Global Health Information Technology

The impact of Health Information Technology impacts the global  health community. The marketplace for developers and vendors is global in nature, requiring flexibiltiy in offerings tailored to each region.

Digital Health Live 2015, in partnership with DHA, launches on Tuesday 5th May

DHA and homegrown Emirati company nuviun, join forces spurring today's technology for a healthier tomorrow across the emirates 

UAE based company nuviun, in partnership with Dubai Health Authority will hold the Digital Health Live 2015 event which opens this Tuesday, 5th May 2015 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The three day conference and world's first interactive digital health exhibition, that will host local, regional and global leaders in the digital health space, will run until Thursday 7th May 2015.

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The strategic partnership, which also includes the support of the Emirates Health Informatics Society, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Dubai Healthcare City, Smart Dubai, Dubai Ambulance, and the Emirates Medical Associationaims to use the eventas a platform and catalyst to spur digital health and wellness in the UAE and providepeople with the knowledge and innovation to make better health life choices.

Dr. Tamer Shahin, CEO of nuviun said:"We are pleased to have the support and commitment of the DHA for Digital Health Live. The event is a great opportunity for the public to see first-hand how digital innovations can help them make better choices, to live longer and healthier. It is also a key platform for local and global leaders in the digital health and technology industry to come together to discuss and create a new vision for healthcare focusing on three main areas of framing health, supporting health and consumer health."

The three day conference includes high-profile speakers from across the health and technology industries including:Dr. Aisha Butti Bin Bishr, Assistant Director General of the Executive Office, Dr. Mohammad Al Redha, President of Emirates Health Informatics Society and Director of the Health Data and Information Analysis Department at the Dubai Health Authority ; John Nosta, Google Health Advisory Board Member, President Nostalab, and Conference Chair, John Sculley, Ex-CEO Apple and Pepsi, Dr Reed Tuckson, President of the American Telemedicine Association and Neil Jordan, Worldwide General Manager, Health Industry at Microsoft.

Digital Health Live is also supported by a number of international organizations including: Cerner, Microsoft, FUJIFILM SonoSite, Dell, Granteq and Spotcheck.

The Digital Health Live Expo, which is free for the public to visit,is for everyone interested in health, wellness and technology. The world's first interactive digital health exhibition will feature a fully interactive life-sized model smart city within the expo hall, giving visitors the chance to take a unique experiential walk into the not so distant future of healthcare, through 4 fascinating zones: Digital Home, Digital Hospital, Digital Smart City and Digital Wellness and Gamification zone. Global product launches will also take place here during the three days.

Digital Health represents the state of the art technologies converging to deliver a new vision for smart medicine, healthcare, and wellness, including: telemedicine, mhealth, ehealth, genomics, sensors and wearables, and electronic medical records. It embraces all healthcare-related applications, technologies, and delivery systems.

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International interest and cooperation will fuel further development for HIT throughout the global community. Technology companies are often rooted in international venues.

Telemedicine and Telehealth Opportunity

Telehealth

One of the most typical ways how physicians
communicate with patients is through email
and whenever they do so, it’s mostly to treat
routine illnessess. When the patient needs
to order a drug prescription or just receiving
any kind of healthcare service it can easily be
done through chat as well. It only takes a few
minutes to get the attention they need nowadays;
people know that the digital world is changing as time goes by and on a fast

   pace, which is no longer surprising for anyone, therefore it’s only reasonable for
   everyone to get involved.

An important similarity to telemedicine is that it can be quite beneficial to those
patients that live in areas where the traditional delivery of any kind of healthcare 

At times service is compromised by distance or any other factor like a shortage
of medical professionals. Many are the adversities that those folks living in rural
areas have to go through everyday; shouldn’t we make it easier for them to have
access to the health care they deserve?

It is necessary to point out the fact that at this moment people can enjoy the real
benefits of a healthcare service whenever they need it, it doesn’t matter where their
location is or how hard it is for them to get out of a rural place.  Reaching out to the
 patient is our responsibility and we are going to do everything within our power to provide
as much service as we can. Our certainty relies on the fact that by hiring qualified
professionals we will be educating the masses on how to make use of every medical
via of communication existent in the market, and that way keep them up to date with
every change regarding telecommunication and how to get a service of quality and on
time, right when they need it. It only takes a simple call after all.

A key barrier to increasing the availability of telehealth 

is it is not a covered benefit for most health insurance 
policies.  Perhaps this is a major defect in the scope of 
coverage for the Affordable Care Act.

The future of preventive care: How 7 startups are making an impact

Chronic Disease and Prevention

Chronic Diseases and Prevention are at the top of the list for Startups, according to Mashable
Venture capitalists are evaluating the candidates, and competition will be stiff.

Counsyl      Get Started

The genetic testing services provided by Counsyl help people make knowledgeable decisions about their lives. They offers three tests: Family Prep Screen, Informed Pregnancy Screen and Inherited Cancer Screen.

The Family Prep Screen and Informed Pregnancy Screen provide future parents with information about the genes that they will potentially pass on to children; the Family Prep Screen does so before conception whereas the Informed Pregnancy Screen test does so after. Genetic counselors are then available to help the clients interpret their results and evaluate possible next steps.

The Inherited Cancer Screen lets adults know whether they have a high risk of developing breast, prostate, ovary or pancreas cancer. With this knowledge, adults can either get screened earlier and more frequently, or, in extreme cases, undergo preventive surgery.

Huneo

Excuse the cliché, but regarding health data, knowledge is truly power. Huneo has capitalized on this notion by developing its HuNet infrastructure that stores time series health information that is then available to any HuNet authorized user. Time series data is made up of measurements conducted over a certain period of time, an example being patients' vital signs. This information is usually not stored and consequently lost forever — a problem that Huneo hopes to address with HuNet.

Neurotrack

Alzheimer’s disease is the only one of the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, but early diagnosis of the disease could help facilitate drug testing and development.

Neurotrack has developed a noninvasive, computer-based test that has the potential to diagnose Alzheimer’s patients three to six years before they show symptoms, thereby allowing pharmaceutical companies to better recruit patients for clinical trials. The company claims its technology will eventually be used as a screening test to help slow and possibly prevent the disease’s progression.

Omada Health

Omada developed its 16-week online Prevent program as a comprehensive lifestyle intervention for people who have a high risk of chronic disease. The scientifically based program is developed to encourage participants to adopt healthier behaviors in multiple aspects of their lives. To do this, the program includes online lessons about topics like nutrition and fitness, as well as a digital scale that tracks results. Health coaches and supportive peers are also there to help push participants through trying moments. The program boasts a retention rate that is often over 75% — a number that Duffy says is well above most face-to-face programs.

HealthTap

With the Virtual Consult service, HealthTap allows patients to connect with its digital community of doctors to get credible answers for any of their health questions and even checklists of healthy habits to maintain. Other helpful services offered by the company include its Concierge program, which helps patients connect with their existing doctors from anywhere in the world via video, phone calls or text messages, and the RateRx program, for which doctors have rated and reviewed certain medications.

SkinVision

 With SkinVision’s melanoma app, users can take photos of their moles that the app will analyze for abnormal growth and save and organize so users can track their moles over time for dangerous, potentially cancerous changes. If users want a  professional opinion about a mole, they can also share the photographs with their dermatologist.

Lumo

Wearable technology is having a moment. Companies like Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfitand even Apple are producing their own versions of activity trackers. Lumo goes one step beyond this, though, and not only tracks activity but also corrects people’s posture and alleviates back pain with its most recent product, the Lumo Lift.

Lumo’s first product was the Lumo Back, inspired by the chronic back pain one of Lumo’s founders used to suffer. The Lumo Back is worn around users’ lower backs, and works to reduce back pain by improving back posture. Following its positive reception, the company decided to create another product to reach an even bigger market.

Most of these offerings have yet to be FDA approved for accuracy and/or reliability. The offerings will need to be vetted.

Upcoming Health IT events 2015

• Leadership Strategies for Information Technology in Health Care, Part 2 | June 1-5, Boston
• Hospitals and health systems are under significant pressure to increase quality, decrease costs, and improve patient-reported outcomes. Increasingly, hospital leaders are turning to health information technology to deliver these results. Chief information officers and senior information technology staff must prepare for current and future health care challenges to proactively lead their organization’s health IT function.

  To address the increasing and evolving demands hospitals place on senior health information technology professionals, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health developed Leadership Strategies for Information Technology in Health Care. This executive program will help providers implement, adopt and meaningfully use health information technology to improve health care quality, safety, and cost-efficiency.

  This course covers the full range of topics senior leaders in health IT need to be aware of, including strategy and governance, implementation of electronic health records, clinical informatics, and the interplay between clinical professionals and health information technology. In this executive-level program, you will:

  • Improve your ability to increase quality, decrease costs, and advance patient safety through health information technology;
  • Enhance your health IT leadership skills, focusing on strategies and tactics to effect positive change;
  • Engage with expert faculty and industry executives, gaining practical skills and learning best practices; and
  • Develop your organization’s health IT strategic vision, proactively addressing challenges posed by the changing health care landscape.

  Who Should Participate

  Leadership Strategies for Information Technology in Health Care is ideal for executives and senior leaders in health care organizations who have functional responsibility for information technology. The program is also highly recommended for non-IT clinical and administrative leaders who need to collaborate more effectively with those in the information technology function, as well as for IT professionals transitioning into health care. Typical participant titles include, but are not limited to:

  • Chief executive officer
  • Chief information officer
  • Chief medical informatics officer
  • Chief medical officer
  • Medical director
  • Vice presidents of information technology, information systems, or informatics
  • Directors of information technology, information systems, or informatics

  

  
  

  
  

  
• JUN15HIMSS National Healthcare Innovation Summit | June 15-17, Chicago

• Overview

  Providers and payers are under enormous pressure to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare. Employers, consumers, government purchasers and health exchanges are all turning up the heat on the provision and payment of care.

  The National Healthcare Innovation Summit brings together a select group of top-level stakeholders from the healthcare sector and other industries – who are on the ground testing and implementing real-world innovations – to explore adopted and scalable strategies, products and services with demonstrated outcomes to support the Triple Aim and fast-track the transformation of healthcare. 

  

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• JUL13

  

  
  

  AHIMA Data Summit: Beyond ICD-10 | July 13-14, Baltimore
• Join AHIMA and several industry experts for a one-of-a-kind meeting exploring the many connections surrounding healthcare data, and how classification and terminologies (including ICD-10) provide more specificity to that data. More than $2.6 trillion is spent on US healthcare today; a total of 75 percent of those dollars are spent treating chronic conditions; and half of that is spent on just 5 percent of the population.

  Does this data sound familiar to you? Have you ever wondered about the data connections made throughout the healthcare industry—not just those happening in your own organization? Whether it is terminologies found in the billing system or the data analysis needed for strategic planning, today’s providers must understand where and how data affects their organization—internally and externally. Since its founding in 1928, AHIMA has been an industry leader in the effective management of health data and this summit brings all aspects of coded data together in an exciting, industry-leading program.

  Data can be found across the healthcare industry. This includes the electronic health record (EHR), quality reports, third party payers, public health systems, and more. The 2015 AHIMA Data Summit is a must-attend industry event dedicated to exploring all of healthcare data’s connections.

  
• JUL20mHealth + Telehealth World 2015 | July 20-22, Boston

• mHealth + Telehealth World 2015

  
  

  The role of technology in health care is growing year after year. Join us at mHealth + Telehealth World 2015 to learn strategies to keep up with this trend and understand the impact connected health will have on the future of health care. This Summit is a must attend for health care executives interested in learning how to most efficiently utilize mHealth and Telehealth programs to engage consumers, improve patient outcomes, and lower costs.

  
  

  Do you know what is key in making sure you choose the right telehealth provider? Learn what to ask - and why.

  The mHealth + Telehealth World 2015 brings together hospitals, health systems, health plans, and innovators to share successes and failures of existing programs and discuss the future of connected health. Network with experts in the field as you learn valuable strategies to bring success to your organization.

  Key Topics to be Addressed in 2015:

  • Return on investment for digital health programs
  • Legislative updates around licensing, credentialing, and privileging
  • Regulation of mHealth devices, including apps
  • Reimbursement criteria for Telehealth services
  • Uses of mHealth and Telehealth in different areas of care (ex: home health, surgery/procedure-based specialties, etc.)
  • Strategies to implement new mHealth and Telehealth programs
  • Approaches to expand existing mHealth and Telehealth programs
  • Ways to increase patient adoption of digital health initiatives
  • Uses of digital health to increase patient and member engagement
  • Insights from data garnered from digital health efforts – Ways to improve care and outcomes, reduce costs, and manage population health
  • Steps to overcome interoperability issues
  • How to capitalize on the explosion of wearable health technologies and how they fit into the overall digital health strategy

  New for 2015

  • Discuss the role of wearables and sensors in connected health initiatives
  • Explore use of mHealth and Telehealth in procedure-based specialties
  • Focus on the ROI of connected health programs
  • Uncover the use of technology in increasing medication adherence
  • Join one of our pre-Summit workshops for more detailed sessions on:
  • Implementation of connected health programs
  • Evidence-based outcomes
  • Network more with peers and thought leaders during extended networking breaks
  • Share ideas with professionals in others areas of health care and benefit from our co-located events:
  • Innovations in Wellness and Disease Management
  • mPharma

  
  

  - See more at: World Congress

  

• JUL21iHT2 Health IT Summit | July 21-22, Denver
• Who attends
• iHT² [eye-h-tee-squared]: 1.an awe-inspiring summit featuring some of the world’s best and brightest. 2. great food for thought that will leave you begging for more. 3. a great way to connect and engage with those changing our world.

  Each year, the Institute hosts a series of events & programs which promote improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care through information technology and facilitating knowledge exchange. iHT² programs are designed to support multi-stakeholder organizations who are navigating through health IT issues, policies and strategies in an attempt to improve care. Institute programs include a variety of guest speakers and keynotes representing many diverse sectors within health care. Speaker faculty provide expert advice, practical recommendations, solution-oriented best practices and reactions related to the most pressing issues.

  The 2015 iHT2 Health IT Summit in Denver will bring together over 200 C-level, physician, practice management and IT decision-makers from North America’s leading provider organizations and physician practices. For two days, executives will be able to interact with a national audience of peers, thought leaders, and solutions providers at one of Denver's finest resorts. Areas of discussion will include: Meaningful Use, Health Information Exchange, Telehealth, Accountable Care, mHealth, Cloud Computing, and more.

  

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• OCT29

  
  

  Connected Health Symposium | Oct. 29-30, Boston
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• • General Attendee: $895 (Early-bird rate through July 31)Health, technology, research, human behavior and public policy intersect at Connected Health Symposium 2015.  Over 1,000 visionaries, leaders, practitioners and thinkers will gather for the 12th year at this premier destination event hosted by Partners HealthCare and the Center for Connected Health.  A diverse agenda, a mix of keynotes and panel discussions promise to provide attendees with a thought-provoking, participatory and highly engaging experience. Learn MoreHear exceptional keynotes and pointed debates on the toughest questions in health care
    • Review the latest trends, research and innovations 
    • See first-hand groundbreaking devices and demos
    • Discover novel programs to reduce health care spending
    • Network with more than 1,000 attendees