something that we need to be aware of at a business level and within the wider industry at large. Technology is making great improvements to the world, but can often have some very unintended consequences, namely, diluting personal interactions and relationships,” he said. “We need to ensure that this is not lost as digital technology continues to drive positive change in healthcare. The patient journey must not become transactional and we need to protect the continuity of care.” Security and privacy of data are some of the key areas of concern, according to Tan. “Security and privacy, what constitutes consent, etc. are issues that all organisations are facing now. Whilst we are in a sensitive environment, these issues are something industry should be proactive instead of reactive to,” he added.

In one initiative, the health system tracked hourly rounding compliance by nursing staff. In just over a year, the health system's hourly compliance rate improved by 78.9 percent.

The company will help the academic medical center build out its Medicare Advantage plan, as well as developing new AI-powered diagnostics, clinical pathways and more.

The pact will enable customers to use medical devices for monitoring blood glucose and pressure as well as weight management, the companies say.

IDC and Ponemon experts highlight the advantages of storing insurance claims information in the cloud and offer advice about security and data control.

In a bid to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer, several healthcare organisations have banded together to develop the use of VR in its diagnostics. The team, composed of CSIRO Australia, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the Children’s Cancer Institute and Start VR, is using VR to create 3D models that visually represent what’s happening within cancerous tumours on a molecular level. Sony Foundation and Tour de Cure have provided $240,000 in funding. The research involves genomic sequencing (the information encoded in a cancer’s DNA), giving researchers more detailed insights into the molecular mechanisms of a particular cancer. The project draws on Aquaria, a web-based protein visualisation tool that was jointly developed by the Garvan Institute and CSIRO. Aquaria provides details of millions of proteins and allows these models to be assembled into dynamic representations for interactive exploration. “The Garvan Institute will be drawing on our online resource, Aquaria. Software development will be driven by Garvan’s BioVis team, in collaboration with CSIRO’s Immersive Environments Lab,” the Garvan Institute of Medical Research Project Leader Seán O’Donoghue told HITNA. “Planning, testing and validation of the developed system will be completed with researchers from Garvan’s Cancer Division and UNSW’s Children’s Cancer Institute. Deployment of the platform for use in VR environments will be completed by Start VR.” DERIVING OPPORTUNITIES FROM CHALLENGES According to O’Donoghue, cancer is an extremely complex disease of the genome and requires an overwhelming amount of data sets when it comes to researching it. “Adding to the complexity, the initial DNA mutations that first lead to a tumour undergo subsequent mutations, further altering the cancer. Recently, it has become feasible to detect these changes via DNA sequencing; this offers us unprecedented detail on a specific cancer,” he said. “But the volume and complexity of the resulting datasets can be overwhelming. Researchers are still trying to work on how to condense this information down to the most essential. One of the main strategies involves mapping the consequences of DNA mutations onto 3D models of proteins, and this is what our current project aims to do.” O’Donoghue said the new tool will automatically identify protein structural states related to specific DNA mutations seen in a patient’s cancer. “In many cases, the available 3D-model data can provide insight into the molecular mechanisms causing the cancer, as well as information relevant to treatment. Our new tool will use VR and web-based technologies, with the goal of helping researchers arrive at a clear visual hypothesis that describes what they believe is going wrong in a specific cancer, and then how it could be treated,” he said.  “Our tool will also be designed to help researchers clearly communicate their visual hypotheses to colleagues, clinicians and to patients.” [Read more: Mobile app brings specialist advice to burn victims | CSIRO lays out action plan for Australia’s digital health future] Although it’s primarily a research tool, O’Donoghue said the platform will also be designed for use in hospital scenarios. He also mentioned that the technology will pivot the future potential of VR for cancer research. “By combining good user experience design and graphic design, together with DNA sequencing and structural biology, VR and AR will give researchers new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying specific cancers, thereby enabling the discovery of new treatment options. This could transform practises in oncology,” he said. O’Donoghue added that it has the potential to be used in other areas of research. “VR can be useful for helping researchers explore other unfamiliar territories. Very similar approaches to ours will be useful for addressing a range of problems in the life sciences,” he said. “This includes other diseases, as well as research aimed at improving our understanding of the fundamental processes of living cells.”