Happtique looks to put mobile health apps to the test Molly Merrill With thousands of mobile health apps to choose from, users need to know which ones work and which one's don't – and doctors need to know which one's to recommend. Happtique is looking to make that process easier by developing a set of certification standards.  More
Researchers don't wait for iPhone 4S to make healthcare customizations Molly Merrill The iPhone 4S will be available on October 14, and one expert says Apple's new release "certainly boosts its suitability for healthcare applications." But one team of UC Davis researchers didn't need an upgrade to transform their iPhones into medical-quality imaging and chemical detection devices.  More
Smartphones, medical apps used by 80 percent of docs October 06, 2011 | Molly Merrill Four out of five practicing physicians use smartphones, computer tablets, various mobile devices and numerous apps in their medical practice, according to a new report from Jackson & Coker."Tech-savvy physicians, especially recent graduates, increasingly rely on digital and Internet-based tools to communicate with patients and improve the medical outcomes of the care they provide," said Sandra Garrett, president of Jackson & Coker.  More
Study 'undeniably proves' telestroke care saves lives and money October 04, 2011 | Molly Merrill Telestroke technology, which links remote community hospitals with stroke neurologists in large centers, can provide the same level of care as having all parties in the same room, according to a new study.The report was presented Oct. 4 at the Canadian Stroke Congress.It found that rural patients examined with the aid of telestroke technoloy received an important stroke drug, tPA, at the same rate as patients treated in specialized urban centers, says Thomas Jeerakathil, a neurologist at the University of Alberta Hospital.  More
Study sheds light on docs' perspectives on curbing diagnostic errors October 04, 2011 | Molly Merrill A new study finds that physicians believe that preventing diagnostic errors can be aided using technology like decision support and artificial intelligence, but they will never replace the physician's role in diagnosis. The 6,400-clinician study was conducted by QuantiaMD, which touts itself as the largest mobile and online physician community. Key findings of the study include:  More
Surgery 'well suited' for social media October 04, 2011 | Molly Merrill Two surgeons from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are touting the benefits of social media to their colleagues as a way to disseminate accurate information to their trainees and patients.  More
Rock Health seeks more health start-ups October 03, 2011 | Molly Merrill Rock Health, a seed accelerator for Web and mobile health applications, is now accepting applications for the second class of start-ups in its digital health program.   More
Survey turns 'critical eye' toward standards for healthcare social media sites September 27, 2011 | Molly Merrill There is great variability in the standards used to ensure social media sites provide effective information and good answers to health questions, according to a new survey that examined diabetes-related sites.The survey was conducted by Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark, and was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.  More
Practice Fusion gives Health 2.0 attendees sneak peek of new app September 27, 2011 | Molly Merrill Practice Fusion debuted a prototype Tuesday of its native iOS mobile application for the iPhone at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco.Practice Fusion currently has iPhone and Android applications in private beta testing. Company officials say the app marks another step in the company's aggressive mobile strategy.  More
Study finds potential in social media tools for smoking cessation September 26, 2011 | Molly Merrill Online community support holds great promise for creating healthy habits, according to a new study of a mobile health application geared toward helping people quit smoking. The study results were released by the University of Southern California's Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM) and the USC Center for Body Computing (CBC).  More
Wireless networks show potential for monitoring patients' breathing September 19, 2011 | Molly Merrill University of Utah engineers, who have built wireless networks that "see" through walls, now are aiming the technology at a new goal: noninvasively measuring the breathing of surgery patients, adults with sleep apnea and babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).  More
HHS Text4Health, mHealth initiatives focus on smoking cessation September 19, 2011 | Molly Merrill The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new recommendations and initiatives on Monday to support health text messaging and mobile health (mHealth) programs.   More
iPad 2 a boon to Weill Cornell Medical College students September 15, 2011 | Molly Merrill First- and second-year students at Weill Cornell Medical College are being provided with new iPads, which will be synched with EMRs for training during their clerkships.The iPad 2 will serve to replace students' printed course notes and texts allowing them to download course materials, see video or hear audio recordings of lectures, submit electronic course evaluations, access their grades and collaborate with other students.  More
AMIA airs clinical decision support concerns to FDA September 15, 2011 | Molly Merrill The American Medical Informatics Association argues that when it comes to oversight of clinical decision support systems, the most critical factor in determining the risk classification of different types of software is whether the CDS is mediated by a human being or not.Meryl Bloomrosen, AMIA's vice president for public policy and government relations, has offered those comments in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) invitation to participate in a public workshop related to FDA's Draft Guidance on mobile medical applications  More
Competition seeks care transition, adverse events apps September 13, 2011 | Molly Merrill Health 2.0 and ONC on Monday launched competitions to develop new health IT apps aimed at easing the transition from hospital to home and reporting medical device adverse events.The competitions, which are now open for submissions, are part of the Investing in Innovation Initiative (i2) and are managed by Health 2.0 through its Health 2.0 Developer Challenge program.   More
Mayo Clinic launches Healthy Aging & Independent Living Lab September 12, 2011 | Molly Merrill The Mayo Clinic has created a Healthy Aging and Independent Living (HAIL) Lab, aiming to pilot new services and technologies from companies such as Best Buy, which was announced as the "founding consortium member" of the clinic on Monday.The Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation is collaborating with Mayo Clinic's Robert and Arlene Kogod Center for Aging and the Charter House, a continuing care retirement community in Rochester, in creating the HAIL Lab to support "aging in place" - helping seniors remain at home, healthy and independent.  More
Strong popularity' of social media seen at U.S. providers September 08, 2011 | Molly Merrill Seventy-five percent of individuals working at U.S. healthcare provider institutions use social media for professional purposes, according to a new survey.The Web-based survey was conducted between April and May of 2011 by Frost & Sullivan in conjunction with the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT2). Key findings of the survey include:  More
New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences opens its doors September 06, 2011 | Molly Merrill The largest urban health simulation and training facility of its kind opened Tuesday at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center.The New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences was created by The City University of New York (CUNY) and NYU Langone Medical Center. The facility represents one of the more concrete steps public and private institutions have taken to improve the city's response to medical emergencies following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks or in the event of a natural disaster.  More
Mayo Clinic pilots teleconcussion program September 06, 2011 | Molly Merrill Mayo Clinic is piloting a telemedicine program that aims at filling gaps in concussion care for patients in rural Arizona.   More
Facebook app to help track how viruses spread August 30, 2011 | Molly Merrill A new Facebook application, developed in a Tel Aviv University (TAU) lab, is poised to serve as a better indicator of how infections spread among populations.  More