Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

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The 5 Essentials of Cloud Computing For Clinical Trials

The pharmaceutical industry has been historically slow in adopting new technologies and it is only now that we are beginning to see the emergence of cloud based eClinical systems for the clinical trial industry. This article explores the true definition of cloud computing as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and applies it to eClinical systems. Read More »

The Administration's Cancer Moonshot Will Just Start Coming Together as They Leave Office, but Republicans Can Keep It Going.

Sean Captain | Fast Company | January 29, 2016

When President John F. Kennedy made his moonshot speech in September 1962, he thought he had at least two years left in office—over six if he got reelected. Plus, his party controlled Congress, giving him even more power to reach that goal. President Obama announced his moonshot to cure cancer (to be headed by VP Joe Biden) in his final State of the Union address. This week the administration revealed in a memorandum that the program may not be fully fleshed out until the final weeks of Obama's second term—with Republicans likely still holding Congress and perhaps entering the White House...

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The Appeal of Graph Databases for Health Care

A lot of valuable data can be represented as graphs. Genealogical charts are a familiar example: they represent people as boxes, connected by lines that represent parent/child or marriage relationships. In mathematics and computer science, graphs have become a discipline all their own. Now their value for health care is emerging. Graph computing made a significant advance this past February in the form of a Graph Data Science (GDS) library for the free and open source Neo4j graph database. Graph databases are proving their value in clinical research and public health; I wonder whether they can also boost analytics for providers. This article explains what's special about graph databases, and some applications in health care highlighted by recent webinars offered by the Neo4j company.

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The Challenges For Medical Device Interoperability

Ken Herold | News Electronics | October 23, 2012

Hospitals have complicated and connected technology ecosystems. Few places have such a diverse array of machines, skills and information, all attempting to coexist in a stressful decision making environment. Each department has an array of devices and a staff with highly specialised skills. Read More »

The End Of Tanning?

Olga Khazan | The Atlantic | August 25, 2014

In the wake of research showing strong connections between indoor tanning and melanoma, the sunbed industry is battered and contracting. But the allure of artificially bronzed skin might be dwindling in general...

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The FDA Ban On Trans Fat Should Be Just The Beginning

Deborah Cohen | The Health Care Blog | November 26, 2013

It’s been clear for more than a decade that trans fat is a dangerous substance that increases the risk of heart disease.  Denmark banned its use in 2003.  Several American cities and states have followed suit, but the use of trans fat is still widespread despite the availability of suitable substitutes. Read More »

The FDA Is Accepting Online Nominations For Its Mulitiple Advisory Panels

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | January 22, 2014

The Food and Drug Administration launched a new Web tool on Wednesday that allows people to submit nominations for the agency’s numerous advisory panels without resorting to email or paper mail. Read More »

The FDA Takes On Mobile Health Apps

Eliza Strickland | Spectrum | September 12, 2012

The mobile health industry has a problem: It has grown too quickly. Consumers can now download medical apps for at-home monitoring of just about any obscure ailment, and apps for general wellness, diet, and fitness are proliferating... Read More »

The First 3D Printed Organ -- A Liver -- Is Expected In 2014

Lucas Mearian | Computerworld | December 26, 2013

Approximately 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. But that may change someday sooner than you think -- thanks to 3D printing. Read More »

The Future of Health IT

Caitlyn Fairchild | NextGov | September 28, 2011

While the Obama Administration's electronic health records program offers incentives for doctors and hospitals using e-records, change is slow. Only 17 percent of the nation uses electronic records, Weiner said, comparing this statistic with the Defense's 100 percent use of electronic records. The health IT space, however, is at an exciting tipping point, he said. Read More »

The Holy Grail Of New Drug Development

Rishikesha T. Krishnan | The Hindu Business Line | July 4, 2013

The announcement by Zydus Cadila in early June that their new drug to treat diabetics who also suffer from high cholesterol has passed all stages of clinical trials is an important landmark for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. [...] Read More »

The Lonely Universe Of Autoimmune Diseases

Bonnie Feldman | Rock Health | April 10, 2014

How would you feel if, after years of searching for a diagnosis you finally found out you have an autoimmune disease, and then you realize that your doctors will have to experiment on you to find the right treatment?  That’s the state of the art today in autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s, lupus, and MS.

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The New Bioterrorism? The Hacked Medical Device

Jane Sarasohn-Kahn | The Health Care Blog | October 23, 2012

A time-and-technology challenged FDA, proliferation of software-controlled medical devices in and outside of hospitals, and growth of hackers have resulted in medical technology that’s riddled with malware. Furthermore, lack of security built into the devices makes them ripe for hacking and malfeasance. Read More »

The President’s Precision Medicine Initiative – The First Annual Check-Up

Antoinette F. Konski | JD Supra Business Advisor | January 27, 2016

Watching President Obama’s recent 2016 State of the Union Address reminded me that one year has passed since the President announced a new “precision” or personalized medicine initiative to advance personalized, effective therapies for the American public. It was during his 2015 State of the Union Address that the President stated:[1]
“[T]onight, I’m launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes, and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier. We can do this.”...

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The Price of Wearable Craze: Personal Health Data Hacks

Maggie Overfelt | CNBC.com | December 12, 2015

...in a year when the world's largest technology, medical device and health-care firms are betting big and fast on wearable technology's role in delivering patients a more precise and cost-effective way to manage their health, experts are worried that the pace of updating data-privacy laws and building infrastructures with optimal levels of security doesn't match the speed of the market's technological rollout. The risks to consumers depend on what type of device they're wielding. In rare instances, weak links or endpoints in a cloud-based network powering something like a wearable insulin pump could be life threatening, as it opens the door to hackers tampering with them...

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