This last weekend I had my phone and wallet stolen. As a result I had to survive the better part of the weekend without being able to access the money in my account or being able to call anyone for assistance if I had needed it. I was bewildered at how irritatingly inconvenient even the simplest tasks became. It was as if the modern world did not take kindly to those who fell behind the curve of technology or access to resources, an assumption I later found holds true for mobile applications in healthcare and less true for me, as I replaced my missing items but see it fit to complain nonetheless.
I have posted a few articles about how amazing mobile technology is in healthcare. As a proud self-confessed computer geek I'm usually all about focusing on the cutting edge of any new technology, especially when it belongs to an untouched market such as healthcare. However, my recent mandatory two day mobile technology vacation made me think about how accessibility to mHealth applications could be extended to those people not fortunate enough to afford the newest gadgets. Luckily I'm not the only one who has thought about this.
In a blog post on Health Unbound I found a good set of criteria for mHealth applications targeted towards under-served impoverished, or remote communities. A call for the apps to work on even the most basic handsets and be illiterate-friendly resonated strongly with me as areas in which these apps could definitely improve for those less fortunate.
As much as I love my new Android phone, and the potential it has to operate some of the most sophisticated mHealth apps on the market, I feel that the focus of the market needs to expand to avoid ignoring those with the least.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Utilization, Review, Progress
If anyone ever tells you that mobile health applications are just a fad or that there's no way an application on a cell phone could ever be used in healthcare kindly redirect them to this website:
http://www.imedicalapps.com/app-review/
The website I've listed provides an immense amount of data on medical apps which already exist on the market. In addition to just the basic facts about any medical application the website serves as a peer review hub in which medical professionals, working in the field with the technology, are providing feedback on what works and what doesn't. The review sections are organized by top apps, app type, medical specialty, and can also be searched based upon the type of smartphone the clinician was using to run the application in the first place.
As a natural skeptic coming across this site was an eye-opening experience. Beyond the sheer volume of healthcare applications that already exist in the market today, the value of clinicians' experiences with the applications could not be overstated. Medicine is already characterized by their inherent belief in the peer review system, all the best medical journals and research finding are thoroughly scrutinized through this process. The fact that medical apps are now receiving attention from a broad range of clinicians in an organized and documented manner is the beginning of these apps finding a permanent home in the healthcare setting.
More than 75% of doctors already use a smartphone or tablet at work, expect that number to rise.
http://www.imedicalapps.com/app-review/
The website I've listed provides an immense amount of data on medical apps which already exist on the market. In addition to just the basic facts about any medical application the website serves as a peer review hub in which medical professionals, working in the field with the technology, are providing feedback on what works and what doesn't. The review sections are organized by top apps, app type, medical specialty, and can also be searched based upon the type of smartphone the clinician was using to run the application in the first place.
As a natural skeptic coming across this site was an eye-opening experience. Beyond the sheer volume of healthcare applications that already exist in the market today, the value of clinicians' experiences with the applications could not be overstated. Medicine is already characterized by their inherent belief in the peer review system, all the best medical journals and research finding are thoroughly scrutinized through this process. The fact that medical apps are now receiving attention from a broad range of clinicians in an organized and documented manner is the beginning of these apps finding a permanent home in the healthcare setting.
More than 75% of doctors already use a smartphone or tablet at work, expect that number to rise.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Body Mapping Is Creeping Up On Us
http://mashable.com/2011/11/03/jawbone-up-99-wristband-rule-life/
The device above is called an Up, made by Jawbone. It releases Nov. 6th and will retail for about $99 and be readily available at a variety of popular stores. It will do a number of things including tracking exercise and sleep and will send the information to an app on your smartphone. The developers have hopes that the wristband will also become a social tool.
I find this application of mobile health technology fascinating from the perspective of informatics. Providing that people actually buy this device and use it, the volume of information that could be obtained about the population of user's health habits would be staggering. Geography, environment, age, gender, and numerous other parameters could be factored in; all thanks to a simple bracelet and an app on your phone.
This is the beginning of a new and inevitable trend in which the technology we wear interacts and records our health. Given that technology will only get smaller, more ergonomic (as opposed to a flashy bracelet), and less expensive (under $99 is quite affordable), it seems that our imminent future is going to be inundated by devices such as these with fewer glitches and more functionality.
Monday, October 31, 2011
mHealth Technology Will Bridge The Gap Between Innovation and Profit In Healthcare
The sciences have a foul reputation when it comes to adequately rewarding the innovator for any new product. For the most part it seems that a handful of large companies acquire the lions-share of the market and distribute the profits internally as they see fit.
Steve Jobs built machines that were ergonomic and integrated and was rewarded greatly for it. As a result an entire industry boomed; products became more user friendly as they became more complex and a steady stream of consumer interest fueled the expansion.
As Matthew Herper of Forbes describes here the problem with medical innovation lay with the technology being largely uninteresting to the consumer, too complex to be of any use to anyone but a select few, or potentially unappealing to the innovator who would not see gains in proportion to their work.
I believe that mobile health technology, as it becomes more ubiquitous throughout society, will ultimately end the disparity between innovation, integration, and profit in healthcare. Healthcare technology applications such as Qpid.me and EndoGoddess are perfect examples of how healthcare can become a far-reaching and interesting consumer product. One which recognizes the will of the innovator, potentially as much as Steve Jobs recreated technology in his image during his lifetime. The field is ripe with opportunities.
In his article Mr. Herper states that There are 50% more billionaires from tech than from health care, and they are far richer. I am compelled to believe that the direction healthcare technology is moving in will bridge that gap too.
Steve Jobs built machines that were ergonomic and integrated and was rewarded greatly for it. As a result an entire industry boomed; products became more user friendly as they became more complex and a steady stream of consumer interest fueled the expansion.
As Matthew Herper of Forbes describes here the problem with medical innovation lay with the technology being largely uninteresting to the consumer, too complex to be of any use to anyone but a select few, or potentially unappealing to the innovator who would not see gains in proportion to their work.
I believe that mobile health technology, as it becomes more ubiquitous throughout society, will ultimately end the disparity between innovation, integration, and profit in healthcare. Healthcare technology applications such as Qpid.me and EndoGoddess are perfect examples of how healthcare can become a far-reaching and interesting consumer product. One which recognizes the will of the innovator, potentially as much as Steve Jobs recreated technology in his image during his lifetime. The field is ripe with opportunities.
In his article Mr. Herper states that There are 50% more billionaires from tech than from health care, and they are far richer. I am compelled to believe that the direction healthcare technology is moving in will bridge that gap too.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Why Getting The Information Out Isn't Adequate
Reuters announced today that after 24 years of research a GSK scientist (Joe Cohen) has managed to make a viable vaccine against malaria. Here's the link:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/us-malaria-vaccine-scientist-idUSTRE79H59220111018
After initially jumping out of my chair with joy at the prospect of the elimination of a disease which kills in excess of 1,000,000 people a year my inner pessimist (yes he exists) started to pick at the problems which could arise from this update.
Beyond the problem of having the resources to deliver this medicine (should it work and become an available vaccine) to the people it affects most in rural Africa and Asia, the problem of misinformation about medicine and particularly vaccines has been an issue which persists even into the modern world.
Almost everyone has heard of Jenny McCarthy's allegation that vaccines are somehow linked to autism, a claim which she has popularized through her affluence and influence. On the other end of the spectrum many teens consider OTC and some popular Rx drugs to be completely safe and without any potential for side effects.
Getting the drug (or vaccine in this case) out to fix a problem is one thing, but without fixing misinformation we in the health professions are failing to address a major gap in the effectiveness of our therapies. This, i feel, is definitely an area in which interactive medicine can expand on the national and global level.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/us-malaria-vaccine-scientist-idUSTRE79H59220111018
After initially jumping out of my chair with joy at the prospect of the elimination of a disease which kills in excess of 1,000,000 people a year my inner pessimist (yes he exists) started to pick at the problems which could arise from this update.
Beyond the problem of having the resources to deliver this medicine (should it work and become an available vaccine) to the people it affects most in rural Africa and Asia, the problem of misinformation about medicine and particularly vaccines has been an issue which persists even into the modern world.
Almost everyone has heard of Jenny McCarthy's allegation that vaccines are somehow linked to autism, a claim which she has popularized through her affluence and influence. On the other end of the spectrum many teens consider OTC and some popular Rx drugs to be completely safe and without any potential for side effects.
Getting the drug (or vaccine in this case) out to fix a problem is one thing, but without fixing misinformation we in the health professions are failing to address a major gap in the effectiveness of our therapies. This, i feel, is definitely an area in which interactive medicine can expand on the national and global level.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Would You Rather Swallow This or Insert That?
Ok, enough with the silly puns. Here's an amazing video of a very mobile piece of technology which is non-invasive, convenient, and has the added potential benefit of increasing compliance for colon cancer screenings (especially in men) as it could remove the necessity of an awkward and unpleasant endoscopy procedure.
Perhaps more complex devices in the future could link directly to our mobile phones and provide us with insight, and hopefully constructive criticism, on our own personal digestive behaviors along with a whole other array of information which would otherwise require the use of an uncomfortable serpentine camera and a doctor.
Perhaps more complex devices in the future could link directly to our mobile phones and provide us with insight, and hopefully constructive criticism, on our own personal digestive behaviors along with a whole other array of information which would otherwise require the use of an uncomfortable serpentine camera and a doctor.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Giving it a shot...
Hello everyone,
As you may have inferred from the title of this blog I'm hoping to explore the constantly expanding role technology in all its forms is playing in healthcare. I will be focusing on how this affects the profession of Pharmacy whenever possible. I have strong opinions on a lot of subjects and hope to encourage discussion so please leave lots of useful comments!
Speaking of technology gets me to straight to my first point. As a kid growing up I could never understand why people I identified as "old" wouldn't adapt to new technology as quickly as I could, sometimes they wouldn't adapt at all. I vowed that I would never let this happen to me, and have been fairly good about it so far (I consider myself fairly technologically literate). At the same time, this is the first blog I have ever written...
I take solace in the fact that falling behind the times when it comes to social media is a trend that transcends health professionals. The graph above shows physician's use of social technology. The red bars are percents of current users, the blue bars represent the percent of physicians that would "never consider" using the technology.
Given that if Facebook were a country it would be the third most populous in the world makes it a virtual goldmine of information, including the health habits of millions of people "checking in" all over the world. Twitter is worse. And yet more than a quarter of the physicians polled claimed they would never use Facebook, nearly a third stated that Twitter would never be useful to them. Really, never, not even for the sake of research??
I think its time for the health professions to stop being so "old" in their approach to the emergence of social technology. I'm not asking for much, just do as I'm doing with blogging and give it a shot.
Take a look at the article I got this graph from:
-Ravdeep Ghataorhe
As you may have inferred from the title of this blog I'm hoping to explore the constantly expanding role technology in all its forms is playing in healthcare. I will be focusing on how this affects the profession of Pharmacy whenever possible. I have strong opinions on a lot of subjects and hope to encourage discussion so please leave lots of useful comments!
Speaking of technology gets me to straight to my first point. As a kid growing up I could never understand why people I identified as "old" wouldn't adapt to new technology as quickly as I could, sometimes they wouldn't adapt at all. I vowed that I would never let this happen to me, and have been fairly good about it so far (I consider myself fairly technologically literate). At the same time, this is the first blog I have ever written...
I take solace in the fact that falling behind the times when it comes to social media is a trend that transcends health professionals. The graph above shows physician's use of social technology. The red bars are percents of current users, the blue bars represent the percent of physicians that would "never consider" using the technology.
Given that if Facebook were a country it would be the third most populous in the world makes it a virtual goldmine of information, including the health habits of millions of people "checking in" all over the world. Twitter is worse. And yet more than a quarter of the physicians polled claimed they would never use Facebook, nearly a third stated that Twitter would never be useful to them. Really, never, not even for the sake of research??
I think its time for the health professions to stop being so "old" in their approach to the emergence of social technology. I'm not asking for much, just do as I'm doing with blogging and give it a shot.
Take a look at the article I got this graph from:
"Meaningful Use" of Social Media at Stanford Medicine 2.0
-Ravdeep Ghataorhe
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