Harnessing the Creativity of the Crowd for Healthcare

Posted May 27, 2009 by Lygeia Ricciard

Back in the 15^th century, the people of the City of Florence, Italy had a problem: they’d built the walls to support a massive Cathedral, but they didn’t know how to make a dome big enough to close off its 138 foot gaping hole. 

So they held a contest. Filippo Brunelleschi won, with a design that drew on Classical architecture (the Roman Pantheon), and added numerous inventions along the way, from the overall design (the outer dome resting on an inner drum, which eliminated the need for scaffolding from the ground), to a pulley system that sent the builders’ lunch up to them so they wouldn’t have to waste time climbing down. The dome of Florence’s “Duomo” Cathedral is still the largest masonry dome in the world.

Using contests to solve big problems is obviously not a new phenomenon, but it appears to be experiencing a resurgence, catalyzed by advances in information technology. Technology also lets groups collaborate better than ever before--and sometimes the line between competition and collaboration is fuzzy (the best solution to a given problem often “wins,” in that it is the one that gets adopted, but numerous people may help to evolve an idea or product through incremental changes).

Expanded availability of broadband and better Internet interfaces on mobile phones have helped developments like blogs, wikis, and social networking to take off (Twitter grew 752% in 2008). 

Though Brunelleschi had only one major competitor in his bid to cap off the Duomo, (artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was also from Florence), today contestants would likely come from around the world. Of course, the "wisdom of the crowd" is amplified in this century both by a greater number of people (over 6 billion) and higher rate of literacy--at least in most pockets of the world--than ever before in history.

The Pulse + Signal blog has a good post about the use of contests in the realm of health, especially public health. It highlights some examples, such as the Healthcare X PRIZE  (a $10 million prize for ideas about how to reinvent healthcare) and also the recent DiabetesMine Design Challenge. Indeed there are numerous examples of “crowdsourcing” health ideas. A few others worth mentioning:

•  The Obama Administration’s ongoing effort to engage the public in health reform 
•  Health-focused social communities, including whole sites (PatientsLikeMe) and parts of sites  (WebMD Community)
•  Open source health software development 
•  Open platform design, which will be an integral part of Project HealthDesign’s second phase of grants and is exemplified in the marketplace by the iPhone, HealthVault, Google Health, and Dossia     

With this increasing flow of ideas form the pubic, a growing  challenge is finding ways to cut through the volume to identify those that are most relevant, actionable, and likely to succeed in a given situation. Organized Wisdom’s health search service integrates the wisdom of the crowd (from online discussions, blogs, and fora) with those of “the experts.” Perhaps the crowd itself can help to find new and better ways to maximize the value of its own prodigious creativity. What do you think? 

Creative Ideas from DiabetesMine Winners

Posted May 18, 2009 by Lygeia Ricciardi

The blog and web site DiabetesMine, Amy Tenderich’s exploration of all things diabetes, just announced the winners of its 2009 Design Challenge, a contest with cash prizes sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.

Both the means and the ends of the contest are noteworthy. The means—an online contest open to the general public is, as Amy points out, an excellent example of crowdsourcing. Over 150 ideas were submitted over the last couple of months. Participants described their ideas via YouTube.

The end results are very imaginative. Most come directly from actual patients living with – and determined to enhance their quality of life with – diabetes. The contest underscores the point that patients or consumers living with a particular condition are exceedingly well placed to answer the question of what tools would work best for them.

In first place is a case for the iPhone that lets people with diabetes discreetly integrate devices such as a lancet and test strip with their cell phones, and at the same time allow them to collect and manage relevant data.

The winner of the “most creative” category is a learning toy for children. A teddy bear for diabetic kids that lets kids “normalize” their condition and practice managing it. Though I can’t say for sure, my own personal test group would suggest that this one has great potential. (My 4 year-old daughter, who  just received a doctor’s kit for her birthday, spent the entire weekend administering “shots” to me, friends, and various inanimate objects.)

The third category in which a prize was awarded is the kids category – won by a 13 year old boy who came up with a practical solution for keeping insulin pump tubing out of the way with a design similar to a garden hose reel. Congratulations to all the winners and entrants… perhaps some of you would like to apply to Project HealthDesign’s second round of grants? Click here to learn more about how you can be involved. 

HealthVault in Canada

Posted May 11, 2009 by Lygeia Ricciardi 

In case you missed it, TELUS, a leading Canadian telecommunications company, announced its agreement last week to license Microsoft’s HealthVault platform to develop Canada’s first consumer e-health platform.

While Project HeathDesign doesn’t endorse any particular platform or vendor above others (several have, in fact, expressed interest in working with the next round of grantees), it is in favor of a platform approach to PHRs that enables the development of a variety of consumer-oriented tools. It’s encouraging to see that model gaining ground globally. 

Project HealthDesign and Health 2.0 Accelerator Focus on “Observations of Daily Living”

Posted May 4, 2009 by Aaron Apodaca and Julie Murchinson

Round 2 of Project HealthDesign, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, builds on a key learning from Round 1: people live with and manage their health every day, not in discrete and separate episodes. This may seem like an obvious realization to some; but the “traditional” health care system most of us use is not really designed with this in mind. Our system is getting better at enabling patients to do things such as view a version of their electronic medical record or lab results online and automate appointment scheduling or payments. And yet, most of this progress is still limited to clinical and administrative data that is generated based on episodes of care and limited to the institutional medical record. This is where “observations of daily living” (ODLs) come in.

The Health 2.0 Accelerator (H2A), a nonprofit whose goal is to advance consumer-centric health care by driving integration of technology and the consumer experience, has partnered with Project HealthDesign to help those interested in submitting a Round 2 application to connect and identify Health 2.0 solutions that can be leveraged to identify, interpret, and integrate ODLs. It turns out that the Health 2.0 community is particularly well suited to support this focus as Health 2.0 companies have developed applications for the web and mobile devices that enable new models for capturing and sharing health information. Whether condition-specific communities or personal health logging/tracking tools, these new models are based on the notion that individuals and communities can generate new insights by managing health as part of everyday life and engaging with others that share a common condition or health interest. Health 2.0 companies know how to capture and make sense of “user-generated” data that can bridge the gap between provider visits, helping both patients and providers make decisions to influence behavior and health outcomes.

What can YOU do to leverage the partnership and get involved with Round 2? 

• Participate in one of two webinars H2A will offer to potential applicants on May 5^th and 12^th, including a look at the Health 2.0 landscape and examples of how Health 2.0 technologies are relevant to and working in the “traditional” health care environment.
•  Applicants of all kinds, whether institutions, clinical partners or Health 2.0 companies, can ask for help identifying technology solutions or partners. H2A also offers a listing of Health 2.0 companies for applicants that are not familiar with companies in the space. 
• Health 2.0 companies should contact the Accelerator team to ensure we are able to provide the latest and greatest information for Project HealthDesign applicants. In an environment that is constantly evolving, with new companies and products continually being introduced, your updates are essential!
• Health 2.0 companies can coordinate with H2A to offer web demos of their offerings to potential PHD applicants.  

To register for a Heath 2.0 Accelerator  webinar, ask for help identifying partners or solutions, submit an update to the Health 2.0 listing, or coordinate a web demo, visit http://www.h2anetwork.org/phd.

Growth of Home Monitoring Devices for Health

Posted May 2, 2009 by Lygeia Ricciardi 

Have a look at this BusinessWeek article on home monitoring devices for health. It points out that competition is heating up for market share for such devices in Western Europe, and wonders to what extent the $19 billion or so that has been allotted to health information technology in the Stimulus Package in the US may impact growth in this area. 

Also interesting is the associated slide show of products that have received Medical Design Excellence Awards for improving health and quality of life--like the keyboard without crevices in which bacteria can hide, and the smart hospital bed that weighs patients and adjusts their positions. 

 

PHR Related Events in May

Posted May 1, 2009 by Lygeia Ricciardi 

May 1-3, 2009 – Patient Centered Computing and eHealth: Transforming Healthcare Quality [CME Course]

National experts in patient‑centered computing and eHealth serve as faculty in this program. Participants gain perspective on theoretical and practical opportunities, and challenges, in implementing and effectively using patient-centered eHealth applications. (Boston, MA)

May 4, 2009 – Brookings Panel, Health 2.0: Adopting Health Information in the United States

The Brookings Institution will host a panel discussion on what needs to get done to bring the benefits of information technology to health care. Darrell West, Brookings Vice President and Director of Governance Studies will moderate the discussion with Nancy Johnson, co-chair of Health IT Now!; Dr. Charles Friedman, Deputy National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the Office of the Secretary for Health and Human Services; and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). (Washington, DC) 

May 6-7, 2009 – Digital Healthcare Conference 2009

The Digital Healthcare Conference 2009 is a gathering of healthcare leaders to network, learn and innovate. Attendees share insights, compare experiences, and hear presentations from their peers. DHC brings together experts in healthcare, technology and law to share their knowledge. Attendees learn proven and emerging strategies for improving healthcare delivery and patient safety. A sample of topics include: Linking Results to EHRs to Deliver Personalized Medicine, Behavioral Health EMR, and The Future of IT Enabled Healthcare (Madison, WI)

May 7, 2009 Webinar: Project HealthDesign Call for Proposals--Round 2

If you are interested in Project HealthDesign's second round of grants, attend this webinar to learn more about how to apply, join an applicant team, or offer resources to applicants. (Online) 

May 10-13, 2009 – CIO Healthcare Summit

The CIO Healthcare Summit provides the forum for CIOs and business leaders from some of the most innovative healthcare organizations to debate and network on the many challenges the industry faces, be this improving patient care, controlling costs or meeting government regulations. The current economic conditions highlight the strategic importance of the 2009 gathering where participants meet again to collaborate, innovate and optimize around the challenges facing the industry today. (Scottsdale, AZ)

May 20 - 21, 2009 – Friends of the National Library of Medicine 2009 Conference

Reflecting the NIH mission, the National Library of Medicine and the non-profit Friends of the NLM have organized this conference to develop and promote new information and knowledge regarding the critical and recent developments in health information technology. It is also structured to offer cross-cutting perspectives from government, industry, health centers and research, and to align closely with the priorities of the current Administration around the development and widespread implementation of personal electronic health records. The conference will have an increased focus on personal health records. (Rockville, MD)

May 28-30, 2009 – American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Spring Congress

This year's conference theme, "People & Populations: Translation to Transformation", reflects the remarkable informatics advances that are being made, the spectrum of scholarship, and the informatics research and applications that are transforming health and healthcare. Attendees will participate in a number of highly focused discussions to understand how our profession can best frame key informatics issues and identify the resources and steps required to impact change. We invite participants to be active in this three-day event that will be a highly stimulating professional activity and will leave you with new ideas, new energy, and new ways of making a valuable contribution to our nation health care needs. (Orlando, FL)