“What’d I miss?” – Week of September 20th

As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.

-  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was #1 at the box office last weekend.

– Microsoft is back in the news with a dual screen tablet called the Courier. Rumors on the internet don’t talk about a release date, but let’s hope it’s soon. The user interface may be based on Microsoft’s InkSeine which is a prototype inking environment that is pretty slick. I use it on my Dell XT2. Take a look at the video here if you want to see a pretty good demonstration of InkSeine in action. With everyone clamoring about the Apple tablet, this may be just what Microsoft needs to get their name back in the discussion. If the device is anything like the concept art I would be willing to purchase one.

– The Angry Pharmacist has a new post about The Joys of Social Workers. I enjoy reading the Angry Pharmacist’s blogs. They’re always interesting, but definitely not “PG” material. He’s a bitter man.

-  mobileheathnews: “As part of awareness initiatives for World Alzheimer’s Day today [September 21], Alzheimer’s Disease International released a report that estimates that ”over the next 20 years, the numbers of people with dementia are anticipated to increase by 40 percent in Europe, 63 percent in North America, 77 percent in the southern Latin America … and 89 percent in the developed Asia Pacific countries.” By next year some 35.6 million people worldwide will be living with dementia, and the figure is expected to hit 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050. We have noted the wireless health products and services currently available for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers in the past, but given the day of awareness today it seems appropriate to round-up these services again.” – The article goes on to talk about Omnilink’s wireless tracking service, LoJack and Healthsense’s eNeighbor remote monitoring system. Take a moment to read the entire article. It’s short, but informative.

– If you’ve ever wanted to run an operating system other than Microsoft Windows on you netbook, then stop by GottaBeMobile and check out “Alternative Netbook Operating Systems”. With the development of Android and Chrome OS things should get interesting over the next several months.

– Florence dot com has posted “Safety Nurse’s Top 25 Tweeps for Patient Safety”. This was actually from September 18, but as you’re probably aware I missed “What’d I miss?” last week. You can see an aggregate of the tweets for “The Patient Safety 25” here.

– Neolux has developed vendor badges that use e-ink. Check out the video at Engadget. The entire concept is pretty neat. I can think of some cool uses for technology like that.

– If you want a quick laugh take a look at what some brilliant mind did with the Windows 7 launch party videos. It’s simple, clean and funny.

– The Hitler video series continues on YouTube when he finds out that there is no camera in the iPod touch. It’s a funny video, but I have to warn you that there are plenty of F-bombs in the video.

– Medscape Today is reporting that adding low-dose dopamine to diuretics could provide renal protection in acute heart failure. The results of this ongoing study were reported at the Heart Failure Society of America 2009 Scientific Meeting. The numbers presented are from a very small group of patients. The “renal dose dopamine” idea has gone in circles for years. I’m skeptical and will wait for more evidence before I jump on the low-dose dopamine band wagon.

– CLPmag is reporting on a story from Reuters Health that a newly discovered drug may have improved activity against c. difficile. That’s good news as c. difficile can be a bugger to treat. Currently effective medications include metronidazole and oral vancomycin.

– Looks like Palm and Sprint are getting even more aggressive with the Pre. If you ever wanted to switch now would be the time as Amazon has them for $99.99 with new contract. The Palm Pre is a great little device. I realize everyone is enamored with the iPhone, but the Pre offers some technology that even the iPhone can’t match.

– The Annals of Pharmacotherapy (Ann Pharmacother. 2009;43:1011-1019) has an interesting article that takes a look at how much “older adults” know about the tools and support systems available to help them with their medications. “Only 18% of participants had asked a provider to simplify their medications, while 40% did not realize that they could do so. Of those who did ask a provider, 80% asked a physician.” Yikes. Don’t ask your physician to help you simplify your medication regimen, ask your pharmacist. The article concludes that “educational strategies are needed to increase awareness of the pharmacist’s role in facilitating medication management and the option of simplifying complex regimens. It is within the scope of pharmacy to provide this type of medication education.” I concur.

– Watch the Economist “Did you know?” video below and pay special attention to the statistics that flash across the screen. Very interesting and eye opening.

Remember to watch lots of football and have a great weekend.