3 emerging technologies that will impact healthcare

If you read my previous article concerning the progress we have made in health information technology adoption and the development of digital health tools, yo. I believe we have made significant progress in many areas, but there are also some places where we have a long way to go.

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Smartphone apps are found to reduce depression, anxiety

A suite of smartphone apps developed by Northwestern Medicine has successfully reduced depression and anxiety symptoms in study participants by 50 percent, an efficacy rate similar to that typically achieved through psychotherapy or antidepressant medication.

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IoT security vulnerabilities turn hospital CIOs' dreams into nightmares

A connected healthcare where patients can transmit data back to their physician to monitor their vitals after leaving the hospital has been a dream for many. The ability to leverage connected devices to capture and transmit relevant health information from a patient's heart monitor while at home or record oxygen levels while in the operating room shows the power of medical devices. But with the recent debilitating distributed denial of service attacks against some of the top DNS servers, such as those used by Amazon, many IT executives have had to question whether or not their IoT strategy is still safe or even possible.

 

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The Subtle Ways Your Digital Assistant Might Manipulate You

TODAY WE GOOGLE for information, but in the future, we might not need to. Instead we may rely on our butler, namely the intelligent, voice-activated digital assistant on our smart phones, smart watches, or devices like Amazon’s Echo and Alphabet’s Home. Rather than searching the web, we’ll be able to ask our digital assistant how to remove the stain from our shirt. It’ll perform other perfunctory tasks, like adding groceries to our shopping list, checking the weather, sending a text, or ordering an Uber.

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Alexa and Google Home Record What You Say. But What Happens to That Data?

IF YOU GOT an Amazon Echo or Google Home voice assistant, welcome to a life of luxurious convenience. You’ll be asking for the weather, the news, and your favorite songs without having to poke around on your phone. You’ll be turning off lights and requesting videos from bed. The world is yours.

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The Wonderful World of Wearables – The Latest Wearable Technology

When most people think about wearable technology, Fitbits and Apple Watches come to mind. While these are devices have been game-changers, the world of wearable technology is so much larger - and it’s getting bigger every day.

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Another Risky 'BP Monitor' App - Puts patients at risk with claims to measure multiple cardiovascular parameters

Over the past few years, we've covered a number of health apps that we believed put patients at risk through dubious claims about what they can measure or treat. In 2014, we detailed an app called Instant Blood Pressure, which claimed to measure blood pressure just by having users put the microphone over their chest and finger over the camera. About a year after our initial article, it was pulled first from the Google Play app store then the iTunes app store. And earlier this year, a study conducted by some of my colleagues at Johns Hopkins showed Instant Blood Pressure to be highly inaccurate and detailed how those inaccuracies could put patients at risk. Given the attention that study got in the lay press as well as Apple's moves to scale up their healthcare expertise, I assumed that the review of health apps, particularly those that claim to measure or treat something, would be tightened up.

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New diabetes tech is coming. But will it make much difference?

Pharma and tech giants are pouring hundreds of millions into diabetes technology, designing gadgets and developing software aimed at helping patients manage a burdensome disease.Pharma and tech giants are pouring hundreds of millions into diabetes technology, designing gadgets and developing software aimed at helping patients manage a burdensome disease.

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Google moves into hardware production with smartphone and other devices

SAN FRANCISCO — Software giant Google is beginning an aggressive foray into hardware production with the launch Tuesday of a smartphone and other devices that will bring the company into direct competition with other leading tech firms, including its longtime partner Samsung.

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What the Amazon Echo Is Actually Used For

Google is expected to announce several new products today, including a new line of smartphones, an intelligent router and a voice-controlled wireless speaker. The latter, reportedly called “Google Home” is aimed to become the voice-controlled center of the future smart home and will compete directly with Amazon’s popular Echo devices.

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Research reveals the dark side of wearable fitness trackers

You no longer have to look to science fiction to find the cyborg. We are all cyborgs now. Mobile phones, activity trackers, pacemakers, breast implants and even aspirins all act as biological, cognitive or social extensions and enhancements of our bodies and minds. Some have even predicted that human beings as we know them will be replaced by technically enhanced, god-like immortal beings within 200 years. Or at least rich people will.

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Things are just a means to an end: New user experiences

We’re at an inflection point in the history of business. Technologies like IoT, big data and machine learning promise to reshape entire industries. According to McKinsey, IoT alone could generate up to $11.1 trillion a year in economic value by 2025. It’s important to emphasize “could” here, because I believe the potential business value of IoT is currently being overshadowed by the focus on devices alone.

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CMS Final Rules Cover the Cost of Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices

The Centers for Medicare and  Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that codifies the Medicare policy guidance when a device is not subject to the hearing aid exclusion. The rule finalizes that certain auditory implants, including cochlear implants, brain stem implants, and osseointegrated (bone-anchored) implants, do not meet the definition of hearing aids that are excluded from coverage.

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How the Internet of Things will pose new data pressures for providers

What will health care look like in 2025?

Picture this: moment by moment, an abundant network of apps, sensors and devices produces patient-generated health data (PGHD) are helping providers to better manage chronic diseases, adjust treatment plans and keep patients healthy.

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