Despite significant governmental action, health IT adoption, information utilization and connectivity gaps remain that must be filled to accelerate the benefits of broadband-enabled systems, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which released its National Broadband Plan last week.

In less than a week, the U.S. House and Senate reconcile and passed healthcare reform legislation. Obama signed the first part of the legislation. Seven minutes later, by some accounts, more than a dozen state AGs filed suit to stop it. Then, the Senate parliamentarian agreed to a couple of Republican challenges that sent the law back to the House for a re-vote. It was re-approved in both housesand the rancor continues.

Pie Medical Imaging has released the new version of its quantitative MR Flow analysis software.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will give a total of $6.6 million in federal matching funds to six states' Medicaid programs for planning activities necessary to implement the EHR incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Diagnostic device company Midmark has completed the integration of its Midmark IQstress system with health IT company eClinicalWorks.

A Worcester Polytechnic Institute research team has received a four-year, $1.4 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue a study of arterial plaque, which is seeking to predict the likelihood of plaque rupture.

Remote health management is the fastest growing segment of the home health management market and promises to improve health and cut healthcare costs, according to a report from management consulting firm Scientia Advisors. However, the market will only reach its full potential if health insurers adopt reimbursement policies encouraging greater physician adoption, the report noted.

Abbott has completed its $123 million acquisition of StarLIMS Technologies, a provider of laboratory information management systems.