News

The market for point-of-care (POC) tests has almost doubled from 2003 to 2009, according to a new report published by Kalorama Information. With the ability to help reduce healthcare costs while simultaneously improving patient care, POC tests represent a significant and growing share of the global in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market, according to Kalorama.In its report Worldwide Point of Care Diagnostic Test Markets, Kalorama values the market for combined over-the-counter and professional applications of point-of-care testing at $13.3 billion worldwide in 2009.

DiagnosisONE, the clinical decision support and analytics firm, has announced that Greenway Medical Technologies has selected the company to provide clinical decision support for its EHR deployments. Through this relationship, Greenway will now seamlessly integrate DiagnosisONE's CDS solutions into its ONC-ATCB-certified PrimeSUITE 2011 EHR solution to deliver real-time, patient-specific alerts at the point of care. The collaboration will enable customers to more easily satisfy the CDS requirements necessary for demonstrating Meaningful Use.

Rauland-Borg Corporation, which specializes in developing nurse call technology, has partnered with Voalté, a developer of point-of-care communications software for smartphone platforms. Their collaboration will enable Rauland-Borg's Responder 5 Nurse Call system to connect directly to caregivers' Voalté-enabled iPhones.

The VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Birmingham, Ala., an acute tertiary care facility, will provide nurse case managers with integrated mobile electronic health records. The technology will make it possible for home-based primary care nurses to schedule case loads as well as access and input patient information. The technology, called HB Mobile, was developed by Juneau, Fla.-based DSS, Inc. The Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 (VISN 7) selected the Birmingham center in August 2009 as the alpha test site for HB Mobile.