Mobile

The iMPak Health Journal, announced on Wednesday at HIMSS12, is a wireless device used to transmit electronic health information. Part of a growing market of mHealth technology, the journal has an easy-to-use interface designed for patients who may not be comfortable with technology or desktop computing. The journal allows patients to transmit important health information related to pain management and wellness to both their family members and healthcare providers.

You want irony? Try this: the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that we women are the ones who make the health care choices for the kids in 8 out of 10 families. Yet women are far and away the minority gender in the world of health IT leaders. While this is by no means the definitive list, I’ve done some research on the women who ARE making their mark in HIT.

Last year, HIMSS became an organizing partner for the mHealth Summit, a three-day event in Washington D.C. that attracted a wide range of academics, providers and entrepreneurs interested in the mobile healthcare landscape. Officials of the Chicago-based organization must have liked what they saw -- they now own the event.

Former Microsoft Health Solutions Group executive Peter Neupert will join Health Evolution Partners, a venture capital firm launched by former National Coordinator for Health IT David Brailer, MD, as an operating partner.

The abundance of broadly categorized mobile medical applications that have been developed and distributed in recent years has left some healthcare professionals questioning many apps’ quality and general usability.

The chief of the cardiology department at 400-bed Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida has developed software for controlling heart devices remotely using an iPad, The hospital’s executives say the technology could revolutionize the way physicians reprogram pacemakers.

Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, has shared seven market trends that will shape telemedicine and telehealth in the immediate future. These trends represent major changes from the existing norm, creating new challenges and opportunities for the industry, he says.

Seeking to allay providers' privacy concerns and spur more communication, Microsoft this week announced that its cloud productivity service, Microsoft Office 365, will comport with information security standards for customers in the U.S. and Europe.

Thirty-four states will receive more than $30 million in funding from the Department of Agriculture to improve access to healthcare and educational services in rural areas.

An interdisciplinary research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has received a $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation to develop a smartphone application to help people with advanced diabetes and foot ulcers better manage their disease.