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What a day. The Disease Management Care Blog got to moderate an afternoon session at the World Health Care Congress' 3rd Annual Chronic Care & Prevention Congress. The speakers were David Nash, MD, MBA and Dean of the Jefferson School of Popualtion Health, Chris Selecky, the President and CEO of LifeMasters and Charles Wilhelm, MD, the Chief Medical Officer of Health System One. The theme of the session was "modern approaches to to chronic care design." more»

As health plans search for ways to reach and motivate members to become more engaged in their health, they say that one lesson stands out loud and clear: In today's world, people won't come to you on your terms. Health plans that reach out to their members on their terms using tools that reach them wherever they happen to be with tailored, focused messages stand the best chance of success. And one effective way to do this is with cell phones and other mobile devices. more»

Back on April 14, while at the World Health Care Congress, the Disease Management Care Blog heard about the 'X Prize' for healthcare. Recall that it was these folks who first offered up a $10 million purse to the team that could fly a 3 passenger vehicle into space twice in two weeks. A private firm pulled it off on October 4, 2004. The X Prize Foundation is also offering similar prizes in human genomics, robotic space exploration and extreme automobile efficiency. more»

Results from trials of a patient-centered medical home suggest that such arrangements result in cost savings and reduced hospital readmissions, according to Dr. Barbara Walters, senior medical director of southern New Hampshire community group practices at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health care system. more»

Father of microfinance and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus created Grameen Bank over 25 years ago to alleviate poverty. He then started up a health-care insurance program for the impoverished in 1993. Healthy Horizons investigates the workings of the Grameen Health Initiative. more»

As medical knowledge advances, healthcare is becoming more complex. Faced with growing volumes of information and new technologies, clinicians are working in ever-more specialised silos. Who ’s doing what? Is it even possible for a patient to take any responsibility? Yesterday, at the World Health Care Congress Europe, I saw the progress of the webbased Map of Medicine. more»

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a USB-based ultrasound probe that can connect to a smartphone, creating a low-cost ultrasound imaging platform. Once connected to a smartphone, the probe acts like any other ultrasound device, serving as an imaging tool for kidney, liver, eye and uterine screenings and biopsies. more»

HARTFORD, Conn., May 12, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that Lonny Reisman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, is scheduled to present at the 5 Annual World Health Care Congress – Europe on May 14, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium. As a participant in the “Viable European Reform Models – The Role of HIT” panel, Dr. Reisman will discuss how electronic health information systems can help strengthen the quality and affordability of health care. He will also examine U.S. best practices and discuss how these capabilities might contribute to European reform efforts. more»

Top federal health information technology (IT) officials are predicting that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will help push development and adoption of health IT and interconnectivity to dramatically new levels over the coming years. NCI's pioneering cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid® (caBIG®) 25 project—and its current and prospective partners in the cancer research community—are likely to benefit substantially from the infusion of federal funding and new policies fostering these national economic recovery goals. more»

WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edwina Rogers, executive director of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC), will lead an international panel of experts in patient centered care at the Fifth Annual World Health Care Congress, slated for May 13-14 in Brussels, Belgium. more»

Interest in healthcare IT adoption has surged forward recently, but the industry needs to stay focused on interoperability, cautioned experts at the World Health Care Congress. more»

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verisk Health, Inc., a leading healthcare data analytics firm that delivers solutions to minimize medical and financial risk, announced today that Rong Yi, Ph.D., vice president, Consulting, for Verisk Health, and Thomas Zahn, Ph.D., managing director of DxCG Gesundheitsanalytik GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verisk Health, will present at the 5th Annual World Health Care Congress – Europe, May 13 to 14, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium. more»

The stage is set for unprecedented healthcare reform possibilities, with many of the key leaders now in place. David Blumenthal, MD, took his new position as National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on April 20. For the first six months, healthcare IT leader John Glaser, CIO of Partners Healthcare, will advise him on how best to approach the HITECH Act within the stimulus package. more»

The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel and its partner in health IT advancement, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology – no slackers to the cause – have seen their work skyrocket – since the passage of the stimulus package in February. more»

At HIMSS09 held in Chicago last month, the two words I heard most were, “meaningful use.” If you think about it, the definition of those two simple words holds the key to billions of dollars. more»

"This year will be the year we get health care reform done," Dora Hughes, HHS' counselor for public health and science, said earlier this month at the 6th Annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. more»

Washington played host to the sixth annual World Health Care Congress where top executives and academics examined the key issues in health care. Healthy Horizons went along to investigate. more»

Arrival in Baltimore last week, where the life expectancy for some humans is lower than that in Bangladesh. Riding public transport, light rail, train and metro to the World Health Care Congress in D.C., where Bangladeshi Banker to the Poor Muhammad Yunus taught doctors and CEOs in the health industry a few things about how poverty, and the alleviation of it, can provide models by which we in the West can serve our own disenfranchised populations. I saw CEOs, medical workers and those from the NGO world nodding their heads in agreement and deep understanding as Muhammad Yunus spoke. more»