2017 HTF Innovation Conference at Stanford

I attended this conference last year and it was incredibly informative.  I'm going again this year.  It's not too late to register.  Just follow the link below.

Hope to see you there!

The 6th Annual Health Technology Forum Innovation Conference explores health and wellness enhancements made possible through technology and implementation of key health policies and strategies. Our program will highlight next generation technology, innovative solutions and practices providing better access, and availability and outcomes in care innovations, all with an eye towards sustainability. Important use-cases demonstrating barriers and break-throughs impacting healthcare delivery will be explored.

HTF Common Good Conference

Rowdy Townhalls Focus on Healthcare

Saturday, I went to a townhall meeting by my congressman, Brad Sherman.  Nearly all of the 1300 people who showed up (his largest townhall ever) were obvious supporters of Sherman.  Of course in a district of 771,000 people, there were bound to be some non-supporters as well.  This vocal minority made for some very contentious moments (as to be expected).

The more passionate elements of the crowd were not focused on Trump, his cabinet, or even Russia. They were focused on healthcare.  The majority of signs being waived had slogans like: "HEALTHCARE FOR ALL", "FIGHT REPEAL AND REPLACE", "YES TO SINGLE PAYER" and "SUPPORT SB-562" (a single-payer bill in the California Senate).

As stated in Modern Healthcare

"In crowded town halls around the country, congressional Republicans had many eye-opening encounters this past week with Americans who voiced fear and anger over the prospect that they will lose their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act is repealed." 

The feeling of uncertainty is not limited to just Republicans, of course, and Brad Sherman's townhall is a testament to the general concern that people have about their healthcare.  With threats of global war, human rights violations, and terrorism (domestic and abroad), health insurance is probably on the top of everyone's list of worries.

All these other threats are incredibly important and vital problems to solve.  But when you are sick and can't afford treatment, somehow you don't worry about illegal immigration as much.

There is a vast divide between the two sides on the best approach to health insurance.  Let's not forget that we have but a single goal regardless of who you voted for.  We all want to know that when we or a loved one gets sick, we have access to proper care without the fear of going bankrupt.

FamilyDoctor.org

I just discovered this website www.familydoctor.org and I love it.  Until now, I've used a variety of sites when researching medical information:  WebMD, LiveStrong, Drugs.com, RxList, etc.

My main complaint about these sites is that they are all, to various degrees, very user-unfriendly.  They try to include so much information that it makes the UX very unsatisfying and confusing.  One particular issue the prominent display ads that infest most of these sites.  All too often, they are designed so that they look like actual content instead of ads.  So you click on it and are sent off site thinking that you are merely entering another section of the original site.

So while researching content for my new company (www.metisadvantage.com), whose beta is coming soon, I came across FamilyDoctor.org.  This is a site run by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

My first impression is that it is incredibly easy and clear to use.  There are very few ads (although I'm not sure if that is intentional or due to a lack of advertisers).  The navigation is simple and easy.

But what I really like about it is the Disease and Conditions section.  Once you find your particular condition, the article that pops up is easy to read, clear, and loaded with practical information.  If there were a "Dummy's guid to Diseases and Conditions", this is how it would be displayed.

So, I highly recommend visiting this site.  It's relief from the crowded world of medical information.