August, 2014

From pulse oximeters to CT scanners, a typical hospital averages two medical devices per bed, capturing, storing, or transmitting patient data through the IT network on a daily basis. Yet medical devices are often left out of risk assessments, security, and compliance efforts—an automatic “fail” of both HIPAA and Meaningful Use requirements. And that’s just part of the problem. The range of potential security risks posed by medical devices is much broader. - See more at: http://www.24x7mag.com/2014/08/beware-nine-medical-device-vulnerabilities/#sthash.7t7zT3Rc.dpuf

Here are 50 things to know about Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint — five leading health insurers in the U.S

A recent report paints a strong picture of the medtech industry showing across the board job growth in 2013. Here is a slideshow of the 10 medtech companies that hired the most people last year.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to disrupt another mass market: health care. The company is piloting what it hopes will be a broad network of primary-care clinics. The company already has urgent-care clinics in about 100 stores, but the new facilities will provide much broader services such as chronic-disease management that are normally provided at a doctor’s office. And it is doing so at an admirably low cost: A doctor’s visit at one of its primary-care clinics costs just $40, in cash -- the only insurance they take is their corporate health plan and Medicare.

If you're a Medical Device Manufacturer you had better know about ECRI. ECRI is perhaps the most influential company in healthcare on equipment. Considered to be the 'Consumer Reports' for the medical industry no other company carries the impact of this company.

Interesting DR technology. Syncs with generator without a physical connection. Rotates the image without changing the panel's orientation.

An interesting article from "The Economist" discusses the challenges and woes of Medical Device Manufactures all the way back in 2011. Was anyone paying attention? " SCANDALS, recalls, stingy customers, anxious regulators—any one of these would traumatize a chief executive. America's industry for medical devices is suffering from all of them. Omar Ishrak, the new boss of Medtronic, the world's biggest medical-technology company, recently described the problem succinctly to analysts: “There is a lot of work ahead of us.”

2014 marks an important transition: For many hospitals, penalties will be assessed in fiscal year 2015 for failing to meet federal meaningful-use criteria by the end of fiscal year 2014.

Small and stand-alone nonprofit hospitals are facing mounting pressure from weak operating margins and lower patient volumes, with more signals of stress on the way, according a report released Wednesday from Standard & Poor's Rating Services. The rating agency warned the healthcare sector was at "a tipping point where negative forces have started to outweigh many providers' ability to implement sufficient countermeasures."

Four vendors of MRI systems dominate the healthcare market: GE, Philips, Siemens, and Toshiba.