by Briana Campbell (@MsMatchGirl)

Imagine the embarrassment of your sexual dysfunction being made public.

Imagine the worry, especially in this tenuous economy, of your employer finding out that you have a genetic condition that could grow to be debilitating.

Imagine trying to protect your family’s privacy only to discover that your child’s schoolmates have learned of his disability.

Emotional, financial, social privacy and security: that’s what we all expect of our medical records. Coming in a close second to the effective, affordable treatment itself is the expectation that that treatment, and the condition it’s treating, will remain completely confidential.

The introduction of electronic medical records have offered many benefits to both healthcare professionals and patients. EMR are easier to search, easier to find potential drug interactions,  take up a tiny fraction of the physical space, make record-keeping much faster and easier, and allow us to move or share our records among our care team.

But do they risk the safety of our data? The answer to this question depends on two things. First is the infrastructure. Is it built without loopholes, with adequate encryption and protection?

But the second element – the one that I have heard much less about – on which our EMR security depends, are the people involved in the process. Whether our records are on paper in a folder in a filing cabinet, or data saved in a digital file, we rely on the physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, clerks, receptionists, and all others – not only from our practitioner’s office, but also from our managed care provider, our banking institution, and all others who access our files.

We assume that everyone working with our files has been adequately trained, is working on adequate equipment, has adequate time to do their work, and is adequately following adequate procedures. That’s a lot of assumptions, it seems to me – and even the best structure can’t fix human error.

I’m impressed by the steps that the industry has taken since its inception, which have resulted in about half of all physicians using EMR. But I haven’t heard much about the people side of things. What are the training protocols? What are the background checks? Who are the people who have access to my records – how many different points of entry are we talking about?

We’ve got a bank with a crackerjack vault… but who’s guarding it, and how good are they at it?

I don’t suspect doctors or their staff of widespread ill intent – far from it. But what is the potential for error? Where do those decisions points exist, and how are they being safeguarded?

I’m not raising my questions to make anyone afraid; just the opposite, I’d love to find official answers to put these questions to rest for good. Here at Pixels & Pills we’d love to do an interview with an EMR expert to answer these questions straight from the horse’s mouth. Are you one? Do you know one? Please get in touch.

Image via Non-Surgical Orthopaedics, P.C.

By J. Vegerano

I was at my doctor’s office recently and noticed that he now uses IBM touch screen tablets in several areas of his practice. I spoke to my doctor in a bit of detail about why he chose to implement these tablets, and his answer was simple: technology is at the forefront of healthcare and it makes his practice run seamlessly. He can now e-mail a prescription or view medical records and documentation without paper clutter or waste (which I considered to be a “green” move). All data is now collected – quite legibly, I might add – with a few clicks, and requests for lab or any other results streamed over their wireless network. Communication between front desk, medical assistants, and doctors was also in real-time. They were able to maintain constant communication while attending to other patients and/or duties in various locations throughout the office.

Here on Pixels & Pills, we talk a lot about what technology could do for the healthcare space. Just this time last year, we were caught up in the excitement of the iPad and its potential to change medicine forever. It’s exciting, especially for someone like me, to see tablets transform from an innovation into an everyday part of our lives. This kind of adoption of technology in the doctor’s office is taking place all across the country, across different disciplines. Just a few days ago, pediatrician Natasha Burgert, MD wrote a blog post about the different ways she uses her iPad at the point of care.

As a technology professional, I have learned that in this business, being proactive with technology is key to any successful implementation or upgrade. What I mean is: it’s not as simple as going out and buying a few iPads for your office, participating in basic level training, and off you go. You need to make important, often complex decisions about your systems and software, and pay close attention to tech maintenance.

That being said, I strongly support the data cloud movement and tech integration, but I also believe in a strong backup strategy. When it comes to sensitive data like electronic medical records, there must be wireless security, encryption, and off-site secure data backup. Also, it’s important to maintain a working relationship with an available technology consultant for full or partial tech support as needed.  That consultant should also have remote access for troubleshooting and remote assistance. A backup tablet pre-installed with all essential business apps wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

Implementing tablet technology – or any kind of technology, really – is a great move and will benefit the staff, office productivity, and ultimately patient satisfaction. Even though I know I’m preaching to the choir, as we continue to design solutions for tablet utilization at the point of care, we sometimes forget that it’s instrumental and critical to the success of any tech integration to include a solid redundancy backbone strategy for “just those kinds of emergencies.”

By Jason Brandt (@JasonDMG3)

Just a decade or two ago, that headline would have meant something very different. It would conjure up memories of those “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials for medical alarms, or those chair lifts you always wished you could play with as a kid. But today, the senior population is significantly more tech savvy. They’re Skyping with the grandkids on their netbooks, texting their kids on their smartphones and going to grocery store websites to fulfill their shopping list online. The Greatest Generation continues to be great in their fearless adoption of technology.

And they’re even on social media. There are fifteen million seniors on Facebook. That’s 11% of all users, and that represents 1,448% year-over-year growth in that segment. Women 55 to 65 are the fastest-growing segment on Facebook. Adult-ed classes in Facebook are being snapped up. As one 64-year-old Wisconsin woman explained, “All I thought before was that people played games with it. I think now I’m seeing it’s a real utility.” And what’s more, they want to learn how to use Facebook well. She went on to say, “I didn’t realize how much of that [privacy] information got out there. I didn’t know how one could control it. I feel a little more comfortable knowing that – in fact, a lot more comfortable.”

Seniors are checking out local arts and entertainment, keeping in touch with family and friends – and even helping with real-world problems, demonstrated when a Michigan senior, snowed in helplessly, found a brigade of volunteers coming to shovel when a plea for help was posted on Facebook.

There are a variety of technologies – besides Farmville – that can help our elderly loved ones help themselves. Tech companies have realized the obvious medical need, especially considering that it is also, of course, an obviously large and growing potential profit source. Pharma companies also seem to have picked up on the same thing. But are they working together? Have you seen this happening…or do you have any ideas for how to make it happen?

There are a variety of examples to spark your creativity.

CareScout has been helping families find the proper kind of care for the senior citizens in their lives for nearly fifteen years. Often, this is a concern that people don’t plan for until it’s upon them. High school kids research their colleges for years, but do you know anyone who’s actively looking into which retirement facilities they want to choose? We don’t want to think about it, which is why services like CareScout are so important.

Two years ago, GE acquired a small company called Living Independently, and now markets the QuietCare solution for older people living independently. Motion sensors throughout the living area learn normal movement patterns and timing, and alert caregivers when the senior’s activity does not match their usual activity. It’s unobtrusive, silent, maintains privacy and helps seniors feel looked after and caregivers know that wherever they are, they can be helping watch over their loved one. What an elegant technological solution to elder health care needs!

And here’s one last freebie to get you brainstorming. There are many medications that are primarily taken by the elderly. Why doesn’t one of those products provide an automatic pill-dispensing machine (like one of these) to their patients? Improve compliance, reduce over- and under-dosage, and help patients and their loved ones feel more secure. Shouldn’t it be a no-brainer for us all to be doing everything we can to make the older people in our lives feel as healthy, safe, loved and valued as they deserve?

By Kimberly Reyes (@CommDuCoeur)

Over the last year, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Depomed have each dealt with product recalls of musty-smelling drugs. The smell was caused by tribomoanisole, a chemical used to keep wood preserved and flame-retardant, leaching through the bottles when they were stored packed on treated wooden pallets. The pharmaceutical industry’s manufacturing processes, guidelines and rules are some of the most detailed and strict in the world, but not even they caught this before it happened, and happened repeatedly.

This spate of product recalls can certainly tell us many things. As just one example, all pallets – 1.2 billion of them in the U.S. alone – may move entirely from wood to plastic. But we, here at Pixels & Pills, are not the authors of Good Manufacturing Practices or Quality Assurance offices. Our work includes websites, games, apps, and the like. Can we still learn anything from some musty wood?

Indeed, I think the lesson they offer is just as important for us as for anyone else. We and our industry colleagues are very careful about our own work. We pride ourselves on our individual creativity and on our groundbreaking ideas. But we must take care that our focus and pride doesn’t make us insular and forget about all of the other work upon which ours builds.

For instance, the security and privacy of operating systems and social sites are obvious areas of concern. But even less frightening issues may also concern us. Are we keeping abreast of the changes that go on behind the scenes for Facebook applications? Come on, you know what we’re talking about: you design a beautiful interface for a client and all of a sudden, Facebook changes the max-width so that all of a sudden, your beautiful design looks as if it’s being viewed through a kaleidoscope. Have you been downloading all the updates to your design software? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Sometimes even I (by no means a designer, mind you) automatically gravitate to the “No Thanks, Maybe Later” button on that annoying pop-up screen that asks if I want the latest Flash player.

We need to remember that being creative doesn’t just involve a concept, but it embodies the tool that we use to bring that concept to fruition.  This detail is often neglected in practice, and only considered when something goes wrong.  When we talk about disclosure, we automatically default to talking about adverse effects and product warnings, since we’re in the Pharma industry.  But when we’re working with clients on those groundbreaking, innovative projects, another kind of disclosure needs to be practiced: we need to be honest about the software (and hardware) that we use to execute those projects.

CEO of Sproxil, Inc. Ashifi Gogo’s venture into social entrepreneurship has continuously enjoyed a strong link with academia. Ashifi holds degrees in mathematics and physics and is now the Holekamp Family PhD Innovation Fellow in engineering at Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth, he earned an IEEE GOLD Humanitarian Fellowship by virtue of social enterprise, and honed his professional acumen with Six Sigma Back Belt training. The Clinton Foundation, GSVC Berkeley, Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network, NCIIA Venture Well and Nokia have acknowledged his work through a variety of prizes and fellowships. Ashifi also frequently presents at conferences including those organized by the U. S. Department of Commerce, The World Bank, Global Health Council, The African Network and the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit.

By Ashifi Gogo (@ashifi)

Every day in some parts of the world, consumers have to face a key decision point. “Should I go for the red shoes or the blue ones? Wait for next year’s model, or go for that new car next week?” In many developing nations, consumers often have to deal with this decision too: “Which anti-malarial will cure (and not kill) my toddler?”

The $75 billion fake medication industry, primarily in developing nations, puts stress on consumers at the point of purchase as they try to decide between drugs that look identical but that have radically different effects on the human body.

The technology behind what influences our decisions has come a long way. From old-fashioned posters, printed ads and word of mouth advertising, to shops that intelligently sprinkle ads through computer-controlled music that is meant to enhance purchasing behavior, technologists and behavioral scientists have invested significant amounts of effort into providing purchase decision support for consumers across all industries. One area that has received less attention in this study, perhaps, is in the case of counterfeit medication.

Fake drugs continue to be a problem, largely in developing nations. From sugar pills to corn starch “anti-malarials,” counterfeit medication poses a threat to human life. Experts estimate that more than 700,000 Africans die yearly due to fake anti-malarials, TB and HIV medication.  Just last year, 84 infants died in Nigeria due to teething syrup laced with deadly industrial chemicals. Whether drugs are made or stored poorly (sub-standard) or are just outright copies with no active ingredients, there should be an easy way to tell the difference between which medication to buy and which one to leave on the shelf to expire.

Fortunately, technology has a solution. With the aggressive adoption of mobile telephony, consumers are back in the game, even in developing nations. Technologists worldwide have worked tirelessly to make communications affordable. Today, many poor farmers, rural teachers and fearless fishermen in tiny canoes have cell phones for various reasons – to check on prices at the market before the harvest, to provide distance education support and to figure out which shore to dock at to get the best prices for fresh fish while still at sea. With affordable communications, new ways abound in providing consumers with information decision support, even at the point of purchase.

So how do cell phones and fake drugs relate to each other? What if consumers had the ability to connect with the original manufacturer of a drug to ask if the item they are holding in the heat of the corner shop in Nigeria is actually a product made by the company as indicated on the box. “Is this really yours?,” asks the curious consumer. The trusted manufacturer could then respond with a simple “yes” or “no,” appropriately informing the consumer, with simple technology, whether to buy the product or not.

Such an intersection of pharmaceuticals and technology holds promise in helping consumers make the right decision – a decision that can change their lives or the lives of their loved ones.

Huron Consulting Group’s Paul Mewett talks about tracking consumer-generated content and taking measures to ensure the safety of your brand’s online presence.

In a recurring series, Patient 2.0 posts look at what goes on outside the marketing company and the exam room. Where are the other links in the healthcare chain and how can digital technology help them?

By Sven Larsen (@zemoga)

We’ve talked about the pharmacy, the outpatient center, even the medicine cabinet, in terms of where the patient has healthcare experiences. What about the acute setting – when the patient is admitted into the hospital itself?

As former med students ourselves and having had numerous conversations with physicians some issues are glaringly obvious. and The biggest problem we see, which could be fixed completely using technology, is a simple one: sleep.

Residents are routinely pressed into 30-hour shifts in hospitals, yet truck drivers aren’t allowed more than 11-hour shifts and pilots aren’t allowed more than 8. Why? Is it somehow worse to think about people dying or being injured by accidents on the road or in the air than from a misdiagnosis or an accidental overdose? It doesn’t make any sense to have patients’ lives in the hands of student doctors – hands that are not only untried, but beyond exhausted. Hazing isn’t allowed in frats anymore, so why is it still allowed in med school? This is madness. It isn’t about tradition. It’s about championing the patient’s health and safety. It literally is a matter of life and death.

This is a field exquisitely attuned to data, always striving to better patient outcomes. The idea of residents (or their patients) benefiting from working nonstop from daybreak Monday to lunch on Tuesday – surely that belongs in the days of leeches and bloodletting, of using whiskey and a stick as anaesthesia.

Hospital staffing and demand can be tracked and predicted with the precision with which it such forecasting is done in any other large facility. Processes and paperwork can be automated and digitized, minimizing the need for paperwork and maximizing the time spent learning and treating patients.

Technology can keep doctors in training healthier, and keep patients in less danger – and we should be working on that. Not only does it keep our patients safe, but it champions the well-being of our future physician customers. They need to get through their training safely and effectively, and we can help.