Latest California Healthline Stories
San Francisco Leading the Way in Health Data Applications
The city of San Francisco is leading the way in using health data in innovative ways and it’s paying off in a big way, according to several city officials who spoke yesterday at the Healthy Communities Data Summit.
The summit was held in San Francisco and that meant a number of success stories were local, but the conference cast a wide net in its approach to innovation prompted by public release of health data.
“We have so many compelling examples of how free data can help health practices,” said summit panelist Cheryl Wold, owner of Wold and Associates, a community health consulting firm based in Pasadena. “More and more people are using that data to create health solutions.”
Health Information Sharing Deal Announced
The health information world in California is getting more connected. Many large and small HIE networks have signed an agreement to share information, state officials announced last week at the annual HIE Summit in Sacramento.
“We have been working with the leadership of HIE around California to help them establish self-governance of exchanges across the state,” said Pamela Lane, deputy secretary of health information exchange for the state’s Health and Human Services agency.
Lane said there has been an information-sharing gap between the large HIE systems — such as Kaiser, the Veterans Administration and Sutter Health — and the smaller, community HIE systems. Getting those disparate groups to agree to share information has been difficult, she said.
Telehealth Project Brings ‘Virtual Dental Home’ to Patients
A “virtual dental home” project from the University of the Pacific’s school of dentistry is using telehealth technology to bring dental services to nearly 800 low-income and special needs children in San Mateo County.
Mobile App Highlights Patient Advocate Site
Ratings of health plans’ performance put together by the state Office of the Patient Advocate and newly displayed on its website are now accessible by mobile application.
“This is the first app of this type nationally,” said OPA director Amy Krause. “We hope this makes quality an important part of every doctor visit.”
At the heart of what makes the mobile app worthwhile, Krause said, is the rating system itself, which is based on information provided by the Department of Insurance. Patients can compare performance and quality factors among HMOs, PPOs and medical groups in California, both overall and within specific categories, such as how plans’ providers handle diabetes prevention and treatment.
Neurological Institute Expands Telehealth Network
Rural hospital officials in the Central Valley said patients are benefiting from stroke specialists in Sacramento diagnosing and recommending treatment through a maturing, growing telehealth network.
Susannah Fox of Pew Research Center Talks About New Findings on Mobile Health Usage
Susannah Fox, associate director at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, spoke with California Healthline about Pew’s latest study on Internet use among U.S. residents and new findings about the use of mobile phones to look up health-related information.
Smartphones Might Aid Health Effort in Rural California
The emerging use of cell phones and smartphones in medicine has been passing by rural communities, but that may be changing as mobile signals reach more remote areas of California. New technologies and new signals to broaden their reach could fill a burgeoning need.
San Jose Democrat Working on Bill To Create Oversight for Health Apps
Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) plans to introduce in the U.S. House of Representatives a bill that calls for a new FDA office specifically designed to regulate health applications on smart phones and other mobile devices.
The new regulatory office in Honda’s bill, expected to be introduced at the beginning of the next session, would oversee apps designed for consumers, as well as those used by health professionals. According to a spokesperson in Honda’s office, there is not enough oversight for apps that consumers use to access health information.
“The office will be located in the FDA Office of the Commissioner, much like many other specialty offices (like the Office of Women, Office of Minority Health) are,” Honda’s spokesperson Michael Shank wrote in an email. The office’s goal would be to streamline regulation of what the FDA defines as health care technology, according to Shank.
Can UC-Davis Change Pace of Health Information Exchange in California?
Reliable, widespread health information exchange has been elusive in California despite earnest attempts over the past eight years. Now the Institute for Population Health Improvement at UC-Davis is stepping up to the plate as the new cooperative agreement partner charged with bringing HIE to fruition.
Health 2.0: Searching for Meaning in Health Data
At the 6th annual Health 2.0 Conference, speakers stressed the importance of making health care data meaningful, accessible and actionable, while adhering to regulatory requirements, supporting evidence-based medicine and satisfying providers, patients and payers.