My first hero!!!

Two days a week can sound like a lot of time with someone. But when it is with your dad, two days are not enough. I realized that when today morning when I was dropping Prad off. The way he looked at me said everything. The eyes said bye for now dad, see you in the evening and thanks for the lovely 2 days you gave me! The best part of the weekend was when we got into the car in the parking lot after watching the much awaited Kung Fu Panda 2. Much awaited, not because the entire world of Po fans were waiting for this, but because for the past 2 months Prad has been asking me how many days left until Part 2? We settled down in the car and he leaned over from the back seat, gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek and said “Papa, I love you!” Was it because he was moved by the climactic scene with Po and his adopted goose dad or because I kept my promise and took him to watch the movie or just like that??? 

Po, as we know by now is the adopted son of the goose (not that we needed to watch part 2 to understand that). His biological parents did what they felt was best during troubled times and thought saving his life was better than clinging on to him. The untold and more touching story is that probably Mr Goose didn't even have a Mrs Goose as that would lead to uncomfortable moments with his own offspring around. He was first Po’s dad more than anything else. That one hug of recognition that Po gives his dad was the rewarding moment for all the sacrifices that a dad had made. And know what, the best thing is dads never tell that they made these sacrifices.  

It is no secret that I admire Dads of all ages for what they are. The first hero that any child has is his/her own dad! As kids grow they tend to adopt comic book heroes, movie stars, peers, seniors and people in the society as their heroes. The defining moment however is when life comes a full circle. Kids grow up and have kids of their own and that is when they realize that in the process of growing up they somewhere forgot their first hero. But,is there even a small sigh that a dad gives out during this entire process? NO! And when you indeed are back to the starting point you are too grown up or mature to give him that hug and peck on the cheek and say those words, “Papa, I love you!”. But does he care if you don't express it? NO! you can see it in his eyes, he has that same expression that your child has on his face. Thanking you for a few moments of togetherness, that odd imported whiskey bottle or just being present there in his friend/ relative’s child’s wedding. How much I feel that I could just go back in the years, put my arms around him and tell him that no matter what he will be my hero and I love him!!!  

It's a Love-Hate Relationship

love  (lv)n. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

hate  (ht) v. To feel hostility or animosity toward.

Come to think of it. Is there any individual who can only hate? I don't believe it is possible. For according to Newton, Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

For a person to hate something or someone there has to be the same amount of love and affection to a person or concept that is quiet the opposite. Is there a way for the world to better channelize the LOVE part of the emotion and make it a better place for everyone? Our lives are too short to accommodate hatred to everyone and everything.

Think about it - if at all you want to hate something, hate global warming, hate the situations that lead to poverty and starving, hate the trends that led to a skewed sex ratio, hate the have not's who hate the have's and don't do anything to change their situation. This will lead to a lot of love for the better!!!

Worship on Wheels???

I was headed to work today and though not the best thing to do, was on a call. Of course there is hands free that reduces the guilt a bit. A van zipped past and I noticed something written on the side of the van. One moment I was taken aback. Did it say - Worship on Wheels? Looked at it again and it actually said - Workshop on Wheels.

What was I thinking?

This also set me thinking. There are workshops, libraries, hospitals and hotels on wheels. Why not Worship? Isn't it high time that Gods got mobile as well and became available where people need them. This could be across religions, wow a secular thought. Look at how politicians could make us of the platform.

Thinking deeper, can spirituality or worship be converted into a business model. One might argue that it already is and that's what most religious organizations do. There are trusts, people who can afford to make donations, the funds are used to build temples and other facilities, more money flows in, this time from lesser affluent masses, money gets spent back to the society in some form or other, people who control this money get greedy and corrupt, allegations and counter allegations follow ---- but interestingly the BELIEF continues.

Come to think of it. Build out a good business plan on how a company around spirituality as a product will be developed. Register the company as a tax paying entity, get some VCs to fund the initial investment, wait it out for a few years, build a chain of places of worship or better still franchise them out, make money, pay taxes and have a transparent way of all things that matter in the company like any other corporate entity does.

If there is an "angel" out there, you know who to speak to for the Newco idea! ;) 

Innocence Lost

On a lazy Sunday morning, at the in-laws place getting ready for an engagement function, chanced to watch the show on India on Discovery Channel. As usual, my mind meandered into the memories of the past and I remembered two people from the past who influenced me at various junctures in my career, both professionally and personally. The show was about how the holy Ganges was getting polluted and the belief Indians had about Her power to cleanse all sins. The two people who came to mind were both doctors; Dr Malini S and Dr Jayachandran Thampi.


Year 2000, I had gone to New Delhi with a few friends to attend the Short Service Commission exams for selection into the armed forces as a doctor. We extended the stay there and headed out to Rishikesh and Haridwar for some sightseeing. The first time I was on the banks of the Holy Ganges, there was a sense of positive energy that engulfed me. I could feel the positive thoughts and energy that were associated with the place for thousands of years. I stood there in reverence of the Holy River that had the magical power to cleanse all sins that a person would have committed. The only other places where I felt this level of positive energy and belief was at the Raj Ghat, the resting place of the Mahatma and in the sanctum of the Tirupathi Tirumala Balaji temple. I took off my clothes and took a dip, feeling a flow of energy through my body and actually came out of the water feeling light and actually devoid of all sins.

Year 2002, I was working for a holistic medicine setup where I met Thampi. He would always call me his younger brother and impart on me knowledge on the best way to put you forward as a doctor. One late evening when he was really drunk, he let out the reason why he liked me so much. He told me that though I was 25 something, the fact that I had a childlike innocence about me was what made him like me. He told me that come what may, I should retain this innocence as that is what keeps me generally happy and free of all tensions in life. That is what, according to him, gave me my biggest asset a person could have; the ability to laugh at myself and not feel bad about committing mistakes.  

Year 2005, I was employed with a KPO that managed scientific content and events for pharmaceutical companies. Informally, Dr Malini had taken me as her mentee and trained me well in relating business needs with medical domain possibilities. We were on a client visit and scientific workshop in New Delhi and got the day off. We headed out to Haridwar again and there I was standing at the banks of the Holy River again. A priest walked by and offered to help us offer Pooja to our ancestors. I stood there watching him do the rituals and at the end he took water out of the river and asked to drink it. For one moment as the water touched my hands, I somehow couldn't convince myself to drink it. Memories of 2000 flashed before me where I had so willingly taken a dip in the river. But now, there I was seeing how muddy the water was and wondering the amount of bacteria I would consume if I drank the water.

On the way back to the New Delhi, I remembered what Thampi had told me. In the span of 5 years from my last visit to the Ganges, I got married, came across some forgettable relatives, fought hard to please all, changed the way I applied my medical knowledge from serving patients to serving corporate, been through the pain of not having lived with my parents for the first time in my life, expecting our first child, highs and lows of life after a student’s phase, and a host of other memorable and forgettable things.

April 10, 2011: Watching the show on the Holy Ganges on Discovery Channel. Eleven years since I first stood at the banks of the Holy Ganges, I could take some heart based on the fact that I was indeed turning out to be a professional success owing in a big way to people who contributed to my growth right from Dr Malini and a lot of my mentors in various organizations and my family (Deepa and my parents). However, where was I as a person? Had I in the process of growing professionally missed out on the person front? Was I still the same person who Thampi admired for my childlike innocence? I want to say yes, I hope it’s a yes, but deep inside unfortunately I know what the truth is, the answer is a big NO.

A Theist's Wish!!!

“Papa, you must not watch cricket. Watch Football instead!” says my five year old with a dismissive tone about the long time I spend watching the Cricket World Cup 2011. And to top it, he decided that he wanted to go to the park during the epic semi-final match when India beat Pakistan. I conceded and missed Yuvraj dismiss two Pakistani batsmen. He probably thought Football was the biggest game on planet Earth (which it is) due to the fact that the FIFA World Cup was what he saw me following as a 4 year old who could follow what was dished out on the Idiot Box. Little does he know that he will grow up to be one of the billion odd Indians who will do anything to watch India win a cricket world cup?

Cut back to 1983 when I as a six year old didn't know of any other televised game other than cricket. I don't even remember any of those scenes that people from my Dad’s generation recollect so emotionally. Kapil’s running catch to dismiss the great Viv Richards and start the famous march towards a maiden World Cup victory for India. 28 eventful years have passed and I still believe that Kapil Dev was the person who changed the face of cricket in the sub-continent and not just India and brought it to the status it has currently, It’s more than just a Game!

Years from now, my son would hopefully remember fondly that his parents watched the day when India won the 2011 World Cup. Cricket, the game of glorious uncertainties could still dish out something other than what a billion souls wish for. Mother Luck might decide to smile on the islanders and not the Indians. But one thing is for sure, he will remember that there was a GOD that people who followed a religion called CRICKET worshipped. He would be one of those less fortunate to only marvel at recordings of the great Sachin and not remembering watching the legend live.

I was one of the atheists that thought that Cricket was another game and there was always Tennis, Football and F1 to follow. That was all until the day I watched GOD work his miracle. 200 not out; something which no human had ever achieved in a one day international. Over the course of that innings I am sure there were many more converts like me who turned theists and started believing that Sachin was the God of Cricket the religion.

Cut to the 2^nd of April, 2011. By the end of the day it would be clear if indeed even God is imperfect. If like the great Don, our own God will end less than a 100%. Or is it that all the forces that matter are playing out the events spanning for 21 years of his career to climax with him bidding goodbye on a high.

Imagine a higher God approaching Sachin the previous night and dishing out a few options to him. There are a multitude of possibilities at the Wankhede. What if he is asked to choose between:  

·         Scoring his 100^th international century in a winning cause and checks the list of to-dos before he calls it a day

·         Being a part of the World Cup winning side, but doesn't reach the personal milestone

·         The other options I don't even want to imagine

Give these options to Sachin and I am sure he will selflessly choose the second.

28 years down the lane, my son will be in front of a television or streaming the Final live on his pad watching India win yet another World Cup while his 5 year old will pester him to go to the park. He like many his age will fondly remember that there was a God who once wielded a willow. A superhuman, who brought happiness to millions when he was at the crease. A master that ruled all he ventured into. Above all an immortal, who displayed human traits and stood clean in the midst of chaos and flawed mortals.  

Sachin do us proud all over again.

Amen!!!

Conditions Apply!!!

Need for Speed!!!

Well, speed breakers are actually put in place so that people do not speed through a particular spot. Not sure what to say about such speed breakers which motorists conveniently have redesigned to defeat the exact purpose they are meant to serve.

Translation Issues

Sign at the Borabudar World Heritage Site in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I actually felt like, well, scratching myself whenever I saw this sign (and there are quite a few of them around the temple).

Clear Location Specifications

Gate numbers displayed on the lawns of the Jakarta Airport

Design Logic

Polycon in one of our Sub-Saharan offices

Color Code

Was pulled up twice in the Nigerian and India immigration desk for using a red pen instead of the customary black or green. Though application forms do recommend colors, immigration forms don't mention any and was actually surprised that I might not be doing the right thing by choosing Red to fill the forms.

Localization and Neutralization

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Organization carries a different logo in different countries to meet the cultural and religious beliefs of countries. At the Dubai Airport you can see the Red Crescent instead of the Red Cross that you would be used to.

Exams and Results

Happened to read Aamir Khan's blog about SSC results in the below link.

http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog/login.php?topicid=709

Reminded me of what my dad did when I was in Medical School.I had failed in the BioChemistry exams. That for a person who had never gotten a rank below the 2nd place throughout my schooling career and a rank among a 1000 in competitive exams was tough to digest.

I did not want to hide the results and told my parents on what had happened. My mom started shouting the roof off the house. Dad just came by and put a hand on my shoulder. He said, "Son,if I scold you or punish you, you might think that you have been punished for a mistake and feel clean. The chances are you will repeat the same mistake again. I will not speak about this again and don't give me a chance to speak to you like this again." That did it. I was so lost for words and the guilt of letting them down overwhelmed me. I kept my promise and so did my dad. I never gave him a chance to speak to me about results again.

Whatever happens, Dad's are dad's and they are great. Love you Dad!!!

Meanderings

14 countries, 85 cities, forgot the number of road trips I have made, most of them unplanned. But there is something special about this one place in India.

It was the year of 2000, the leap century year. The only one my generation of folks will see. The best thing about the year was that we had completed our degree and were interning in a government hospital in Tumkur. That year one of the best movies in Bollywood released - Dil Chahta Hain.

Me and Lal were playing the NFS game in Rock's room one morning when Balls came by. He said he was feeling bored and wanted to go somewhere. Suddenly we remembered that I had an invitation from someone to come to their native for a very big festival in their state. Me (Meanderer), Balls (ashwin Balaji) and Lal (alwin Lal) at that moment decided to head there. With 10K borrowed cash from Dutta we headed out. The train from Bangalore was filled with people, we managed to sit on the footstand for half the journey with a litre bottle of pre-mixed coke in hand. We managed to reach in one piece to a smallish town in the state and also found a room to stay in.

The next day we headed to the backwaters of a dam which bordered 2 states. We got on to the open diesel boat that took the people into the water mass. There was a narrow passage between 2 submerged hills that took us into this beautiful artificial lake formed by the dam water. Bordering the lake is a national reserve. The greenish blue water, the elephants that were drinking from the lake, the bisons, the playful otters, OH MY GOD!!!

Then it happened, I was looking at the hills that were covered with long grass. The sun was setting and he gave a magical golden touch to the bright green blades of grass. I was looking at the hills awed at the beauty and thinking that this was heaven on earth, then the wind blew over the hills. The bright green blades of grass flipped as the wind passed through them and exposed the silvery underside of the grass blades. In one mexican wave after another the stadium of Thekady played out for us. The gloden green grass with each wave flipped and shone bright silver.

I was there in God's Own Country - Kerala. And with all the travelling I have done to date, I still believe it is the most beautiful place on planet Earth. Balls, Lal and I vowed that we would go there for our honeymoons and meet 10 years to that exact date in the same place with most probably our wives and kids.

I kept my honeymoon promise with the place. Lal went on to become an anaestetist and currently practises in Trivandrun living with his wife and son. Balls is a practising ENT surgeon in Bangalore blessed with a daughter. Guys, if you are reading this, the date is nearly on us. It will be 10 years in a few days from now when we took that vow. Do you wanna join me in God's Own Country celebrating the one thing that I have valued a lot... our Friendship???

Hippocratic Oath - mHealth; Hey it's Free!!!

Though there are a different set of audience and different kinds of mHealth services that are already monetized, it goes to show that for health related services, the initial adoption has to be driven by making it free. Once the user sees value in the offering the willingness to pay will also be there.


Does mHealth really need to be free?
Wednesday - June 23rd, 2010 - 11:00am EST by Brian Dolan | 3GDoctor | AT&T | Center for Connected Health | iPhone | mhealth | mobile health | Partners Health Care | SMS | text messaging | Text4Baby | Verizon Wireless |
By David Doherty, Business Development, 3G Doctor
Rob Havasy, a Business Analyst and mHealth Strategist at the Center for Connected Health, has posted a somewhat confusing article entitled “The Uncertain Price of mHealth.”
The basic premise is that the move from flat rate unlimited data to tiered data plans is something that “will surely impact smartphone use in mHealth.”
The article goes on to explain that data caps introduced by operators (who are rapidly losing interest in supporting Data Hogs who are eating up >2 GB per month) “throws uncertainty into the equation and will cause patients to reconsider embracing mHealth solutions and providers and payers to hesitate paying for them.”
As a basis for this argument Havasy explains that “until patients can be reassured that adopting an mHealth intervention will not incur additional, unexpected costs, they will be reluctant.” Doesn’t this fail to achieve a rather basic prerequisite of good business — that you offer services that customers can see value in and are prepared to pay for?
Havasy seems to be all at sea when it comes to appreciating the cost of data vs. SMS. Indeed mobile data services offer much better value than the “simple text messaging program” Havasy’s team recently offered to a population of young patients (of whom 20% refused to even consider due to the cost of SMS) eg. in comparison to mobile data plans of 2GB per month for $15, text messaging “penalties of only 25 cents per additional message” could be regarded as extortionate!
Havasy goes on to explain that after speaking “with colleagues and with other people in the mHealth field… we all agree on one thing: unless we can tell a patient that our program is absolutely free to them, adoption is an uphill battle.” Havasy then justifies this by suggesting that the underperforming Text4Baby program offers unequivocal proof for this.
“One of the central features of the program is that, in conjunction with the CTIA (the Wireless Industry Association) and the major American cellular carriers, messages are delivered free of charge to the user. This was considered a requirement for the program’s success – why should we think differently for other mHealth interventions?”
What’s convincing Rob and his colleagues at the Center for Connected Health that patients aren’t prepared to pay a single dime out of their own pocket for a service that makes their care experience better?
The final paragraph is a call on operators: “If the carriers are listening, please, give us fixed cost plans. Make it simpler – not harder – to figure costs and I’m sure you’ll be rewarded. The inevitable result of these pricing changes will be a shift away from the smartphone (and consumer data plans) as an mHealth platform and a shift towards more dedicated devices with embedded connectivity (think Amazon’s Kindle). Negotiated data rates and plans by device manufacturers can provide the cost certainty the market needs. Unfortunately, this will come at the cost of the rapid and innovative development made possible by smartphone platforms. The Center for Connected Health continues to investigate both dedicated and smartphone platforms for mHealth solutions, but the predictable costs associated with dedicated devices are very attractive for near-term deployments.”
Surely there’s a better answer to this than calling on operators to offer unlimited data plans? Which patients need to send 10GB of data a month anyway? Why isn’t Rob and the CFCH celebrating the opportunity that these more value conscious data plans offer?
Wouldn’t it actually be unfair if mobile operators retained their unlimited data plans so that patients (who wanted to use mobile data to improve their care experience) were faced with expensive data plans because they had to subsidise the mobile data usage of other more data intensive users?

Hippocratic Oath - mHealth; Time to DEFINE mHealth

mHealth threatens to evolve to a USD 19.5 Billion industry by 2015. But considering the fact that it is still in its infancy, there are confusions regarding clear definitions of mHealth. Currently, due to lack of a proper definition, anything from a health related service delivered on a device to a downloadable health app to a mobile device that can record or transmit patient data is treated as mHealth. It’s time that the regulatory bodies woke up to the looming evolution of mHealth and clearly define what constitutes mHealth and what doesn’t and also to put in place much needed regulations around technology’s newest billionaire (potential) infant. Read on…

It’s mHealth but will it be a Revolution?
Friday - June 25th, 2010 - 06:51pm EST by Brian Dolan
By Jon Linkous, CEO, American Telemedicine Association
The funny thing about “mHealth” is that it has taken on such a cult-like status among investors, industry and the media. Certainly the potential for the use of mHealth in the delivery of healthcare is huge and it may have an impact on other parts of healthcare such as chronic care management, emergency response services and the role and responsibilities of the consumer in their own health.
The market for mHealth is still in its infancy. There is still confusion about all that is encompassed in the term. It may include a mobile device or a service using mobile technology. The devices include an array of products and services that use mobile, wireless technology: cellular phones, wide-area, local-area and personal networks. These use different parts of the radio spectrum, different standards and protocols and different levels of signal strength or power. Generally the term mHealth does not include the use of satellite technology.
Some parts of mHealth are devices and services focused on direct consumer purchases and use. For example, the vast majority of the 6,000+ health-and-wellness smart phone applications are designed for use by consumers. However, when measured by dollar volume, these applications are probably smaller than other mobile devices and services aimed at the use in the traditional healthcare system.
The wide-spread media attraction in the mHealth market is because it’s new and it’s fun. It is still a bit of a Wild West atmosphere with new ideas and crazy applications coming up every day. Some include incredibly smart and exciting approaches to solving age old health care problems; others appear to be solutions in search of a problem. The investment money is flying out the door. Although there is a positive growth in sales, almost all of the mHealth companies or divisions have not yet made a profit. It reminds me a bit of the dot com (sometimes called the dot bomb) market of the 1990s. Certainly at this point mHealth is close to the top of the “hype cycle” (as described by Gartner, Inc). There are new associations and think tanks devoted to the subject, academic and commercial conferences galore. We are approaching the cycle’s “Peak of Expectations.”
For those on the sidelines it makes great fun. For developers and investors it is much more serious. It is a bit like a game of musical chairs. Most of the mHealth ventures are hoping to be bought up or merged into another, larger venture. At some point the music, or the outside funding, is going to stop (as we enter the Trough of Disillusionment) and those ventures not bought out or turning a profit will be in trouble.
But here is an important point – mHealth is not a stand-alone market. It is part of a mature, two trillion dollar healthcare business. To be successful, mHealth devices and services have to understand how the healthcare market operates; how it is funded and regulated; and, most important, how buying decisions are made. Developing a way to use a mobile device to measure blood glucose and send the data to another location may be interesting but is not nearly enough.
Further, relying on consumer expenditures for mHealth is probably not the answer for most such ventures. Out of pocket expenditures for healthcare in 2008 were a little below 12 percent, following a steady decline of over fifty years. This still represents a lot of money but it describes a public expectation that insurance, private or public, will pay for almost all of health care. Efforts to have consumers get more “skin in the game” will have only limited success when consumers are not even paying for their own drugs or eyeglasses anymore. Even the use of Flexible Spending Accounts will be restricted or eliminated as health reform is implemented.
Therefore, to recognize the benefits and opportunities offered by mHealth applications for healthcare delivery, they need to be incorporated into traditional healthcare financing and services. Surprisingly, despite the huge increase in health expenditures, the place where health dollars are spent has stayed relatively the same. Hospital care continues to be roughly one third of expenditures, physician services at about 20 percent and prescription drugs about 10 percent. Home health constitutes about 2 percent of national expenditures. What is changing is the source of these funds and who controls the spending. Accompanying the decline of direct consumer expenditures is the growth of public funding. On the horizon are more comprehensive regional healthcare networks with a broad authority to provide integrated, comprehensive care. This will dramatically accelerate with health reform.
The point of all of this is that the success of the mHealth revolution in the United States is directly linked with developments occurring in broader health reform and how mHealth applications may be an option for use in such developments as Accountable Care and Independence at Home initiatives. Such change is coming fast, really fast. In three to five years we may see an incredible change in the way various organizations are involved in health care delivery. It will be interesting to see how much mHealth is picked up and integrated into these changes.
Finally, assuming mHealth becomes recognized as an important component of mainstream health delivery, regulatory oversight is sure to increase. The Food and Drug Administration has played it light so far but the agency’s role in reviewing and approving mHealth devices may grow. Similarly the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission and all of their counterparts in other countries will also soon take notice and start similar regulatory oversight activities.

Hippocratic Oath - mHealth; Mobile Marketing for Pharma Companies

I would say that this would be a skewed mindset to look at opportunities. Opportunities for mobile marketing for Pharma might actually start in the emerging markets a lot earlier than the emerged markets.


Text4Baby 50K; Microskia trial; Mobile pharma

Friday - July 2nd, 2010 - 12:01pm EST by Brian Dolan | cell phone microscope | e911 | HealthEd | Microskia | mobile health marketing | Pharma mobile health | SMS | telemedicine | Text4Baby | UCLA |

Mobile marketing for healthcare not a strong opportunity yet: Pixels & Pills has a short and sweet interview with Manhattan Research’s Monique Levy that is well worth a read: “The opportunity for healthcare marketers to leverage mobile marketing for patients in this time frame is comparatively less strong. As with PC-based access, patients predominantly use mobile devices to look for health information today; relatively few have or are interested in using tools or services to help them manage their care or benefits. What’s more, adoption and interest in health mobile activities skew towards younger age groups, which typically have a lower incidence of chronic conditions.”

Cell phone microscope trial nears: Microskia, a startup out of UCLA is set to begin trials in Africa later this year. Microskia created a $10 1.5 ounce microscope peripheral out of off-the-shelf components. The invention won numerous awards from foundations and the NSF, which have helped fund the forthcoming trial.

Telemedicine coupled with E911 saves lives: PDX pharmacy customers can now enable customers to manage prescriptions via their mobiles: PDX and mscripts announced a deal that will enabled PDX Pharmacy System users to communicate with their patients through their mobiles. PDX counts 10,000 retail pharmacies as customers in the US.

Pharma opportunities: The folks over at HealthEd have a comprehensive and well-written feature on early opportunities for pharmaceutical companies in mobile health.

Text4Baby cracks 50,000 users. (It actually said 50,000 women, but out of curiosity in January even I subscribed to the free service. I suspect I’m not alone.)

AND…

Interview with Manhattan Research’s Monique Levy
July 1st, 2010 •

As Senior Director of Research at Manhattan Research, Monique Levy focuses on consumer and physician eHealth trends and marketing strategy. Prior to joining Manhattan Research, Levy was Senior Analyst at JupiterResearch for six years, leading their health coverage. She also applied her health psychology expertise at eDiets.com, managing community and providing strategic and research support to the executive team. During this time, Levy produced an award-winning cognitive-behavioral learning and multimedia tool for weight management. She also worked on environmental issues at the World Bank and was a fellow at the Pan American Health Organization. Levy has been quoted in major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and The Economist as well as other trade media including MedAdNews. Today, Pixels & Pills talks to Monique about current digital trends in the healthcare community.

By Kimberly Reyes (@CommDuCoeur)

What can healthcare marketers learn from recent trends in mobile usage, among both physicians and patients?
On the physician side the first thing for healthcare marketers to grasp is the extent of smart mobile device adoption. Our recent Taking the Pulse® v10.0 study shows that almost most three quarters of physicians own smartphones and many have a second smart portable device such as an iTouch or eReader. Another finding to which healthcare marketers should pay attention is that physicians are as likely to use browsers to find information on smartphones as they are to use apps – which means marketers have to look into mobile optimization of websites in addition to app development. Last, while physicians predominantly use smartphones to search for information and communicate today, strong growth in other activities such as patient monitoring, patient record keeping and learning are expected in the next 18 months.
The opportunity for healthcare marketers to leverage mobile marketing for patients in this time frame is comparatively less strong. As with PC-based access, patients predominantly use mobile devices to look for health information today; relatively few have or are interested in using tools or services to help them manage their care or benefits. What’s more, adoption and interest in health mobile activities skew towards younger age groups, which typically have a lower incidence of chronic conditions. Nevertheless, the personal, private and ‘always with you’ nature of smartphones, make them an ideal platform for condition and health management, so mobile health will likely grow in the midterm as mobile health products and mobile devices improve.

Can you briefly explain physician attitudes towards eHealth and ePatient communities?
Myths of physicians being intolerant of patients bringing in information from the Internet into consultations still persist even though we’ve found no evidence of this attitude in our research over the last few years. In fact, only about 1 in ten physicians say that patients referencing such information harm the relationship and the majority of physicians say patients are more informed after doing their online health research. At the same time, physicians are a bit wary of recommending websites and other online resources to patients, mostly because they can’t always vouch for them.

How is the healthcare community currently using social media, and what are some noticeable trends for 2010?
Physicians are very comfortable accessing content other healthcare professionals have created online for example on blogs, message boards, YouTube, and other websites. However, they have adopted closed professional communities or networks at a relatively slow pace mostly, according to the survey, because they haven’t had time to set up their profiles and become members of these services. The data suggests it’s much easier for physicians to stumble across professional user-generated content as they go about their regular online research than to go and log in to another dedicated resource. However, adoption of closed physician social networks may accelerate as these services evolve and provide exclusive content and other value-added services that make the extra step worthwhile.

Hippocratic Oath - mHealth

Disappointing news for someone who came in with a lot of promise. I can foresee kneejerk responses to this already. For starters the developed markets will look at regulating these devices in a more efficient manner than they are handled today (more so under healtheconomics and the FDAs). Secondly the bubble of mHealth will shrink in the minds of analysts. However, what is promising is that these regulations will move the drive for innovation out of the developed markets in the longer run leading to a lot of potential for innovation in emerging and less regulated markets.  

United Healthcare: CardioNet is “unproven”

Wednesday - July 7th, 2010

More bad news on the reimbursement front for CardioNet and other mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry service providers: United Healthcare told the company that it is maintaining its position that “outpatient cardiovascular telemetry is unproven for managing cardiac arrhythmias” and as a result it will not cover the service for its members. CardioNet, of course, disagrees and promised to continue to work with the payer to demonstrate the efficacy of its MCOT services.
The update from CardioNet about United Healthcare’s continued stance follows a similar move by the nters for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that proposed last week that the technical component of mobile cardiovascular telemetry (CPT Code 93229) remains carrier-priced for calendar year 2011.
Highmark CMS originally paid $1,123.07 for MCOT services when the CPT code took effect in early 2009, however, by July Highmark CMS announced plans to reduce the reimbursement rate substantially. On September 1, 2009 a new rate of $754 per service, a 33 percent reduction from the original $1,123, took effect. CardioNet was disappointed: “This surprise decision by HMS on July 10, 2009 must be readdressed and not be allowed to put at risk either the investment in new technologies or the benefit to the patients we serve,” the company wrote in a statement.
Since then the company has had to tighten its belt and cut operations costs to adjust for the lower reimbursement rate. The news that United Healthcare, one of the largest payers in the US, maintains its policy on not reimbursing for CardioNet’s services certainly points to the climate of wireless health reimbursement today.