News From Around the Web
> As its first anniversary arrives, the Center of Excellence for Mobile Sensor Data-to-Knowledge is making substantial advancements in mHealth. One of the latest projects features Rice University researchers using on-body sensing technology to investigate drug use. Announcement
> Apps are "by no means a perfect solution" to solving mental health problems, according to a viewpoint in Evidence-Based Mental Health. In reviewing the 14 apps in the United Kingdom's National Health Service apps library dedicated to management of depression and anxiety, only four "provide any evidence of patient reported outcomes to substantiate claims of effectiveness." Extract
> In other NHS news, its apps library is getting an upgrade after a study found that some of the applications offered were sharing unencrypted information. Article
Healthcare News
> A significant number of older adult patients in the U.S. are unable to cope with the complexities of navigating the modern healthcare system, according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. But "person-centered" care models can help identify patients who need assistance and help them access the resources they need to obtain quality care, researchers said. Article
> Everyday social media posts may provide insights about health, health outcomes and the quality of care at hospitals, according to two new studies published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety. The first study, by a research team at Boston Children's Hospital, examined whether the information that patients post on Twitter might help measure patient-perceived quality of care in U.S. hospitals. Article
Health IT News
> Google Ventures aims to take life science entrepreneurs and introduce them to technology that they can use at their businesses, according to Krishna Yeshwant, M.D., an investor at GV who specializes in health and life sciences. However, when it comes to consumer health and patient use of new healthcare tools, Yeshwant, in an interview with KQED Science, says the main question that has to be answered is "why?" Article
And Finally... If only these ancient teeth could talk. Article