iDoo, Your Personal Mobile Trainer is Looking for Beta Testers! May 23, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Mobile, Sport, Video, Web 2.0.1 comment so far
iDoo that I came across at the recent Smartmobil conference aims to become a mobilized personal trainer who even measures your performance. In order to reach this goal, the developers are looking for beta testers. It looks great and I hope a lot of people will sign up through the link below.
iDoo gives you the flexibility to perform the perfect training, anywhere, anytime. The app is based on a patent pending algorithm that uses several sensors of the smartphone to compare the movement of the user with the perfect motion desired by the exercise. The app features several exercises, targeting different muscles and body parts.
We are looking for testers to try out the first 15 warm-up exercises! Apply for the test following the link here, and be among the first users to try this revolutionary fitness app ever.
Prognosis for Moms iPad app May 22, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Mobile, Web 2.0.1 comment so far
Prognosis has been one of my favorite Android apps as it helps me keep myself up-to-date whenever I have to stand in a line somewhere. It lets me read patient cases and solve them. The developers just let me know their newest app, Prognosis for Moms for iPads is out! It was designed for pregnant women to help them know more about potential pregnancy-related issues.
Pregnancy is a joyous occasion but the road is not always smooth. A variety of medical conditions can occur along the way – which are all too easily missed.
Prognosis for Moms gives you an in-depth understanding of these issues, via real-world stories presented in a cartoon format.
Mayo Clinic Releases Patient Mobile App May 17, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Mobile, Web 2.0.1 comment so far
Mayo Clinic proves again that it has the best social media approach among all healthcare institutions worldwide by releasing a new mobile app for its patients.
The Mayo Clinic Patient app is an easy-to-use tool for navigating your visit while at a Mayo Clinic campus. The app also provides community information, including directions to local restaurants, entertainment, and much more.
Some of the features include:
- Access to request an appointment
- Navigation to amenities on the Mayo Clinic campus as well as in the community
- Up-to-date appointment schedule
- 24/7 access to your lab results and medical record
- Notifications regarding important information
- Up-to-date Mayo Clinic news, publications, and videos
Facebook’s Organ Donor Project: Aftermath May 11, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Facebook, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Web 2.0.add a comment
More than a week ago, we all expected something amazing from Facebook as they were about to hold a press conference focusing on a new health-related initiative. Then Facebook announced they would let users mark themselves as organ donors on their own timelines. While it is a nice initiative, I expected much much more from a community site with almost a billion users, to be honest.
“Many of those people — an average of 18 people per day –- will die waiting, because there simply aren’t enough organ donors to meet the need,” Facebook notes in a blog entry explaining the move. “Medical experts believe that broader awareness about organ donation could go a long way toward solving this crisis.”
As the video above explains, designating yourself as an organ donor is easy. All you need to do is go to your Timeline, click on “Life Event” and then “Health & Wellness.” Then, you’ll see the option for “Organ Donor.” At that point, you can add when and where you registered and your personal story.
What about the aftermath, the results?
6000 people registered… Compared to the 1 billion users, we couldn’t say it is a real success. We will see how it evolves. But Facebook must come up with more creative projects.
Exploding head syndrome: From blog post to community May 7, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Blogging, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Web 2.0.add a comment
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about a weird condition, the exploding head syndrome which generated a huge traffic and about 200 comments. Not short ones, but really interesting, detailed, true patient stories from around the world and my post is now 4th in the global ranking of relevant search results.
Exploding head syndrome is a rare condition that causes the sufferer to occasionally experience a tremendously loud noise as if from within his or her own head, usually described as an explosion or a roar. This usually occurs within an hour or two of falling asleep, but is not the result of a dream. Although perceived as tremendously loud, the noise is usually not accompanied by pain.
That’s how a blog post designed for a specialized audience in a special topic can become a real database of relevant information for patients. Real example of the long tail effect.
An excerpt from one of the comments:
I’m not alone and this is such a relief!!! I think we need a Facebook page. I’ve had this off and on for about 15 years – just had one last night and I’m still out of sorts from it. I awaken terrified with my heart pounding from the sound of an enormous BANG in my head. When this happens I wake up clutching my face – often as I awaken I think “I am dead”. Unlike other people though, I do experience a physical sensation on my face – nose and mouth area – like someone has lightly slapped my face.
Like this:
News: From Tweetchats to Moore’s Law in Healthcare May 4, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Web 2.0, What's on the web?.add a comment
A new report by PwC found consumers are increasingly turning to social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to find answers to their healthcare concerns, and that this frequently results in seeking out second opinions for previously diagnosed problems.
- Social Media in Healthcare infographics
Games could be the most important digital health tool of the 21st century and have a highly influential impact on the engagement pharmaceutical companies foster with health care professionals, patients and the public. Yet it is tempting for people to separate them from the ‘serious’ business of work, education and health.
A third of US social media users say it could change the way they think about their medicines, according to a new poll. The findings are part of a new survey which confirms the power of social networking to spread information about health, and influence consumers through authoritative sources and through peers and other online influencers.
Moore’s Law, which is more a rule of thumb than a law, originally applied to computer hardware and the notion that the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The law has been used to describe the speed of advance in a wide range of technologies.
Social Media in a Nutshell for Health Providers April 19, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Interview, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Web 2.0.1 comment so far
Vic Phillips has been publishing interviews about success stories in social media and now he invited me to be his guest. We produced a podcast as I answered some of his questions. Click on the image below to access the podcast.
I have been following Dr. Mesko’s ideas on social media for quite sometime now. Healthcare compared to other industries has been slow to adopt social media. Providers may or may not be comfortable with social media on their own terms. But, when using social media in healthcare settings things become more complex. Healthcare providers cite not having time, not having enough clinical data to justify the benefits, and not trusting technology, as being factors for not being willing to incorporate this tool into clinical practice.
iPads for Heart Patients: Mayo Clinic Rocks Again April 14, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Health, Health 2.0, Healthcare, Hospital, Innovation, Medicine, Video.2 comments
A great initiative coming from Mayo Clinic again:
Being in the hospital after major surgery is no fun. On top of dealing with pain, patients have uncertainty. They also have to worry about getting all the information they need to support their recovery. That’s not always easy in the hospital; things happen quickly and doctors and hospital staff are often really busy. Doctors at Mayo Clinic may have a solution to this issue. They’re giving iPads to heart surgery patients to see if a new iPad app can make hospital stays easier and more satisfying.
