A Better Way to Register New Voters, A Talking Cure for Homicide and More

 

Here’s What Happened When Oregon Automatically Registered Its New Voters, Washington Post

When you apply for a drivers license in Oregon, you’re now automatically registered to vote. State officials say the DMV program — the nation’s first opt-out law — is the simplest way to bolster voter rolls and keep addresses up-to-date — important in a state that votes by mail. So far, in the first week, four times as many new voters signed up as the Beaver State used to register in a month. It remains to be seen whether they actually cast a ballot.

This Police Department Stops Disputes Before They Turn Deadly, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

It’s a rule of thumb for criminologists that crime spikes in the summer: not only are more people outside, but heated arguments also sometimes lead to violence. In Rochester, N.Y., beat cops now track tiffs across the city and send a summary of the dispute to a central database, where analysts can predict which are most likely to escalate. While this predictive policing may sound like a real-life “Minority Report,” law enforcement’s seven-month-old strategy appears promising and is being looked at by other departments nationally, including Milwaukee.

After Rehab, This Valuable App Keeps Drinkers and Drug Abusers Sober, New York Times

A former addict walks out of rehab and is suddenly bombarded by temptations: old drinking buddies, familiar haunts, relief from stress and anxiety. A mobile app, A-Chess, checks in throughout the day to help alcoholics avoid the bottle. It’s pre-loaded with high-risk locations like bars and liquor stores the person frequented. When nearby, the app automatically sends a message, “Are you sure you want to be here?” and alerts other contacts the patient has pre-programmed, like his sponsor or a family member. Along with virtual counseling and other smartphone apps, these modern tools are helping with the hardest part of getting clean: staying that way.

The Doctor Is In…Your Living Room

Ever Google “stomachache” and get scared into thinking you had appendicitis? Couldn’t decide whether that rash was skin cancer or contact dermatitis? Well pretty soon, you’ll be able to scroll past the witchdoctor websites and get the expert diagnosis you need from an online doctor’s visit.
Through their “Helpouts” product, Google is currently running a pilot program that uses search terms to connect would-be patients with doctors via video conference. According to the New York Times, they’ve partnered with Scripps and One Medical, groups that are “making their doctors available and have verified their credentials.”
An accurate diagnosis isn’t the only potential benefit, either. For those who look to the private sector to rebalance American healthcare costs, Engadget.com is speculating that internet-appointments could help bring down the cost of seeing a doctor.
Jonothan Linkous, chief executive of the American Telemedicine Association points out that “between 800,000 and one million consultations will be done over the Internet directly to consumers in the United States” this year. So it’s no surprise that the tech behemoth is looking to carve out a piece of the healthcare pie.
Google isn’t the only tech giant looking to elbow into the U.S.’s $3 trillion healthcare industry. Apple’s new HealthKit records a user’s vitals and physical activity for synching with third-party health and fitness apps. And, similar to Google, Wal-mart is testing Kaiser Permanente Care Corners, a telemedicine clinic where eligible members can walk in without an appointment to confer with a doctor.
So keep your slippers and bathrobe on next time you’re home sick — and keep your laptop close by, too.

These New York Seniors Are on the Cutting Edge of Telemedicine

What happens when you take 21st century technology and adapt it to a 20th century environment? A New York City pilot program is finding out, by bringing telehealth to four senior centers around the city. Pace University and VitalCare Services partnered with the city to try telehealth with about 100 residents over the course of six months, and the response from residents and staff has been amazing. VitalCare technicians used mobile technology to modernize methods of measuring blood oxygen, blood pressure, and weight at the senior centers. Everything syncs wirelessly, improving access and records at the same time. Residents have embraced it as a weekly way to stay aware of their health status and keep in touch with their physician teams, and saving the trip from 191st Street to the Village adds convenience, helps adherence and continuity, and cuts costs. Health professionals point to benefits like the ability to log in remotely and check all of the available information, and the shared space makes it easier for teams of physicians to communicate office-to-office. And the technicians love the speed and efficiency as well as the opportunities to connect with so many patients. The pilot is proving instrumental in helping residents maintain healthy, positive lives, and it’s breaking down barriers, from budgets to languages, and building confidence for a better-connected health service system.
 

Why House Calls Are Health Care’s Future, Not Just Its Past

The 308,000 individuals worldwide who received remote monitoring in 2012 to care for issues like heart disease, diabetes, and mental illness is already pretty impressive. The projections for the next five years are even more astounding. The telehealth revolution has already started, and while home monitoring is certainly on the rise, the resources to improve diagnosis, treatment, and maintaining quality of life are improving significantly. Being able to “health from home” points to global trends in safer sharing of information, better rates of disease prevention, and lower costs of time and money for families facing diseases and conditions. It makes one wonder: what’s next for telemedicine and mobile health technology?

Forget Working From Home. Checkups From Home Are Saving Lives

Telemedicine is catching a few more headlines, and UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital has been a leader in telemedicine, serving patients in a 50-mile radius with 33 telehealth monitors over the past three years. Madison Arnold is 90 years old and has been using the telemedicine equipment for over a year. He’s had heart problems since the ‘70s, and his opportunity to participate in daily monitoring makes a great study of the benefits of home tracking technology. He sends in data like his weight and blood pressure, and telemedicine coordinators monitor him for even minor changes, saving him from the stress, risks, and cost of hospital visits. The Iowa system is seeing the rewards for success, both in the health of its patients statewide, and in increased financial support with a new investment of $7.7 million from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand and improve the program.