All Blog Posts (1,644)

Teamwork Improves Surgical Safety and Reduces Mortality

Like the cockpit, the operating room (OR) is fraught with high intensity, high complexity, high velocity, and high stakes. And as a capital intense location which serves as the financial engine of many or not most hospitals, there is pressure to use the OR efficiently. Like the cockpit, there is hierarchy, and a deep culture which includes strongly held rituals and customs. Unfortunately, there are also errors of omission and commission which lead to adverse outcomes including patient… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on November 14, 2010 at 9:04am — No Comments

HealthSaaS launches new corporate website

HealthSaaS launches new corporate website and announces HealthSaaS Consulting Services

Nov 11, 2010 – HealthSaaS, Inc. a leading Software as a Service organization in the Health 2.0 industry has announced today the launch of its new logo and redesigned website at www.healthsaas.net

The new web site has been updated to reflect all of the products and services HealthSaaS provides including their new consulting services organization.… Continue

Added by frankille on November 11, 2010 at 11:08pm — No Comments

HealthSaaS Releases DiabetesPHR with Connectivity to Microsoft HealthVault

HealthSaaS today announced the release of an online diabetes management tool that is available at www.diabetesphr.com

Clackamas, OR, November 11, 2010 --(PR.com)-- DiabetesPHR is a web based Software as a Service (SaaS) application built on a patent pending framework that enables patients to record conditions, doctors, blood glucose, blood pressure, medications, naturopathic remedies, sleep patterns, weight, treatments, therapies,… Continue

Added by frankille on November 11, 2010 at 11:06pm — No Comments

Leadership In Medicine – New Expectations, Time to Rethink What Leaders Should Be Doing

What should we expect of a physician leader today? I believe it should be something much different than what leaders do now.

Today, a hospital physician CEO might be expected to develop new or improved clinical programs, in part by recruiting the best and the brightest, by building new wings, and by purchasing new technologies. The measure of success would be improved finances as a result of added admissions. A dean might be expected to develop new research programs by building new… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on November 10, 2010 at 4:45pm — No Comments

Breast Cancer Risk: How does hormone imbalance increase breast cancer risk?

We had a FANTASTIC conversation with Dr. Eldred Taylor on Thursday night!

Dr. Taylor covered a vast amount of information related to breast cancer and hormones and answered a significant number of listener questions. Here are a few of the questions covered:

Why do doctors continue prescribing a medication if research has shown negative results?
If mammograms are not the best way to detect breast cancer, what is?
What is…

Continue

Added by Cynthia Shelby-Lane, MD on October 29, 2010 at 2:20pm — No Comments

Breast Cancer and Hormones: The Big Debate

Tonight we'll be speaking with Dr. Eldred Taylor to discuss "Breast Cancer & Hormones: The Big Debate." There's still time to register and the replay will be available 96 hours after the call!

When: Thursday, October 28, 2010

Time: 8 PM eastern until 9:30 PM eastern (www.time.gov)

Host: Cynthia Shelby-Lane, MD

Special Guest: Dr. Eldred… Continue

Added by Cynthia Shelby-Lane, MD on October 28, 2010 at 3:06pm — No Comments

New Finding May Aid Alzheimer’s Treatment Options

A protein recently found in the brain -- gamma secretase activating protein or GSAP -- increases the production of beta-amyloid, the presumed culprit in Alzheimer’s disease. In a mouse model, reducing GSAP led to reduced beta-amyloid disposition. This prompts in turn the appealing notion that a drug could be found to inhibit GSAP and thereby forestall or prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Imatinib (Gleevec, used to treat chronic myelocytic leukemia or CML) does inhibit GSAP… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on October 26, 2010 at 1:05pm — No Comments

The Implications of Chronic Disease

I have written frequently about the importance of chronic illnesses. Most of us are just not aware that their incidence is rising - and rapidly. We tend to think instead about acute illnesses and injury but chronic illnesses are now not only common but last a lifetime once developed and are inherently expensive to treat. On top of that there are enormous losses in quality of life, personal productivity and economic impact on the individual and society.

The Milken Institute quantified some… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on October 19, 2010 at 2:57pm — No Comments

Encapsulated Pig Islet Cells For Diabetes Type 1 – A Trial

Here is a follow-up to the post on islet cell xenotransplantation for type 1 diabetes mellitus. A group in New Zealand has been studying the use of islet cells derived from pigs which have not been genetically modified. The cells are encapsulated to protect them from immune cells. The company reports that they are self regulating (meaning that they will produce insulin as needed based on the body’s blood sugar levels) and efficient at secreting the insulin produced into the patient’s body. The… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on October 15, 2010 at 5:40pm — No Comments

RE: Follow-Up On your reporting on Day 01 Telemedicine Association

There is more questions that come to mind from your reporting of Day 01 at Baltimore. You had some "big names' no doubt, but your reporting does not create opportunities for sepecific topics relating to the challanges on hand on "telemedicine' innovations via PPP, as required by SP Grants now on table.

Not sure what to do with your reporting, how even to enjoy what you just reported on Day 01.

How do we follow up from Day 1 ?

comments for…

Continue

Added by Avi Dey on September 29, 2010 at 5:40pm — No Comments

Content: Day 1 ATA (American Telemedicine Association) Mid-Year Meeting ... Priceless!

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ... Charles Darwin

Colleagues,

In the continuing quest to bring you the 3Cs of "Content, Community and Collaboration", I offer you a summation of… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on September 28, 2010 at 7:52am — 5 Comments

More on Transplanted Pig Organs – Xenotransplantation

Although xenotransplantation has not progressed far enough to allow transplanting a pig organ to a human, there are other exciting opportunities in the works for xenotransplantation in the not to distant future.

Individuals that develop liver failure often die before a suitable donor can be found or before the damaged liver can heal on its own. There is no artificial liver comparable to the dialysis machine for kidney failure. But using a specially develop pig liver outside the body… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on September 27, 2010 at 4:52pm — No Comments

Health + IT Innovation Key Topics ?

“Genes to future medicine” is a key health innovation topic that has now come of age and ready for technology development while basic research will continue at university & government labs. What are the top 10 topics that increasingly provide opportunities for tech savvy technology innovators both in business & other sectors of our knowledge economy? We can develop the top 20 “Health+IT” topic lists for discussion with an expert guest and moderator for benefit of all who are interested… Continue

Added by Avi Dey on September 23, 2010 at 11:42am — No Comments

Transplanted Organs From A Pig?

There are many more individuals with end stage kidney failure, heart failure, chronic lung disease, or liver failure who would benefit from a transplanted kidney, heart, lung or liver than are available. Similarly, there are many people with unstable, difficult to control diabetes that could benefit from a ready source of pancreatic insulin-producing islet cells.

Today the only option for more organs available for transplant is to encourage more individuals to pre-certify their… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on September 22, 2010 at 11:03am — No Comments

Thought Controlled Artificial Limbs

I wrote about the possibility of brain-controlled artificial limbs in “The Future of Medicine” but now there has been real progress. At Johns Hopkins Applied Physics laboratory, scientists have progressed with their design of an artificial limb that will have a brain controlled interface. The model came about through a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which has been looking for a prosthetic arm that would be many leagues… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on September 14, 2010 at 4:10pm — No Comments

Real-Time Medical Video Website Uses Identity Verification to Verify Its Members and Combat Fraud

Brandon Winchester, MD, anesthesiologist at Duke University School of Medicine, set out to accomplish the unprecedented in medical education when he and his colleague, Stuart Grant, MB ChB founded DOCSTREAM Inc. The company's proprietary product, DOCSTREAM.COM provides clinicians with a web-based community to upload or watch live or on-demand videos of medical procedures. Because the site is only for medical professionals, the company has incorporated IDology's identity verification solutions… Continue

Added by Jodi Florence on September 14, 2010 at 1:29pm — No Comments

Are Physicians Knights, Knaves or Pawns?

An interesting article in JAMA [Sept 1, 2010] by Drs. Jain and Cassel referred to the British economist Julian Le Grand who suggested that public policy “is grounded in a conception of humans as knights, knaves or pawns.” Basically, are we motivated by virtue, by self interest or are we just passive victims? The authors suggest that this is a good question not only for physicians to contemplate but for our politicians and the general public to consider as well along with the implications of the… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on September 13, 2010 at 10:24am — No Comments

Remote Presence Technology in Haiti

"We want to bring technical expertise and medical knowledge in a way that's ongoing," said Dr. Lockhart.

http://cbs5.com/local/robot.haiti.victims.2.1856594.html

Added by Jon Putman on August 23, 2010 at 1:05am — No Comments

Medical Relief in Haiti

Months later US doctors still providing medical relief in Haiti. "It's still a fairly dire situation. It's just that it's fallen from the public's attention," said Sutter Health anesthesiologist Dr. Stephen Lockhart.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/24602920/detail.html

Added by Jon Putman on August 23, 2010 at 12:38am — No Comments

10 Trends to Watch That Will Affect Your Business ... McKinsey Quarterly

Colleagues,

SourceLink: McKinsey Quarterly

Every so often, a combination of trends intersect that require us to re-examine and re-evaluate our business strategies. I think we are in one of those times. Particularly, as it relates to advances in medical technology. However, these… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on August 22, 2010 at 3:45pm — No Comments