Archive for the ‘Health Care Industry’ Category

kwalsh
Kevin
Walsh

Crowdsourcing for a Cause

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

I just read an excellent article about crowdsourcing health care solutions by Eliot Van Buskirk at Wired.  The article, titled "Harvard-Based Crowdsource Project Seeks New Diabetes Answers," describes in great detail a new initiative to crowd source diabetes information with an end goal of curing Type I diabetes.  (Almost 2.4 million people in the US suffer from Type I diabetes.) "Using federal stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Catalyst has teamed up with InnoCentive to explore whether open innovation and crowd-sourcing can spark new directions, collaborations and research in the healthcare community."

Congratulations to the National Institutes of Health for funding this and to Harvard's medical research department for developing this crowdsourced medical initiative sure to help those with Type I diabetes.

What's particularly interesting about the first phase of this project is the goal of ideation. The project's initial objective is not to identify a specific cure, but to start with the basic premises that there are questions or criteria that may not have been considered before now. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Crowdsourcing, Disease Awareness, Health 2.0, Health Care Industry
By Kevin Walsh | No Comments »

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ldiaz
Leticia
Diaz

The Growing Field of mHealth

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

We use our mobile phones for banking, to find directions and sometimes to shop. But would you use your phone to track your diabetes, asthma or mood and send that information to your doctor?

Today, there are many Americans doing just that! That's the word from the mHealth Foundation who brought more than 300 experts together in early February in DC to discuss the growing field of mobile health, also known as mHealth. Though the promise of mobile phones has yet to reach its full potential in the U.S., as compared to parts of Europe and Asia, that hasn't stopped the boom of health applications.  mHealth estimates there are more than 5,000 health applications in existence. What's even more eye-opening is that more than 3,700 of these are estimated to be used in a clinical setting - including those among health care professionals and between doctors and patients. 

mHealth has identified 12 clusters to catalog the broad range and function of mobile health applications. Some of these clusters include:

  • Patient Communications - These include communications before, during and after visits to your doctor including searches via your mobile phone to find a doctor based on your zip code and send back relevant information via text.
  • Disease Management - Used both by patients and their caregivers, this area is growing by the day with applications that allow you to track your meals and exercise, measurements such as blood pressure or your A1c level (or that of your child), daily reminders sent to pregnant women based on their due date, and encouraging reminders for smoking cessation.
  • Emergency Care - These applications provide first aid tips and CPR instructions or can be used by EMS departments to help relay critical patient statistics en route to the hospital. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, New Media, Technology, The App Lab
By ldiaz | No Comments »

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jseng
John
Seng

Larger World Of Health Care Markets Now At Your Doorstep!

Monday, February 8th, 2010

If you work for a health-oriented company that offers products or services internationally, you might be interested to know that our GLOBALHealthPR partnership expanded significantly in the past year, with exciting new access and capabilities in four countries among Latin America, Europe and Asia. Herewith our new names and faces, transmitting the best savvy in important health care markets around the world. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Policy, PR Industry, Public Health
By John Seng | No Comments »

 
STappouni
Susie
Tappouni

All Tied Up and Headed Into Overtime

Monday, February 1st, 2010

It's an age-old debate. One that has drawn the interest of the entire country and the outcome hangs in the balance of which team has the strongest players and the best defensive and offensive strategies.  You're thinking Super bowl? Not in the traditional gridiron sense.  Rather, I'm referring to the Superbowl otherwise known as the push for health care reform. While enormous work and discussion has taken place around this here in D.C. and nationwide, it's still an issue that has experts and amateurs alike scratching our heads about how this is all going to play out.

On Thursday night I attended the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association event called "Legislative Agenda on Health Care Reform." For such a formal title, it was actually a refreshing discussion from a panel of industry and policy experts who broke the whole debate down for us into chewable, bite-sized pieces.  The HBA - a professional organization that caters to the education and advancement of women and men in the healthcare industry - has a knack for putting together events that are timely and relevant, with this event being no exception.  In this case, bringing this discussion together just 24 hours after the State of the Union address couldn't have been better timed. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, PR Industry, Public Affairs, Public Health
By STappouni | No Comments »

 
Shellie Byrum
Shellie
Byrum

Device Companies Slow to Join Digital Revolution

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Medical device companies may be their own worst enemy when it comes to social media.

Since I started working in this field, I've noticed that device companies in general are behind in joining the digital revolution, especially when compared to other FDA-regulated companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. In fact, a survey released in December showed that only 16 percent of FDA-regulated device companies reported using social media to connect with customers or prospects. (more...)

Posted in Biotechnology, Health 2.0, Health Care Industry, Medical Devices, Social Media
By Shellie Byrum | No Comments »

 
jseng
John
Seng

Mr. Obama: Unite The Health Of Our State With The State Of Our Health

Friday, January 29th, 2010
Green area highlighted denotes the health reform section in the White House transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, a little less than 8 percent.

Green area highlighted denotes the health reform section in the White House transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, a little less than 8 percent.

My fellow Americans: President Obama read through nearly half of his 2010 State of the Union speech Wednesday evening before he arrived at, and all-too-briefly reviewed, what I still consider the nation's number one challenge, and indeed crisis: health care.

Interestingly, he described it as health insurance reform, which is a curious refinement from "health reform" or "health care reform." More unfortunate is that  the subject of health reform as Mr. Obama's #1 agenda item - prior to Scott Brown's surprise win of the open Senate seat in Massachusetts just nine days earlier -ultimately won less than eight percent space and time overall in the President's speech.

Whatever your politics, the newly sidelined health reform and our declining health as a nation deserved more time and a profound call-to-action from our leader. (more...)

Posted in Congress, Food Policy and Nutrition, Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Health Policy, Public Health
By John Seng | No Comments »

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