Online platform helps docs, parents of children in NICU communicate; Facebook app fosters breast cancer support community;

> NeoStream, an online platform aimed at improving communications between doctors and parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, won first prize at the University of Maryland-hosted Innovate 4 Healthcare Challenge last week. Stanford University students developed the platform, saying the platform uses a social network approach similar to Facebook. Announcement

> Speaking of Facebook, a new app for the site is helping to create an online support community for people living with metastatic breast cancer, Mashable reports. According to a spokesperson for Genetech, the company that created the app, the goal was to "match the innovation inside the lab" geared toward caring for such patients "with innovation outside of the lab" to connect those patients. Post

> The University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center is creating a telemedicine system for seniors modeled after a program initially used to treat children at day care centers and schools. The program involves providers examining and speaking with patients using online cameras and conferencing software with an ultimate goal of averting hospitalizations, according to Manish Shah, M.D., a principal investigator involved with the system. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provided $1.8 million for the project. Announcement

And Finally... In this instance, it probably would have been okay to cry. Article