An recent Austin, Texas TEDx presentation by Joel Selanikio, MD, CEO of DataDyne Group ‘shining the light’ on the paucity–not the deluge–of data in global public health, and the antiquated, inefficient way health data in this setting continues to be gathered–as in multiple paper forms. Dr. Selanikio was using Palm Pilots for gathering and transmitting data in 1995 (!) when he worked for the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). He advocates cutting out the middlemen (like surveyors, consultants) by creating cloud-based software (Magpi, formerly known as EpiSurveyor) that pushes forms to phones (even Symbian which is still quite dominant in large parts of the world) for users in the field. The rich data (perhaps not ‘big data’ yet) can be used for far better analysis: health exam documentation, crime reporting, education reporting (UK charity Camfed), questionnaires and more. Video (16:22).
‘The big picture’, minus hype, of mobile in health
Refreshingly free of hype, and in fact rather dry, is the commentary of Deborah Estrin, professor of computer science at Cornell NYC Tech (soon to be your Editor’s neighbor), at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston chaired by Google’s Vint Cerf. Essentially any phone can be a data platform; her focus is on converting apps to data streams, gauging frequency of use and GPS data for movement. Sensibly, she advises ‘scaling down’ apps to make them useful to individual patients. Undoubtedly she’s read the statistics on abandoned apps, estimated at about 95%–and that most everyone uses the same old apps, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Gmail etc. for about the same time as in 2011. But then she goes into how mobile can keep track of ‘digital exhaust’ a/k/a pollution…. Mobile Devices Linked to Better Health (BioScienceTechnology.com) App Usage Has Stalled As Smartphone Users Hit Burnout (Business Insider)
Revealed: Hospital EHRs lobbied for stimulus funding (US)
Man Bites Dog! The New York Times just discovered that not only did large EHR companies lobby for the health records mandatories that were part of the 2009 Federal ‘stimulus’ bill–along with ‘Meaningful Use’ subsidies–but also they also won big in hospital sales. This article focuses on Cerner, Allscripts (which bought Eclipsys) and Epic, and the 60% + gain these companies have made in sales since. It touches on the sticking point of non-interoperability, but not at all on the chaos at the practice level where the Big Three (nor the unmentioned GE Centricity) largely do not play. Here is where 600-odd companies, many of them offshored IT outfits, also around 2005 started to peddle various EHRs which were first software, now cloud-based. It took off after 2009 as well, to primary care doctors worried about Federal regulations–or missing out on years of subsidies and MU payouts. (more…)
MMRGlobal IP infringement lawsuits, allegations continue
Personal Health Record (PHR) patent holder and penny-stock company MMRGlobal [TA 10 Feb] continues to keep law firms in the US, Australia and now Singapore very busy with various complaints of patent infringement, demanding monetary damages, a permanent injunction and presumably, a lucrative licensing deal. Last week, MMRG filed in US District Court, Central District of California against health giant WebMD for their online PHR, claiming that from meetings dating back to 2007, WebMD incorporated “features and functionality that are the subject of MMR’s patents”. Today’s MMRG press release now highlights the Singapore Ministry of Health (with associated health agencies), which MMRG alleges uses PHR vendors which violate various patents–which just happen to be owned by MMRG in Singapore. (more…)
Telecare Aware Updated
Notice: The site was migrated to more secure software yesterday. There are some known problems, particularly with video links, but these will be fixed soon.
Other than those, if you are browsing the site and find any links that no longer work, please email me a note of the item you found them in. Thank you for your patience. Ed. Steve
This ‘n’ that in the news
Two new reports from mHealth Alliance highlight research gaps, misdirection: While not related to the recent PLOS Medicine meta-analyses, both mHA reports criticize the lack of rigor and quality study designs. The first critiques current mHealth efforts in the maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) area; the second surveys the global mHealth ecosystem, with the preponderance of projects in sub-Saharan Africa versus Asia and Latin America. FierceMobileHealthcare (links to both reports)… PROST8CARE text service supporting prostate cancer patients: Messages from side effects to food and diet tips will be timed with treatments to help advanced cancer patients as they undergo chemotherapy. Developed by Mobile Commons with sponsorship by Sanofi US and the Prostate Cancer Foundation….Your smartphone may help manage chronic pain: A Norwegian study of smartphone-enabled interventions of 112 subjects during chronic pain rehabilitation, using written daily diaries for four weeks with therapist review and one in-person session, indicated improved and sustained self-management. FierceMobileHealthcare, Journal of Medical Internet Research full text article... iMPak Health adopting HealthSaaS Connected Outcomes Platform: This will link the Kraken medication management system to mobile apps. HealthSaaS will also work with this JV between the Meridian Health System of central New Jersey and Sweden’s Cypak on mobile apps that forward patient biometric data to the iMPak Connect Portal currently in development. Release….Update on Philips’ next-gen PERS, Philips GoSafe: Premiered at CES 2013 [TA 11 Jan], this cellular/GPS/fall detector (AutoAlert) model will now hit the US market in late March. As previously reported, Philips will be selling the system direct to consumer outright for about $150 with $50/monthly for service. It’s an upper-end product meant for a younger, more active market. LeadingAge.
Engaging the patient: a tutorial
From a physician’s POV (point of view), ten points on how to best engage patients–and only the last five involve technology. David Lee Scher, MD’s Digital Health Corner continues his series of ‘fives’ with Five Ways of Achieving Patient Engagement: Part 1: WITHOUT Technology and Five Ways of Achieving Patient Engagement: Part 2: WITH Technology. Part one focuses on communication (including Twitter, though the psychiatrists just ran out the door…) and that technology is an adjunct tool, not a ‘solution’, must include the caregiver and must be connected. Key insight: smart health tech developers include patients and providers in all phases of development.
DocCom awarded grant by the Technology Strategy Board (UK)
DocCom has developed hospital-based social networking software and has been awarded a grant of £207,000 by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to accelerate its development. The aim is to improve clinical workflow by sending alerts and responses directly to clinicians’ smartphones. DocCom’s founder and Managing Director Dr Jon Shaw said “As a doctor, I have experienced first-hand the difficulties that clinicians face in accessing clinical data in an efficient and timely fashion – and the dire results that lack of clinical data can have for patient care.” Rather dire press release: Enterprise social networking for healthcare leader DocCom awarded Technology Strategy Board grant.
Getting into a state of BioZen (US)
From those wonderful folks who brought you the ‘Apps for the Army’ (A4A) 2010 winning T2 Mood Tracker [TA 13 Aug 10] is the BioZen. The latest development of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) connects multiple sensors–electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyography (EMG), galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), respiratory rate, and skin temperature–to a free Android app to help the user master therapeutic biofeedback. Along with physical measurements are brain wave measurements for tracking and cognitive states, with the app automatically generating graphical feedback. BioZen, The Biofeedback Mobile App (Armed With Science) BioZen T2 page Updated Armed With Science feature 28 Feb provides updates on T2 Mood Tracker.
Interactive help with dental hygiene (Gremany)
For most of us, brushing our teeth is part of the daily routine; though we may not brush to our dentist’s standards, we generally get the job done. For someone with learning disabilities or dementia, the routine can be filled with gaps, leading to loss of dental (and other) health. This bit of artificial intelligence dubbed TEBRA monitors each of the many steps in tooth brushing and helps guide the user when a step is missed. Developed by a team at Germany’s Bielefeld University, it’s currently in test locally and will be presented at the International Conference on Health Informatics in Barcelona, Spain next week. This is a possible model for other behavior guidance systems–perhaps a partnership between TEBRA and the HAPIfork? Time to rinse! AI assistant helps clean your teeth (New Scientist) Hat tip to TANN Ireland’s Toni Bunting.
Six misperceptions…or perceptions?…of telemedicine
The usually quite articulate CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) needed to get “rewrite!” or call for an “editor!” before posting this article in mHIMSS. The way this reads initially, you expect six misperceptions to be cited (in bold) and refuted. Instead, each point states the corrected perception, then explains. This tends to ‘oatmeal’ his valid points, especially #3 (healthcare professionals are not the enemy–take that, Vinod Khosla!), #5 (which disposes of the ‘better mousetrap’ paradigm) and #6 (consumer expectations for payment of serious healthcare services (vs. fitness apps). No one expects CEO Linkous to be quite as er, feisty, as your Editors or as sardonic as The Gimlet Eye, but the setup carried through would have made his points far more vivid. Six misperceptions about the telemedicine market
3millionlives February newsletter published (UK)
TA readers may be interested in the discount on attending the Healthcare Innovation Expo in London on 13th and 14th March. 3ML February Newsletter (PDF)
Cambridge Community NHS Trust tenders for WSDII Local (UK)
On the face of it in these tight financial times it’s an odd move for Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust to plan to spend up to £50,000 on an evaluation of its telecare and telehealth service, especially when it is considered to be a competent one that, in 2011, generated cost savings for social care of £595,049 to £661,165 and £15,089 to £16,765 per patient in NHS costs. But the documents announcing the tender (here and here (PDFs)) makes clear the reason for the study: despite their efforts over the years there is resistance amongst local practitioners to make greater use of it and the service perceives that only LOCAL cost-effectiveness data will bring about a change of attitudes.
They have looked at the shortcomings of the Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme structure as revealed by its subsequent analysis and are aiming to improve on that. TA’s favourite statistician gives the thumbs up that the proposed analytical methods are appropriate and – notwithstanding the decision to refer to telecare provision as telehealth – we think it is a good and brave move to invest in this evaluation…and a nice chunk of consultancy work for someone, even if the available funding is going to be tight to do it well.
The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday next week, 22nd February. As we are as keen to see the results as they are, let’s hope the 20-month timetable holds.
Chubb launches flexible telecare hub unit ‘CareUnity’ (UK)
“Thanks to clever integrated technology, there’s no need for further investment in additional equipment if or when the user needs to upgrade. This is a major cost benefit” says David Hammond, General Manager, Chubb Community Care in the press release (PDF). The unit features multiple emergency numbers and a ‘beep to talk’ pendant that allows the user to communicate with a monitoring centre even if unable to speak or hear. It is “easy to install and is compatible with all monitoring centre equipment. A touch keypad integrated into the rear of the unit allows for simple set up and function programming.” There are Braille button identifiers for vision-impaired users and CareUnity is available as a standard telecare unit and as a ‘Plus unit’ capable of monitoring up to 41 kinds of different radio alert. As care needs change, plug and play technology will make it quick and easy to add new types of alert devices.
Telecare and call system integration (Canada)
Telecare and sensor-based monitoring may now be occupying a smaller, quieter corner of the health tech boom, having been through its own hype curve, but worth noting is the story of Vigil Health Solutions of Vancouver BC Canada which has concentrated on sensor-based support of dementia patients living in assisted living ‘memory care’ areas, hybrid call systems and bed monitoring, hardwired systems, perimeter monitoring and resident check-in. Steve Moran’s interview with CEO Troy Griffiths touches on tech that looked like it met a need, but proved impractical; the need for unobtrusive assistance to improve the quality of life for residents with dementia; the fragmented marketplace in call systems; system integration difficulties; how Wi-Fi is not proving ideal for networking; and how fall detection is still the out-of-reach Holy Grail. (Caveat–Mr. Moran is with Vigil but also blogs on a wide variety of topics on his Senior Housing Forum) A perspective on Emergency Call Systems and Senior Housing Technology
Worcestershire’s 3ML Pathfinder tender “a step in the right direction” (UK)
eHealthInsider’s Lis Evenstad casts a jaundiced eye over the prospects for the 3ML target of 100,000 new users this year in an item Pathfinders losing their way. There is a strong signal in the item that the Pathfinder sites will now be regarded as being on target if they just get contracts in place. Given the reaction on Telecare Aware to the Worcestershire tender documents we hope that the quote from Chris Wright, the Department of Health’s programme manager for 3millionlives, that the Worcestershire tender for a managed service was “a step in the right direction” is just the official line and not what he really believes.
Oh, hang on, “a step in the right direction” can mean almost anything from ‘It’s really good’ to ‘It was a mess but it’s a start’. Yes, it’s a good phrase for an official line! As 2013 moves on it feels like the 3ML ground is getting softer and softer. Let’s hope it does not turn into quicksand. Ed Steve.
Most Recent Comments