Accelerating Cancer Treatment
I remember being at a technology conference in 1999 when teenagers Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning demonstrated a digital music service called Napster. It was the beginning of a revolution, and it made a lot of sense to me. The rock group Metallica sued Napster in 2000 and the momentum of music sharing slowed — […]
Telehealth is Hot and Getting Hotter
If you are not sure telehealth is for real, check Teladoc’s 2015 annual report. It seems they are just getting warmed up. For the first quarter of this year, the company completed 240,000 telemedicine visits, up 61 percent from 149,000 visits during the same period last year. Teladoc also added 870 new customers in January. About 40 […]
Is 98.6 the Right Temperature Standard?
What temperature represents a fever? 98.6? Maybe. The 98.6 standard was developed as a baseline temperature norm based on a study by German researcher Carl Wunderlich in 1868. Researchers are questioning the accuracy of Wunderlich’s work. It may have been accurate at the time, but thermometers today, such as the Kinsa iPhone thermometer described in […]
Healthcare for Children
This week, I spent a day at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children in Bayside, Queens, New York. I had never been to Bayside, so I learned some new geography. The more important learning was about the great work the 97-bed healthcare provider is doing to help children. Children at St. Mary’s are not there with […]
Can Texting Boost Medication Adherence
One out of two Americans has a chronic illness. One out of four has two or more chronic illnesses. Chronic illness accounts for half of all deaths, and represents 75% of American healthcare cost. One of the challenges of treating the chronically ill is medication adherence. When people don’t take prescribed medications, the cost of […]