Health Care High Tech

Technological advances are one of the things that we all hope will help drive down the overall cost of health care. Electronic medical records (EMRs) are frequently shown by a wide array of studies to cut a huge amount of administrative costs out of the overall equation. Other innovations could be extremely useful as cost cutters once out of the research phase.

CBCNews out of Canada takes a quick look at some of these advances, and also looks at the source. Their conclusion is that the real "cutting edge" of medical tech advancement is occurring in small companies and start-ups. Citing the more adventurous profile of companies that rely on angel investments and the need to maintain revenue streams on the part of larger, established ones, the article then proceeds to put forth a few examples.

Right off the bat, they go to what I consider one of the most important areas of medical tech: electronic medical records.

Philadelphia-based Hx Technologies wants to unlock the power of computer networks (a very '90s concept) and suck costs out of the system by making it easier to transport diagnostic images like CT scans. Amazingly, shuttling these images to doctors for second and third opinions is still done the old-fashioned way — by hand.

[...]Launched in 2000, Hx Technologies estimates that it can eliminate extra tests — and save the U.S. medical system $5 billion (US) to $6 billion a year — by storing medical images so they can be accessed in encrypted form over the Internet.

They then proceed to take a look at some other innovations, including (believe it or not) robot nurses. It is a fascinating view of the cutting edge.

SOURCE: "Hot technology that could change health care" 09/08/08
photo courtesy of Liz Henry, used under its Creative Commons license

Text For Health, A New Twist on Tech

Technology comes up frequently when you live in the Information Age. On this blog, it rears its head quite frequently as we keep tabs on electronic medical records and online health care tools. Today I will be talking about technology, but not of any kind discussed in my prior postings. You see, today I'm going to take a look at text messaging.

While doing some online research, I ran across an intriguing press release out of the Delaware area. It seems that some doctors are using text messages with excellent results.

People stay healthier when they show up in their doctors’ offices for necessary health check-ups, but it’s sometimes challenging to get them there. Today, one Medicaid program, Delaware Physicians Care, Inc. (DPCI), is using cell phone text messaging to remind members of appointments, let them know if they have missed an appointment and inform them when they should be scheduling tests or additional appointments.

This makes perfect sense to me now that I am aware of someone doing it. A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a friend from DePaul University in Chicago's computer department about online social networking, a pet area of study for both of us. He commented that the younger generation seems to have moved past email and have adopted text messages as their preferred communications mode. If that trend carries over, this could be a program with huge potential.

In the meantime, it has already had verifiable results according to the release:

In the 2006 pilot project with diabetes patients, DPCI found that after six months the percentage of patients receiving a necessary test rose from 52.3 percent to 70.5 percent in members receiving text messages. Furthermore, the results were much higher than the 45.4 percent rate for members of a control group of diabetes patients who did not receive text messages.

A nearly twenty percent increase is nothing to sneeze at. We are a culture that loves immediacy, and using text messages for health maintenance seems apropos. If nothing else, it is an attempt at thinking creatively as we seek solutions to the state of our health care system. Even if it proves not to be viable in the longterm, this still bodes well as a signal that people are actively seeking innovative solutions.

All I have to say is, "Go, Delaware!"

SOURCE: "Text Messaging—a New Way for Delaware Physicians Care to Help Its Members" 07/30/08
photo courtesy of Nesster, used under its Creative Commons license