Notes & Links July 17, 2013

Don’t Trust Online Tests For Alzheimer’s Disease 

Color me surprised the Internet may not be the best place to find trustworthy evidence based knowledge you can take to your HCP. 

Gary Drevitch article in Forbes reminds us that reader beware is the mantra for Web based medical/healthcare knowledge. 

But a new report released today at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Boston finds such claims to be scientifically invalid and characterizes their hosts as unethical and often predatory in their pursuit of profits through sales of sketchy prevention tools to a beleaguered, vulnerable older population.

We need to create projects where we are teaching people how to critical appraise healthcare information. Even a well written article in a fairly mass media outlet will not reach everyone. And who is letting HCPs know that this is an issue? 

Ya Gotta Love Marco Arment

There’s a new app he created while sitting around which looks like a must have. It quickly draws arrows and boxes on screen shots so you can email them and the reader can quickly find what you are referencing. 

It’s called Bugshot. Love it

Clipboard: 4 of 5 MA Groups in Medicare Experiment Save Money

Boston.com in the blog White Coat Notes 

Four of the five — Partners HealthCare, Steward Health Care, the Beth Israel Deaconess Physician Organization, and the Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association — said Tuesday that they spent less on patient care than the Medicare target for 2012, in part by reducing expensive hospital stays. The groups split the savings with Medicare.

 This is not clearly a huge win since it is early but it shows we can make a difference within a system of so many moving parts and people and goals. 

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