In the healthcare IT industry, two of the driving goals that are often at odds with one another are controlling costs and improving the quality of medical treatment.  Telemedicine is one of the practical concepts that truly has the ability to do both at once.  Despite being called telemedicine, this group of technologies is used in hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities, just as much if not more that in a home care or remote setting.

Currently, telemedicine focuses largely on remote patient monitoring, but it also includes the use of videoconferencing for medical purposes as well.

From the rise of digitized health records to the increasing trend toward patient tele-monitoring, it is clear that a healthcare technology revolution has taken place in nearly every stage of the healthcare system.

Healthcare organizations have long been searching for ways that healthcare technology can help them innovate and provide better outcomes.  A particular challenge is the paper patient files that doctors and hospital staffs create, which no longer comply with trends in the healthcare IT market.

The key to transforming healthcare organizations from paper-based to paper-less is Electronic Medical Records, EMR.  

If you are involved in the healthcare IT market, you might be familiar with the term eHealth, meaning digital medical records and systems. Are you and your company ready for mHealth?  In brief, mHealth refers to mobile health, the practice of medical health aided by mobile devices.  It is part of the expanding universe of the healthcare IT market and eHealth systems and applications, and is gaining traction in developing nations and in Western countries including the United States.  By one estimate, the market for mobile healthcare applications will be worth $26 billion by 2017.

A few years ago, upon entering a hospital emergency room, you would likely be asked about your symptoms by a triage nurse holding a clipboard.  Today, it's just as common for the nurse to wield an iPad and add notes from your conversation that can later be accessed by several members of the hospital staff. This upgrade in healthcare technology saves the emergency room physician from undertaking a second detailed work-up on your condition. 

My name is Jeff Miller and I'm a Research Specialist at MarketResearch.com. Like most cat owners my wife and I have the most awesome cat you'll ever meet. Thirteen years ago my wife peered into a box full of crying kittens and was instantly smitten with this tiny ball of grey and white furr.

Immediately the name came to her: "Grey!" And thus she was named.

For the last 13 years we've been very lucky to have our little companion. A true friend. She's been with us through life's ups and downs and has never asked for anything in return other than fresh food, water and a little lap time.

Then something happened.

Over the course of a few months Grey began to change. It was subtle at first; a little more needy, a little less hungry. But then the changes became more dramatic until we realized that our happy-go-lucky kitty, who charmed everyone she met, was slowly changing into this hyperactive mess who couldn't hold down her meals.

We've all seen the pet owners who enjoy bringing their BFLF (Best Four-legged Friend) along to the local pet retailers' during Saturday morning errands. These dedicated 'pet parents' are spurring a big increase in the finely targeted displays at your local pet store. Pet stores are overflowing with information about the ingredients and safety benefits of the pet care products on the shelves. 

At first, we thought the hardest part was convincing our Mom that she shouldn't drive any more.

But two years after getting Mom to relinquish the car keys, my two older siblings and I are learning that taking care of an aging parent has many, many 'hard parts.'  Moreover, we've learned that the American healthcare system isn't terribly helpful to adult children of modest means who want to provide a safe, clean, engaging living arrangement for aging parents of limited means.

You wouldn't know it from what you "read in the news" lately, but for the past several years the food and beverage industry has been making efforts to meet rising consumer demand for healthy food that fosters health and wellness.

Last September, the world's biggest fast food company, McDonald's, announced a plan to begin listing calorie counts for all menu items in its thousands of North American restaurants.  The move was in response to growing concerns from consumer advocates, public health officials and doctors about the on-going obesity epidemic in the United States.