Health technology

1,606 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 64

Natural language processing in EMRs can improve disease tracking

January 30, 2012Jan 30, 20123

Years ago, if you were elderly, had diabetes, high blood pressure, low back pain, needed a yearly flu shot and came to see this electronic health record-enabled physician (now with the nom de plume “Disease Management Care Blog”), you would have had your diabetes, high blood pressure and low back pain reassessed, you would have been given a flu shot and, for good measure, the DMCB would have tossed in a discussion …

New classes of devices to diet and exercise

Michele R. Berman, MD

January 29, 2012Jan 29, 20123

For many celebrities, their livelihoods depend on their physical appearance and they rely on armies of personal assistants, schedulers, stylists, trainers and chefs to plan, manage and measure their diet and exercise regimens. Obviously, most of us don’t have the…

Obviously, most of us don’t have the time or resources to diet and exercise like celebrities do, but new technologies are closing the gap. As an introduction to some of these new platforms and methods, we describe and …

Repetition is the curse of the doctor-patient engagement

Dr. Martin Young

January 28, 2012Jan 28, 201211

How many times as a doctor do you ask the same questions over and over again as part of the routine process of taking a history from your patient? And how often as a patient do you have to answer…

How many times as a doctor do you ask the same questions over and over again as part of the routine process of taking a history from your patient? And how often as a patient do you have to answer those same questions each time you see a new doctor? How long does this take, given that doctors and patients both complain that there is too little time for the …

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Why the prognosis of patients is difficult

Ken Covinsky, MD

January 25, 2012Jan 25, 2012

Many clinical decisions in older persons are dependent on life expectancy. For example, as life expectancy declines, cancer screening is likely to do more harm than good. Also, persons who have limited life expectancy may want to plan, discuss their values, and consider palliative care approaches of care in addition to care focused on living as long as possible.

But can one actually predict life expectancy accurately in an individual patient? …

Innovative technologies can markedly enhance safety

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

January 23, 2012Jan 23, 2012

“To Err Is Human” is the title of the now famous book from the Institute of Medicine on patient safety published about a decade ago. From it we learned that anywhere from 44,000 to 98,000 individuals die each year of preventable medical errors (and other sources suggest the number might even be much higher). In this continuing series of posts on disruptive and transformational technologies, there are some that can …

Google knows more about certain diseases than physicians ever will

Lukas Zinnagl, MD

January 21, 2012Jan 21, 20128

Professor Gunter Dueck, is a calm and eloquent german mathematician who’s also the CTO of IBM Germany. He studied mathematics and philosophy and eventually turned out to be a great writer and speaker. Unfortunately he only does so in German,…

In a recent talk he gave (German only), he talks about whether a connected and …

Robotics can revolutionize the delivery of medical care

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

January 16, 2012Jan 16, 20126

Robotics has the potential to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare. It can help extend the delivery of information, expertise and clinical care across time and geographical space barriers. Robotics offers the opportunity to enhance quality of care through extension of clinical expertise and leveraging of integrated datasets and best practices. It can be used across the continuum–from the hospital setting (e.g. OR, ER, etc.) into primary care offices and even …

A guide for entrepreneurs to get a doctor’s attention

Rebecca Coelius

January 12, 2012Jan 12, 201228

I've had the luck to attend medical school in the city of San Francisco during what will be looked back on as the start of transformational change in our health care system. My growing interest in technology and new business…

I’ve had the luck to attend medical school in the city of San Francisco during what will be looked back on as the start of transformational change in our health care system. My growing interest in technology and new business models as the disruptive forces behind this change, as well as marriage to a technology entrepreneur, has me frequently rubbing elbows with movers and shakers in the digital health space. …

Distance medicine will transform medical practice

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

January 6, 2012Jan 6, 20124

Distance medicine technologies can be disruptive in the way physicians and other care givers interact with patients and with each other and can fundamentally change how patients are able to interact with the entire health care system. This is of increasing relevance as medicine gravitates toward chronic illnesses where diagnosis and treatment are complex and require multi-specialist teams. It also has potential to alleviate some of the effects of the …

Designing a friendly patient portal for consumers

Dave Chase

January 5, 2012Jan 5, 20122

More and more providers see the value of providing patient portals. In an attempt to be responsive, EMR vendors are providing patient portals that have some limited capabilities (get lab results, email your doctor and possibly fill out a form requesting an appointment). However, just as the ability to design an airplane cockpit is radically different from a car dashboard, so to is designing an EMR geared towards medical professionals …

Solving information overload in the EHR

Neil Mehta, MD

December 28, 2011Dec 28, 201110

I have been using electronic health records now for over 10 years. Like most physicians who have used EHRs, I would not ever go back to a paper-based medical record. Having said that, it is important to recognize some of…

I have been using electronic health records now for over 10 years. Like most physicians who have used EHRs, I would not ever go back to a paper-based medical record.

Having said that, it is important to recognize some of the potential problems created by some EHR products. One potential pitfall of some EHRs is the number of steps it takes to find information that is in the system. Yes, it …

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Solving information overload in the EHR

Why your EHR note may not be accurate

Ron Sterling

December 28, 2011Dec 28, 201112

With paper exam notes, the doctor and staff record information and the note reflects what they recorded. Unfortunately, EHR based notes may not be as direct. Many EHR systems store the information that you enter in one way, and offer…

With paper exam notes, the doctor and staff record information and the note reflects what they recorded. Unfortunately, EHR based notes may not be as direct.

Many EHR systems store the information that you enter in one way, and offer a variety of presentation and reporting options. The ability of the EHR to offer multiple presentation options is a powerful tool. For example,

You may generate an exam note, referral form, and a …

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Why your EHR note may not be accurate

Show doctors the value when it comes to social media and EMRs

Kevin Pho, MD

December 20, 2011Dec 20, 20113

The common perception is that older doctors are more adverse to technology, especially when it comes to electronic medical records. Recent data, however, says that isn't true. According to a study cited in American Medical News, "physicians more than 10…

The common perception is that older doctors are more adverse to technology, especially when it comes to electronic medical records.

Recent data, however, says that isn’t true.

According to a study cited in American Medical News, “physicians more than 10 years out of medical school and those with higher patient volumes were more likely than younger and less busy physicians to …

Solving distracted doctoring from smartphones and tablets

Kevin Pho, MD

December 15, 2011Dec 15, 20115

Imagine that your neurosurgeon, during surgery, was talking on his cellphone using a headset. Unthinkable? Well, no. A recent article in the New York Times cites a case where a patient was left paralyzed and the neurosurgeon was sued, in…

Imagine that your neurosurgeon, during surgery, was talking on his cellphone using a headset.

Unthinkable?

Well, no. A recent article in the New York Times cites a case where a patient was left paralyzed and the neurosurgeon was sued, in part, for being distracted. He made 10 personal calls during the operation.

The proliferation of portable electronic devices, smartphones, tablets, and the …

Mobile health and the globalization of medicine

David Lee Scher, MD

December 14, 2011Dec 14, 2011

The term globalization loosely refers to the increasing unification of order. It has been traditionally applied to the economic sector. As the world is progressively intertwined from financial and cultural perspectives, it is not surprising that it is occurring in the medical arena. There have been international professional medical societies for many decades, and the medical device and pharmaceutical industries have consolidated on a global scale.

However, the way medicine is …

Technological advances can solve our current healthcare crisis

Hiep Nguyen, MD

December 7, 2011Dec 7, 20112

It can’t be ignored that dramatic transformation in our healthcare system is imminent. The economy, market forces and increasing political demands will soon force physicians and healthcare professionals to change how we take care of our patients. Just as the…

The rising cost of healthcare now has the government and insurance companies placing more emphasis on controlling costs, …

Health IT has problems, but is worth the price

George Lundberg, MD

November 29, 2011Nov 29, 20118

I started working with computers in medicine in 1963. I was a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps in San Francisco when a Lieutenant Colonel told me to "automate the California Tumor Tissue Registry." I said, "Yes, Sir.…

I started working with computers in medicine in 1963. I was a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps in San Francisco when a Lieutenant Colonel told me to “automate the California Tumor Tissue Registry.”

I said, “Yes, Sir. How would I do that?” He told me to walk across the Presidio parking lot and go into a building that had a big machine in it that is called a …

5 reasons why physicians will love mobile health

David Lee Scher, MD

November 28, 2011Nov 28, 20119

1. Mobile health technology will increase patient engagement. Most patients do not take the responsibility they should for their own health. They are likely preoccupied with all the stresses of everyday life and might therefore take the ‘I feel good,…

1. Mobile health technology will increase patient engagement. Most patients do not take the responsibility they should for their own health. They are likely preoccupied with all the stresses of everyday life and might therefore take the ‘I feel good, so I must be’ approach. They possibly mutter these words after wiping their faces, hurriedly walking out of McDonald’s for lunch. Or is it because of mistrust of their physician …

EHR adopters give advice to those considering electronic medical records

Peter J. Polack, MD

November 21, 2011Nov 21, 2011

Our practice went live with our own EMR system in late 2008. For the most part, this was uneventful. The reason for this was mainly due to proper planning. And credit for our implementation plan goes primarily to our administrator, our IT director, and staff members of our appointed EMR committee. Although some of the physicians were an integral part of the committee, we tried our best not to micromanage …

How mobile health can help child abuse victims

David Lee Scher, MD

November 19, 2011Nov 19, 2011

There has not been a more horrific scandal in the world of sports that I can remember than the child abuse scandal surrounding Pennsylvania State University. Let it be said that I am very impressed with the reaction of much…

There has not been a more horrific scandal in the world of sports that I can remember than the child abuse scandal surrounding Pennsylvania State University.

Let it be said that I am very impressed with the reaction of much of the student body which is one of shock and disdain for the administration charged with covering up alleged abuses of children by a former assistant football coach. According to the …

Health technology

Articles, page 64

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