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Magellana?s Meghan Dierks,;; M.D.,;; to Join FDA Public Workshop Panel on Mobile Health Care Applications

^{Published on 2011-09-12 07:12:14 - Market Wire}
 

WASHINGTON--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Magellan Health Services Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN) announced today that Meghan Dierks, M.D., vice president of clinical informatics, will serve as a panelist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationa™s (FDA) Public Workshop on its Mobile Medical Applications Draft Guidance, taking place in Washington, D.C. on September 12 and 13.

"Just as we have safe guards in place for prescription drugs and medical devices, we need to ensure that these tools are accurate, up-to-date and aligned with accepted medical practices."

According to the FDA, it is seeking input on its oversight and regulatory approach for certain mobile applications specific to medicine or health care that are designed for use on smart phones and other mobile devices. The workshop will provide a forum for public comment from interested stakeholders regarding aspects of its draft guidance document entitled aMobile Medical Applicationsa; how the FDA should approach accessories and mobile medical applications that are accessories to other medical devices; and standalone software that provides clinical decision support.

aAdvances in mobile technology and clinical decision support applications mean that medical professionals have instant access to a variety of tools to help them deliver the highest quality health care, whether in a medical office or in the field,a said Dr. Dierks. aJust as we have safe guards in place for prescription drugs and medical devices, we need to ensure that these tools are accurate, up-to-date and aligned with accepted medical practices.a

Dr. Dierks will speak at a session on clinical decision support software and will moderate a panel discussion on categorizing this type of software. Additional information about the public workshop is available on the FDAa™s [ website ].

Dr. Dierks recently joined Magellan Health Services and is responsible for coordinating and enhancing the informatics skills and capabilities across the enterprise in order to refine Magellana™s management programs to produce improved quality outcomes and more effectively demonstrate their efficacy for customers. She most recently served as assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical Schoola™s Division of Clinical Informatics and held previous roles as the director of clinical systems analysis at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and executive medical director at General Electric, where she was involved in medical device product quality, Lean Six Sigma and quality and regulatory assurance.

About Magellan Health Services: Headquartered in Avon, Conn., Magellan Health Services Inc. is a leading specialty health care management organization with expertise in managing behavioral health, radiology and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as public sector pharmacy benefits programs. Magellan delivers innovative solutions to improve quality outcomes and optimize the cost of care for those we serve. Magellana™s customers include health plans, employers and government agencies, serving approximately 31.3 million members in our behavioral health business, 18.9 million members in our radiology benefits management segment, and five million members in our medical pharmacy management product. In addition, the specialty pharmaceutical segment serves 41 health plans and several pharmaceutical manufacturers and state Medicaid programs. The Companya™s Medicaid Administration segment serves 25 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit [ www.MagellanHealth.com ].