The digital health space refers to the integration of technology and health care services to improve the overall quality of health care delivery. It encompasses a wide range of innovative and emerging technologies such as wearables, telehealth, artificial intelligence, mobile health, and electronic health records (EHRs). The digital health space offers numerous benefits such as improved patient outcomes, increased access to health care, reduced costs, and improved communication and collaboration between patients and health care providers. For example, patients can now monitor their vital signs such as blood pressure and glucose levels from home using wearable devices and share the data with their doctors in real-time. Telehealth technology allows patients to consult with their health care providers remotely without having to travel to the hospital, making health care more accessible, particularly in remote or rural areas. Artificial intelligence can be used to analyze vast amounts of patient data to identify patterns, predict outcomes, and provide personalized treatment recommendations. Overall, the digital health space is rapidly evolving, and the integration of technology in health

Saturday, July 26, 2014

When Analytics Fall Short



"The joys of unintended consequences never end. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required hospitals to get paid based on how much they improved their patients' health rather than on how many tests and procedures were completed. The intent was to improve patient care.
But some data brokers saw dollar signs in those changes and have started mining patients' payment card data, public records and loyalty programs and using that to create risk profiles, which they are then selling to hospitals and insurance companies. For asthma, they look at pollen counts associated with the current residence as well as cigarette purchases, plus pharmacy records indicating whether prescriptions are being refilled regularly and on time, suggesting compliance, according to a Business Week report.
Data analytics is generally a wonderful thing, but I'm not seeing how this program could really deliver much of a benefit to anyone involved, other than the data brokers who sell it."
So says Evan Schuman

Follow him on Twitter @eschuman.
Although there are absolutely privacy issues raised, there are some initial limits. However, it's unclear how long those limits will remain in place. For example, the individual information is analyzed and massaged by the data broker, who turns it into a series of risk numbers, but the hospital isn't told the purchase/public record facts that went into those crunched numbers. In other words, the hospital won't be told that a gym membership lapsed or that 20 pizzas are being ordered a week, but will solely see that weight gain risk increased.
The biggest problem with such data collection is simply that the analysis could be highly inaccurate, mostly because a purchase made is not necessarily for the patient to personally use.
"It's important to remember that credit card and customer loyalty program data are not soundly indicative nor solely attributable to an individual's behavior. For one thing, individuals may be purchasing items for family members or even an elderly or disabled neighbor," said Pam Baker, a  business data analyst who has a new book out on the topic: Data Divination: Big Data Strategies.
Michael Dulin, chief clinical officer for analytics and outcomes research at Carolinas HealthCare, one of the health groups that is purchasing this kind of data, is quoted in the BusinessWeek piece, arguing that "information on consumer spending can provide a more complete picture than the glimpse doctors get during an office visit or through lab results." That's certainly true, but even if the data were accurate -- which is far from a given -- how much good is likely to come from it?

5 ways hospitals can use data analytics

George Zachariah, a consultant at Dynamics Research Corporation in Andover, Mass., explains the top five ways hospital systems can better use health analytics in order to get the most out of the information.


1. Use analytics to help cut down on administrative costs.
2. Use analytics for clinical decision support.
3. Cut down on fraud and abuse.
4. Use analytics for better care coordination.
5. Use analytics for improved patient wellness.





Thursday, July 24, 2014

Mobile Health Annual Update

It has been 16 months since I wrote here about the proliferation of mobile health applications.  More so than  desktop health IT, these developments place HIT in the hands of consumers and patients, allowing for instant gratfication for questions they may have in real time.


Mobile health IT falls into one of three categories,  information access, monitoring, and guidance.


It is an appropriate time to review my last post on mobile health.




During the past year several large internet presences, Google and Microsoft have taken an active interest, other than the Personal Health Record (PHR).  Market demand for PHR was sadly lacking, given that potential patients balked at entering their own health data. (much like providers). Time was a major deterrent  for data entry.  However the PHR  may be reincarnatedted as a subset or import from the  provider electronic record. (EHR)  In many ways this will improve accuracy, credibility and content.  Perhaps the  web portal may be a more eloquent means for editing and/or extracting personal health items from the professional EHR.

Google and developer Pathfinder have targetted the mobile health IT space.





 





 The Android Store


Microsoft store. a potential market place for Windows mobile has far fewer offerings. Sadly the Microsoft Store does not even have a category for Mobile Health Apps for the Windows Phone, or Surface Tablet (Microsoft's offering for tablet PCs) Again Open source is more attractive to developers.



Developer challenges with awards and stipends also are stimulating development by venture capitalists for the marketplace.




Android Developers
Surface and Windows Phone Developers


Late Breaking News:  Medicare and Telehealth











Wednesday, July 23, 2014

mHealth App Developer ? Contact the FDA first for Guidelines

Serious mobile health app developers would do well to contact the Food and Drug Administration regarding proposed regulations for mobile health applications.

Health care providers, patients and others are concerned about the safety and reliability of some applications. HPAA regulations forbid identifying data to ensure privacy and confidentiality for many HIT applicatioins.  As applications increase in number the offerings are often duplicated and complex.  There are a bewildering number of health apps currently on the market. 

The FDA is currently in the early phases of studying this area and is proposing "rule making"  This is a precursor to the process and a period of open comments for those interested in approval processes.


Many  developers such as Apple, Google, Microsoft are investing in health technology experts to guide health app development.

                                     Apple has added Divya Nag, 

With experience in managing product launches, gaining FDA approval, and partnering up with existing healthcare industry behemoths, Nag could be the key to Apple being able to launch devices such as the iWatch and Healthbook software that could track the likes of blood sugar, pulse, sleep patterns, and blood pressure. Apple has previously met with the FDA on multiple occasions to discuss upcoming “Mobile Medical Applications.” 

Nag’s experience in medical product testing could also be valuable to the testing process for Apple’s future medical products. Apple job listings indicate that the Cupertino-company has been seeking engineers experienced in designing and executing tests of health-oriented products. 



Saturday, July 19, 2014

International AIDS Conference Impacted by Malaysian Airline Tragedy


IAC: Tragedy, Low Attendance Won't Stop Meeting




Published: Jul 18, 2014   By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today






The 2014 International The The AIDS Conference will go on as planned despite the deaths of dozens of delegates aboard the airliner said to ave been shot down over eastern Ukraine.
Conference organizers were stunned by reports that dozens of delegates were aboard a Malaysia Airlines jet from Amsterdam that exploded over disputed territory in eastern Ukraine, reportedly after being struck by a surface-to-air missile.
The International AIDS Society, the meeting sponsor, said in a statement late Thursday (U.S. time) that if the reports are accurate, "this is a truly sad day." News reports said that former society president Joep Lange, MD, was among those on the doomed airliner. Professor Lange’s colleagues said that he was one of those who had 'changed the course of humanity'.
"If that is the case, then the HIV/AIDS movement has truly lost a giant," the society statement said. A later statement confirmed that the meeting would not be canceled.
The airline tragedy recalled the 1998 crash that took the life of prominent AIDS researcher Jonathan Mann.
He was aboard Swissair 111, which plunged into Canadian waters off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia on Sept. 2, 1998 – scarcely 6 weeks after another International AIDS Society meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
The AIDS conference commemorates Mann every 2 years in its opening ceremony, when a prominent researcher or activist gives a special lecture named for him. This year, the Jonathan Mann memorial lecture, to be delivered by Michael Kirby, a retired Australian judge, is on HIV and the law.
A minutes silence and a candlelight vigil has been held in Melbourne in honour of the world's leading experts in the battle against HIV who were killed while travelling on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 en route to an AIDS conference in the city.
The tragic loss of researchers who died should be used to push the life-saving agenda of the meeting, the UN AIDS chief  Mr Michel Sidibe urged as he spoke outside Melbourne Arts Centre Hamer Hall on Friday night.


A special tribute to the former president of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and ‘giant’ of HIV research, Joep Lange, was also given by Mr Sidibe.

The 20th International AIDS Conference was nearly cancelled after it emerged many of the 298 who died when Flight MH17 crashed in Ukraine were delegates with their family members.

Organisers of AIDS2014 still don't know exactly how many of the 12,000 researchers coming to Melbourne for the five-day conference were on board MH17.

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