(Reuters Health)—Smartphones are the first thing many people turn to with questions about their health. But when it comes to urgent queries about issues like suicide, rape and heart attack, phones can be pretty bad at offering good medical advice, a new study suggests. Researchers tested four commonly used conversation agents that respond to users’…
Health Apps Often Lack Privacy Policies & Share Our Data
(Reuters Health)—Just because a health app has a privacy policy doesn’t mean the data will remain private, an analysis of mobile tools for diabetes suggests. In fact, privacy policies appear rare, and when they do exist, most state that user data will be collected and half warn that medical information will be shared with third…
How Technology Can Benefit Rheumatology Practices
Electronic health records, mobile apps, telemedicine, patient portals—new technologies offer rheumatologists more efficiency and patients greater knowledge. Here are a few ways these technologies can aid a practice…
Health Video Games Spark Interest, Try to Gain Traction
In the late 1990s, Thomas Baranowski, PhD, professor of pediatrics specializing in nutrition at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, applied for a grant. For years, he had been interested in finding ways to get children to change their diet and physical activity. He decided to try a video game, and he got the money…
Arthritis Power App Can Help Patients Monitor Symptoms, Improve Office Visits
For the past 16 years, the website, creakyjoints.org, founded by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp, has offered arthritis patients and their families a safe online community where they can receive meaningful support and education. In March, the online portal added a new initiative—Arthritis Power, the first-ever patient-led, patient-generated, app-based research registry…
Smartphone Apps Make Virtual House Calls
Telemedicine apps used on mobile devices may help rheumatologists connect with select patients, increasing practice efficiency and patient access to treatment…
EULAR 2015: Innovations in Rheumatology Education, Practice
ROME, Italy—The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) annual congress (EULAR 2015) was a much-anticipated event, with more than 14,000 delegates attending from far and wide. The Health Professional Standing Committee was particularly delighted to have planned a program that provided the latest in research terms but also an eclectic mix of valuable topics for health…
Online Tools Can Help Manage Pain
(Reuters Health)—People with chronic pain may be able to use online tools to manage their symptoms, lessening the need for frequent doctor visits, an Australian study suggests. Researchers tested a series of web-based pain management tutorials on a group of adults who had been suffering symptoms for more than six months. Regardless of how much…
HealthKit Wellness App Holds Promise for Medicine, Rheumatology
Apple’s mobile healthcare technology may benefit patients with rheumatic disease whose conditions require regular monitoring
Google Glass Has Potential for Rheumatology, Orthopedic Surgery
Wearable smart-glass device could enable untethered access to electronic health records, be conduit for clinical decision making