The tool is aimed primarily at marketers, who may use it to devise and track advertising campaigns. A car company, for instance, could experiment with different versions of a television ad in Cleveland and Columbus, and check the number of resulting searches in each city to see which one is more effective. Or it could use the data to find out where users are searching most actively for “fuel efficiency” and aim ads for a gas-sipping vehicle there.

It seems pretty clear that there will be implications for health care, too, especially public health. As I’ve described, people often enter their symptoms into Google in the hopes of turning up the diagnosis for an ailment. That means it should be possible to track the spread of diseases as people try to diagnose themselves. Here are a couple of hypothetical examples:

• Tracking the keywords abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting to see where gastroenteritis is emerging
• Tracking the source of foodborne illnesses (like the recent tomato/jalapeno pepper salmonella scare) by seeing how many people enter salmonella symptoms along with specific foods

Relying on Google may seem a bit weak, until you consider how outbreaks of illness are tracked now. Cold and flu outbreaks are tracked by looking at sales of over the counter cough and cold medications and reports from hospital emergency rooms. Tracking down the source of the salmonella outbreak involved looking at individual cases and asking people what they ate.

Meanwhile, Google could provide the information a lot faster and in a more segmented manner. Only a small percentage of people with the flu or salmonella poisoning are likely to report it or seek hospital care, but a lot use Google. At a minimum it makes sense to consider adding the Google data to complement what’s out there today. It will take a somewhat different tool to mine the data for public health, but clearly Google has the underlying information.

There are dark sides to this, especially when the analysis moves to the individual searcher/patient level. For example, I can imagine the government quarantining people who’ve identified themselves as being contagious, and we’ve already noted the possibility of Google figuring out you have cancer before you’ve been formally diagnosed.

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog

Thirty-nine cases of human West Nile virus have been confirmed in the state as of Tuesday. There have been no fatalities related to West Nile virus in California this year, but officials fear an outbreak between August and October, the peak period for infections.



Humans and animals contract West Nile virus from bites of infected mosquitoes, which contract it by feeding on birds that have the virus in their blood. Most people who are infected by the virus do not become ill, but one in five people develop flu-like symptoms. In its most severe form, West Nile can cause encephalitis, meningitis and death.



This year, 70% of the victims have contracted the more serious neurological form of the disease, West Nile neuroinvasive disease, Cummings said. That’s a higher number than in past years, but officials do not know why that is. It’s an additional cause for concern, officials said.



Southern California has seen an increase in the number of infected dead birds and mosquitoes this year. So far, 566 dead birds and 316 mosquito samples have been confirmed positive for the virus in the area.

Original post by HealthNewsBlog.com

“Not long ago, employers tackled bulging health costs one way—by shifting more costs onto employees…but businesses are turning to health and wellness programs as a way to both reduce healthcare costs and improve employee health. A report released last week is giving employers some pointers as to how to create programs that engage workers.”

The report mentioned was conducted by the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy reviewing the BlueCross BlueShield Association’s Engaging Consumers@Work program.  This is a 10-week pilot program aimed to study the impact of different interventions on physical activity, nutrition, self-reported health status, self-reported workplace productivity, and health knowledge.  The report’s key findings included:

• “Education combined with an activation program is more effective than education alone
• Knowledge and awareness of health-related information improved post-intervention
• Employees are more likely to remember in-home communication than worksite materials “

Prevention and wellness programs continue to get attention as promising approaches to medical cost containment. MedPharma Partners did some work last year on best practices in the area of medical cost containment.  In speaking with many brokers, employers, and solutions providers, there were many different approaches to cost containment.  The more traditional approaches focused on cost shifting and consumer-driven healthplans.  More innovative approaches tried to address the root causes of escalating healthcare costs - healthcare utilization.  Some of the more common programs included preventive/wellness programs, health risk assessments, disease management, and in-house clinics.  The cost containment reality for employers is that utilization drives rates.    

ROI is more difficult to measure for a wellness program, and there is more of a leap of faith in buying these.  There was an article in USA Today several years ago with one company achieving a 3:1 ROI.  Industry insiders balked at this, complaining about unsubstantiated claims which will create unattainable expectations upon the entire industry.

We have seen that managing utilization can only be done by integrating plan design and modifying employee health behavior.  Even the best wellness program cannot be effective if participation rates are low.  Some industry best practices integrate wellness programs into benefit plan design, often including ‘play or pay’ incentives with lower employee contributions, co-pays, and deductibles for those who participate.  This can lead to participation rates in the 90%+ range. 

Prevention alone cannot solve the escalating healthcare costs in this country, but it is a very important part when integrated intelligently within an employer’s overall healthcare arsenal. 

Original post by Karen Donovan

A new study of the extinct creature’s skull shows it had an almighty bite, making the prehistoric fish one of the most fearsome predators of all time.



All the more remarkable, scientists say, because the crushing force came from jaws made of cartilage, not bone.



The researchers report their skull work in the Journal of Zoology.



The megalodon super-shark swam in the oceans more than a million-and-a-half years ago.



It grew up to 16m (52ft) in length and weighed in at 100 tonnes - 30 times heavier than the largest great white - and must have been one of the most formidable carnivores to have existed.

Original post by HealthNewsBlog.com

Here’s an excerpt from the announcement:

Dr. Andrew Williams, M.D., FACP, a board certified, Harvard-trained internist will join CP Family Health Center in Canton, NY as a full time clinician and Medical Director in August. Dr. Williams joins us from the University of Rochester Medical Center where he was a full time member of the medical school faculty and recipient of numerous honors including the Lawrence Kohn teaching fellowship and the Arthur W. Bauman award.

Dr. Williams is originally from Boston, Massachusetts.  He graduated from the University of Rochester Medical School with honors and was elected to the AOA medical honor society. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  As a National Health Service Corps Scholar, he served as physician and Chief of Staff at Northern Navajo Medical Center in New Mexico. While working for the Public Health Service, he was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 2006 he was elected as a Fellow in the American College of Physicians (FACP) based on his leadership, scholarship, community service, and patient care…

CP Family Health Care, operated by Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country, views the addition of Dr. Williams as a major step toward fulfilling its goal to provide  quality health care and other services to all members of the community, regardless of physical barriers, and/or ability to pay. “Having Dr. Williams on staff will give our patients continuity of care.  The comfort of knowing they will have the same physician from admission, to discharge, to follow-up when they need in-patient care is very important,” says Rebecca Washburn-Reynolds, Director of Health and Clinical Services for CP of the North Country.  “His goals fit in nicely with our recent designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center,” says Washburn-Reynolds.

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog

The referral service marks the first tangible result from a task force Menino convened to explore how primary care services can be improved in the city. Menino formed the panel of specialists after state authorities ruled that pharmacies and other stores can open health clinics inside their shops. That decision outraged the mayor, who proclaimed at the time that “allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong.”

There’s nothing wrong with a hotline but unlike the retail clinics it’s not going to solve many problems. Meanwhile it’s kind of pathetic that in Boston of all places it’s not possible to find a doctor.

Maybe the doctor who certified disabled firefighter/professional bodybuilder Albert Arroyo will have a few openings.

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog

The user starts by browsing a list of topics, such as anabolic steroids, bad breath, botox and cataract. After answering a few questions the user reaches a screen that summarizes the answers and provides personalized advice and links. What I like about it is that the answers contain real opinions, not just the usual WebMD stuff. One downside: it costs $6.95 to take each infoMed. I’m not sure how many takers there will be. However, the company also offers custom infoMeds that physicians can integrate into their practices.

Here’s a narrated example of me taking the Botox infoMed.

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog

More People Have Read This Shirt
THAN YOUR BLOG

I checked on the web and found the shirt is made by Despair, Inc. I’ve seen some of the company’s other products before. My favorite are the line of Demotivators –which mock the motivational posters you see in corporate offices.

Original post by David E. Williams of the Health business blog