Facebook in mHealth- Games for the ailing World

Have you ever thought how can Facebook revolutionarize the way healthcare is taught, implemented and delivered in the world??

Can we use Peer Pressure to eliminate Obesity? Diabetes? High Cholesterol? For a minute, let us understand what is Facebook? 

Facebook is a great way to meet friends and keep up on what they are doing. Once you add a friend to your Facebook friend list you will always know when they are adding things to their blog or updating their profile. Users can create profiles with photos, lists of personal interests, contact information, and other personal information. Users can communicate with friends and other users through private or public messages and a chat feature. They can also create and join interest groups and "like pages, some of which are maintained by organizations as a means of advertising.

Why Facebook for mHealth? It has been found that people are looking for reliable information on healthcare products and services on the worldwide web. Google shows up millions of results but people tend to rely on peer group recommendations only. Social media is most popular amongst information seekers and Facebook was the most popular one (18%), followed by YouTube (12%), Blogs (9%), Twitter (6%). The survey was conducted on 1000 respondents. Overall, nearly a third of respondents, and 50 percent of those under the age of 35, had used social media for healthcare purposes, which can range from registering a complaint to looking up informational videos on YouTube.

What all can be done? Think of Health Maps, community building, support groups and Health games- where you can throw challenges, earn points and redeem them. Pulswatch- a start-up that has created a GPS powered wearable smart sensor that allows users to set fitness goals, track their workouts and challenge one another to one of four interactive running games which spur continued exercise. For example, the platform’s running game, Chase, pits runners against their friends to match each others’ run times, or chase them down if they get too far ahead. In addition to bragging rights, the winner of the race claims a trophy and PulsWatch points which can be used to purchase additional applications from the PulsWatch store.

How about launching a Facebook currency that is as good as money and can only be redeemed on portals like healthkart.com, Drugstore etc. for buying Healthcare related products/services?

 If you have more ideas, please write to me at drruchibhatt@gmail.com

mHeath based Diabetes Management in India - Remote monitoring Tools

In the past we have read a lot of research projects that determine the outcomes based overview of Diabetes management and the use of remote monitoring tools. We have spoken to Doctors,  technologists as well as equipment manufacturers and all of these available tools represent a breakthrough for clinician/patient communication to enhance disease management and improve health outcomes.

However, for India we were yet to find out the drivers, challenges, consumer behaviour, expected adoption level and value add to the end users. Here is a recent study undertaken by HealthCursor Consulting Group India to understand the DM market better.

SURVEY questionnaire:

1. If you are given a Glucometer (blood sugar check machine) for free, will you check your blood sugar daily ?

1)      Yes

2)      No

2. Your mobile phone will automatically send this data to your Doctor. Your Doctor will then SMS, EMAIL or call you if your sugar is not in control. How much you will you easily pay for this service? (Note: the doctor will not disturb you in case of normal readings.)

1)      Rs 1000-2000/month

2)      Rs 500-900/month

3)      Rs 100-400/month

3. Will you feel more comfortable if you do not have to do your blood sugar monitoring yourself but a nurse sitting in a nearby chemist store/pharmacy does it for you? In this case you will have to step out of your house but will this give you more confidence?

1)      Yes, I will feel better if a nurse does that and I don't mind driving to the chemist store.

2)      No, I would like to do it at home myself

4. Are you using a Glucometer already? Would you mind buying a new Glucometer if that connects with your phone and transfers your data automatically to the doctor?

1)      Yes, I have a Glucometer and Yes, I will buy a new one if it is the same price as my old one but has advance features like what is mentioned above.

2)      Yes, I have a Glucometer and No, I don't want a new Glucometer.

3)      No, I don't have a Glucometer but Yes, I will buy a new one if it is the same price as the one available in the market but has advance features like what is mentioned above

4)      No, I don't have a Glucometer but I will only buy known conventional brands Glucometer and will not trust any advance ones.

5. What all a Diabetic should invest in?

1)      Glucometer

2)      Glucometer, Doctor Consultation

3)      Glucometer, Doctor Consultation, Daily Glucose monitoring and advice

4)      Glucometer, Doctor Consultation,Daily Glucose monitoring and advice, Diagnostic checkups

5)      Glucometer, Doctor Consultation, Daily Glucose monitoring and advice, Diagnostic checkups, Diet plan, Exercise plan, Lifestyle and wellness plan

SAMPLE: Volunteers from the following companies participated in this survey.

mHealth India | Press releases India

mHealth India | Press releases India

HealthCursor, a niche mhealth consulting company based out of India aimed at delivering Insight Driven Healthcare solutions while realizing the promise of a connected health future was launched today. Through HealthCursor Consulting, clients in the India, Middle East and North Africa will have access to leading experts based in the region, while also benefiting from the company's strong links with practitioner communities and regulatory bodies in developing countries. HealthCursor Consulting is launched in direct response to growing demand from clients in the region for mHealth consulting services, and is a natural complement to the Founder's expertise in Healthcare IT business management and financial services. "We are putting in a team together to innovate and deliver new value by improving health outcomes and look past standalone systems and find more ways to connect fragmented healthcare ecosystems in developing countries and support new forms of care delivery, "said Dr. Ruchi Dass, Founder of HealthCursor. "This enables unprecedented capabilities to provide the right care at the right time for a whole new breed of healthcare."

Mhealth - Counterfeit Drugs India

WHO tells a story “By April 1999, reports of 771 cases of substandard drugs had been entered into the WHO database on counterfeit drugs, 77% of which were from developing countries. (Data analysis showed that in 60% of the 325 cases for which detailed data were available, an active ingredient was lacking.)”

Bad medicines don't just threaten lives; they undermine the entire medical system.

What is being done?

There are distinct aspects to deciphering and de-complexifying the counterfeit pharmaceutical supply chain. One that is probably more in use today by almost all pharmaceutical companies worldwide is the product-based tracking methodology which incorporates the use of high technology systems to identify counterfeit products in the market. These technologies include tamper-evident packaging, holographics, bar codes and the more recent RFID.

Indian Scenario

People buy two tablets and never a strip. The unique number idea doesn’t work here.

Chemists know that they are buying counterfeit drugs- they get better margins on them.

Chemists don’t want to find out whether they are selling counterfeit drugs?- Barcode thing doesn’t work here. Same stuff with hologram and all.

Interventions are required at the distributor level or best at the consumer level.

Roger Bate says “According to an investigation I just conducted with the Legatum Institute and the International Policy Network, the situation is as bad with at least some of Delhi's wholesalers. We found that 7% of all tested samples were substandard and 3.6% were likely counterfeit. It's probable that the drug supply in poorer areas is even more contaminated.

A strong majority of Indian pharmacists interviewed in our investigation admit that fellow pharmacists knowingly profit from the sale of counterfeit drugs. Nearly all of the pharmacists interviewed claimed to have been propositioned by counterfeiters at one time or another. Last year alone, counterfeit drugs were seized by authorities in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur and many other Indian cities. In 2008, about half of the medical products that were confiscated by European Union customs officials originated in India.

I believe in Simplicity….

Solutions should be uncomplicated - According to a study published by researchers of the University of Lleida (UdL) in the scientific journal Sensors, the sensor of some optical mice can be used to easily and cheaply detect counterfeit euros – Something like this for Drugs packaging can be great!!! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117094935.htm

Or;

If we really have to go that precise in judging counterfeit and fake drugs, there is a specific way out for which testing centers can be set up. We all know about Raman spectroscopy- I know it from our chemistry labs. The investigators describe development of a new form of Raman spectroscopy, a mainstay tool for identifying molecules, which can probe deep layers of material that are well beyond the reach of conventional Raman spectroscopy. The method, spatially offset Raman spectroscopy, can analyze through paper packaging, plastic containers, capsule shells, and tablet coatings to verify the ingredients in a pharmaceutical product, the researcher’s state. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070129140741.htm

Innovative Transponders-The Radiopharm Project -The most innovative is the tagging of transponders on item-level (incl. write and read processes), not only on case or pallet level. It was aimed to get an identification of every single transponder, despite the disturbing influences of liquids and metals. This requirement creates new challenges, especially for the RFID technology that occurs in the pharmaceutical area. The co-workers of the IFT built a test rig for multiple test scenarios as a demonstrator to proof the technical realization of the developed system.

With this test rig, it can be determined if the transponders could be reliably accessed independent from the dosage form (like liquids, tablets, ointments), both for item identification and bulk identification. As a result, it is possible not only to illustrate a production line of a pharmaceutical manufacturer, but also the verification process after order picking at the wholesaler. By the use of these systems customers will have a higher security when buying drugs.

In the SWOT analysis of Big Pharma majors, Counterfeit was reflected as a common problem. I just finished working on a Counterfeit drug detection model. Cost per counterfeit drug test Rs 1 only.

Interested Companies/researchers can reach me at drruchibhatt@gmail.com.