SNOMED and HL7 Ink Deal to Harmonize Clinical and Messaging Standards
SNOMED International, the publisher of SNOMED CT Clinical Terminology, agreed to work with Health Level Seven
to give the HL7 Reference Information Model a standardized health care
terminology. The result of this effort will facilitate information
systems interoperability.
is a large pictorial representation of the clinical data (domains) that
identifies the life cycle of events that a message or groups of related
messages will carry. It is a shared model between all the domains and
as such is the model from which all domains create their messages. The
agreement will help advance work to bind SNOMED CT to the RIM. SNOMED
CT will provide the RIM with a standardized healthcare terminology
including comprehensive coverage of diseases, clinical findings,
therapies, procedures and outcomes. It provides the core general
terminology for the electronic health record (EHR) and contains more
than 357,000 concepts with unique meanings and formal logic-based
definitions organized intohierarchies.
Analogic Receives 510k Approval for LIFEGARD II Non-Invasive Patient Monitors
Analogic is moving to market
(press release) with 5 new patient monitors targeting the hospital or
in non-acute environments such as a freestanding clinic or physician’s
office.
patient monitoring offerings. The first release consists of five
models. The basic units measure five parameters, while other models
also monitor continuous non-invasive cardiac output and end-tidal CO2.
Units come equipped with integrated printers for recording waveform and
parameter values. The first models of LIFEGARD II are scheduled to be
released this summer and additional models with cleared capabilities
are to be made available over the next 18 months.
Analogic is clearly targeting lower acuity areas outside the ICU with
these low end monitors. Surprisingly, no connectivity features are mentioned in the press release. The Philips C1 vital signs monitor manufactured by Analogic does have a serial port, so I'm assuming these monitors do as well.
UPDATE: David Kutas from Analogic was kind enough to email me to let me
know that there is an RS232 port on their new family of monitors along with USB. He also
informed me that the links to FDA documents that were in this post are for a previous
generation of products; the FDA documents for Lifegard II have yet to be posted.
UPDATE: Analogic's 510k has hit the FDA database, you can view their MDR record here.
Grand Rounds 1:40 Is Up
Read the best of the medical blogosphere at Grand Rounds, hosted by the Health Business Blog.
I will be hosting Grand Rounds next week. Send your submissions to tim
at medicalconnectivity dot com by 5pm Pacific Time next Monday July the
Fourth. And come next week back for the next installment of Grand
Rounds!
New 802.11n Chip Delivers 240 mbs Performance
Ever wonder what comes next after 802.11a/b/g?
While ultra wide band gets a lot of virtual ink, engineers have been continuing the
evolution of the 802.11n standard. MetaLink, a wireless broadband chip maker announced
today the release of the new MtW
8170 baseband chip. Paired with the already released MtW
8150 RFIC,
this chipset is the first MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output)
product available. The chip adheres to the 802.11n standard drafts, and
fully supports advanced 802.11i security and the 802.11e QoS (quality
of service) standards.
HIMSS Provides HIT Legislation Tracking Tool
In the stampeed to “do the most for health care”, there are now 7
pieces of HIT legislation pending in Congress. To help track the ebb
and flow of legislation in this area, HIMSS has created a “legislative cross-walk” tool (Word document) that compares and contrasts the varous pieces of legislation. This type of
evaluation and tracking system is often used on Capitol Hill by
Congressional staffers to better understand legislation introduced on a
specific topic. The legislation listed on the crosswalk includes:
- National Health Information Incentive Act of 2005 (H.R. 747)
- 21 st Century Health Information Act of 2005 (H.R. 2234)
- Affordable Health Care Act (S.16)
- Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (S.544)
- Information Technology for Health Care Quality Act (S. 1223)
- The Health Information Technology Act of 2005 (S. 1227)
- Health Technology to Enhance Quality Act of 2005 (S. 1262)
