News

The booming healthcare market, which is expected to account for nearly one-fifth of U.S. GDP by 2019, is driving a surge of activity from companies looking to mine opportunities for growth, differentiation and jobs, just as a new generation of tech-savvy consumers is creating a new market for digital and interactive health, according to PwC's Health Research Institute.Seventy-six percent of Fortune 50 companies are either in the health industry or have health divisions, according to a recent survey.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced June 8 the Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative - a program designed to spur innovations in health IT. As part of the program's rollout, ONC has awarded nearly $5 million to the Capital Consulting Corporation (CCC) and Health 2.0 LLC, to fund projects supporting innovations in research and encouraging health IT development through open-innovation mechanisms like prizes and challenges.

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) has realized $262 million in net savings during the fourth year of Your Healthcare Plus, a care management program administered by McKesson.

Virtua, the largest comprehensive healthcare system in Southern New Jersey, announced Wednesday it is offering a free online personal health record - one that its founder calls a "hybrid PHR" - to consumers living in the three counties that it serves. Virtua will offer PHRs from Princeton, N.J.-based Zweena for one year to consumers in Gloucester, Camden and Burlington counties in South Jersey.