News From Around the Web
> Toyota is developing a wearable featuring a camera, speakers and vibration sensors to help the visually impaired by providing more data regarding their surroundings--data that GPS, a dog companion or a cane can't provide. The Project Blaid effort will provide the blind with greater mobility, primarily indoors, and is getting applause from blind organizations, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), according to a BBC report. Article
> Hospitals without dermatological services can benefit from a smartphone-based teledermatology inpatient consultation strategy, according to a small Brazilian-based study published in Telemedicine & e-Health. The two-month study evaluated 100 patients and reveals mobile phone use is comparable to typical face-to-face interaction. Abstract
Health IT News
> Efforts such as the Blue Button initiative and the Department of Health and Human Services' recent information sharing pledge represent progress for patients in an evolving healthcare landscape, according to three federal policy staffers. Federal Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Senior Advisor Claudia Williams and National Institutes of Health Analyst and Precision Medicine Initiative Project Manager Stephanie Devaney, in a recent blog post, say that the nation is still very much in the early stages of data-driven healthcare, and patient access to data a key component to moving the industry forward. Article
Health Insurance News
> As a part of an initiative to curb unnecessary hospitalizations and healthcare costs, Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico has partnered with Albuquerque Ambulance and American Medical Response to care for high-risk Medicaid patients in their homes. Article
> Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, which continues to grapple with technology issues that have wreaked havoc on its enrollment and billing systems, may be facing $1,000 or more in fines a day per violation. The state's department of insurance is especially concerned with the fact that 70 BCBS priority cases had to be reopened recently because enrollment and billing problems resumed. Article
And Finally... Impending robot revolution doesn't worry the average worker. Article