Health care

Dell service to help hospitals with digital records

One key component of U.S. health care reform is the move toward digital medical records. Dell is hoping to play a role in that move.

Dell announced Thursday a new service to help doctors and hospitals more easily switch to electronic medical records (EMR).

Already in use by certain hospitals, the new EMR service--a combination of hardware, software, and support--is designed to make the transition from paper to digital records more affordable and practical for the average physician or medical staff.

Dell said its EMR system will also connect doctors and their sponsoring hospitals so they can share patient … Read more

Now you don't need a pill to remember your pills

Somewhere between one-third and one-half of all Americans take their medication at the wrong time, or at the wrong dosage, or simply forget altogether, according to a New England Healthcare Institute study released earlier this month (PDF).

MedMinder Systems to the rescue. The wisely named Newton, Mass.-based start-up is one of several companies working to develop the ultimate smart pillbox. Approximately the size of a textbook, "Maya" (the wisdom behind the box's nickname remains elusive) holds 28 small plastic cups that can be designated separately for different pill types and detailed regimens.

When a pill is … Read more

Medical-imaging procedures always worth the risk?

Medical-imaging procedures such as computed-tomography (CT) and myocardial-perfusion scans are up drastically from just 15 years ago, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

CT scans alone are up four-fold, according to the study. These "worrisome" radiation doses--as many as 2 percent of cancers could be attributed to radiation during CT scans alone--justify more rigorous scientific scrutiny, according to lead investigator Dr. Reza Fazel at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta:

Unlike the exposure of workers in health care and the nuclear industry, which can be regulated, the exposure of … Read more

Once again: Do cell phones cause brain tumors?

A collaborative of international electromagnetic radiation (EMR) watchdogs, including Powerwatch and the EMR Policy Institute, sent a paper to government leaders and media Tuesday detailing several design flaws in a major but oft-delayed telecom-funded Interphone study.

Now consumers get to wonder yet again whether the message behind the paper, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone," is legitimate or the result of overzealous conspiracy theorists.

The paper's main conclusions are: There is a "significant" risk of brain tumors from cell phone use; EMR exposure limits that have … Read more

In Stockholm, sanitation expert rocks the potty

When talking toilets, it's easy to succumb to potty humor and puns (see headline), but the news out of Stockholm is no joke. Indian sanitation expert Bindeshwar Pathak was honored for his revolutionary toilet with the Stockholm Water Prize at the World Water Week conference held in Stockholm last week.

The Sulabh (translation: "easily available") is a twin-pit, pour-flush toilet (you pour the water yourself) that employs two tanks for waste storage. It does double duty as both a sustainable alternative (it uses less than a third of a gallon of water instead of almost three gallons … Read more