When will we learn how to evaluate complex healthcare interventions?

August 12, 2014 | by | 1 Comment

This editor’s piece last week entitled “Is this the last time the flat earth society will be celebrating” was very widely read – thank you readers – and prompted both further thoughts and an especially thoughtful pointer from Mike Clark.

As readers of that post will be aware, the paper referred to in the post focused heavily on the high cost/QALY supposedly shown by the Whole System Demonstrator RCT. Mike drew my attention to a paper, published both here and here, by Trine Bergmo on the different ways in which the concept of a QALY is calculated for remote patient monitoring. The thrust of the paper is that different methods give significantly different results for interventions like telehealth. To this editor there was another equally important message though, that (more…)

Drawn and quartered: digital health consumer study

August 11, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Parks-Associates-Health-Groups-Segmentation.jpg” thumb_width=”300″ /]

Parks Associates’ latest study of potential digital health consumers will come as a confirmation for some of us who’ve been up and down a few hype curves, and be a sobering bucket-of-cold-water for those wedded to the Revolutionary-Transformative-eHealthy-D3H Bandwagon view that digital health will change EVERYONE’s life. Market segmentation is a useful marketing tool for narrowing down your real market to spend those scarce (investor-supplied) funds: those most likely to purchase, and a broad picture of what they look like. As you’ll see in the Parks Associates/TTA graphic above, the market for digital health almost neatly breaks into quarters: the top half has the greatest potential. The report looks at lifestyle/behavior, health, residential and income factors among 2,500 broadband-equipped heads-of-household.

Where’s the surprise party? It’s no surprise that the highest potential market denizens are already health-conscious, good ‘do-bees’ in their diet and exercise and higher in income. The second quarter represents older adults facing health challenges, but already on track with their health ‘mindfulness’–perhaps they are the older, health-challenged versions of the first group. It’s the next two groups and their respective positionings which are the surprise. The Parks study ranks the ‘bad do-bees’ –the already sick with bad health habits and lower incomes–in potential above the young, tech-enthusiastic and healthy–but not health-conscious in their behaviors and also lower in income. Despite all their connectivity, only 28 percent of this group looked up health information online in the past year, contrasting with 38 percent of all responders.

Marketing implications?  I’d be spending my company’s money and time on (more…)

Brain neuroprosthetics, stimulation for TBI, PTSD

August 11, 2014 | by

A signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as an outcome of all wars–post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Over 270,000 veterans since 2000 have been diagnosed with TBI–along with 1.7 million civilians per year. The US Department of Defense (DOD) has been funding research in several areas to help veterans–and eventually civilians–with these traumas.

  • DARPA’s RAM: Restoring Active Memory program is seeking to compensate for brain injury by developing a neuroprosthetic to aid memory function. (more…)

Free telecare event in Eccles (UK)

August 11, 2014 | by

If you are in the Eccles/Greater Manchester area on 11 September (and not attending the Kings Fund International Digital Health and Care Congress or Medical Engineering Centres Annual Meeting and Bioengineering14, both in London), Contour Homes is sponsoring a free, full day North West Telecare Event at AJ Bell Stadium. It will give an overview and showcase latest technologies in telecare for professionals involved in supporting independent at home living. There are talks including Alyson Bell, Managing Director of the TSA, Dawn Thomber of Contour Homes and Tahir Idris of TeleMagenta plus an exhibition. This Editor notes the Tunstall logo (but no speakers); Contour Homes is one of the ‘my world’ introductory sites. PDF with complete information and registration.

Will bicycles be another sector to leave health behind?

August 11, 2014 | by

As someone whose favourite bicycle-related activity is cooking an occasional Paris-Brest, who mounts an exercise bicycle only when there’s nothing else unoccupied in the gym, and who just occasionally sallies forth on a fold-up when alternative transport is impractical, this editor has been blown away by the revelations in the recent Beecham Research on Connected Bikes.

It seems there is no limit to how technology is transforming the bicycle with the aid, of course, of the ubiquitous smartphone. A particularly popular feature seems to be an app-driven automatic gear changer, as introduced by Cambridge Consultants when they first used the term “Connected Bike” in 2012. Fitness, navigation, anti-theft, safety and (more…)

Funding, granting and executive moves

August 8, 2014 | by

Summer hasn’t been beach holiday time for some of the companies we’ve been following….Genetic testing for the masses 23andMe, only last fall in much hot water with FDA (but recently making nice–TTA 2 July), received a two-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH). iHealthBeat….’Smart pill’ developer Proteus Digital Health received a Series G round of $52 million, adding to a June round of $120 million. Investors not disclosed, but Proteus currently has a blue-chip list including Novartis, Medtronic and Kaiser. BusinessWire….Pre/post-procedure education and recovery monitoring service VOX Telehealth received another $1.1 million round of angel financing primarily from original investors, preliminary to an institutional round of financing in 1st Quarter 2015. Release….HealthSpot Station is reinforcing its retail reach (more…)

‘Explosive growth’ for telehealth and telecare at last?

August 8, 2014 | by

This sunny summertime prediction by Ephraim Schwartz, an editor-at-large for enterprise tech publication InfoWorld, outlines five main reasons why:

  1. Healthcare is broken, and because it is, finally there’s the financial commitment from providers.
  2. The base of home telehealth devices is now fairly large at 3 million in the US so that the projection by 2018 of 10.3 million in the US and 19.1 million worldwide doesn’t look improbable (Berg Insight).
  3. Cellular and digital phone networks are now ubiquitous. The conversion of existing POTS devices which account for 70 percent of existing telehealth users is underway. Mobile is driving developers to create smartphone health apps and devices. (more…)

University of Edinburgh MSc in Global eHealth

August 7, 2014 | by

Deadline extended to 8 September for the Autumn term

We are happy to update our readers on this innovative UoE programme with a message from the director, Dr Claudia Pagliari. Please read ’til the end to learn about sponsoring a student from a low-income country. (Ed. Donna)

This fully supported online learning programme provides a unique opportunity to study health informatics with reference to global health challenges. Combining core courses with a rich portfolio of innovative modules delivered by international experts, the programme provides a foundation in the core principles and practice of health informatics whilst considering how innovations and policies are shaping the technology landscape, strengthening health systems and changing professional and patient behaviour.

The programme is interdisciplinary and is suitable for eHealth designers and implementers, healthcare practitioners, global development professionals, government policymakers, healthcare managers and CIOs, and academic researchers with interests in the role of ICT in health. The supported online learning format provides an opportunity to obtain a rich learning experience, interacting with your tutors and peers, whilst remaining in work. (more…)

RSM healthcare technology videos online at last!

August 6, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/RSM-logo.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]The Royal Society of Medicine’s Telemedicine and eHealth Section at last has its own dedicated website for videos of past presentations. Sadly there is only room for a selection of these, however there are important presentations there from last year’s conference, and from all the three one-day events this year on recent development in digital heath, medical apps and big data: a real treasure trove of knowledge and expertise!

Viewing is free for RSM members (including students), with a small fee for non-members (less than attending the conference though).

Mum & Baby app – delivering relevant and reliable information

August 6, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Mum-and-baby2.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Remembering the panics due to lack of good advice from when our first child was born 36 years ago, this editor was especially intrigued to hear of an app being developed to reduce such anxiety by Sunita Sharma, Clinical Education Fellow at Imperial College, London at a recent Royal Society of Medicine Innovation event.

Sunita worked closely with Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity’s Maternity team to create this free Mum & Baby app for new mums. Developed in response to the maternity service user surveys, it aims to meet the new mum’s need for relevant and reliable information about herself and looking after her new-born baby. Topics are divided into easy to navigate sections with links to useful online resources.

The Android version can be downloaded here, and the Apple version here.

Since publishing this piece, Sunita Sharma has pointed out that the app does have some elements that are specific to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital although, if other maternity services want to use it, it is built to be easily reconfigurable.

Cerner acquires Siemens HIT business

August 6, 2014 | by

The big news in HIT circles today was Cerner’s purchase of Siemens’ health IT business for $1.3 billion. Forbes has the most detailed analysis by far, which appears prepared in advance based on the 22 July rumor published by HISTalk at that time. HISTalk’s and their readers’ comments on the announcement conference call today are moderately scathing and worth reading if of interest to you. The takeaway for this Editor is that it was a defensive move for Cerner versus Epic Systems, Athenahealth and Allscripts; they bought out a competitor, bought market share with the acquisition (although how much of it would have fallen to them anyway is a question), gained more of an international foothold plus an inside track to customers eager to move to newer technology. For Siemens, it appears  (more…)

Text messaging for health: simple and it works

August 5, 2014 | by

This Editor often casts a skeptical eye on short (2.5 month) studies and those sponsored by companies with a vested interest in the patient engagement technology being successful. In this case, the study reinforces earlier findings by the Center for Connected Health and other providers. Sending text messages to Medicaid (low income state-based health insurance program) recipients, even for a short time, proved to be effective. The targeted group was pregnant women plus families with children and teenagers in New York’s Healthfirst Medicaid managed care program. HealthCrowd, the developer, sent this group messages about prenatal care; wellness visits for children; and/or vaccinations. (more…)

Tons of app health data, bound for…third parties?

August 5, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/obey_1984.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] The law of unintended consequences also applies to Quantified Selfers. Health apps seem to be reaching beyond the QS early adopters and becoming a commonplace, whether on your wrist or built into your smartphone. Apple, Google, IBM and Samsung are all in.The DH3 set (Digital Health Hypester Horde) could not be more pleased. But where is that data going? According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), it’s ending up where your online data goes–profitably sold by developers large and small to your friendly data broker and onward to marketers. You may think it’s private, but it isn’t. There is the famous case of an Target (store) app used to determine whether female customers were pregnant (purchases such as pregnancy tests) and then market related and baby products to them. Commissioner Julie Brill doesn’t like the possibility that health data could be part of the Spooky Monster Mash that is Big Data. “We don’t know where that information ultimately goes,” Brill told a recent Association for Competitive Technology panel. “It makes consumers uncomfortable.” (Ahem!) From the consumer protection standpoint, the FTC would like to do something about it, and they happen to be very good at that type of regulation. Compliance will not only be an added cost of doing business, it will cut into that ol’ business plan. And you thought that the only problem around apps and the Feds was gauging risk to users. Do you have that creepy ‘Big Brother is Watching You’ feeling?  Health IT Outcomes, FierceMobileHealthcare, VentureBeat.

The importance of biomedical engineering

August 1, 2014 | by

Picking up on yesterday’s post about an event on the topic in November comes a fascinating report produced by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. It gives an overview of biomedical engineering in the UK and includes case studies from UK universities and industry. It looks at the role of technology and biomedical engineers in the NHS, and makes a number of key recommendations, which would help improve healthcare in the UK and stimulate grow in the sector.

Key recommendations (more…)

Now a VC concentrating on tech for older adults (US)

August 1, 2014 | by

Don’t call it a trend yet, but Ohio’s Link-age Ventures Inc. is launching a $26.6 million venture capital fund to invest in startup to early-stage companies targeting products, services and technologies for the 55+ market. The 50 percent partner is a familiar name to those in the US non-profit senior community sector, Ziegler Companies, along with 70 non-profit senior communities (!) as limited partners. The Ziegler Link-age Longevity Fund will look to invest about $500,000 to several million dollars apiece in 10-12 companies engaged in aging in place, care coordination, disease prevention, readmission reduction and wellness strategies. An investment announcement may come in late summer. The US heartland demonstrates a different trend than the relentlessly DH3, youth-oriented West Coast and the mixed messages out of the New York-Boston corridor. Cincinnati Business Courier