MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'innovation'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:51:04 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181737&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2F31%2Fthe-challenges-of-payment-reform-and-administrative-simplification%2F As both a Canadian and an analyst who focuses on US healthcare, I have an abiding curiosity in comparisons between the US and Canadian systems, so it was with great interest that I read the recent Health Affairs article by Dante Morra and coauthors entitled “US Physician Practices Versus Canadians: Spending Nearly Four Times As Much Money [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181737 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:57:12 +0100 5181737 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169544&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F8O-7TWWsOwk%2F More than 1.7 million Americans are currently living with limb loss, and each year, more than 150,000 more face either full or partial amputation. For many of these people, the option of prosthetics proves invaluable, allowing them to maintain their quality of life. And now, other members of the animal kingdom are getting in on the act! As HuffPost’s Weird News reports, Winter the dolphin, of Clearwater Beach, Fla. is one such fortunate recipient of a prosthetic limb. Winter, who lost her tail to a crab trap at only three months old, had her quality of life restored when experts from Hanger Prosthetics were able to successfully design her a prosthetic tail. For her part, Winter earned a starring role in the forthcoming Warner Brothers film, Dolphin Tale. You can read the full HuffPost st... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169544 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:00:10 +0100 5169544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158977&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FuWUbQhdO2ls%2F Yesterday, Healthcare IT News reported that a study due out later this month found that the addition of social media tools to online health programs seemed to positively influence the effectiveness of the programs. The study, which is being published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found that “adding an interactive online community to an Internet-based walking program significantly decreased the number of participants who dropped out.” This is just the latest in eHealth innovations – from mobile health apps to electronic medical records and so, so, so much more – leaving the medical community wondering how eHealth will fare moving forward. How do you feel about health-related social networking? Would you join an online health program? What concerns – privacy, quality... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158977 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:15:49 +0100 5158977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159012&cid=t_101215_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FsWIbxRAFvBw%2F Where do good ideas come from? Ideas need to mingle and swap, and create new forms. May all this social media stuff isn't a waste of time after all? (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159012 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:23:44 +0100 5159012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159385&cid=t_101215_114_f&fid=35708&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftypepad%2Frwjfblogs%2Fpioneer%2F%7E3%2FPf6p7JTU-tI%2Fmoving-mhealth-forward-through-evidence.html There is something magical that happens when talking about mHealth. People start believing all of the wonderful things that a phone, together with the right gadget, can do: remind me to take my medicine, monitor my vitals, inform my doctor when something goes wrong, just plain automatically keep me healthy. The last few years have seen a huge growth in cell phone companies, technology companies, governments, application and device developers rushing to deliver product in this space. Just look at the over 500% increase in attendance between the 2009 and 2010 mHealth Summit (with the 2011 meeting promising to be even larger.) Along with the hype and the hope, people are beginning to ask for evidence and to question the value of growing a collection of isolated gadgets and apps. I’d say tha... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159385 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5159385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139724&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fm6fuFkOI9lw%2F WATCH exclusive video interviews with 15 of this year’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare! They discuss some of the key factors that have contributed to their career success and share their advice for other women considering a career in healthcare administration. (Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care) Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139724 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:31:29 +0100 5139724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139694&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw0BZieNHsaM%2F By Emily EkinsSeveral recent polls have shown Americans are becoming increasingly skeptical of of Washington’s economic planning capabilities. According to a recent Washington Post poll, 73 percent of Americans doubt Washington’s ability to solve economic problems. In fact, these numbers have leapt from 52 percent last year and from 41 percent in 2002. It appears that the more the government has tried to fix the U.S. economy, the less confident Americans are that the government is capable of doing such things. When the government in Washington decides to solve economic problems, how much confidence do you have that the problem actually will be solved: A lot, some, just a little, or none at all?  Source: Washington Post Poll Another example of this skepticism toward government economi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139694 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:24:22 +0100 5139694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096844&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F08%2F03%2Fredesigning-waiting-room-in-healthcare%2F I’ve recently come across fuelfor a company focusing on redesigning the common processes of healthcare. They just launched a project in which they aim at creating a new concept for waiting rooms: Waiting is a common pain point in many health systems. As resources are increasingly overstretched, some degree of waiting is inevitable for most healthcare services. And yet hospital waiting rooms tend to be some of the most uncomfortable spaces to spend time, both physically and emotionally. Research shows that a well designed waiting experience has the potential to improve the overall perception of a health care service and to optimise care delivery processes. Gathering insights through site visits to several hospitals and clinics and discussions with care givers and patients, fuelfor h... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096844 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:26:05 +0100 5096844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077678&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F5hHFowu-r40%2F On June 9, 2011, sanofi-aventis U.S. announced the “sanofi-aventis U.S. Innovation Challenge: Data, Design, Diabetes” at the National Institute of Health’s Health Data Initiative Forum. The challenge, which launched on July 1, integrates open data with a human-centered view into diabetes, and will award $220,000 in total prize money. The challenge is designed for fast learning, so that innovators can create the needed service solutions for people living with diabetes. It brings together the richness of open data sets made available on healthdata.gov, the values of human-centered design, and the leading edge methodology of the top innovation accelerators. Until July 31st, innovators can submit their concepts on www.datadesigndiabetes.com.  In early August, an independent panel of exp... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077678 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:30:17 +0100 5077678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069466&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fkacp3b2MFJc%2F The sky is the limit it seems when it comes to mobile health. Proving once again the myriad possibilities for that smartphone apps present to every facet of the health sector, Orca MD — a company dedicated to producing apps aimed at educating patients and helping them find the most effective treatment for their ailments — just released two new patient education apps – these focusing on cosmetic procedures. The new apps (FaceDecide & BreastDecide) come in addition to their six existing Orthopedic patient education apps — including an orthopedic app called ShoulderDecide, which was recently reviewed by iMedicalApps.com. While these latest apps are obviously less focused on chronic medical conditions than the original six, they do call attention to just how great the ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069466 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:05:56 +0100 5069466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050577&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fresearch-investigates-a-percutaneous-option-for-aortic-valve-replacement%2F2011.07.21 To ensure rational and responsible dissemination of this new technology (transcatheter aortic valve replacement [TAVR]), government, industry and medicine will need to work in harmony.” - David R. Holmes, Jr., MD, FACC President, American College of Cardiology Today, Edwards Lifesciences’ will request pre-market approval of its SAPIEN Transcatheter Heart Valve from the FDA’s Circulatory Systems Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee. And for the first time, the groundwork for our complicated new era of health care rationing will be exposed. To win an expensive technology on behalf of patients these days, there will have to be “harmony” between doctors and their professional organizations and government regulators. If not, patients lose. At issue is a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050577 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:00:00 +0100 5050577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050502&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F07%2F20%2Fbringing-diabetes-prevention-to-national-scale%2F The burden imposed on our society by type 2 diabetes mellitus has grown dramatically over the last decade.  Greater numbers of people than ever before are being diagnosed with diabetes at younger ages.  These people and their families must face the spectrum of implications brought on by diabetes, including its many associated medical complications. The [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050502 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:43:24 +0100 5050502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050923&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F18%2Fcomfortable-with-the-old%2F Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions. That is a problem. Those that can’t change their minds can’t change anything. Having a genuine reason to transform your practice is the catalyst that will help one do so. Before you start the process, ask these to questions: Is there something to can improve in your practice? If no, then forget it Do you want to change your practice in anyway? If not, forget it. If a practice does not realize there are problems and/or do not want to change them, it is really hard or even impossible to transform a practice. Fundamentally, we must become the change we want to see. If not, then the transformation cannot begin. (Source: Pediatric Inc) Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050923 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:00:49 +0100 5050923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036229&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-real-world-of-medicine-today%2F2011.07.17 The old joke in medicine goes, ‘don’t get sick on July 1st.’ That’s because it’s the day when new resident physicians, freshly graduated from medical schools across the land, begin their training programs. Although they have spent four years in undergraduate school and four years in medical school, it’s residency where physicians are made from the raw material of knowledge-rich, experience poor high achievers. However, even in residency physicians are seldom told the entire story of how the practice of medicine, and their lives, will look and feel as their careers evolve and they enter the medical work-force. Since our profession changes from year to year and administration to administration, it seems a good time to mention some of the things upcoming young physicians will face... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036229 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:00:50 +0100 5036229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028538&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F07%2F13%2Fhealth-app-development-and-innovation%2F Two quick notes: HHS kicks off $5M ‘i2′ Health IT app development program – contracts awarded for this, more innovation opportunities looking to: Allow an individual to securely and effectively share health information with members of his or her social network. Provide patients, caregivers and/or clinicians access to rigorous and relevant information that can support real needs and immediate decisions. Allow individuals to connect during natural disasters and other periods of emergency. Facilitate exchange of health information while allowing individuals to customize the privacy allowances for their personal health records. Also announced, the Cleveland Clinic Medical Pavilion on Innocentive and the first challenge posted. (Source: eHealth) eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028538 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:54:52 +0100 5028538 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008181&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FCRDbof3Lrxk%2F By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. Can a patient’s experience with health care providers be as engaging, entertaining and satisfying as time spent at amusement parks? The Disney Institute thinks so, and has established a program to help health providers delight health consumers called Building a Culture of Healthcare Excellence. With the tagline, “D-Think Your Way to Success,” The Disney Institute offers programs that help organizations apply Disney’s lessons in customer service, creativity and leadership to their own situations. In the case of the Healthcare Excellence program, Disney is looking to re-focus health care delivery beyond clinical outcomes toward the overall patient experience. The Institute’s press release notes that the HCAHPS survey on patients’ experiences with provider... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008181 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:58:49 +0100 5008181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008455&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F06%2Fmedical-practices-need-to-change-too%2F We don’t change a whole lot in the private practice world. Why is that? The truth is change creates opportunities. Change allows us to find new ways to adapt, create, and meet the challenges of our private practice healthcare world. Change also keeps us on top of our game. A few years ago, we had a very large, well established practice open up shop right next door. We were literally door to door with them. We were so upset; for a little while. Then we started thinking of ways we needed to stay at the top of our game. We brainstormed on ways we could  improve on our customer service; we looked at expanding our hours. We asked questions, such as, could we remain open while the practice next door was closed? Was their anything we could add to our services that could differentiate oursel... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008455 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:00:05 +0100 5008455 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992644&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F07%2F01%2Fhealth-affairs-systems-innovations-briefing-reminder-and-time-change%2F On July 7, 2011, Health Affairs will unveil its July 2011 issue, “New Directions In Systems Innovations.” The issue explores ongoing innovations in health care organization, delivery and financing across a broad front – from Vermont’s recent passage of single payer legislation, to new responsibilities for hospital boards of trustees as a consequence of the [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992644 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:43:20 +0100 4992644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975813&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F06%2F27%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-new-directions-in-systems-innovation%2F On July 7, 2011, Health Affairs will unveil its July 2011 issue, “New Directions In Systems Innovations.” The issue explores ongoing innovations in health care organization, delivery and financing across a broad front – from Vermont’s recent passage of single payer legislation, to new responsibilities for hospital boards of trustees as a consequence of the [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975813 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:36:16 +0100 4975813 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968634&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F06%2F23%2Fcan-social-media-save-lives%2F This provocative title of a webinar to be held next week is part of the growing optimism about the potential for social media in the process of health care. Some recent examples come to mind: Report from the Change Foundation in Toronto on Using social media to improve the quality of patient experience (I was on the advisory board for this report) An App that Looks for Signs of Sickness – Mobile-phone activity can provide a warning of disease flare-ups. Community Health Data Initiative – more on this later Case Study: Radboud Hospital Supports Young Cancer Patients With An Online Community We are witnessing a shift from social media for pure marketing toward engagement and beyond, to changing the care process. (Source: eHealth) eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968634 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:58:56 +0100 4968634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952993&cid=t_101215_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F17%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-june-17-2011%2F Most therapists, even before they were therapists, have a natural ear for pain. They are like magnets attracting people who are in dire need of a listener. I know because I was one of them. And over the years, I’ve learned that the real challenge underlying all of the stuff they talked about was acceptance. People felt rejected, heartbroken, beaten up emotionally because they felt that the life they were living wasn’t the life that they were supposed to be living. They mourned their inability to look a certain way, be a certain kind of person or get married and have kids by a certain age and be nurtured unconditionally by two loving parents. But life never unfolds the way we think it’s supposed to. And there is a lot of grief in that. One of the most painful things to con... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952993 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:07:40 +0100 4952993 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934439&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F06%2F16%2Finnovation-opportunities-abound%2F A new conference has been announced by the NIH: Crowdsourcing: The Art and Science of Open Innovation. Speakers incude Tim O’Reilly and ” will focus on the key aspects of this new approach that include: how to identify problems that can be solved through open innovation; how to communicate a scientific problem across disciplines.” Another open innovation opportunity has been recently announced called Merit Awards which is offering $50,000 on the topics of citizen engagement, defense, emergency response, entitlement reform, work force management and motivation, back office operations, results achievement and waste. Another opportunity is a developer community called TopCoder “revolutionizing the software design and development process by tapping in to our unlimited g... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934439 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:36:39 +0100 4934439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934149&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FsAVKosrZ1Iw%2F By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. Over 85% of the world’s population is covered by wireless phone signals. The global proliferation of wireless phones provides a technology platform to move health services to people — broadly referred to as ”mobile health” or “mhealth.” mHealth: New Horizons for health through mobile technologies, the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) second report on mobile health, summarizes a survey of mobile health developments around the world, published in June 2011 based on survey data from 2009 collected in 114 nations. WHO learned that mHealth is most easily deployed into health applications where voice communication via traditional phone networks has been used. Thus, in important applications like surveillance and decision support, mHealth is less like... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934149 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:28:24 +0100 4934149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934114&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsskDnGcrBaw%2F By Jim HarperIf you like innovation, and if you’re interested in intellectual property, you probably already know about the Committee on the Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era. That’s a group assembled by the National Academies to, well, analyze the impact of copyright policy on innovation in the digital era. Long-standing consensus holds that copyright, by creating artificial scarcity in information goods, allows creators to enjoy rewards from their creations sufficient to justify creating them. In other words, copyright’s incentive structure encourages creation and innovation, the end result being more and better information goods for the society to enjoy. Information technologies such as digitization and the Internet are rejiggering the balance... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934114 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:44:22 +0100 4934114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911440&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F06%2F07%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-reminder-strategies-for-the-global-decade-of-vaccines%2F Immunizing the world’s children against infectious diseases has dramatically cut childhood death and suffering in recent decades.  In 2010, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates called for a new “Decade of Vaccines” to vault the progress dramatically forward. The June 2011 issue of Health Affairs, sponsored by the Gates Foundation, examines the strategies that will be [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911440 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:00:53 +0100 4911440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902413&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F7NvKUDV1N3o%2F By Glenna Crooks. Let’s face it: we in health care today need some miracles to deliver what’s being asked of us. And….er…uh….just where are these miracles going to come from? Another clinical study? A deeper dive into EHRs? More ‘command and control’ from quality assurance reviews? Another ‘gotcha’ hearing? Another malpractice trial? I wonder about that a lot these days and sometimes I’m not optimistic because it seems intuitively obvious to me that we are not going to dig our way out of a hole by digging in the same hole faster, better or more efficiently. We’re in need of radical solutions. I’ve been wondering about other approaches. Then I saw one. Quite unexpectedly from artists and musicians. Huh?   Yes. Artists and musicians. Here is one, describing the ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902413 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:56:30 +0100 4902413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893370&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F06%2F03%2Fsuccess-factors-for-creating-accountable-care-organizations%2F Healthcare organizations across the country are learning how to adapt to the concept of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Having been closely involved in Intermountain Healthcare’s evolution as a prototype ACO, we offer our experience in making that transition. Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit, integrated, healthcare system serving Utah and southern Idaho. With 23 hospitals, [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893370 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:15:06 +0100 4893370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893374&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F06%2F01%2Fa-way-forward-for-the-global-fund%2F The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has saved millions of lives, but now it is in crisis.  A string of revelations about the misuse of its grants to governments in developing countries, culminating in the recent news of the theft of $2.5 million worth of malaria drugs, has led some backers of [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893374 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:51:41 +0100 4893374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883548&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F05%2F31%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-strategies-for-the-global-decade-of-vaccines%2F Immunizing the world’s children against infectious diseases has dramatically cut childhood death and suffering in recent decades.  In 2010, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates called for a new “Decade of Vaccines” to vault the progress dramatically forward. The June 2011 issue of Health Affairs, sponsored by the Gates Foundation, examines the strategies that will be [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883548 Tue, 31 May 2011 18:14:31 +0100 4883548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862664&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F05%2F25%2Fmore-on-innovation-the-need-for-actionable-ideas%2F An excellent post on Venture Valkyrie discusses why Innovation is not enough in healthcare. The author views that “there is no doubt that innovation is necessary to respond to the challenges of our current healthcare system”  while “over-breeding of ideas that are innovative but not actionable.” It is important to consider innovation not just a good in itself, especially in healthcare where we are trying to impact personal health, as only good if it leads to real change. Some innovation will always fail, so the encouragement toward innovation should not have barriers that are too high, but realistic evaluation of these ideas, testing their viability, needs to occur. Another note on innovation comes from the site udemy, a site which enables the creation of courses. ... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862664 Thu, 26 May 2011 00:52:52 +0100 4862664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841735&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FJXoGd4HSVHM%2F What is brain fitness really? What will happen in terms of brain fitness innovation in the next decade? What’s the biggest challenge? Who could answer these questions better than the expert SharpBrains 2011 Summit speakers? Discover below the answers of 7 of them. .1. How would you define “brain fit­ness” vs. “phys­i­cal fit­ness”? Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Har­vard Med­ical School: Phys­i­cal fit­ness can refer to an over­all or gen­eral state of health and well-being. How­ever, it is also often used more specif­i­cally to refer to the abil­ity to per­form a given activ­ity, occu­pa­tion, or sport. Sim­i­larly brain fit­ness might be used to refer to a gen­eral state of healthy, opti­mized brain func­tion, or a more spe­cific brain-based abil­ity to proce... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841735 Thu, 19 May 2011 18:55:56 +0100 4841735 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841656&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F05%2F18%2Fpromoting-healthcare-innovation-through-challenges%2F Innovation in healthcare is now pervasive.  To continue the wave of innovation, hospitals can now earn new incentives based on competitions. These are government-sponsored, industry-sponsored challenges, and even have the potential for becoming business ventures. Here are some competitions hospitals can enter to help expand industry innovation: Health Challenges at Challenge.gov – These include video challenges, National Library of Medicine apps, Flu apps and more. Many offer monetary rewards. Health 2.0 Developer Challenge – Developed by the Health 2.0 Conference folks, this includes online challenges and live competitions including a Code-a-Thon which most recently occurred in February A Code-a-Thon is a day long competition to build an application. Winners... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841656 Wed, 18 May 2011 20:06:14 +0100 4841656 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789193&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F05%2F05%2Fways-and-means-chair-panel-won%25e2%2580%2599t-consider-ryan-medicare-plan%2F House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) said this morning that his committee will not take up a proposal this year to replace Medicare’s defined benefits formula with a “voucher” or “premium support” system in which seniors would shop for private coverage using defined contributions from the federal government. Such a reform proposal [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789193 Thu, 05 May 2011 20:01:30 +0100 4789193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762850&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FJJpc_cY72x4%2F Discussion moved from cognitive fitness to neuroplasticity, across regulatory and policy trends, and new product launches by new and established players  What did we take home from the SharpBrains Summit? Was it novel consumer insights arising from a new retail landscape? What of policy initiatives from innovation clusters around the globe? Do you see a future populated by neuroscience toolkits, driven by the inexorable demographic changes set to occur in the coming decades? Or was it a look “under the hood” of technology platforms developed by category leaders that sharpened our insight? Here are 10 emerging themes: The Need for Standardization of methodologies A profusion of cognitive and emotional health tests, batteries and new technologies are crowding the research environment... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762850 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:41:34 +0100 4762850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753830&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FJJpc_cY72x4%2F Discussion moved from cognitive fitness to neuroplasticity, across regulatory and policy trends, and new product launches by new and established players  What did we take home from the SharpBrains Summit? Was it novel consumer insights arising from a new retail landscape? What of policy initiatives from innovation clusters around the globe? Do you see a future populated by neuroscience toolkits, driven by the inexorable demographic changes set to occur in the coming decades? Or was it a look “under the hood” of technology platforms developed by category leaders that sharpened our insight? Here are 10 likely themes to emerge. The Need for Standardization of methodologies A profusion of cognitive and emotional health tests, batteries and new technologies are crowding the research env... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753830 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:41:34 +0100 4753830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753688&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FSwrll4lrMQc%2F , the first program of its kind, is an executive program for physicians, healthcare executives, innovators and investors that focuses on exploring the impact of rapidly developing technologies. FutureMed will be held May 10-15 at Singularity University on the NASA-Ames Research Park in Silicon Valley. Few fields have the potential to evolve more dramatically through disruptive, exponential technologies than healthcare. Low cost genomic sequencing and proteomics, ever-faster and higher-resolution imaging, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, stem cells, robotic surgery, smaller and more capable implantable and wearable devices, ubiquitous mobile applications, nanotechnology and synthetic biology–these and other game-changing technologies and innovations have tremendous implications ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753688 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:31:07 +0100 4753688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753803&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2FxLWKxHLiDZs%2F Healthcare needs positive role models for innovation…and we have a real-time mentor in Netflix. If you have a Netflix subscription, you probably identify with the company as providing a convenient DVD rental service — order on the web, the DVD arrives by mail, send it back in the handy pre-paid envelope when you’re done. Today’s ReadWriteWeb describes Netflix’ latest letter to shareholders and explains how the company is preparing for the demise of DVDs: (more…) Tags: business model, disruptive innovation (Source: e-CareManagement) e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753803 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:52:16 +0100 4753803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753651&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F04%2F25%2Facos-improved-care-or-roadblocks-to-innovation%2F Some debates about health care policy represent black and white choices. But others are a more nuanced shade of grey: the new proposals could turn out well, or not so well, depending on how they are implemented. One such reform getting broad-based attention is the creation of Medicare Accountable Care Organizations, or “ACOs,” which are [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753651 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:41:22 +0100 4753651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734058&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOTvW8AKCpvs%2F By George Scoville “Collective bargaining gives unions the exclusive right to speak for covered workers, many of whom may disagree with the views of the monopoly union.” “Which two have done more to improve your life — Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs, or Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi?” “A temporarily frozen debt limit could instead signal U.S. lawmakers’ resolve to get our fiscal house in order. It may even reassure investors about long-term U.S. economic prospects.” “What makes Americans exceptional is our ornery resistance to being bossed around.” Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) spoke recently at a Cato forum on fiscal policy about the CAP Act–here’s an excerpt of his remarks: Wednesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty -... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734058 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:16:36 +0100 4734058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734447&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F04%2F19%2Fthe-future-of-doctor-patient-video-calls%2F A Swedish company came out with an amazing innovation at a mobile company with which sales people can contact customers directly through a Minority Report-like solution. Is this the future of doctor-patient video calls as well? Check it out! (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734447 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:04:24 +0100 4734447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734268&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2FokDK9gkw3iE%2F (click on the graphics to link to original sources) Regular readers know that I find Professor Clay Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation to be a useful lens to explain industry evolution. Let’s look at two recent health IT initiatives and see why one is working and the other is stalled. (more…) Tags: disruptive innovation, EHR, interoperability (Source: e-CareManagement) e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734268 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:26:45 +0100 4734268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714854&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F04%2F14%2Fappropriate-use-of-social-media-in-healthcare-organizations%2F A question during a presentation on social media in healthcare about the appropriate use of social media in patient care areas. Social media can be an effective tool for engaging patients online. But what about the use of social media in patient care areas. Should nurses, physicians and other healthcare providers be online interacting with colleagues or family during active patient care? With busy clinics and busier hospital units and greater concern about patient safety, is there time for what administrators might view as a distraction? Would you want your nurse to be updating Facebook while you are waiting for post-op pain medication? Yet there may be some advantages to direct caregivers utilizing social media. How about the oncology nurse interacting with the cancer patient discharged l... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714854 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 01:57:27 +0100 4714854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684306&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FEgI1gvJoKww%2F Disruptive Woman Halle Tecco recently helped launch The Rock Health Fund, a group of dedicated individuals working to catalyze innovation in the interactive health space, and become one of the first startups to access our unrivaled community of experts and seed-accelerator program. See the article below in the San Jose Mercury News for more details on this exciting new program. Techies’ Rock Health Fund is ready to roll By Peter Delevett. Frustrated by the many problems besetting health care, a number of big-name techies on Friday announced the opening of a tech incubator aimed at bringing the developer mentality to bear on the industry. The Rock Health Fund — the brainchild of blogger Halle Tecco — is accepting applications from startups offering tech-driven fixes to h... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684306 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:18:08 +0100 4684306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676779&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FQjV-tryLFQ4%2F By Glenna Crooks. Having been engaged in rare disease research and orphan drug development for many decades and as one who continues behind-the-scenes to encourage the work, events of the last few weeks about Makena’s launch sent chills through me.  The firestorm that followed created some heat but none sufficient to help relieve the shivers. Others might declare the outcome a “win” but the more I read, the worse it seems. I’m not privy to what really happened, only what the press reports. It does not look good… for virtually anyone of the players involved, especially the critics.  Those critics raised tough questions and to date only the company has faced them. It’s about time the critics themselves –and perhaps others as well – face some.    For those who’ve mi... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676779 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:31:25 +0100 4676779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670193&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F04%2F01%2Ftedx-maastricht-the-future-of-medicine%2F In anticipation of the International event on April 4, I wanted to share some links. Although many conferences which claim to be futurist meccas for healthcare, this one is bringing together a group of people including a very strong patient perspective which all are thinking innovation. Also, it is completely full and is being simulcasted to several countries. Website, speakers Some of the attendees via a tool which exploits LinkedIn mashup on VPRO Simulcast schedule – I am being interviewed at 11:15 local time Follow tweets at #tedxmaastricht (Source: eHealth) eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670193 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:17:06 +0100 4670193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658379&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FNrjsnVepAsI%2F By Archelle Georgiou. At 9:55 am on a Wednesday morning. I was 15 miles from home and making good time getting to my 10:30 meeting until I realized that I’d left the power cord for my Mac computer at home. There was no way I’d have enough battery power to get through my presentation. So, I had a choice: turn around, go home and be late or run by the mall and buy a new power cord at the Apple store.  Since the mall was only ¼ mile away, I could arrive just as the store opened and likely be the first customer. The decision was easy. As expected, the parking lot had a scant number of cars and I got a plum spot by the entrance. Racing past several stores en route to my destination, I noticed employees in the sporting goods store dribbling basketballs waiting for their first customers. Ga... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658379 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:30:58 +0100 4658379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642778&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FzMup-MmCrO0%2F We are honored to announce that Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, US Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, will open 2011 SharpBrains Virtual Summit next Wednesday, March 30th, sharing Welcome Remarks with all participants. Brenda Dann-Messier was nominated by President Obama as assistant secretary for vocational and adult education on July 14, 2009. On Oct. 5, 2009 she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and began her official duties on Oct. 13, 2009. As the first assistant secretary for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) who is also an adult educator, Dann-Messier leads the Department’s efforts in adult education and career and technical education, as well as efforts supporting community colleges and correctional education. She o... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642778 Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:27:05 +0100 4642778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636408&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fthe-road-ahead-for-the-new-health-it-coordinator%2F Editor’s Note” As David Blumenthal prepares to step down as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, where does the United States stand in the continuing effort to promote widespread adoption of electronic health records? What are the challenges that the next health IT coordinator will face? Health Affairs Blog asked two leading experts to [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636408 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:34:45 +0100 4636408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636409&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fhealth-information-technology-the-work-is-only-beginning%2F Editor’s Note” As David Blumenthal prepares to step down as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, where does the United States stand in the continuing effort to promote widespread adoption of electronic health records? What are the challenges that the next health IT coordinator will face? Health Affairs Blog asked two leading experts to [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636409 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:32:07 +0100 4636409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631539&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F03%2F24%2Ftrends-from-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-in-the-healthcare-sector%2F One addition to my post on this book is the final chapter on trends – 20 in all. Hospitals are no longer buildings Patient Safety Focus Information is everywhere Evidenced-based Management Healthcare can’t keep up with the rate of scientific discovery “Not being sick” to “Being Well” Shortage of Professionals The information hight gains more and more influence Concepts such as P2P and Web 2.0 arrive at the health sector Social entrepreneurs take the lead Consumer-driven healthcare Electronic medical records Cost containment will become more and more critical in healthcare New actors will appear in the healthcare value chain Healthcare will become more and more “vertical” Personalize medicine drives the agenda Bioinformatics emerge Bioconnect... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631539 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:20:49 +0100 4631539 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622324&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F03%2F22%2Fhearing-atul-gawande-speak-about-checklists-and-health-policy%2F Atul Gawande Just returned from live tweeting of Atul Gawande at Cleveland Clinic Ideas and full of quotes and ideas. For instance, the evidence is building for use of checklists showing significant reduction in mortality and complications so that he states that if there was a drug that showed this kind of effect it would be adopted immediately, even faster than Viagra. Gawande also discussed two of his well known New Yorker articles: The Cost Conundrum - What a Texas town can teach us about health care The Hot Spotters: Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care? In the end, he challenged the audience and the country to find one hospital which could reduce costs while not causing harm to set a model. He predicted that in the coming hospital wars, the ones w... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622324 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:50:26 +0100 4622324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610895&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FWmRE0YNJTlA%2F Conferences have long been a staple of the professional calendar. Now, after a recession that has slashed travel expenditure, the landscape for events is changing. Sophisticated digital platforms are enabling virtual environments that simulate the benefits of real events, and attendees are beginning to shift to accessing subject matter experts and industry networking online. But can the digital environment really displace brick and mortar events, where eye to eye meetings and chance connections can justify the often costly registration fees and travel costs? In organizations where hundreds of executives and professionals attend several conferences a year at $1,000 or more each in total cost, a virtual conference at $500 can be attractive. Making virtual connections at an online conference ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610895 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:49:41 +0100 4610895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600508&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F16%2Fpioneering-health-reform-bringing-knowledge-and-innovation-to-the-field%2F National health care reform passed in 2010 turns health care markets into laboratories for innovation—with calls to implement key changes to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and affordability of health care and increase value for the health care dollar. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, P.L. 111-148) promotes a range of tools to accomplish [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600508 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:55:34 +0100 4600508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592492&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FlqCToBIaLLo%2F In case anyone was still thinking the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  was an insidious plot for government to take over healthcare, here’s HHS CTO Todd Park—you know, the co-founder of athenahealth—talking at this week’s South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. In this video, Park echoes the sentiments of his former business partner Jonathan Bush from an interview Bush gave me at HIMSS last month in saying that the government’s job isn’t to innovate but rather to lay the foundation for the private sector to innovate. This is particularly important in the wake of my strong defense of Dr. Donald Berwick and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592492 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:14:03 +0100 4592492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592493&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FopWr_wehgR8%2F President Barack Obama has made plenty of mistakes in his first two-plus years in office, but none may be more serious for the future of America than his decision to install Donald M. Berwick, M.D., as a recess appointment to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July 2010. Berwick really is a great choice to head CMS, but the underhanded nature of the recess appointment has provided fodder for all kinds of uninformed ideologues and assorted nut jobs to attack Obama’s healthcare reform efforts. Just as CMS is gearing up to release widely anticipated proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations, we get the sad news that that Berwick’s days are numbered. After refusing to allow Berwick to testify before the Senate last year, Obama renominated Berwick on Jan. 2... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592493 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:21:58 +0100 4592493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592723&cid=t_101215_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FjP3rg-ydIws%2F This article was written by Tony Henderson of Term Papers Lab, a site that provides example term papers and essays to help students research topics and get ideas for their own research papers. (Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement) PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592723 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:00:42 +0100 4592723 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560223&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F08%2Fmarch-health-affairs-issue-innovations-in-health-care-delivery%2F Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government was handed an unprecedented set of tools to forge innovation in health care delivery through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Now, as the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation begins its work, the goal is to achieve the vaunted “Triple Aim” of improving individuals’ experience of [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560223 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:04:13 +0100 4560223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544933&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F03%2Fworld-health-care-congress-convenes-april-4-6%2F The 8th Annual World Health Care Congress (WHCC) will convene April 4-6, 2011 in Washington D.C. with more than 1,800 health care leaders to address the challenges of health care cost, quality and delivery. Health Affairs is a supporting publication for this event, which presents leading-edge case studies and best practices from all industry sectors, [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544933 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:58:58 +0100 4544933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4545073&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F2auDQU_j8WI%2F CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Accelerating the Future of Personalized Medicine, Evian Gordon, MD, PhD and Stephen H. Koslow, PhD -> Learn More and Register to Participate in the Summit Here, and get a chance at getting a complimentary copy of the book Integrative Neuroscience and Personalized Medicine! (Source: SharpBrains) SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4545073 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:40:11 +0100 4545073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536038&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F02%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-innovation-and-health-care-delivery-updated%2F On Tuesday morning, March 8, please join Health Affairs at the W Hotel Washington for a briefing tied to the release of the March 2011 issue of the journal, “Profiles of Innovation in Health Care Delivery.” You can also follow the briefing on Twitter through live Tweets at #HA_Innovation on HA_Events.  Topics covered in the issue [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536038 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:39:39 +0100 4536038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517149&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F24%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-innovation-and-health-care-delivery%2F On March 8, 2011, please join Health Affairs for a briefing tied to the release of the March 2011 issue of the journal, “Profiles of Innovation in Health Care Delivery.”  Topics covered in the issue and discussed at the briefing will include: Innovation Profiles — how 15 health systems, health plans and others are restructuring [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517149 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:34:04 +0100 4517149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517225&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FOtL0fB14zuo%2F Turns out that my previous post about lack of EMR innovation at HIMSS was a little more controversial than I expected it to be. Plus, I’m not sure that I communicated the entire message about EMR innovation and the future of EMR software in healthcare (I’m blaming the late nights and lack of sleep). I’m still suffering the HIMSS hangover and on this too small to type well netbook, but let me try and add some more context to the previous post. One person emailed me about my “disappointment with EMR software.” I’d be careful to characterize it as disappointment with the EMR industry. I’m really optimistic about the future of EMR. I still think they’re a great value proposition and that EVERY (leave a few rural settings aside) doctor should and ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517225 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:04:21 +0100 4517225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517164&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.disruptivewomen.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2FFINAL1.pdf Innovation Nation: Recognizing the Benefits of Innovation in Health Care Disruptive Women’s latest eBook has been extremely well received, including a mention in the small business section of WSJ.com. Download your copy to see what people are talking about, we know you won’t be disappointed. Related posts:Innovation Nation: New eBook Unveiled (Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care) Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517164 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:21:38 +0100 4517164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517226&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FlSgrbbfh6cY%2F One of the most disappointing parts of HIMSS for me is that the really creative and disruptive innovations are missing from HIMSS. There are a few items I saw like the Shareable Ink technology, some of the Nuance NLP/voice recognition work, and a pretty cool biometric kiosk by Fujitsu (which I’ll blog about later). Sadly I wasn’t seeing the really creative innovation coming from the EMR companies (and I talked to a lot of them) at HIMSS. I think there’s two possible things at play in this regard. First, meaningful use is probably largely to blame for much of the lack of innovation that I saw. As someone told me, the regulation of EHR software has damaged and deterred the innovation. I guess you could say I’ve seen some interesting and innovative ways to approach mea... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517226 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:53:45 +0100 4517226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489816&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FobcTqPEVmCU%2F We are pleased to announce two new resources for all professionals, researchers, developers, innovators and decision-makers in the field of brain health and cognitive fitness who are interested in better tracking and shaping the future that is already here. First of all, we have opened up a “Friends of SharpBrains.com” professional networking group on LinkedIn. If you are already a LinkedIn member, you can join the 377 existing members by clicking Here. Second, registered participants for the upcoming 2011 SharpBrains Summit (March 30 — April 1st) can now connect with each other and with speakers, as well as access 10 exclusive Innovation Case Studies prepared by the Win­ners and Final­ists of the 2010 Brain Fitness Innovation Awards. Ordered by approximate age group of the target ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489816 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:43:32 +0100 4489816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512390&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.disruptivewomen.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2FFINAL1.pdf By Robin Strongin. I am pleased to present Disruptive Women’s latest ebook, Innovation Nation: Recognizing the Benefits of Innovation in Health Care. Innovation in health care, broadly defined, is essential to the future. Innovation was a prominent theme in President Obama’s State of the Union address last month and funding for innovations is present in his budget released this week. But, are we, as a nation doing enough when it comes to innovation in health care? To help us explore the multi-faceted world of innovation we invited outside experts as well as some of our own Disruptive Women to share their insights and expertise on this critical topic. I hope you find this ebook both timely and informative. The posts originally ran December 2010. As an added benefit we have included an ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512390 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:00:21 +0100 4512390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472992&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F02%2F13%2Fon-the-bookshelf%2F While I read The Myths of Innovation as an eBook, my next three are all paperbacks: Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read by Stanislas Dehaene Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Healthcare Sector: From Idea to Funding to Launch by Luis G. Pareras, MD Keys to EMR/EHR Success: Selecting and Implementing an Electronic Medical Record by Ronald B. Sterling. The last two are Greenbranch Publishing. Watch for book reviews in the near future. (Source: eHealth) eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472992 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:09:09 +0100 4472992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464471&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F11%2Fwhy-are-life-sciences-mia-in-national-innovation-policy%2F In his State of the Union address, President Obama raised the political stakes for innovative American industries by calling for concerted, bipartisan action to enhance U.S. competitiveness through heightened innovation.  Signaling that “this is our generation’s Sputnik moment” that requires “a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464471 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:52:50 +0100 4464471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450390&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FDyXSG_WBfSQ%2F What may be the most time and cost-efficient way to attend a conference, learn from world-class speakers and meet old and new colleagues? Answer: A virtual conference, such as the upcoming 2011 SharpBrains Summit: Retooling Brain Health for the 21st Century (March 30th — April 1st). Please watch this 3-minute clip to learn how the SharpBrains Summit works, and why you should consider joining the good company of over 35 leading Speakers drawn from industry, research and the front lines. Confirmed Speakers include: === To Learn More About Summit Faculty & Agenda, click HERE We’d be delighted to count on your participation in this innovative endeavor, - The SharpBrains Team PS: Early-bird registration rates end on February 18th, with substantial savings available both for companies a... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450390 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:25:38 +0100 4450390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450288&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FfY2q28 By Mary Grealy. There’s no question that, if we’re ever to have effective health reform in this country, improving our healthcare delivery system has to come through a public-private partnership. One of the key elements of the Affordable Care Act is the creation of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), an entity that will be charged with evaluating concepts for healthcare delivery reform and then putting into action demonstration projects that have the potential to improve healthcare quality and increase cost-efficiency. Fortunately, much of this ground is already being broken in the private sector.  Throughout the country, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, group purchasing organizations, insurers, distributors and other health sector... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450288 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:24:20 +0100 4450288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445797&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FeIsknPHxr8M%2F By Glenna Crooks. This is the week many of us will consider – or finally make – Valentine’s Day purchases. Some of us will consider chocolate. Maybe more of us should. I wondered about that as I saw some disparate bits of data over the weekend. An article on Valentine’s Day spending was informative: couples will spend just under $70 on each other and we’ll spend, on average, $5 on pets, $6 on friends, $5 on teachers and $3.50 on co-workers. What will we be buying? In all, about $12.B in treats for the day: $3.5B on jewelry, $1.6B on clothing, $3.4B on dinner, $1.7B on flowers, $1.5B on candy (of which $285M will be on chocolate) and $1.1B on greeting cards. I get interested in items like this when I hear that we ‘can’t afford health care.’ I’ve noticed over the years how ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445797 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:48:38 +0100 4445797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445764&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F07%2Fvirginia-masons-clinical-transformation-hard-work-big-payoff%2F In the ten months since the passage of health reform, health care managers, particularly those in hospitals and health systems, have struggled to make sense of an onslaught of change in Medicare policy.  The response has been depressing:  an accelerating wave of merger and acquisition activity, both horizontal hospital mergers and an accelerating concentration of [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445764 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:29:12 +0100 4445764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433150&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F02%2F02%2Finnovation-segway-style%2F Yesterday I attend the Cleveland Clinic Ideas for Tomorrow presentation by Dean Kamen inventor of the Segway and much more. His current company is called DEKA Research & Development Corporation and has several inventions to meet his goals of saving the planet and solving big problems with simple solutions. Many of these have implications for health but also he has created FIRST, an education initiative to help students become inventors and scientists. Perhaps more important that his inventions is the way that he thinks about innovation and invention. Part of this is within the mission of FIRST, “exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, co... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433150 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:17:03 +0100 4433150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405747&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2F26%2Fhealth-care-and-the-state-of-the-union%2F Below, Kavita Patel, former director of policy for the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, discusses President Obama’s State of the Union address and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Republican response. See other posts on this topic by Len Nichols and Joseph Antos.  The Constitution mandates that the President “from time to time [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405747 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:05:12 +0100 4405747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4394411&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2F24%2Fsebelius-on-drug-development-free-access-through-facebook%2F The federal government is taking a bigger role in promoting the development of new drugs, in reaction to the slow pace of innovative treatments being generated by the pharmaceutical industry. For example, in Sunday’s New York Times, Gardiner Harris discusses the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the new drug development initiative which the National Institutes of Health [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4394411 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:46:32 +0100 4394411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360959&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYkHhh22Dzkw%2F By Michael F. CannonOn the eve of a House vote to repeal ObamaCare, the Department of Health and Human Services has released a report claiming that if repeal succeeds, “1 in 2 non-elderly Americans could be denied coverage or charged more due to a pre-existing condition.”  A few problems with that claim: An HHS survey found that in 2001, only 1 percent of Americans had ever been denied health insurance. Economists Mark Pauly and Len Nichols write, “the fraction of nonelderly uninsured persons…who would be rated as actuarially uninsurable is generally estimated to be very small, less than 1 percent of the population.” RAND health economist Susan Marquis and her colleagues find that in markets that do not impose ObamaCare-style government price controls on he... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360959 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:54:23 +0100 4360959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361097&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F01%2F17%2Fusing-social-media-to-promote-evidence-based-practice%2F This concept is unique in health care social media. It goes beyond marketing or even engaging customers and on to the real impact on practice. It happens that this may more of a Canadian approach to social media. Freed of much of the health care marketing in the US, tying evidence-based practice to social media goes to the heart of the value of these tools. Perhaps it is also the influence of Cochrane on evidenced based practice in Canada and the UK and EU. On a side note, check out Spigit, a new company all about innovation. Not specific to health care but if you look toward Canada again to the Innovation Cell.  See also this post from TechCrunch on visualization in innovation. More on innovation soon for a book review on The Myths of Innovation. (Source: eHealth) eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361097 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:58:42 +0100 4361097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337893&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2F12%2Funfreezing-the-health-it-market%2F Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein recently described the Obama administration’s consistent efforts to improve troubled private markets: Isolate the eight key economic decisions of the Obama presidency: The intervention in the financial sector, the intervention in the auto sector, the intervention in the housing sector, the stimulus package, the health-care bill, financial regulation, and the [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337893 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:38:44 +0100 4337893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4327000&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F10%2Fsamsung-galaxy-tab-in-medicine%2F I predicted a massive role of tablets in 2011 and also wrote about the pros and cons of using iPad in healthcare when it became a hit last year. So it’s time to talk about Samsung Galaxy Tab which actually has changed totally my online activities in the past 3-4 weeks. Pros: Flash-based websites don’t mean any problems. Multi-tasking works nicely. Has a camera (both photo and video), plus videoconferencing is possible. Battery life seemed to be over 15 hours. Much smaller than iPad, really easy to hold for long time. Has barcode scanner app. Reading medical papers, e-book and PDFs is comfortable. The voice-controlled search app Vlingo is at least as good as Siri on iPhones. Cons: If it’s connected through USB to laptops, battery won’t be charged. There are stil... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4327000 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:01:24 +0100 4327000 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322486&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2F07%2Fnew-health-affairs-the-next-phase-for-acos%2F The Affordable Care Act created new “accountable care organizations” (ACOs) in Medicare, and an accompanying “shared savings” program, to improve the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries and reduce unnecessary costs. Now, health systems across the country are building on the model by drawing up ACO-like contracts with private payers.  The January issue of Health [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322486 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:15:30 +0100 4322486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322640&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F07%2F2011-ces-innovation-honorees-in-healthcare%2F Yesterday, the huge CES conference was launched in which there are plenty of Innovations Honorees in the healthcare category. It seems devices designed for hearing loss or damage rule this year’s health category. Here is the full list with details, and here is my summary: An In-Ear Assistive Listening Device that provides full time low level amplification with situational hearing solutions Hearing instrument system comprising an “industry first” proprietary digital wireless communication solution High-Fidelity Electronic BlastPLG Earplugs were developed to mitigate hearing damage and tinnitus sustained by deployed soldiers. Moneual Silver Care Robot Digital sports watch aimed at Nike runners. Pharos’ Cognit is designed for individuals living with brain injuries, me... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322640 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:25:40 +0100 4322640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309702&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2011%2F01%2F04%2Fhewing-away-its-all-in-the-eye-of-the-sculptor%2F Hew (hyū) v.   To make or shape with or as if with an ax To cut down with an ax   “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” – Michaelangelo An unfinished Michealangelo sculpture. I just re-read this quote – I think it is a powerful metaphor for any innovator that is out there trying to change the world.They are the ones that can see the fully defined, fully articulated, and fully functional end product within the building blocks that others pass off as mere landscape material. I think this gift of vision – this ability to “see” ... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309702 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:18:33 +0100 4309702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309791&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F04%2F2011-predictions-in-medicine-healthcare-technology-and-innovation%2F I hope everyone survived New Year’s Eve and the first days of work, so it’s just time to share my predictions for 2011 in medicine, healthcare, technology and innovation. I would love to get feedback about any of these points so please tell us what you think! This is going to be the year of tablets, and I’m not only talking about the iPad, but also Samsung Galaxy Tab (which I will write about in details soon) and others. New medical and media apps designed only for these tablets will appear. As the number of medical websites and the number of people searching for medical resources are both increasing, online medical content curation will become crucially important. See Webicina.com. Prezi will keep on developing into a collaborative brainstorm platform besides being the... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309791 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:33:13 +0100 4309791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4302175&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F12%2F31%2Fyear-in-review-books-of-2010%2F Following Kent Bottle’s lead in influential books in 2010, I decided to compose my own list: Chasing Medical Miracles The Promise and Perils of Clinical Trials. Tells it like it is – to be a participant in a clinical trial. Googled-The End of the World as We Know It – somewhat disappointing in that it discussed the advertising side of the business and less about the history of its technical evolution. DIYU: Epunks, Edupeneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education. This book was recommended by a speaker at the J. Boye conference in Philadelphia. Questions the future viability of universities as they are undermined by Web 2.0 technology. Leading Geeks – Required reading for anyone who manages geeks, especially programmers. Helpful for anyone to understand... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4302175 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:05:31 +0100 4302175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4287493&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F12%2F24%2F2010-year-in-review%2F It has been a year full of travel and accomplishments. Here is a month-by-month review: January – hosted Lucien Engelen and others from Radboud UMCN Hospital in the Netherlands at the Cleveland Clinic for two days on everything from the group practice model to innovation and patient experience in two days. February- vacation in Naples, Florida March – HIMSS 2010 in Atlanta presenting twice and AMIA Clinical Research Informatics Symposium presenting a poster. Also visited the Googleplex. Stopped in Salt Lake City for a day on the way home. April – Toronto for the - TAHSN Education Day for Healthcare Communicators – spoke on social media May - J. Boye Conference in Philadelphia – spoke on social media in healthcare and published my first article in iHealthbeat... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4287493 Sat, 25 Dec 2010 03:44:01 +0100 4287493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281310&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FjXy4W1sJ3Hs%2F By Julie Murchinson. While many have argued that health reform and other federal regulatory posturing has left true innovation in health improvement for consumers and patients nearly impossible, the “innovation” concept seems to be the buzz word du jour across the health care industry. This post focuses on innovation as it relates to how health care is delivered and paid for.    Some organizations like Kaiser Permanente have been threading innovative approaches through aspects of their work for years with the Innovation Consultancy, the Innovative Learning Network and the Garfield Innovation Center, a living laboratory where ideas and solutions are tested in a real-world simulation.  The rest of the industry is seeing new life forms start to take hold that are inspiring and organizi... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281310 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:25:27 +0100 4281310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4275537&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F12%2F21%2Fnewistic-mining-social-media%2F I’ve recently come across Newistic as I was about to meet the co-founder, Horatiu Mocian, but we couldn’t make it. The service sounds intereting and timely to me. Newistic offers a customizable web dashboard used for monitoring and analyzing social media for the pharma and healthcare industries. It enables persons or companies interested in the healthcare vertical to get a social media overview for any drug, disease, pharma company, or any other keyword. The features that set Newistic apart from other social media monitoring systems are: Monitoring patient communities Discovering diseases and symptoms that are associated with any search The possibility of searching all or some of the brand names of a generic drug To demonstrate its real power, here is a recent analysis they ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4275537 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:52:16 +0100 4275537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4275319&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FqYG_X1fEqzE%2F By Patrice Milos. Well, it seems as though I’ve made a habit of annual posts to Disruptive Women in Health Care, and in hindsight the timing seems just about right as we attempt to trace the path of innovation in genomic technologies and their application to health care.  By stepping back, once a year, I use the opportunity to reflect on the rapid pace of technology development in the area of DNA sequencing and pose the question – “Does this rapid pace translate into something meaningful for patients?”  Hopefully as you read this synopsis you’ll come away with an understanding that technology alone isn’t enough, but the emergence of new critical success factors suggests the answer is yes! “We’ve discovered the secret of life." - Francis Crick Indeed from just one yea... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4275319 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:14:54 +0100 4275319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4275304&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F20%2Fproductivity-still-drives-compensation-in-high-performing-group-practices%2F In July, 2009, President Obama visited the Cleveland Clinic and praised its ability to provide hospital care less expensively than some other famous hospitals. This claim was bolstered by a recent study demonstrating that large multispecialty practices have lower cost and higher quality in treating Medicare recipients compared to other practitioners in their regions. One of [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4275304 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:07:23 +0100 4275304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272472&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F12%2F20%2Faugmented-reality-for-color-blindness%2F Dan Kaminsky, an internet security researcher, had a hobbi project which turned out to be a huge success. He created a 3$ iPhone (+ Android) application which is based on augmented reality and was designed to help people with colour blindness. There’s actually a lot of color blind people — about 10% of the population.  And they aren’t all guys, either — about 20% of the color blind are female (it totally runs in families too, as I discovered during testing).  But most color blind people are neither monochromats (seeing everything in black and white) or dichromats (seeing only the difference between orange and blue).  No, the vast majority of color blind people are in fact what are known as anomalous trichromats.  They still have three photoreceptors, but the ‘green’ recepto... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272472 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:54:52 +0100 4272472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272285&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FI65NP-90zns%2F By Glenna Crooks.  I’m on the Finance Committee of my condo association. A few weeks ago, the Board accepted our recommendation to raise monthly fees by 3%, of which the majority will build a larger reserve fund. The increase will no doubt be controversial. We have insurance against the usual risks but can foresee events that insurance won’t cover, like work that will improve the ‘street appeal’ of the property or upgrades required by changes to city building codes. I agree with the approach; it’s better to be prepared than to be caught short and ‘paying as you go’ to build reserves is less painful than the alternatives. Leadership of other buildings in our neighborhood were not thoughtful and owners were caught short when  city inspections required roof repairs or new fire... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272285 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:48:44 +0100 4272285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265658&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F17%2Fwatch-the-health-affairs-conference-on-innovation-in-care-delivery%2F Yesterday, on December 16, Health Affairs convened a day-long conference on “Innovations Across the Nation in Health Care Delivery.” Richard Gilfillan, the acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, keynoted the event. The program also featured several panels of CEOs and program leaders from institutions that have innovated at the patient care level; [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265658 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:19:18 +0100 4265658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265725&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fop.bna.com%2Fhl.nsf%2Fid%2Fbbrk-8a7szt%2F%24File%2FHousetoFDAOct2010.pdf The following post is by guest blogger Leah R. Kendall. Leah is a Senior Associate in the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice of the law firm Epstein Becker & Green and is a Senior Advisor with EBG Advisors, Inc.  Leah counsels medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies on the requirements of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and other healthcare regulatory issues impacting them throughout the product lifecycle. By Leah R. Kendall. Everything changes and nothing remains still. -Heraclitus, as interpreted by Plato  Scathing letters from disgruntled FDA scientists, revamping enforcement policy and pillars of regulatory paradigms, communications from Congress suggesting the need for and then questioning said revamping, rescinding market clearances, promises ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265725 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:01:32 +0100 4265725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265726&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FcpRTz7MbdDk%2F The following is a guest post by Rosa M. Abrantes-Metz, PhD. Rosa is a principal with LECG’s antitrust, securities and international arbitration practices based in New York City, and a visiting scholar at Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, where she has previously taught industrial organization. By Rosa M. Abrantes-Metz. There is nearly universal agreement that changes are needed in the US health care system. The price of health insurance is high and continuing to rise, and many are priced out of the market. There is certainly room for reform. But reform must be discussed in the right way, using the right measures. Total spending (or “total costs,” as some call it), is simply the wrong way to frame the problem. Much of the health care reform debate focused... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265726 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:40:03 +0100 4265726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265659&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F15%2Fhealth-affairs-conference-innovations-in-health-care-delivery-3%2F Health Affairs, the nation’s leading journal on health policy, is convening a day-long conference on “Innovations Across the Nation in Health Care Delivery.” The free conference is scheduled for Thursday, December 16, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Ronald Reagan Center for International Trade, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. Please note that [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265659 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:17:21 +0100 4265659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265727&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FWn9BX2XIsAg%2F By Lynn Shapiro Snyder. I have been a managed care, Medicare and Medicaid attorney for over 30 years. Although this focus includes compliance and enforcement work, I also do a lot of work helping entrepreneurs bring new ideas to the health care marketplace. Providing strategic, legal and regulatory assistance for some of these innovations has been some of the most rewarding work for me. It used to be the case that when an innovator wanted to launch a new drug or device in the United States, the key regulatory tollgate was the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That standard focuses on safety and efficacy. Once that tollgate was satisfied, the company could promote its product, and the product would enjoy general distribution in the marketplace. Those days are over. Two new additio... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265727 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:30:35 +0100 4265727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258860&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F7gpw8bM5xI0%2F By Tine Hansen-Turton.  In the face of an acute primary care physician shortage, and the steady reduction in the number of physicians who are willing to accept Medicaid and Medicare, it is unclear whether our existing primary care system will be able to meet the needs of the 30 + million Americans who shortly will become insured as a result of national health reform. Health care delivery is strained under tremendous pressure from the demands of chronic health issues, downward trends in third party payments, and while insurance coverage will address some of these issues, many of these problems may persist even when near universal insurance coverage is achieved in the United States. So what else needs to happen to make health care reform a success?  In recent years, a series of “disrupti... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258860 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:27:06 +0100 4258860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4253132&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F7F27rhrfe3g%2F By Candace Littell.  One of my favorite techniques in movies and television is the “flashback” – a scene that takes the main story back in time in order to recount events leading up to the present.  Often viewed in chronological order, flashbacks form and develop the present story, scene or character. The concept of flashback came to mind as I recently reviewed a new, innovative medical technology which I refer to here as NewPro. While I could of course understand NewPro as it existed today, I had no background in how it had come into being.  What were the events leading up to its introduction?  Out of the thousands of medical device and diagnostic products that are developed each year, why did NewPro make it to market while others did not? What factors were responsible for its d... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4253132 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:37:09 +0100 4253132 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249014&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F10%2Fhealth-affairs-conference-innovations-in-health-care-delivery-2%2F Health Affairs, the nation’s leading journal on health policy, is convening a day-long conference on “Innovations Across the Nation in Health Care Delivery.” The free conference is scheduled for Thursday, December 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Ronald Reagan Center for International Trade, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. Richard Gilfillan, the [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249014 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:36:57 +0100 4249014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249054&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanmedicalinnovation.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FGone_Tomorrow.pdf Debra Lappin The following is a guest post by the President of the Council for American Medical Innovation, Debra Lappin. By Debra R. Lappin. A recent survey of 6,000 people across six countries found that a majority believe that the United States will lose its billing as the most innovative country in less than 10 years.  Aside from the competitive and reputational repercussions of such a drop, losing ground in innovation, especially medical innovation, means significantly less hope to discover cures, invent devices, and fundamentally bend the cost curve for health care, thus having a positive impact on the nation’s deficit. America’s medical innovation enterprise will lead our nation out of the current economic recession. It provides excellent jobs in the public and private sect... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249054 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:10:59 +0100 4249054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245594&cid=t_101215_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fad-execs-not-viewed-as-innovative-by.html Sorry to break this to you, but Americans don't think advertising executives are very innovative. This is according to the AstraZeneca Innovation Survey (find it here). "By carrying out this survey we sought to shed some light on what innovation means to people around the world and whether they believe it is valuable to society as a whole," said David Brennan, AZ CEO.The survey shows that Americans think advertising executives are only as innovative as teachers, but much less innovative than doctors, artists, engineers, or scientists (see chart below; click on image for a larger view).But in the "emerging" nations of India and China -- where pharma pins its hopes for the future of sales -- advertising executives are seen as much more innovative than doctors and somewhat more innovative tha... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245594 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:14:00 +0100 4245594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245276&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F09%2Fregional-quality-initiatives-expanding-the-partnership%2F If you’re looking for a transformation in health care, look first to America’s cities, towns and communities. That’s where it happens, among local men and women who deliver and receive care, and the employers and consumers who pay for it. That’s why the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the U.S. Department of Health and [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245276 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:58:37 +0100 4245276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245301&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FmWLto3vZox4%2F Donna Cryer, JD The following is a guest post by Donna Cryer CEO of CryerHealth. By Donna Cryer, JD. There are countless articles and books on innovation – incremental innovation, radical innovation, disruptive innovation.   I would argue however, with a nod to the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, that unless innovation is value innovation, providing some deliberate and distinguished combination of factors or service to improve the experience or effectiveness for relevant stakeholders, while reducing costs, it is not innovation at all, but simply something new. That said, I am eager to make the case for personalized medicine as a value innovation. The most common definition of personalized medicine is genomic-based risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment.  Personalized medicine, broadly... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245301 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:15:38 +0100 4245301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245479&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F12%2F09%2Fwhat-is-telebaby%2F There are more and more premature children and their situation for their parents is dramatic. They would love to be with the newborn 24 hours a day, but in most cases they obviously cannot. At the Dutch UMC Ultrecht, they launched a project under the name Telebaby, in which cameras were installed at the incubators and parents can watch their child live 24 hours a day through even a mobile device. Of course, the system is password protected, so only the affected parents can access the specific video channels. Isn’t it great? A very human, but not that expensive idea, a really Dutch approach. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245479 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:40:22 +0100 4245479 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241715&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FkE13SSlbOek%2F By Stephanie Mensh.  My husband Paul Berger and I had only been married for 4 years when he had his stroke at age 36. I’ve been a caregiver for over 20 years now. Looking back, there have been many innovations in our health care system that have made overcoming stroke and chronic disabilities a little easier and our lives better. And, there are some that have made things harder, too.  Medical technology–drugs and devices–have improved so much over the past 20 years that if Paul’s aneurysm had ruptured today, he might have recovered with little or no disability. The CT scan he had 20 years ago was state-of-the-art, but the neuroradiologist could not localize Paul’s aneurysm. Today’s CT scans are so much better and MRIs are readily available in most citi... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241715 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:51:16 +0100 4241715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237892&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fvl1sGhcHWQU%2F By Former Congresswoman Nancy Johnson. Too often, when we talk about innovation, there’s a ‘yes…but’ quality to the discussion.  Yes, we appreciate the concept of developing new medicines and technologies to extend and enhance human life, but we increasingly question whether the cost of innovation is commensurate with the value it delivers. Logically, if the weight of public and policymaker opinion continues in this direction, that innovation undermines the greater national goal of affordability, then this will inevitably lead to policy actions that reflect this line of thinking.  We’re already seeing this to some degree with the weighty pharmaceutical and device taxes that are part of the new health reform law and the creation of an independent board with the power to slash Me... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237892 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:31:44 +0100 4237892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233180&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FFYBYLX6-h5Y%2F By Lois Privor-Dumm.  A wealth of new vaccines are available that can prevent many important causes of disease.  Innovations are great, but can they reduce costs?  New technologies often require a larger up front investment while the dividends are sometimes less easily measured.  New vaccine prices can be high; looking at price alone, however, doesn’t tell the full story. Costs come in many forms, and so do savings.  Development Innovations and Process Improvements There are a number of new technologies that fit into the category of innovations.  Often we see technologies resulting in higher priced vaccines.  This doesn’t mean though, we’re not saving money.  Although an investment must be made to prevent disease, treatment costs can become even higher when disease threats be... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233180 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:26:06 +0100 4233180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225240&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F937i9wweSgI%2F By Mary Grealy.  In recent years, there has been nothing particularly innovative about the way we’ve developed health policy in this country. As was fully displayed during last year’s health reform debate, health issues have generated confrontation, shouting, posturing and hard divisions between opposing camps with cooperation and compromise nowhere in sight.  Even when solutions emerge from this acrimonious environment, they don’t enjoy consensus support from the public. As we look at the issues that affect the future of American medical innovation, we can and must do better.  Whether we’re talking about payment reform, better means of health care delivery or the development of new drugs and devices to combat the growth of chronic disease, it’s critical that we encourage inno... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225240 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:15:04 +0100 4225240 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225241&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alz.org%2Fdocuments_custom%2Ftrajectory.pdf By Robin Strongin.  Throughout the entire congressional debate on health reform, this is a question that kept popping into my mind, probably because innovation was such a non-factor in the debate itself.  In hours of discourse over how to expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans while cutting health care costs, there was rarely a mention of the role innovation must play in shaping our remodeled 21st century health care system. And in those infrequent circumstances when the topic did arise, it was often in a critical way.  More than a few policymakers cited innovation as a primary cost driver, making health care too expensive for too many.  That criticism isn’t limited, by the way, to politicians and pundits.  So, isn’t it time that we have this discussion?  Is innovati... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225241 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:34:13 +0100 4225241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219838&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fsecondary-use-of-emr-data%2F Part of the value of EMRs is the secondary use of the rich clinical data. Quality studies are an obvious win. This week, a new article by Kaiser Permanente Medical Group used this data in one of several registries to analyze 80,000 Total Joint and 5000 ACL Reconstruction Procedures in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The data was collected “through standardized documentation at the point of care” and “supplemented with existing administrative data from our electronic health records and other independent databases.” See the registry database structure here. Also published this week is a second article from the Cleveland Clinic Chronic Kidney Disease Registry regarding the eGFR definition. This is another example utilizing these registries with secondary data f... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219838 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:45:47 +0100 4219838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225434&cid=t_101215_114_f&fid=35708&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftypepad%2Frwjfblogs%2Fpioneer%2F%7E3%2FbpMzT8MNBp8%2Ftim-oreilly-to-host-unconference-for-health-tech-leaders.html Today we announced a grant to O’Reilly Media  to  sponsor the Foo Health Camp in 2011, a cross-discipline, immersive, informal 'unconference' that will take advantage of a growing interest in applying Web 2.0 and open-source thinking in health care to spark ideas that can expedite changes in the ecosystem of health care services. This event is being announced on the heels of last summer’s O’Reilly Open Source Convention, where we helped sponsor the event’s first-ever health track. A full report of that event’s takeaways is now on our Web site. The Foo Camp-unconference format was pioneered by visionary Web leaders Tim O’Reilly and Sara Winge of O'Reilly Media. O’Reilly Media is a leading technology publisher, conference organizer and supporter of the f... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225434 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4225434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219715&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fhealth-affairs-conference-innovations-in-health-care-delivery%2F Health Affairs, the nation’s leading journal on health policy, is convening a day-long conference on “Innovations in Health Care Delivery.” The free conference is scheduled for Thursday, December 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Ronald Reagan Center for International Trade, on 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. Richard Gilfillan, the acting [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219715 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:20:02 +0100 4219715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207395&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F29%2Fhealthcare-to-ipad-or-not-to-ipad%2F The mobihealthnews blog posted an infograph titled “Sizing Up the iPad for Healthcare” a while back. The data shows that 60% of physicians plan to either buy an iPad, were interested in learning more about the device or bought one when it came out. There is no doubt that the iPad is an attractive device for just about any healthcare setting. And that includes a medical office. In our medical practice, we’ve had mixed reviews with the iPad. It appeared to be very promising when we first started testing it. But my doc’s report a few problems with it. For example, they complain that connecting to our EMR via the remote desktop program (RDP) isn’t as easy. They also report a lot of lag and poor response. I know these problems may or may not be the iPad’s fault. It could be a bandwi... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207395 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:00:48 +0100 4207395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203210&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F11%2F25%2Fgettingreal%2F Relevant (rĕl’ə-vənt) 1. Having to do with the matter at hand; to the point I read with amusement Susanna Fox’s redux review about the relevance of Health 2.0 in general and in changing patient’s behavior specifically.  Here questions reveals her bias in a very limited definition of Health 2.0 that I attempted to abolish originally in some of my bantering with Matthew Holt. I always saw Health 2.0 as a “movement” that would not be defined so much by its technology but rather enabled by it. As an “enabler”, the technology can help people do new things in new ways but I never believed technology in and of itself  had the power to truly change health, health behaviors, or health care delivery in and of itself. That is why my definition of health 2.0 was always ... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203210 Thu, 25 Nov 2010 20:52:37 +0100 4203210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197130&cid=t_101215_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSciencebaseScienceBlog%2F%7E3%2FuyxmuH5zea4%2Fpharma-industry-open-innovatio.html The pharmaceutical industry is facing tough times. The patents for many of the billion-dollar blockbuster drugs have expired, generics have taken market share. Health insurance companies and national health services are under increasing pressure to cut costs. Manufacturers and governments in the developing world are either ignoring intellectual property rights totally and producing generics for their poor sick or else negotiating deals that have shareholders choking on their cheap Champagne substitute at the AGM party. Moreover, the pipeline is almost emptythe pipeline is almost empty. All the old diseases have been covered or have succumbed to emergent resistance from pathogens and are too difficult to tackle with traditional small molecule science. The medicalization of non-diseases, suc... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197130 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:00:11 +0100 4197130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4200548&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F11%2F24%2Fthoughtful-purchasing-at-cms%2F Recent press reports on Medicare’s decision to evaluate coverage policy for the new cancer therapy Provenge were highly critical of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and its role in examining the evidence behind FDA-approved products.  Let’s take a step back. In fact, this is exactly what CMS should be doing – carefully [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4200548 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:21:49 +0100 4200548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190324&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F22%2Fhow-should-medical-practices-address-retail-clinics%2F Last week, a pediatrician that saw my “ I have a proposal” post reached out so I could help him with a problem he was having. He said, “OK smarty pants, let’s see what you got.” He didn’t actually say that, but I’m sure he was thinking it. What he actually said was, Brandon, In our area, we’ve seen a few retail clinics pop up. What can we do as a practice to let patients know that visiting retail clinics is not in their best interest?” We had along discussion. So I put together a summary of our conversation. Below is a rundown, more of less, of what I told the doc. Beat Them At Their Game One of the benefits that retail clinics promote, is their flexible hours and immediate access; so it makes sense for the practice to look for ways to offer extended hours and rearrange t... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190324 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 11:00:51 +0100 4190324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175689&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FmuZ-tg-fMnE%2F Starting December 2nd we will be launching a series on innovation, broadly defined. These posts will be compiled into an e-book and released early in 2011. The following post, an interview with our November Man of the Month, Dr. Jack Lewin, CEO of the American College of Cardiology will help get you prepared and excited for the engaging and informative posts to come. Jack Lewin, MD Jack Lewin, MD has been the Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) since November 2006. Under Dr. Lewin’s leadership, ACC has continued to build upon its standing as a national leader in advocacy, with a particular focus on reforming Medicare, Medicaid, and the financing and delivery of quality health care. We had the opportunity to ask Dr. Lewin about his thoughts on innovation in... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175689 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:23:06 +0100 4175689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172326&cid=t_101215_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FM5BK_jFp9xI%2F With so much emphasis on me-too drugs, drying pipelines and R&D cutbacks over the past several years, it is hardly surprising that so many have an impression that big pharma hardly discovers anything innovative anymore. And guess what? A new analysis of 252 drugs that were approved by the FDA between 1997 and 2008 finds that drugmakers were responsible for less than half of the innovative meds discovered during that period. For starters, the analysis found that 58 percent of the approved drugs were discovered by pharmaceutical companies, compared with 18 percent by biotechs. Universities accounted for the remaining 24 percent, although the study determined that 8 percent were transferred to drugmakers and 16 percent to biotechs. This would appear to contrast with contentions that fede... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172326 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:08:45 +0100 4172326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159197&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F11%2F11%2Fadvancing-high-value-health-care-a-mayo-clinic-interactive-symposium%2F With the recent Republican election victories, the news has been filled with discussion of the coming political battles over Affordable Care Act. But whatever happens to the new law, taking the steps necessary to advance high-value health care in America will remain a national imperative. As David Cutler of Harvard said at a Health Affairs [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159197 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:38:11 +0100 4159197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159244&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealth-it-and-job-security%2F2010.11.11 Hospitals nationwide are racing against the clock to ensure their health IT systems meet meaningful use guidelines. The incentive? Money, of course. Systems that meet certain criteria make doctors eligible for up to $44,000 in bonus money from the government. As mentioned on this blog previously, implementing an electronic health system is difficult. The usability of the current generation of electronic health records (EHRs) is still relatively primitive, especially when compared to other industries, and the disruption in workflow is undeniable. Worse, there seems to be a lack of trained IT professionals to do the job. In a recent piece from American Medical News: 60% of hospital IT executives believe tech staffing shortages, which some estimate to be a shortfall of 50,000 qualified IT p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159244 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:00:31 +0100 4159244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4155292&cid=t_101215_114_f&fid=35708&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftypepad%2Frwjfblogs%2Fpioneer%2F%7E3%2F5_ghuH5y_qA%2Ftime-to-accelerate-innovation-takeaways-from-this-years-mhealth-summit.html I just returned from the mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C. We’ve been sponsors of the event for 2009 and 2010 – both years it’s been held. Last year there were about 400 people who attended. This year there were about 2,500, including prominent guest speakers like Francis Collins, Bill Gates and Aneesh Chopra, among others. There was also a large hall with lots of exhibitors and an extensive poster session. I guess this means that means mobile health is coming of age. I liked it a lot, but not for the reason you might think. At most of these types of events the presentations tend to expand on the great things that are going on in the field. Here there was a good, healthy dose of skepticism. And there’s a lot to be skeptical about. There are the “show me” skeptics, the ones tha... Pioneering Ideas blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4155292 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4155292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151885&cid=t_101215_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F11%2Fthe-future-of-sex-ii.html In The Future of Sex I, I wondered about the impact on our relationships and our psycho-sexual development in an environment that includes the wide availability of all forms of sexual activity on the web: We have gone from the Missionary position for most, with a full range of sexual appetitive behavior reserved for only the very wealthiest and debauched elites, to the entire sexual smörgåsbord now being available to all, starting at a very young age.  I believe this has changed the way we experience and relate to our own bodies and others, but, again, do not think this has been well studied.  It is certainly a part of the burgeoning Narcissism that permeates our culture, an increasingly voyeuristic culture, I hasten to add. The availability of Porn designed and directe... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151885 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:12:34 +0100 4151885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142922&cid=t_101215_132_f&fid=35011&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmndoci%2F%7E3%2FiWSpkNOY_R8%2F Tweet I have not seen the Social Network yet. Will probably wait for it to come out on DVD. But this blog post is not about the movie, nor is it really about Larry Lessig‘s review of the movie. What this article is about is one particular part of the review, the part where Larry talks about Zuckerberg not asking for permission. The open question: Does science today require too much permission? I don’t know if that has always been true. Some of the greatest science of all time was not done with permission, but I wonder if today, an individual, or a group of people can do something without permission, going out of the mainstream. What if someone comes up with a method that they write up on the web, provide all the supporting data, open source their code, make it possible for peo... business|bytes|genes|molecules blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142922 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 06:45:29 +0100 4142922 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133919&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F11%2F04%2Fextirpating-the-health-insurance-myth%2F Extirpating (ĕk’stər-pāt’) v. To pull up by the roots. To destroy totally; exterminate. To remove by surgery. I recently took a great road trip with my two boys. We rented one of the new Kia Soul’s which my boys recognized from a very funny commercial developed to highlight its hipster (hamster?) vibe. The commercial reminded me of the old Hamburger A or Hamburger B commercials from Wendys back in the late 80′s wherein this ludicrous contrast is set up to demarcate the dichotomy between two distinct choices. This modern reinvention of that age old contrast struck me because it is something that I deal with everyday in explaining Crossover Health to people. It all stems from a pervasive misconception about the term “Health Insurance” Understand... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133919 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 06:25:33 +0100 4133919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133898&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F11%2F02%2Finnovation-summit-obesity-diabetes-the-metabolic-crisis%2F This week I attended the Cleveland Clinic Innovation Summit and contributed to the live tweeting of the event. There was substantial discussion of devices in the pipeline and drugs for diabetes but a less optimistic outlook on drugs for obesity with some being shut down by the FDA. The most scientific yet controversial presenter was JefferyFriedman, who referred to his 2009 Newsweek article on “The Real Cause of Obesity” as a summary of his position that most of obesity is genetically determined.  Many referred to the recent prediction posted by the CDC that the current incidence of diabetes being around 10% of the population with the potential of growing to 20 – 30% by 2050. At the end of day two, the annual announcement of Top 10 Innovations. The final day will include... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133898 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:51:32 +0100 4133898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4134306&cid=t_101215_180_f&fid=38604&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmakeitgreat%2F%7E3%2FcnHFXUCdESU%2F NOTE from Phil: What follows is an overview of a new, innovative book called Personality Poker by Stephen Shapiro. If you read all the way to the bottom, you’ll learn how you can win 1 of 2 copies of this book. Everyone wants to learn about their personality style. But most people don’t like taking boring written quizzes and assessment. Enter “Personality Poker” – the fun and interactive way to learn about your personality. Personality Poker is played with a specially designed deck of cards. They look like regular poker cards except they also have words printed across the faces. The words are personality descriptors like organized, analytical, empathetic and creative. For those who know poker, Personality Poker is played like 5 card draw. Participants receive 5 random cards and ... Phil Gerbyshak blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4134306 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:00:00 +0100 4134306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118854&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2F29%2Fwhat-is-an-essential-benefit%2F A central feature of health reform is the state exchanges, through which a variety of plans will be offered. Each of those plans will be required to offer a package of “essential benefits” as defined in the Affordable Care Act.  When most people think of benefits, they think of monthly premiums, annual deductibles and co-pays for [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118854 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:21:14 +0100 4118854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119194&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F10%2F28%2Fcrossover-piquant-check-this-out%2F Piquant (pē-känt’) adj. Appealingly provocative Charming, interesting, or attractive One of the great promises of technology is to make things simpler, easier, and more affordable for end users. In the medical practice, we have so much complexity, difficulty, and cost in most of our processes that when we find something that actually works as advertised we fall in love. I had one such “appealingly provocative” experience this weekend. While attending a high school football game in support of one of my member patients (leading passer in Orange County by the way!), the player was injured. I initially thought it was a concussive injury but the reason he remained down was the he knew he had severely rolled his ankle. His father called me from the field (I was in the stan... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119194 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:45:19 +0100 4119194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119476&cid=t_101215_132_f&fid=35011&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmndoci%2F%7E3%2FPvDVvw4jMlA%2F TweetI’ve written about Swivel in the past, but I never really got around to using it. Well Swivel is no more. Robert Kosara interviewed the co-founders about the rise and fall of Swivel (interestingly both had left Swivel prior to this news). Read the entire interview, but it reminded me about businesses and what might seem obvious with one thing doesn’t translate as well to others. But in the end it seems to be there were a lot of mistakes in execution. Perhaps Swivel was not the kind of business meant to be just it’s own business, but part of a larger operation. Perhaps they should have worked harder on the data sets they could get their hands on. I wasn’t there, so can’t say for sure and armchair backing is an easy exercise. I also think that a part of the... business|bytes|genes|molecules blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119476 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:10:01 +0100 4119476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119190&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2FvlXfojwrFQs%2F Yesterday Surescripts announced their new Clinical Interoperability Services: Extended Network Connectivity – As a network of networks, Surescripts will support and enable the exchange of all types of clinical messages between EHRs, HIEs and health systems that, today, are not connected with each other. Net2Net Connect – Allows health systems and technology vendors that already support clinical information sharing within their network to connect to Surescripts in order to receive and send clinical information outside their network (December 2010). Message Stream – Secure messaging tools for health systems and technology vendors to enable their physicians to electronically exchange clinical information (December 2010). Clinical Message Portal – Simple connectivity tools intended f... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119190 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:04:26 +0100 4119190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4105840&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FzhPYbx7FCjA%2F Malpractice Methodology (New York Times OpEd by Peter Orszag) Right now, health care is more evidence-free than you might think. And even where evidence-based clinical guidelines exist, research suggests that doctors follow them only about half of the time. One estimate suggests that it takes 17 years on average to incorporate new research findings into widespread practice. As a result, any clinical guidelines that exist often have limited impact. How might we encourage doctors to adopt new evidence more quickly? If this is the case with health care overall, despite much progress over the last 30–40 years, imagine how worse it may be when we talk about brain health, when neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience are relatively more recent disciplines. This is a key insight to keep in m... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4105840 Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:09:04 +0100 4105840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097928&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FfIvhTeavQ-g%2F By Robin Strongin.  As a member of the National Press Club, I was invited to a private tour of the amazing exhibit:  Elvis 1956.  The exhibit featured remarkable photographs by Alfred Wertheimer who traveled with Elvis during his breakout year (Elvis was only 21!).    Amy Henderson, an incredible cultural historian with the Smithsonian led our tour.  Her knowledge of The King was matched by her knowledge of the spectacular building in which the exhibit was housed, the Old U.S. Patent Office, now a national landmark and home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.  Fun Fact: In the 1850s, Clara Barton worked in the building as a clerk to the Patent Commissioner, the first woman federal employee to receive equal pay.   At one point during our tour, Amy e... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097928 Sun, 24 Oct 2010 04:50:21 +0100 4097928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077407&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F18%2F5-things-i-wish-my-practice-management-system-did%2F   Photo Credit: Martin Kenny   I have a bone to pick with many practice management systems. To me, they really don’t help medical practices manage clinics as businesses, but rather are designed with the intention to help a medical practice manage their “claims.” Which is fine, I guess. But if that is the case, then they should be called “claims submission” systems; not practice management systems. It seems I’m not the only one that is dissatisfied with their practice management system. Physician Practice published results from a tech survey recently and they found that 54% of respondents didn’t think their PM system met their expectations. Here is the link. When pressed for more detail on what they sought, given multiple options, better reporting (62 percent) and m... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077407 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:00:28 +0100 4077407 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065533&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F10%2F14%2Fmobile-health-news-and-innovations%2F Recently, more and more incredible mobile health applications and solutions have been coming to the market so I thought I would share some of these in one entry. First, here is Instant Heart Rate, an Android app which I use myself. Can a smartphone improve CPR? An ER physician’s invention reaches the market Doximity to Help Physicians Connect With One Another Continuous ECG Monitoring on an Android Phone And 10 More iPhone / iPad Apps for Bioscientists by BiteSize Bio. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065533 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 03:37:54 +0100 4065533 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4055893&cid=t_101215_132_f&fid=35011&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmndoci%2F%7E3%2FQvMXjbTiK3U%2F TweetIn writing about Google’s new autonomous car, Larry Dignan nails it. He writes The conversation surrounding Google’s automated cars—announced over the weekend—highlights what’s wrong with R&D these days. R&D doesn’t always—and immediately—have to lead to a product. Perhaps, Google just finds robotics and autonomous vehicles a worthwhile pursuit. I am a huge fan of the research institute, both commercial and non-profit, and miss the heyday of Bell Labs. Sometimes speculative research is a good thing, especially when a company with resources like Google does it because they can afford the risk. Perhaps they have an ulterior motive, but it’s almost besides the point. What’s important is that there is some innovation happening, and even if it doesn&... business|bytes|genes|molecules blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4055893 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:34:49 +0100 4055893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040711&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F10%2F07%2Fwinners-of-the-2010-health-2-0-developer-challenge%2F The six winners of the 2010 Health 2.0 Developer Challenge were just announced and will be showcased at the Health 2.0 Developer Challenge session at the Health 2.0 San Francisco Conference, October 7-8, 2010. Accelerating Wireless Health Adoption through a Standardized Social Network Platform: Winner is Videntity. A blood pressure meter and a weight via Wii balance board will be attached to a client computing device. Data shall be read directly from the device and transmitted via a social network for visual display. Project HealthDesign Developer Challenge: Winner is Pain Care @Ringful Health that will develop a chronic pain management application. The Health Factor – Using the County Health Rankings to Make Smart Decisions: Winner is Acsys Healthcare that will build an Augmented ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040711 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:30:36 +0100 4040711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031234&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FSSDslBspAdY%2F By Jane Sarashon-Kahn. The following, originally posted on Health Populi on September 30th summarizes the ePatient Connections Conference that took place last week. The ePatient Connections (ePC) conference convened this week in the City of Brotherly Love, my town, Philadelphia. And indeed, the eHealth love did flow between health citizens and organizations that seek to serve them: technology developers and health providers, alike. My flying fingers recorded nearly fifty pages of notes, and these don’t even include two tracks’ worth of presentations — social networks in health and health games — because I was the emcee for mobile health track. However, this gave me the opportunity to get to know the 11 mHealth presenters and their organizations up-close-and-personal and to brain... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031234 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:32:48 +0100 4031234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027257&cid=t_101215_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F04%2Fwhat-can-a-medical-practice-learn-from-blockbuster%25e2%2580%2599s-bankruptcy%2F Photo Credit: Arstechnica Last week, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy. I’m not surprise. News report say that the once rental giant was having a hard time managing their debt and that by filing chapter 11, they’ll be able to “restructure” their financial obligations. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here when I say that Blockbuster is dying, not because of their debt, but because of their inability to embrace change. I believe Blockbuster failed to listen to their customers’ needs, decided not to embrace technology or the Internet, and was unsuccessful at adapting their value proposition to meet the challenges and demands of the marketplace.  The result? They relinquished their dominate market share. I think Blockbuster’s demise can be an important lesson for medical ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027257 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:00:35 +0100 4027257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027237&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2Fi64TWB_EG3E%2F Sometimes you read something and the full impact doesn’t hit you until hours — perhaps days — later.  As I was out mountain biking today, the importance of something I ran across yesterday suddenly hit me. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are today’s cure-du-jour for reforming the health care delivery system. Bob Berensen, MD of the Urban Institute strongly questions whether the shared savings model under current legislation provides enough economic incentive for hospitals to disrupt their existing core business of acute, inpatient care. The dialogue took place at HSC’s 15th Annual Wall Street Comes to Washington Conference. Here’s the conversation from the transcript — I actually went back to dig this out of my trash: Paul Ginsburg: Actually, let me ... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027237 Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:16:40 +0100 4027237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027301&cid=t_101215_132_f&fid=35011&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmndoci%2F%7E3%2F0h0O6JlWvO4%2F TweetI’ve written about various Jeff Bezos concepts on this blog before, and a recent, great, blog post by Bradford Cross highlighting Jeff’s Regret Minimization Framework got me thinking. Most of the discussions around long term thinking tend to be from the business standpoint, and I could write a long post just about how the biopharma industry should approach the business and science of drug development, but I think there’s a lot to apply to research science as well. Both from the researcher perspective and the funding agency perspective, I fear that our thinking is very short term. Despite the fact that the rewards from the science we do might be years out, our funding, whether it is for infrastructure or science projects tends to have the wrong priorities in mind. Lon... business|bytes|genes|molecules blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027301 Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:07:47 +0100 4027301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4023006&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F10%2F01%2Fcrossover-health-welcome-to-next-generation-health-care%2F FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Crossover Health Launches New Model of Primary Care in South Orange County Innovative membership service delivers Urgent, Primary, and Online Care Aliso Viejo, CA (PRWEB) October 1, 2010 Crossover Health Medical Group announced today the launch of their flagship membership-based, primary care practice in Aliso Viejo, California. The new clinic will offer urgent, primary, and online care services directly to individual members, families, and employer groups. Membership based health care is a new health care finance and delivery innovation that has gained widespread popularity as the cost of health insurance and ongoing service deficiencies have plagued the current health care delivery system. The Crossover membership model decouples health care from health insurance, a... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4023006 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:46:58 +0100 4023006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4022885&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2F01%2Fbending-the-cost-curve%2F In the national debate leading up to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), President Obama said on several occasions that he would veto any bill that did not lower the growth rate of health care spending. So now that the Act is law, you would expect to find a lot [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4022885 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:22:56 +0100 4022885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018289&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F5gc1INDGsDw%2F You may find that too much media coverage on how to take good care of our brains is confusing, if not potentially misleading. In The True Story — is mental exercise good, bad, or irrelevant, Dr. Pascale Michelon dissects for you a recent large study which was largely reported as bad news when in fact it brings good news (no miracles, but good news).  We hope you enjoy her insightful analysis — and all the excellent articles that follow in the September edition of our monthly eNewsletter covering cognitive health and brain fitness topics. Please remember that you can use the box in the right column to subscribe and receive this newsletter via email. Do you Mind Dear sapiens sapiens, do you mind: Dr. Joshua Steinerman encourages you to ask yourself the tough ques­tions: Do you mind ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018289 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:06:29 +0100 4018289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018290&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F3o5RXvNCqe0%2F We have received many good questions about the new SharpBrains Council for Brain Fitness Innovation — below you have some answers. Question: We are based in Asia/ Australia/ Europe. Will time differences prevent us from participating in monthly briefings and benefiting from the Council? Answer: We will do our best to facilitate a truly global community and exchange. Please consider that… we will schedule monthly briefings at 2 separate times, one at 9am US Pacific Time, the other at 4pm US Pacific Time, both covering the same topic (but perhaps with different guest speakers). And briefings will be recorded. most activities and resources are asynchronous anyway. Our market intelligence reports and other materials are available via this members-only online community 24/7, same as onlin... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018290 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:41:40 +0100 4018290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018345&cid=t_101215_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F09%2F30%2Fplug-in-glucose-meter-for-the-iphone%2F You may remember iBreath that allows users to take an alcohol breath test. Now here is a Plug-In Glucose Meter for the iPhone. No FDA approval yet though as the iPhone is not considered a medical device. BGStar® and iBGStar™ have been designed by listening to the needs and desires of people with diabetes. Both products aim to integrate convenient, accurate and easy-to-use blood glucose management with decision-making support in everyday lives of people with diabetes. The ultra-compact iBGStar™ can be plugged into an iPhone® or iPod touch® and displays results on a full-color, touch screen. It can also be used separately for on-the-go testing. The specially-designed and simple iBGStar™ Diabetes Manager App will allow data to be easily managed and communicated to healthcare professi... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018345 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:17:44 +0100 4018345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003231&cid=t_101215_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F09%2F27%2Fgilfillan-to-head-cms-innovation-center%2F Richard Gilfillan, MD, will be the new Acting Director of the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMI,” or “Innovation Center”) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CMS Administrator Don Berwick announced today. Gilfillan currently directs CMS’ performance-based payment policy staff. The Affordable Care Act gives the Innovation Center the crucial mission of testing “innovative payment [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003231 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:36:27 +0100 4003231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3999122&cid=t_101215_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FuLupDq044fc%2F We are pleased to announce the beta launch of the SharpBrains Council for Brain Fitness Innovation, the first global cross-sector community and platform designed to support innovators committed to the cognitive health and brain fitness of their constituents/ clients/ patients/ employees. Members of this invitation-only Council will be able to learn, share, collaborate and innovate leveraging a new members-only online platform. Keep reading here. (Source: SharpBrains) SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3999122 Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:04:21 +0100 3999122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3999082&cid=t_101215_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F09%2F23%2Fa-dream-fulfilled-crossover-health-to-open-flagship-store%2F Dear Friends and Family, As you know, we are thrilled to announce the opening of our flagship Crossover Health store in Aliso Viejo, CA later this Saturday. We are hosting a Grand Opening Reception on September 25, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at 26831 Aliso Creek Road, Suite 200. We look forward to celebrating with our friends, family, and colleagues who have helped to make this event possible. We look forward to seeing you there. Crossover Health is a next generation health care organization that uses a membership based approach to fundamentally change the way health care is practiced, delivered, and experienced. Crossover has been specifically designed to restore and enhance the patient-physician relationship, reduce the cost of health care, increases access and convenience, and deliver an... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3999082 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:34:53 +0100 3999082