Webicina: Web 2.0 in Medicine
October 17, 2008
Finally, a Web 2.0 site is launched with a reasonable business model. Bertalan Meskó, a medical student from Hungary, who has already made a reputation for himself through his Scienceroll.com blog and other ventures. Now he presents Webicina with a straightforward offering of four tools:
- Medicine 2.0 package
- E-learning tools
- Building an online reputation
- Consulting and workshops.
The business model is clear: a pricing structure is on the Get Involved page in U.S. Dollars. Check out the free E-learning offerings. Good luck, Berci.
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Google Health Updates
October 16, 2008
Google Health has added some usability to make it accessible to the blind by enabling text readers. This will not only benefit those using Google Health but also those who pull their data from PHRs which don’t have these features.
Also, there is a new posting on ReadWriteWeb on Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault as Coke and Pepsi flavors of PHR platforms. Microsoft states, “introducing a new type of consumer health solution is a long-term endeavor.”
“This whole space is still so small, and has such huge potential, that we can both grow huge and succeed without bumping heads. Later on, head-to-head competition will probably be more important.” These platforms are very new but quickly growing their partner networks. It is difficult to see advantages yet so recommendations to consumers at this point are tough.
How Would Genetic Testing Change Your LIfe
October 14, 2008
Enoch Choi has posted an insightful piece about the announcement by Scripps, Navigetics and Microsoft about a project to test 10,000 people who have a genetic profile done and the impact on their behavior. Enoch talks about his own experience with Navigetics and the impact on his health behavior.
“Sponsored by Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI), the study aims to find out if participating in personal genomic testing will improve health by motivating people to make positive lifestyle changes, such as exercising, eating healthy and quitting smoking, as well as decisions to seek further medical evaluation and preventive strategies. The study will offer genetic scans to up to 10,000 employees, family members and friends of the nonprofit Scripps Health system in San Diego and will assess changes in participants’ behaviors over a 20-year period.”
It is interesting that they are using employees and family members. One wonders what kind of privacy protections will be put in place. Also, this is one of the first long term studies – I look forward to interim reports thoughout the next several years.
Share this:National Institute for Health Innovation
October 14, 2008
In referring to National, this conference is from the island nation of New Zealand. This organization which is part of the University of Auckland, will provide live blogging from a conference on the northern island thanks to Chris Patton who I met at the Medicine 2.0 Congress. The conference is sponsored by HINZ, Health Informatics New Zealand. The conference will cover the same topics that you would find in a US conference, such as, implementation, health literacy, and integration. There are also a few unique topics, such as, From Professional Standards to Information Standards, Analysis of Medication Possession Ratio for Improved Blood Pressure, Supporting The Visually Impaired Using RFID Technology, and this one, which I especially like, Rescuing Data from Decaying and Moribund Clinical Information Systems.
I hope to tune in to some of the live blogging starting Wednesday. I wonder if any online video content will be available?
Share this:Beyond Health 2.0 Hype – How Clinicians Find Value
October 10, 2008
There are many Web 2.0 applications but a few which can benefit physicians directly are:
- RSS feeds from their favorite medical journals or news sources. The ability to scan many article titles quickly for those of interest can help them sort through medical information overload. Using an RSS feed from a Medline search is another way to bring in the latest publications on specific topics of interest.
- Social networking among physicians. Within3.com has the best product, I think. They have a private network with private or public groups which allow discussion and profiles for physicians and other healthcare professionals using real names instead of screen names. And they don’t sell their information. Can be used for case consultation or to get introduced to other physicians who may help with a difficult diagnosis or treatment.
- Google Maps and other mashups. Can be specifically to map disease outbreaks.
This are just a few places clinicians can start. More to follow.
Share this:Google Health – Interview with Missy Krasner
October 2, 2008
In a podcast interview for Modern Healthcare, Missy Krasner discusses Google Health including the early partnership with Cleveland Clinic and others. She emphasizes the value proposition of portability of healthcare information through Google Health. Slow adoption of PHRs she attributes to lack of interoperability and patients/consumers not being at the center of health care provision. Part of Google’s goal by opening up their API is to encourage innovation among small companies to add value. Also, by adding it to Google’s suite of products like email and calendaring, the hope is that Google Health will become part of one’s daily workflow.
My question is: how will we see this happen? Is anyone measuring this, researching adoption, promoting integration. I hope we will begin to see more reports of this in the press and professional Health IT journals. Or how about an offical Google blog just for Google Health?
Share this:The US medical system should be…
October 1, 2008
In a short article from Wired Magazine, a unique perspective on health care reform from geneticist, Leroy Hood. He presents the 4 P’s: Health care should be
- Predictive – he says Using genome sequencing and blood tests
- Preventive – based on an individual risk profile
- Personalized – drug therapies can be created to suit each genome
- Participatory – People will maintain their own health (aka, Health 2.0)
Looks pretty simple but I not sure genomics can solve it all. The psychological toll of knowing your risk profile may be too much of a burden to bear for those with risks of life threatening illness without good treatments.
Share this:Web 2.0 Strategies for CIOs
September 30, 2008
Came across this blog post from Social Computing Magazine, “Ten Aspects of Web 2.0 Strategy That Every CTO and CIO Should Know’. He asks how to make the transition from 1.0 to 2.0 safely and non-disruptively with your business largely intact, perhaps even with a superior competitive position.”
My opinion has always been that Web 2.0 is disruptive, however, there may be strategies to minimize the disruption and win on competitive strategies. There is a helpful diagram about a transformation model.
Some of the 10 points are:
- It’s not about technology, it’s about the changes it enables
- Existing management methods and conventional wisdom are a hard barrier to 2.0 strategy and transformation
- Incubators and pilot projects can help create initial environments for success with 2.0 efforts
- The business side requires 2.0 competence as well.
Worth reading and implementing in your organization, even healthcare.
Share this:Disruptive Women in Health Care
September 26, 2008
This new movement and blog is a great way to focus on the health care debate for women. Written by women who are leaders in health care, it already presents opinions and education on a variety of topics. Today’s post is by Missy Krasner of Google Health (opinions are her own and not her employer’s). She makes some good points – the underinsured are us, people are getting there information online and from non-experts, people are spending money to stay young and beautiful (and hopefully well). She concludes, “healthcare reform enthusiasts should take a hard look at what consumers are already doing today.”
I think she is on point – healthcare reform should not look back but look forward and finally begin to address the problems of the uninsured, underinsured as they exist today.
Share this:Credibility of Health Information and Digital Media
September 24, 2008
This extensive chapter authored by Gunther Eysenbach appears in a new book titled Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility. He begins by making the case for quality health information, “educating consumers and providers of health information and services about how to avoid “low quality” information becomes paramount.” And then goes on to question internet users’ claims of verifying the reliability of health information. In relationship to youth, he points out that, “Part of the trouble in discerning trustworthy sites from dubious ones is the result of a deficit of context. ”
In relationship to adolescence and health seeking behavior, he uses his newly defined term apomediation, “While personality traits and developmental factors may broadly predispose individuals to generally prefer one approach over the other, the decision to use apomediaries versus intermediaries remains largely dynamic and situational.”
He goes on to discuss the challenges and limitations of this new concept. “people using an apomediary approach
to credibility assessment are probably more prone to employ a “spectral evaluation” rather than a “binary evaluation” approach, acknowledging “shades of grey” rather than “black and white” answers.” In Applying Network Theory to Apomediaries, we encounter another new term: Credibility Hubs. And are encouraged to example source and message creditability. One of the conclusions is that health information websites for children and adolescents need to have street credibility rather than traditional credibility like government websites might have.
This comprehensive work is worth not only reading but studying.
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