September 27th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Boston, Chapel Hill, Children's Computational Epidemiology Group, Children's Hospital, Drug Side Effects, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, iPhone App, Medgadget, Medical Apps, MedWatcher, Outbreaks Near Me, Real-Time FDA Alerts, University of North Carolina, Up-To-Date Drug Safety Reports
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Researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an iPhone application that keeps you up-to-date with drug safety reports and allows you to submit any side effects directly to the FDA.
The app, called MedWatcher can keep a list of medications for which you receive both official FDA alerts and news from other channels. Users can report side effects straight from the app and view other submitted reports. The researchers hope to lower the barrier to reporting side effects, increasing the participation in safety surveillance.
Reports of serious adverse events are reviewed by members of the Children’s Computational Epidemiology Group and then submitted to the FDA. The app was developed using technology from the Outbreaks Near Me app, which we covered one year ago. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
September 27th, 2010 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Dr. Don Berwick, Dr. Stanley Feld, Government-run Healthcare, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Medicare Reform Act, Medicare Trustees Report, Michael Leavitt, Repairing The Healthcare System, Richard Foster, Washington Post
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An interesting debate occurred in the Washington Post between Michael Leavitt, former secretary of Health and Human Services and a member of the Medicare Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2009, and Dr. Don Berwick, the director of CMS.
Michael Leavitt wrote a scathing article criticizing President Obama’s Medicare Reform Act calling it an illusion. Don Berwick wrote a rebuttal to Michael Leavitt’s article.
Michael Leavitt starts off his article by stating: “Despite the report from Medicare’s trustees this month that the hospital insurance trust fund will not be depleted until 2029, 12 years later than was predicted just last year, Medicare is no better off than it was a year ago. “
The Medicare Trustees Report was strange. Nothing was done to change anything and all of a sudden, the hospital insurance fund was extended 12 years. I thought it was funny arithmetic.
Medicare Trustees is supposed to be an organization independent of the administration. Shortly afterward, Richard Foster, Chief Actuary for Medicare, who is independent of both the Medicare Trustees and the administration, wrote an “Alternative Report.” His report received little coverage in the traditional media. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
September 27th, 2010 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
Tags: Accurate Health Information, Barbara Ficarra, Friends and the Internet, Health and Socializing, Health In 30, Health Information on the Web, Hunch, Internet-Based Health Information, Jenna Wortham, Online Friendships, Online Health Information, Searching For Health Information On The Internet, The New York Times, Your Friends and Your Health
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Turning to friends for online information is the hot topic within the Web world, and in Monday’s New York Times Technology and Business section, Jenna Wortham writes about how “Search Takes a Social Turn.”
Online sites are taking notice of what people like. Web companies are trying to make searching online for information more useful by tapping into the inner thoughts of what people like:
After a decade when search engines ruled supreme — tapping billions of Web pages to answer every conceivable query — many people now prefer getting their online information the old-fashioned way: by yakking across the fence.
Turning to friends is the new rage in the Web world, extending far beyond established social networking sites and setting off a rush among Web companies looking for ways to help people capitalize on the wisdom of their social circles — and to make some money in the process.
Listening and communicating
Listening and communicating with our friends can prove to be invaluable at times, and often they are our springboards for sharing our latest woes or trumpeting our successes. Whatever the case, friends are ruling the social networking world and frankly their opinion matters. Friends can be invaluable, and the geniuses behind new technology companies are taking notice and creating online sites focused on what friends are sharing with friends. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
September 27th, 2010 by JenniferKearneyStrouse in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News
Tags: Accidental Overdose, Accidental Poisoning, ACP Internist, American College Of Physicians, DEA, Drug Addiction, Health Hazard, Home Medicine Cabinet, Improper Drug Disposal, National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Prescription Drug Abuse, Public Awareness, Public Health, Public Safety, Safety Hazard, The New York Times, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Unused Prescription Medications
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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) coordinat[ed] “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day” this [past] Saturday [September 25th], encouraging people to turn in their unused prescription drugs. The agency hopes the event will help decrease rates of crime and addiction linked to prescription drug abuse, the New York Times reports.
From the DEA press release:
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
September 26th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: AngelMed Guardian System, Biotechnology, Cardiac Screening Devices, Cardiology, Critical Medical Alerts, Dr. Wes Fisher, Early Heart Attack Detection, Hand-held Telemetry Device, Heart Attack, Heart Attack Overdetection, Heart Attack Underdetection, Implantable Medical Devices, Pre-Heart Attack Screening, Predicting Heart Attacks, Preventive Medicine, Silent Ischemia, ST Segment Shifts, Symptom Alerts For Doctors, Wireless EMT Alert Service
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Imagine: There you are sitting outside on a warm, sunny day having a leisurely picnic with your family. You hear an ambulance in the distance getting closer. You’re not on call. Suddenly, the paramedics hop from the vehicle’s cabin and pronounce:
“Excuse me sir, your heart’s not getting enough oxygen and you might develop a heart attack. Please, come with us.”
Sound far fetched? Well, maybe not. A new device is being tested that might detect “silent” ischemia and notify a patient (or even call 911) that he or she is showing signs of heart ischemia on the wire installed in his or her chest. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
