Using Smartphones for Medical Diagnosis

Diagnosis by an iphone ??? Yesss!!! Today even iphones can diagnose a stroke, using an iPhone application you can obtain the same accuracy as a diagnosis at a medical computer workstation. As we know time is critical for diagnosing stroke and starting treatment. There are definitely benefits for doctors to have the ability to analyze and diagnose these images from virtually anywhere and improve outcomes in patients. Is evident that technology play and effective role in health care.
Article:

:

­New research from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine shows that doctors can make a stroke diagnosis using an iPhone application with the same accuracy as a diagnosis at a medical computer workstation. This technology can be particularly useful in rural medical settings. This allows for real-time access to specialists such as neurologists, regardless of where the physicians and patients are located.

Neuro-radiologists in the study looked at 120 recent consecutive noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) brain scans and 70 computed tomography angiogram (CTA) head scans that were obtained from the Calgary Stroke Program database.

Scans were read by two neuro-radiologists, on a medical diagnostic workstation and on an iPhone.

The research is published in the May 6th edition of Journal of Medical Internet Research. The study was designed by Dr. Mayank Goyal, and involved the iPhone software technology originally developed by Dr. Ross Mitchell, PhD, and his team at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), then further enhanced and commercialized by Calgary Scientific Inc.

"This iPhone app allows for advanced visualization and our studies show it is between 94% and 100% accurate, compared to a medical workstation, for diagnosing acute stroke," says Mitchell who is from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine. "In a medical emergency, medical imaging plays a critical role in diagnosis and treatment, time is critical in acute stroke care, every minute counts."

Fellow HBI member, Dr. Mayank Goyal who is also the director of research in the department of radiology and one of the neuro-radiologists in the study who analyzed the data. "Time is critical for diagnosing stroke and starting treatment. There are definitely benefits for doctors to have the ability to analyze and diagnose these images from virtually anywhere. We were pleasantly surprised at our ability to detect subtle findings on the CT scan, which are often very critical in patient management, using this software," he says. "Another strength of this platform was its ability to handle massive imaging datasets of over 700 images seamlessly over the iPhone." Goyal is also a member of HBI's Stroke and Vascular Dementia Program.

The study was done using Calgary Scientific Inc.'s ResolutionMD Mobile, an application for iPhone and Android smart-phones. In April 2010, the application was approved by Health Canada so Canadian doctors can now legally make a primary diagnosis using the device.

Resolution MD is different from other medical image applications as a server does all the computing work and streams images to display on a smart-phone in real time. Doctors can see and manipulate medical images in seconds unlike other apps that can take 10-20 minutes to download raw medical images to an iPhone before they can be displayed. It is also unique as all medical images are secure. The confidential patient images remain behind hospital firewalls to prevent any patient data from being lost or stolen. The technology can also be used over great distances. By placing a server in a remote community, distant medical experts, such as stroke neurologists and radiologists, can have immediate secure access to patient scans anywhere, using a device they carry in their pocket.

The images can be viewed on an iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or web-browser.

Calgary Scientific has licensed the application to many medical imaging companies and over 50,000 hospitals around the world will have access to it in the next 24 months as it's installed in their networks.

By: David Ng | 9th May 2011

Full link below:

Link: http://www.cellular-news.com/story/49088.php

mHealth: New Horizons for health through mobile technologies

This interesting article is based on the findings of the second global survey on eHealth. Mobile communication devices, in conjunction with Internet and social media, present opportunities to enhance disease prevention and management by extending health interventions beyond the reach of traditional care. This article contains a lot of information about this new approach known as mhealth. It presents results by mhealth category like: Emergency toll-free telephone services, Treatment compliance, Appointment reminders, Community mobilization & health promotio, Raising awarenes, Mobile telemedicine,  Patient monitoring, Patient records...to read the full article click the link below.

Link: http://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf

5 Essential iphone and ipad Apps for Pharmacist

Here are brief description of five of the multiple applications that exist for pharmacists and students. This is really a big advantage and a great opportunity for iPhone users to stay up to date on everything related to pharmacy proffesion.

The Epocrates OTC drug module, for iPhone and iPod Touch, is a free app that lists information on more than 3,500 prescription and OTC medications. Information referenced includes dosing, warnings, contraindications, cautions, side-effects and reactions, drug interactions, retail pricing, insurance information, pictures, risks for specific types of patient (like pregnancy warnings), manufacturing information, DEA/FDA status, and pharmacology info. It even has an option to keep personal notes.

Drugs.com has a free, comprehensive online database with a phone-friendly interface that can be accessed by any phone with a browser. Information is available for more than 24,000 Rx and OTC medications includes dosing, warnings, contraindications, cautions, side-effects and reactions, drug interactions, retail pricing, insurance information, pictures, risks for specific types of patient (like pregnancy warnings), manufacturing information, DEA/FDA status, and pharmacology info. A separate pill identifier database allows search by imprint, shape, and color.

Lexicomp offers a complete line of software packages customizable to fit your needs. Choose a software bundle for your smartphone and/or computer. The bad news is that this is not a free application. A one-year subscription for the complete package for a single device is $285 and does not include the online database. It’s a lot of information, but it comes with a hefty price tag.

The Medscape App is an essential free general reference tool from WebMD for the iPhone or iPad. It puts a wealth of information at your fingertips, with diseases and conditions plus protocol and procedures in addition to a medication database. Other features are a medical news aggregator, mobile CME, a drug interaction checker, and a U.S. physician database.

Symptom Checker.MD is a free app for iPhone that can be downloaded via iTunes. You can also access the information online or using any phone with a browser and web access by visiting MyCity.MD. The neatest thing about this app is the ability to match symptoms or known conditions or disease to local resources – physicians and clinics in your local area that specialize in whatever afflicts you. Entering “diabetes” and my local zip code produced a list of 486 related articles, 16 local endocrinologist/diabetes specialists arranged by patient rating, a list of 50 primary care physicians in case your insurance requires a referral (also arranged by patient rating), a list of area hospitals, and a list of area pharmacies. In addition, there was a list of related informational videos and a link to onsite general information. Everything you need to help your customers sort out medical care for a specific condition, and it’s free.

More info: http://blog.rphonthego.com/pharmacy-news/five-essential-iphone-and-ipad-apps-for-pharmacists/

Google Tackles E-Prescriptions

Google Health is now associated with surescripts, a leading e-prescription network, this is great advantage because patients can access their own prescription histories online, create personal health profiles and share them with family members and trusted health care providers through secure URLs.

Google Tackles E-Prescriptions
Google Health announced earlier this month that it would partner with Surescripts, a leading e-prescription network, in an effort to allow patients to access to their own prescription histories online.

Surescripts manages e-prescriptions in all major pharmacy chains and more than 10,000 independent pharmacies. The prescription benefit and history information it contains represents 65% of US patients, Google wrote on its blog.

Using Google Health, patients can create personal health profiles and share them with family members and trusted health care providers through secure URLs. With the addition of prescription histories from Surescripts, patients will be able to create a record of their current and past medication use in case of emergencies.

The move is one in a series of attempts by the search engine giant to accelerate the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States. In a recent op-ed for The Hill, Google executive Alfred Specter summed up the company’s patient-focused philosophy on EHRs: “By empowering consumers with the right information,” he wrote, “they can make more informed decisions and work with health care providers to more effectively manage their health.”

For more information, visit www. google.com/health.

Robotic Patient Trains Pharmacy Students  

http://pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2010/March2010/PharmacyTechNews-0310

The SimMan 3G is surprisingly lifelike. Just like human patients, he breathes, sweats, and vomits; gets constipated; and experiences adverse reactions. Developed by Laerdal Medical of Norway, the robotic patient is gaining popularity as a training tool to prepare pharmacy students for the increasingly clinical demands of the profession.

Pharmacists-in-training can safely practice monitoring vitals, diagnosing symptoms, and administering medications on the SimMan G3 without the risks that come with practicing on human beings.

In a video posted on its Web site, the University of Bath shows a few of its students interacting with the robot, whom they affectionately call Simon. “I feel better now,” Simon announces after a successful treatment session. The scripted exchange feels stilted, but it is still a valuable exercise in human interaction for the students.

As the focus of pharmacy care shifts to patient counseling and medication therapy management, pharmacists will need a range of clinical, technical, and interpersonal skills to be successful. Training that intelligently recreates faceto- face patient encounters may be the best way for students to develop these skills before experimenting with real patients.

Link: http://pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2010/March2010/PharmacyTechNews-0310
I think this is a wonderful technology for pharmacy student because it utilize a robot to give health related information.Students can safely practice monitoring vitals, diagnosing symptoms, and administering medications to the SimMan G3 without the risks that come with practicing on human beings.  I think is a great idea to learn through this tech and improve our knowledge in therapeutics.

The Financial Impact of Health Information Exchange on Emergency Department Care

How technology impact Hospitals? It's incredible to see how the use of technology in hospitals can reduce health care cost and even decrease hospitals admissions. Let's take a look of this interesting study....

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Study: Data Exchange Cut Costs, Hospital Admissions in Memphis

Twelve hospitals in the Memphis, Tenn., area that shared electronic health record data among emergency departments achieved annual cost savings of nearly $2 million and had fewer hospital admissions, according to a study published on Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Healthcare IT News reports.
The study -- titled, "The Financial Impact of Health Information Exchange on Emergency Department Care" -- is the first in the U.S. to measure the city-wide effects of health information exchange on ED care, according to Healthcare IT News (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 11/8).

Study Methodology

For the study, Vanderbilt University researchers examined all occurrences in which health information exchange data were accessed in the 12 facilities' EDs over a period of 13 months (Robeznieks, Modern Healthcare, 11/8). The researchers compared those records with others in which data from a health information exchange were not accessed (Healthcare IT News, 11/8).
The largest hospital in the study did not gain access to the data exchange until the 10th month of the study.
The researchers analyzed a number of metrics that included hospital admissions that originated in the ED, as well as admissions for:

• Ankle radiographs;
• Body CT use;
• Chest radiographs;
• Echocardiograms;
• Laboratory testing;
• Head CT use; and
• Observations.

Results

The study found that shared access to health information exchange data contributed to:

• $1.95 million in annual total savings, 97.6% of which stemmed from reduced hospital admissions;
• $1.07 million in annual net savings after the exchange's operational costs were subtracted;
• 191 fewer hospitalizations at the 11 hospitals that had data exchange access for 13 months; and
• 221 fewer hospitalizations in the largest hospital with access for only three months (Modern Healthcare, 11/8).

Mark Frisse -- a lead author of the study and professor of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University -- said that the study could serve as a national model, adding that "the savings from this study are less than 2% of the overall savings these technologies can afford if every physician's office is connected" (Healthcare IT News, 11/8).

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/11/9/study-data-exchange-cut-costs-hospital-admissions-in-memphis.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Ihealthbeat+%28iHB%29#ixzz1dRztUz1F

Health Data Community

 

Health Data Community

Interesting and useful Official Web Site of the United States Government.
"This public resource is designed to bring together high-value datasets, tools, and applications using data about health and health care to support needs for better knowledge and to help solve problems. These datasets and tools have been gathered from agencies across the Federal government with the goal of improving health for all Americans. The site is constantly updated as more datasets and tools become available."

Link: http://www.data.gov/communities/health

"Consumer Health Revolution"

Opinion Piece Says U.S. Poised for a Consumer Health 'Revolution'

November 10, 2011

In a New York Times opinion piece, Frank Moss -- an entrepreneur and former director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab -- writes that the U.S. is in the early stages of the "next big technology-driven revolution, which I call 'consumer health.'"
He adds that the trend "could radically cut health care costs and become a huge global growth market."
Moss writes that in recent years, electronic health records, mobile devices and other health IT tools have started to improve health care delivery. He adds, "But imagine a far more extreme transformation, in which advances in information technology, biology and engineering allow us to move much of health care out of hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices, and into our everyday lives."
Moss describes how wireless medical sensors, mobile phone applications and telehealth technology could help consumers take on a greater role in managing their health care.
He writes that the federal website HealthData.gov -- which offers no-cost access to public health data -- is a step in the right direction because it helps innovators develop data-driven applications.
He concludes, "A bigger step would be for Congress to pass a bill that would orchestrate the development of interoperability and privacy standards for consumer health products and actively promote the industry at home and abroad" (Moss, New York Times, 11/9).

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/11/10/opinion-piece-says-us-poised-for-a-consumer-health-revolution.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Ihealthbeat+%28iHB%29#ixzz1dRniZXOK