And Rohack, president-elect of the American Medical Association, would like to change that.

Rohack, in Jacksonville to give the keynote address at a medical forum, said he envisions doctors being paid more for the initial consultation with a new patient.

That would give him time not only to diagnose developing problem areas – high cholesterol or sugar levels, for example – but also to explain the potential consequences and work out a plan to avoid them.

Read more of this article from The Florida-Times Union, Opinion page.

– Gordon Moore, MD and Arun Mohan, MD
Professors at Harvard Medical School

Read more of this article from The Health Care Blog.

Watch this CBS report from Saint Paul, MN.

Related Article: Mayo turns to social media to reach out to potential
(April 29, 2009 Star Tribune)

“The advantage of Twitter is that you’re reaching out to individuals and communities with which you are not linked to yet,” said Endocrinologist Dr. Victor Montori.

In Mayo’s Center for Innovation, designers are exploring the potential of Twitter for communication between thousands of employees and patients.

The medical giant is also holding regular ‘Tweet Camps’ to teach their staff about the website.

Montori is a new Twitter-er, but he’s swiftly adapting this powerful tool to his practice.

Tomorrow, Montori is planning a ‘Tweetchat’ with patients, physicians, and anyone from around the world interested in the results of his latest research paper on diabetes treatment.

The Mayo Clinic hosted its second “Tweetcamp” on Thursday, April 23, 2009 to provide training for Mayo Clinic staff — and for others outside Mayo via Web cast, in how to use Twitter productively in health care. The course also will explore innovative applications for Twitter in health care, including upcoming examples such as Dr. Victor Montori’s April 27 Twitter discussion of his recent research paper on diabetes treatment, and Mayo Clinic’s National Symposium on Medical and Health Care Education Reform.

People from outside Mayo Clinic will be able to participated via the Web cast and Twitter, by following the #tweetcamp2 hashtag.

The convergence of biology and engineering is turning health care into an information industry. That will be disruptive, says Vijay Vaitheeswaran, but also hugely beneficial to patients

Listen to Vijay Vaitheeswaran’s interview.

INNOVATION and medicine go together. The ancient Egyptians are thought to have performed surgery back in 2750BC, and the Romans developed medical tools such as forceps and surgical needles. In modern times medicine has been transformed by waves of discovery that have brought marvels like antibiotics, vaccines and heart stents.

Read more of this article from The Economist, print edition.

Breaking into the health-care industry can be daunting. Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and patients speak different languages and have vastly different needs.

But more than $19 billion in stimulus money intended to revamp the nation’s health system has piqued the interest of some local tech companies that have in the past shied away from the complex industry. And for companies with expertise in the business, stimulus dollars mean new opportunities.

“Health care is thought to be a safer place right now because more money is coming from the government, and it’s not really something anyone can cut back on,” said Michael Slage of Arlington, founder of HealthEngage, a firm that develops applications that help patients manage conditions such as diabetes and asthma. “Everyone senses that there’s all this money out there.”

Read more of this article from The Washington Post.

From 33 Charts Blog

So the other night I was contemplating my dilemma about switching from Typepad to WordPress. I floated the question out on Twitter and received within 10 minutes about 13 responses (via feed and DM) on what I should do. Most of these responses were from smart folks who know more than I do. Not all agreed but the majority offered similar advice. There was some consensus on how I might approach the situation.

Why don’t doctors do this? There are 60,000 Fellows in the American Academy of Pediatrics, for example. Assuming all maintained Twitter accounts, at any given time there would be a boatload of babydocs available for dialogue. Then consider the case of a solo doc the Texas Panhandle who finds himself with a simple dilemma or question that needs immediate feedback. Depending on the human filter tailored by that pediatrician, consensus would be close at hand.

Doctors should be crowdsourcing. And crowdsourcing for our benefit and the benefit our patients, not as a Pharma-fueled vehicle for monetization. Given microblog space limitations and the obvious concerns of patient privacy, this platform would work for simple, direct questions that don’t disclose unique patient information.

Why wait? If every pediatrician in the AAP jumped in today we could give it a dry run.

“I twitter because I’m…I’m.. oh, I forget why.” (Credit: CC Arteunporro/Flickr)

By Chris Matyszczyk, cnet

Facebook and Twitter users have wrinkles, torn hamstrings, and many, many fillings. And increasingly, they’re beginning to complain about chillblains, varicose veins, and the Social Security system.

In just the last two months, the number of Facebook members over 35 has doubled. And the biggest demographic grouping isn’t 12 to 18. It’s 35 to 44.

ComScore also reported this week that 10 percent of Twitter users are between 55 and 64. That’s the same percentage as are between 18 and 24. In fact, the majority of Twitter users are 35 or older.

Read more of this article from cnet.

Ford Professor of Engineering Harry Asada models the wearable blood pressure monitor. Photo / Donna Coveney.

Device could help diagnose hypertension, heart disease
By Anne Trafton, MIT News Office.

High blood pressure is a common risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms, so diagnosing and monitoring it are critically important. However, getting reliable blood pressure readings is not always easy.

Visits to the doctor’s office can provoke anxiety that distorts blood pressure readings, and even when accurate, such visits provide only one-time snapshots of the patient’s condition. To overcome these obstacles, MIT engineers have built a wearable blood pressure sensor that can provide continuous, 24-hour monitoring.

Blood pressure can change from minute to minute, so continuous monitoring offers a much broader picture of cardiovascular health. The new monitor, which loops around the wrist and the index finger, is just as accurate as traditional cuff devices but much less cumbersome, allowing it to be worn for hours or days at a time.

Read more of this article from MIT News Office.

By Marguerite Reardon, cnet

Companies in the wireless industry hope they can jump on the stimulus spending gravy-train as hospitals and other medical facilities seek money from the government’s economic stimulus package.

Wireless in the health care industry was a big highlight at last week’s CTIA Wireless 2009 trade show in Las Vegas, where Dr. Eric Topol, chief academic officer of Scripps Health, gave a speech and demonstrated how wireless operations can benefit health care.

And this week, many wireless companies and several other big technology companies are gathering in Chicago at a health care technology trade show. Several companies such as Dell, Cisco Systems, and Google have made announcements at the conference touting new initiatives or products in the health care sector.

Read more of this article from cnet.

BACKGROUND: The Internet, created and maintained in part by third-party apomediation, has become a dynamic resource for living with a chronic disease. Modern management of type 1 diabetes requires continuous support and problem-based learning, but few pediatric clinics offer Web 2.0 resources to patients as part of routine diabetes care.

OBJECTIVES: To explore pediatric practitioners’ attitudes towards the introduction of a local Web portal for providing young type 1 diabetes patients with interactive pedagogic devices, social networking tools, and locally produced self-care and treatment information. Opportunities and barriers related to the introduction of such systems into clinical practice were sought.

Read more of this article from NBCI, By Nordqvist C, Hanberger L, Timpka T, Nordfeldt S.