DIGITAL HEALTH
Digital health is a broad and
extraordinarily exciting and rapidly
evolving topic of interest that gives us an
eye toward the future of healthcare. It is a
complex, evolving topic.
Good Start for Getting to Know What
Digital Health is All About
So what, more precisely, are today’s digital health best practices? A good
place to start for answers to such questions can be found in a paper
titled “Digital health is a cultural transformation of traditional
healthcare,” written by a group of medical professionals from Budapest
Hungary, published in the journal mHealth. Bertalan Meskó, PhD, is the
lead author.
The mHealth publication is one of several relatively new open access,
peer-reviewed journals that “publishes articles that describe new findings
in the field of use of mobile technologies to improve public health,
particularly in underserved populations; health research, training, and
education applications; and delivery systems around the world.”
Meskó is a leading globally recognized authority on digital health who is
director of a team that publishes The Medical Futurist. Meskó’s excellent
and creatively designed website features many interesting and eye-
opening articles (and much more) that explain what’s really going on in
this field, including numerous stories about many of the newest digital
health-oriented devices, software applications, digital monitors, lab tests,
etc. that he has tried out himself. Consumers and healthcare experts
alike can find a motherload of highly useful information at The Medical
Futurist.
Some Additional Terms Related to Digital Health
mHealth as a word means mobile health. It is defined by TechTarget as “a
general term for the use of mobile phones and other wireless technology
in medical care. The most common application of mHealth is the use of
mobile devices to educate consumers about preventive healthcare
services. However, mHealth is also used for disease surveillance,
treatment support, epidemic outbreak tracking and chronic disease
management.”
Telehealth is another word that often comes into play when discussing
digital health, and it is defined by Tech Target as “the transmission of
health-related services or information over the telecommunications
infrastructure. The term covers both telemedicine, which includes
remote patient monitoring, and non-clinical elements of the healthcare
system, such as education.”
Some of the other terms bandied about regarding digital health include
eHealth and Health IT – making the entire field confusing at times. When
you apply digital health, mhealth, and telehealth, along with all their
numerous subcategories, such as precision medicine, genomic testing,
electronc health record systems, sensors, wearables, and more, to
prognosticating the future of healthcare, diagnostics, medicine, surgery,
etc., the information field grows broad and wide.
I try to narrow all this down to viable and authoritative resources I have
thus far discovered that can help patients, doctors and caregivers get a
keener understanding of where all this is heading. As I continue to
discover more cogent and informative resources, I will publish links to
them, with brief abstracts, in this section of Old Anima. So, this is a
work in progress that will continue to grow.
Additionally, links to relevant digital health articles are posted in the
monthly Old Anima eNews. So, if this is a topic that interests you, I
strongly suggest you subscribe .
Plus, the Old Anima interesting products section highlights a good
number of products that can fall under the digital health category.
Links to Various Digital Health Resources
The Medical Futurist – This is my number-one, go-to
resource on digital health. Provides context about
digital health to help patients, physicians, and
policy-makers to get the most out of technological
changes. Has no corporate affiliation, and claims to produce free,
unbiased content, opinion and research.
mHealth - An international, open access, peer-reviewed online journal
indexed by PubMed/PubMed Central with coverage
on clinical telemedicine practice, advances in
health technology, health services research,
highlights of emerging products, public health
implications of health technology, health policy and regulation and
management of health care systems and other related fields.
Medgadget - Since 2004, Medgadget has been reporting on medical
technology from around the world. They cover the latest medical devices
and approvals, technology breakthroughs and
discoveries, conduct exclusive interviews with med
tech leaders, and file reports from healthcare
conferences.
MobiHealthNews - The “publication of record for digital health,” providing
news, analysis, and data to innovators at provider
groups, payers, pharma companies, tech and
venture capital firms as well as startups.
HealthTech - Explores technology and healthcare
issues — and shares success stories — relevant to
IT leaders and managers at healthcare and senior
care organizations evaluating and implementing
solutions.
FDA Digital Health Action Plan - Outlines the FDA’s efforts to
reimagine its approach to ensure all Americans have timely
access to high-quality, safe and effective digital health
products.
Health Affairs – Journal of health policy thought and
research. The peer-reviewed journal was founded
in 1981 under the aegis of Project HOPE, a
nonprofit international health education
organization.
HIMSS - A global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on
better health through information and technology.
HIMSS leads efforts to optimize health
engagements and care outcomes using information
technology.
mHealthIntelligence.com - (published by Xtelligent Healthcare Media)
provides the latest news, featured stories, and
emerging trends in mhealth, telemedicine, remote
patient monitoring, and connected health for
providers.
360Dx - Launched in 2016, covers emerging economic and technological
trends in the clinical diagnostic market. Its dedicated
online newsroom tracks the biggest players in the
diagnostics market and reports on regulatory,
reimbursement, and policy issues that impact the
commercial operations of clinical labs.
GenomeWeb - An independent online news organization based in New
York. Since 1997, GenomeWeb has served the global
community of scientists, technology professionals,
and executives who use and develop the latest
advanced tools in molecular biology research and
molecular diagnostics.
BMJ Open - An online, open access journal, dedicated to publishing
medical research from all disciplines and therapeutic areas. The journal
publishes all research study types, from protocols
through phase I trials to meta-analyses, including
small, specialist studies, and negative studies.
MedPageToday - Source for clinical and policy coverage that directly
affects the lives and practices of health care professionals. Physicians
and other healthcare professionals may also receive Continuing Medical
Education (CME) and Continuing Education (CE)
credits at no cost for participating in MedPage
Today-offered educational activities.
HIT Consultant - Source of healthcare technology news, analysis and
insights for healthcare executives, physicians and
providers. Content provides editorial insights on
health IT, EHRs, population health management,
digital health, telehealth, accountable care, patient
engagement and startups.
NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine – Published by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, featuring numerous
resources related to the acceleration of bio-medical
discovery and data- powered health.
SearchHealthIT.com - The healthcare technology professional’s how-to
guide to the IT-enabled healthcare organization.
Brings you free news, analysis, and resources that
provide insights into crucial trends in healthcare.
American Medical Association – Membership
organization that promotes the art and science of
medicine and the betterment of public health.
Neurology Live - Offers a print and digital media
platform to busy healthcare professionals treating
neurological diseases to deliver practice-changing
news and insight directly from top medical conferences and researchers.
Wolfram Alpha Personal Health – An extensive nutritional database along
with powerful weight-loss and exercise calculator.
Compute and compare nutrients in common foods
and calculate calories burned by hundreds of
different activities, tuned to your age.
STAT - Journalism about life services and the fast-moving business of
making medicines. Takes readers inside academic labs, biotech
boardroom and political backrooms. Casts a critical
eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizes corporate
strategies, and chronicles roiling battles for talent,
money, and market share.
Frontiers Media - Covers more than 600 academic disciplines and is noted
as one of the largest and highest-cited publishers in
the world. Its freely accessible research articles
have received over 500 million views and
downloads and 1 million citations.
Aging Analytics - Provider of industry analytics on the topics of Longevity,
Precision Preventive Medicine and Economics of
Aging, and the convergence of technologies such as
AI, Blockchain, Digital Health and their impact on
the healthcare industry.
Quanta Magazine - an editorially independent online
publication launched by the Simons Foundation to
enhance public understanding of science.
Reporters focus on developments in mathematics,
theoretical physics, theoretical computer science and the basic life
sciences.
Kaiser Health News On Aging – Wide-ranging
coverage of aging issues supported by several
major foundations.
FierceBioTech - Family of publications provides end-to-end coverage of
biotech and medtech, from pre-clinical science
through clinical testing and regulatory
approval—and all the seed funding, venture capital,
licensing deals, IPOs and M&A that happen along the way.
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) - The Society’s nearly
8,000 members include researchers, academicians, clinicians, laboratory
practice professionals, genetic counselors, nurses and others who have a
special interest in the field of human genetics.
Members work in a wide range of settings,
including universities, hospitals, institutes, and
medical and research laboratories.
ZDNet Digital Health and Wellness – Brings
together the reach of global and the depth of local,
delivering 24/7 news coverage and analysis on the
trends, technologies, and opportunities that matter
to IT professionals and decision makers.
Digital Health Today - Shines a spotlight on global
health innovation and the entrepreneurs,
innovators, and organizations that dare to
revolutionize healthcare.
Xtelligent Healthcare Media – Healthcare B2B
media company using data to deliver relevant
content to readers. Develops content for
healthcare executives and IT professionals.
Healthcare Innovation - Delivers a bi-monthly
print magazine and digital edition, daily e-
newsletters, and a comprehensive website. An
annual subscription is free to qualified healthcare professionals. Draws
upon decades of experience in covering the industry.
Rock Health - Funds and supports entrepreneurs
working at the intersection of healthcare and
technology. Wants to make healthcare massively
better for every human being—driving down the
cost to deliver improved services to more people.
“Fundamentally,
the answers to
our challenges in
healthcare relies
in engaging and
empowering the
individual.”
- Elizabeth Holmes