HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
On May 19, the online web browser Google opened public access to Google Health, an online personal health record (PHR) service. Google Health allows users to store online their medical records and laboratory test results, as well as information about allergies, vaccinations and prescriptions. Users also can decide whether to share information in their PHRs with health-care providers. Google Health also allows users to search for medical information and use other online health care tools. The health-care industry considers electronic health records “crucial to reducing the cost of providing health care and eliminating medical errors,” but implementation of such technology has been painfully slow, in part because medical records must be standardized if they are to share data across different systems, reports the Boston Globe. It also remains to be seen how willing consumers will be to store sensitive personal medical information online. Patient advocates and privacy experts have “expressed concern that, despite password protection, sensitive health records stored online could be compromised,” the Globe reports. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does not cover medical records placed on a third-party online service. Google, however, asserts that Google Health will have the highest level of security and that the company will share information in PHRs only at the request of users.
MENTAL HEALTH
The Maine Army National Guard has begun testing its members for brain injuries sustained during the war. The National Guard is collaborating with the Dartmouth Medical School to give computerized cognition tests to Guard members before they go to Iraq and Afghanistan and upon their return. The tests evaluate memory, recognition and attention span, among other things. Concussions are common among soldiers—the force of explosives can rattle the brain against the skull causing injury. Many veterans, however, are not evaluated for concussions and are likely not to report symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision and memory loss. Currently, the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Togus, Maine is treating 62 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for traumatic brain injuries, but the actual number of those with head injuries is thought to be much higher, according to the Bangor News.
PUBLIC HEALTH
Pennsylvania has become the first state to receive federal approval to spend Medicaid dollars on services for adults with autism, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Previously, Medicaid only allowed spending on services for autistic children up to age 21. The Keystone State will now spend $20 million a year on home and community based services for adults with the disorder, including respite aid for relatives who care for autistic adults and crisis intervention. The state expects about 200 adults to be served under this waiver, and hopes that the additional funding will help these individuals avoid institutionalization and lead more independent lives. This waiver was one of a series of recommendations put out by a 2004 statewide task force charged with examining ways to improve Pennsylvania's delivery of autism services.
© Copyright 2008, State Health Notes
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