Archive for June, 2012
Eleven Chronic Disease Technologies to Watch
June 28, 2012
This significant report by NEHI (New England Health Policy Institute) reviews current tech trends which will impact the future of chronic disease management. The report categorizes these technologies into 4 classes based on the significant evidence supporting clinical and financial benefits. The technologies reviewed are:
- Extended Care eVisits
- Home Telehealth
- In-Car Telehealth
- Medication Adherence Tools
- Mobile Asthma Management Tools
- Mobile Cardiovascular Tools
- Mobile Clinical Decision Support
- Mobile Diabetes Management Tools
- Social Media Promoting Health
- Tele-Stroke Care
- Virtual Visits
Social media for promoting health was put in class IV. They note that some “their goal is to give simple daily challenges or “micro-actions” that add up to significant health improvements over time.” They report that their is a lack of evidence of effectiveness because they are so new and reports of success are mostly anecdotal by the vendors themselves. The exception are some studies of smoking cessation. While there may be a limited number of randomized clinical trials in the use of social media, there is a growing evidence of the effectiveness of social media in healthcare. Also, social media in healthcare is much broader than promoting health. Online communities, apps, and Twitter are powerful tools capable of having a significant impact on managing and coping with illness. Also, increasing evidence is being published weekly in journals like Journal of Medical Internet Research and the Journal of Participatory Medicine.
Conclusion: this report has excellent analysis on several underutilized technologies in medicine but the evidence for the effectiveness of social media is stronger in my opinion.
Share this:New Technology Now Brief on Mobile Apps in Healthcare
June 15, 2012
I authored this tech brief with the American Association of Medical Colleges. These tech briefs are one page, high level documents which “summarize the latest technologies, trends and issues facing our community. They are designed to make it easier for Information Resources professionals to communicate with stakeholders (Deans, students, colleagues) and help in the decision-making process. ” The challenge in producing these is summarize a huge trend into one page. The result is more questions than answers but we did include examples of some apps.
Share this:Presentation at H2.0 Hospital Liquido Barcelona, June 12
June 14, 2012
Electronic Medical Records: From Clinical Decision Support to Precision Medicine
With an emphasis on lethal lag time and how EMRs can be used to bring new discoveries to medical practice more quickly.
Share this:Presenting at H2.0 Hospital Liquido Barcelona, June 11-12
June 7, 2012
The themes of this conference, lead by Jorge Juan Fernández García, are:
- H ealthcare / Medicine
- I nnovation
- T echnology
- E ntrepreneurship