December 8th, 2010 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
Tags: Challenge.gov, Health and Wellness Apps, Healthcare Apps, Healthy People 2010, Iltifat Husain, iMedicalApps, Medical Apps, Personal Technology and Health, Public Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Healthy People 2020, a continuation of Healthy People 2010, was started by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It’s a nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan that sets public health goals — with the deadline being 2020 in the latest iteration of the program.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now launching a challenge for developers and researchers to make wellness applications for the Healthy People 2020 campaign — they are providing rich research data sets for free, some that can be found here, giving developers and researchers ample data to write applications with.
They are also providing a list of topics for potential apps from a variety of categories, ranging from apps related to cancer to substance abuse. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
December 8th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Bonnie Ellerin, Doctors and Social Media, Doctors on Facebook, Doctors on the Internet, Doctors On Twitter, Doctors Online, Doctors Who Blog, Dr. Wes Fisher, General Medicine, Healthcare Social Media, Medbloggers, Smartblog On Social Media, Social Media For Physicians, Social Media In Medicine, Technology and Healthcare, Technology and Medical Practice
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The pros and cons of social media for physicians are nicely reviewed by a number of prominent medbloggers (including yours truly) by Bonnie Ellerin in her recent white paper (pdf). An excerpt:
There is a profound change sweeping the world of medicine. Technology is the driver, but it has nothing to do with a new drug, device or procedure. Rather it is about the change in physician behavior and mindset that technology — the Internet more specifically — has unleashed. Today, physicians of all ages and specialties are online, whether via laptop, desktop, or mobile.
With physicians’ acceptance of technology has come a new type of openness among a small but growing number. In the past, the only doctors who were likely to air views publicly were medical journalists. But, today, there are physicians who blog, tweet, email with patients, post videos, even check-in on Foursquare. If you have any doubt, just look at the “Favorite Blogs” section of a physician blogger or scan the list of followers/following of any doctor on Twitter, and you’ll get a sense of how many of them are getting social. Far more than you thought.
Read more HERE.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
h/t: @hjlucks on Twitter via Smartblog On Social Media.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
December 7th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Bone Density Testing, Bone Health, Bone Mineral Density Scores, Dr. Margaret Gourlay, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, GYN, Gynecology, Medicare, Older Women, Osteoporosis, Science Daily, screening test, T Scores, TBTAM, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, University of North at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Women's Health
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Not as often as you think, even though Medicare may be willing to pay for it every two years. Via Science Daily:
Now a new study led by Margaret L. Gourlay, MD, MPH of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine finds that women aged 67 years and older with normal bone mineral density scores may not need screening again for 10 years.
“If a woman’s bone density at age 67 is very good, then she doesn’t need to be re-screened in two years or three years, because we’re not likely to see much change,” Gourlay said. “Our study found it would take about 16 years for 10 percent of women in the highest bone density ranges to develop osteoporosis. That was longer than we expected, and it’s great news for this group of women,” Gourlay said.
The researchers suggest that for T scores > -1.5, repeat testing needn’t be done for 10 years. Women with T scores between -1.5 and -2.0 can be re-screened in 5 years, and those with T scores below -2.0 can have every other year testing as is done now.
To be honest, I’ve been spacing out bone density testing in woman with good baseline scores for some time, but not knowing how long I can go. This is great information for me and for my patients.
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
December 7th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: 33 Charts, Doctor-Patient Communication, Doctor-Patient Dialog, Doctors' Understanding, Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, Email, Facebook, General Medicine, Human Speech, Medical-Social Technology, Patient Care, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Patients' Understanding, Pediatrics, Real-Time Social Interaction Between Patients and Clinic, Social Healthcare Tool, Social Media, Technology and Healthcare, Technology and Medical Practice, Telephone, Unspoken Words
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We all want technology to improve communication between doctors and patients. We fantasize that social tools will open doors and bridge the expanding divide between doctors and patients.
I’m wondering if it’s a case of unicorns and rainbows: Fancy new tools to do the old thing in a less-effective way. I’m guessing that if Facebook was the old platform for doctor-patient dialog and the telephone was invented this year, everyone would be clamoring to use the phone (“Dude, this is amazing…you can hear them talk.”)
I like the telephone. Written copy misses intonation, timing, pitch, and all the other rich elements of human speech. Subtle changes in a parent’s voice tell me if I’ve made my point and exactly how I need to proceed [with caring for their child]. Unspoken words on a screen are so one-dimensional.
Of course, email has a tightly-defined place in patient communication. And real-time social interaction between patient and clinic will evolve to have a clear role in patient care. But for now, the phone remains one of the most effective tools for helping doctor and patient really understand one another.
[Image credit: Cemagraphics]
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
December 6th, 2010 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Cost of Healthcare, Dr. Glenn Laffel, Federal District Judge, Healthcare Insurers, Healthcare Lawsuits, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Healthcare Reform Law, Individual Mandate, Judge Henry Hudson, Medicine and Legal Issues, New U.S. Healthcare System, New York Times, Obamacare, Pizaazz, Private Health Insurance, Refusing To Buy Health Insurance, Required To Buy Health Insurance, State Courts, Virginia
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Flush from their big win in the midterms, the Boehners are vowing to repeal and replace the Big O’s health reform law. They pose a legitimate threat, but an even larger one lies in the courts, where suits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been popping up like fireflies on a late August night.
In Virginia for example, Republican-appointed Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson has indicated that the Individual Mandate — a key provision of the law that has been challenged in a suit filed in his court by the state’s Republican Attorney General — might not pass his sniff test.
Hudson said he’d rule on the matter this month. If he deems the provision to be unconstitutional, he might (it’s unlikely, but he might) enjoin the law altogether until higher courts rule on the matter. Holy Kazakhstan, Batman!
An official at Camp Obama, who spoke with the New York Times under the condition that his name not be WikiLeaked, acknowledged that Hudson’s thumbs appear to be pointing downward, indeed. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
Healthy People 2020, a continuation of Healthy People 2010, was started by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It’s a nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan that sets public health goals — with the deadline being 2020 in the latest iteration of the program.
