April 11, 2014 — Medtronic announced CE mark and European launch of the Evera MRI SureScan implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) system, the first and only ICD system approved for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans positioned on any region of the body. The Medtronic Evera MRI ICD is not approved in the United States.

April 10, 2014 — Stephen Wiley of Terrell, Texas, is the first known patient to be treated for vocal cord cancer with the CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system from Accuray, announced officials from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Provider directories and trust mechanisms for the push and query retrieve models of healthcare information exchange (HIE) are being constructed at a national level. HIEs are piloting exchange, but data flow is limited. No matter what governance and operational characteristics are selected within various regions — either full electronic health record (EHR) or a secure direct messaging system for disaster recovery — the value of HIE to patients, physicians and payers must be quantifiably demonstrated. In other words, HIE will need to develop a business model where sustainability is paramount and moves beyond generating revenue for the vendors who today control the allocation of resources.

According to the World Health Organization, the United States spent 17.9 percent of its total gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare in 2011.1 This was up from 16.6 percent in 2008, and represented the highest percentage in the world.1,2 Although this increase accounts for the development and execution of many advanced technologies and treatments, health policy makers found the escalation to be unsustainable. The Obama Administration’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) — frequently referred to as the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” — has posed strategies to cut back on healthcare costs, while also providing coverage to uninsured Americans, effective Jan. 1, 2014.