Health 2.0 Annual Fall Conference

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – The federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute picked three apps for $150,000 in award funding to help patients and researchers connect and collaborate.

The Institute’s Dr. Karen Odom Walker moderated a Hospital Innovation Roundtable session at the Health 2.0 fall conference. In a video interview at the meeting, she described the work of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which was part of the Affordable Care Act and is based in Washington, D.C.

So far, PCORI has awarded more than $500 million to 300 projects for patient-centered research, and it plans to distribute another $3.5 billion by 2019, she said.

The winners of PCORI’s 2014 Matchmaking App Challenge, announced at the conference, developed ready-to-use Web-based or smartphone apps to link patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers in various ways.

First-place winner PatientPowered.us of San Francisco received $100,000 for its mobile network connecting patients with researchers and healthcare professionals to share ideas for solving their medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, sleep apnea, migraines, or others, and to connect patients with clinical trials.

Second-place winner WellSpringboard, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, received $35,000 for its software platform to enable crowdfunding of patient-focused research. CareHubs of Beaverton, Ore. received $15,000 in third-place prize money for a platform for patient engagement in health systems.

Dr. Walker’s spouse works for MedImmune. She reported having no other financial disclosures.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – The federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute picked three apps for $150,000 in award funding to help patients and researchers connect and collaborate.

The Institute’s Dr. Karen Odom Walker moderated a Hospital Innovation Roundtable session at the Health 2.0 fall conference. In a video interview at the meeting, she described the work of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which was part of the Affordable Care Act and is based in Washington, D.C.

So far, PCORI has awarded more than $500 million to 300 projects for patient-centered research, and it plans to distribute another $3.5 billion by 2019, she said.

The winners of PCORI’s 2014 Matchmaking App Challenge, announced at the conference, developed ready-to-use Web-based or smartphone apps to link patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers in various ways.

First-place winner PatientPowered.us of San Francisco received $100,000 for its mobile network connecting patients with researchers and healthcare professionals to share ideas for solving their medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, sleep apnea, migraines, or others, and to connect patients with clinical trials.

Second-place winner WellSpringboard, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, received $35,000 for its software platform to enable crowdfunding of patient-focused research. CareHubs of Beaverton, Ore. received $15,000 in third-place prize money for a platform for patient engagement in health systems.

Dr. Walker’s spouse works for MedImmune. She reported having no other financial disclosures.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – The federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute picked three apps for $150,000 in award funding to help patients and researchers connect and collaborate.

The Institute’s Dr. Karen Odom Walker moderated a Hospital Innovation Roundtable session at the Health 2.0 fall conference. In a video interview at the meeting, she described the work of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which was part of the Affordable Care Act and is based in Washington, D.C.

So far, PCORI has awarded more than $500 million to 300 projects for patient-centered research, and it plans to distribute another $3.5 billion by 2019, she said.

The winners of PCORI’s 2014 Matchmaking App Challenge, announced at the conference, developed ready-to-use Web-based or smartphone apps to link patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers in various ways.

First-place winner PatientPowered.us of San Francisco received $100,000 for its mobile network connecting patients with researchers and healthcare professionals to share ideas for solving their medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, sleep apnea, migraines, or others, and to connect patients with clinical trials.

Second-place winner WellSpringboard, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, received $35,000 for its software platform to enable crowdfunding of patient-focused research. CareHubs of Beaverton, Ore. received $15,000 in third-place prize money for a platform for patient engagement in health systems.

Dr. Walker’s spouse works for MedImmune. She reported having no other financial disclosures.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – Electronic health records are everywhere, but how can a health system best use all the data that it collects?

Software platforms are emerging to organize and analyze the data for population health management. One new system from the company Acupera has been implemented in St. Vincent Health, an 18-hospital system in Indiana that’s part of Ascension Health, based in St. Louis.

The computerized platform led to a sixfold improvement in the efficiency of care managers, increasing their case loads from 14 patients to more than 85 patients per week, says Dr. Ronald Razmi, a former cardiologist who founded and serves as chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Acupera.

In a video interview at the Health 2.0 fall conference 2014, he described the platform, how it works, and how it could improve health outcomes.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – Electronic health records are everywhere, but how can a health system best use all the data that it collects?

Software platforms are emerging to organize and analyze the data for population health management. One new system from the company Acupera has been implemented in St. Vincent Health, an 18-hospital system in Indiana that’s part of Ascension Health, based in St. Louis.

The computerized platform led to a sixfold improvement in the efficiency of care managers, increasing their case loads from 14 patients to more than 85 patients per week, says Dr. Ronald Razmi, a former cardiologist who founded and serves as chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Acupera.

In a video interview at the Health 2.0 fall conference 2014, he described the platform, how it works, and how it could improve health outcomes.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – Electronic health records are everywhere, but how can a health system best use all the data that it collects?

Software platforms are emerging to organize and analyze the data for population health management. One new system from the company Acupera has been implemented in St. Vincent Health, an 18-hospital system in Indiana that’s part of Ascension Health, based in St. Louis.

The computerized platform led to a sixfold improvement in the efficiency of care managers, increasing their case loads from 14 patients to more than 85 patients per week, says Dr. Ronald Razmi, a former cardiologist who founded and serves as chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Acupera.

In a video interview at the Health 2.0 fall conference 2014, he described the platform, how it works, and how it could improve health outcomes.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Mayo Clinic handed iPads with an app called “myCare” to patients scheduled for surgery and showed that its use significantly reduced postsurgical length of stay, the total cost of care, and the need for home health care or skilled nursing care at discharge.

A study of 150 patients was so successful that the software, developed initially as an external software program for testing, is now being rebuilt into the institution’s systems so that it has a home in clinicians’ workflow, Dr. David J. Cook said at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

Dr. Cook, chair of cardiovascular anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., describes the app in detail in this video interview. The app provides patients a customized plan of care including what they can expect daily, just-in-time education, self-assessment tools, and more. Results are transmitted wirelessly to a dashboard, where clinicians can track a patient’s progress, facilitating earlier intervention when needed.

Other investigators at the Mayo Clinic developed a separate online and smartphone-based app to help with rehabilitation of patients hospitalized after a heart attack and stent placement. The app functioned as a self-monitoring system that allowed patients to enter vital signs and to access educational content about steps they could take to reduce their risk of another heart attack.

During a 90-day study, 20% of 25 patients using the app were rehospitalized or admitted to an emergency department, compared with 60% of 19 patients in a control group who received conventional cardiac rehabilitation care without the app. The investigators reported the data at the American College of Cardiology earlier this year.

“We hope a tool like this will help us extend the reach of cardiac rehabilitation to all heart patients, but in particular, it could help patients in rural and underserved populations who might not be able to attend cardiac rehabilitation sessions,” Dr. R. Jay Widmer said in a statement released by the Mayo Clinic.

These and dozens of other apps and technological tools are being developed and tested is a systematic fashion through the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation. In the video, Dr. Cook also describes the Center’s activities and previews another innovative tool in development.

Dr. Cook reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Mayo Clinic handed iPads with an app called “myCare” to patients scheduled for surgery and showed that its use significantly reduced postsurgical length of stay, the total cost of care, and the need for home health care or skilled nursing care at discharge.

A study of 150 patients was so successful that the software, developed initially as an external software program for testing, is now being rebuilt into the institution’s systems so that it has a home in clinicians’ workflow, Dr. David J. Cook said at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

Dr. Cook, chair of cardiovascular anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., describes the app in detail in this video interview. The app provides patients a customized plan of care including what they can expect daily, just-in-time education, self-assessment tools, and more. Results are transmitted wirelessly to a dashboard, where clinicians can track a patient’s progress, facilitating earlier intervention when needed.

Other investigators at the Mayo Clinic developed a separate online and smartphone-based app to help with rehabilitation of patients hospitalized after a heart attack and stent placement. The app functioned as a self-monitoring system that allowed patients to enter vital signs and to access educational content about steps they could take to reduce their risk of another heart attack.

During a 90-day study, 20% of 25 patients using the app were rehospitalized or admitted to an emergency department, compared with 60% of 19 patients in a control group who received conventional cardiac rehabilitation care without the app. The investigators reported the data at the American College of Cardiology earlier this year.

“We hope a tool like this will help us extend the reach of cardiac rehabilitation to all heart patients, but in particular, it could help patients in rural and underserved populations who might not be able to attend cardiac rehabilitation sessions,” Dr. R. Jay Widmer said in a statement released by the Mayo Clinic.

These and dozens of other apps and technological tools are being developed and tested is a systematic fashion through the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation. In the video, Dr. Cook also describes the Center’s activities and previews another innovative tool in development.

Dr. Cook reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Mayo Clinic handed iPads with an app called “myCare” to patients scheduled for surgery and showed that its use significantly reduced postsurgical length of stay, the total cost of care, and the need for home health care or skilled nursing care at discharge.

A study of 150 patients was so successful that the software, developed initially as an external software program for testing, is now being rebuilt into the institution’s systems so that it has a home in clinicians’ workflow, Dr. David J. Cook said at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

Dr. Cook, chair of cardiovascular anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., describes the app in detail in this video interview. The app provides patients a customized plan of care including what they can expect daily, just-in-time education, self-assessment tools, and more. Results are transmitted wirelessly to a dashboard, where clinicians can track a patient’s progress, facilitating earlier intervention when needed.

Other investigators at the Mayo Clinic developed a separate online and smartphone-based app to help with rehabilitation of patients hospitalized after a heart attack and stent placement. The app functioned as a self-monitoring system that allowed patients to enter vital signs and to access educational content about steps they could take to reduce their risk of another heart attack.

During a 90-day study, 20% of 25 patients using the app were rehospitalized or admitted to an emergency department, compared with 60% of 19 patients in a control group who received conventional cardiac rehabilitation care without the app. The investigators reported the data at the American College of Cardiology earlier this year.

“We hope a tool like this will help us extend the reach of cardiac rehabilitation to all heart patients, but in particular, it could help patients in rural and underserved populations who might not be able to attend cardiac rehabilitation sessions,” Dr. R. Jay Widmer said in a statement released by the Mayo Clinic.

These and dozens of other apps and technological tools are being developed and tested is a systematic fashion through the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation. In the video, Dr. Cook also describes the Center’s activities and previews another innovative tool in development.

Dr. Cook reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Food and Drug Administration cleared an algorithm for use by patients on a device that attaches to a smartphone to screen for atrial fibrillation instantly.

The AliveCor Heart Monitor attaches to the back of iPhones or Android-based smartphones. Users place fingers on the device and see information on the phone’s screen. They can log their symptoms, and the ECG reading is sent to the company’s server, so data can be accessed later.

The FDA approved the AliveCor Heart Monitor in 2013, and patients have used it since March 2014, with the device sending the ECG reading to a cardiologist or cardiac technician who would send a reply within 24 hours. In August 2014, the FDA cleared an algorithm to be used in a new, free app on the device that allows patients to get an immediate result showing whether or not they are likely to have atrial fibrillation. The company launched the app on the marketplace at the Health 2.0 fall conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Validation trials have shown that the single-lead AliveCor Heart Monitor system is comparable to a conventional 12-lead ECG, Dr. Omar Dawood said in an interview at the conference. He is a clinical adviser to AliveCor, a surgeon by training who now works with technology companies. And results of two small Australian trials in clinical settings suggest that the AliveCor system is easily used on patients by pharmacists or nurses and is cost-effective.

In one study, pharmacists screened 1,000 pharmacy customers aged 65 years or older using the AliveCor system. A cardiologist read the results, and patients with suspected new atrial fibrillation were referred to general practitioners for conventional 12-lead ECG.

The AliveCor screening identified new cases of atrial fibrillation in 1.5% of patients and a 6.7% prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the cohort. The automated AliveCor algorithm was 98.5% sensitive and 91.4% specific for atrial fibrillation, reported Nicole Lowres of the University of Sydney, and her associates (Thromb. Haemost. 2014;111:1167-76). The investigators also estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness if AliveCor screening were extended into the community, with some patients receiving prescriptions for warfarin and 55% of those adhering to the medication regimen. They calculated a cost in U.S. dollars of $4,066 per quality-adjusted life-year gained and $20,695 to prevent one stroke.

Screening with the AliveCor Heart Monitor “in pharmacies with an automated algorithm is both feasible and cost-effective,” the investigators concluded.

In a separate pilot study, 88 patients seen in three general practices in Sydney were screened by a receptionist or a nurse using AliveCor before seeing the physician. The AliveCor results were transmitted to a secure website where the physician could see them during the patient’s consultation during the same visit.

The device found active atrial fibrillation in 17 patients (19%), all previously diagnosed. The general practitioners and nurses liked the system and its immediate results, but the receptionists felt uneasy doing the screening, reported Jessica Orchard, also of the university, and her associates.

“Atrial fibrillation screening in general practice is feasible,” the investigators concluded (Aust. Fam. Physician 2014;43:315-9). The AliveCor sells for $60-$199, depending on the model of smartphone.

For more on AliveCor, see our video interview with Dr. Dawood at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

AliveCor provided free devices for the studies, which were funded by scholarships from the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The investigators reported having no other financial associations with AliveCor. Some reported financial associations with BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Servier, and AstraZeneca.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Food and Drug Administration cleared an algorithm for use by patients on a device that attaches to a smartphone to screen for atrial fibrillation instantly.

The AliveCor Heart Monitor attaches to the back of iPhones or Android-based smartphones. Users place fingers on the device and see information on the phone’s screen. They can log their symptoms, and the ECG reading is sent to the company’s server, so data can be accessed later.

The FDA approved the AliveCor Heart Monitor in 2013, and patients have used it since March 2014, with the device sending the ECG reading to a cardiologist or cardiac technician who would send a reply within 24 hours. In August 2014, the FDA cleared an algorithm to be used in a new, free app on the device that allows patients to get an immediate result showing whether or not they are likely to have atrial fibrillation. The company launched the app on the marketplace at the Health 2.0 fall conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Validation trials have shown that the single-lead AliveCor Heart Monitor system is comparable to a conventional 12-lead ECG, Dr. Omar Dawood said in an interview at the conference. He is a clinical adviser to AliveCor, a surgeon by training who now works with technology companies. And results of two small Australian trials in clinical settings suggest that the AliveCor system is easily used on patients by pharmacists or nurses and is cost-effective.

In one study, pharmacists screened 1,000 pharmacy customers aged 65 years or older using the AliveCor system. A cardiologist read the results, and patients with suspected new atrial fibrillation were referred to general practitioners for conventional 12-lead ECG.

The AliveCor screening identified new cases of atrial fibrillation in 1.5% of patients and a 6.7% prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the cohort. The automated AliveCor algorithm was 98.5% sensitive and 91.4% specific for atrial fibrillation, reported Nicole Lowres of the University of Sydney, and her associates (Thromb. Haemost. 2014;111:1167-76). The investigators also estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness if AliveCor screening were extended into the community, with some patients receiving prescriptions for warfarin and 55% of those adhering to the medication regimen. They calculated a cost in U.S. dollars of $4,066 per quality-adjusted life-year gained and $20,695 to prevent one stroke.

Screening with the AliveCor Heart Monitor “in pharmacies with an automated algorithm is both feasible and cost-effective,” the investigators concluded.

In a separate pilot study, 88 patients seen in three general practices in Sydney were screened by a receptionist or a nurse using AliveCor before seeing the physician. The AliveCor results were transmitted to a secure website where the physician could see them during the patient’s consultation during the same visit.

The device found active atrial fibrillation in 17 patients (19%), all previously diagnosed. The general practitioners and nurses liked the system and its immediate results, but the receptionists felt uneasy doing the screening, reported Jessica Orchard, also of the university, and her associates.

“Atrial fibrillation screening in general practice is feasible,” the investigators concluded (Aust. Fam. Physician 2014;43:315-9). The AliveCor sells for $60-$199, depending on the model of smartphone.

For more on AliveCor, see our video interview with Dr. Dawood at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

AliveCor provided free devices for the studies, which were funded by scholarships from the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The investigators reported having no other financial associations with AliveCor. Some reported financial associations with BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Servier, and AstraZeneca.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert

The Food and Drug Administration cleared an algorithm for use by patients on a device that attaches to a smartphone to screen for atrial fibrillation instantly.

The AliveCor Heart Monitor attaches to the back of iPhones or Android-based smartphones. Users place fingers on the device and see information on the phone’s screen. They can log their symptoms, and the ECG reading is sent to the company’s server, so data can be accessed later.

The FDA approved the AliveCor Heart Monitor in 2013, and patients have used it since March 2014, with the device sending the ECG reading to a cardiologist or cardiac technician who would send a reply within 24 hours. In August 2014, the FDA cleared an algorithm to be used in a new, free app on the device that allows patients to get an immediate result showing whether or not they are likely to have atrial fibrillation. The company launched the app on the marketplace at the Health 2.0 fall conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Validation trials have shown that the single-lead AliveCor Heart Monitor system is comparable to a conventional 12-lead ECG, Dr. Omar Dawood said in an interview at the conference. He is a clinical adviser to AliveCor, a surgeon by training who now works with technology companies. And results of two small Australian trials in clinical settings suggest that the AliveCor system is easily used on patients by pharmacists or nurses and is cost-effective.

In one study, pharmacists screened 1,000 pharmacy customers aged 65 years or older using the AliveCor system. A cardiologist read the results, and patients with suspected new atrial fibrillation were referred to general practitioners for conventional 12-lead ECG.

The AliveCor screening identified new cases of atrial fibrillation in 1.5% of patients and a 6.7% prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the cohort. The automated AliveCor algorithm was 98.5% sensitive and 91.4% specific for atrial fibrillation, reported Nicole Lowres of the University of Sydney, and her associates (Thromb. Haemost. 2014;111:1167-76). The investigators also estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness if AliveCor screening were extended into the community, with some patients receiving prescriptions for warfarin and 55% of those adhering to the medication regimen. They calculated a cost in U.S. dollars of $4,066 per quality-adjusted life-year gained and $20,695 to prevent one stroke.

Screening with the AliveCor Heart Monitor “in pharmacies with an automated algorithm is both feasible and cost-effective,” the investigators concluded.

In a separate pilot study, 88 patients seen in three general practices in Sydney were screened by a receptionist or a nurse using AliveCor before seeing the physician. The AliveCor results were transmitted to a secure website where the physician could see them during the patient’s consultation during the same visit.

The device found active atrial fibrillation in 17 patients (19%), all previously diagnosed. The general practitioners and nurses liked the system and its immediate results, but the receptionists felt uneasy doing the screening, reported Jessica Orchard, also of the university, and her associates.

“Atrial fibrillation screening in general practice is feasible,” the investigators concluded (Aust. Fam. Physician 2014;43:315-9). The AliveCor sells for $60-$199, depending on the model of smartphone.

For more on AliveCor, see our video interview with Dr. Dawood at the Health 2.0 fall conference.

AliveCor provided free devices for the studies, which were funded by scholarships from the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The investigators reported having no other financial associations with AliveCor. Some reported financial associations with BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Servier, and AstraZeneca.

[email protected]


On Twitter @sherryboschert