Posts Tagged ‘eHealth’
Texting4Health – a conference
February 8, 2008
Received this via a blog comment; Sounds like another first of its kind like the Health 2.0 Conference.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of eHealth Marketing is cosponsoring the Texting4Health Conference: Using SMS to Motivate Behavior Change with Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab. BJ Fogg, PhD, with Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab, is leading the conference agenda development.
Texting4Health Conference: Using SMS to Motivate Behavior Change
www.texting4health.org
February 28-March 1, 2008
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Friday, February 29, 2008 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
“Texting 4 Health” (the main event)
Over 20 experts in health, behavior change, and mobile technology will share their insights in 10-minute presentations and follow-up panels.
www.texting4health.org/ or contact BJ Fogg at bjfogg@stanford.edu
More Details…
The Texting4Health conference will showcase applications, ideas, insights on the use of mobile text messaging (SMS) in areas of public health such as: early warning systems for communicable disease, smoking cessation, diabetes management, reproductive health, locators for HIV testing, weight management, physical activity, teen health, privacy in
the domain of sexual health information, enhanced patient-doctor relationship via reminders, efficient delivery of laboratory diagnostics, etc.
Impact of Web Searching and Social Feedback on Consumer Decision Making
January 27, 2008
This article from the Journal of Medical Internet Research is also a commentary on how internet search, which is the first step for most health consumers, aids in decision making. Although the study uses a convenience sample of college students, it has some interesting conclusions:
So while it appeared to increase knowledge, it did not guarantee correct answers. I would like to see this repeated in the real world with the chronically ill, for instance. It reinforces the point form yesterdays post – the need for consumers to filter information which they find on the web and know what to ignore.
Share this:eHealth 2008
January 1, 2008
What does 2008 hold for eHealth? Here is my take on some trends to anticipate
- Announcement of Google Health – will the much anticipated personal health tool be rolled out?
- PHR market consolidation – there are more than 100, but adoption is slow. With HL7 standards and a HIMSS position statement, will the market thin out and more robust tools prevails?
- RHIOs – will continue to struggle with a few exceptions until after the 2008 elections allow some movement on health care reform which will support IHE.
- Telemedicine and eMonitoring will show increased growth both in rural health and other areas where incentives are made available.
- Consumer-Directed Health Care and Health Savings Accounts will see gradual growth. Many consumers will stick with traditional health plans when possible rather than opting for high-deductible plans
- Health 2.0 tools and networks will also expand although there will also be some companies which will be acquired or go out of business
- Consumerism in health care will continue to expand with consumers demanding more access to information about their health care, providers and outcomes
Looks to be an exciting year. The Year of the Consumer in Health Care.
Share this:European “Consumer Report-like” Ratings for Health Care
January 1, 2008
eHealth in Austria pointed to the European consumer health rating matrix for 2007. Indicators include everything from
- Patient Rights (percent of GPs using EMRs, no fault malpractice insurance, etc.),
- wait times (cancer treatment in less than 21 days – would the US patients tolerate this?),
- Outcomes (heart infarct mortality),
- Generosity of public health systems (cataract operations per 100,000)
- Pharmaceuticals (Rx subsidy percent).
These few examples are very clear indicators which could easily be applied to the US and in some cases to health care systems themselves. Can anyone point to similar measures here?
Share this:RHIOs struggle to Find Effective Business Models
December 29, 2007
In an article from Information Week, they review the report of the eHealth Initiative on “2007 Fourth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange at the State, Regional, and Community Levels.” The analysis shows that the greatest barrier to health data exchange is finding sustainable business models. “
The survey found that reimbursement systems, which reward volume and fragmentation, also make it difficult for stakeholders to create sustainable business models.”
At the same time the RHIOs are successfully developing data exchanges for prescription information, lab results and outpatient information.
How will RHIOs fare in 2008? Without healthcare reform, they will continue to struggle. Perhaps is CMS developed incentives within Medicare, that would set the stage for less fragmentation and reimbursement primarily based on volume rather than continuity of care models.
Share this:The Future: Consumer Health Information Technology
December 13, 2007
This is the title of a conference held by the National Cancer Institute at which Bill Crounse of Microsoft and Adam Boswoth presented. Crounse gave a vision of the future including wireless, seamless medical consultation while decrying underinvestment by US healthcare in IT. Bosworth sees impeded growth of research and evidence-based medicine as a result of not leveraging health IT to its fullest potential. Unfortunately, I could not find any report of this meeting on the NCI website.
Both also spoke at the World Health Care Congress. Crounse, in his blog, cites from the editor of WIRED magazine while Bosworth preached giving consumers control of their data. Steve Case also spoke predicting more innovation in consumer health including personalization, more emphasis on healthy living and the killer app – community including IM, chat, facebook for medical conditions. (Thanks to Matthew Holt for the excellent reporting on the Congress).
Share this:Health Care Unplugged
December 11, 2007
Overall the report is worth reading to see the current technologies and to think about future innovation. I would add the capabilities of GPS as a potential technology/data for health care.
Share this:Cisco’s Telehealth Solution Promoted in the EU
November 28, 2007
In an article from E-Health Europe, a presentation from Cisco describes their strong commitment to eHealth. Specifically, they describe their decision to take leadership in “changing the way that people communicate to take control of their health.” One of the prototypes for this is HealthPresence technology which is being piloted in Scotland. It is a telemedicine solution which provides a unit which enables remote consultations. It includes a range of medical instruments and video-teleconferencing technology. This can have applications anywhere including for the rural U.S. where telemedicine solutions are now being incentivize by government programs.
Share this:Patient as Googler
November 20, 2007
Matthew Holt points out an article from Time Magazine titled, “ When the Patient is a Googler.” The example given is of a woman who was doctor shopping and not getting the answers she wanted. “Susan had chosen me because she had researched my education, read a paper I had written, determined my university affiliation and knew where I lived.” And this physician thought she knew too much. Also, this physician prefers nurses and engineers as patients and begins to sound sexist in not wanting to deal with an emotional approach to illness. Although this patient certainly pushed the limits.
Many patients are “Googlers” and research their physicians more or less thoroughly. Researching important aspects of one’s own health care and knowing who your surgeon is certainly affects what your surgeon does. Is it overdone by some patients? Definitely. Does it empower others – most certainly.
Perhaps when we get to the semantic health care web, the results will be more even handed.
Share this:Deborah Peel on Patient Privacy, Data Mining and HealthVault
November 20, 2007
Government Health IT has posted an interview with Deborah Peel of of Patient Privacy Rights (www.patientprivacyrights.org). She discusses the problems with data mining and how legal loophole allows it to continue. On the other hand, she states the Microsoft’s Health Vault has done it right in terms of protecting privacy including external auditors to protect the public. She also asks for protections from the current presidential candidates. Worth listening to and reading more on her organization’s website.
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