Content about Medical informatics

DALLAS — The market for electronic medical records in the United States may exceed $6 billion in value in five years, according to a new report by research firm MarketsandMarkets.

In the report, “U.S. Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Market, 2010-2015 (Market Share, Winning Strategies and Adoption Trends),” released this month, the firm said that the market was expected to grow from $2.17 billion in 2009 to $6.05 billion in 2015.

NEW YORK and WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has inked a three-year agreement with ActiveHealth Management, an independent subsidiary of Aetna, under which CVS Caremark will apply the evidence-based, clinical intelligence of the ActiveHealth CareEngine to healthcare claims for its PBM customers to identify opportunities for improved pharmacy care.

CVS Caremark will apply the CareEngine to more than 800,000 members beginning in April, with additional membership to be added as CVS Caremark consults with its PBM clients.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday launched a new Web portal that very well could make niche marketing of pharmaceutical and over-the-counter medicines easier to execute.

The portal, called the Health Indicators Warehouse, represents a collection of health and healthcare indicators that can be parceled out by:

MILWAUKEE — Aurora Health Care said it would be the first healthcare system in Milwaukee to receive federal recognition for adopting electronic health records, the organization said.

Beginning this month, hospitals and other healthcare providers can register their intent to achieve “meaningful use” of EHRs and qualify for federal incentive payments, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Six of Aurora’s hospitals are registered in the incentive program. The organization also runs a network of retail pharmacies in the region.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Pharmacists who intervene with diabetes patients are having a clear and positive impact on clinical outcomes, a new study from Walgreens has found.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic, CVS Caremark's network of walk-in medical clinics, was highlighted as a breakthrough innovator in healthcare delivery by the World Economic Forum's Innovative Health Care Delivery Project.

In addition, MinuteClinic president and CVS Caremark SVP and associate chief medical officer Andrew Sussman presented MinuteClinic's approach to care at a World Economic Forum satellite session attended by healthcare experts, regulatory representatives, researchers and other innovators in Montreux, Switzerland, this week.

NEW ORLEANS — Moving, in its own words, “beyond e-prescribing,” paperless platform provider Surescripts has begun expanding its nationwide e-prescribing network to allow doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals to exchange all types of clinical information.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., and ST. PAUL, Minn. A White House report encouraging the healthcare system’s transformation to health information technology drew a strong endorsement Tuesday from the nation’s largest electronic prescription network.

BALTIMORE WellDoc, a healthcare company that develops technology solutions to improve chronic disease management outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, on Monday announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance to market the WellDoc DiabetesManager System to healthcare providers and their adult patients with Type 2 diabetes.

LONDON SOS 4 Life, a company that provides medical mobile applications, on Wednesday announced the launch of its Health Records iPhone app dedicated to providing peace of mind during a medical crisis while in a foreign country.

The application stores a patient’s most important medical information, including allergies, medical conditions and medication history in a health record on a mobile phone, and provides an immediate translation of that health record into Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese or Dutch without the need of an Internet connection.