PHRs: Cogmedix Provides Medical Device Storage and Order Fulfillment Services for Telcare Medical Supply

WORCESTER, Mass., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Continuing to meet the complex needs of medical device companies, Cogmedix, a US-based, ISO13485-certified, FDA compliant contract manufacturing and services company, will provide Massachusetts-based Telcare Medical Supply with FDA compliant storage and order fulfillment services for their Class II medical device, Telcare BGM.

Telcare's FDA and HIPAA-compliant solution, Telcare BGM, is the world's first cellular-enabled glucose meter. Paired with Telcare's back-end clinical server and a suite of smartphone applications, the Telcare BGM(TM) blood glucose meter provides a complete ecosystem of care. Telcare's FDA-cleared HIPAA-compliant server connects directly to electronic medical record systems and is accessible via a secure, online portal where users and their caregivers can monitor current and historical health information readings, set up messaging options delivered directly to the meter, adjust personalized blood glucose target zones, and print health records reports.

"Telcare will leverage the Cogmedix team's flexibility and compliance expertise, while taking advantage of the company's controlled inventory management with environmental monitoring," said David Bjork, President of Telcare Medical Systems. "Working with Cogmedix offers us the flexibility to deploy our own inventory management software at their facility, while enabling the Cogmedix team to be a seamless extension of our business management processes."

"While Cogmedix can expertly manage the entire medical device manufacturing and fulfillment process, we are also happy to partner with companies like Telcare that require a subset of our expertise for various stages of their outsourcing strategy," said Matt Giza, General Manager, Cogmedix. "Our work with Telcare demonstrates our order fulfillment capabilities, including the ability to store in appropriately segregated, monitored and controlled facilities, combined with receiving orders, and picking, packing, and shipping serialized and lot controlled inventory. Our service will help enable Telcare to focus on continued product innovation and their customer call center, while optimizing their overhead cost structure."

About Cogmedix Cogmedix is a US-based, FDA QSR compliant, ISO 13485 certified contract manufacturer for medical and clinical devices. A subsidiary of Coghlin Companies Inc., Cogmedix focuses on the production of Class I and Class II medical and clinical devices for the critical care, home healthcare, emergency room, and industrial laboratories markets. Cogmedix focuses on aligning itself with companies seeking a compliant, conscientious, cost effective, domestic manufacturing resource to assist them with volume turnkey manufacturing. For more information about Cogmedix, please visit www.cogmedix.com .

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cogmedix-provides-medical-device-storage-and-order-fulfillment-services-for-telcare-medical-supply-2012-03-15

PHR: Health IT National Coordinator Farzad Mostashari Tells Patients to Get Copies of Their Medical Records

LOS ANGELES, CA, Mar 12, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Farzad Mostashari, M.D., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday, March 9th in Los Angeles, "It is time for patients to ask for copies of their electronic medical record and download them. We do it for every other aspect of our lives but healthcare." In an article in Saturday's Los Angeles Times, Mostashari also said that "patients should take matters into their own hands." MMRGlobal, Inc. MMRF +3.40% , using its patented MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record (PHR) and MMRPro document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals, provides the only available option of its kind for patients to receive delivery of their medical records in near real time regardless of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system or any technology being deployed in the physician's office, hospital or emergency facility.

In response to the article, MMRGlobal Chairman and CEO Robert H. Lorsch said, "MyMedicalRecords meets the objective of the National Coordinator for Health IT, specifically, to get patient records in the hands of patients today. In 2009, the Federal Government passed the HITECH Act committing $27 billion to help contain costs of a healthcare system buried in paper from which very little has been accomplished. Since the creation of MyMedicalRecords, we have spent more than $20 million to create our internationally patented MMR solution that meets the national objective to get Personal Health Information into the hands of the patient without changing the workflow of a medical office. As a result, we believe that MMR represents a tremendous opportunity for healthcare professionals and investors alike with a pipeline of billions more to be invested from the government to get systems into the main stream of healthcare. The greater the success of that effort the more patients would be connected to their healthcare professionals using systems like those deployed by MMR."

MMRGlobal's products and services move medical records from any healthcare professional to the patient in seconds using a universal consumer-centric Personal Health Record. MMR services connect to the most advanced Electronic Medical Record systems in the world, or a plain old ordinary fax machine in a sole practitioner's private office. The system also allows secure sharing of patients' personal health information with all their medical providers. Regardless of the technology, the system enables medical records to be instantly deployed electronically to a patient or their physician anywhere in the world. New patient accounts can be activated in less than a minute, at a cost of pennies a day. It does not matter if a patient is being treated at the Cleveland Clinic, employing one of the most advanced EMR systems in the world, or in an office using plain paper files, completely eliminating the need for standardization.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/health-it-national-coordinator-farzad-mostashari-tells-patients-to-get-copies-of-their-medical-records-2012-03-12?reflink=MW_news_stmp

PHR: Emerging Electronic Health Information Exchange Systems Don't Meet Patient Needs

From The Sacramento Bee:

Health care  organizations need to do more to help patients realize the full benefits of electronic data from emerging health information exchange systems, according to a new study commissioned by Consumers Union  that appears in the March 2012 Health Affairs.  The study examines how well five major California health care  organizations are meeting the needs of patients and communities in the use of their electronic data and offers important lessons for the rest of the country. 

"Electronic health information exchange holds great promise for improving patient care and outcomes," said Mark Savage, senior attorney for Consumers Union, the nonprofit advocacy arm of Consumer Reports.   "Health care  organizations are making progress developing these systems but they must provide patients with greater access to their electronic medical data and the ability to monitor who is accessing this information to maximize benefits and limit potential privacy risks.  Patient and public health must be at the center of these efforts."

The study was funded by the California HealthCare Foundation  and assesses the extent to which these efforts are meeting the needs of patients and communities based on a set of principles developed by California organizations representing consumers and patients.  The independent study was carried out by Robert H. Miller, Ph.D., a health economist and faculty member atUniversity of California,  San Francisco. 

In June 2010, Consumers Union joined fifteen other organizations representing California patients and consumers to develop nine principles for electronic personal health information exchange .  The principles aim to improve patient and population health care  by increasing the availability and use of patient data while protecting patients' privacy.

The consumer principles balance patients' various needs—for example, coordinating health care and information among the patient and diverse providers in multiple organizations; ensuring the security and privacy of personal health information; designing systems that can be easily used by non-English speakers and person with disabilities; and accessing safety and quality data about providers and treatments. 

The 2009 stimulus bill  passed by Congress provided up to $27 billion in incentives for physicians and hospitals to adopt electronic health record systems.  The law also provided an additional $2 billion for activities that encourage meaningful use of electronic health information exchange.  It set a strategic goal of achieving electronic health records  for every person in the United States by 2014.

In theory, electronic health information should enable a patient's providers to share information about the patient's health status and current medications and to remind themselves about services the patient needs.  The patient should be able to review health records  via a web-based patient portal; possibly correct or add information; communicate with providers; view reminders of needed services; and access educational materials tailored to various health issues.  Despite its potential benefits, electronic information sharing  can entail risks for patients, especially loss of privacy and misuse of data. 

The Value of Electronic Health Records Extends Far Beyond Patient Care

From CNW:

Embedding and implementing Privacy by Design (PbD) into electronic health record (EHR) systems being built across Canada will enable us to benefit from the wealth of health information stored on these systems, while protecting patient privacy, according to a new paper released today at the Toronto Board of Trade.

"By incorporating the principles of Privacy by Design into the EHR environment, you can accommodate both individual privacy and access to health information for purposes that benefit society as a whole, such as research purposes — a win-win scenario," said Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

The paper, entitled Embedding Privacy Into the Design of Electronic Health Records to Enable Multiple Functionalities - Win/Win  is co-authored by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, and Richard C. Alvarez, President & CEO, Canada Health Infoway. Itargues that the current practice of using health information for a range of authorized purposes should continue in  the PHR environment, but that this must be done in a way that respects individual rights to privacy while benefitting the health system for all Canadians.

"In addition to their value in direct patient care, information from electronic health records can be used to strengthen public health and other health care decisions," said  Alvarez. "When privacy is considered and built in at the outset, it is possible to imagine having accurate population-based information to help predict and prevent waves of infectious disease, to evaluate the safety of different medicines, or to proactively manage diabetes and other chronic conditions."

The paper emphasizes that the use of health information management for purposes that go beyond the direct care of a person, such as research and health system planning, is not a new undertaking.  It has long been used for such purposes with safeguards in place to protect the privacy of Canadians, including privacy legislation and policies, as well as privacy oversight bodies to monitor compliance.

The paper describes how EHRs will make it easier, faster and less expensive to leverage health information for a range of these types of enormously beneficial purposes.  While privacy challenges may arise, the paper describes some tools and guidance available to help resolve those challenges, such as the principles of Privacy by Design , theInfoway-sponsored paper Privacy and EHR Information  Flows in Canada:  Common Understandings of   the Pan-Canadian Health Information Privacy Group , and the practice of routine de-identification of information as a key first step in reducing any associated privacy risks.

"The default approach should be that information is strongly de-identified when used for purposes that extend beyond the delivery of healthcare," said Commissioner Cavoukian.