Despite increased prevention efforts and longer lifespans, heart failure rates are at a high in the United Kingdom and are continuing to climb, according to new research published in The Lancet.

While platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give people the ability to connect with anyone in the world, the American Medical Association (AMA) has announced the adoption of new policies outlining the negative health effects of social media.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first digital pill with an ingestion tracking system to tell physicians whether patients have taken their medication.

The All of Us Research Program, established by the White House in 2015, has selected Fitbit as the wearable that will be used to collect data that will be used in subsequent research on preventing diseases based on individual characteristics.  

The Joint Commission has announced it will not move forward in implementing any of its proposed changes to accreditation standards.

Don Rucker, MD, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) said his agency has been focused on improving usability and interoperability of electronic health records, adding that while blockchain technology may provide some interesting capabilities but it’s too soon to issue regulations on it.

A study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth includes a list of five recommendations for improving mHealth utilization for adolescents with chronic conditions. The researched aimed at improving disease self-management in adolescents by utilizing mHealth technology for real-time care.

While clinicians may be confused or frustrated with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), professionals in health information management should see it as “nothing but positive” and embrace it, according to Bonnie Cassidy, MPA, principal of advisory services at nThrive and former president and chair of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).