IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The retailer plans to bring its low-cost, high-volume mentality to the healthcare industry by offering a deal that includes hardware, software, installation, maintenance and training to convert a doctor's office from using paper to digital medical records.

Last week, Westborough-based eClinicalWorks divulged that it plans to roll out a low-cost, rapidly deployed, on-demand electronic health record software subscription offering this spring. For marketing muscle, it will partner with Wal-Mart, and the system will be bundled with hardware from Dell Inc. EClinicalWorks will provide training, software maintenance, services, and upgrades for about $25,000 in upfront costs to physicians, said eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Navani. That’s about half of a typical installation, he said.

The information kiosk, located to the left of the treasurer's office windows, allows residents to get total access to their accounts with the city.

Treasurer Francis King mailed a notice with tax bills two weeks ago to tell people about the new initiative, one of the first e-government services offered by the county.

That's according to California software company Accela Inc., which has bestowed the honor on the Western Maryland jurisdiction for its work launching a wireless platform giving county planning officials access to permits and inspections information.

Not that most people want to do that, but county Treasurer Francis King on Friday unveiled a new feature to the county's Web site that allows property owners to pay their real estate tax bills online, at their convenience.

The county becomes just the second in the state to make such a service available.

The two-day event, dubbed "Broadband in Washington Libraries," is being hosted by the Washington State Library and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It will be held at Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway Plaza, in Tacoma.

Two of the health care providers involved in the project have teamed up with Microsoft HealthVault, and the other is partnered with Google Health.

Although e-health records are in use in all three communities, many patients have little access to those records and must aggregate their own records if they receive care from more than one or two providers. “It is difficult for patients or medical personnel to easily see the entirety of a patient’s medical information; clearly this is needed to provide the best care,” the health care authority’s administrator, Steve Hill, said in a statement.

Facing a $4.6 billion budget deficit, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced jointly with the Transforming Washington’s Budget committee on Tuesday, Dec. 14, a proposal that would consolidate the state’s 21 agencies into nine, at a projected $30 million savings and a reduction of at least 125 jobs.

The plan would bring changes to the Department of Information Services, the state’s technology agency. Part of the department would be recombined into the newly formed Department of Enterprise Services. According to the governor’s office, this new department would perform back-office functions like printing and financials that today are performed in each agency. The Department of Information Services would continue to oversee the state’s “computing services, telecommunications, and network administration and security services.”

Dr. Neal Sikka, an emergency room physician at George Washington University Medical Center, recalls an eye-opening incident that happened while he was away at a medical conference.

"My son fell and scraped his knee. My wife called, and I told her to take a picture and send it to me. She took a picture with her cell phone," said Sikka. "I looked at it, and told her how to clean it and take care of it."

"I just gave [Sikka] a ring," Vishal Giare said, "and got initial input on how serious it might be."

Sikka, an emergency physician at George Washington University (GWU), looked at the photos and recommended a trip to the hospital.

What if my blood sugar's too high today? Is it time for my blood-pressure pill? Researchers are trying to harness the power of cell phones to help fight chronic diseases with nagging text messages or more-customized two-way interactions.

"I call it medical minutes," said Dr. Richard Katz of George Washington University Hospital in the nation's capital.

He's testing whether inner-city diabetics, an especially difficult-to-treat population, might better control their blood sugar - thus saving Medicaid money - by tracking their disease using Internet-ready cell phones, which are provided with reduced monthly rates as long as the patients regularly comply.

A City Council subcommittee met last week to discuss the idea, which was initiated by Council member Bruce Harrell. The City Council asked the city's Department of Information Technology to further study the body-mounted cameras.

If Seattle moves forward with the project, it would become one of the first municipalities in the nation to adopt such technology. One example is the San Jose (Calif.) Police Department, which began a small pilot of head-mounted cameras last year. The participating police officers were required to switch the cameras on when they're on duty in the field.

Six Washington area jurisdictions made it onto a list of "top digital" counties, according to a nationwide study.

Counties were credited for using technology in innovative ways to improve service to residents, according to the survey, conducted recently by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.

Ein Hacker auf einer Parkbank könnte sich in dutzende Netzwerke der US-Regierung einloggen, berichtet ein Washington-Korrespondent des australischen Infodienstes AustralianIT. Der Journalist bezieht sich dabei auf einen neuen Report, den er in die Finger bekam. Dem Papier zufolge arbeitet die Regierung auf Basis alter lückenhafter Sicherheitsstandards.