Health

Sharing information to improve your health

The movements behind the Health 2.0 conferences and open government have together helped create or open large amounts of data of many different types. The next step is to connect all of that data so that it's actually meaningful and useful for users. There's a chance now to build things that are faster and more targeted than ever before.

Indu Subaiya, co-founder of Health 2.0, moderated a panel on the issue at SXSW, which included people from various projects using open information to improve healthcare: » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 13 Mar 2011 by Ruth Suehle (Red Hat)

Bringing information sharing to healthcare

Sharing health information like diagnoses, lab tests, or prescriptions easily and securely has been a huge challenge for doctors, hospitals, and patients. In fact, many in the healthcare industry still exchange information by mail or fax.

The Direct Project works to bring healthcare into the computer age, improving patient care and curbing costs by helping people share information more effectively. » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 25 Feb 2011 by Lori Mehen (Red Hat)

Will reading your doctor's notes make you healthier?

In an old Seinfeld episode, Elaine visits her doctor  and manages to sneak a peek at the physician’s notes. She sees she’s been labeled "difficult." The doctor grabs the notes from her and after a confrontation, jots down more notes. Later, Elaine convinces Kramer to try to get access to her chart, but he walks out empty-handed only to report, "they’ve now created a chart on me."

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) now allows patients access to their medical records, but few patients—like Elaine--have ever lain eyes on their records. And those who try commonly face bureaucratic obstacles and exorbitant copying fees.

One doctor thought that openly inviting patients to review these records could better engage patients, and increase their understanding of health and treatment regimens. So he decided to find out for sure. » Read more

4 CommentsPosted 3 Feb 2011 by Lori Mehen (Red Hat)

Open source for designing next-generation digital hearing aids

At 64 Studio, we use the Linux kernel with real-time patches to ensure reliable, glitch-free I/O for our customers' demanding audio applications. Having source code and full control over the design of the system means that we can tweak the machine for the best possible performance on the target hardware. Typically, our end users are in the "pro audio" market--music production, recording, or broadcast. When an audio engineer switches on their new mixing desk, they probably don't realise that it's actually an embedded GNU/Linux device, albeit one that weighs a few hundred times as much as their Android phone. » Read more

7 CommentsPosted 24 Sep 2010 by Daniel James

Open health in Guatemala

The FreeMED Software Foundation has been involved with a medical clinic and teaching project in Guatemala for some time. The project, hosted by Pop-Wuj, a non-profit Spanish language school in Xela (Quetzeltenango), Guatemala, hosts a medical clinic for the poor in the city and surrounding pueblos.

The project, through the efforts of Jonathan St George, MD who founded the idea, has been » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 3 Sep 2010 by Irv Buchbinder

Three reasons why open source is working for Alzheimer's research

When the open source way starts finding its way to the likes of the pharmaceutical industry, it turns a few heads. A combination of free access and open data has started changing the medical research model, beginning with drug companies collaborating on research for Alzheimer's disease.

Dana Blankenhorn from ZDNet was dead on when he said » Read more

1 CommentPosted 18 Aug 2010 by Jason Hibbets (Red Hat)

Drug companies to collaborate on Alzheimer's disease

The rising cost of development and research is making drug companies turn to each other for help. Rival companies that include Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Roche plan on sharing clinical data in a standard format. But this isn't the first time we've seen pharmaceutical companies start to share data.

» Read more

0 CommentsPosted 11 Jun 2010 by Jason Hibbets (Red Hat)

Open pharmaceutical innovation

When it comes to infectious diseases, sharing is generally discouraged. But recently, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) opened up the designs behind 13,500 chemical compounds, which the company narrowed down from over two million, that may be capable of fighting malaria.

The process of determing which compounds could yield a malaria drug is time consuming and complex, but GSK hopes to inspire other researchers to pool their intellectual property and work together to develop new and better medicines to fight the diseases that are rampant in the world’s poorest countries. » Read more

1 CommentPosted 2 Jun 2010 by Rebecca Fernandez (Red Hat)

Old phones save lives

Your old phone could make a big difference to a health worker in Africa.

IntraHealth International, a public health nonprofit, is launching a partnership with Hope Phones and FrontlineSMS:Medic to provide mobile phones to African health workers who offer maternal and child health services, including obstetric consultations, safe deliveries, family planning, and malaria and HIV prevention and treatment. » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 26 Mar 2010 by Heather LaGarde

Open Thread Thursday: Patients like me

Check out patientslikeme.com. It's an online community that encourages you to share your healthcare experiences. And rather than a privacy policy, like most sites have, they have an "Openness Philosophy" page instead. You can view user comments on specific drugs or treatments that patients used for a variety of symptoms, illnesses and diseases. Communities exist for specific illnesses, like HIV/AIDs and Multiple Sclerosis. » Read more

4 CommentsPosted 11 Feb 2010 by adrienne (Red Hat)