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This news article is about the director of the MA Health Connector appearing before a congressional health panel to discuss the problems that the state's insurance website has encountered during its launch using the same vendor who worked on federal counterpart website (healthcare.gov).  For those of us who've been following the roll out of the new Healthcare Act, there has been so much focus on how much the federal government "fumbled" on the healthcare.gov website launched, seems like some of the same issues encountered on the state level were overshadowed.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple is planning on launching its very own health wearable device dubbed as the iWatch. After Nike's failed attempt at developing a wearable that would/could be fully embraced by consumers, there are reports that Nike has scrapped further plans of developing its Fuelband but instead will focus on how its own products can be integrated with the iWatch. Wearables are slowly gaining popularity and for those of us who have been waiting for a wearable that captures more metrics than the ones currently out in the market, this article confirms that there are better ones being developed.

This article talks about the FDA providing guidelines to developers of mobile apps that can potentially carry more than minimal risks for its end users. App examples provided on the article include those that can diagnose arrhythmia or mobile devices that can be utilized as an ultrasound.  I think this article would be a good read for anyone who have purchased any health/medical related up on Google Play or the iTunes store.  It's good to know that the FDA recognizes the importance of putting some regulations in place in terms of these apps knowing that some individuals have a tendency of doing self-diagnosis using these apps prior to paying their doctors a visit.  

Article speaks of how a (CFTAH) unit could replace a (TAH) unit for patients waiting for a heart transplant!

This article talks about mobile meditation apps that are slowly growing in popularity despite no hard evidence of its (positive) effects.  These mobile apps have been especially helpful to those who would like to do their meditation "on-the-go."  I believe that despite these apps' immeasurable effects, if people think that it helps them reduce their overall stress level, it seems to me that they're doing more good than harm.

This article talks about recent rumors that Apple is on the verge of releasing its very own body-monitoring app, Healthbook.  The app is designed to track things such as heart rate, weight, physical movements, and etc.  For those of us who've purchased other body-monitoring apps by third party developers on our iPhones, this new Apple-developed app provides us with another option.

Ram Dantu, a professor of engineering and computer science from the University of North Texas, along with his colleagues have deveoped a suite of mobile applications that can help people on the scene talking to 911 operators.  One app is for CPR, the other for detecting the heartbeat, and the other is access to the phones camera by the 911 operator.  The team is waiting for FDA's approval to market the apps.  This article is useful to anyone and everyone who might find themselves in a middle of an emergency, communicating with a 911 operator and wanting to give more accurate information regarding the emergency at hand.

The CDC is getting some help from Wikipedia as far as tracking and predicting flu outbreaks.  The algorithm that two researchers from Boston Children's Hospital, David J. McIver and John S. Brownstein, is based on the number of views of flu-related articles on Wikipedia.  This algorithm is said to have cut down the time it currently takes the CDC to track and predict flu outbreaks.  The algorithm was developed by analyzing view data from late 2007 through the middle of August 2013.  Given the number of people affected by flu year after year, I think that this article is relevant and should interest everyone.

The word addiction can possibly scare everyone away from reading this great article. I felt this is good for everyone, unless you don't use social media at all, but if you are thinking about, then it is for you too. Amid the controversy surrounding social media, I wondered if there existed any practical advice out there to help people who have problems controlling their use of it. Many of us are aware of its problems and have seen documentaries about it, but I have rarely come across information on the internet offering sensible solutions that people can try. This may even be useful to people like myself, those who don't consider themselves addicted! In any case, this article offers practical advice such as: 1. Admit that you have a problem. (I would say if you don't think you have a problem, at least admit that you don't want to get one!) 2. Track the time use 3. Cut back on the number of media platforms you use if you have to 4. Assign your usage time 5. Avoid temptation. Based on many studies and polls (i.e. The Jed Foundation) they found that 90% of college students used a social networking site within the last week. We know that social media can impact us emotionally and impact our grades to rob us from the benefits of the material we study. This article gives us the simple tools to help whether you are addicted or not! The only bad about this article is that they use the word addition which could scare people away. What I appreciated most about this article is that it's suggestions are easy, doable, and do not only apply to addicts.

After having knee surgery several years ago, which thanks to robotic technology and cameras, was a very successful experience. My physician, an Orthopaedical Surgeon and a sports doctor, had a conversation with me about exercise. He suggested that running wasn't the best exercise for knee health. Because many of his patients were injured, they often needed to change what exercise orientation. He shared with me about some benefits of wearable devices. I had a meniscus tear in my knee that required surgery, so decided to become a bike rider instead of a runner. Impressed with the technology involved in my operation, I began to checkout wearable devices and purchased one. Do to my positive experience, I found this article to be very informative about this technology and its health benefits. The article focuses on "accelerometers", which captures a lot of physical data about your movement from sitting, standing, walking, etc. This is so important because you are capturing pertinent data about your health that can be reviewed by you and your doctor or therapist. The article exposes that in the past, researchers relied on questionnaires that we know contained many inaccuracies. The article explains the great potential accelerometers can offer that can allow us to relegate and optimize our activities for our personal health. For example, we can maintain a certain heart rate as we exercise to monitor the calories we are burning and to select a mode of exercise. Should I run, ride a bike, take tai chi, or swim? Is tennis better? Each form of exercise involves a different impact on our bodies. With an accelerometer, this is no longer subjective and this article exposes its many uses. We can now capture and use empirical data to decide which exercise is best for us!

A great resource for any birth professional or medical provider working with people in their reproductive years. In a time when there is great emphasis on ART and other more invasive birth and fertility procedures, its critical to balance that with human connection and expanding the conversation to include public health and reproductive justice. This site was created by midwives with a focus on serving gender non-conforming and LGBTI communities.

Great article on how the Cuban population prevents illness so that they don't have to cure it. Healthcare in Cuba is free and even written in their constitution. Each citizen is given an annual health check up and ones who are not as healthy are seen more frequently. They teach their citizens how to be healthy so they don't get health-related diseases. Smart system and I think it should be integrated in other countries as well.

I love this post and thank you. So many to learn from. Cuba has always been on my list to visit!

The CMS website provides information as it pertains to the new Sunshine Act that went into effect in 2013. The law requires certain industries to report payments made to physicians and encourage transparency. Data gathered by the CMS will be published on the website and can be accessed by the public.

Explains the effects of technology on our physical health & what has changed over the years to make us less healthy than other generations.

This is a must have link for anyone in the Healthcare Information Technologies field. The topics of the articles cover the full breath of Healthcare and influence on IT process, procedures, trends and best practices. There is also a great deal of opportunities to sit in on topic specific webinars.

Eat more oranges! Nice article on health & business. The real secret to the company's success isn't as much about dissecting the relationship between fat and carbs and protein as it is understanding the links between nutrition, weight gain, and psychology. Not everyone needs a weekly meeting to lose weight, but for many the commiseration and general back-slapping helps. That's been the Weight Watchers formula from day one. And for now, it seems to be working better than ever. Profits are up. Pounds are down

Manufactured Drugs - Beta Blockers help to treat several different types of Heart disease, including the disease I have called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Times are changing right before our eyes. Think Fitbits are all the rage? How about a pair of contact lenses that can track your blood sugar level? Google is working on it right now! A new world of "wearables" is on its way and they are looking to do far more than simply record and aggregate our behaviors. Check out this article for more detail.

A team of students from the University of Central Florida (one of them is a coworker of mine) have developed a way to make robotic arms for kids using 3D printers