Have you ever noticed a problem and wondered why no one fixed it sooner? That is exactly what Howard Look, who has been the Vice President of Software and User Experience at TiVo, Pixar and Amazon, was thinking when his daughter got type 1 diabetes in 2011. Given his background
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,
How Big Data is Changing Current Research Methodology: Cancer Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Current treatments are ineffective with over 75% of patients not responding to treatments, despite the $50 billion pharmaceutical companies spend in research and development every year. In addition, patients
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
Genomics is making headlines in both academia and the celebrity world. When genetic tests revealed that Angelina Jolie was predisposed to breast cancer, intense media cover ensued. Since then, genetic testing and genomics have been propelled to the front of many more minds. In this new data field, companies are
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.
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
Mobile Social Games and Analytics for Health Mobile social games for health from DrBonnie360
Part Three: Election Day special: Regulatory Obstacles (continued from Part Two) By Ellen Martin Here is a 352-page description of US healthcare regulation as of 2006: Robert I. Field’s Health Care Regulation in America: Complexity, Confrontation, and Compromise. It is always mind boggling to hear so many people toss throwaway lines about
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