Chennai, October 20 (ANI/Business Wire India): HOV Services (HOVS), one of the largest providers of business process and knowledge process outsourcing solutions, today announced the details of its medical records capture and conversion services that are expressly designed for physicians groups.

Among its other practice areas, HOVS offers a suite of integrated Business Process Outsourcing solutions to manage the entire revenue cycle for healthcare providers and the end-to-end claims administration, adjudication and presentment process for healthcare payers.

According to a U.S. government survey released in 2006, less than a quarter of physicians nationwide had reported using any kind of electronic medical record. The migration to an electronic medical record is well underway, being driven by government pressure and the need to securely safeguard patient privacy. Yet the issue of converting existing paper-based records to electronic format as part of an electronic medical records implementation typically remains overlooked.

Ed Katz, SVP of Marketing at HOV Services and an EHR subject matter expert said, "Physicians are constantly getting requests to share files with other healthcare providers, such as hospitals, laboratories and specialists as well as insurance companies, so their need for electronic files is indisputable. The problem is that even the most forward-thinking physicians groups preparing to adopt an EHR haven't considered how they'll convert their existing files. Rather than for physicians groups to divert patient-facing resources to scanning paper files, many are turning to HOV Services as an integral part of their EHR migration plans."

Iowa Health Physicians, a group of approximately 300 physicians and allied providers serving patients across Iowa and western Illinois, wanted to migrate from paper to electronic records. HOV Services developed a solution for the clinics that converted active paper charts - averaging 3,000 active charts daily - into Touchworks EHR records within 24 hours. Several of the clinics within the group are also taking advantage of storing all inactive charts in HOVS' document storage facility. Charts are pulled, scanned and loaded into the EHR system within 24 hours of being defined as inactive, yet remain available when necessary.

Pure Clinical decisions improve when electronic health records are used, including the avoidance of medication errors and improved preventative care. Having the history within the EHR enhances this outcome. Additionally, insurers and hospitals save money as a result of less paper handling and administration expenses when receiving electronic medical records from doctors' offices.

Ironically, the burden to implement electronic medical records falls mainly on the doctors. Whereas, large physicians groups have more readily moved to electronic medical records systems, smaller practices (fewer than 50 physicians) are still considering the move.

"Our relationship with HOV Services has been vital to the success of our transition from paper medical records to electronic medical records. HOV Services' management and staff have been engaged in the project and continue to focus on improving the scanning process. I feel HOVS is a true partner in our electronic medical record project" said Gina Ross, Director of Project or Risk Management Iowa Health Physicians (ANI)

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Washington, Oct 20 (ANI): Educational literature, not increased fears of skin cancer, can change young women's use of indoor tanning, as it will promote healthier alternatives for changing appearance, according to a new research.

Led by Dr. Joel Hillhouse of the School of Public Health at East Tennessee State University, the researchers designed a large, randomized, controlled study on an educational-based intervention meant to reduce indoor tanning, which is related to an increased risk of melanoma in young women. The study was conducted on almost 430 female university students aged 17 to 21 years, 200 of whom received a booklet on the effects of indoor tanning.

The booklet focused on the appearance damaging effects of tanning, and also detailed information on the history of tanning and tanning norms in society. It also mentioned the effects of ultraviolet radiation, specifically related to indoor tanning on the skin's appearance.

Offering guidelines emphasizing tanning abstinence, the booklet recommended healthier alternatives to improve appearance including exercise, choosing fashion that does not require a complimentary tan and sunless tanning products.

The researchers analysed all the subjects at the start of the study to determine their tanning practices over the previous year. After six months of distributing the booklets, the subjects were asked questions related to recent indoor tanning frequency and their intentions to tan indoors in the future.

The survey also studied attitudes toward indoor tanning, alternatives to indoor tanning, and beliefs about indoor tanning (e.g. whether it was relaxing or reduced stress). The test also assessed participants' thoughts on tanning's negative effects on physical appearance and risk of developing skin cancer.)

It was found that indoor tanning was reduced by approximately 35 percent in women who received the booklets compared with women who received no intervention. Similar changes were noted for future intentions to tan.

The intervention also reduced positive attitudes toward indoor tanning and improved attitudes toward using sunless tanning and fashion to enhance appearance.

But, there was no effect on participants' perceptions on susceptibility to skin damage or skin cancer from indoor tanning.

The study revealed that "a simple message delivery method, a booklet, was able to achieve clinically significant reductions in ultraviolet exposure behavior," wrote the authors.

They concluded that their clinical trial "supports the use of... intervention messages to change young people's ultraviolet risky behaviors and ultimately reduce skin cancer morbidity and mortality."

The study is published in the upcoming issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. (ANI)

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London, Oct 20 (ANI): Residing in a well-off neighbourhood may add almost 14 years to your life, according to an 'atlas of death'.

Titled 'The Grim Reaper's Road Map', the report found that the average age of death varied between 66 years in the Easterhouse area of Glasgow and 80 in Eastbourne, Sussex. Produced by the Universities of Bristol and Sheffield, the study examined the geographical patterns of mortality rates around the UK, by compiling data on nearly 15 million deaths from 1981 to 2004, which was then mapped based on the age, location and cause.

For their research, the team divided the UK into more than 1,000 neighbourhoods, each approximately the size of half a parliamentary constituency.

The maps display a person's chance of dying from a particular cause in a particular place, as compared to the national average for that cause of death.

According to Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Sheffield University and one of the report's authors, the maps showed sharp regional differences.

On the whole, the average age of death was found to be 74.4 - 71.2 for men and 77.4 for women.

However, when it came to the most affluent areas such as Eastbourne, it was found that 42 per cent of people were over 80 when they died. On the other hand, almost 25 percent people died before 60 in the poorest areas, such as Easterhouse.

More than 25 percent of deaths were caused owing to heart disease over the 25-year period.

A visible north-south divide was seen in the mortality rates for the disease, with almost all neighbourhoods with the highest rates being found in the north of England and west of Scotland, particularly around Glasgow. One more north-south split was found for lung cancer, with clusters found in Liverpool, Manchester, Tyneside and central London.

Poverty and social mobility were key factors that led to the regional variation in death rates, according to Dorling who said the variation had become more pronounced over time.

"This is not just about poverty. Poverty is part of it, but it's also about people moving around the country to improve their health and wealth," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

He added: "Part of the reason east Glasgow has such poor health is that it has one of the highest rates of out-migration. People who are able to do so, move out of the area to more affluent areas." (ANI)

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Melbourne, October 20 (ANI): Australian doctors have found out the reason why a 41-year-old woman had to spend four decades puzzled by a pungent body odour "resembling rotting fish" - an incurable genetic condition called trimethylaminuria.

Also known as fish malodour syndrome, this condition affects the smell of sweat, breath, and urine.

"The characteristic body odour resembling rotting fish can be intermittent, variable and influenced by diet, hormones and medications," News.com.qu quoted her doctors as saying in the Medical Journal of Australia.

John Burnett, a professor at the school of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Western Australia, revealed that the unpleasant smell was first observed when the woman was just seven.

The professor said that it was very difficult to diagnose her condition at the time.

"After experiencing ridicule, distress, shame, anxiety and low self esteem during her school years, she first consulted a doctor about the problem at the age of 17, then again two years later, followed by a further four doctors over the next 20 years," Prof. Burnett said.

A microbiologist has eventually diagnosed the woman with a genetic mutation that triggers excess excretion of trimethylamine, a compound found in fish.

"Now having a name for her condition she found an internet-based support foundation and referred herself for genetic counselling," Prof. Burnett said.

He recommended that all doctors better recognize such rare conditions that, though benign, may have severe psychological effects.

"Affected individuals experience shame and embarrassment, fail to maintain relationships, avoid contact with people who comment on their condition and are obsessive about masking the odour with hygiene products and even smoking," he said. (ANI)

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