“What’d I miss?” – The week of December 12, 2010

It’s been a good week in the world of non-pharmacy. ASHP Midyear 2010 is behind us, but the work generated from that meeting has just begun. And 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.

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was #1 at the box office last weekend. I haven’t seen it yet because my girls have no interest in it. That’s just weird. I thought for sure it would be at the top of their list. Tron Legacy is out and I’m really looking forward to seeing it this weekend.
• It’s unfortunate, but it looks like the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook won’t be making a public appearance until March 2011. RIM is doing some interesting stuff, but is it too little too late? Only time will tell. When I was in San Francisco this week I had the opportunity to interact with some Product Managers from RIM. When I asked them about the PlayBook they wouldn’t even confirm that it existed. Really? C’mon.
• I am, without question, a proponent of cloud computing. The potential of such a platform cannot be ignored. And like it or not the market is demanding that industry move in the direction of the cloud. Security is always a big issue with people and seems to be the battle cry for those that oppose it. Here’s one example at Coputerworld UK where Simon Phipps comments that cloud computing may not be the future platform of choice secondary to circumstances outside the technology, i.e. people, politics and service. He has a valid point, but all technologies suffer from problems. The cloud environment won’t be any different.
• If you’d like to see an alternate view on cloud security take a look at the Practice Fusion Blog. The authors spend a little time talking about some of the security benefits of the cloud.
• There’s a great article at GottaBeMobile that talks about the various technology failures and success of 2010. I don’t agree with everything on the lists, but I do find the list of successes interesting as Android based devices appear as four of the ten items on the list. Android is a disruptive technology that will continue to grow until something bigger comes along. And that could take a while.
• Check out the Laciefloat, a harddrive with trackpad. How cool is that? You can find more information at the Yanko Design site. The QR Code at the right will take you there.
• digitalHealth Summit: “The Digital Health Summit at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show focuses on the booming market of consumer-based health and wellness innovations that sit at the convergence of technology and healthcare.” – The only questions I have are why haven’t I heard of the digitalHealth Summit before and how do I get it.

• What You’ll See
  • Telehealth Systems
  • Therapeutic & Diagnostic Medical Devices
  • Remote Monitoring Devices
  • Mobile Health Applications
  • Secured Wireless Communication Medical Devices
  • Medication Monitoring Equipment
  • Mobile Health Devices
  • Robotic Prosthetics
  • Personal Health Records
  • Communications Networks
  • Telemedicine Systems

• mobilehealthnews: “Worldwide about 70 percent of people are interested in having access to at least one mHealth application, according to a new research report from Pyramid Research. “ – No surprise as mHealth has become a new buzzword throughout the healthcare industry.
• I recently saw a commercial with a guy sitting on a beach using his smartphone to print a document on a printer halfway around the world. Great concept and it’s available as Web-connected printing through HP. There’s certainly a need for such functionality in a world screaming for instant gratification.
• Medscape for Pharmacists has a list of top 10 Medscape articles in 2010. Unfortunately access to the article requires registration, but the top 10 articles for 2010 were:

1. Is Hookah Harmful?
2. Abbott Withdraws Sibutramine From Market
3. Gemtuzumab Voluntarily Withdrawn From US Market
4. FDA Restricts Rosiglitazone; EMA Pulls the Plug
5. Potential Interaction Between Clopidogrel and Proton Pump Inhibitors
6. FDA Issues Second Warning Against Treating Leg Cramps With Quinine
7. Best Evidence Interview: CINODs — The NSAID Holy Grail?
8. How Can Leg Cramps Be Treated?
9. NDM-1 — Making Resistant Bugs in New Ways
10. DTaP-Tdap Mix-Ups Now Affecting Hundreds of Patients

• ASHP News: “Some pharmacists say the loss of propoxyphene will not be much of an issue for practitioners.Suzanne Nesbit, clinical pharmacy specialist in pain management at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, said the drug is on the formulary but now has a “special alert” about the market withdrawal.” – Propoxyphene is a terrible medication, especially in combination with acetaminophen. I’m glad to see it gone from the market.
• Medical News TODAY: “The release of the AIHW report today that shows more than 80 per cent of all premature deaths are due to chronic disease highlights the importance of a collaborative healthcare model to help deal with the growing pressures of chronic diseases. Pharmacists can play a bigger role in helping to manage chronic conditions as part of a collaborative health-care team. As medicine experts, they are often the first point of contact from patients suffering from chronic conditions.” – Hmm, where have I heard that before. That statement is 20 years old. I think we need to come up with a new one.
• The College Football season is basically over. Now I just have to sit around a wait for the bowl games to arrive. Like every other red-blooded American I will have myself plopped on the couch New Year’s Day watching football and eating myself silly. I can’t wait.
• On the other hand, the NFL season is heating up and everyone is getting ready for a playoff run. I’m in one of those precarious positions again this year as some of the teams I despise are still in the running. I loath some of those teams so much that if they get into the Super Bowl I won’t even watch it. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Have a great weekend everyone.