Time Released Drugs

Like millions of Americans, I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in my fingers. An excellent rheumatologist has prescribed various treatments with mixed results. RA tends to be most troublesome in the mornings. The medication that has eliminated morning pain and swelling is called Rayos. Rayos is mostly prednisone, a commonly used synthetic corticosteroid drug. What is unique […]

Gene-editing May Become Sputnik 2.0

In August I wrote about a team of Chinese scientists having received ethical approval in July to perform a clinical trial of gene-editing. The goal was to test whether gene-editing may be a potential cure for cancer. The trial began in a hospital in Chengdu, China in October. The gene-editing used CRISPR-Cas9, not exactly a household name. CRISPR […]

2017 – The Year of Telehealth

Telehealth is transforming medicine. The pace will accelerate in 2017 and the rapid adoption is presenting many questions to what I call the four Ps.  Patients. The WSJ reported the American Telemedicine Association has counted more than 15 million Americans having received some kind of medical care remotely. The ATA expects the number to grow […]

Blue Mesa and Diabetes

Diabetes is a life-long disease affecting how your body handles glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood. Type 1 diabetes is genetic and the exact cause is not well understood. Most diabetes is type 2, and 27 million people in the U.S. are living with it. Nearly 90 million have prediabetes. This means their blood glucose is not normal, […]

Telehealth and mHealth Fuel Growth

There are many skeptics about telehealth, but the evidence is mounting that it works well for patients and providers. Teladoc, which claims to be the leader in telehealth, is providing telehealth access to millions. This week, the company announced a record for November with a total of 101,600 patient telehealth visits. The growth was fueled by an increase […]