As we in the US get our first, much too early blast of Polar Vortex this season with New York area temperatures dipping into the 30s F with a snow alert tonight, we should reminisce about what seems only a few weeks ago when the keyword was ‘short’….
Coming up short in the data breach this past Monday was Anthem Blue Cross of California with their TMI emailer–containing in the subject line specific targeting/sorting patient information that direct marketers love, but don’t want you to know they see, such as “Don’t miss out — call your doctor today; PlanState: CA; Segment: Individual; Age: Female Older; Language: EN; CervCancer3yr: N; CervCancer5yr: Y; Mammogram: N; Colonoscopy: N”. Ooops!…Another day, not quite another breakthrough for Mount Sinai Hospital here in NY, which had your typical laptop theft compromising over 10,000 records but fortunately not SSI or insurance information….More alarming were the malware/hacker attacks. In North Carolina, Central Dermatology of Chapel Hill was compromised by malware in a key server. And further south, Jessie Trice Community Health Center of Miami, Florida was hacked by a criminal identity theft operation accessing personal data of almost 8,000 patients. iHealthBeat, also Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, NY Times (Anthem)
A short opinion piece in HealthWorks Collective promisingly leads with:
What if we paid for patient recovery rather than just patient services? What if we paid to treat patients rather than just conditions? What if we paid to personalize care rather just population health quality measures?
…and then slides into ACOs churning and leaking (patients) but still saving money (maybe–13 of the 32 systems in Medicare’s Pioneer ACO program have jumped off the wagon train), bundled payment models (still finding their way), palliative care other than hospice (bravo) and then swerves alarmingly off into “sequenc(ing) the DNA of our estimated 500 to 1,000 bacteria species that live within us” as a key to personalized care. Pass the aspirin….which some wag opined would not pass today’s FDA pharma tests.
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/iphoner-294×521.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]And mobile feeds are short reminders to do something. Omri ‘Bob’ Shor’s team over at MediSafe just developed one not for news, but so that you adhere to your meds. Tap ‘The FEED’ button in the app (see left, lower left menu) and view contextualized items for you, such as a prompt to take your meds and some health ed lite. The app, still free, is available on Google Play and the Apple Store and has passed its millionth download since late 2012. According to their website, 2015 will bring a non-smartphone version using SMS and touchpad service. MediSafe is also integrating into Apple’s HealthKit. HealthWorks Collective
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