When we talk about “mobile health technologies” you probably conjure up an image of a shiny wearable device or a smartphone in the hands of a lab technician with a white coat, stethoscope dangling from her neck. And just as … Read More
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In 2015 Watson Health Was Born
“We’re going to really change healthcare on the face of the planet.” IBM’s Watson Health was announced with a (small) bang on April 13th, 2015. Despite the magnitude of Watson Group Senior Vice President Mike Rhodin’s closing statement in their … Read More
Forget Big Data – Small Data is Our Digital Social Pulse
What if you had a check engine light for your personal health? In a recent TEDMED Talk, Cornell Computer Science Professor Deborah Estrin argues that “small data” acts as a “digital social pulse” that could help each of us keep … Read More
Focus on connections at the 2015 mHealth Summit
On November 8th, thousands of mobile health leaders will convene in Washington DC to share their work and demonstrate solutions in mHealth. This 7th annual mHealth Summit will cover topics spanning clinical care, patient engagement, new technologies, research, investment activities, … Read More
Texting for the win! Reminder messages improve health outcomes
Imagine you received this text message from your doctor one afternoon: “Hi. Have you gone for your walk today?” Do you think this would make you more likely to go for a walk? If you’re sceptical that text message reminders … Read More
Google Calico and the ethics of immortality research
In 2013, Google announced a new research and development company called Calico, or the California Life Company. Lead by acclaimed former Genentech chief executive Arthur Levinson, Calico’s mission is nothing short of to tackle aging. By using biotech to increase … Read More
Antibiotic Resistance and the US National Plan
One year ago, President Obama signed an executive order creating a national strategy to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. As the New York Times reported, researchers had been warning for years that antibiotics are losing their resistance from … Read More
Google health projects that you haven’t heard about
We like to write about Google on this blog because, whether an update on Google Glass or a stint into telemedicine, the company has done a lot of interesting health-related projects over the years. While many of these (like Google … Read More
A Case for Every Body’s Quantified Self
Earlier this year we wrote about the quantified self, a growing trend where individuals track personal health data like heart rate, sleep, or steps per day. That article focused on the limits of personal data, especially for addressing chronic diseases, … Read More
Wasteful Spending In U.S. Healthcare
Nearly half of Americans say health care costs are a hardship, according to a December 2014 national poll by the New York Times and CBS News. That’s up 10% from 2013, in large part due to the rising cost of … Read More