Reform Update:

Posted on June 13, 2013 by admin

Managed care rapidly gained and quickly lost favor more than a decade ago, but even as it lost ground, it never fully lost a hold in the market. Now, it’s an increasingly popular option among seniors enrolled in Medicare, and some managed-care tenets—care coordination led by primary care and capitation—have re-emerged under new models endorsed by the Patient Protection and Continue reading →

The Technological Benefits of Mobile Health in Minority Communities.

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin

With all the mobile apps and resources available for games, entertainment and media, have you ever thougbht about the impact that mobile apps could have on your health? Introducing mHealth, the term used to describe the use of your mobile phone for health. The Joint Center for Continue reading →

Tech Developments Driving the Future of Wireless Patient Monitoring

Posted on June 10, 2013 by admin

The Nonin 3230 pulse oximeter could be the first wireless pulse oximeter to use Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The device is awaiting 510(k) clearance in the United States.

Imagine caring for a small, frail patient like a premature child. In addition to having to watch out for IVs and feeding tubes, you’d have to navigate around pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, EKG leads and additional monitoring equipment. Tasks as simple as changing a diaper or dressing the child become intricate processes requiring great care to avoid dislodging a sensor. Now, imagine what it would be like to care for that patient more directly—without any leads in Continue reading →

The Power of Microphones as Medical Sensors

Posted on June 10, 2013 by admin

Microphones can be used as sensors to detect much more than just sound waves. An Economist article titled “Teaching old microphones new tricks” reminds us of this fact, citing the use of microphones to track everything from lung function to heart health.

In particular, a growing number of players have decided Continue reading →

More Employers Consider New Health Plan Reimbursement Approaches: Survey

Posted on June 7, 2013 by admin

As part of their strategy to hold down their health care plan costs, more employers are considering new approaches to reimburse plan participants for claims expenses and encourage them to use providers with the best medical outcomes, according to a survey released Thursday.

The Aon Hewitt survey of about 800 large and midsize employers found that 62% are considering redesigning Continue reading →

The Telemedicine Tourniquet

Posted on June 6, 2013 by admin

Courtesy of Twin Cities Business

Throughout the health care industry, people are looking for big wins
from “telehealth.”

Inside the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation in Rochester, a new initiative is taking shape: the development of Mayo’s Center for Connected Care. Continue reading →

Research: A Tsp. of Aloe Daily Reverses Signs of Skin Aging

Posted on June 6, 2013 by admin

There is plenty of research that indicates that the unnaturally accelerated aging process associated with modern living and/or natural environmental exposures such as excessive ultraviolet radiation (photo-aging) can be slowed. In fact, over 150 natural substances have been indexed on aging in the GreenMedInfo.com project with demonstrable “anti-aging,” Continue reading →

Some Employers Look for Ways to Avoid Covering More Workers under New Obamacare Rules

Posted on June 4, 2013 by admin

McCoy Faulkner collects $81 a day as a substitute teacher in the Wake County Public School System. A mere sub, he has no benefits.

The 62-year-old former Raleigh police officer shells out $580 a month for an individual insurance policy, more than half his monthly pay. The full-time teachers for whom Faulkner fills in, however, are eligible for free health insurance, with no monthly premiums, through their employer.

That’s why Faulkner was Continue reading →

Bill Barring Doctors from Administering Abortion-Inducing Drugs Via Webcam Backed by Louisiana House

Posted on June 3, 2013 by admin

In this Monday, Jan. 24, 2011 file picture, anti-abortion and pro-choice activists stand next to each other in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington during a rally on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Americans, regardless of generation, are deeply conflicted as they wrestle with the legality and morality of abortion, with a substantial majority identifying themselves as both Continue reading →

Shades of grey: Beyond Peer-Reviewed Literature for mHealth Evidence

Posted on May 31, 2013 by admin

An exciting resource is being developed by the Center for Communication Programs at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. It’s an online mHealth evidence database that aims to catalog, categorize and grade all of the known peer-reviewed and grey literature on mHealth in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Continue reading →

Johns Hopkins Surgeons among the First in the Country to Perform a Robotic Single-Site Hysterectomy

Posted on May 30, 2013 by admin

Training advances access to minimally invasive surgery for gynecologic cancers

Two Johns Hopkins gynecologic surgeons are among the first in the nation to perform a robotic hysterectomy using a single, small incision.

Amanda Nickles Fader, Continue reading →

The Formula for Turning Cement into Metal

Posted on May 29, 2013 by admin

New material a boon for use in electronics and thin films

In a move that would make the Alchemists of King Arthur’s time green with envy, scientists have unraveled the formula for turning liquid cement into liquid metal. This makes cement a semi-conductor and opens up its use in the profitable consumer electronics marketplace for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips. Continue reading →

Beer Pouring Robot Programmed to Anticipate Human Actions

Posted on May 29, 2013 by admin

A robot in Cornell’s Personal Robotics Lab has learned to foresee human action in order to step in and offer a helping hand, or more accurately, roll in and offer a helping claw.

Understanding when and where to pour a beer or knowing when to offer assistance opening a refrigerator door can be difficult for a robot Continue reading →

Prisons Turn to Telemedicine for Treating Inmates

Posted on May 24, 2013 by admin

Using telemedicine to reduce costs and improve treatment outcomes for remote patients has been in the works since the early 1990s, and it has lately gained traction with public-sector agencies. The Veterans Affairs Department tested a system in 2011, and the Army tested a 4G battlefield system last year.

Employing telemedicine Continue reading →

Digital Therapy in an Analog World