3M unveils $500 Bluetooth-enabled stethoscope: The conglomerate unveiled the Littmann 3200 stethoscope with a built-in Bluetooth radio that aims to better enable physicians to detect heart murmurs and other afflictions. 
Study: mHealth reduces length, frequency of hospitalizations: A study in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that mobile phone-based telemonitoring of patients with chronic heart failure can reduce the frequency and duration of heart failure hospitalizations.
Is direct reimbursement the key to remote patient monitoring? The market for remote patient monitoring is set to achieve double-digit growth in North America, according to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan, so long as successful payment strategies are implemented. Last year the remote patient monitoring market made more than $98.2 million, but the market could top $428.6 million by 2015. Frost points to direct reimbursement as one type of payment strategy that needs to mature for the market to grow at this rate.
FTC: PHR firms must notify users of data breaches: While it has yet to rule on whether personal health records should be covered under HIPAA, the Federal Trade Commission voted 4-0 to approve a rule requiring certain “Web-based businesses” to alert consumers of a security breach of their electronic health information.
Brian Dolan is editor of mobihealthnews, the emerging wireless health industry’s daily monitor.
