medical

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That Study Showing Kids Sprouting Horns is Probably Bogus

Andrew Orr ·

Beth Mole reminds us that scientific studies are more nuanced than a sensationalized news story. The Washington Post wrote about a study showing kids sprouting horns because of bad posture, and phones were to blame. But it’s probably bogus.

Perhaps the most striking problems are that the study makes no mention of horns and does not include any data whatsoever on mobile devices usage by its participants who, according to the Post, are growing alleged horns. Also troubling is that the study authors don’t report much of the data, and some of the results blatantly conflict with each other.

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Facebook Marketing Agency xSocialMedia Leaks Medical Data

Andrew Orr ·

xSocialMedia, a marketing agency on Facebook that runs campaigns for medical malpractice lawsuits, has leaked medical and other data for about 150,000 people.

vpnMentor notes that xSocialMedia might not be subject to HIPAA compliance because patients are free to disclose their health information to the parties of their choice – in this case, by inputting it into a form on one of the advertising firm’s sites.

vpnMentor says it discovered the leak on 2 June. xSocialMedia responded on 11 June and closed the database up on the same day.

What a nice bit of information to wake up to.

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Morgan Stanley: 4 Ways Apple Could Expand Healthcare Push

Andrew Orr ·

Morgan Stanley has four ideas for Apple to expand its presence in the healthcare industry, projecting up to a US$313 billion revenue opportunity by 2027.

Going forward, Morgan Stanley suggests that Apple could boost its health initiatives in several different ways. For instance, it could add blood pressure, glucose, and sleep tracking integration to the Apple Watch. It could also add hearing aid functionality to AirPods. The analysts also note that Apple could accelerate its future health efforts by acquiring an existing health company.

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Amazon Alexa HIPAA Skills Come to the Device

Andrew Orr ·

Amazon announced six Alexa HIPAA-compliant skills are coming today. They will be for patients and caregivers.

Now Atrium Health patients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia can ask Alexa to schedule same-day appointments, while Express Scripts members can check the status of a home delivery prescription and can request Alexa notifications when their prescription orders are shipped. Meanwhile, the Livongo Alexa skill lets people check recent blood sugar readings and monitor their blood sugar levels. Other developers or healthcare companies that are interested in adding skills to Alexa must apply to an invite-only Alexa program to participate.

Nothing will go wrong, right?

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Hospital Program for Pregnant Women Compatible With HealthKit

Andrew Orr ·

At a hospital in New Orleans a program for pregnant women called Connected Maternity Online Monitoring (MOM) was set up like a Genius Bar and is compatible with HealthKit.

Hatamian was intrigued and agreed to sign up. After her first visit with an obstetrician, she went over to the Ochsner “O Bar,” a part of the hospital modeled on the Apple Genius Bar. But instead of iPhones, the technologies on display included connected weight scales, blood pressure monitors and activity trackers. The O Bar gave Hatamian a set of devices selected for expectant mothers, including a wireless weight scale and a blood pressure cuff, as well as dipsticks and cups to measure protein levels in urine.

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Millennials Should Kill The Medical Industrial Complex

Andrew Orr ·

Big Pharma isn’t satisfied with old-fashioned television ads. Now they’re partnering with Instagram influencers.

In a pink tutu against a pink backdrop, Erin Ziering, wife of former 90210 star Ian Ziering, advertises Allergan breast implants and Botox side by side in a December 2018 post — the same month the company pulled its textured implants from European markets in response to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration that individuals with breast implants are at risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).

Let’s put the “medical industrial complex” on the list of things millennials should kill. Maybe then we wouldn’t have Goldman Sachs asking whether curing patients is sustainable.