Content about Health informatics

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — The Foundation for Health Smart Consumers has announced a major expansion of its smoking cessation initiative through the Inspire Program, which will launch at the annual Retail Clinician Education Congress held in May in Las Vegas. The initial phase of Inspire will continue through 2014.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — John Sculley, one of America’s well-known business leaders who is perhaps best known as the former CEO of Apple, shared his insights on the secular change currently underway within the U.S. healthcare system on Friday during a private event sponsored by The Drug Store News Group.

DUBLIN, Ohio — HealthSpot, a provider of telehealth technology, has been asked to present at the Consumer Electronics Association 2013 CES on the Hill, the company has announced.

NEW YORK — The Department of Health and Human Services issued a new rule that it said was necessary to protect the security of health information stored online.

As required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which was part of the 2009 economic stimulus bill, HHS said it would change patient privacy rules in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in order to provide for privacy and security protection for information stored in electronic health records.

WASHINGTON — Legislation to expand the use of telehealth technology under Medicare to reduce hospital re-admissions in rural and underserved communities has been re-introduced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The bipartisan Fostering Independence Through Technology Act, S. 596, would create a pilot program to provide budget neutral incentives for home health agencies across the country to use remote patient monitoring to better monitor Medicare beneficiaries, improve health outcomes and reduce Medicare expenditures.

The number of Americans who want technology to play a role in their healthcare is growing, as up to 64% of Americans use online health resources, and 40% use them to self-diagnose, according to a new survey conducted by the Atlantic and GlaxoSmithKline. Yet while 94% of those using online resources consider them important to their health, only 12% report contacting doctors via email or text message regarding a health question.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has expanded its telemedicine service to 58 more stores, the retail pharmacy chain said Friday.

Rite Aid said the NowClinic Online Care service were available at stores in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The service gives customers access to care, via a secure online video connection, from OptumHealth doctors and nurses. The company originally unveiled the program at nine stores in Detroit in 2011.

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. — OneHealth Solutions on Wednesday announced that Safeway has selected OneHealth to help support healthy living for its 171,000 employees. "Safeway is committed to developing programs that enable our employees to make informed and sustainable healthcare decisions," stated Kent Bradley, SVP and chief medical officer at Safeway. "We offer a number of innovative healthcare programs, and integrating a peer support program like OneHealth allows us to leverage the power of the community to support individuals on their health journey."

Telehealth is expected to experience a sharp rise in the number of patients, according a new report by health market research firm IHS, which projects that telehealth will reach 1.8 million patients around the world by 2017.

Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has formed a clinical collaboration with Community Health Network to improve access to care for patients throughout central Indiana.

Such collaborations are not only important for improved access to healthcare services by patients, but it also illustrate the growing role that they play within the healthcare system and the acceptance of such clinics among the medical community.

Health care is evolving. As obvious of a statement as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that it is very real. Throughout last year, there was intense discussion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and what impact the outcome of the presidential election might have on its future. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled and elections are settled, healthcare companies and providers across the country are implementing strategies to meet ACA requirements.