VentureHealth, a San Jose, Calif.-based online healthcare investment platform geared to accredited investors, launched a new model for equity crowdfunding for innovations that significantly improve clinical outcomes, according to a May 17 announcement.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) named the winning health apps of the Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge on May 20. Women of color are disproportionately affected by breast and gynecologic cancers and the challenge is “a first-of-its-kind effort” to address these health disparities, according to the HHS press announcement.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is betting that well-designed mobile apps that present digestible and actionable data can inspire consumers to take charge of their health.

With the World Health Organization May 2015 release of ICD-11 set to take place eight months after the U.S. compliance date for ICD-10, the question arose whether moving from ICD-9 to ICD-11 makes sense. American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees weighed in on the matter in a recent report, strongly recommending against skipping ICD-10.  

DUBLIN--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pdf6jj/opportunity_areas) has announced the addition of the "Opportunity areas in primary healthcare in England: Primary care trust and clinical commissioning group plans for investment in 2012 and beyond" report to their offering.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has done little to prevent unsafe prescribing patterns for patients on Medicaid Part D, and to reduce questionable prescribing practices, according to an analysis by ProPublica, an independent newsroom that performs investigative journalism in the public interest.

Patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) received a boost when the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) announced on May 15 its plans to award up to $81 million to this cause.

Interoperability seems to be on many minds and covers a wide range of activities from organizations working to improve patient engagement to federal efforts to establish health information exchange (HIE) governance.