Yes, those same people who–gee whiz–designed computers, did their own programs in MS-DOS and went from Palm Pilots to BlackBerries to iPhones, are already over or hitting 65 (3.9 million in US in 2015)–and they aren’t happy with what’s being served up to them in healthcare tech. The Accenture study across 10 countries and over 10,000 adults points out the demand–67 percent–and the dissatisfaction–66 percent. They want independent self-care tools, wearables to monitor themselves, online communities like PatientsLikeMe, patient navigators and health record tools. Moreover, the more comfortable they are with and value technology, the more likely they are already using technology for tracking weight and cholesterol levels. Couple this with the ‘Drawn and Quartered’ Parks Associates research [TTA 11 Aug 14] and moving past the mHealth hype earlier this week, the study points out a strong market for apps, online tools and other digital health–but designed not for a peer group of most designers, nor to be ‘cool’. Helloooo designers! Wake up! Laurie Orlov does point out on AgeInPlaceTech that there’s not much new here, but that we shouldn’t move on. Accenture release, Modern Healthcare, Fred Pennic in HIT Consultant, Stephanie Baum in MedCityNews
Fitbit accurate in measuring energy expenditure: AHA presentation
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/acitivity-trackers_wellocracy_chealth-blog-kvedar.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The current judgment on commercial fitness monitors is that they are worthwhile directionally, but accurate–not so much [TTA 10 May 14]. This may be changing, albeit on a specific, non-clinical measurement. A Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY) team tested the Fitbit One and Fitbit Flex for tracking energy expenditure during treadmill walking and running exercise, versus energy expenditure assessed by indirect calorimetry, and found themto be valid and reliable devices. Correlation between measurements was 0.95 – 0.97. These devices were interestingly placed on wrists and hips; perhaps a user can enlighten me. Poster presentation/Abstract MP11 published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation.
23andMe’s FDA coup hazardous to personal DNA data security?
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/DNA-do-not-access.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Genetic test developer 23andMe’s wins with the FDA [TTA 20 Feb] served to clear the path for their current Bloom Syndrome and future kits as Class II devices. It’s long been believed that the company’s real diamond mine is in selling the DNA data gained through the kits, and with consent, to major pharma and medical companies. Proof: recent collaboration announcements with Genentech and Pfizer on genetic research. But how will this data be safeguarded? It may not be a significant concern now, but “Personal DNA information will become far more critical and more important to safeguard than the details of our life circumstances”. Hackermania’s Running Wild with AnthemHealth-sized data breaches (more…)
Veterans Affairs boosts telehealth, HIT in proposed 2016/2017 budgets
The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in its proposed 2016 budget released earlier this week, is increasing support for telehealth/mHealth along with programs that use these services–rural health and mental health. Telehealth’s VA budget from FY 2014 increased from $986 million to just below $1.1 billion in the current year. In FY 2016 (beginning 1 Oct), the VA is allocating $1.22 billion of a $56 billion budget, and in 2017 advance appropriations, $1.37 billion–a year-to-year increase of 11 percent and 12 percent respectively .
VA has the largest telehealth program in the US, divided into three main functional areas: (more…)
Keynote speakers at ATA 2015
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ata-2015-300X145.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]There’s a diverse group of keynoters at this year’s American Telemedicine Association annual meeting in Los Angeles. They include Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon; Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, founder/CEO of the Healthcare Transformation Institute and NantWorks; Yulun Wang, PhD, President of ATA and CEO of InTouch Health; Reed V. Tuckson, MD, ATA President-Elect, Managing Director of Tuckson Health Connections, former Chief of Medical Affairs at UnitedHealth Group and Senior Vice President for Professional Standards of the American Medical Association;LTG (Ret.) James Peake, MD, ATA Vice President, President of CGI Federal, former US Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Surgeon General of the US Army; and Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School. For more information on ATA 2015 and to register, click here. Telehealth & Telecare Aware is a media partner of ATA 2015.
Building from the bottom up: an approach to healthcare
Reader and independent UK consultant Guy Dewsbury writes about an approach to health and social care delivery that gives staff more control, as well as accountability, and integrates mobile into not just tablets, but keeping care plans updated in real time.
Effectively it inverts the current care pathway, but potentially achieves a better quality of care, as frontline staff are not required to spend time updating records in an office because they are updated on the go.
and
Having a smartphone-based programme, in real time, allows the managers to be kept up-to-date on all their staff. The software could also help with reports and handovers ensuring the most up-to-date information on each person being cared for is available to the frontline staff coming on shift.
concluding
Empowering frontline staff with technology can mean more appropriate, timely care and a more resilient workforce who are happier as their worth is valued.
He’s been kind enough to give TTA readers access to his freshly published article in Care Management Matters.
Guy’s website here. Previously in TTA on the Dependability Assessment Tool for telecare.
Moving past the hype on mobile, wearables for consumer health
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/crystal-ball.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Directionally positive, but still quite developmental in reality. The gold rush not quite begun.
In the past week or two, this Editor has been working her way through a stack of surveys and journal-published research, all heavily promoting the greater interest in and usage of consumer mobile health. Here we have Monique Levy of the well-regarded Manhattan Research finding in their surveys (via Mobihealthnews):
- 86 percent of the general population is online for health
- Half of those use mobile
- Two-thirds use social media to seek health information
- One-third communicate digitally with doctors
- Three-quarters interact with online pharma resources
- About 20 percent of patients say that mobile is essential for managing their care–increasing to 32 percent of people with diabetes, 39 percent for people with MS
Before the D3H (Digital Health Hypester Horde) crowd vaults over the moon, however, Ms Levy states that “What people mostly do on their smartphone is look for information.” She recommends optimizing websites (in this context, primarily pharma) for mobile search, and apps should address “real customer pain points or niche needs”, not just a cool tracking app.
Yes, but the D3H point out the fifth annual ‘Pulse of Online Health’ by Makovsky Health (healthcare PR agency) and Kelton (research), a survey of over 1,000 adults, headlining that almost two-thirds (66 percent)of Americans would use a mobile app to manage health-related issues, (more…)
‘Good’ dermatology consult app to launch 1 May
Contrasting with Editor Charles’ ‘bad apps’ that made spurious claims on detecting dangerous melanomas is Pittsburgh-area Iagnosis’ ‘DermatologistsOnCall’ app set to launch 1 May on iOS and Android. This app is a virtual consult which will be available in 18 states. Currently it is available as an online service to Highmark commercial insurance members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, who provide a brief history, information on the condition and upload photos to a secure website. A board-certified dermatologist reviews, then provides a diagnosis, comprehensive treatment plan, prescriptions and if needed, an in-office referral for $45 (Highmark) and $59 (private). Present turnarounds average about 12 hours. To date they have raised an admittedly modest $2.8 million as part of a $7.25 million Series A preferred stock/debt conversion round, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. Also MedCityNews and CrunchBase.
Tele-dermatology seems popular but funding remains modest, with Germany’s Klara (more…)
Healbe GoBe sees daylight–but still can’t count calories
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/healbe-gobe-top-4-970×0.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]At CEWeek NYC last June, this Editor spent some time with Healbe’s co-founder, who demonstrated to me a prototype of the Healbe GoBe 100% Automatic Body Manager fitness tracker. I walked away underwhelmed at its performance and skeptical of its main claim to fame–automatic measurement of caloric intake via measuring blood glucose conversion to fluid in cells. This was reinforced by a trail of tech product reviewers digging into its development, the controversial science behind it and a growing rebellion on Indiegogo, where contributions exceeded $1 million. Then it took delays–first September, then November. Few in the industry believed it would ever ship.
However, it has, and at least one intensive review after a month of wear is in from Engadget. Topline: it’s not a scam (which will disappoint some) (more…)
Epic Systems getting into the app store business (US)
Epic Systems, the #1 company in the hospital and large practice EHR business, is launching its own app store, reportedly within a few weeks. This opens up interesting possibilities not only for mHealth app developers–who need application standards and guidelines soon–but also for Epic’s reputation as a closed system that shies away from interoperability with other EHRs like Cerner, Meditech and McKesson–a serious wrinkle with their Department of Defense EHR joint bid with IBM to replace AHLTA. The HIT Consultant article quotes a leading Epic customer consultant on that the first apps will be clinical, then crossing over into consumer; the latter seems an obvious move with PHRs (personal health records) as part of Meaningful Use requirements.
American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2015
2-5 May 2015, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California
ATA’s annual meeting for 2015 connects like-minded telemedicine, telehealth, mHealth professionals and entrepreneurs from around the globe. With over 6,000 attendees, 13 educational tracks and the largest telemedicine trade show in the world, the ATA meeting is a premier forum to learn and network, featuring:
- Pre-meetings and courses on Saturday and Sunday (2-3 May) with intensive three-hour and half-day courses on legal issues, operationalizing telemedicine and fitting technology into primary and urgent care.
- Nine tracks of concurrent sessions starting on Sunday but mainly on Monday and Tuesday (4-5 May)
- Keynote speakers including Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong of NantHealth on Monday (note live streaming of three of the plenary speakers including this).
- Educational tracks including Executive Sessions, Innovation Spotlight and an all-day telemedicine investor and strategic Venture Summit on Monday, which takes on financing and development issues of concern for later-stage emerging companies (PDF link).
- Exhibit Hall opens Sunday evening and closes on Tuesday.
For more information and to register, see our special link here. Telehealth & Telecare Aware is pleased to be again an official media partner of this year’s ATA.
23andMe finally gets a nod from FDA
Breaking news: Foot in door? Crack in the wall? This week’s Big News among the genomics enthusiasts among the healthdigerati is that 23andMe finally got one test through FDA, for Bloom Syndrome where the gene is carried by both parents, and now can freely sell the kits. Much is being made of wording in the press release from a major FDA executive as opening the door:
“The FDA believes that in many circumstances it is not necessary for consumers to go through a licensed practitioner to have direct access to their personal genetic information. Today’s authorization and accompanying classification, along with FDA’s intent to exempt these devices from FDA premarket review, supports innovation and will ultimately benefit consumers,” said Alberto Gutierrez, Ph.D., director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “These tests have the potential to provide people with information about possible mutations in their genes that could be passed on to their children.”
But far more of a startling admission by FDA is that 1) these genetic screening kits are now classified as Class II and 2) they intend to exempt them from the arduous pre-market review that is in Class III:
Along with this authorization, the FDA is also classifying carrier screening tests as class II. In addition, the FDA intends to exempt these devices from FDA premarket review. The agency plans to issue a notice that announces the intent to exempt these tests and that provides a 30-day period for public comment. This action creates the least burdensome regulatory path for autosomal recessive carrier screening tests with similar uses to enter the market.
There will be much more; this article by Chris Seper in MedCityNews is an excellent recap. Our articles previously in TTA.
Would one of our UK readers expand our knowledge on these kits’ regulatory status in the UK and EU? According to the MedCityNews article, the UK permits 23andMe’s genetic testing, but is vague on the details (CE approval?)
American Geriatrics Society: call for technology startups
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the US association of physicians and other healthcare professionals who care for older adults, is inviting startup technology companies to a special exhibition area during their annual meeting 15-17 May in Washington DC (National Harbor). Along with a modestly priced display in the Technology Innovations Pavilion, 12 companies will also receive feedback and coaching sessions with geriatrics clinicians plus full conference access for two. Companies are selected on the basis of their application and the value of their technology to geriatric patients and caregivers. Applications are open until 15 March and apparently are not restricted to US companies. AGS page, application Hat tip to Wen Dombrowski, MD, of Resonate Health.
Integrating technology into med school education (US)
Medical students today enter their training oriented to technology, tablets in hand, but medical education usually does not integrate technology into practical use, particularly in the science-intensive first two years. Here are three med schools which are making an effort to do so:
- Hofstra-North Shore LIJ in Long Island, New York has new students spend their first eight weeks not in lecture classes but becoming certified emergency medical technicians (EMTs). This Editor guarantees they will have a greater appreciation for emergency medicine and patients needs after this.
- Penn State-Hershey, a major medical system in eastern central Pennsylvania, has their first-year students work as “patient navigators,” helping them and their families get through the medical system and learning about it, from the patient perspective, first-hand. The article doesn’t specify, but presumably they will learn something about how EHRs work (or not), PHRs and the pre/post-discharge process.
- NYU School of Medicine has a course using a database that tracks NY admission and charges. Students then analyze service and cost disparities. (Nice, but seems like a distraction to the basic crunch work.)
- Mayo Clinic is converting much of the traditional lecture material to electronic formats for its two medical schools for greater accessibility.
However, under the tent flap of improvements also comes sheer, screaming puzzlements (more…)
An alert watch for older adults that responds to voice commands
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/UnaliWear_Images_r6_c4.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]This Editor has been in Watch Overload (see Apple Watch) for months, but this may be an exception. The UnaliWear Kanega watch (in development) is for the sizable market of older adults who would wear a well-designed watch or band for safety assistance, but not one that screams Old Person With Plastic PERS, an objective shared with the latest edition of buddi [TTA 16 Dec 14]. Their prototype looks like a fairly techno steel watch, a little on the chunky side, but it packs in a lot: a 9-axis accelerometer for fall detection, a GPS locator, Bluetooth LE, cellular/Wi-Fi connectivity and a digital analog display with time and date. What’s unique: no buttons, smartphone or other tether. It works via speech recognition and ‘talks with’ the wearer (via mechanical voice, messaging on the display and a feed to a BLE hearing aid if worn.) (more…)
Apple Watch may not be as ‘healthy’ as touted
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-watch-beauty-shot.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]According to multiple press sources in the past 24 hours, the anxiously-awaited Apple Watch is rumored to be having big trouble with its more advanced healthcare measuring features. We noted at the time “Haptic engine and heart rate monitor; 4 lenses. infrared, LED, photo sensors detect pulse.” plus daily activity [TTA 9 Sep, 11 Sep 14]. Well, not quite. The Wall Street Journal broke the news that it will not debut in April including monitoring of “blood pressure, heart activity and stress levels” as originally planned because, simply, the watch did not measure them reliably and accurately (hairy, sweaty arms!), they were too complex or required regulatory approval (not so–see FDA and MDDS).
Apple has relied on the Watch to defend its Still Most Innovative Company Post-Jobs turf, (more…)
Most Recent Comments