Acesis Releases New Software to Measure Doctor Performance and Reduce Medical Errors
Acesis, an enterprise medical review software company, has released its Clinical Review Product Suite, which leverages the Adobe Flash Platform and Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite (ES), for a combination of enterprise class infrastructure capabilities, cross-platform reach and expressive, easy-to-use interfaces. The software will improve patient care by automating the medical peer review process while ensuring the security and confidentiality requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

The review of one physician by another of similar experience and training is a hospital and government-mandated form of quality control and the primary means by which patient care is monitored and improved. Physicians must meet national and local performance standards in order to practice medicine and surgery in hospitals, and in the final analysis, only another physician can determine that these standards are being met.  With increasing federal and state scrutiny of medical errors and with new laws denying payment for specific adverse outcomes, a hospital's institutional health is dependent on the quality and depth of its medical review process. Until now this process has been done manually and exclusively on paper. 

“Acesis lets hospitals automate the medical peer review process,” said Acesis CEO Kevin Chesney. “Hospitals will now have an accurate measure of physician performance relative to national and local standards. By streamlining and raising the accuracy of medical review, the Acesis software will enable physicians to reduce medical errors, ultimately saving lives. Today, medical peer review is a cumbersome and largely inefficient process, crippling physician efforts to improve patient care and prevent medical errors. As the complexity of hospital care increases so does the problem.”

“Acesis has helped us raise the bar, in both the quality of care and the standards we can expect from our doctors,” said Dr. Daniel LeGrand, the chief medical officer of St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, one of the first hospitals to adopt the Clinical Review Product Suite. “We were looking for an efficient solution to help us save time and money and Acesis gave us that. The Acesis software allows us to verify the data from the original medical records, ensuring accuracy. Because the information and processes are visible to doctors and hospital staff, they become willing and active partners in preventing and solving quality issues.”

“All aspects of medical care should be reviewed by an objective, consistent and sustainable process that is both credible and transparent,” said Leah Binder, CEO of the Leapfrog Group, a non-profit advocate of patient safety in the hospital setting. “It’s exciting to see new technology focused on tracking performance indicators and medical necessity, offering the ability to take quick action before it becomes a repeatable problem.”

The Acesis Clinical Review Product Suite features an interactive interface with user-customizable templates to provide dynamic, efficient reports tailored to local clinical needs. The flexibility of the Acesis architecture eliminates costly and time-consuming professional services. Virtually all clinical data is structured through the use of a vast medical nomenclature, providing powerful and flexible analysis and graphing.

Laird Technologies Releases Bluetooth Modules for Medical Products
Laird Technologies, Inc., a company focused on the design and supply of customized, performance-critical components and systems for wireless and other advanced electronics, has released a new range of Bluetooth modules designed to support the demands of medical equipment manufacturers. 

A new Health Device Profile created by the Medical Working Group of the Bluetooth SIG will be a key requirement for manufacturers designing products for Continua Alliance Approval.

Through its involvement in the Medical Working Group and customer collaboration, Laird Technologies has developed a new array of Bluetooth modules that extends its current range to cover almost any wireless medical application. Incorporating pre-approved Bluetooth stacks, these new modules meet the new Health Device Profile and minimize the design effort required to implement short range wireless.
Designed for data applications, the BTM411 is a fully integrated, sub-miniature Bluetooth data-oriented module based on Cambridge Silicon Radio’s BC04 chipset. Incorporating a full Bluetooth stack and supporting a serial port profile, the module provides a UART interface and comprehensive AT command set to allow easy interface to a host processor. It is the fastest method of adding a Bluetooth wireless data link to an embedded product.

For medical products that require DSP applications, the BTM520 series offers a wide range of functions including a high-gain, multilayer ceramic antenna that provides +10dBm output and delivers a leading-edge range for multimedia requirements.  In addition, the integrated Bluetooth stack provides a comprehensive range of profiles.  The 32-bit Kalimba DSP, running at 64 MIPS, allows on-board implementation of a variety of advanced applications.     

Both new modules are based on the latest Bluetooth standard, Version 2.1+EDR and deliver Secure Simple Pairing. This allows for simpler user interfaces that make products easier to use and, subsequently, reduces support costs. Designed for high reliability, these modules support an industrial operating temperature range of -30ºC to 70 ºC.

For fast and efficient integration, Laird Technologies supplies development kits and tools with all modules, as well as a global FAE network and technical support resources to assist developers in launching their products faster.

Laird Technologies’ new BTM modules complement and expand the Bluetooth product family with ranges up to 1 km.

Remote Monitoring Technologies Could Shave Health Care Costs by $197 Billion; Broadband-based Applications Can Improve Care for Chronic Disease
The US could cut $197 billion from its health care bill over the next 25 years by widespread use of remote monitoring to track the vital signs of patients with chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure and diabetes, according to a new study released by economist Robert Litan. Litan said that savings would be maximized by public policy adjustments that encourage health care institutions and individual caregivers to accelerate the use of remote monitoring.

“Remote monitoring can spot health problems sooner, reduce hospitalization, improve life quality and save money,” Litan said at a health care forum sponsored by Better Health Care Together.

But he warned that adoption of remote monitoring and other telemedicine opportunities will be slowed and benefits reduced unless the US does a better job of reimbursing health care organizations for remote care and encouraging continued investment in broadband infrastructure that can be tailored to meet the privacy, security and reliability requirements for telemedicine applications.

Failure to make the right policy adjustments will cut estimated health care savings by almost $44 billion over the 25-year period, Litan estimated.

Estimated Gain from Telemonitoring Under Baseline and Policy Cases:

• Net Present Value of Savings, Baseline Case: $153.2 billion
• Net Present Value of Savings, Policy Case: $197.0 billion
• Gain From Policy Implementation: $43.8 billion
• Average Gain From Implementation Per Year: $1.75 billion

Better Health Care Together Says Study Shows Need for New Directions
Jody Hoffman, executive director of Better Health Care Together said Litan's study illustrated how new directions in health care can enable the US to deliver quality care at lower costs.

"Our first priority is to make sure every American has quality, affordable health coverage," Hoffman said. "In order to do that we also need to get better value for our health care dollars and we believe information technologies can help in a big way."

Hoffman said that the forum was an opportunity to consider some of the key issues surrounding telemedicine.

Big Savings from Chronic Diseases
Remote monitoring enables caregivers, often working through computerized data centers, to be alerted in real-time, seven days a week of vital sign changes that could be medically significant. The alerts enable earlier intervention to help patients before they are seriously ill. Without remote monitoring, caregivers must depend on notification from patients who may not report changes until physical symptoms are dramatic and more challenging to resolve.

Litan's savings estimates are tied to four specific conditions - congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease and chronic skin ulcers and wounds.

Estimated Savings and Gain from Policy Implementation, by Condition:

Baseline Savings:
Heart Patients - $79.7 billion
Diabetes Patients - $42.3 billion
COPD Patients - $18.7 billion
Chronic Wound Patients - $12.5 billion
Total Baseline Savings - $153.2 billion

Policy Savings Savings:
Heart Patients - $102.5 billion
Diabetes Patients - $54.4 billion
COPD Patients - $24.1 billion
Chronic Wound Patients - $16.0 billion
Total Policy Savings - $197 billion

Gain from Policy Change:
Heart Patients - $22.8 billion
Diabetes Patients - $12.1 billion
COPD Patients - $5.4 billion
Chronic Wound Patients - $3.5 billion
Total Gain from Policy Change - $43.8 billion

Telehealth Solutions from American TeleCare, Inc. Support Heart Failure Management Study in Canada
American TeleCare, Inc. (ATI), a company focused on the development and application of intelligent monitoring and video-based telehealth solutions, has announced that its InLife and LifeView Telehealth Systems are now in use to implement a heart failure outcomes study in Atlantic Canada. “A Strategy of Home Telehealth for the Management of Heart Failure” (STARTEL) aims to transform heart failure management across Canada from crisis response to proactive intervention. STARTEL is evaluating telehealth-supported care management of heart failure patients at home to determine whether this model improves clinical care and outcomes. The study is currently underway out of the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, Nova Scotia in partnership with Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation in Southwestern New Brunswick, part of Regional Health Authority B. 

ATI’s InLife Patient Stations are compact monitors that gather information from questions that patients answer as well as objective clinical data from integrated medical peripherals (including blood pressure monitors and ATI’s patented CareTone Telephonic Stethoscopes). LifeView combines remote patient monitoring with interactive video for televisits. Care teams use LifeView Provider Stations to connect to Patient Stations, manage ongoing monitoring, conduct televisits, and carry out care plans.

STARTEL is evaluating a home telehealth care management system designed to enhance clinical care for heart failure patients who have difficulty with access to care. Unique in this model is that in addition to the use of protocol-driven, evidence-based interventions, primary care physicians are directly involved in the follow-up of patients. Telehealth-supported delivery of care to heart failure patients in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is being compared to the current gold standard of care, which is care at a heart failure or heart function clinic.

After an initial assessment, patients are randomized to either a control treatment arm, where they continue to receive their heart failure care per their normal routine, or to the home telehealth arm. Patients receiving home telehealth are further randomized into one of two telehealth treatment groups. The first group uses the InLife Patient Stations in their homes for remote monitoring, and these patients speak with nurses over the phone for their interactive bi-weekly visit. The second group utilizes LifeView Patient Stations for video televisits as well as monitoring, and nurses initiate scheduled, bi-weekly telehealth visits to assess clinical stability, medication compliance and adherence to sodium and fluid restrictions. Patients in both telehealth groups are prompted daily by their Patient Stations to take their blood pressure, heart rate and weight readings. Vital sign results, as well as patients’ responses to questions presented to them on the Patient Stations, are sent automatically to the STARTEL server and accessed via LifeView Provider Stations. Telehealth nurses take appropriate actions to address any findings exceeding defined thresholds. Based on the results of daily monitoring and the clinical needs of patients, unscheduled visits may be initiated as well. Heart failure patient education is provided and reinforced as required.

The primary outcome measured is a composite of total all-cause hospitalizations and total mortality at one year. A wide range of secondary measures includes heart failure morbidity and mortality, cardiovascular hospitalization, total inpatient and outpatient costs, patient-reported quality of life, and patient satisfaction. The study is expected to be completed by November 2009.

Longitude Health Launches Collaborative Approach to Lowering Healthcare Costs and Improving Productivity for Mid-Sized Companies
Longitude Health, Inc., provider of Web-based, guided health and wellness solutions for mid-size, self insured companies, has introduced the Whole Population / Whole Person Program including MyHealthVillage.com, a comprehensive approach for lowering company healthcare costs and raising employee satisfaction and productivity. The innovative approach enables employers to support their employees with incentives, resources, physician oversight, social health networking and a secure and private, online health portal that helps individuals reduce their risks for developing chronic conditions or better manage existing chronic conditions. 

Longitude Health’s approach helps employers and employees achieve greater control over their health and productivity, by introducing easy-to-follow risk reduction programs, driving down health related costs, enhancing employee productivity, providing valuable employee benefits and yielding a positive return on investment for mid-sized companies.

Longitude’s Whole Population / Whole Person Program and MyHealthVillage.com portal includes:

• Personal HealthGuides advising personnel and via the Web. 
• Easy-to-use and secure online tools including health assessments, personal health records and personalized action plans.
• Flexible and easy-to-manage incentives for driving employee participation and rewarding them for sustained engagement.
• Physician-created resources for the unique needs associated with early and advanced chronic conditions, including weight management, smoking cessation, stress management, diabetes, heart disease, breathing disorders and more.
• Social health networking where participants can exchange best practices while seeking and providing peer support.
• Primary care physician involvement and oversight via Longitude Health’s proprietary Collaborative Care SupportSM .

American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN)
Annual Conference - MARCH 26-30, 2009
Philadelphia, PA.  Earn over 30's CEs

Network with telehealth nurses from across the country and hear nationally known speakers present on these telehealth topics:

-Essential Components of Telephone Nursing: A Model to Guide your Practice (2 hr. special session)
-Juggling Efficiencies, Quality of Care, and Standard Adherence: Formulating Telehealth Performance Metrics (2 hr. workshop)
-Implementing a Telephone Triage Decision Support Tool in the Primary Care Setting
-Bridging the Gap:  Building Healthier Communities One Caller at a Time
-Critical Thinking and Telephone Triage: Making the Right Choices
-Due Diligence:  Hiring the best Candidate for your Telehealth Position
-All-day Post-Conference newly updated Telehealth Nursing Practice Core Course (TNPCC). 
-Network at the Telehealth Special Interest Group Meeting

Certification:
Telehealth nurses are encouraged to achieve certification in ambulatory care.  Take the all-day Certification Review Course on Thursday, 3/26, then sit for the ANCC Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Exam on Sunday, 3/29.  Pre-registration for the exam with ANCC by December 19, 2008 is required. 

View the full conference brochure/register online at:
www.aaacn.org/conference
Pat Reichart
Association Services Manager
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
P.O. Box 56
Pitman, NJ  08071-0056
Phone: 800-AMB-NURS
E-mail: reichartp@ajj.com
Website: www.aaacn.org
Come to our 34th Annual Conference
"Leading the Revolution in Building Healthier Communities"
March 26-29, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA
Take the Ambulatory Care Nursing Exam on Sunday, 3/29.
Purchase recordings from the 2008 Chicago, IL conference
at www.prolibraries.com/aaacn
Purchase these resources:
-2nd Edition Core Curriculum for Ambulatory Care Nursing
Earn over 30 contact hours
-Ambulatory Care Nursing Administration & Practice Standards, 2007
-Telehealth Nursing Practice Administration & Practice Standards, 2007
-Telehealth Nursing Practice Resource Directory, 2008