I recently spent an afternoon with a dear relative who is being treated for cancer. Her medication regimen is so complicated that my mom, an experienced caregiver, visits her daily to help sort all the different pills into all the various boxes (and make sure they get swallowed). They showed off three health care hacks […]
key people
Big (really big) data comes to health care
In December 2013, Kira Peikoff wrote about how, when she had her DNA tested by three direct-to-consumer companies, the results were all over the place. She interviewed experts to get their advice: J. Craig Venter, chief executive of his namesake institute and of Synthetic Genomics, was a pioneer in sequencing the human genome in 2000. Though […]
Hacking home health care
We need to fix the “solved problems” crisis in home health care. Let me explain. At the start of Health Foo* in December, everyone introduced themselves in 6 words or less. Row by row, person by person, 100+ people talked in turn. In the back row, nearly the last to speak, Laura Baldwin stood and […]
On Purpose
Research shows that if you can connect to a higher purpose, you will be more likely to reach your health goals. For example, the most effective treatment for hepatitis C is interferon, a drug that requires self-injection and has some very nasty side effects, like fatigue, anxiety, nausea, and skin rashes. It is very difficult […]
3 big trends: networks, unbundling, smartphones
Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist, gave a talk at Le Web that touches on health, but even better, provides a framework for thinking about how technology is transforming the world in general: Pew Research has data to back up each of his points on mobile, video, dating, social networking, news gathering, education, our networked lives in general, […]
A genomic literacy spiral?
Like many people, I’m intrigued by the 23andme drama. Here’s a quote I scribbled down at Health Foo: The data and genomics revolution is akin to the print revolution. Hundreds of years ago, peasants looked at this converted wine press and asked why we need more Bibles when nobody can read. The printing press triggered a […]
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