More than 1.4 million enrollees have signed up to use the Kaiser's HealthConnect online service since September 2005. Since that time, the use of e-mail linked to EHR reduced the number of annual PCP outpatient visits by 7 to 10 percent. And compared to those that didn't use the service, enrollees made 14 percent fewer phone contacts.

Full Article from BizJournals.com

A study sponsored by Cisco reports that 62% of consumers use online health tools, and 56% think overall that personal technology has improved their health management. Yet only 27% of these same consumers feel that their physician has fully embraced the Internet.

Full Article from CancerConsultants.com

In a recent speech, Google VP Adam Bosworth sketched out an plan to create a comprehensive system that both centralizes all of a patient's health and medical information, and provides a meeting place for caregivers, patients, and treatment teams to share and analyze information. This is an ambitious vision that is not exactly a new idea; however, one should not underestimate Google's influence and initiative to get the ball rolling. The company will face scores of challenges including consumer privacy concerns, state and federal regulations, as well as competitive upstarts that have already invested money and research time in the idea. But the fact that Google is taking this on is an indication of the company's commitment to digital healthcare and its importance as the future gatekeeper of all health information.

Article from Google

An increasing number of patients are writing blogs to detail their own experiences, update family and friends on their condition, and to communicate with other patients.

Full Article from San Francisco Chronicle

Manhattan Research has released a new survey on physicians in Europe. Online trends confirm that daily internet usage by European physicians is up to 84%. Additional statistics show that most sites visited by these physicians are pharmaceutical web sites, including those of Pfizer, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and Lilly.

Full Article from MRWeb.com

Hospitals are now trying to make everything from scheduling appointments to getting blood test results even simpler through the use of the internet.

Full Article from Post-Gazette.com

New study conducted by Wall Street Journal shows vast majorities of U.S. adults are in favour of having their doctors adopt new technologies in their practices.

Full Article from M.T.B.Europe

With E-Prescribing, patients can spend more time getting better and less time getting frustrated by long waits for medication.

Full Article from HealthLeaders.com (login required)

Doctors may begin to rely even more heavily on personal digital assistance in the future, due to their ability to provide easy access to patient data and the latest information on treatment.

Full Article from Yahoo! News

Last Monday, Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield announced a one year extension for a pilot program that would enable Doctors to write out electronic prescriptions.

Full Article from BizJournals.com

According to Ipsos PharmaTrends, consumers who research health information online are more likely to buy drugs to treat insomnia, allergies, and even depression.

Full Article from EyeForPharma.com

Many consumers who investigate the web for information on their own medical symptoms are now comparison shopping services provided by doctors and hosiptals.

Full Article from Healthleaders.com (login required)

Hospitals in South Florida can now provide doctors with new access to patient's test results through the internet and the use of a new system called Genus MD.

Full Article from Bizjournals.com

Patients at Como Avenue clinic St. Paul, MN will be able to communicate with their doctors and access their medical records and test results online in May.

Full Article from bizjournals.com

For patients, email is a great way to avoid the telephone, but for physicians without major resources it may be a little too time consuming.

Full Article from Chicago Tribune

Pilot programs aim to find out whether insurers can lower costs by paying doctors incentives to keep closer tabs on their patients through a special Web site and frequent e-mails.

Full Article from Tennessean.com

Patients still exhibit high interest in online communications with physicians, but also share concerns regarding price and privacy.

Full Article from Harris Interactive

The large amount of medical information available on the Internet leads to patient misinformation. Over 4,000 physicians in Florida are joining together to participate in a national pilot project called "Information Rx" that will help to cure misinformation and provide patients with reputable Websites.

Full Article from the St. Petersburg Times

Patients in Minnesota will soon be able to do e-visits with their physicians and access their medical records online, all covered by insurance.

Full Article from Star Tribune

Patients show positive response towards the idea of accessing e health records (EHR) and using web messaging with health care providers.

Full Article

According to a survey by MD Net Guide, 80% of physicians refer their patients to online medical information some of the time, while 14% say they refer patients to online information all of the time.

Article

Virtual office visits enable physician moms the ability to handle a career and childcare simultaneously.

Full Article

Early results from e-consults between physicians and patients have been promising. Benefits overhead cost reduction, decrease in number of office and emergency room visits, and decrease in insurance premiums. Patients can get information and second opinions without leaving the comfort of their home.

Full Article

Cerner Corp. is spending $25 million to connect all children with Type I diabetes to their physicians for free through the use of electronic records.

Full Article

Blue Cross and Blue Shield will now pay primary care doctors to answer patient questions through email. This practice saves money and time for the patient, and it also is said to improve the patient-physician relationship. Concerns? Getting doctors to participate, and the possibility of email privacy issues.

Full Article

E-prescribing has yet to take hold, despite the high hopes that existed during the Internet boom. Of course, digitizing the billions of yearly prescriptions has always been an attractive proposition, but in 2004 only a small segment of physicians have adopted the technology. This article discusses what it will take to get this stalled market moving again, including aligning the economic interests of the many stakeholders involved and removing the various barriers that are hindering adoption. Read the full article here.

Beginning in August, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts will start paying primary care physicians for ''Web visits" with their patients. The insurer will be expanding its pilot program that pays doctors to respond to patient emails. The idea is that Web visits will save doctors' time and prevent frustrating waits for patients with quick questions and/or minor ailments. Doctor's will receive $24 for a Web visit -- $19 from the insurer plus a $5 patient copayment. Patients, however, seem more excited about the new program than doctors. Read more here.

The number of electronically integrated physicians has grown by 48,000 in 2004, according to Manhattan Research's annual study of practicing U.S. physicians. The study finds several key trends emerging in 2004:

Read the press release.

Manhattan Research recently identified five critical trends driving the future of the ehealth market in 2004:

1. Market of ehealth consumers diversifies -- organizations will need to properly analyze and target the various subsegments
2. Internet a primary health info channel for > 80 million consumers -- online consumers are just as likely to use the Internet as they are their physician in 2004
3. Recall of drug ads flattens, but role of Internet expands -- a growing number of consumers are going directly to the product website after seeing an ad
4. Growth of "connected consumer" segment loses steam -- the link between patient, provider and payee will remain spotty, but stronger link between consumers and their health plans
5. eHealth moves beyond e-patient to e-caregiver -- understanding the impact of those beyond the patient is extremely relevant

While enabling patients to schedule their own appointments has proven its cost cutting potential for a number of practices, many physicians are still hesitant to purchase such software.

Reasons include:
-Physician Privacy
-Difficulty with properly customizing scheduling systems
-Lack of confidence in patients to schedule themselves properly
-Intergration between scheduling software and other office systems

Due to these obstacles, the future of self-scheduling software is still in doubt despite significant cost savings.