Posts tagged ‘health tech’

October 25th, 2011

#HAchat Recap: Health Activists talk Health Technology

by Amanda

We had a great Health Activist Tweetchat today on the subject of health technology. We wanted to know what patients are using now when it comes to health apps, games, and devices – and who better to ask than the savvy Health Activists that lead them?

 

Here are our top take-aways:

1. Health Activists are REALLY interested in apps related to their conditions and activism but aren’t convinced the right ones exist just yet.

@TiffanyandLupus “T1: I’m still looking for a #lupus specific mobile app; none yet :( #hachat

@KatharineS84 @wegohealth Unfortunately, I’m unaware of any apps specifically for #cysticfibrosis – can’t think of what there would be. #HAchat

Everyone was excited to share their favorite apps (read below for a full list) and how they are able to manage/track/and keep in touch with their health mobile-y through their smart phones, tablets, or laptops. Most apps seem to focus on diet and exercise – and more condition-specific apps could really be a game-changer for the health app industry.

 

2. Health Activists are open to apps sponsored by pharmaceutical companies as long as they’re actually helpful for the community – and even more, they’re interested in helping build them right!

@KatharineS84 “YES.  Me too. RT @susanmees: KatharineS84 Itd be gr8 if you could test it before they launched.  Id LOVE to test apps. #HAchat”

Utility and usability are key. If you build it, they will come – but if it’s not great – they won’t stay. If healthcare companies got into the app creation world – would they be sure to get the integral patient input to make their app the best it can be? I would put a Health Activist app tester up against any techy insider – these patients know what their communities want and will tell you honestly how to improve. How can we work together to make this happen?

3. Health Activists aren’t completely sold on the gameification of health and are focused on making sure the community is the on getting the rewards (rather than the individual).

@TiffanyandLupus “Nope! RT @wegohealth: Ok! Topic 2: There is a lot of discussion about health games and “gameification” – do you play health games? #hachat”

@kdhoffman2 “gamification seems 2 mean many things.is it applying game mechanics to worksite health events (for example) or creating v.g.s 4 hlth #HAchat”

@NateOsit “@wegohealth Mixed feelings re: gamification.  I think there needs to be more community incentives for health, not individual rewards #HAchat”

@NateOsit “T3 Skeptical about new expensive devices.  Doesn’t address the very basic issues that have biggest health impacts #HAchat”

Companies are working to add play into our lives through techy games and “reward systems” to make our app, game, and device use more social and more interactive overall. But will this really make things easier for patients? Only time will tell. Until we truly have a clear definition of where gamification of Health Care is going – Health Activists (and we) will remain skeptical. Is the goal truly: patient first? What are the real benefits?

 

Health technology isn’t everywhere yet – but it’s getting there. Patients and healthcare professionals alike want to streamline care and make every minute (and treatment) count. If we can get there through technology safely (and affordably) – this could be huge for everyone involved in the world of healthcare.

 

Here are the apps recommended by Health Activists during our chat:

  • Weightdate
  • Maymyrun
  • Couch to 5k
  • Care_Coach
  • Glucose Buddy
  • I Manage Migraines
  • Rheumtracker
  • Glooko
  • PeriodTracker
  • EndoGoddess
  • Speed Anatomy
  • Foldit
  • iTriage

 


Categoryhealth social media, Health Technology, October, patient empowerment, pharma, Twitter chat, wego health | Comment1 Comment »

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June 30th, 2011

Connect to Your (Mobile) Health

by Amanda

Today’s post is a blog by Tayla that explores the other side of the cellphone health story – texting. This week we discussed apps in our webinar and how to utilize these applications on your smartphones and tablets but there are also health organizations utilizing text messaging to reach their audiences. One of the best parts of mhealth (mobile health) is that orgs are discovering and pursuing ways to reach out to a much wider demographic (even internationally) and allow a wider range of patients and caregivers to become empowered. Personally I’m psyched to learn more about this and watch how mhealth evolves. –Amanda

Connect to Your (Mobile) Health

by Tayla Holman

 

Are you ready for a revolution?

 

If so, be prepared to see an explosion in mobile health (mhealth) technology. Cell phones are now quickly becoming an integral part of healthcare, with new health and medical apps quickly exploding in mobile markets. But mhealth goes beyond just mobile apps; now it includes texting as well.

 

Sites such as text4baby.org offer healthcare tips, delivered via SMS, to pregnant women and new mothers. Simply text the word BABY (or BEBE for Spanish speakers) to 511411, along with your baby’s due date or birthday, and you’ll receive information on pregnancy and caring for your baby.

 

For women who are not yet pregnant, but are trying to conceive, babycenter.com’s “Booty Caller” may be helpful. The site will send 3 ovulation alerts per menstrual cycle right to your phone, letting you know when you are most fertile. They also offer pregnancy tips and will send parenting tips until three months after the baby is born.

 

Some organizations are taking texting for health one step further and engaging in SMS-based public health campaigns. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have teamed up with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to expand the use of IT in diabetes management. They even used Text4baby as their model.

 

Cities and countries are getting in on mobile health technology as well. San Francisco recently launched SexinfoSF.org, a text messaged based service for youth in the Bay Area. The text messages include information about safe sex, STDs, peer pressure, and more. The texts even include numbers and addresses for health clinics. Australia has launched a similar campaign – Sextxt.org.au aims to provide contraceptive and sexual health information to teenagers.

 

The texting for health initiative isn’t entirely new, however. The Kaiser Family Foundation launched their “KnowIt” campaign back in 2007. Cell phone users can text their zip code to “KNOWIT” (566948) and receive information about HIV testing centers near them. And Diet.com started offering weight loss support texts in 2008. The site allowed users to type in the name of a restaurant and menu item and receive its nutritional information.

 

So what do all of these different campaigns and initiatives mean for health activists and our communities?

One benefit of the rise of mobile health technology is that it allows information to be distributed cheaply to those who may not have had access otherwise. Most, if not all, of the text-based campaigns are free, and the only fees are those that may be required by the wireless carrier. In the case of Text4baby, their partnering with the Wireless Foundation allows them to bypass even carrier-imposed fees.

 

Mobile health technology also has the potential to reach a vast amount of people. In the U.S. alone, nearly 300 million people now have cell phones. This means that SMS-based health information is capable of reaching over 90 percent of the population.

 

In our increasingly fast-paced, technology-driven lives, we often make excuses for why we don’t do certain things, such as visit the doctor or maintain weight loss goals. But with health information available in seconds with just a text message, we really can’t use these excuses anymore. As activists and patients alike, we now have the power to control and maintain our health, literally, in the palm of our hands.

 

What, if any, health texts do you or your community subscribe to? What information do you wish was available via text messaging?

 

 

 

CategoryHealth Technology, wego health | CommentNo Comments »

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June 29th, 2011

Health Technology: Apps & Activism Webinar Follow Up

by Amanda

 

On Monday night I hosted an awesome webinar conversation between wise Health Activist Kelly Johnston and Rock Health members Halle Tecco and Ryan Panchadsaram. As expected, I learned a bunch of new things about apps, how physicians really feel about technology (hint: they love it), what patients can do to integrate apps into healthy lifestyle choices and also improve their overall self-care and health care through technology. Lots of cool app-suggestions were given as well. I can’t wait to see how the mobile health conversation continues to evolve and the app stores continue to get virtually stocked with apps that will quite literally change people’s lives.

My take-aways and a list of the apps recommended by our webinar panelists are all after the jump.

Jump to read on!

read more »

CategoryHealth Technology, June, webinar | Comment3 Comments »

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June 22nd, 2011

The iPad and Your Health (Activism)

by Amanda

Today’s post on Health Technology is written by WEGO Health intern Tayla Holman (Welcome, Tayla!). Tayla’s post zeros-in on the tablet phenomenon (particularly, the iPad) and how the shiny magazine-sized pieces of technology are sliding their way into our healthcare. Whether you have your own iPad or, like me, still covet one – the use of tablets are changing healthcare in a way that will begin to influence all of us. Check out Tayla’s thoughts on how the iPad is changing the health sphere. As you read, keep in mind your own health community – have conversations about tablets or apps come up? (Don’t miss our Apps & Activism Webinar next Monday 6/27- to learn a lot more!) Have you begun to manage your health with apps or are you waiting for the tablet market to diversify a bit more? And, perhaps most importantly, how can we, as Health Activists, bring the iPad-for-health conversation back to our communities with all the excitement, healthy skepticism, and curiosity we bring to our leadership? –Amanda


The iPad and Your Health

by Tayla Holman

Once again, Apple has changed the game.

It’s clichéd, but true. With the release of the original iPad, and now the iPad 2, came an onslaught of new apps, many of which were in the medical category. Some are even free, or at least relatively cheap. There are dozens, if not more, websites dedicated to the best medical apps for the iPad, and many doctors are incorporating the tablet into their interactions with patients.

Let’s take a look at three ways the iPad is revolutionizing health care.

iPads are playing an increasingly large role in exam and surgery rooms:

Doctors are using iPads to show patients what they may look like after reconstructive surgery, and to show them radiographs of their injuries. The iPad also allows doctors to have all of their patients’ information in one place, instead of having to get a different chart every time they enter an exam room. Apparently it can even take X-rays through clothes! Cool, but kind of creepy.

Doctors have been quick to embrace the iPad and what it can do for them and their patients.  Dr. Richard Watson, an emergency room physician at MetroSouth said that the use of the iPad for electronic health records (EHR) spread “like wildfire.” The Loyola University Medical Center has even given iPads to its orthopedic residents. There’s no doubt that other hospitals will adopt this practice if they haven’t already.

Take control of your own health:

With the availability of medical record, drug interaction, and symptom checker apps, it is much easier to take control of your own health. While an app can’t – and shouldn’t – replace getting professional medical attention, it can be helpful for keeping track of medications, records, and lab reports. Having that information close at hand is just one step to being an informed and empowered health activist or patient.

There are so many different apps that you let you keep entire medical histories, not just for yourself, but for your family members as well.  With one of these apps, you never have to worry about if different medications have a negative interaction or what dosages to take. This is especially helpful for people who are caregivers or who take several medications and need to keep track of that information on a daily basis.

Keep in touch with your health community on the go:

Imagine sitting in a waiting room at your doctor’s office, and flipping through a magazine with an interesting article. The article gets you thinking, and you can’t wait to get home and write about it. But you remember – “I brought my iPad today!” – and get your blog post (on your WEGO Health page, of course) done before you’ve even had your temperature taken. You share the post on Twitter and Facebook and in the time it takes to get your weight and height checked, you’ve already received several comments.

Or perhaps you want to share news with one of your health communities once you’ve left an appointment. Some smart phones just aren’t convenient for heavy-duty writing, but the iPad is. Or you might be like Alicia Stanley and make it a “mission to find the best apps for patients and health activists.”

How else do you use an iPad for healthcare? Do you see it is a negative or positive that this technology is radically changing the medical field?

 

CategoryHealth Technology, June, physicians | Comment2 Comments »

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June 14th, 2011

What Do You Wish Technology Could Give You?

by Amanda

What will toy doctor kits of the future look like?

The health technology world seems to grow leaps and bounds by the day but – our ever-evolving imaginations grow along with it. “That’s nice,” we tell our smart phones, laptops, and other devices, “but I want my technology to do even more.” Or, at least for this prompt we will say that.

If a new technological advance could give you anything - what would it be?

Invent a new piece of health technology that manages, treats, alters, or just improves an aspect of your health (or lifestyle) and be as creative as you can. How will this technology influence your community or the greater world overall? If you have some mechanical know-how – attempt to construct the technology using ideas you already have and implement your wishes for improvement. What do you call this piece of technology?

Bring this prompt over to Twitter and tell us:

What do you wish technology could give you?

What piece of technology would you invent (use the #FTTJune Hashtag), pop over to Facebook and leave a little status there, or write up a quick blog post or discussion in your community to get everyone to put on their inventor’s hats.

Need inspiration? Check out this amazing TED talk all about the newest medical technology that’s on the horizon (it’s seriously incredible) and you may realize that your dream app, device, or technology is already on its way to becoming real…

CategoryHealth Technology, June | Comment1 Comment »

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June 13th, 2011

Guest Post: Getting Personal with Personal Health Records

by Amanda

Today’s post is a guest blog written by Health Activist and Health IT aficionado Nate Osit. In the spirit of Health Technology, I wanted to get Nate’s perspective on PHRs (Personal Health Records) – what they are, which stage of development they are in, and what Health Activists and patients need to know about the PHR conversation. Nate is a great resource and I’m so glad to have his point of view in our community! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us, Nate!


Getting Personal with PHRs

Personal Health Records (PHRs) are in many ways an extension of EMR/EHRs, or Electronic Health Records. Well, that’s one way of looking at it. The simple, mechanical view of PHRs is that it will give patients electronic access to their medical records. Some organizations are really phoning it in here, and just scanning the paper records and storing them as images on CDs to give to patients. In my opinion, this is about as useful to patients as getting a regular paper copy of their medical records.

 

The way I look at PHRs is that they are a tool we can use to improve healthcare. The goal of PHR technology is to give patients the opportunity to become more involved in their healthcare. What is most innovative about PHRs is the ability to turn structured data into human-readable information for patients combined with the ability of patients to contribute their own data to the record from home. Human-readable data can come in the form of printouts for patients like the Blue Button Project, or in various form of visualized data including charts, graphs, and info-graphics.

 

When it comes to educating patients about PHRs, there are a number of key points to remember. The first point I would emphasize is that you should have access to this information as soon as possible. However, the information is most likely not going to be complete. Especially for older patients, the process of taking a 300 page medical record and transforming it into structured data is going to take years, if not decades. However, new EHR software makes the process much easier, and anything that your physician has access to through their EHR should be available to you through a patient portal that you can use to compile your PHR. I would urge compassion and understanding as well, as this is a complicated process for many physicians and they’ll be learning along with you.

 

There’s a number of reasons that patients are not being included in the PHR movement as much as they should be. The largest is that right now Health IT is focused on developing software to meet the ONC’s Meaningful Use initiatives in order to qualify for incentives. The focus of Meaningful Use is EHRs rather than PHRs, but it’s certainly an area where increased patient involvement would be beneficial. Once healthcare providers become accustomed to entering electronic health data, it should be easier to get that information in formats that are meaningful to patients.

 

What can health activists do? They can support the ONC’s Meaningful Use initiatives, which are designed to get all healthcare providers in the U.S. using electronic records. This will be a struggle for most, and there are some barriers to adoption, but it’s a necessary step towards more rich, meaningful doctor-patient relationships. Another thing health activists can do is begin to explore PHRs, and see what information they can begin to store and track electronically. PHRs have the capability to make us all into true e-Patients, with full access to our data and control over our health.

For more information about PHRs, check out http://www.myphr.com

If don’t already – please follow Nate on Twitter @NateOsit and check out his site and his blog Bio-Digital Jazz and visit his WEGO Health Profile.

What do you think about PHRs or EMRs? How do you think patients can get into the conversation?

Check out this discussion “Who Owns the Electronic Health Records” or start your a new one in the Health Technology Group.

 

 

Categorye-patients, Guest Blog, Health Technology, June, patient empowerment, wego health | Comment4 Comments »

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June 6th, 2011

June Poll: HealthTech SayWhat?

by Amanda

As we announced last week, our theme for June is Health Technology. We’re excited about our theme and the implications of technology especially with regards to health but… we could use your help with defining what “health technology” actually means to Health Activists. In your community do you talk about health tech? In your life, do you utilize health tech? Let’s get a better look at how Health Activists are influenced by and would like to be influence by the idea of health technology.


Share your thoughts on our June poll to help us define health tech!



Feel free to share the poll with your community to get their thoughts! This month we’re hoping to help inspire you to start conversations about health tech and hoping to learn from you what aspects of this topic are most important and exciting to you!

CategoryHealth Activist Poll, Health Technology, June | CommentNo Comments »

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May 11th, 2011

Finish This Tweet May

by Amanda

Alright Twitter users (or Facebook status-writers) – we’ve got another tweet for you to finish. This month’s tweet involves your use of technology for health – can you share thoughts in 140 or less?

 

“My favorite health-related app (or device) is…”

Health Technology is a topic we’ve discussed in our community in the past – so let’s revisit it now! Is there an app you use for your health? Whether it’s an actual health app designed to track or improve your health/wellness or an app that improves your emotional app (games, pics, creative apps, etc) – tell us about it! If you don’t have a phone or device that uses apps – what device or piece of technology do you use or rely on? What’s your favorite way to combine technology and health?

Tweet us @wegohealth or tag it #FTTMay so we can collect all of your awesome tweets! Thanks for joining us – can’t wait to see what you’ve got to say on this :)

CategoryTwitter, wego health, WEGO Health Community | CommentNo Comments »

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