ACP PIER Database - Primary Care Library Group

ACP PIER Database - Primary Care Library Group
PIER (Physicians' Information and Education Resource) is designed for rapid point-of-care delivery of up-to-date, evidence-based guidance for clinicians.

Available on: iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm and more...
Publisher(s): American College of Physicians

This latest update, created in partnership with the American College of Physicians, is based on the 2010 print edition with additional features, enhanced functionality and ongoing updates.

Available Modules

* Cardiology
* Pulmonary
* Diabetes
* Hematology & Oncology

Key Features

* Includes more than 150 disease topics, 300 images, 24 algorithms
* Presents a series of succinct guidance statements and practice recommendations
* Links to abstracts and the full text of carefully selected references

Click here for more information.

Replace those ICD-9 apps with ICD-10 apps

If you've been memorizing ICD-9 codes for the past few years, get ready for a dramatic change when you transition to ICD-10. These International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes may be easy to remember if you're constantly making the same diagnosis or you're performing the same procedure. ICD-10 will be a major change and will confuse most people who are not ready for ICD-10.

Speaking of ICD-10, here's a nice blog post on ICD-10 Watch that talks about ICD-10 mobile apps.

You can also use this mobile website to access WHO ICD-10 for iPhone: http://www.fitodotnet.com/ICD10/

Visit Epocrates booth #1949 at AAFP

If you're attending the 2010 AAFP Scientific Assembly (Sept 30-Oct 2) in Denver, CO, make sure to visit the Epocrates booth.

* Get your annual device and software checkup
* Learn more about our latest product launches and features on platforms such as Android™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, and BlackBerry®
* Hear the latest news on development of an Epocrates EHR for small group and solo practice physicians
* Enter our drawing to win a free iPod touch

Super Sessions at the 2010 mHealth Summit #mHS10

SUPERSESSIONS AT THE 2010 MHEALTH SUMMIT PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON EMERGING ISSUES AND CRITICAL TOPICS

Super Sessions Deliver Key Speakers from Industry, Academia, Government and Policy

Organizers of the mHealth Summit announced today the seven “super session” panels that will shape the 2010 conference and are central to the future of mobile health (mHealth). The sessions spotlight critical opportunities and challenges defining the mHealth ecosystem domestically and internationally, including emerging markets.

The 2010 mHealth Summit has emerged as the definitive event in mHealth and the only major event in the U.S. that brings together the four critical and interdependent components necessary to advance mHealth: technology, business, research and policy.

Epocrates online CME

Since 2005 Epocrates has provided thousands of healthcare professionals with access to MobileCME® activities. With Epocrates online CME you can access over 100 CME/CE activities online at www.epocrates.com/cme. Set your educational goals, track your progress, and earn free credits by diagnosing and treating virtual patients.

An Epocrates account is required to use Epocrates CME. Registration is free and quick to complete.

Try out Epocrates CME here: www.epocrates.com/cme

Coming Soon:

An Epocrates CME app for the iPhone® and iPod touch® will be available soon so you can enjoy on-the-go access too.

Text Messages as a Reminder Aid and Educational Tool in Adults and Adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis: A Pilot Study

There's a study that was recently published titled, "Text Messages as a Reminder Aid and Educational Tool in Adults and Adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis: A Pilot Study." The authors found that texting (SMS) is an effective reminder aid and educational tool. Given that this was a pilot study, the findings needs to be confirmed with additional studies.

Here's the abstract:

Optimal management of atopic dermatitis (AD) requires patients to adhere to self-care behaviors. Technologies, such as cell phones, have been widely adopted in the USA and have potential to reinforce positive health behaviors. We conducted a pilot study with 25 adolescents and adults age 14 years and older [mean 30.5 yrs, SD 13.4] with AD. Daily text messages (TMs) that provided medication reminders and AD education were sent for six weeks to participants. Our goals were to (1) measure changes in pre- and posttest scores in treatment adherence, self-care behaviors, disease severity, and quality of life and (2) assess the usability and satisfaction of the TM system. Significant improvements in treatment adherence, self-care behaviors, skin severity, and quality of life (P ≤ .001, .002, <.001, and .014, resp.) were noted postintervention. User feedback on the TM system was positive with 88% and 92% of participants reporting that the reminder TMs and educational TMs were helpful, respectively. In conclusion, study participants were receptive to using TMs as a reminder aid and educational tool. The positive trends observed are promising and lay the ground work for further studies needed to elucidate the full potential of this simple and cost-effective intervention.

Venessa Pena-Robichaux, Joseph C. Kvedar, and Alice J. Watson, “Text Messages as a Reminder Aid and Educational Tool in Adults and Adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis: A Pilot Study,” Dermatology Research and Practice, vol. 2010, Article ID 894258, 6 pages, 2010. doi:10.1155/2010/894258

You can read the article here.

Samsung Galaxy Tab (Android Slate Tablet)

I've been blogging about the Samsung Galaxy Tab (Android Slate Tablet) on MobileHealthComputing.com. If you're interested in learning more about the world of slate tablets, then please join me on MobileHealthComputing.com.

30%

According to an article in BusinessWeek about smartphones, Android's projected share of the smartphone marketplace is 30% in 2014. Now, 4 years seems like a really long time to some, but I'm sure it will be here before we know it.

Google claims they currently have 200,000 new Android phones being turned on each day in 59 countries. That's an incredible number! Of course, we don't know if all of those activations are new users vs. old phones being reset and reactivated. In any case, I'm a firm believer in Android which is why I've made the switch. (Then again, if I were on the AT&T network, I'd probably be using an iPhone)

Day #5 with the Droid X

I've now been using the Motorola Droid X for 5 days. I had played around with this phone in the past, but it's a different user experience when you start using it regularly. I've used it in the car as my GPS, I've used it in the gym as my entertainment console, I've tethered with it, and I've used it as a smartphone. So, what are my initial impressions so far?

The Droid X is definitely a very large smartphone. If you don't have big hands, you really don't need this device. In fact, it may feel a bit awkward to hold this in one hand. If you're always using your smartphone with two hands, then you should be find using this device. However, if you're the type to do things using only one hand, then the Droid X won't be very comfortable.

I have medium-sized hands. When I purchase gloves, I buy medium. When using the Droid X, I find that I'm constantly holding the devices in different ways based on where I'm typing or tapping on buttons. If I need to tap on the top portion of the screen, I hold the phone one way. Then, if I need to switch and tap on the lower portion of the screen, I have to change my grip. With other smartphones like the iPhone or Droid Incredible, I don't usually have to change my grip as I tap on different sections of the screen. I guess the Droid X is simply too large for my hands.

If you have smaller hands, the Droid X will be a device that will frequently require two hands for operation. I don't regret having a Droid X. I'm sure that over the next few weeks, I'll find a way to hold this device so that I can use it more effectively in one hand. Maybe I'll primarily use it in landscape mode instead of portrait mode. 

Schwartz's Principles of Surgery Available for iPhone

Here's an e-mail I got from my friends at the USBMIS Development Team:

We are pleased to announce the release of Schwartz's Manual of Surgery for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Schwartz's Manual of Surgery has become the resource of choice for both practicing physicians, residents, and even surgical clerkship students who are interested in a comprehensive, yet concise on-the-job manual detailing the most current practices and trends.

This edition reflects the most extensive revisions ever with a greater focus on surgical techniques and a superb array of new visuals including more tables, charts, highlighted topics throughout. New to this edition: staging tables for cancer, anesthesia guidance, pre-and-postoperative management of the surgical patient, and much more.

Click here to view it on iTunes

Buying a used smartphone on eBay

I've sold a number of smartphones on eBay. In fact, I'm selling one right now and I'll be selling another one next week.

If you're thinking about buying a used smartphone on eBay (or craigslist, or any other used seller), make sure to ask about the phone's history. The last thing you want to do is buy a used phone that's been reported as lost or stolen. Some sellers will indicate that their phone has a "clean ESN." This means that you should not have any problems activating that phone on your account.

GSM phones that use SIM cards may be locked, unlocked, or be limited to some international markets. It's important to verify that the phone will work on your network. Otherwise, you may find yourself reselling the phone on eBay.

Novartis Oncology Medical Information (Mobile)

There's a nice free medical app for oncology professionals that allows you to access Novartis Oncology Medical Information. They have apps for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.  You can search for medical information and even submit a medical query.

Click here to learn more. (you have to be a licensed health care professional to access Novartis Oncology Medical Information.

Using my Droid X to measure my heart rate (Instant Heart Rate app)

There's a free app called "Instant Heart Rate." This app uses the camera and flash on your smartphone to measure your heart rate. You place your finger over the flash and camera and your fingertip lights up. The camera visualizes the pulsations in your fingertip and measures your heart rate.

I tried testing this app a few times on my Droid X and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually works quite well. The flash on the Droid X is so powerful that it will make your finger get warm. 

Now I'm just waiting for someone to develop a pulse-ox...

Quest Diagnostics Care360 Mobile

How many of your patients use Quest Diagnostics for their labs? Did you know that you can use your smartphone to check those lab results?

Quest Diagnostics Care360 Mobile

Convenient Mobile Access

Because Care360 Mobile is secure and designed to be compliant with HIPAA regulations, now, no matter what your schedule demands, or whether you’re on call or on the go, you can get the information you need. With Care360 Mobile, you can:

* View lab results and medication history
* Add notes for follow-up and mark as reviewed
* Prescribe and respond to renewal requests

Care360 Mobile lets you manage your caseload anytime and anywhere—just download the mobile App to your iPhone and go. Available in the iPhone App store; category: Medical.

AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile Open Mobile Health Expo with Keynote

AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile Open Mobile Health Expo with Keynote on the Impact of Cellular on Mobile Healthcare

Mobile health in the military expert Dr. Ward Casscells will deliver closing keynote

AUSTIN, Tex. – September 22, 2010 – Mobile Health Expo, the only event focusing on the convergence of mobile technology and healthcare across the entire mobile health ecosystem, today announced details on two of the event keynotes. In the opening keynote on Tuesday, October 19th, speakers from AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile will be discussing M2M in healthcare and how the cellular telecommunications industry is assisting in the development of mobile healthcare.

Dr. Ward Casscells will close the event with a keynote address on mobile health in the military. Dr. Casscells is the John E. Tyson Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Public Health, and Vice President for External Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. From 2007-2009, he was the former Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) where he was credited with turning around a struggling $45 billion health and education system with 137,000 employees, 10 million patients in 900 clinics and hospitals in 100 countries.

My Droid X is now running Froyo (Android 2.2)

As reported, Verizon has released the Froyo (Android 2.2) upgrade for the Droid X. It's about time, isn't it?

Those of you who are using the HTC Droid Eris - I'm sorry, but you won't be getting the update to Android 2.2. The Eris is a nice smartphone, but it's just simply too slow to keep up with some of the latest Android features. However, if you're open to installing a custom ROM, I'm sure the folks at XDA-Developers will release a custom ROM for the Eris that will include Froyo.

iBGStar™ Blood Glucose Meter

The innovative iBGStar™ is the first available blood glucose meter that seamlessly connects to the Apple iPhone® and iPod touch® for the flexibility to manage your diabetes whenever, wherever.

The innovative iBGStar™ is the first available blood glucose meter that seamlessly connects to the iPhone® and iPod touch® allowing you to view and analyse accurate, reliable information in ‘real time’. Using the technology built into your iPhone® or iPod® touch, you can share this information with your healthcare professional while on-the-go, to help you make better-informed diabetes-related decisions together.

The iBGStar™ can give you the flexibility to manage your diabetes whenever, wherever.

Click here to learn more.

I'm now using the Droid X

My wife and I are on the Verizon network. My wife uses the HTC Droid Incredible and I recently got the Motorola Droid X. I've used a number of other Android smartphones including the HTC Droid Eris, the Motorola Droid, and the HTC Droid Incredible. I'm now using the Droid X as my main smartphone (and I'm selling a couple of smartphones on eBay right now).

The Droid X is a large smartphone, but I don't mind the size given the fact that the device is also really thin. I prefer to use my phone in a vertical (portrait) orientation, so it helps to have a large screen so that I can easily type on the on-screen keyboard. I usually type with one thumb while I'm holding the phone in the same hand. I think I picked up this habit when I was using a Palm Treo. I never developed the habit of typing with two thumbs.

If you like to enter information using two thumbs, go with the Droid 2. You'll have the option of typing on a hardware QWERTY keyboard or using the on-screen keyboard. As for me, I don't do that much typing on my smartphone since I always seem to have a computer nearby.

Smart Hospitals: Embracing Smartphones at the Point of Care

There's a free whitepaper by Voalté titled, "Smart Hospitals: Embracing Smartphones at the Point of Care." You can read this paper by clicking here.

Learn how the latest generation of smartphones from Apple and RIM combined with the cutting-edge software can create a compelling solution that will improve point-of-care communication while enabling advances in mobile wireless applications.

Voalté provides technology solutions for hospital paging systems, nurse calls systems and wireless patient monitoring to improve hospital communications.

Voxie Pro Recorder

Looking for a voice dictation app for your iPhone?

Voxie is far more than you’d expect from a voice recorder. It is the most comprehensive audio recording, note taking, dictation and group-messaging app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed to be easy to use, visually compelling and loaded with features, Voxie is simply the only recorder you’ll ever need.

FEATURES INCLUDE:
• Best interface of any recorder
• OPTIONAL transcription service available for email including medical and legal for notes to yourself, a contact or a group
• Wi-Fi Sync copies files to your computer
• Send to yourself, a friend or an entire group
• Navigate visually with touchable waveform
• Four quality settings available including CD quality
• Unrestricted file size
• Excellent file management and customizable categories
• Priority settings
• Express mode for no-touch, shake recording and sending
• Wallpapers selections for a customized look
• Listen to recordings from your computer via Wi-Fi

Click here to learn more about Voxie.

CCO Oncology inPractice

The Clinical Care Options (CCO) Oncology inPractice application for iPad is a comprehensive digital textbook designed for healthcare professionals needing to find information rapidly at the point of care.

CCO inPractice provides the busy clinician timely information authored by experts in hematology and oncology. The textbook content is accessible by either browsing or online searching and is regularly updated to reflect new data, making inPractice a practical resource that is always current. A CCO inPractice search delivers the textbook content you need to make clinical decisions alongside comprehensive drug information for all US Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs using the Lexi-Comp database, PubMed abstracts for review of the primary literature, links to management guidelines for quick review of best practices, and the ability to link to the CCO inPractice Web site to claim Point of Care CME credit for searches made from your iPad.

Features:
Search 4 resources simultaneously
• Original hematology and oncology textbook, authored by experts specifically for inPractice
• Drug database by Lexi-Comp
• PubMed abstracts
• Management guidelines
Share information with community consults, colleagues, and fellows
Bookmark content for further review
Claim Point of Care CME credit for your personal searches

Click here to learn more.

MedWatcher (iPhone app) tracks drug safety

Here's an interesting story from the Boston Globe:

The team from Children’s Hospital Boston that brought “Outbreaks Near Me” to smartphones during last year’s H1N1 epidemic has now launched a similar application for tracking and reporting problems with drug safety.

MedWatcher, another app for the iPhone available for free at the iTunes store, holds information about thousands of medications from US Food and Drug Administration databases. It sends alerts from FDA and news media sources on drugs, tailored to the user’s interests.

Here's a description of the app:

Stay up to date with the latest news and government safety alerts for the prescription medicines you take. Submit any side effects you experience to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make drugs safer for everyone.

MedWatcher is a mobile tool for both healthcare professionals and the general public. Anyone can submit an adverse event report to FDA using the easy-to-use form on MedWatcher, or post to our online community to talk to others taking the same meds. In the MyDrugs section, you can make a quick list of all the prescription medicines your family or patients take and track the latest developments.

Clinicians will find MedWatcher to be a vast improvement over the paper and fax FDA MedWatch form. No more cramped text boxes or tiny font! Do it at your convenience and fulfill your professional obligations in a convenient way. Get your patients involved in their health.

Take control. Participate in your health care.

This is a project of Childrens Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and the University of North Carolina.

Click here to learn about this app on the Apple App Store.

From PDA to EDA (Enterprise Digital Assistant) Motorola MC75A0-HC

We used to use the acronym PDA for personal digital assistant. I hardly ever hear anyone refer to their mobile device as a PDA since most people now use smartphones instead of standalone PDAs.

Well, according to this story on Health IT Pulse, Motorola Inc. released the MC-75A0-HC, an enterprise digital assistant, or EDA — basically, its name for its line of ruggedized personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Here's some more information about the Motorola  MC75A0-HC Rugged Healthcare Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA)

Take healthcare quality and patient safety to the next level with the MC75A0-HC. Easy to carry and easy to use, the MC75A0-HC is designed for life inside the hospital, able to endure everyday drops and bumps as well as disinfecting after each patient. And robust wireless application performance and wireless connectivity options allows healthcare givers to access patient records, accurately administer medication, monitor patient vital signs, place lab and pharmacy orders, view test results and more — all in just seconds anywhere inside the facility.

Credential reminder

Credential reminder helps remind busy health care professionals when their ACLS, BLS and other certificates are about to expire. The app will also allow you to enter and save a copy of your CV, save your frequent phone numbers used in the hospital, Save when the last TB was done.

Key features:
Take pictures of your certificates & email them to employer
Password protect this app from others.
another password to protect the password section of the app.
Back up and restore function
It allows you to save any certificate but has specific prompts for:
ACLS ALSO ATLS BLS CDS CPR DEA DPS NPI UPIN "Other certificate"
Other certificates: ACNPC, APN, ARRT, ASCP, CCRN, CDE, CEN, CME, CNE, CNOR, CNM, CRNA, CRT, ECA, EMT P, EMT I, EMT B, and many more.

Vree for Diabetes 2.0

Did you know that only about half of Americans with diabetes receive formal diabetes education? This makes diabetes self-management education essential in helping patients manage the condition.



Here's a recent press release about a new diabetes app from Merck:

Merck Launches New Mobile Application for People with Type 2 Diabetes, Now Available on the Apple Store®

Vree™ for Diabetes 2.0 Helps Patients Manage Their Condition and Facilitates Communication with Healthcare Providers

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., September 13, 2010-- Merck today announced the launch of a mobile application designed to be used by people with type 2 diabetes, physicians and diabetes educators to better understand and manage the disease. The application is now available on the Apple Store® Web site (iTunes.com, application program - search “Vree for Diabetes”) for download to an iPhone or iPod touch® mobile digital device.

Dropbox Anywhere (iPhone, iPad, and Android)

Dropbox Anywhere

Your files everywhere you are. Dropbox offers the following features:

• File Sync 
• Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically.
• File Sharing
• Sharing files is simple and can be done with only a few clicks.
• Online Backup
• Dropbox backs up your files online without you having to think about it.
• Web Access
•  A copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers. This lets you access them from any computer or mobile device.
• Security & Privacy
•  Dropbox takes the security and privacy of your files very seriously.
• Mobile Device Access

The free Dropbox application for iPhone, iPad, and Android lets you:

    * Access your Dropbox on the go.
    * View files from within the application.
    * Download files for offline viewing.
    * Take photos and videos and sync them to your Dropbox.
    * Share links to files in your Dropbox.
    * Export your files to other applications.
    * Sync downloaded files so they're up-to-date.

Dropbox Anywhere

Dropbox for iPhone

Dropbox for Android

Dropbox for iPad

Dropbox for Blackberry (coming soon)

2010 mHealth Summit Speakers

Panelists Represent Industry, Academia, Non-Profit, and Government Perspectives

The 2010 mHealth Summit, the must-attend event for all interested in the implementation of mobile technology to advance improved health outcomes, is today announcing newly confirmed speakers who will contribute to the cross-sectoral dialogue during the Summit’s three-day conference program.

Who: The 2010 mHealth Summit is organized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in partnership with the mHealth Alliance and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The event will advance discussion, collaboration and decision-making at the intersection of mobile technologies and health to advance the delivery of high-impact, sustainable health solutions.

The most-desired medical app for Android is...

The most-desired medical app for Android is UpToDate. The second most-desired medical app is Medscape. These are the apps that Android users are looking for. They're looking for UpToDate and Medscape for Android, but they're not finding these apps because these apps aren't out there yet.

You can access UpToDate on any mobile device browser. That works quite well. I've even blogged about accessing UpToDate on Android.

Medscape Mobile for Android should be coming soon... (not exactly sure when, but it should be soon)

Best mHealth Innovation award (Annual Global Mobile Awards)

The GSMA has launched its 16th Annual Global Mobile Awards program. This year, they're placing a focus on mobile health (mHealth). Here are the details:

Category 5: Mobile Innovation
5a: Best mHealth Innovation

The Best mHealth Innovation award aims to highlight the rapidly emerging area of mobile connectivity in healthcare which has the potential to address one of the biggest challenges faced globally – how to make high-quality healthcare affordable and accessible to all – while utilising the benefits of mobile technology for innovative diagnoses, treatment and health service operations and logistics. This includes all aspects of mobile healthcare that we are seeing emerge today – from lifestyle and health coaching, decentralised access to healthcare and remote diagnosis solutions, to chronic disease management and healthcare monitoring and treatment compliance. Entries are welcome for mHealth products, devices, solutions, services, applications and initiatives.

The judges will shortlist four to six entries in this category, with one winner announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday 15th February 2011.

Eligibility

• This award is open to all organisations in the mHealth ecosystem that provide mobile connectivity based products, devices, services, solutions, applications and initiatives.
• This category is for commercially available devices, services, solutions, applications and initiatives that that have been launched, or are in widespread market trials before the awards entry deadline of Monday 22nd November 2010.
• Please provide evidence in your entry to support this such as launch or trial dates, including details of countries or regions where the product is available or trial undertaken.

Eligible entrants include:

* mHealth equipment manufacturers
* mHealth solution providers
* Mobile network operators
* Chipset and module manufacturers

Judging criteria

The judges will be looking at how well entries meet the key criteria, as follows:

* Innovation in terms of functionality, technology, business models and market potential
* Usability: How simple/easy is it to use?
* How it taps into new under-served market segments
* Evidence of user take up and market success

The deadline for entries is Monday 22nd November 2010. Shortlists will be announced in January 2011 and the awards will be presented at Mobile World Congress in February 2011.

Learn more here.

Using CaringBridge Mobile to stay connected

I've been using CaringBridge to keep up with friends who are struggling with illness and medical conditions. Lately, I've been on CaringBridge almost every day.

If you're not familiar with CaringBridge, here's a brief description:

CaringBridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery.

A CaringBridge website is personal, private and available 24/7. It helps ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed. The websites are easy to create and use. Authors add health updates and photos to share their story while visitors leave messages of love and support in the guestbook.

•  Each day, over half-a-million people connect through CaringBridge.
•  The CaringBridge community includes authors, visitors and/or donors in all 50 states and more than 225 countries/territories around the world.

Some day, I may be sharing my own story on CaringBridge if I encounter a serious medical condition. If you have a patient who is dealing with a serious medical condition, you may want to tell them about CaringBridge. Many patients and family members have found CaringBridge to be a valuable source of social support.

You can download a CaringBridge app for your iPhone. Or, you can direct your mobile browser to the CaringBridge Mobile website here:  http://m.caringbridge.org/

Highlights from the 2010 mHealth Networking Conference

I was in San Diego last week attending the 2010 mHealth Networking Conference. Mobile health or mHealth is gaining tremendous traction these days. As patients and health care providers embrace mobile technology, we will see a tidal wave of mHealth initiatives focused on using mobile technology to improve health care.

You can read some of the highlights from the 2010 mHealth Networking Conference meeting by clicking here.

The Little Blue Book (Mobile)

The Little Blue Book is a useful resource for health care professionals who wish to:

• Make quick referrals
• Consult with colleagues
• Call pharmacies and hospitals
• and more!

The Little Blue Books is available in a mobile format.  Learn more by visiting: http://www.tlbbmobile.com/

How to Address Patient Medication Adherence With Text Messages (SMS)

You can listen to my short ReachMD Mobile Medical Minute commentary about patient medication adherence and SMS (text messages).

Can something as simple as a text message help solve a complicated problem like medication adherence?

Click here to listen to the ReachMD recording (ReachMD registration required).

Samsung Fascinate SCH-i500 (Verizon Wireless)

The Samsung Fascinate SCH-i500 is the latest addition to the Verizon Wireless lineup of Android smartphones. Traditionally, Samsung had smartphones on Verizon that were running Windows Mobile. This is their first Android smartphone on Verizon. On the AT&T network, this phone is known as the Samsung Captivate (why all the different names Samsung?) Actually, the Captivate is not identical to the Fascinate. These smartphones all belong to the Samsung Galaxy S series.

From a distance, the Fascinate almost looks like an Apple iPhone. This Android smartphone is sized between the Motorola Droid X and and the HTC Droid Incredible. I wonder why it's not being called the Samsung Droid Fascinate. I thought Verizon was going to use the "Droid" name on every Android smartphone.

Perhaps the best feature on the Samsung Fascinate is the 4" Super AMOLED touch screen that works really well when you're outdoors. Even in bright sunlight, you won't have any trouble seeing this screen. Besides the screen, the other features are very similar to what you'll find on other high-end Android smartphones. So, if the Droid X is simply too big for you, the Samsung Fascinate or the HTC Droid Incredible make good alternative candybar smartphones.

I'm on ReachMD speaking about non-clinical careers for physicians

You can listen to me on ReachMD in the program titled, "Opportunities for Physicians Seeking Non-Clinical Jobs." Click here for more information.

ReachMD commentator Dr. Joseph Kim, founder and editor of the blog Non-Clinical Jobs, joins host Tim Rush as a guest to discuss the landscape of career options for physicians. Why do MD's seek non-clinical jobs, and what opportunities can they expect to find?

Make sure to visit: NonClinicalJobs.com

Improving Patient Safety through Remote Monitoring #mHealth

Today is the last day of the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

I attended a session titled, "Improving Patient Safety through Remote Monitoring." The presenter was Layne Haney, Senior VP of AirStrip Technologies. Physicians want real time and history remote access to critical patient data on their mobile devices. This is especially true in the intensive care and critical care setting where clinicians want to see the waveforms, EKGs, alerts/alarms, etc.

Security and Privacy in #mHealth (SMS, e-mail, etc.)

Today is the last day of the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

This morning, I attended a discussion about security and privacy in the world of mobile health. The speakers were Claudia Tessier, mHealth Initiative, and Patrick Enright, Sybase 365. The discussion initially focused around SMS, e-mail, and data encryption. Everyone is using SMS. Patients like using e-mail because it's easy to use, but e-mail isn't secure. A secure patient portal may be cumbersome for some people to use. SMS can be used in the world of mHealth if patients have a secure SMS client on their devices that will allow them to access encrypted text messages after they enter a PIN.

Free mobilePDR app on Skyscape

mobilePDR® powered by Skyscape is Free to US Prescribers

mobilePDR® is now FREE to all valid U.S.-based MDs, DOs, NPs and PAs in full-time patient practice. Based on the trusted Physicians’ Desk Reference® (PDR®), mobilePDR® is the most authoritative source for FDA-approved drug labeling information. No mobile drug resource is more comprehensive, current, user-friendly, or more recognized.

Key Features

* Information on more than 2,400 drugs
* Concise point-of-care prescribing, dosing and administering information
* Full-color images
* Weekly updates to ensure accuracy
* Available for all major mobile platforms, including iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Palm Pre, Symbian and Windows Mobile

Click here for more information about mobilePDR.

The #mHealth Challenge: Beyond the App

Today was the first day of the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

This afternoon, I attended a session titled, "The mHealth Challenge: Beyond the App." The speaker was Sandeep Shah, CEO & CIO of Skyscape. He spoke about the growing world of medical apps for smartphones. However, the app is not enough. So, how do we overcome this problem? He reviewed a few case studies where they found innovative ways to leverage a smartphone in the clinical setting.

For instance, suppose you're dealing with hypertension. Are physicians applying the latest clinical evidence? Do they know what types of labs they can order?  Looking at the nursing clinical pathway, we see there are multiple ways to integrate the mobile ecosystem on a smartphone.

Texting (SMS) in the world of mobile health care #mHealth

Today is Day #1 of the International mHealth Networking Conference here in San Diego. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

This afternoon, I attended a session titled, "Mobile Technology and Social Media in Clinical Trials and Healthcare Programs."  The presenters were from a company called Exco InTouch (a company basked in the UK) and they reviewed a few different mHealth case studies:

Interactive SMS solution: Travel vaccinations

• A pharmaceutical company client: GSK
• Used SMS plus newspaper ads to educate Chicago-area consumers about travel vaccination
• The consumer sent a text message, indicating the vacation destination. Then, the consumer received an SMS indicating where he/she could go to receive travel vaccines.
• This generated over 3,500 inbound text messages. 50% of those who received vaccination information requested the nearest clinic location. 

Healthcare meets Wellness: The Critical Role of Mobile Services #mHealth

I'm now in San Diego and I'm attending the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

Today's keynote was presented by John Mattison MD, Chief Medical Information Officer, Kaiser Permanente. He spoke about "Healthcare meets Wellness: The Critical Role of Mobile Services."

Dr. Mattison started by polling the audience with some trivia:
Have you heard of clinical ontology (not oncology, but ontology)? How about mirror neurons?
Did you know that 30 countries have visited Kaiser Permanente to see their integrated health IT model?

The mobile platform is a disruptive technology that will give consumers more control over their own health and wellness. We're living in the world where consumer-cetric care is one of the key opportunities in mHealth. In the Kaiser Permanente network, there are 30,000 secure e-mails exchanges between patients and physicians. Such communication improves the management of blood pressure (published in BMJ).

Are consumers using mobile health apps? They're using them, but are they resulting in sustainable health changes in areas like weight loss, diabetes management, etc.?  What's the "behavioral secret sauce" to help patients improve their health? As patients engage in different types of social networks, they'll find support for their specific conditions. This way, patients will engage in behavioral change that is specific to the problems they may be facing.

There are 3 targets in quality improvement:
1. Treat to target (clinical)
2. Communicate to target (modality)
3. Escalate to target (machine to people)
Capture and implement individual preferences for each with adaptive learning utilities.

Healthcare Unwired: Delivering Healthcare Anywhere #mHealth

I'm now in San Diego and I'm attending the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the 2nd mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

This morning, Christopher Wasden, Managing Director, Strategy & Innovation Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers gave a presentation titled, "Healthcare Unwired: New Business Models to Deliver Care Anywhere."

Here are from snippets from the PwC Health Research Institute (HRI) report titled, Healthcare Unwired: New Business Models to Deliver Care Anywhere:

• The consumer market for mobile/remote monitoring is estimated to be $7.7 to $43 billion. It's $7.7 billion if consumers are paying out-of-pocket. It's $43 billion if we get additional payers involved.
  
• 40% of consumers said they would be willing to pay for remote monitoring devices and a monthly service fee to send data automatically to their physicians. 
• The early adopters of mHealth are not the patients who are have multiple chronic conditions. The early adopters tend to be young, healthy men (we love our gadgets, don't we?)
• The growth area for mHealth is in preventive health and wellness.

There are 3 business models to consider if we wish to effectively deliver healthcare everywhere:

1. Consumer-centric products and services.
2. Operational/clinical
3. Infrastructure

Those new business models will have different goals around:

• Transaction
• Knowledge vs. Intelligence
  
• Communication
• Integration

One of the case studies focuses around pain management. Meridian Health collaborated with Cypak and Best Buy to use iMPak's Health Journal for Pain (an electronic diary for patients). They found that patients were able to record and communicate their pain with their providers while they were at home.

How should a clinician choose a smartphone?

How should you choose your next smartphone? The mHealth Initiative Inc. outlines seven practical steps for physicians, nurses, and other clinicians who are thinking about shopping for a smartphone. To read those 7 steps, please visit the mHealth Observatory here and scroll to the middle of the page until you see a story titled, "Which Cell Phone Should a Clinician Select?"

Smartphone use in the world of oncology

How are oncologists using smartphones? Let's take a look at an article on CancerNetwork.com titled, "Smartphones hustle to maintain pace with rapid rate of change in oncology."

Here are some snippets from that story:

"Oncology is one of the few fields in medicine where things are changing at a very rapid pace, with protocols and drug regimens and research actually changing day to day the way you treat your patients," said Tom Giannulli, MD, chief medical information officer for Epocrates. "In that group of physicians, keeping in touch is a much higher priority than for your average family practitioner with respect to researching new developments."

More than 40% of oncologists reported avoiding at least two errors per week with Epocrates products, according to a recent survey by Epocrates. Forty-seven percent reported saving 20 minutes or more per day by reaching into their pockets rather than going to their desks to look up information.

"Mobile devices have quickly become a preferred vehicle for physicians to access clinical information due to their ease of use and inherent portability," added Dr. D'Amico, who is also director of clinical oncology at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center in Durham, N.C.

Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, chief of hematology/oncology at Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute in Hershey, said he uses Twitter to tell colleagues about advances in genetics and therapies related to cancer.

Given that the field of oncology is always evolving with new targeted therapies and treatment options, it's an area where smartphones will truly benefit clinicians who are caring for patients. I wonder how many smartphone-related abstracts will be presented at ASCO next year.

How do you sanitize your smartphone in the hospital?

I'm not talking about erasing your data. If you're a health care professional, you're probably looking for effective (and safe) ways of sanitizing your smartphone and getting rid of all those germs and microbes that may be on your device. You don't want to pass along MRSA or VRE in the hospital, do you? I think it would be a fascinating study to evaluate how much MRSA or VRE we can find on hospital smartphones. For those who don't know, MRSA and VRE are antibiotic-resistant organisms that cause significant problems in the hospital setting.

So, what do you use to sanitize your smartphone? It won't survive an autoclave. Will antimicrobial wipes damage the device? Will alcohol pads suffice? The old soap and water won't do the trick, so what works? There's actually a device out there called Violight. It uses UV to sanitize your smartphone and here's what they're claiming: Germicidal UV light kills strep, e.coli, salmonella, listeria, and the H1N1 virus. It makes sense, doesn't it? My Philips Sonicare toothbrush includes a UV sanitation chamber.

Here's a little promotional video showing you the Violight.


Will we see a Violight at every nursing station? How about outside of every patient's room? I wonder if Violight has secured major contracts with hospitals yet.

Pocket Body for iPhone

Pocket Anatomy has launched Pocket Body – their latest application (app) for medical students and other health care professionals on Apple’s App Store. This medical software, features comprehensive human musculoskeletal anatomy content by means of a multi-layered sequence of high-definition photo-realistic illustrations of the human body and is a breakthrough in human anatomy education.

You can learn more by visiting: http://www.pocketanatomy.com/

mHealth eGuide now available for your smartphone

Whether or not you are registered for the 2nd mHealth Networking Conference, Sept 8-9, in San Diego, we are pleased to announce that this year's complimentary conference eGuide is now available for download to your mobile device, smartphone or laptop computer. This year's official eGuide, sponsored by Skyscape Inc., can help you to plan and manage your conference schedule more easily, and can always be on hand for quick reference. It includes:

· Session information
· Details about special events
· Exhibitor and sponsor information
· Updates/changes to printed program

Instructions for Downloading the eGuide

iPhone™/iPod Touch™/ iPad™: Go to the App Store and search for "mhealth eguide". Download the free app.

Android™, BlackBerry®, Palm®, Palm® Pre™, Windows Mobile and Windows: Visit www.skyscape.com/mhealth10 and follow download instructions. Note: The mHealth 2010 eGuide has been submitted to the BlackBerry Store for approval and will be available as soon as it is approved. Please check back later.

Support & Assistance

If you have trouble downloading the app or would like to learn more, stop by Skyscape exhibit booth #101 in the exhibit hall anytime during the conference.

I'm now in San Diego for the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference

The 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference doesn't start until Sept 8, but I wanted to come early so that I could take my family to SeaWorld. I just need to make sure that my kids don't try to throw my smartphone into the Shark tank.

If you're attending the mHealth Networking Conference, make sure to catch me speaking on Thurs, Sept 9 at 10 am. You can view the program here.

Buy a certified pre-owned Droid X and save $50

Through Verizon Wireless, you can purchase a certified pre-owned Droid X and save $50. That means that you can purchase one for $149 instead of $199. Then again, you may want to purchase your Droid 2 or Droid X through Amazon since you can get a brand new Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) for $149.99 or a brand new Motorola DROID II Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) for only $89.99 (that's not a typo).  I think I'll go with the Droid X and use it with an extended battery.

How Computers and Smartphones Were Integrated into the Practice of Medicine

This is a guest post by Louise Baker. If you'd like to submit a guest post, please contact me.

How Computers and Smartphones Were Integrated into the Practice of Medicine

When the information age really began to erupt in the consumer market in the 80's, the health and medicine fields were caught somewhat flat-footed, just as most other businesses. As the technology improved and the possibilities increased, it was difficult for hospitals and medical practitioners to take advantage of them.

This continued throughout the internet boom, but even though medicine and medical research has long been a forefront of cutting edge technology, the most advanced technology was remaining on college campuses or in the incubator start up labs far away from patients.

This has changed significantly. Possibly the bellwether of the vast change was the website WebMD, which allowed web surfers to browse actual medical information, and review symptoms and even possible diagnosis. This boom of information for patients became problematic for doctors, as some patients would try and self-diagnose with limited information, or even go so far as to consider the online resources as more valid than a live doctor. Hospitals and medical practitioners had to work to come up with technological methods that were better than what people could find in their own homes.

Samsung Epic 4G now available on Sprint

The Samsung Epic 4G launched today on Sprint and it demonstrated one of the best first-day sales for any Sprint device. The Samsung Epic™ 4G is the only Galaxy S™ smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and front-facing camera. The Epic 4G runs Google Android and TouchWiz.

If you want a 4G smartphone, you now have two choices: you can get the HTC Evo 4G, or the Sprint Epic 4G. If you want a hardware QWERTY keyboard, then the Epic 4G is your choice.

See you in San Diego for the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference

I'm presenting at the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference in San Diego on Sept 8-9. My presentation is titled, "Technology and Medicine: Mobile Applications and Clinical Outcomes."

If you'd like to hear my presentation, make sure to catch me on Thurs, Sept 9 at 10 am.  Here's some general information about the conference:  http://www.mobih.org

2nd International mHealth Networking Conference
September 8-9, 2010
Town & Country Resort Hotel
San Diego CA

Click here to view the program and I look forward to seeing you at the mHealth Networking Conference!

Have you tried the BlackBerry Torch 9800?

I think the BlackBerry Torch 9800 may be the best BlackBerry smartphone yet. I've used the Bold, the Storm, and many other BlackBerry devices. The Torch combines the best of both worlds: a touch screen with a hardware QWERTY keyboard. I'm not sure why they chose the vertical slider orientation as opposed to the horizontal slider. Maybe they felt that the majority of their users would prefer the vertical orientation.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the vertical slider. Why? You can type you're holding the device in one hand. All you need is a single thumb that can move across that QWERTY keyboard. You can try that on a horizontal slider, but you'll have some difficulty balancing that phone if you're only using one hand.

If you're a former Palm Treo user, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 could remind you of the old Treo (except the Treo wasn't a slider). 

It's too bad that the Torch is only available on AT&T.

Using SMS to remind heart transplant patients to take their meds

According to this story on MobiHealthNews, the Pediatric Heart Transplant Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is using CareSpeak Communications to boost medication adherence in teenage patients who undergo a heart transplant. Medication adherence in critical in this population because you can't afford to risk organ rejection by missing doses of your meds.

These SMS reminders aren't simple one-way reminders. Patients will need to reply back, indicating that they've taken their pills. If they don't reply, then text messages will get sent to family members who will make sure that their teen takes the pills.

CareSpeak Communications develops wireless communications technologies for the institutional and consumer healthcare markets. Our main goal is to ensure that our products / services are efficacious, easy to use and affordable for the end user whether it is a patient, caregiver and/or health care professional.

Here's a video that shows you CareSpeak in action:

Apple releases new iPods (iPod touch, nano, shuffle.)

It's not a surprise that the new iPod touch finally includes a camera (and in this case, two cameras so that you can participate in FaceTime). It's a real shame that the iPod touch does NOT include a GPS. I think that would make this blockbuster gadget even better. Well, I have an older version of the iPod touch and I use it all the time to play with iOS 4.

The new iPod touch also features the Retina Display, HD video recording and editing, Voice Control, and the great features found in iOS 4, including multitasking.

Sutter Health using iTriage

Sutter Health is using iTriage (by Healthagen) for its patients. They're allowing patients to use this smartphone app to access information about the Sutter Health network of hospitals.

Users will also have access to:

* 300 symptoms, 1,000 diseases and 350 medical procedures
* A database listing every doctor, hospital, urgent care clinic, retail clinic and pharmacy in the nation
* Ability to check symptoms, browse causes, view detailed descriptions and research remedies
* Turn-by-turn directions to trusted health care providers in any community nationwide

You can read more about this story on Healthcare IT News.

Interested in using iTriage? You don't need to belong to the Sutter Health network to use the iTriage app. Learn more about iTriage here.

Slider vs. Slate?

If you've had several different smartphones over the years, perhaps you've owned a slider (slide-out QWERTY keyboard) and a thin slate that only offers an on-screen keyboard. We're seeing fewer candybar designs like the Palm Treo or BlackBerry that includes a smaller screen combined with a small QWERTY keyboard on the bottom.

So, slider vs. slate? If you're a Verizon customer and you're thinking about getting an Android smartphone, that decision could boil down to:

Slider: Droid 2
Slate: Droid X or Droid Incredible

If you do a significant amount of typing on your device, then it's imperative that you test the keyboard on each of the devices and physically try them out. Before I picked up the Droid 2, I thought I'd be relatively happy with the QWERTY keyboard. After playing with it for 5 minutes, I realized that I'd probably end up using the on-screen keyboard over the physical QWERTY buttons. So, if that's going to be the case, then why should I get a slider?

The large on-screen buttons on the Droid X are easy to use because the screen is so large. The Droid X is larger (wider and taller) than the Droid 2, but it's actually lighter.  5.47 ounces for the Droid X vs. 5.96 ounces for the Droid 2.