MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Pioneering Ideas' source. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:53:12 +0100 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/441088432/how-am-i-feelingnext-wednesday.html What if you knew what was going to happen in the next two days? I would bet on the lottery number that I knew was coming up and, perhaps, avoid some of the mistakes I almost certainly would make.   This might sound a bit like science fiction but researchers at the Center for Future Health at the University of Rochester are beginning to demonstrate that people with heart disease will be able to know their health status future and be able to take action to change it. Under that scenario, I would be able to take action on Thursday so that I’d be able to dance at my daughter’s wedding Saturday night.   This is not as far fetched as it might sound. Engineers have been using sensors to monitor the “health” of machines so that they can predict and avoid failures, and they h... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933409 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1933409 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/430016033/live-blogging-from-health-20-conference.html We weren't able to go to the Health 2.0 conference, which kicked off yesterday in San Francisco.  The agenda had some sessions that looked great, including ones on patient social networks, Health 2.0 platforms for patient-provider communication, how the field is moving ahead in Europe and Asia, and how the issues of privacy, confidentiality and security will shape consumer confidence in Health 2.0. Luckily, Lygeia Ricciardi is blogging live from the event over at Project HealthDesign's blog.  Her first post is up and she'll be publishing a few more over the next day or two. (Source: Pioneering Ideas) Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1906150 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1906150 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/426719787/interesting-thi.html Thanks to Jerry Michalski of Sociate for telling us about a massively multiplayer online game hosted by Institute for the Future called Superstruct.  The folks who do IFTF's 10-year forecasts put together a game in which anyone and everyone can figure out what life might be like in 2019, and help invent the future of society as it relates to 5 different scenarios.  One is directly about health -- the QUARANTINE category states that outbreaks have become a common element of our existence.  It focuses on a respiratory infectious disease called ReDS and challenges players to consider all the implications and figure out how to respond. The other game scenarios have important implications for health as well, as they immerse you in envisioning a world in which we're: RAVENOUS -... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1895522 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1895522 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/423046968/health-courts-n.html Common Good and their collaborators at the Harvard School of Public Health continue to build the research base and policy consensus for a new system of specialized administrative health courts. An innovative alternative to our nation's current medical liability system, health courts would apply rational, consistent standards to resolving medical liability claims and compensating injury patients. Their efforts are reflected in three recently published articles -- two in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law and one in Wyoming Law Review. "Administrative Compensation of Medical Injuries" looks at the history of administrative compensation proposals over the last 30 years and examines the success of the administrative compensation model in fields like worker's compensatio... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886590 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1886590 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/407287292/a-few-takeaways.html Over the last week and half I’ve had a chance to talk with people about Project HealthDesign’s New Frontiers in Personal Health Records conference and follow the blog discussions on the event. James Ralston, the principal investigator for the University of Washington’s Project HealthDesign grant, pointed out to me recently that we went the full range from the user-centered design issues (e.g. how to get the most out of a small cell-phone screen) all the way to policy implications such as the need to alter reimbursement policies. And the conference had a similar range – there were a lot of concepts crammed into an 8-hour session. So here’s my shot at distilling them. It’s not the record, it’s what you do with it. It’s a simple mantra, but it seems to be catching on. The p... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1845050 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1845050 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/401816737/modern-healthca.html Recently, Modern Healthcare highlighted Health Games Research, Games for Health and Pioneer's overall interest in exploring games as a health care innovation. The magazine described the work of our grantees and reported on recent research into the interaction of games and health. We thought you'd like to see what they had to say: The Games Patients Play Whether it's for treatment, prevention or even provider education, health care is becoming more and more interactive. An article by Modern Healthcare. By Jessica Zigmond Improving 21st century healthcare is, unquestionably, an expensive, complex and vital endeavor for the U.S. But can it also be fun? Researchers, hospitals and insurers think so, which is why they’re investing time and money to develop interactive games that could cha... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1826145 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1826145 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/401290144/project-healthd.html Click here for a complete Webcast from last week's Project HealthDesign forum on the future of personal health records.  The Webcast is broken down by sessions so you can check out as much or as little of the day as you like.  I also encourage you to check out a set of short videos that drive home what it might be like for patients to use next-gen PHR tools and applications in the future -- you can access them by clicking on the links to each grantee's summary.  We hope you'll continue to give us your reactions to the day's discussions, whether you saw them live or on the Web.  (Source: Pioneering Ideas) Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1826146 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1826146 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/399226377/blog-talk-post.html More than 200 guests joined us for Wednesday's event, "New Frontiers in Personal Health Records: A 'Report-Out' from Project HealthDesign and Forum on Next-Generation PHRs." It was an exciting day -- the grantee teams rolled out their diverse PHR application prototypes and talked candidly about the themes that tied them together: focusing not just on the records but the actions you can take given the information; the power of looking beyond medical data to incorporate observations of daily living; and moving past PC-based access to practical, on-the-go IT tools that fit in your daily routines.  And we heard some provocative panels talk about common platform solutions to support a vibrant marketplace of such tools, key policy considerations, how health systems are harnessing ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1812897 Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1812897 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/396431095/fastercures-inn.html I mentioned in my post on FasterCures' Mid-Year Top 10 Watch List that they were working on an Innocentive competition to discover breakthroughs in disease research. Yesterday, that competition went live -- FasterCures will award a guaranteed payout of $10,000 for the two most promising ideas that encourage companies to invest and collaborate more in biomarker research and qualification. Biomarkers are used by medical professionals to determine proper diagnosis, prognosis and the optimal course of treatment for a patient. Widely viewed as a critical technology to personalizing treatment choices and maximizing the impact of medical treatments, biomarkers are key to the biomedical research process and can shave years and millions of dollars from the research and development process. Acc... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1809924 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1809924 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/394592809/patti-brennan-l.html Today, we wrap up our interview with Patti Brennan, Director of Project HealthDesign with a look towards the future. We thank Patti for her thoughtful responses and look forward to seeing the work of the Project HealthDesign grantees during tomorrow's event.The health care and technology industries will play a significant role in the future of PHRs, who else are you watching as possible pioneers in this field? I look to John Maeda, who sits on the Project HealthDesign advisory committee (and was inaugurated as the 16th President of the Rhode Island School of Design last week). John is amazing, absolutely amazing.  He is constantly think about how new technology enhances simplicity and enables people to live simply. I look at industries that have restructured their distribution model... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802917 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1802917 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/393358458/patti-brennan-t.html Friday, we talked with Patti Brennan, Director of Project HealthDesign, about this week's Project HealthDesign event in Washington, D.C. Today, we are focusing on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for personal health records. What are the barriers that need to be addressed now in order to advance this new vision of PHRs? I think there are two really significant issues we need to be paying attention to: privacy and incentives. Right now, our privacy policies tend to be organized around institutional responsibility for safeguarding data that’s generated during the business process of health care; that’s very important and that will never go away. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t have that focus, but that focus is insufficient and, frankly, cannot be extended easily to... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1798489 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1798489 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/390972979/phrs-where-are.html This month, as part of our Conversations with Pioneers, a series of interviews with Pioneer grantees, we talked with Patricia Flatley Brennan, R.N., Ph.D., the Director of Project HealthDesign, one of Pioneer’s national programs. Patti and the nine Project HealthDesign grantee teams are getting ready for the National Forum on the Next Generation of Personal Health Records, an event that will showcase the work of the program and foster a dialogue about lessons learned from user-centered design and policy directions to support continued growth and innovation in the personal health record arena.  New Frontiers in Personal Health Records: A Report-Out from Project HealthDesign and Forum on Next-Generation PHRs will take place on September 17, 2008 at the Westin Washington, D.C. Cente... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1790472 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1790472 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/388061217/get-on-your-gam.html "But what exactly is a Game Jam?" you might be asking. A “Game Jam” is a marathon session that challenges teams of game designers, programmers and artists to work round-the-clock for a limited period of time to create small, playable games that demonstrate innovative ideas. At the end of the “jam session,” competitors showcase their work, which is critiqued and judged by a panel of professional game developers and educators. Sound like fun?  We think so, and we are excited to announce that Games for Health is hosting their first Experimental Health Game Jam October 18-19, 2008 at the University of Baltimore. The event is open to individuals and teams of all shapes and sizes, including student groups, independent game developers and programmers with the goal of dev... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1782837 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1782837 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/385876528/business-and-ph.html Traditionally, in looking at the continuum of types of organizations, for-profit businesses intent on increasing the wealth of their shareholders appear at one end; and not-for-profit philanthropies intent on giving money away appear at the other. But is this, in fact, true in our current world? A recent article by Matthew Bishop in CFO.com highlights the most recent trends in businesses’ adopting philanthropic practices. Google is exhibit A, with their one percent rule – one percent of profits, of equity, and of employee time are allocated to doing good. Wal-Mart is exhibit B, with their post-Katrina efforts and sustainability programs. And, over the past decade, philanthropy has increasingly adopted concepts and techniques from the business sector. A strong emphasis on strategic plan... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1775671 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1775671 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/375316375/fastercures-mid.html FasterCures gives us a mid-year blog check-in on its Top 10 trends to watch regarding breakthroughs in medical research.  Their number one slot talks about how donors can maximize "return on philanthropy," referencing the FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service that will launch this fall.  Pioneer supported this, along with Gates, to provide an investment-grade information marketplace that can guide the efficiency and productivity of (a) donors and (b) nonprofit disease research groups that rely on their support in the search for cures. Other things to watch?  The need for more cutting-edge translational research to move findings on new therapies and approaches from the lab to the clinic more quickly.  Science 2.0, and crowd-sourcing new discoveries.  ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734221 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1734221 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/364845911/join-project-he.html We hope you can join us September 17th in Washington, DC for "New Frontiers in Personal Health Records: A Report-Out from Project HealthDesign and Forum on Next-Generation PHRs."  Project HealthDesign and its grantees have been pushing the potential for personal health records (PHRs) and related technologies to help consumers take charge of their health like never before.  This free, one-day event will feature the grantee design teams, who will showcase the prototype PHR applications they have been developing over the past 18 months, along with experts discussing key issues in this space, including: ways that new PHR designs can enhance how people manage their health and coordinate their care in the course of their everyday lives; the most important policy questions t... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709613 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1709613 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/357509599/new-evidence-su.html This study shows that a strategically designed video game can be a powerful new tool to enhance the impact of medical treatment by motivating healthy behavior in the patient.” We couldn’t agree more and expect that the work of Pioneer’s national program, Health Games Research will help continue to build this body of research and inform and advance game development to improve health outcomes. (Source: Pioneering Ideas) Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1686498 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1686498 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/348657925/brainstorming-t.html Day two of the Fortune Magazine Brainstorming TECH conference started with an unforeseen development. Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon.com, and I have something in common: we both choose to attend the Future of Gaming roundtable. The roundtable brought together about 20 people, including folks from Electronic Arts, Phillip Rosendale, president of Linden Labs (creator of Second Life) and Bezos to discuss the future of gaming. I wonder if Amazon will get into the gaming business? Imagine, you could buy your book while you game (and maybe it could even be a game for health…that would be very interesting). The most compelling part of the day centered on the social web. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.com, spoke about the way Facebook is propelling the social web forward. If Marc Benioff is c... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1660972 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1660972 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/345660182/new-rwjf-podcas.html RWJF's Larry Blumenthal, a Senior Communications Officer here at the Foundation, tells us: Ralf Beach is an unlikely poster boy. At 70-years-old, he has survived a heart attack and quadruple by-pass surgery, has chronic lung disease and insulin dependent diabetes. He is also an acknowledged hypochondriac. Yet he is a shining example of the potential for bringing patient’s medical records online in the form of personal health records (PHRs). As part of an experiment by researchers at the University of Washington, Beach is managing his diabetes and his health online. From an island in Puget Sound, he has access to his entire medical record. He delivers his blood sugar meter readings digitally – by-passing a three-hour trip to Seattle - and communicates with his doctors’ offices ele... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1655648 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1655648 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/345143661/the-road-to-inn.html To say that I feel like a fish out of water would be the understatement of the week. I am sitting here at my first Fortune Magazine Brainstorming TECH conference, feeling a bit out of place, but hearing themes that resonate strongly with me and how we approach our work at RWJF. I might be one of five folks from nonprofits or foundations here (perhaps a bit of an overstatement, but not much so), but the conversation on the first day of this meeting directly relates to our work on the Pioneer team. The major theme this morning: how do we incorporate and work with the end user to create a better product? It is all about the end user. That is how you get to innovation. The meeting kicked off with a conversation about the evolution of the web. Marc Benioff, president of salesforce.com, Inc.,... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1652541 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1652541 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/343667587/opportunities-f.html The Innosight Institute, the non-profit think tank founded by Harvard B-School Professor Clayton Christensen, put on a conference last week called, A Forum on Disruptive Innovation in Healthcare. Prof. Christensen developed the theory of disruptive innovation and is currently working on a book on the subject. One of his co-authors is Jason Hwang, MD, MBA, who served as a judge for the Disruptive Innovations competition Pioneer sponsored through Changemakers. Those of us at the meeting were treated to a glimpse of the still-being-drafted book, which was pretty interesting. I’m keen to read the final version. Elliott Fisher, MD, of Dartmouth Atlas fame, set the stage for the forum by taking us on a flyover of "everything that’s wrong with health care in America." Fisher then p... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1649284 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1649284 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/325789287/more-from-gary.html Yesterday's discussion with Gary Cohen introduced us to Health Care Without Harm and the recent achievements of the green hospital movement in the United States. Today, Cohen speaks about green health care internationally, outlines the challenges facing the green hospital movement, and offers his both short- and long-term predictions for the movement's future. Health Care Without Harm is part of a global movement; what lessons do you think the US health care system can learn from the international community?Right now we’re learning a lot from Europe. A typical Northern European hospital uses half as much energy as a typical US hospital. That’s a very significant issue, because as we are entering into a period of global climate crises and reducing reliance on fossil fuels for health ca... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1575623 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1575623 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/324894907/conversations-w.html Last month, we kicked off Conversations with Pioneers, a series of interviews with Pioneer grantees. The series continues this week with an interview with Gary Cohen (photo at left), executive director of Health Care Without Harm.Health Care Without Harm hosted its annual conference, Clean Med, last month and Susan Promislo and Theresa Kanter both posted updates from the conference. Working to drive environmental sustainability in health care, Health Care Without Harm has been on the forefront of efforts to accelerate the development, use, and diffusion of environmentally preferable products and practices in the health care system.Abbey Cofsky spoke with Cohen recently about the organization and its work:Health Care Without Harm’s mission is to transform the health care sector --why have... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1564153 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1564153 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/324125121/save-the-date-.html Mark your calendar now -- we're pleased to announce that details have been set for "New Frontiers in Personal Health Records: A Report Out from Project HealthDesign and Forum on Next-Generation PHRs."  Here's the logistical info: Date: September 17, 2008 Time: 8:00-5:00 Location: Westin Washington, DC City Center RSVP: Erica Garland, GYMR Public Relations We hope you can join us to explore the vast potential for personal health records (PHRs) and related technologies to help consumers take charge of their health like never before. The event also provides the opportunity to showcase the array of next-generation, user-centered PHR applications developed by grantees of Pioneer's Project HealthDesign program. Project HealthDesign grantees have pushed PHRs far beyond just pr... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1561249 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1561249 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/321382665/personal-heal-1.html Last week, I joined the Project HealthDesign grantees in DC as they shared their projects on Capitol Hill. It was an opportunity for the grantees to brief members of Congress and their staff about personal health records (PHRs) and the importance of engaging patients in the design and functionality of PHRs. We've talked about Project HealthDesign before on this blog, so you may remember that Project HealthDesign focuses on the patient or end user. (Conversely, most PHRs available today respond to the needs of healthcare systems or providers.) I loved hearing from the research and design teams how the patients, through their testing of the applications, ultimately shaped the design and functionality. The patients gave feedback on icons, font sizes, and whether or not they would use specific... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551782 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1551782 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/320827586/ehr-adoption--.html Without having read much of Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction, I am still going to quote his Third Law of Prediction, which states that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” There are many technological advances in medicine that would appear magical to the doctors from the last century. In the past, people suffered through highly invasive surgeries with grueling recoveries; now, surgeons can make tiny incisions and see their way inside and around the human body. Here’s a simpler example: I’ve worn glasses or contacts since the third grade, and my prescription got to the point where I was almost legally blind, yet last year, a laser operation that lasted just under a minute gave me 20/20 vision without any corrective lenses. Does that seem magic... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1546938 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1546938 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/315401280/extending-the-c.html It has been a busy spring for Pioneer grantee, Extending the Cure and we thought we’d take a minute to let folks know what they have been up to. In April, ETC brought together a group of 30 health care and infection control experts to discuss hospital infection control practices and policies – and I had the good fortune of joining the meeting. It was two days of lively discussion – surely a result of bringing together such a diverse group of physicians, health care administrators, policy-makers, academics and international infection control professionals. The discussion was focused around four core questions: What works to stop the spread of infections in hospitals? How can incentive-based policies be used to appeal to economic decision-making and encourage hospitals to improve infec... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1531614 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1531614 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/313076668/tomorrows-new-v.html Project HealthDesign has released a new e-primer that explores the importance of observations of daily living (ODL) in moving toward next-generation personal health records and health management.  PHRs enable consumers and providers to incorporate routine health observations that go well beyond what data are captured at clinical visits.  Some are more obvious than others – blood glucose readings for diabetics, did I take the right pills at the right time today – but others may play an equally important role in pursuing health goals and managing chronic health conditions.  Things like:  Does my chronic pain spike when the temperature dips below a certain threshold?  What effects might a particularly stressful month, with long hours at work and marginal sleep, ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1522391 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1522391 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/311317828/checking-in-wit.html This spring Susan Promislo introduced us to Stacy Cho, the winner of Hope Lab’s Ruckus Nation competition to get kids moving. Stacy, a middle school teacher in Seattle, Washington won for Dancing Craze, her idea for an interactive dance game with wearable motion sensors that make the player’s virtual character come alive as they dance. It lets the user pick the music, record their moves and share their virtual dance video online. Stacy attests that Dancing Craze grew out of her ongoing efforts to find new and innovative ways to motivate her students. As someone who knows firsthand the challenges of getting kids to be active, we thought we’d ask Stacy to share some of her thoughts about the competition, physical activity, creativity and games. She graciously agreed to let us post her... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1516735 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1516735 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/303266449/last-month-i-at.html As Susan mentioned in her earlier post, I recently attended the CleanMed 2008 conference in Pittsburgh, a city which exemplifies how environmental improvements can lead to improved health.  The CleanMed conference is about shifting hospital buildings and health care practices towards environmentally-friendly solutions.  The Pioneer Portfolio is interested in these types of innovative environmental solutions that also improve the health of workers and patients.  I’m a bit of a tree-hugger, so I can easily embrace this topic.  For those who still need convincing, the Research and Education Workgroup of the Global Health and Safety Initiative is in the midst of several research projects.  Check out their website for new content and findings. I thought I might share... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1488637 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1488637 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/301484896/weve-got-12-n-1.html I am excited to announce that Pioneer’s national program Health Games Research has awarded its first round of grantees.  Chosen from a pool of over 100 research proposal, the 12 selected research projects represent some of the most innovative work being done to explore how video games can be used to improve health. These twelve research teams will explore a wide variety of game platforms and technologies, ranging from mobile phones to Dance Dance Revolution and will help the growing games for health field better understand why certain game designs are compelling and what games offer the most health benefit for which types of people. I had the opportunity to meet these grantees a few weeks ago in Baltimore and many of them joined us at the Games for Health Conference. It is clear tha... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1480888 Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1480888 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/296545826/the-promise-of.html Nicholas Christakis’ new study on social networks and smoking cessation was published in yesterday’s New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, Christakis and his colleagues reconstructed the social networks of more than 12,000 individuals and found that smoking cessation occurs in network clusters – the study also concludes that the chances of continuing to smoke decrease significantly for an individual when their spouse, friend or even sibling quits smoking. The article, funded in part by the Pioneer Portfolio, is garnering a lot of attention in the media and stimulating many dinner table discussions. While the findings provide valuable lessons for those working in the field of smoking cessation, the study has implications well beyond smoking. C... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1464155 Fri, 23 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1464155 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/289447880/games-for-healt.html Last week’s Games for Health Conference in Baltimore generated a lot of excitement here on Pioneering Ideas and lots of folks are still talking about the sights, sounds and enthusiasm surrounding the conference and the building momentum in the games for health field. Here is a quick snapshot of what folks are saying… Susan Promislo and Theresa Kanter shared their highlights from the conference here on Pioneering Ideas. Susan wrote about Zoron Popovich’s Fold It! game and Theresa shared photos and commentary from the conference’s opening session featuring Ben Heckerdorn’s modified Guitar Hero. Mark at AbleGamers also blogged about Ben Heckerdorn and what his one-handed Guitar Hero will mean for amputees and those with limited movement in one arm. Gamasutra recapped Noah Falstei... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1439989 Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1439989 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/288575911/health-20-a-rep.html How is Web 2.0 technology affecting health care, and how might it shape its future? Health care economist and consultant Jane Sarasohn-Kahn distills a buzz of activity down to 24 pages of clarity for the California HealthCare Foundation: "The Wisdom of Patients: Health Care Meets Online Social Media." Sarasohn-Kahn reviews the landscape of health-focused uses of social media and makes a few predictions for what might be next: Consumer ratings of physicians and providers. (Insurers and ratings groups are moving into this space, as it Zagat and Angie's List, notes Sarasohn-Kahn.) Networks where physicians and consumers can community peer to peer. Adoption of OpenSocial, a common set of standards for social media that allow users to move across social media sites without h... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1437070 Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1437070 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/286902750/fold-it-game-dr.html On Day 1 of the Games for Health conference, Zoran Popovic of the University of Washington gave a demo of his Fold It! game project.  This unique effort, produced in partnership with Electronic Arts and others, is a massive multiplayer game that challenges thousands of players to work in competition and collaboratively to answer unknowns about the stucture and design of proteins.  I don't know a whole lot about proteins, beyond the fact that they play a big part in many diseases and also can contribute to cures, which is intriguing scientists like Zoran.  Ultimately, the answers uncovered through the game play contribute to the search for vaccines and cures related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, Alzheimers, etc.     Here's a screen shot of Fold It! What was especially inte... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1432747 Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1432747 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/285978284/yesterdays-blog.html Yesterday’s blog post focused on the value and future of comparative effectiveness analysis; today's second part of our interview with Lynn explores how the Archimedes predictive model has implications for comparative effectiveness research. You’ll remember that last October, Pioneer awarded an $15.6 million grant to Archimedes to support the development of ARCHeS, (ARChimedes Health care Simulator), an online interface and delivery system that will enable many more health experts to use the Archimedes model to answer health care questions with greater speed and precision. How does ARCHeS and the Archimedes predictive model relate to comparative effectiveness research? I see three major advances from Archimedes and its efforts to expand access to the model through the ARCHeS online... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429280 Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1429280 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/286283031/rockin-on.html At the opening plenary session of today's Games for Health conference, Ben Sawyer introduced modded (modified) guitars that allow Guitar Hero to be played with one arm. The modded guitars followed a discussion with a rehabilitation therapist in North Carolina and a game developer in Wisconsin. The therapist asked for a version of Guitar Hero for her patients who had lost an arm or had limited use of an arm. Guitar Hero provided guitars to Ben Heckendorn who created a modified pedal that allows the player to strum the guitar with her foot. This is a big contribution towards accessible video games, but it also illustrates the power of collaboration. Games for Health brings together people who work (and face challenges) in health and health care to designers and developers from the video game... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429279 Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1429279 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/285317886/lynn-etheredge.html As Abbey Cofsky told us yesterday, a new feature begins today on Pioneering Ideas: interviews with selected Pioneer Portfolio grantees. We are talking with Lynn Etheredge (see photo at left), an independent consultant working on health care and social policy issues with a long track record in the fields of health finance and health reform (see his bio, below), about his work on comparative effectiveness research. What is comparative effectiveness research? Today, there are generally at least several treatment options for most health problems – and many more coming from the R&D pipeline. Comparative effectiveness research aims to identify the best treatment for each patient. Among the objectives of a national comparative effectiveness program would be to understand the best uses of ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1426703 Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1426703 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/285061346/conversations-w.html The programs and projects that Pioneer grantees are leading give all of us here at the Foundation a lot to think about. Their work presents us with new perspectives and new questions, and fosters many great discussions about the role of innovation in health and health care. Some of those discussions have been shared here on the Pioneering Ideas blog and we appreciate the opportunity to have such conversations with you about the work of our grantees, promising ideas for the future, and the importance of innovation in health. While we all enjoy talking and writing about the work of our grantees, there is something special about hearing from them directly about what’s on their minds. To that end, we are beginning a new series of interviews with Pioneer grantees - putting them on the spot, ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1426704 Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1426704 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/284002493/crowdsourced-bl.html Sean Stannard-Stockton has organized a group of bloggers to cover the Council on Foundations annual meeting.  Their posts are just beginning to appear on his blog, Tactical Philanthropy.  For those of you interested in the ideas coming out of this meeting, these posts will give you an early glimpse. (Source: Pioneering Ideas) Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1420656 Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1420656 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/282921861/the-second-life.html This weekend's New York Times Magazine cover story profiles CeaseFire, a violence prevention program built on a public health model that attacks the spread of violence much like epidemiologists attack the spread of infectious diseases.  The charge it issues in its ads and print materials is clear-cut:  Stop. Shooting. People.  CeaseFire is a key program supported by RWJF's Vulnerable Populations portfolio, and its innovative "violence interruption" strategies are making a real difference on the streets of Chicago and increasingly, as the article notes, in other urban centers plagued by gun crimes and deaths.  Among RWJF programs, CeaseFire also has been out in front in testing virtual world tools and techniques to enhance their real world impact.  In 2006... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1418584 Sat, 03 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1418584 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/279380231/tune-in-for-m-1.html Ben Sawyer of Games for Health will be a guest on Jack Olmsted’s internet radio show and Podcast this Tuesday at 2pm EST.  Ben will be talking about the intersections of games and health as well as the upcoming Games for Health Conference. Click here tomorrow to listen to the live show. To chat during the show, you will need to set-up a Now Live account here. The Podcast of the interview will be available on the Seattle PI Reader Blog.l (Source: Pioneering Ideas) Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1404184 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1404184 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/275680772/this-thursdays.html Last month, in a post entitled, Does ZipCar have lessons for health care? Rosemary Gibson wrote about Health Care Without Harm, a new Pioneer grantee, and their efforts to make the health care sector environmentally sustainable in ways that improve peoples’ health.  This Thursday, April 24, PBS Nightly Business Report will air a story about the growing movement to green the health care industry as part of their Bill of Health series. The story will report on the efforts the nation's hospitals are making to become more environmentally friendly and better members of the community -- all while controlling costs.  We are excited to see that the story will feature an interview with Anna Gilmore Hall, RN, executive director of Health Care Without Harm.  Check the PBS website to ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1392571 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1392571 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/265678190/in-the-long-run.html Last Friday, in his thoughtful blog, Tactical Philanthropy, Sean Stannard-Stockton, wrote about the often-missed opportunity philanthropies have to focus on the long run.  Stannard-Stockton directs the philanthropy practice at Ensemble Capital Management, a position which informs his perspective, as you’ll see in this excerpt from his blog: It is human nature to want results as quickly as possible. But to achieve success, we must match our investment decisions to our time horizon. If we want to fix a local school because our child will be attending starting next year, then it might make sense to focus on short-term solutions. But most donors fund issues because they want to have a sustained impact on a situation. The techniques that might reduce crime in a bad neighborhood the most... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1354189 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1354189 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/264026843/are-electronic.html Part of our role in the Pioneer Portfolio is to keep an ear open for those who challenge the conventional wisdom – those who don’t jump on the bandwagon, but wonder openly about where it’s headed. So when Gordon Moore came to us a few years back, when there was so much excitement about the prospects for a nationwide health information network of interconnected electronic health records in every practice, and suggested that EHRs, as we knew them, missed the point, we listened. We gave Gordon a small grant to develop his ideas and the results are now posted – in the form of two white papers – on our site. Gordon’s central concern is that the emphasis should not be placed on the documentation of information about a patient so that it can be retrieved later but rather on the wor... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1349788 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1349788 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/263394361/come-game-with.html The Games for Health Conference is just around the corner, and with all of our recent posts about games, I wanted to remind folks about this exciting event. The conference sessions are too numerous to name here, but if you have any interests in the future of exergames, exergyms, rehabitainment, and improving health outcomes for gray gamers – this event is for you. The conference will highlight games that are being used to train health care professionals, reduce stress and improve health behaviors, as well as the research that is being done to understand how and why games can improve health and health care. The conference will also feature a panel of representatives from the nation’s largest health insurance companies, including conference sponsor, Humana, to discuss their current and ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1347545 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1347545 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/261371160/rwjfs-wii-worko.html Following on Theresa's post... Though we might not be as edgy as the Game Developers Conference (yet), RWJF is making strides (and swings, punches, serves, strikes and spares).  We thought you might like to check out a few photos from the recent "getting to know Wii" sessions that the Foundation held for staff.  Thanks to all who graciously gave us the OK to share these (and who pull it off with such style in their business-gamer attire). Linda and Lois duke it out in the boxing ring.   Jasmine and James have the crowd on their feet. And Wilson shows off his left hook as Jasmine plans her next move. There's even talk that they may break out the Wii for our trustees to play during their upcoming board meeting.  In a few weeks I'll check in with Kris... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1338155 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1338155 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/259696747/gaming-a-go-go.html I was at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco last month.  It’s always a whirlwind experience for a novice gamer like myself, but I loved seeing the new game trends and learning about new advances.  Here’s a snapshot. . . Mobile games It’s funny; while technology is driving games to be bigger and more visually encompassing, technology is also allowing for a high fidelity game experience on mobile devices, cell phones in particular.  Nokia sponsored the GDC Mobile conference and talked about transferring console games to cell phone.  Nokia also alluded to their work on developing mobile games that would allow the player to interact with the environment.  Maybe next year Nokia will demo or release those games.  At the Microsoft-spo... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1334561 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1334561 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/256112006/keep-the-users.html I was a judge in the Grand Prize round for the Ruckus Nation competition.  And I have to say, the selection process they used felt a lot different than the selection process we use.  One of the reasons was that we were looking to select just one winner, instead of a slate of 10-15 as usually happens with RWJF national programs.  This meant that as we ruled some entrants out, the remaining ideas got additional focus.  When we were down to the final two, we had covered a lot of ground and were able to have a conversation that easily moved between granular operational issues, e.g., “Would this thing break if you threw it?,” and values positions, e.g., “This one cuts the link to the screen and gets kids outside.”But I think the biggest influence was the addition of ... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1321245 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1321245 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/rwjfblogs/pioneer/~3/253664028/and-the-winner.html Ruckus Nation announced its grand prize winner today -- congratulations to Stacy Cho, a Seattle middle school teacher, for rising to the top of 429 entries with her "Dancing Craze" game idea and landing the top prize of $50,000!  “Dancing Craze” is an interactive game with wearable motion sensors that make your virtual character come alive as you show off your real-world dance moves. It lets you pick your music, record your moves and share your virtual dance video online. With “Dancing Craze,” you can also create group dances or test your skills by mimicking videos from other players, and log on to the “Dancing Craze” website to see whose moves are voted number one. Moments after finding out she won, Stacy said:  "I wake up every day and look for wa... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1311429 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1311429