Cakehealth's Open Enrollment Cheat Sheet [INFOGRAPHIC]

Sunlight Foundation introduces iPhone mobile app for searching healthcare facilities and supplies

A mobile app that collects data on various healthcare providers and suppliers was released by Sunlight Foundation – a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose primary advocacy is government transparency. The new mobile app, which is available on the iPhone, is called the “Sunlight Health” and enables patients and their families make informed decisions in regards to their options on healthcare services and prescription drugs.

Through the app, consumers can view government ratings on various hospitals and nursing homes. They can also search nearby stores that offer medical supplies and prescription drugs. Essentially, the app categorizes data provided by nonprofit and government institutions into categories namely healthcare facilities, suppliers of medical equipment, and sellers of prescription drugs.

Using the smartphone’s geo-location functionality or by indicating a zip code, users of the app can easily find different medical facilities including home healthcare providers, dialysis centers, nursing homes, and hospitals within the area.

The app makes use of the database of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s Services (CMS) Hospital Compare database in order for users to view ratings for those facilities, important details pertaining to the quality of care and other patient services, and the type of coverage provided for Medicare and Medicaid recipients in the facility.

In finding suppliers, the user simply enters the zip code and the app can find the different sellers of common home medical supplies in that area. The information likewise comes from CMS’ Hospital Compare database.

Users can research information about prescription drugs with the use of Consumer Reports’ Best Buy Drugs ratings project. All you need is to search for the class or name of the drug and the app will provide a price comparison between the brand and its generic version, if there is any. It also provides more details on its drug class as well as other chemicals that belong in that drug class.

The organization has developed mobile apps in the past that monitors politicians. Users can download the app for free at the Apple’s iTunes store or in Google’s Android Market.

University of Michigan Medical School releases iPhone app for prospective medical students

Prospective medical school students of the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) can now turn to the free mobile application M.D. Stat+ in checking their admission status. With its collaboration with the Applications Development, Enabling Technologies, and Marketing offices, the medical school’s admissions office was able to create the mobile app that works to meet the needs of their prospective students.

The app, now available for iPhones, makes it possible to prospective as well as admitted students of the UMMS to view useful details on the current application process for the medical school. The app also provides links to relevant social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter as well as several medical student blogs. It gives applicants the ability to review the UMMS application process and provides details on incoming medical student class including demographic, academic, and other information.

After downloading the app, the user logs in and instantly he sees important status updates like the status of their application and whether or not it has been received, any interview offers, or confirmation if they have been admitted. If there is a change in their status, a badge will show up on the iPhone icon. Other features of the M.D.Stat+ include University of Michigan’s social media channel links and latest admissions stats.

Robert F. Ruiz, UMMS director of admissions, recognized the importance of continuously assessing the needs of the medical school’s applicants by having those needs always at the top of their priorities.  He also acknowledges the stress involved in applying for medical school that is why UMMS wants to promote a process that is transparent as possible.

In 2010, UMMS had over 5,200 applications but only interviewed just 700 applicants. That resulted to an incoming class of merely 170 students.  For this year, interviews began on August 19 and will continue until January 2012.  A rolling admissions process is set to begin on the midnight of October 15.

Although the app is available via iPhones and Android, it has a mobile-friendly site – https://www.umms.med.umich.edu/mdstat/  – that is accessible via any smartphone’s web browser.

CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 50th edition now on iPhone, iPad, and iPhone Touch

Regarded as the world’s most popular annual general medicine reference, the CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment (CMDT) is now the latest medical reference book to take advantage of the mobile applications technology. Publisher McGraw-Hill and app developer Mobile Systems have teamed up for the release of CMDT’s 50th edition on the iPhone, iPad, and iPhone Touch.

The mobile version is designed to provide quick access to important patient care information anywhere. The app comes with a searchable index, categories for easy reference, hyperlinks between words and articles, and bookmarks for later reading. Physicians are able to personally read evidence provided by journal articles – that support a treatment recommendation for a particular condition. The application itself, however, is not able to link directly to the articles.

Medical practitioners are able to benefit with the information that focuses on different options for diagnosis and treatment for various diseases. The app places a lot of importance on detail as it covers important clinical aspects for any kind of condition and these are strongly supported with evidence based resources. Navigation is generally easy although the hefty price of $74.99 is seen as the only drawback as this could make most healthcare professionals rethink of purchasing one.

CMDT is written by various clinicians that are experts in their respective fields. It offers the latest insight into the epidemiology, signs, symptoms, and treatment for over a thousand disorders and diseases. The topic offers concise answers to questions regarding ambulatory and hospital medicine.

More and more reference books are now tapping the electronic format to provide fast and easy way to keep abreast with the most up-to-date medical advances, cost-effective treatments, and prevention strategies, to name a few. 

Institute for Health Technology Transformation's Seattle Summit tackles issues on mHealth

In the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (IHTT) summit in Seattle, among the issues discussed include how to accelerate adoption of mobile health projects, cloud computing, improving clinical outcomes using mobile health strategies, and the classifying mobile health as a disruptive innovation.

The two-day conference on August 15 and 16 titled “Unleashing the Power of mHealth and Telemedicine” became a get-together for over a hundred healthcare executives throughout the nation.

Some of the resource persons spoke about the challenges in the next few years for the mobile health industry in terms of innovation. Bill Spooner, CEO of Sharp Healthcare – a San Diego-based not-for-profit integrated regional health care delivery system – pointed out some of the factors that could slow down innovation like the change-over from ICD-9 to ICD-10 and the need to prove its significant use.

Some sectors are already looking at mHealth as a disruptive technology – creating a new market and value chain using existing technologies that are used in new forms and processes. Amnon Gavish, Vidyo’s senior vice president of vertical solutions, referred to the time when the phone became more than a tool to make calls as the watershed in the cycle of innovation.

According to mHealth Initiative’s Claudia Tessier, the changes in the mobile healthcare technology are spurred by the needs of patients and physicians whose demand for new uses of their mobile devices have kept healthcare institutions up to date. That is the same sentiment given by Petra Knowles, PeaceHealth Southwest’s VP and chief information officer, saying that the exciting new changes in mobile healthcare has been pushed by the demand of users and patients.

There was also a discussion on the various telehealth strategies and sustainable business models. Some argue that by adopting technology simply because it is available does not guarantee success.

The topic on federal regulation of the industry was also tackled on the heels of the newly released FDA regulations on a number of mobile medical apps. vRAD’s Rick Jennings thinks that the regulators are just starting to keep up with the rapid change brought by the explosion in the popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and they are acting quickly in order to regulate the industry.