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Ever since the article on Glucoboy surfaced on our website, we have been receiving several e-mails on how to purchase the Glucoboy. Questions from healthcare professionals and patients from all over the world: United States, Dubai, Israel etc.
Information on purchasing GlucoBoy can be found here.
Thank you for the 200+ inquiries on the purchase procedures for Glucoboy but because of time restraints, we feel that this is the best way to notify everyone.
Just a note: we are not affiliated with Nintendo nor endorse any products
American Well offers physicians the flexibility of providing online consultation and get paid for it. Why explain when I can just have you “see” how it works:
Who hasn’t watched the latest Grey’s Anatomy as medical residents fight tooth and nail to have a glimpse of cardiovascular surgeon Erica Hahn performing a double valve replacement on the father of medicine, Wiiliam Tapley? So little space in the operating room, so little opportunity for future surgeons to improve their cutting operating skills.
SurgyTec is an initiative develped by plastic surgeon Stevens MD, PhD to solve that. The site’s goal is to improve and share surgery techniques in order to improve one another’s skills. Physicians can now watch videos from ACL reconstruction to performing a midface lift.
So if you need a last minute refresher course on the use of robotic total mesorectal excision for the treatment of rectal cancer, SurgyTec is the place to visit!
According to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) Cosmetic Surgery Statistics:
- Nearly 11.7 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2007
- Top five non-surgical cosmetic procedures in 2007: Botox Injection (2,775,176 procedures); hyaluronic acid (1,448,716 procedures); laser hair removal (1,412,657 procedures); microdermabrasion (829,658 procedures); and IPL laser treatment (647,707 procedures)
- Top five surgical procedures for women: breast augmentation, liposuction, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty and breast reduction
- Top five surgical procedures for men: liposuction, eyelid, surgery, rhinoplasty, breast reduction to treat enlarged male breasts, and hair transplantation
With Americans spending just under 13.2 billion on cosmetic procedures last year (ASPS), it was inevitable that a health-community site would sprout up centered around beauty through cosmetic enhancement.
RealSelf was developed by Tom Seery (who used to work at Expedia) in 2006 after his wife complained that it was easier to find reviews on hotels than laser surgery. Backed by investors with impressive backgrounds: Rich Barton (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zillow), Nick Hanauer, and Bill Gossman, the site is making a splash in the cosmetic industry.
RealSelf contains reviews by patients who has undergone cosmetic surgery. What makes the site so addictive are the stories told by patients complete with extremely vivid pictures. Besides patients’ contribution, the site has board-certified cosmetic surgeons answering questions, which further adds to the site’s credibility. This is a great site for those considering an enhancement to their beauty and need information from people who have gone through the surgery.
Is your doctor not listening to you? Do the words coming out of his mouth make you feel like he’s from another planet? Have no fear, MedHelp is here.
MedHelp is an online community dedicated to answering health questions from patients. Questions are answered by board certified physicians. The founders, simply known as Phil and Cindy, developed the site in 1994 after surviving through traumatic medical events involving their mother and daughter.
The site has had a major face-lift since last being introduced to me by Enoch Choi, MD. Besides the improved anesthetics, MedHelp has broadened its expansion into developing a stronger community complete with journal entries, groups to join, treatment reviews and even the ability to add friends.
What makes this site appealing is that answers are delivered by board certified physicians as opposed to a non-medically trained stranger. However, the site is not totally free. Some physicians charge to answer your questions.
MedHelp definitely has an edge over its other competitors such as DailyStrength thanks to its support by physicians and partnerships with major clinics.
We’re exposed to environmental hazards every waking hour of the day. Most of our waking hours are spent
at work whether 300 feet off the ground as a construction worker or avoiding blood splatter as a practicing medical resident. So what happens when you get injured on the job?
The Injuries is a website aimed at helping those injured on work to connect, share experience, and most importantly take action. The injury list ranges from Mesothelioma to Silicosis, each with an explanation of the injury. While the idea is interesting, the discussion board is filled not with discussions related to injuries but rather spam.
Nonetheless, the idea of creating a way for those injured to connect is an intriguing idea but needs better execution. One could not help but wonder if the site was developed by someone who was injured or by an lawyer who has taken ambulance chasing to the web.
I’ve been asked for opinions on what the best EMR system would be for a hospital. While I can’t provide the answer due to a conflict of interest, I will list the most popular systems currently used in the United States (in no particular order):
- Cerner
- McKesson
- CPSI
- Epic Systems
- GE Healthcare
- MEDITECH
- QuadraMed
- Siemens
- Eclipsys
- MEDPLUS
Some of the problems I’ve noticed with hospitals during their implementation phase and selection of an appropriate EMR is the lack of research in the area of implementation ease. While extensive research is put into cost and how well the system handles hospital’s needs, there are areas in which hospital administrators fail to ask themselves:
- How are the online tutorials for the EMRs?
- What is the support structure i.e. would the hospital be able to find enough consultants who have used the system to help them when they “go live?”
- Can the EMR handle a large-scale hospital?
- Diverse Team: You need a diverse team consisting of physicians, medical residents, nurses, pharmacist, technicians etc who need to be “Lead Coordinator” i.e. the go-to person or persons. A physician will not know the needs of the pharmacy, the pharmacist will not know the needs of a nurse, etc. Different roles, different work flow, different needs…
The most important advice, create a diverse team of healthcare professionals who are technologically savvy to begin with. The implementation of EMR requires speed and most importantly, efficacy. It is better to work with someone who has some sort of technical background either playing with websites, programming, or what Silicon Valley-ers like to refer to as ‘hackers’ (someone who knows or dips their hands in technology during spare time, and can make the computer do what they want, whether or not it wants to) than someone who doesn’t even know how to install a program in Windows.
Because when problems arise, you will need someone who isn’t afraid to act or at least is tech-savvy enough to search for the answer on forums instead of waiting for customer service in the morning. After all, in hospitals, time is life.
Mashable reports that TargetRX has landed $9.6 million in funding for its website. According to the website, TargetRX “offers member physicians an online forum to share their attitudes and beliefs with pharmaceutical companies through surveys and other market research activities.”
It is a site that is attempting to step into Sermo’s playground. Sermo has built a brand around itself. TargetRX is going to have extreme difficulty in establishing itself as the place to go to discuss issues.
The majority of topics on health forums are dedicated to physicians asking each other for medical advice or opinions about a case or how to deal with hospital politics. So the idea that an online forum made of physicians used to track behavioral prescribing is strange to me. From my clinical rounds, prescribing medication or pharmacist recommendations are mostly dependent on evidence-based practices and then afterwards, the hospital’s formulary.
So after convincing my dear friend to register for Health 2.0 physician-only sites awhile back so that I can take a look, I realize that venture capitalist firms are in need of a medical professional on their team. There is a fine balance in combining technology with health but a larger piece of the puzzle is understanding the fragile relationship or should I say non-existent relationship between healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry.
As for my dear friend who is a medical resident at Cedars-Sinai Hospital he hasn’t logged on since.
Benefits Check-Up
Free, useful service that lists federal and state assistance programs for older Americans. It was the answer to address the problem of older adults being eligible for benefits and yet not utilizing them. Millions of older Americans may benefit from public programs that offer such things as health coverage, supplemental income and utility bill assistance.
PhRMA
Provides updated lists of patient assistance program directory
Needy Meds
Similar format to RXAssist in that the site provides a catalog of available programs listed according to drug name and manufacturer
Crayon Physics Deluxe is a game developed by Kloonigames. It is a sequel to the freeware game, Crayon Physics. The creator describes the game as a “2D physics puzzle game” in which objects that you draw are transformed to objects that can physically interact with one another on your Tablet PC. The challenge of the game is to solve puzzles using your artistic vision and creativity. Crayon Physics Deluxe is still in development and will launch soon.
This is an interesting concept that can be applied to foster a child’s development and creativity. While technology such as LeapFrog develops a child’s math and spelling skills, games such as Crayon Physics Deluxe will foster their problem-solving skills and introduce kids to relationships between objects.
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
This is as “must” source for newly diagnosed diabetics or those wishing to learn more about their condition. The site has sections for those who were recently diagnosed, those with Type 1, or Type 2 Diabetes along with an “Ask the Pharmacist” area. The ADA also supplies a newsletter that diabetics may subscribe to in order to receive news and events occurring in the world of diabetes.
For a much more interactive presentation on Diabetes provided by the ADA, users may watch Link for Life. Also available is a Diabetes Risk Test.
Not all glucometers work the same way and the importance of measuring ones blood glucose cannot be stressed enough. For those who need more help in learning to use your meter, please check this link. According to the FDA, it lists the Diabetes Education programs recognized by the American Diabetes Association. These Recognized programs meet the National Standards for excellence in diabetes education.
Diabetes Research and Wellness
This is a non-profit organization that offers free diabetic resources including free a pocket diary, diabetes identification card and diabetes necklace. The necklace will alert healthcare providers about your condition before they treat you.
Drug Companies Diabetes Resource Sites
Drug companies offer online diabetic tools for diabetics and especially for those patients who are using their meters.
Novo-Nordisk: Diabetic management features such as a diabetes care plan, menu planning tools, and stories written by patients on ways to live with diabetes
BD Diabetes: Provides flash-based patient education animations on how to draw, mix, and inject insulin. It even has a section for diabetes and pets.
Health 2.0 Sites
MySugarLevel
Tracking sugar site that charges users for access. Allows users to track and monitor sugar levels.
SugarStats
Site that allows you to monitor your suguar levels along with your foods. It provides users with graphs and trends.
TuDiabetes
Community for those affected by Diabetes. The site contains social networking features such as blogging, adding friends, and groups.
dLife
Diabetes resource that contains Q&A with experts, recipes, the “Wall”, and blood sugar management, among others.
Other related:
Johnson and Johnson’s Tour de Cure
MyOpenCare, a health site that we previously mentioned has announced a compelling competition.
The site has announced the “Create an H-Book and Win Company Shares” contest. In an effort to encourage greater member involvement in the site, the company will offer the winner of the best H-Book 0.5% shares in the company and those finishing second through sixth place will each receive 0.1% of MyOpenCare shares. The H-Book, otherwise known as the Health Book, is is a feature that every User has access too. It allows users to display information about particular disease states and conditions. However, unlike Wikipedia, MyOpenCare gives credit to the author.
The contest is a smart marketing move by MyOpenCare - increase user participation while promoting quality information.
It is projected that internet usage baby-boomers and those over 60 will continue to rise. Just in the US alone, baby-boomers who use the internet will increase from 58.2 million in 2006 to 63.7 million in 2011. Over-60’s will grow from 17.7 million internet users in 2006 to 25.3 million by 2011. [Source: emarketer]
Here is a look at some social-networking sites dedicated to this growing segment:
Eons - “Lovin’ life on the flip side of 50″
Founder: Jeff Taylor, founder and former chairman of Monster.com
Founding Date: August 2006
Target: users 50 and older
Investors: Sequoia and General Catalyst - $32 million over two rounds of funding
Website features:
- Typical Social-networking features: groups, blogging, adding friends, personalization of profile with widgets
- Brain Games
- Obituary
- Eon’s Entertainment: members rate movies, books, music etc
- Articles on Travel, Fun & Entertainment
Notes: Eons have also launched a search engine which they termed “the age-relevant search engine for 50+.” The engine’s name is “cRanky.” It uses Ask.com for its indexing and allows members to rate the sites.
Comments: The “obituary” option is a good idea with a bad name. This segment should use a more positive nomenclature like “passing on” or “a life remembered”.
eGenerations
Founder: Nathaniel Adam Briggs, CEO/Founder BSCS
Founding Date: 2006
Target: users 50+
Investors: Self-funded
Website Features:
- Love Seeker Ads
- Forums
- Online Pharmacy (check notes section)
- Rating area on travel
Notes: Vator.tv pitch here. eGenerations was formerly called SeniorsGrandCentral.
Comments: eGeneration does not allow new users to browse what it has to offer without registering. This will turn a lot of potential users away. Why buy wine if you’re not allowed a “taste-test” first? The site is also somewhat laggy.
The “Love Seekers Ad” is a good idea. This generation often suffer from loneliness after a loss of a spouse. I predict that there will be a huge boom in the over 50 dating segment in the near future.
SGC Pharmacy: Lack of NABP VIPPs, a seal that is an assurance that an online pharmacy is meeting all applicable state and federal requirements to dispense prescription medication. This seal lets consumers know that the online pharmacy is in good standing in a state and that it is licensed. This is provided by the FDA and the National Boards of Pharmacy to ensure that consumers are not being given fake or non-FDA approved medications from non-legit online pharmacies.
TeeBeeDee - “Sharing experiences to thrive”
Founder: Robin Wolaner, founder of Parenting Magazine, former executive CNET Networks
Founding Date: Launched September 2007
Target: users age 40 and over
Investors: Shasta Ventures - $4.8 million Series A Funding
Website features:
- Social-networking features: friends, groups,
- Q&A area
- Discussion area
Notes: “TeeDeeBee” is a derivative acronym for “to be determined” suggesting that the next phase of life is filled with opportunities.
BoomJ - “Social & Lifestyle Network for Baby Boomers”
Founder: N/A
Founding Date: N/A
Target: Baby Boomers
Investors: N/A
Website Features:
- Sweepstakes
- Articles
- Social-networking features: Add buddy, send message, profile
- Video Channels
- Blogs
BoomerTowne - “A Destination for a Generation”
Founder/Team: Erin Madson, Lori Sansourcie
Founding Date: N/A
Target: Baby Boomers
Investors: N/A
Website Features:
- Rotation videos of “Towne Council Members” consisting of celebrities
- Online dating
- Monthly polls
- Contests - earn points for rewards
- Discussion Boards
- Chat rooms
- Social-networking
Boomersnetwork
Founder: N/A
Founding Date: N/A
Target: Baby Boomers
Investors: N/A
Website Features:
- Forum
- Social Networking
- Dating
- Saving money opportunities
- Q & A
Notes: new paid member site with no ads
General Comments
There’s a whole bunch of social-networking sites for older adults to choose from. How might a site distinguish itself from the others? Simple, any social-networking site for older adults should be empowering. These sites need to redefine the meaning of aging: beauty, wisdom, excitement and not adhere to what media has painted aging as - illness, death, fragility.
On another note, to develop a site for this target population would require having the actual users on the team or advisory board. Otherwise, it’ll be like creating a network for physicians without physician input. I think that a lot of these products need to revamp their marketing strategy and take a good look at some of the terms that they are using to describe this target population.
SearchMedica is a search engine developed primarily for physicians. Unlike other engines that search the entire world-wide web for information, SearchMedica only delivers results from websites dedicated to health professionals. These websites may include credible journals, evidence-based articles, and national associations.
Results are neatly categorized into areas that are meaningful to a clinician. The categories include:
- Research Reviews and Editorials
- Practice Guidelines
- Patient Education Materials
- Clinical Trials for Patients
- Continuing Medical Education
The engine was developed by CMP Healthcare Media.
This is a useful engine for those practicing in family medicine. It cuts out the clutter and delivers relevant and useful information.
Doctors and Med 2.0
Business Journal’s interesting article on doctors trying med 2.0. Article highlights are:
- Fliqz launches customized website for HealthGrades, allowing visitors to virtually tour various medical facilities as well as view a physician’s bedside manner.
- In May, Johnson & Johnson sponsored blogger’s events in Las Vegas
- Medem and Youtube strike a deal to bring internet videos to physicians, allowing them to create and broadcast welcome videos for new patients
Microsoft’s Digital Health View
Microsoft painting a rosy picture of the future of digital health. In the article, Bill Crounse, Microsoft’s worldwide health director, sketches the future of healthcare dominated by tablet PCs and real-time patient monitoring.
Comment: Like most pharma companies who design difficult-to-use glucometers, these technology companies do not realize how user-unfriendly some of their products are. What’s the use of overloading a product with neat tools if patients are unable to figure out how to use it?
Telemedicine becomes more valuable as number of seniors increase
Physicians and healthcare experts are predicting that telemedicine is the answer to caring for chronically ill elderly patients. The core of the software is the ability to track data such as blood pressure and medication adherence. The other major area of telemedicine is the ability of alerting-on call medical professionals if vital signs are not within desired limits.
[Source: Inside BayArea, Worcester Telegram]
Comment: The best form of a telemedical device has to be touch screen. You eliminate the cumbersome use of the mouse and decreases the learning curve of using the system.
Humana, a health benefits company, has been making a splash on the internet. They’ve recently won first place in the 2007 e-Healthcare Leadership Awards for “Best eBusiness Site.” The award recognizes the best websites for health plans, healthcare providers, online health companies and other healthcare organizations. Humana’s first place winning entry was the Humana-Military site.
However, Humana is entering the social-networking realm of healthcare professionals. ChangeNow4Health is a blogging community site designed for healthcare reform. Its goal is to engage healthcare bloggers to come together to share ideas on ways to change healthcare for the better. There are 3 communities on the site that focus upon:
- Helping consumers make smarter healthcare decisions
- Simplifying the business of healthcare
- Preventing sickness and maintaining health
The site targets all players in the healthcare system and encourages everyone to participate: caregivers, providers, policymakers, and everyone else who has an interest in brainstorming ideas to fix the broken healthcare system. It looks like pharmaceutical companies as well as healthcare insurers are starting to penetrate the web and finally stepping into the Health 2.0 movement.
Frustrated by the slow adaptation of physicians to medical technology, hospitals and legislators are considering requiring physicians to purchase some form of an electronic medical records system in order to conduct business. Proponents argue that the technology would reduce medical errors and costs. A major advocate for the mandatory use of EMR is HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt who comments on his blog:
“Large health care providers, including Medicare and Medicaid, need to move toward making it a mandatory part of medical practice soon.”
Partners in Healthcare, an organization in Massachusetts, has mandated that physician practices and its other partners who refer patients must have some form of EMR. Otherwise, they will no longer be able to practice at the Partners facilities.
The hospitals have offered to pay for some of the costs but not all of it. Cardiologist Mario Motta MD, who works for North Shore Cardiovascular Associates, a partner of Partners Healthcare, comments:
“It is basically a loss,. I don’t get to keep the medical record if I decide to move. The benefit primarily accrues to the system and insurers, who make out royally for this. They should be paying for the bulk of it.”
Other Partners-affiliated physicians who are refusing to purchase the system are either leaving or retiring.
[Source: American Medical News]
ABC’s World News reports that the health IT at the Veterans Health System is considered by most experts as “one of the best health care systems in the country.”
Most private hospitals repeat 20% of their lab tests because physicians are unable to find the patient’s results. However, unlike the VA system, the lab results are kept in an EHR, saving millions of dollars from repeated lab tests. Along with the superb EHR is the use of an electronic band.
Patients are provided with a band that looks like a typical hospital ID. This band is an electronic monitoring device that when scanned, provides a photo of the patient along with his current treatments.
Video available here.
[Source: ABC World News]
Comments
The VA Medical System’s EHR is superb. It takes less than 5 minutes for a new VA healthcare professional to figure out where to find lab results. However, it is not just the VA’s user friendly EHR that reduces costs, it’s also their operation and approach to patient care.
Unlike a lot of private hospitals, the VA is heavy on utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach. Each medical team consists of a a clinical pharmacist who rounds with the medical residents. So you have your doctors who are the diagnosing experts along with the pharmacist who is the drug specialist. During each patient case review, nurses are also involved in the discussion of the patient’s everyday progression. This allows for a detailed approach towards caring for the patient.
In addition to their multi-disciplinary approach is their drug-check system. Every order inputted by a medical resident or attending is sent to the inpatient pharmacists who double-check the drug dose, allergies, use, proper dosage according to lab results and so forth. This reduces errors as well as provides improved patient care.
WiiFit was launched in Japan and will not be available in the United States until next year. However, if you are really gung-ho about getting your hands on this game package, you can try snagging one at Success-HK, Play-Asia, or Amazon Japan.
The WiiFit bundle comes with a copy of the WiiFit and the Wii Balance Board. The game begins by calculating your BMI which it then uses to set your individual fitness goals. After the game obtains the necessary information, your body receives a “real age” based upon your BMI rating along with the appearance of your avatar. So you may be older or younger, based upon your “real age” and how healthy you’ve been keeping yourself. After the 20 seconds the system takes to determine your BMI, you have a variety of games to choose from, including yoga, skiing, and soccer.
Just how popular is WiiFit? It is currently the top selling game on Amazon Japan [Source: PunchJump] with product reviews averaging 4.5/5. The WiiFit is going to make a huge splash in the United States with plans of launching next year.
This is probably the ultimate combination of Health and Games 2.0 combined. Who knew that being healthy could be so much fun?
[Picture Sources: iDorkas , GoNintendo]
[Source: Famitsu]
Picture 1: The line for WiiFit [Famitsu]
Picture 2: The Wii Fit System [GoNintendo]
Picture 3: WiiFit Yoga [IDorkas]
Picture 4: WiiFit Games [IDorkas]
Picture 5: WiiFit Checking out [Famitsu]
The Journal of the American Medical Association review of autopsy studies found that doctors misdiagnose 8 - 24% of the time. According to Jerome Groopman, author of How Doctors Think and chairman of experimental medicine at Harvard University, errors are due to what experts term “anchoring” Anchoring is when a healthcare professional is stubbornly stuck on a diagnosis and fails to consider other possibilities.
Doctors are increasingly using the internet to assist in finding answers to a patient’s ailments, according to “Googling for a Diagnosis” a British Medical Journey conducted last year. While some are “Googling for a Diagnosis”, others turn to Isabel, a decision support system already implemented in 18 hospitals across the United States.
Isabel is simple to use. Healthcare providers enter typical patient data such as age, gender, pregnancy status, location, and symptoms. The system then releases possible diagnoses neatly categorized into different types of diseases and other possible causes such as medication. The software also takes into consideration the diseases native to a particular part of the world.
While technology advances medicine, it is important to know that it will never surpass the individual judgment of a healthcare provider. Although the lofty sum of $50,000 a year to use Isabel is pricey, the potential cost-savings associated with preventing a diagnosis error as well as ensuring the well-being of the patient is worth every penny.
The cost: around $50,000 a year for a 300 bed hospital
Demo: USA News, Official Isabel
[Source: USA News]
Other related:
We have covered Health 2.0 in regards to websites and games but there’s a small uprising in another area of medicine, call it Doctor Visit 2.0, a word HippocraTech KF reader termed.
Jay Parkinson, MD/MPH can probably be called the ultimate Dr. Geek, or rather, Dr. “House” (as in house calls). This 31-year-old physician began his New York medical practice in September, shorty after finishing his residencies in pediatrics from St. Vincent Hospital and Preventive Medicine from Johns Hopkins. Because of his unconventional approach to medicine, he already has a TV series planned for next season, a book deal and he was recently interviewed on the Colbert Report.
Dr. Parkinson’s approach has been termed by the media as “Medicine 2.0.” He incorporates the use of video chat, e-mail, and IM into his medical practice. Patients can see “open-slots” on his website where he uses Google Calendar then text him for an appointment.
After receiving the text, Dr. Parkinson would then personally go see the patient even if it is within the next hour. Patients spend 10-15 minutes filling out their health information on the website before the visit so that Dr. Parkinson has a snapshot of the situation, saving both him and the patient time.
During the housecall, he performs physical exams, explains his services, and assesses the patient’s medical status. Visits usually last about half an hour. His electronic medical record is ran on his iPhone and he uses a Mac computer.
The cost of his medical startup: less than $1500 (HisTalk)
Other coverage: NY Post, Gothamist, GeekSugar, Wired, WSJ
The following are sites that connect patients to clinical trials. Clinical trials are controlled drug/device testing environments conducted on disease states that have no current treatment or try to improve upon a current treatment.
This is not an endorsement for any of these sites or any particular clinical trial but rather serves as another resource for physicians to explore options for their patients. Please remember that these trials have both benefits as well as risks.
ClinicalTrials.gov
This site is developed and maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. It contains updated information on a variety of clinical trials that are sponsored by NIH, federal agencies and academic medical institutions. Users may enter geographic or descriptive search terms and a list of open clinical trials along with eligibility criteria and contact information shall be provided.
CenterWatch
CenterWatch allows physicians and patients to locate on-going clinical trials that may be appropriate to their specific condition. The site provides an alphabetical geographic listing of available clinical trials complete with protocol descriptions, eligibility criteria, as well as contact information. Interested patients may sign up with the Notification Service which will provide e-mail updates in regards to the status of a new or ongoing clinical trial.
The Washington Post reports that Revolution Health, created by AOL founder Steve Case, has acquired two new websites to join the revolution offering. HealthTalk, a site focused on patients with chronic diseases and SparkPeople, a site that is dedicated to the fitness of its users.
According to Steve Case: “We are building a platform that reaches the largest possible audience, and in the process want to build the largest health brand from a consumer standpoint.”
October data gathered by comScore, an Internet market research firm reports the following:
- Revolution Health - 105 million page views
- Spark People - 84 million
- Health Talk - 8 milllion
Thus far, Revolution Health has (source:Washington Post 12/5, Heath) :
- Revolutionhealth : health information site
- Drugstore : site that allows users to purchase health related items
- CarePages : social-networking site for people with chronic illness to connect and discuss issues
Comments
It seems like Revolution Health, in an effort to outdo WebMD, is on a buying spree. A better strategy is to not buy more information of what consumers already have, but give consumers what they need but isn’t yet available. In addition, the site should focus more upon perfecting the user-interface to make it friendlier for everyone to use. Most importantly, the site needs to work on its branding among health professionals and patients.
Currently, Revolution Health is known as the “site that the AOL founder guy created,”not “the site I go to find health information.” Steve needs to look into building the brand name by seeking opportunities to sponsor national marathons such as the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer or the MS Walk. “Revolutionizing” health isn’t about acquiring multiple sites, it’s about “doing” something that people need. Show users that you’re “revolutionizing” health. A start would be to have Revolution Health employees participate in health marathons or hold fundraisers. Revolution Health is doing a lot virtually but what are they doing in real life to build their brand?
WebSurg is a virtual surgery university that provides more than 500 surgical videos, over 1000 expert interviews and 100 descriptions of surgical procedures complete with photos, and animated procedures. The site is peer reviewed by top surgeons from all around the world: United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Italy, China, and Taiwan. The telesurgeries and information provided on this site are geared more towards healthcare professionals than patients.
WebSurg’s content has been accredited by the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2002 to become the first website outside the United States to meet the American Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) standards. Presently, it is certified by McMaster University, Continuing Health Science Education Program. WebSurg was developed by Professor Jacques Marescaux and his team at the European Institute of TeleSurgery in France.
The site is available in 5 languages: English, Japanese, traditional Chinese, Spanish, and French.
Pfizer just pulled their Exubera (inhaled insulin) from market. A horrible way to end a horrible year for them.
Pfizer’s decision to pull Exubera was purely a financial one. Thus far this year, the company has sold less than $15 million worth of Exubera. This accounts for less than 0.3% of the insulin market. A blockbuster drug is defined as one that has sales over $1 billion annually. Exubera is far from that mark and the pull from market will result in a loss of $2.8 billion for Pfizer.
It may be best that Exubera was pulled. Exubera uses insulin supplied in blister packs. To release the insulin, each individual blister pack is put inside the inhaler and then the patient would depress a button to release the insulin. This is where the confusion begins. If a patient uses three 1mg blister packs, it does not equate to using one 3mg blister pack. Due to the pharmacodynamic properties of the medication, 1+1+1 does not equal 3 in Exubera’s case. Pfizer’s new math creates confusion that may have caused some healthcare professionals to be hesitant in prescribing it.
Exubera’s woes are not the only blow to Pfizer this year. Zoloft (anti-depressant) became available as a generic in June 2006 and Norvasc (anti-hypertensive) became available as a generic in March 2007. Take a look at Pfizer’s third-quarter earnings compared to other Pharma companies:
Pfizer
3Q Revenues : $12.0 billion (-2%)
3Q Earnings : $761 million (-77%)
YTD Earnings : $5.3 billion (-45%)
Bristol-Myers Squibb
3Q Revenues : +22%
3Q Earnings : +154%
YTD Earnings : +35%
Merck
3Q Revenues : +12%
3Q Earnings : +62%
YTD Earnings : +24%
GSK
3Q Revenues : +5%
3Q Earnings : +2%
YTD Earnings : +8%
Genentech
3Q Revenues : +22%
3Q Earnings : +33%
YTD Earnings : +41%
Novartis
3Q Revenues : +9%
3Q Earnings : +267%
YTD Earnings : +100%
What Pharma slump? It seems that Pfizer is amongst the only one of their friends who are loosing money this year. Is this the beginning of the end for this noble giant awaiting to be a meal for one of its comrades? No. Pfizer earned the most money last year and despite their woes, Pfizer is still the number three player behind Novartis and J&J. Pfizer has A LOT of cash after it sold a few of its subsidiaries. It is evolving and restructuring.
Their future focus? Biopharmaceuticals and the Internet…(Health 2.0?) [Pfizer: Foratv, Pfizer: Sermo]
Pharmaceutical Marketing: Stuck in Web 1.5: Interesting analysis on % of patients looking for information online as well as information on the online marketing services or programs that US Pharmaceutical Marketers provide to consumers. Studies show that pharmaceutical companies’ baby-steps into the Health 2.0 movement are causing them to miss opportunities to build relationships with patients.
BurstMedia: Survey done on 3,700 users that found women ages 25-34 as the power searchers of online health information.
Digital Communities: 2007 Consumer Medical and Health Information poll, commissioned by Ask.com and conducted by Harris Interactive found that Americans turn to the Internet for health information nearly as often as they turn to doctors.
Chicago Tribune: More people are turning to the web for health information. “Boomers are the key drivers of that shift. Fifty-three percent of all visitors to health sites are age 45-to-64, according to comScore Media Metrix.”
Fora.tv: Mashup’s article on Pfizer partnering with Fora.tv to launch a Health and Wellness channel.
JNJBTW: Johnson & Johnson enters the blogsphere.
Hearst Magazine’s acquires the website RealAge. RealAge is a site that that provides users with an online test where they answer questions and in turn, the site spits out the user’s “biological body age.” The site has about 8 million users, mostly women aged 30-59 years old. The Herald Tribune believes that the acquisition price was near $100 million.
Man has three loves in his life: his work, his family and his best friend….whether you call this best friend a dog, cat, fish or even a pig. The current boom of combining healthcare with the internet has been obsessively and narrowly focused upon the healthcare of humans, leaving a “Dolittle” hole.
While there are social-networking for animals such as Dogster and Catster, that offer some medical information, there is a lack of a resource totally dedicated to the health of our furry friends. Animals are prescribed the same types of medications as do humans. The difference is in the dosage as well as how they respond to the medication’s side effects. Different animals take different doses and respond differently to medication.
Where do I go to look if my Great Dane or German Shephard was responding strangely? I can’t ask my dogs if they’re feeling nauseous or dizzy. Where do I go to look up medication administration to my dogs who always manage to eat the entire hotdog yet spit out the hidden pill?
Health information delivered to veterinary pets are different from that of humans. With that being said, this is an untapped, unpenetrated area of “Health 2.0″ that should be addressed. Our furry friends deserve the same amount of care as we do. Perhaps…the Pet 2.0 revolution?
Feline Health Videos
A video site developed by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The site provides videos on:
- caring for your diabetic cat
- giving your cat a pill or capsule
- giving your cat liquid medications
- trimming your cat’s claw
- taking your cat’s temperature
- brushing your cat’s teeth
Cornell also provides Consultant, a “database designed to link over 500 clinical signs and symptoms to nearly 7,000 possible diagnoses or disease conditions. Thus, it can help you find summary information about animal diseases. In addition, it can assist in compiling lists of diseases with certain clinical signs, such as all of the dog diseases that have “diarrhea” as one of the clinical signs. Consultant also contains a selected list of up-to-date journal articles on each diagnosis. “
Merck Veterinary Manual
“The Merck Veterinary Manual is the single most comprehensive electronic reference for animal care information. It is brought to you as a service of Merck & Co., Inc., providing quality medical information on a not-for-profit basis for more than 100 years, and Merial Limited, dedicated to producing a wide range of pharmaceuticals and vaccines to keep livestock and pets healthy and productive.”
Traineo + Dogster
Dogster and Traineo have teamed up to develop the “Dogster.com Fitness with Dogs Group.” The site’s purpose is to not only get pets into shape, but pet owners as well. Users will be assigned a “Training buddy” when they register as well as have the option of sharing ideas on how to get both their pet and themselves in shape.
A few weeks ago, there was a post in regards to providing free or low cost medication to uninsured or unemployed patients. However, Johnson & Johnson has launched a far superior tool called Access2Wellness to help patients find assistance programs for drug discounts or access to free drugs. The site is very user-friendly. Users select the drug that they are interested in and then answer six short questions on the “Eligibility Tool”:
- State of Residence
- Age
- Whether or not you are eligible for Medicare Part B and/or Part D
- Prescription drug coverage?
- Family members who are legally dependant on your household income
- Family’s gross annual income
The tool immediately delivers a list of programs that the user is eligible for as well as a link to the program assistance page. The site has information for patients, physicians, caregivers, and hospital administrators who are interested in assisting friends or family to obtain discounted medication.
The hardest thing for anyone to admit is that they’re not being compliant with their medication because of a cost issue. So I urge all healthcare providers as well as family and friends of loved ones to share this important tool with everyone.
While most patients are familiar with using Google, Yahoo or MSN to search for medical information, many are unaware of other available search engines, and some even specifically designed for health information. In no particular order, here are some engines:
Healia
Healia is a health search engine that lets users “filter” information based on “checked boxes”. Information is neatly organized into tabs (Prevention, Causes/Risks, Symptoms, Treatments). Each result has “Attributes” such as “Advanced reading, Privacy Policy, HONCode etc. Which would make more sense to an everyday user: “Attributes” which lists such characteristics as “Fast loading, Advanced Reading” or Healthline’s “Trust Mark” that displays sites which are “Doctor-Reviewed”? Initial glances at the “Attributes” area of Healia, slightly confused me as I did not know if it was a technical error or part of the search as the area blends into the search results and there was no explanation as to what “Attributes” meant.
MedStory
Medstory was acquired by Microsoft for an undisclosed sum. The site was developed by Alain Rappaport, MD. While search results are neatly organized at the top into categories such as “Drugs & Substances” or “People” the link results do not indicate any sort of Trust-Marks i.e. HONCode, reviewed by physician etc. There isn’t a way for users to differentiate legit sites from the gibberish background noise.
HealthVault
My review on HealthVault can be found here
Healthline
My review on Healthline can be found here
RevolutionHealth
RevolutionHealth was started by AOL founder Steve Case. It uses Kosmix’s engine as a part of its search algorithm in addition to its own engine that searches within the site itself. Results are neatly organized on the left: Articles, News, Clinical Trials etc. RevlutionHealth offers doctor reviews, health communities, and expert bloggers as well as a way to organize your health records online.
OrganizedWisdom
OrganizedWisdom lists its search results in a very uncluttered manner. It boasts to be the “the first human-powered, doctor-guided search service for health.” The results are neatly divided in areas showing results such as: What is Diabetes, What are the symptoms, Support Groups etc. However, I would not have guessed that the site had physicians guiding it because there is no clear designation (as compared to Healthline which has their physicians and healthcare experts on the front page).
Kosmix
Kosmix is a multi-purpose engine that does not solely focus upon health. That was probably why RightHealth was launched (See next link). The one correct strategy that Kosmix implemented that Microsoft HealthVault has not, is alerting the users of their “RightHealth” service. Any results pertaining to health found on Kosmix is linked to the “RightHealth” engine.
RightHealth
RightHealth was developed by Kosmix. The engine splits the information into several sections such as web results, trusted sources, advanced reading, among others. What confuses me about this health site is the organization of the material. In health, trusted information is important because wrong information may be deadly. The “Trusted Resource” should be at the very top area of the site, not “Web Results” that display links to erroneous sites. In addition, RightHealth does not define what is a “Trusted Resource.” Is it a resource verified by a physician? Applies the HON code? etc.
HealthFinder
HealthFinder was developed by US Department of Health and Human Services
OmniMedicalSearch
OmniMedicalSearch searches up to 12 different medical search engines at once and brings back search results from at least 30 different sources. But quantity, does not equate quality.
GoogleHealth Co-Op
Company Description: “Topics are specific search areas that Google is developing with the help of expert contributors. Contributors to topics annotate websites that they think are especially useful, relevant, or authoritative to a topic with pre-defined category labels. These labels appear as links at the top of search results pages when users search for something related to the topic. Users can click these labels to refine their search results, giving priority to sites that have been labeled by topic contributors.”
Womens Health Search Engine
This search engine focuses upon then needs of women users. The engine was developed by the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
GirlsHealth.gov
GirlsHealth is not a search engine but it is a useful resource just launched by the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is an interesting site because it targets younger girls who are learning about their changing body. For parents who have a difficulty time explaining the changes that go on during puberty, GirlsHealth is a useful resource to read and to share with your daughter.
WebMD
One stop medical site filled with quizzes, forum, interactive calculators and other things to assist patients in learning more about their condition. They are now offering a way to store your personal health record online as well as blogs written by healthcare experts, Q&A involving doctors, as well as a message board.
MerckMedicus
MerckMedicus is one of the most comprehensive medical resources on the internet. While the site was originally geared towards medical professionals, it does have a “Patient Education” area that provides patient handouts, medical news, and clinical trials. Of most interest to patients may be an illustrated guides to surgeries and procedures as well as a list of patient support groups. For healthcare professionals, the site offers clinical references, images of infectious diseases, and disease modules among the other various tools available for free.
There is no form of advertisement on this site which was developed by Merck& Co.
Comments
- Fragmented Team. Any health engine/site needs to make sure that they cover the basis and areas of all medicine. The team of advisors needs to make up a diverse team. Diagnosis/Disease: Physicians; Drugs/Medicare: Pharmacists; Teeth: Dentists; User-search behavior and organization: Medical Librarians, Daily Patient Care: Nurses. And most importantly…the people who directly use it - the patients. The majority of the search engine team consists of only physicians. You can’t fix the fragmented healthcare system with a fragmented team.
- Lack of marketing. Of all the new engines/portals on here, I would have to say RevolutionHealth did the best in terms of marketing itself to healthcare providers and making use of their already established AOL database of users.. They were aggressive in presenting at conferences and sending information about their product. The campaign thus far would appear successful, proof of such when I ask patients “Have you heard of Healthline or Medstory?” Their answer was most often “No” but when referenced to “RevolutionHealth,” the answer typically sounded like: “Yes, that AOL guy founded it.”
- No superior search engine. Of the mix above, none would I consider the “perfect search engine.” Each one of these have strong points and weak points. For instance, Healthline has the “Trust Mark” feature whereas Healia does not. WebMD has a Q&A section supported by physicians whereas some of the others do not. This is probably one of the most important features for any health site - the ability for patients to interact with doctors who may provide them with a second opinion. Everyone needs a “Friend” in healthcare. With that being said, these sites need to analyze and examine their competitors and add to their services what work and phase out what doesn’t.
- The current health search engines are boring. Information about health does not always have to be boring. If I was searching for “Breast Cancer,” it would be nice to have information in regards to celebrities or interesting event such as the “American Idol Gives Back” special or about Lisa Spodak and Kelly Wold who waited hours after a celebrity event to acquire signatures in order to raise money for breast cancer. One could call them: uplifting news. Fighting a disease doesn’t have to be sad, depressing, or boring. It should be fun, inspirational, and empowering.
- Don’t hold back on the [tasteful] graphics. When I have a pounding migraine with halos, coupled with nausea/vomiting, the last thing I’d like to see from my search engine is a screen filled with words that is completely overwhelming. Health search engines do not need to be so dry. Provide some more graphics or perhaps a screenshot of what the website looks like. Meaningful graphics could help cut the sea of text and help organize the looks and feel of a result. If I searched for “diabetes”, I’d like to see some pictures relating to diabetes.
- Attack of the Clones. Most search engines seem to be clones of one another, presenting the information in a different fashion. The engines need to tackle other areas that patients search for, such as finding a doctor who speaks a particular language or accepts a certain health insurance plan.
- Make health fun. Search engines need to provide a reason for users to come back and not just when they are sick. I know that a lot of intellectuals complain that health information from areas such as FitSugar or information provided by Cosmopolitan are “blonde” information. Health information delivered by health experts do not always have to be dry or focused upon clinical trials. More users will likely return or subscribe to a health expert on a search engine’s site if he/she made reading about health fun, filled with more pictures. For example, a breast cancer patient may get tired of reading about clinical breast cancer trials and just wants to read about what other breast cancer patients are doing to empower themselves or celebrities who are making a difference in healthcare.
- Be the search engine of health tools while branding yourself.. Being a search engine does not mean merely providing information through search. The notion of a “health search engine” can be applied to other arenas. For example: For a women interested in fitness, the engine may provide her search results of fitness instructors or gyms in the area or a database of healthy recipes. In another example, a diabetic patient who wishes to keep his blood sugar information organized but does not want to keep it online would need customized documents. He needs a place to go where he may search for “useful printable documents” that he may use to monitor his sugar levels. All print outs would have the search engine’s logo on it, thereby building a brand.
Know what users want by talking to them. No one gives more insight and better information than a patient who is sick, complaining about his needs.