e-health

Aiming to reinforce its medical pedigree, Microsoft next week is launching a video show on developments in the health care technology arena.

The show's host, Bill Crounse, senior director of worldwide health at Microsoft, is a veteran of both broadcasting and medicine, having served as a broadcaster and practicing physician before joining Microsoft. In a chat on Friday, Crounse promised that the show itself won't be an ad for Microsoft's health care software, though the company is sponsoring the first few episodes with some short commercials.

"It's about demonstrating our investment and commitment to the … Read more

The government's $19 billion incentive package to compel doctors and hospitals to digitize their inefficient paper record systems is nice and shiny. But until a platform exists to support the easy yet secure flow of highly sensitive personal information, that promise could also be empty.

Seeing a business opportunity, General Electric unveiled on Thursday its new unit, eHealth, a suite of solutions that aims to provide the necessary infrastructure. (GE reports that it is investing $90 million to launch eHealth.) It is a daunting task, but if it works, a digital record system that streamlines connectivity between clinicians and … Read more

The drive to digitize medical records could impact every American. What does that mean for your health care and privacy? CNET News reporter Declan McCullagh explains.

That and other headlines of the day on Tuesday's CNET News Daily Podcast.

Today's stories:

Daimler grabs Tesla stake in electric-car push

Videos of Apple's Snow Leopard taken off YouTube

What you need to know about e-health records

IBM launches 'Smart Cube' with app store

Intel to detail 8-core server chip

HP, Microsoft to expand communications partnership

Google testing HR algorithm

Webware 100 Winners

The Conficker Internet virus has infected important computerized medical devices, but governmental red tape interfered with their repair, an organizer of an antivirus working group told Congress on Friday.

Rodney Joffe, one of the founders of an unofficial organization known as the Conficker Working Group, said that government regulations prevented hospital staff from carrying out the repairs.

Joffe, who also is the senior vice president for the telecom clearinghouse Neustar, told a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that over the last three weeks, he and another Conficker researcher identified at least 300 critical medical devices from a … Read more

For people in Hawaii, going to see the doctor just got as easy as booting up their PC.

The state is the first to offer online physician visits statewide, under a program that kicks off Thursday. Residents can chat with a doctor over a standard Web browser (IE 7 or Firefox 2) or carry out their visit over the telephone. Those with a Webcam can also use that to share video with the doctor. The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (with a few monthly maintenance outages during low-volume times).

Members of Hawaii's … Read more

The next explosive growth in the microprocessor industry, according to chip guru Levy Gerzberg, won't be powering a consumer electronics device. It will more likely be planted somewhere in our own bodies, under our skin, delivering critical information and executing actions that can quite literally prolong our lives.

Speaking at a forum at the Consumer Electronics Show on disruptive technologies, Gerzberg, the CEO of microprocessor designer Zoran, said that by definition a "disruptive technology" is one that changes our lives in a drastic and positive way. With that in mind, there can be no greater disruptive technology, … Read more

The results of a fifteen-month study accessing the time to patch software associated with electronic health record (EHR) systems were published today by the eHealth Vulnerability Reporting Program. The program is a collaboration of health care industry organizations, technology companies and security professionals that is attempting to establish best practices within the emerging field of electronic health records in the adoption and reliance of eHealth systems, including electronic medical records (EMR), picture archiving and communication system (PACS), and medical devices. The 39-page report found much room for improvement.

It's one thing to have your credit card information compromised--that can … Read more