Archive for the ‘mobile’ Category

MollyHippolitus
Molly
Hippolitus

Go Ahead, Pee Your Pants, it’s Good for You

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

OK, so maybe not your pants, but soon you’ll be able to pee on your phone. At least that’s the UK’s plan to cut the rate of STD infection among the young population. Doctors and tech experts are developing ‘phone kits’ – small devices, similar to a home pregnancy test – that will be able to diagnose you quickly and privately if you believe you may have been in contact with an STD.

The self-testing device is aimed at young, tech-savvy people, who also have a growing infection rate among the UK population for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Public health experts are concerned that it is this group, in particular, that are too embarrassed to visit a doctor or clinic to regularly test for STIs. Sexual health experts hope this new technology will reduce the growing number of STIs, which have increased for the last decade and reached a record 482,696 last year. Two-thirds of women reporting a new STI were under 25, as were more than half of men.  500x_mantextingphoto

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Posted in Health 2.0, Infectious Disease, mobile, Public Health
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ldiaz
Leticia
Diaz

Text Alert: You’re having a heart attack

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

imecIt wasn’t long ago that LifeCall, often remembered for the notorious, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” advertisements, was breaking into the market place with a medical alert device that, when activated, allowed individuals to call out to a device and connect to a live operator for assistance. At its core, the device provided an additional level of safety or security at home for patients and caregivers alike.

Fast forward 20 years and today’s medical alert device market is on the rise providing individuals with the ability to capture a multitude of health behavior on their mobile phones including calorie counts, physical activity and heart rate monitoring. Armed with this data from their mobile phone, patients are using the information to more closely monitor their own day-to-day health and report back to their doctor to make adjustments to diet, activity level or medication as needed. But, what if a new medical alert device sent out status updates to your physician on your body’s health in real time via your mobile phone?

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Posted in Biotechnology, Medical Devices, mobile
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JessicaGordon
Jessica
Gordon

Checking In: Deals, Prizes, and Sexual Health?

Friday, September 17th, 2010

“I could seriously stalk you.”  This is a comment I often hear from my friends due to the fact that I really enjoy checking in on FourSquare.  Not to mention, I LOVE getting deals when I check in (my favorite deal I received so far was 10 percent off my frozen yogurt at Berry Chill in Chicago).  As social media continues to be a large presence in our lives- from 145 million people on Twitter to 500 million people on Facebook – and with a rising trend of location based check-ins, could social media replace print advertising?  An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal outlines three things for businesses to do to develop relationships with their consumers via location based social media outlets like FourSquare and Facebook. jg-91710

I am sad to say that I was late in the game joining FourSquare, so I am not a mayor of any location yet; however, I do have my sights set on a coffee shop I frequent near my apartment.  Would I go there more often if they offered a check-in reward?  Absolutely.  Even ten percent off a purchase is enough to give incentive.  As I continue to go to this coffee shop, those ten percent off check-ins will begin to add up.  This is one of the tips offered in the WSJ article by Riva Richmond.   Richmond writes, “Even if you do nothing, people may discover you through location-based services.”  Additionally, Richmond spoke to a business owner in California that claims his social media customers are more frequent than anyone bringing in his coupons offered in print advertising.  Do more people pay attention to digital offers that what’s on paper these days?

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Posted in Health 2.0, Infectious Disease, mobile, Social Media, Women's Health
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Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

mHealth is the Future

Monday, August 16th, 2010

welldocWellDoc, a company focused on developing next generation medical tools, announced that the FDA has approved its DiabetesManager System. I can hear you now, “what’s the big deal? There are plenty of those on the market already.” The key to this new system is that it delivers real-time monitoring results to a person’s mobile phone.

Again, is it really that great of a tool? The DiabetesManager System also links directly to the patient’s caregiver via the patient’s phone and can provide automated health updates. HIPA you say? Well the company’s press release says nothing about privacy issues, but because this is an ‘opt in’ program that communicates directly with a patient’s caregiver, the information passed is no different than a patient calling his or her caregiver.

After a quick read-through of the WellDoc’s site, I was able to read that the information captured is held in a highly secure database that only allows for approved member access. I understand the need for HIPA, but on the other hand I understand the need to provide healthcare information on the go. (more…)

Posted in E-Patient, Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Medical Devices, mobile, Technology
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Spectrum

Health in Your Hands, Literally

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Last week I had a great opportunity to contribute an article to Examiner.com titled, “The Intersect between Media and Mobile,” where I dissected the ways that mobile devices have impacted the flow of information in society – both generally and specifically in the marketing and news industries.

Doctor on Blackberry

The truth is, the growth in mobile technology is affecting every industry based on the access that it allows; and beyond the cliché, it puts information right in the palm of your hand. It’s become a popular way to track how many doctors are using smart phones as a part of their daily routines, and the number is steadily on the rise, with 94 percent of doctors reporting use in one recent study. Mobile provides the advantage of never having to stop when it comes to needing information, whether that means referencing an encyclopedia or consulting with a colleague.

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Posted in doctors, Health 2.0, mobile, New Media, Social Media, Technology
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