Superstorm Sandy’s effects may linger longer than expected, from a public health perspective. According to a November 8th article on Accuweather.com, Sandy may have long-term impacts on public health.

The article cites Patrick Kinney of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, who states that threats may still emerge – even though the storm is long gone. “This particular storm, I think we’re still learning what the health impacts specifically were,” he states.

Kinney cites patterns similar to previous storms – most initial deaths were from flooding. This was followed by fatalities that occurred due to debris removal, fire, or electrical damage. “From a longer-term perspective, you start looking at things like the effects of the power outage: What does that mean for the spoilage of food? For the contamination of the water supply? You also worry about access to routine medical care,” according to Kinney.

The article also addresses issues such as an inability to access medication in the storm’s aftermath – leading to illness and increased visits to hospital emergency rooms.

Read the complete article here. And check back to read about what we learned by analyzing the community health surveillance data collected by EpiCenter during and after the storm.

According to EMR Daily News, market research company TechNavio prepared a report stating that analysts believe that the EHR Systems market in North America will see an annual growth rate of 7.85% through 2015.

“One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increase in government support,” according to the article.

The findings were presented following an in-depth market analysis with input from industry experts. EMR Daily News states that issues addressed in the report include key market trends, challenges to market growth, key vendors in the market space, and strengths/weaknesses of those key vendors.

Read more at EMR Daily News or download the complete report.