Healthcare Reform

While the reform legislation did not focus on wellness, expect this area to grow, said E. David Hetz, cofounder and managing director of Cutlass Capital. Hetz spoke on a panel last week at the Health Technology Investment Forum.

During a recent Health IT Standards Committee meeting, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal denied allegations that a framework for the proposed national health information network would make it easier for data to be transmitted to government agencies, such as the CIA or Department of Justice.

Despite significant governmental action, health IT adoption, information utilization and connectivity gaps remain that must be filled to speed the benefits of broadband-enabled systems, according to the FCC, which recently released its National Broadband Plan.

A first-of-its-kind "Physician Sentiment Index," released on Thursday, shows that 59 percent of physicians believe that the quality of American medicine will drop in the next five years—and only 18 percent feel that it will improve.

Experts have warned that the recent push to adopt electronic health records could spawn new types of errors, but the creation of a proposed national database to track EHR system malfunctions and safety issues is still years away.

The Office of the Federal Register has made the DEA's Interim Final Rule on electronic prescribing of controlled substances available for public inspection. The Interim Final Rule specifies the rules that healthcare providers must follow in order to electronically prescribe controlled substances in accordance with the law.

Democrats muscled legislation through the Senate on Thursday, revising parts of the new health care overhaul law, sending it back to the House for what is expected to be final congressional approval. President Obama dared Republicans to try to repeal the controversial law.

Global strategy consulting firm Scientia Advisors identifies the remote health management market as the smallest, but fastest growing segment of the home health management market. But to reach its full potential health insurers must broaden their reimbursement practices to encourage greater physician adoption, the firm says.