February 2010

FCC will not reconsider new time limits on cell-tower sitings

The Federal Communications Commission has denied a request to modify deadlines for new wireless infrastructure applications the Commission imposed on local governments last fall. However, another challenge to the FCC order still awaits a decision.

The new deadlines require local land-use authorities to rule on new tower applications within 150 days and co-locations within 90 days. On Jan. 29, the FCC denied a motion for reconsideration filed by the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American Planning Association and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Specifically, the association's motion addressed a 30-day deadline for local governments to determine if a cell-tower application is complete before the clock starts ticking on the review process.

The next challenge to the new rules comes from Arlington, Texas, which has appealed the entire ruling in federal court.

Internet role in consumer healthcare reigns supreme

The Internet has considerably more influence over consumer health decisions and actions than traditional channels like print, TV and radio, according to a new report from Manhattan Research.

The report points out that though the Internet's role in healthcare has soared over the past decade, healthcare professionals still have the strongest effect on consumer health behavior. "With all the changes in media and healthcare, we think it's critical for marketers to take a step back and check their assumptions around the relative influence of various health sources on consumer behavior," said Monique Levy, senior director of research at Manhattan Research and lead author of the report. "We found many interesting results that can help marketers better align their marketing strategies in 2010. For example, despite the buzz around social media, editorial health content still has significantly more influence over consumer health actions than various forms of social media."

Health IT educators must also make the grade

In rolling out its plan to help healthcare providers go digital, the federal government wants to make sure everyone has skin in the game. That's why there are penalties for those who decline the incentives offered under the plan to adopt health IT. It turns out the principle will also extend to the regional extension centers called for in the $20 billion-plus project, a network of education and training organizations designed to help providers through the growing pains of health IT adoption. If the centers don't deliver on training goals they agree to meet for physicians and practices, the organization may not continue to receive funds, said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, senior advisor at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and its point man on the extension center project.

Patients say docs going digital

About 48 percent of patients in a recent survey said their doctor was using an electronic health record during their most recent visit to their physician. A little more than 30 percent of survey respondents said their doctor was still using paper charts and notes in a folder and 11.8 percent did not know or remember. The report, which was conducted by GfK Roper, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, for San Francisco EHR provider Practice Fusion, surveyed 1,000 adults nationwide. According to survey results higher income patients saw greater electronic health record use by their physicians (52.9 percent of respondents with incomes over $50,000 a year compared to 45.2 percent for those with incomes under $20,000 a year). The survey also found that more women (52.8 percent) than men (43.7 percent) reported EHR use by their doctors.

Medicines not working? There's an app for that

Drugmakers are starting to get into bed with information technology companies as they struggle to prove the value of their medicines to governments and insurers. By using smart gadgets to monitor patients in real time, pharmaceutical companies believe they can improve clinical outcomes and establish the cost-effectiveness of treatments. The result, according to a report on Thursday from Ernst & Young, will be a host of new collaborations between pharmaceutical companies and businesses in non-traditional areas such as computing, telecoms and even retail.

Chicago Tribune sued for patent infringement over feature in job listings

A Virginia advertising company has sued the Chicago Tribune, claiming that a feature of the newspaper's new job listings service infringes on a patent it has held for nearly a decade.

Internet Media Corp filed its complaint Tuesday in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. At issue is the Chicago Tribune's CareerBuilder QuickFind service, which launched on Jan. 22. QuickFind links detailed, online job listings to a shortened numeric code that is published in the Chicago Tribune's jobs listings. Internet Media Corp. claims Tribune's QuickFind copies its JumpCode product, which allows companies to substitute a short numeric code for a lengthy URL.

Gay TV Now: Lesbian Portrayals

Over the past decade, gay characters have become almost "de rigeur" on television, whether serving as comic foils or dramatic catalysts. Lesbian characters, meanwhile, have been less visible.

Minority Media Council Donates Funds to Howard University

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council has donated $175,000 to Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communications. The money will be used for various initiatives, including planning for the construction of a new facility and updating technology and equipment.

Slight dip in Google's January search market share

Google actually lost a slight amount of search share during January, according to ComScore, although no one appears too worried. Google's dominant share of the search market slipped by 0.3 percentage points to 65.4 percent of all searches conducted in the U.S., according to ComScore data released Thursday. Microsoft's Bing was the beneficiary again, increasing its share by 0.6 percentage points to 11.3 percent of all searches. Since it was introduced in May, Bing's share of the search market has improved from 8.4 percent in June to 11.3 percent. Yahoo continues to struggle, losing another 0.3 percentage points to drop to 17 percent of all searches. The company is currently unraveling itself from toolbar and PC desktop search deals that it considers unprofitable sources of traffic, it said at a search event Wednesday.

Smart grid or green grid?

[Commentary] Today, there is a lot of discussion as to exactly what a "smart grid" is. We would like to think of the smart grid as a collection of equipment that allows for the operation of an electrical utility grid in a more economical and functional manner while also allowing for the rapid restoration of power to customers during abnormal or emergency conditions. The "green grid" is a logical side effect of the more efficient operation of the grid, resource generation and load control.

Benton

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