Archive for 2008
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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The Intelligent Cloud – Implications for Health and Medicine
September 19, 2008
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
This phrase describes the future of cloud computing and more specifically, information storage and retrieval.
Predictions from Google:
- By 2019, parallel-processing computer clusters will be 50 to 100 times more powerful
- we’ll also see a rush of new devices customized to particular applications, and more environmental sensors and actuators, all sending and receiving data via the cloud.
- computer systems will have greater opportunity to learn from the collective behavior of billions of humans
- Researchers across medical and scientific fields can access massive data sets and run analysis and pattern detection algorithms that aren’t possible today.
There are likely other implications for health care, such as, accessing the the cloud (or a secure area of it) to see your medical records or X-rays anywhere and on any device (Google map of your body and DNA?), ability to get answers to complex medical problems from anywhere, intelligent prescriptions with a map to the closest pharmacy or dispensing station of the future. Other ideas? Need a cloud computing for medicine think tank.
Share this:Project Health Design Conference video available
September 19, 2008
“Design Teams Unveil Innovative PHR Applications that Help People Take Charge of Their Health. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-sponsored project demonstrates how a new vision for personal health records can transform the way people engage in health care.”
Share this:Esther Dyson interview about The Digital Health Revolution
September 19, 2008
In an interview from Scribemedia.org, Esther Dyson discusses the problems with the health care system and the limitations of Health 2.0. She sees Health 2.0 as emphasizing the problems in the system rather than solving them. She promotes the idea of changing financial incentives to promote outcomes. She discusses the importance of transparency in health care including more specific data about physicians to assist in selection of providers and hospitals. Outcome data needs to be presented in a way that is understandable to the consumer.
“I want people to understand stuff”, she says in reference to her interest in genetics through her investment and involvement in 23 and Me and other ventures.
Another quote: “Intelligence is like the semantic web.”
Worth the 35 minutes of your time.
Share this:Cheaper Genes
September 18, 2008
23 and Me, the genetic testing company, announced a price drop for scanning your genome to $399, from $999. Will that mean more business? Will it cut into the competition? Or does it mean the company is in trouble. It is best known as a Google spin off and now stands on its own. Unlike many Health 2.0 companies, it actually sells a product but also has some cool technology on its website including an opportunity to participate in research.
Certainly is a company and a trend to watch.
Will Google Health provide a way to store your genetic information in the cloud?
Share this:Next-Generation PHRs
September 17, 2008
The Fall is certainly the season for conferences. Besides the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco, there will be a conference sponsored by Project Health Design on this topic which begins tomorrow, Sept. 17th in Washington, DC. Some major players will present their models including representatives from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Johnson & Johnson and the eHealth Initiative.
One quote from the program: “Project HealthDesign teams demonstrate that their applications can link PHRs with a range of technologies people use every day – cell phones, digital assistants and others. People will use new ways to interact with technologies – speech, gestures and even device-to-device connections.” Exciting stuff.
I hope that proceedings, audio or video will be available in the near future since I will not be able to attend either conference this year.
Share this:Cloud Computing – is Availability Meaningless?
September 16, 2008
In thinking about the advantages of cloud computing – the growing number of data sources which can be mashed up into new applications, one must consider availability of these services. This article poses the question of whether the traditional measures of availability, five 9′s, is outmoded. If the primary data sources like Google maps and others have significant reliability, do the applications themselves have reliable hosting and application stability to provide this kind of availability?
Share this:HealthCampDC
September 16, 2008
Last week this innovative group met in Washington, DC, to discuss “Health 2.0 is participatory Healthcare”. This user generated conference tackled toipcs like social media and engaging the public. One of the presentations was by Jen McCabe Gorman on the NextHealth model/concept with some critique of current Health 2.0 approaches with “the tendency of communities to attract similar people”, many of them white. How can we move from here to “content + community + commerce+ coherence” as the NextHealth model suggests?
Share this:Personal Cloud
September 12, 2008
This post on the concept of a personal cloud focuses on the integration of the iPhone, Google tools and the cloud. How about a personal cloud for managing health? In his presentation on Google Health at HIMSS in February, Eric Schmidt envisioned storing health information, including all the xrays taken this year in the Cloud so that they would be accessible from anywhere. Interesting concept.
First, Google Health should be available via the iPhone. Next, the clound should allow connection to your data and health information and tools from anywhere and on any device.
Finally, the personal cloud must be secure.
Also mentioned is an Mac program called Getting Things Done. Check out the Wikipedia entry.
Share this:Social Networking for Research
September 11, 2008
Clinical or basic research can both benefit from social networking. Especially in clinical research when multicenter studies are being managed throughout the country or internationally, social networking tools have the potential to enhance communication in a closed environment. Harvard has launched Catalyst which has several helpful features including publications from PubMed.
A more advanced tool is Within3.com which provides several different customizable modules which can be used to develop any physician or research group but because it takes place in the context of a closed network, the site can be a gathering place for clinical trial coordination. Moving beyond fax, email and even conference calls, new Web 2.0 communication tools can enhance the collaborative work of clinical trials and other clinical research across the street or the ocean. My prediction is that social networking and other Web 2.0 tools will become best practices in clinical research collaboration.
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