digital health

Patient Communities Come in Many Flavors

Each day there seems to be a new type of patient community popping up. A good place to start to learn about these new approaches is a “Report on the Use of Social Media to Prevent Behavioral Risk Factors Associated with Chronic Disease”, recently published by the eHealth Initiative. Additionally,

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A Burst of Creativity Comes to Life

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a flash of creativity (or good idea)? The idea for “Communities, Platforms and Data” came to me in the middle of the night as one of those flashes of creativity. While researching “Mobile Social Games for Health,” I

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Seeing Inside the Chemical Reactions of Our Body

Three main components lead to a better understanding of disease mechanisms and subsequently creating more effective treatments; genes, proteins, and metabolites.  But what are metabolites and what role do they play in human disease? What are Metabolites? Metabolites are small molecules produced by metabolic enzyme-catalyzed reactions occurring naturally in cells.

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Learning that Germs Can Be Our Friends

There are trillions of bacteria that make up the human microbiome.  How do scientists study all the bacteria, their interactions, and their effect on disease? What is Metagenomics? Metagenomics is a rapidly growing field of research that focuses on the study of the microbiome, overcoming the difficulties of sequencing, and

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(Part 2) The Data “Revolution” in Healthcare: Obstacles and Opportunities

Part Two: Healthcare Structural Issues (continued from Part One) By Ellen Martin First, let’s recognize the fundamental market disconnect between providers, patients and third-party payers like employers, insurance companies, and managed care. This detachment is a fundamental reason as to why healthcare is not a free market. The tax-advantaged, employer-provided insurance

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