News

Certain specialties, such as psychiatrists and oncologists, are more likely to be using video conferencing with patients, according to a new study from Manhattan Research. Taking the Pulse U.S. v11.0, a study of 2,041 U.S. practicing physicians, focuses on how physicians are using technology in the practice, such as for electronic health records, electronic prescribing and interaction with patients.The study found that seven percent of U.S. physicians use online video conferencing to communicate with their patients.

The increase in access to the Internet could be contributing to the prescription drug abuse epidemic this country is facing, according to a new Health Affairs report.The study released Thursday shows that a 10 percent increase in the availability of high-speed Internet service in a state was associated with an approximately 1 percent increase in admissions to a treatment facility center for prescription drug abuse. The number of U.S. households with Internet access increased from 18 percent in 1997 to 61 percent in 2007.

Consumers are tracking their own health data online, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.The report, titled The Social Life of Health Information, 2011 by Susannah Fox, Pew's associate director, is billed as the first time anyone has reported, in a national consumer survey, how consumers are using the Internet for self-tracking of their health. Self-tracking

Continua Health Alliance, an international non-profit, open industry organization of 240 healthcare and technology companies, has announced the public release its 2010 Design Guidelines, which Continua executives describe as the pathway for the creation of an end-to-end personal connected healthcare solution.

A new poll shows most people trust health and medical research information provided by traditional news sources over social media and mobile devices.According to a statewide survey, commissioned by Research!America, most Maryland residents trust the health and medical research information provided by traditional media - newspapers (77 percent), television (71 percent), magazines (68 percent), radio (66 percent) - and the Internet (66 percent).

There's wonderful information technology in the World of Health IT exhibit hall, said Microsoft's Bill Crounse here in Budapest, but it's what you do with the information that counts.Crounse, senior director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft, provided eHealth Week attendees with a tour of numerous advances in healthcare technology emerging throughout the world, while emphasizing the importance of putting patients in control of healthcare IT.