Sensors>>data>>what next?

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/17L_2.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Three of our FBQs concern data–who’s looking at it, who’s taking action with it and how it’s integrated into records. MedCityNews examines two sensor-based monitors in considering how to extract meaning from the data. In the hospital, bed pressure sensor plate EarlySense already has a pressure sensor algorithm that reminds a nurse or aid to turn the patient, but their main emphasis is highlighting vital signs trending in heart and respiratory rate, which can be predictive of a deteriorating condition based on a set range. For the mid-range of the healthy fit who want to be fitter, MIO (left) is the first and at present, only device in a watch form which tracks heart rate monitoring at performance levels without a chest strap and downloads data to an iPhone–which doesn’t quite support the premise of the article, but then there’s that hint (MIO is sold in Apple Stores for $199) that the technology will wind up in smartwatches….but still, Magic 8 Ball says ‘concentrate and ask again’.

Big data in healthcare’s Tower of Babel: interview with Eric Topol

A short interview in iHealthBeat with Eric Topol, MD, Lydon Newmann of Impact Advisors and Lee Pierce from Intermountain Healthcare shows the bright side of business intel/’big data’. All that structured and unstructured data collected on individuals can be put to good use by data warehousing and analysis–a success story is Intermountain’s reduction of induced births from 30 percent to 5 percent. Yet the wins outlined are single system. Eric Topol agrees with this Editor that “The problem that exists is they lack any ability to transfer information from one to the next. There’s no interoperability. So we have a Tower of Babel.” Audio (and a dissenting comment) here, PDF transcript here.