Morning Headlines 11/21/13

FDA approves next gen sequencers in watershed for personalized med

The FDA has cleared toe manufacturers of four next generation high-throughput DNA sequencers to market the devices to help identify gene mutations that are linked with cystic fibrosis.

Children’s Oakland completes Phase 1 of $89 million electronic records system

Children’s Hospital & Research Center in Oakland (CA) goes live with its $89 million Epic rollout across its inpatient and oncology/hematology clinics. The remainder of its ambulatory clinics are scheduled to go live in April.

Health dept pleads for PCEHR patience

In Australia, Department of Health secretary Jane Halton is asking for patience as the nations newly elected Prime Minister calls for a review of the nations failing $1 billion patient-controlled EHR portal program. To date, only 11,136 shared health summaries had been uploaded into the system despite being live for more than a year.