Bioengineered Vein Implanted

For the first time, a team of doctors at Duke University Hospital have created a bioengineered blood vessel and transplanted it into the arm of a patient with end-stage kidney disease. This procedure, the first U.S. clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the bioengineered blood vessel is a milestone in the field of tissue engineering.  (more…)

Governor Signs SB 340

The Governor of Alabama signed Senate Bill 340 in June to help people enrolled in Medicaid by helping them to have access to well-managed care. In 2012, the Governor established the Alabama Medicaid Advisory Commission to evaluate the financial stability of Alabama Medicaid. Bill 340 was the result of the Commission’s work.  (more…)

Telehealth Services at the VA

Adam Darkins, Chief Consultant for Telehealth Services at the Veterans Administration discussed the scope of the VA’s telehealth services at the ATA Federal Telemedicine Policy Summit held in June in Washington D.C. Darkins anticipates that the VA’s telehealth services will grow by around 29 percent annually. (more…)

Research Grants Awarded

NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute awarded the first set of grants to fund Genomic Medicine Pilot Demonstration Projects (GMPDP). The first four grants went to Duke University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of Florida, and to the University of Pennsylvania. The four year grants total more than $2.6 million for the first year and if funding remains available, approximately $12.8 million will be available overall. (more…)

Exploring Telemedicine in Toronto

The 2013 ATA Fall Forum to be held September 8-10 at the Sheraton Centre will have many sessions exploring telemedicine as the solution to dealing with readmissions, providing care for chronic illnesses, developing effective payment models, plus sessions will be held on many other vital topics related to telemedicine and mobile healthcare. (more…)