May 9th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in Health Tips
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Cancer.net, an oncologist approved cancer information site from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), has released a free iPhone and iPad app — full of handy features for cancer patients.
The free app allows cancer patients and their family members to look up pertinent information based on cancer type and download a wealth of oncology related information in the form of videos, podcasts, and up to date articles.
Where the app truly shines is in there key features: Ability to store questions, medications and symptoms. The way this app implements these key features is absolutely stunning, and makes the application a must have for cancer patients and their family members.
This review will explore these features and how your patients can use this app.
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
April 9th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in News
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One of the beauties of mobile medical education is how quickly you are able to distribute multimedia content, especially if it’s free. This is due to the ubiquitous nature of certain platforms, such as iTunes, on every iOS device — over 120 million of them. These mobile devices have significantly lowered the barrier of entry for medical professionals wishing to reach millions of individuals.
A University of Alberta professor and surgeon, Dr. Jonathan White, decided to make 10 to 30 minute iTunes podcasts of his lecture material in order to reach his students at a different level. His medical students feel the free Podcasts are more captivating, and enable them to consume a greater amount of content when they are short on time:
“When you’re short on time, you have the podcast to rely on in order to get the bulk of information that you need to learn,” said medical student Todd Penny……The podcasts are less dry than reading out of a textbook,” he said. “You have someone talking to you as if you are in a lecture. They try to make it a little more interesting. They add music.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
December 14th, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Most doctors have a closet in their office filled with various pharmaceutical samples. The pharmaceutical industry has had “drug reps” or account reps or pharmaceutical sales staff making the rounds on doctors offices in every city and town across the United States for decades. The industry spent $33.5 billion promoting drugs and sending reps to doctors offices with samples in 2004. That is a lot of samples!
Most of us thought we were doing the right thing for our patients when we accepted drug samples. I was able to give patients a month (or more) free to make sure it worked and that they tolerated it. Other patients had no insurance and I supplied them with all of their medication for free from my sample closet. I had a good relationship with the rep and they kept my office stocked with the medication my patients needed. It seemed like a win-win for everyone. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
July 7th, 2009 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Why shouldn’t we have to pay for our health care?
Why….we don’t have that sort of money!!! How dare you even suggest that we should pay!!!!
We manage to buy cigarettes. We manage to buy fast food. Often. We manage to get all the channels we want via cable or satellite television. Some of us even have satellite radio in our cars. And GPS. Our cell phones are really nice, but all that texting costs a pretty penny. We drop a few bucks at Starbucks every week without thinking twice.
And then we roll our eyes when we have to pay for….god forbid…..health care!
*****
Think I’m heartless? Think I’m an elitist?
Think I’m talking about the Medicare patients in my ER who bring in a super-sized number 8 from McDonalds for the entire family and hold out their right arm for a BP while they text rapidly with their left hand?
I could be.
But I’m not.
The patient rolling their eyes at having to pay was me.
*****
Yeah.
Me.
Showed up for a colonoscopy yesterday and the receptionist went over what would and would not be covered by my insurance.
My out-of-pocket payment would be $216.
And my first thought was “why the hell am I paying anything out of pocket for this? I have insurance!”
I was ticked.
*****
But why was I ticked?
Why shouldn’t I have to incur out-of-pocket expenses?
I have insurance. Good insurance. Insurance I don’t pay a single penny for. It’s a benefit I get from my employer for working 24 hours a week.
Did I think I was entitled to full coverage because I was insured?
Entitled?
Me?
*****
Isn’t that term used to describe some patients who get their health care for “free” through a public plan?
Well, I get my coverage for “free”, too, and god help me, the emotion I felt in that office yesterday was “entitlement”.
Now I understand.
And I won’t use that term again.
Ever.
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
April 8th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs, News
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Tim Cromwell’s mother-in-law is 86 years old. Her husband is a Korean War veteran who developed Alzheimer’s disease, and receives care from both the VA and private healthcare providers. Because she and her husband take so many medications, they actually replaced their dining room table centerpiece with a collection of orange and white pill bottles. Mrs. Spencer keeps a hard copy of all of her husband’s medical records in a large file box that she carries with her on a cart with wheels. She has no alternative for keeping all her husband’s providers up to date with his complex care, and lifting and transporting the records has become more difficult for her in her eighth decade.
If this story sounds all too familiar, then you’ll be glad to know that the government is facilitating electronic medical and pharmacy records portability. One day it may be possible for Americans to dispose of those hard copy files, knowing that any provider anywhere can access their records as requested.
Tim Cromwell is passionate about alleviating his mother-in-law’s need to carry medical records around, and believes the way to do this is through the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ participation in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). Working in compliance with NHIN standards, the Federal Health Architecture group recently oversaw the creation of software (called CONNECT) that creates a seamless, secure and private interface with hospitals, and over 20 federal agencies’ medical records systems (including the Social Security Administration, Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Cancer Institute).
On April 6, 2009, NHIN released the CONNECT software necessary to make Electronic Medical Records systems interoperable. The software is “open-source” and free to all who’d like to incorporate it into their EMRs. Those who add the free software will be able to share data with NHIN’s member groups, which include early adopters like the Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Beth Israel Deaconness Medcial Center, and MedVirginia.
This means that if Mrs. Spencer and her husband receive their care from participating hospitals and federal programs, they’ll never have to tote paper records again. But it may take some nudging from patients and healthcare professionals like you to grow the network. If you’d like your hospital to participate in the NHIN network, encourage them to view the NHIN website here.
Cancer.net, an oncologist approved cancer information site from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), has released a free iPhone and iPad app — full of handy features for cancer patients.
