8/20/07

Vol. VII, No. 30

Health Information Technology Team
Brought to you by Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Health Policy

Google, Microsoft Set Their Sights on Internet Health Care

Google and Microsoft plan to enter the health care arena through the use of Internet search tools,
online resources and personal health records to help consumers make better health care choices. Both
companies, which see the potential in health care advertising and services, bring advantages to the
consumer market for health care technology. A prototype of Google Health includes a health profile
for medications, conditions and allergies; a personalized health guide for suggested treatments, drug
interactions, and diet and exercise regimens; pages for receiving reminders to refill prescriptions or
visit a physician; and directories of nearby physicians. Microsoft’s plans will include online services,
as well as software to find, retrieve and store personal health data on computers, cell phones and
other digital devices. The Google and Microsoft initiatives would give more control to individuals, a
trend many health experts see as inevitable. “Patients will ultimately be the stewards of their own
information,” said John D. Halamka, the chief information officer of the Harvard Medical School.
(NYTimes, 8/14).

HHS Announces $25M in Emergency Preparedness Grants

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will award $25 million in grants to
boost hospital surge capacity, emergency care system capability, and community and hospital
preparedness for public health emergencies. The program will award up to three grants for projects
that help integrate public and private emergency care system capabilities with public health and other
first responder systems; boost efficiency, effectiveness and expandability of emergency care systems,
and overall preparedness and response capabilities in health care facilities; and create plans to
strengthen public health emergency medical management and the provision of emergency care and
treatment capabilities. While HHS did not explicitly mention health IT in the grant announcement,
several hospitals around the country have tapped IT to boost efficiency and effectiveness.
(AHANews, 8/10)

Report Details Special Functions Needed for Pediatric EHR Systems

A new report in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics explains that while clinical
information systems, such as EHRs, typically are designed for adult care, unique functionality
requirements are needed to support pediatric care. The report includes EHR functions for pediatrics
in areas such as immunization management; growth tracking; medication dosing; patient
identification; norms of pediatric measurement data changing over time; privacy; pediatric
terminology; and accuracy of the data being collected and presented. EHRs should also enable the
registration of infants without Social Security numbers. (Health Data Management, 8/10).

Bush Promotes IT to Enhance Care for Wounded Soldiers

President Bush said the use of IT in the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs could help
better manage the care of wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The recent poor
treatment and mismanagement of wounded soldiers’ health care could be linked to lost health records
and inefficient IT systems at both the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs. (iHealthBeat,
8/14)

Any questions regarding this newsletter can be directed

to Albert Crawford at albert.crawford@jefferson.edu or
Erin Whitesell at erin.whitesell@jefferson.edu.