PeRSSonalized Medicine: Polish Social Media Resources June 14, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, PeRSSonalized Medicine, Web 2.0, Webicina.add a comment
I launched PeRSSonalized Medicine to help patients and doctors keep themselves up-to-date easily, without any kind of IT knowledge. It is an easy-to-use, free medical information aggregator that lets you select your favourite resources and read the latest news about a medical specialty or condition in one personalized place. We already have 9 national versions.
And now the Polish version is launched! It does not only mean the platform is in Polish, but the resources are also the best ones in that language. Please let us know if you want to see PeRSSonalized Medicine in your language.
Many thanks to Ewa Joanna Dobrogowska-Schlebusch who works in the Medical Library in Kraków and Dr. Grzegorz Chodkowski for the translation and the selection of quality Polish resources.
Some reasons why PeRSSonalized Medicine is unique:
- You can search in the database. It means you will find medical information only from a quality selected portion of the world wide web.
- You can personalize any of the sections.
- You can also receive the newest Pubmed articles focusing on your search term. Just insert your field of interest, a therapy, a condition, etc. and click Search. Then you can add the newly created box to your personalized medical “journal”.
- It is a community-based project. Please let us know which quality resources should be added to the database.
Health 2.0 News: Anonimity, Virtuality and Crisis Communication June 11, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Cancer, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Ted Talks, Video, Virtuality, Web 2.0.2 comments
- Clinical Trials and YouTube (Eye on FDA)
- Medical compliance from a patient perspective (Kevin, MD)
…He relates a problem of a chemo patient, a “difficult stick” for the needle people, who asked for the special IV team, who can handle difficult cases. She was told no, and got hurt. Paul asked the team to come up with a better approach. The team will now flag such patients in the system, and he asked them to convene some patients for a further discussion.
- Christopher “moot” Poole: The case for anonymity online:
- Cancer Information On Wikipedia Is Accurate, But Not Very Readable (Medical News Today)
“There are a vast number of web sites where patients can obtain cancer information,” Dr. Lawrence said. “The purpose of this study was to answer one question: Is the cancer information on Wikipedia correct? Reassuringly, we found that errors were extremely rare on Wikipedia. But the way information was presented on PDQ is more patient-friendly.”
- From Twitter to Megaphones: Nine Lessons Learned about Crisis Communication (The Health Care Blog): Lisa Gualtieri shines again.
- Quick, Cheap, and Easy EMR Now Available via Dell (Medgadget): Dell and Practice Fusion together provides cheap EMR solutions.
- Top social media sites in academia 2.0 (The Search Principle Blog): Add your own favourites.
- How Augmented Reality Helps Doctors Save Lives (Read Write Web):
In one example, this form of surgery is aided with the use of AR imagery of a brain superimposed onto the patient’s head, giving the doctor a more tangible visualization. Another example involves being able to visualize a patient’s spine in order to more accurately place a spinal tap, or other spinal injection.
From Twitter to the Treatment June 10, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, twitter, Video, Web 2.0.add a comment
I use Erin Turner’s story as an example in my presentations when I talk about how e-patients utilize the opportunities provided by social media. Now here is the whole story on video:
(Hat Tip: Clinical Cases and Images)
Arthritis and Web 2.0 June 10, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in e-patient, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, PeRSSonalized Medicine, Web 2.0, Webicina.2 comments
The number of arthritis-related blogs, podcasts, mobile apps, community sites and Twitter users is growing, but Webicina.com, the first medical social media guidance service, helps you find the most relevant resources in the new Arthritis in Social Media collection.
If you also want to follow easily these selected social media resources focusing on arthritis, arthralgia or rheumatoid arthritis, among others, in a personalized way, here is PeRSSonalized Arthritis.
Evidence-Based Social Media: Wii, Google Trends and Wave June 9, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, science, Web 2.0.6 comments
Last week, I started a series on evidence-based social media in which I share peer-reviewed articles that focus on using social media in medicine or healthcare.
The key words used as well as the number and geographic location of searches can provide trend data, as have recently been made available by Google Trends. We report briefly on exploring this resource using Lyme disease as an example because it has well-described seasonal and geographic patterns.
We aimed to explore patients’ and parents’ attitudes toward a local Web 2.0 portal tailored to young patients with type 1 diabetes and their parents, with social networking tools such as message boards and blogs, locally produced self-care and treatment information, and interactive pedagogic devices. Opportunities and obstacles to the implementation of Web 2.0 applications in clinical practice were sought.
In this pilot, randomized, single-blinded clinical trial with 2 parallel groups involving stroke patients within 2 months, we compared the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of virtual reality using the Nintendo Wii gaming system (VRWii) versus recreational therapy (playing cards, bingo, or “Jenga”) among those receiving standard rehabilitation to evaluate arm motor improvement.
No doubt that Google always ”finds” something and sometimes it is the only way, or it retrieves real pearls but where does it search? How can a researcher refine or limit the search? That is why we’ll explore some Google features not so widely known, and other search engines with useful devices to perform a more efficient search in the biomedical field.
Buzzy Pain Relief for Children June 9, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Invention, Medicine, Video.add a comment
Here is Buzzy, a reusable pain relief device, developed by a pediatrician. It works based on the gate control theory of pain.
Buzzy is a newly developed reusable pain relief device that children can bring to the doctor’s office with them to help dull the pain of shots! As the brainchild of Pediatrician Amy Baxter, Buzzy rapidly reduces pain when pressed onto the skin. Buzzy is especially helpful for children who receive shots often, like those suffering from Diabetes. Buzzy can also be used for the small things, like taking splinters out!
Not only is Buzzy a kid-favorite, but it’s safe, effective immediately on contact, FDA compliant, and environmentally friendly too.
Here are a few examples how it works:
Personalized Genomics News: From Virtuality to the Streets June 8, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in 1000$ Genome, 23andMe, DNA, e-patient, Genetic screening, Genetic testing, genetics, Genome, Medicine, Personalized medicine, Video.add a comment
- DNA As Crystal Ball: Buyer Beware (Newsweek): A genome-wide association study identified a new gene variant associated with Alzheimer’s disease but it turned out clinically it’s not useful.
“Adding these genes to traditional risk factors, such as age and sex, does nothing to aid prediction” of whether someone will develop Alzheimer’s, she told me. “Knowing your genetic status will not help. We may still be in the Stone Age when it comes to gene-based prediction.”
- Breaking: Congress to Investigate DTC Genetic Testing (Genomics Law Report): A really detailed and interesting review.
The United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce today launched an investigation into direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing, sending letters to three prominent DTC companies: 23andMe, Pathway Genomics and Navigenics.
- Technology to Print Ingredients Onto Pharma Tablets (Medgadget): Printing of pharmaceutical ingredients directly onto tablets is becoming a reality.
- 23andme: A detailed review of the data the blogger just received from 23andMe.
- Family Spends $200,000 To Have Their Entire Genome Mapped (The Medical Quack)
The family said they received no medical counseling here and are making their own conclusions. One comment made is that the parents stated they will probably be using more pharmaceuticals, interesting.
A patient analyzes her own 23andMe data:
- Sequencing your genome just got cheaper (Genetic Future): The $1000 era is coming fast…
The Future of Data June 8, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Computer, Data, eHealth, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Video, Visualization.7 comments
FlowingData, one of my favourite blogs, just featured an entry focusing on how data will be organized in the future.
If there’s anything uniform across all the ideas, it’s ubiquity. In the future, computers won’t feel like computers, and data will not just flow alongside the physical world. Instead, data will intertwine with your day-to-day like threads in a fabric.
They come up with many examples, but I liked this one below the most. Imagine a totally transparent healthcare system in which you see all the relevant data about doctors, procedures, hospitals (success rates, costs), etc. You can really make a wise decision because you will know all the details and data you need.
Microsoft envisioned what 2019 would look like:
And here is a great talk from Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler who presents g-speak – the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface.
23andMe swapped samples! June 7, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in 23andMe, Genetic testing, genetics, Medicine, Web 2.0.4 comments
What we were all afraid of finally happened. 23andMe admitted that it swapped some samples in the lab. Even if these things happen in labs, it should really not happen in such a sensitive area. We, bloggers and geneticians, have been writing about how hard it is for patients to analyze and interprete their direct-to-consumer genetic results properly and how hard it is for this market to remain attractive despite all the criticisms. And now they swap samples. Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future has a nice review about all the related articles and news.
For example, a mother posted her recent story on the 23andMe community:
Still upset I checked family inheritance and noticed my daughter shared with me, and then I checked my son’s. He was not a match for any of us. I checked his haplogroup’s and they were different from ours. I started screaming. A month before my son was born two local hospitals had baby switches. I panicked and I checked over and over. My kid’s were sitting at the computer because we all wanted to see the results. My son laughed but he looked upset. I called my sister in tears.
Here is the full 23andMe announcement:
We recently determined that a number of new 23andMe customer samples were incorrectly processed by our contracted lab. We want to clarify what happened with the sample errors, how it happened and what we’re doing to prevent it from happening again. Providing each and every one of our customers with accurate data is 23andMe’s number one priority, and we fully realize the gravity of this incident.
Up to 96 customers may have received and viewed data that was not their own. Upon learning of the mix-ups, we immediately identified all customers potentially affected, notified them of the problem and removed the data from their accounts. The lab is now concurrently conducting an investigation and re-processing the samples of the affected customers and their accurate results will be posted early next week. We expect the investigation will be complete over the next several days and we will provide further details when we have them.
We are currently putting additional procedures in place that will add an extra layer of safeguards to help assure that similar incidents do not occur in the future. We are deliberating on a process that would include removing manual steps at the lab, completely automating the sample analyses, and implementing further checks of the data before it gets loaded into customer accounts. Please be assured that our testing laboratory’s processes comply with strict professional, regulatory, and corporate quality assurance standards for ensuring that all laboratory test results are accurate. The laboratory will adopt corrective action as warranted based on the findings of the investigation.
The science behind 23andMe’s personal genetics service remains proven and sound. We recognize that this is a very serious issue and your trust is of the utmost importance. We hope that this helps clarify what has happened and what we are doing to prevent these problems in the future. Please contact me at khomenko@23andme.com if you have any further questions. We appreciate your comments and feedback.
I cannot wait to hear what you have to say, Steve!
