October 12th, 2010 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in Better Health Network, Interviews, News, Opinion
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Doximity is an app that launched on the App Store just over a week ago and has the potential to significantly change the way physicians use their smartphones.
The main focus of the app is physician communication, and for this it incorporates an innovative, secure SMS-like text service. But its real power lies in its deep incorporation of multiple databases of physician and related information.
In particular, the makers of the app carefully integrated data from the physician NPI and Medicare databases as well as lists of medical schools, hospitals, imaging centers and pharmacies. What they’ve produced is a surprisingly refined version 1 product that can quickly answer the myriad of small, practice-related questions that pop up all day long during a busy schedule. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
October 2nd, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
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Dynamic Controls out of Christchurch, New Zealand, has developed a system by which wheelchair users can control their iPhone using the chair’s own joystick.
Additionally, the iPhone can display important information about the wheelchair, such as the battery charge state, speed, seat adjustment, and heading direction.
All this is communicated via Bluetooth between the iPhone and the wheelchair. The new version of the iPortal system will be unveiled at Rehacare 2010 in Dusseldorf, Germany, next month.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
September 2nd, 2010 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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Bradley Merrill Thompson, an attorney with expertise in the FDA approval process for medical devices, is stating that the FDA is actively monitoring app stores on various platforms. Regulating medical devices and health care-related applications falls under the FDA’s jurisdiction.
James Kendrick from JkOnTheRun spoke with Thompson, where he stated the following:
The FDA is actively engaged in surveillance of various app stores to see if apps should trigger their involvement. Applications where a smartphone is connected in any way to imaging are under scrutiny, in particular. Any app that is used to transmit images to a medical facility requires FDA approval.
By “various app stores,” Thompson is likely referring to the App store [Apple], Palm App Catalog [Web OS], App World [BlackBerry], and the Android Marketplace [Android OS]. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
August 26th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, News, Research
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An eye-popping statistic shows that 94 percent of doctors have adopted smartphones, in part to keep up with an information glut. A consulting group released results of 100 in-depth interviews with physicians working in acute and ambulatory care environments in numerous specialties nationwide. The physicians used the phones to communicate, manage personal/business workflows, and access information, including medical reference materials. (In case you’re curious about what your peers are using, 44 percent use an iPhone and 25 percent use a BlackBerry.)
This growth in adoption — a 60 percent increase since 2006 — isn’t surprising, since the same survey reported that doctors’ biggest challenges are communicating with colleagues in a timely manner, the volume of communications with patients and the entire care team, and the different platforms (e-mail, voice mail, pager, etc.) needed to keep up with it all.
But one early adopter, Dr. Rob Lamberts, ACP member, cautions that while the new technology can help, it isn’t yet.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
July 31st, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit focused on public health. We know that the long-term consequences of eating chemicals from pesticides used on our foods is damaging to our health.
The EWG analyzed data from the FDA and found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the “Dirty Dozen” are eating 10 pesticides a day. We want people to eat more fruits and vegetables, but NOT to ingest more chemicals. Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. So what’s the answer? Rinse completely and buy the “Dirty Dozen” foods organic whenever possible. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
