Have you seen the FDA’s new Patient Network website? [FDA]
The website is an interactive tool for educating patients, patient advocates, and consumers on how their medications – both prescription and over-the-counter –and medical devices move from the realm of idea to the realm of the marketplace. It will open new channels of communication with the public, such as live chats with senior agency officials. It will help patients and consumers better understand the process for determining whether medical products are safe and effective and encourage them to contribute their ideas and concerns about the development and regulation of these products.
Social network offers discreet way to share health info publicly [Med City News]
A neurologist has started a healthcare social network called HealthKeep that he describes as the inverse of Facebook. Everyone is anonymous but their information is public. It was developed to help serve the 72 percent of Internet users who look for health information, most of whom rely on search engines. And though Facebook is a popular social network, most people wouldn’t feel too comfortable sharing potentially embarrassing personal health queries. This is how it works.
Study demonstrates efficacy of text4baby program [Fierce Mobile Healthcare]
A year-long evaluation of text4baby, a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging, has found the program to be effective, according to an announcement of the results. The survey results “indicate that text4baby is increasing users' health knowledge, facilitating interaction with health providers, reminding them of their appointments and immunizations, and improving access to health services.” Among the findings:
New app turns smartphone into hearing aid [AARP International]
With everyone so “plugged in” to technology these days, researchers at the University of Essex of the UK have created an IPhone App that would allow users to turn their smartphone into a hearing aid. This app is currently available as a beta version and can be downloaded for free through the Apple Itunes Store. The app is currently in a trial period and the creators are hoping to make some fine tuning changes based on feedback from those who choose to download and test out their product. The app is fairly simple to navigate and offers different options for users to choose from, distinguishing it from a traditional hearing aid.
Can personal health data motivate behavioral change? It depends. [MobiHealth News]
One of the critical questions within the connected healthcare movement is whether or not personal health data will actually catalyze and then incentivize lasting behavioral change and better wellness. Will any kind of data serve to motivate behavioral change? Does it matter if we see our data on a smartphone versus a laptop screen? Do all people respond in the same way? Early on, we realized that our ability to transcend our customer base, from highly-engaged, “quantified self” early adopters to the mainstream world of the “frustrated sleepers”, would require far more than just the raw data itself. It turns out that the gift wrapping matters as much as the present inside.
Smartphone app gives doctors remote viewing powers [MIT Technology Review]
At the Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, nurses can see into the lives of some diabetes patients even when they’re not at the clinic. If a specific patient starts acting lethargic, or making lengthy calls to his mom, a green box representing him on an online dashboard turns yellow, then red. Soon, a nurse will call to see if he is still taking his medication. This novel way of keeping tabs on patients is one of several studies of an app called Ginger.io taking place at hospitals in the United States.
Why rating your doctor is bad for your health [Forbes – published in Jan. 2013]
Suffering from a toothache, a South Carolina woman headed to her local emergency room a few months ago. The doctor there responded by administering Dilaudid, a powerful intramuscular narcotic typically reserved for cancer-related pain. Why, his nurse queried, was he killing a flea with a sledgehammer? Afraid of malpractice? No, the doc replied, Press Ganey. “My scores last month were low.” Press who?
No comments:
Post a Comment