MASSDEVICE ON CALL — New insurance marketplace exchanges are a major policy platform of the Affordable Care Act, but some experts fear technical difficulties as the deadline rapidly approaches this October, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The tech experts building the government exchange websites warned customer to expect glitches when the system first goes live, the newspaper said.

The exchange program saw more bad news after the CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield said the high price of cost-sharing plans will deter too many healthy people from buying into the exchange, according to CQ HealthBeat.

The Obama administration is under pressure to ensure the online exchange marketplace goes smoothly, as providing universal coverage for the exchange was the key selling point of the Affordable Care Act.

 At small hospitals, pneumonia and ventilators go hand in hand

A recent study shows that despite the less-frequent use of ventilators at small hospitals, the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia is much higher at these community hospitals than their larger counterparts. Community hospitals (less than 30,000 patient-days/year) are usually used for shorter-term care.

"Although it is unclear why small community hospitals experience more cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia, it may be related to limited familiarity with ventilator use and fewer specialty healthcare workers such as respiratory therapists," said Dr. Deverick Anderson, the study’s primary author.
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 IMRIS patented a new surgical robot

IMRIS now holds a U.S. patent for its Symbis surgical robot that combines MR imaging and and a surgeon-directed mechanical arm during neurosurgery.
This is the company’s 5th patent for its robot technology for sophisticated brain surgery, still being developed behind closed doors.
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 Fewer regional heart specialists equals greater risk of cardiac death

In regions with fewer cardiologists, patients who develop heart problems have a higher risk of death within 30 days than patients with the same profile in other parts of the country, according to a new analysis published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

The PI of the study, Dr. Harlan Krumholz, said "Our challenge now is to determine how we can improve the outcomes of regions with a low density of cardiologists, perhaps by better leveraging technology and testing strategies to extend the reach of the cardiologists they have," in a interview with heartwire (free subscription).
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 New genomic analysis reveals genetic links in aggressive prostate cancers

A new take on genetic sequencing methods sheds light on the shared genetic origins of aggressive prostate cancers. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are calling this the "next generation sequencing" method over the traditional method, called the Gleason
pattern. Using the new method in conjunction with the Gleason method allowed scientists to look at genetics alongside diagnosis. The discovery that aggressive prostate cancers share similar genetic origins might help predict the disease progression.
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