Clinton focuses on healthcare tech

The 2008 presidential election has given a significant boost to awareness of healthcare and associated technologies, largely due to Hillary Clinton's decision to run, states CBR.

Regardless of whether she wins the Democratic Party's nomination, Clinton has placed healthcare at the top of her domestic agenda, and therefore her challengers have had to make it a priority for their campaigns as well.

Had she not entered the race, healthcare would not be the highly publicised issue that it has become.

The $2 trillion ecosystem of hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers will spend tens of billions of dollars over the next five years on telecommunications services, according to PR Inside.

Rising healthcare industry costs and a shortage of skilled staff have created a lucrative opportunity for technology and service providers, as hospitals and other front-line healthcare providers look to adopt new technology to lower their operating costs.

Wireless LANs, VOIP deployments, the RFID tagging of patients and hospital assets, as well as extending care to remote patients via telemedicine applications, all promise to lower healthcare delivery costs.

First Choice Professionals (FCP) has hired Mark Scherling as programme management office and Siemens practice director, according to PR Newswire.

Scherling brings 13 years of healthcare IT thought leadership experience to FCP.

Prior to joining FCP, Scherling was responsible for the management of systems support at Catholic Healthcare West.