The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has formed a new working group to focus on gaps in existing standards of bioabsorbable vascular implants such as coronary stents.

The AAMI working group will complement activities of a proposed working group by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on bioabsorbable vascular implants by reviewing and examining any standards created by ISO and possibly initiating the U.S. adoption of any ISO documents.

One important gap that will be examined focuses on the erosion of metallic and polymer-based stents, according to Peter Albrecht, director of research and development at Boston Scientific and managing director of the device manufacturer’s European R&D location. "The iron-alloy based technology has the potential for corrosion. You can measure the corrosion of a material in vitro with corrosion test methods, but what we can’t measure yet is the biological effects of the corrosion in the body," said Albrecht, who is a member of the ISO working group. "The biological component is part of the absorption process, but it is not yet fully understood nor do we have clear bench tests defined."

Another area that needs further understanding is what happens with the by-products of the corrosion process. The working group will also touch on the mechanical properties of bioabsorbable implants. "Say you have a stent in a coronary artery, and the chronic process of degradation or absorption takes a year or a couple of months," he said. "We don’t have a clear specification of the mechanical properties. How do we measure the mechanical properties during degradation?"

The new working group will be initiated and officially started at the ISO’s international meeting in Orlando, FL, in September. Visit AAMI for more information: www.aami.org/news/2010/070510.press.implants.html

Several recent news articles have highlighted the use of RFID technology for uses ranging from tracking patients and equipment to monitoring compliance with medication regimens. Nearly one-third of respondents believe that widespread use of RFID applications will benefit healthcare organizations in the area of patient safety, which includes items such as positive patient identification. A similar percentage of respondents indicated that the ability to impact patient safety and/or reduce medical errors is the most critical influencer for the use of RFID applications in healthcare organizations. However, in terms of actual utilization, respondents were much more likely to report that RFID technology is used for non-patient items, such as asset/biomedical equipment tracking or inventory management.

The biggest barrier to implementing RFID technology in healthcare organizations is finding the budget for this technology. This was identified by nearly 40 percent of respondents. Another quarter of respondents noted that they need a better ROI analysis before they will make this type of investment. More than half of the respondents noted that they either are somewhat familiar with RFID technology or have expertise which is not supported by an on-site staff member. Only 20 percent report having RFID experts on staff. Visit www.HIMSS.org  for the survey.

A year and a half after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated billions of dollars to help hospitals and doctors purchase equipment to computerize patient medical records, even the most sophisticated hospitals in the country are struggling to qualify for the payments. Eight in 10 hospital chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PWC) said they are concerned or very concerned they will not be able to demonstrate "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHR) within the federally established deadline of 2015, according to a report entitled "Ready or not: On the road to the meaningful use of EHRs and health IT", published by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute (HRI).

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ survey of 120 hospital CIOs who are members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) found:

Only half of the hospitals and health system CIOs surveyed say they will be prepared to meet the first set of meaningful use requirements and apply for incentive bonuses in 2011, the first year they are available.

CIOs interviewed for the report said they also were concerned about meeting later-stage requirements within the specified time frames. These requirements include (1) advancing care processes through decision support; (2) providing and populating patients’ personal health records; and (3) improving health outcomes through data-sharing outside their own organizations, such as with insurers, patients and other providers.

The promise of stimulus funding has accelerated EHR adoption and the collection of massive amounts of electronic health data as hospitals and physicians across the country race to meet eligibility requirements. But the existing infrastructure to support meaningful use of EHRs on a national health information superhighway is insufficient, according to the CIOs interviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

According to PWCs’ report, many hospitals are behind the curve on the path to meaningful use. The biggest barriers include:

Lack of clarity and a final ruling hinder meaningful use implementation. Guidelines for system certification were issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services on June 7, but final guidelines for meaningful use criteria are not expected until fall of 2010, leaving many CIOs and their vendors at an impasse. CIOs surveyed by PWC are most concerned about reporting requirements. Ninety-four percent of CIOs said they are concerned they can’t meet government requirements about how to report meaningful use, and 92% are concerned about remaining lack of clarity in meaningful use criteria.

There is a shortage of professionals in the labor market with the appropriate mix of skills to help integrate information technology usage into clinical, operational and administrative practices. The government predicts a shortfall of about 50,000 qualified health IT workers over the next five years. According to the report, hospitals are scrambling to hire additional staff, including clinicians with IT expertise and business skills.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ CIO survey found distinct patterns of collaboration among hospitals and health systems furthest ahead in achieving meaningful use. The survey found:

Health systems that have connected with physicians, patients and health insurers around meaningful use are more likely to be ready to apply in 2011 for incentives. They are three times more likely to incorporate patient input, 87% more likely to work with health insurers and 63% more likely to assist physicians with regard to meaningful use than are those planning to apply for the first time after 2011.

Health systems that include patients in the planning for EHRs are more confident about meeting meaningful use requirements. Seventy-four percent of CIOs who had involved patients responded that they would be among those applying for stimulus incentives in 2011, compared with 50% of all hospitals and health systems surveyed. Yet, fewer than 20% of CIOs surveyed said their organizations are incorporating patient input into meaningful use initiatives. A full copy of the report is available at www.pwc.com/us/meaningfuluse

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the awarding of $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators. The grants will go to schools to give scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds with financial need, many of whom are underrepresented minorities. Funds will also provide low-interest loans to nurse faculty students – students who want to teach nursing – as incentive for nurses to select careers as nurse educators.

Of these funds, $27 million is part of the $200 million appropriated to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to build the nation’s healthcare workforce. Of the total funding, $66 million will be used to provide scholarships to 28,000 disadvantaged students under the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program.

The funds awarded include: $45.7 million in FY 2010 appropriations for 308 grants to 605 health professions programs at colleges and universities; and $20.5 million in Recovery Act funds for 273 grants to 513 programs at colleges and universities.

Under the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, $30 million is awarded to 165 grantees to support nursing student loans for master and doctoral degree nurses who will then become faculty at nursing schools across the country. In exchange for teaching at a nursing school, students are eligible for an 85 percent loan cancellation during their first four years of employment.

The funds awarded will support the training of 850 nursing students and include: $23.5 million in FY 2010 appropriations for 114 grants; and $6.6 million in Recovery Act funds for 51 grants. Awards made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can be found at www.HHS.gov.

See the lists of awards from HRSA’s 2010 appropriation at www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2010tables/nflpsdsregular.html