FDA warns that certain cell phones and smart watches can interfere with implanted devices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that cell phones and smart watches that include high field strength magnets can interfere with implanted devices, such as pacemakers, by causing the device to switch into "magnet mode". Normal operation of the device is suspended while in magnet mode. This mode is intended to allow patients with implanted devices to undergo medical procedures, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The device returns to normal function when the high field strength magnet is no longer near the device. While there have been no reported adverse events involving this effect, the FDA recommends that consumer devices with high field strength magnets should be kept more than six inches away from the implanted device. For example, a cell phone should not be kept in a pocket over an implanted pacemaker.

Details

Published: 13 May 2021 13 May 2021

AHRQ announces funding opportunity for AI, digital health and clinical decision support

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced a funding opportunity for research projects that test digital healthcare interventions aimed at improving quality at the point of care. The digital healthcare solutions tested should use advanced analytics; patient-centered clinician and patient facing digital technologies; or clinical decision-making tools. Applications are due June 16, 2021. For the first two-year phase, the project budget may not exceed $275,000. Projects continued into the second three-year phase may have a total project budget not exceeding $750,000.

 

For the research area of interest involving advanced analytics, the AHRQ suggested examples such as projects integrating AI during the provision of healthcare services and assessing AI's impact on practice workflow and quality of care, or projects applying machine learning against large health data sets to improve quality at the point of care. Research involving patient-centered digital healthcare technologies could include projects testing innovative technologies that facilitate information sharing between patients and providers, or the use of novel digital solutions for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Examples of projects focused on clinical decision-making support would be projects evaluating a digital point of care solution combining natural language processing with a decision support tool, or projects testing decision-making tools that incorporate the use of patient-generated data and patient-reported outcomes at the point of care.

Details

Published: 27 April 2021 27 April 2021

• digital health
• AI/ML
• Clinical decision support

ONC announces sites for Sync for Genes Phase 4 project

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced that two demonstration sites have been selected for Sync for Genes Phase 4. The Sync for Genes project supports the National Institute of Health's Precision Medicine Initiative. The goal is to advance standardized sharing of genomic information among laboratories, providers, patients and researchers using the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). The sites selected for Phase 4 are the Utah Newborn Screening Program (NBS) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

 

NBS's project will address technical components of integrating reports on genomic variant data into electronic health records. In Phase 2 of the Sync for Genes project, NBS transmitted raw next-generation sequencing data through the FHIR standard from one test server to another. In Phase 4, NBS will partner with Intermountain Healthcare to transmit genomic variant provider reports to clinical specialists and general practitioners. CHOP's project will focus on streamlining sharing of genomic data for brain tumor patients undergoing treatment at the University of California - San Francisco (UCSF). Currently, genomic data must be custom formatted and exchanged via email. CHOP will structure genomic data through the FHIR standard and transmit it to UCSF, which will then incorporate the data into its clinical and research systems.

Details

Published: 27 April 2021 27 April 2021

• precision medicine
• HL7
• FHIR