Experts | University of the Sciences

Medication Adherence—There’s An App For That Too!

Medication adherence has been a topic of interest for health care providers, caregivers and third-party providers alike. While practitioners work hard to select optimal drug therapy for their patients, clinical improvements may not always result as expected. This inefficacy in treatment often stems from the inability of patients to adhere to the treatment regimens set forth by providers. While many patients struggle to adhere to their  regimens for a number of reasons, technology-centered initiatives like the MediSafe^© Project are taking advantage of the utility of smart phone applications to steer consumers towards better adherence. MediSafe^® allows patients to scan drug barcodes, add directions and set alerts so that they are reminded to take them in a timely manner. If patients still fail to take their medication on time, the app can be synced to a loved one or caregiver so that they are alerted that the patient did not follow the regimen as indicated. iPharmacy^© is another app available at no cost that offers additional features along with medication reminders.  Some of these tools include a pill identifier, access to information pertaining to drug recalls and a pharmacy locator.

So what if the patient is not particularly keen on the idea of using a smart phone? After all, widespread popularity with smart phones lies predominantly with younger generations. While MediSafe^© in particular is working towards improving accessibility by implementing low-tech solutions, there are additional options already in place. EMMA^®, (Electronic Medication Management System) is an in-house, FDA-approved comprehensive management system for patients with complex medication regimens. EMMA^® houses blister cards of medications that are inserted into the machine like compact discs and can be remotely controlled by pharmacists. The system collects more accurate adherence information, which pharmacists and physicians can access. Though this technology provides considerable accuracy in adherence measurement, it is not a guarantee that all patients will be eligible for coverage and thus may not be able to afford the machine.

While all these approaches differ in one way or another, there is a common theme—improvement in adherence by means of a more involved and integrative strategy that aims to bridge the gap between practitioner initiatives and patient implementation. While finances and the adaptation of the senior population to advances in technology remain as limitations, there is a great deal of progress, such as NCPIE’s National Action Plan that paves the way for better adherence and ultimately, better health outcomes.

Anita Pothen

Pharm.D Candidate 2014

Google Apps for Education at USciences

The University of the Sciences has "Gone Google". Google Apps for Education gives all faculty, students and staff a state-of-the-art communication and collaboration platform. Google Apps is not a learning management system (LMS) like Angel or Blackboard -- it supplements our existing e-learning and online administrative tools. For example, we now have the ability to easily share and collaboratively edit documents online that are compatible with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. No more trading large email attachments and loosing track of who has the latest revision. Faculty can share large documents and data files with collaborators all over the world without clogging up email in-boxes. We can also create unlimited “wiki” websites (Sites in Google parlance) and stream videos from our own private UScience branded YouTube-like site.

Acceptance by users has been very encouraging. In the month of September we’ve had almost 1,200 unique visitors visiting 2,952 times resulting in over 13,000 page views. Faculty, staff and students have created over 300 sites to help committees, departments, courses and programs collaborate without the constraints of Angel or the Campus Portal.  Popular use cases include building personal profiles, project management wikis, forms, surveys, and student e-portfolios and group project sites.

USciences faculty, staff and students can logon at http://start.online.usp.edu and find video tutorials and answers to frequently asked questions.

iPad Touches Electronic Medical Records Adoption

 
By Richard G. Stefanacci, DO, MGH, MBA, AGSF, CMD

The most positive news to impact healthcare in quite some time may not have been the words of the President in his State of the Union address but rather the words coming out of Silicon Valley. Yesterday, Jan 27, Apple unveiled its latest product, the iPad. This device may actually have the ability to improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs.

With some $21 billion set aside in the Stimulus Package to provide funds to physicians and hospitals that use electronic health records (EHRs), part of these funds may be used to purchase the new Apple iPad. Already the iPad will enjoy apps that are currently available to the iPhone/iPod Touch and more are in the works. The Mayo Clinic recently announced production of several healthcare apps.

Major electronic health record systems like Epic have already developed electronic health record applications for the smaller devices. The increased screen and key board size of the iPad will make these systems much easier to use.

One of the greatest advantages of the iPad over the use of PC-based EHRs is that it fits better in the work flow of physicians that patients are already comfortable with. One of the largest criticisms by physicians and patients, including my own, is that the use of the PC appears to make the office visit less personal. A tablet device like the iPad could eliminate that distances and actually improve the link between physicians and their patients.

Apple’s iPad improvements could be the link between physicians and their patients combined with the benefits in efficiency through the use of EHRs. The iPad could do what Washington has long promised but has yet to be able to do – improve patient care and reduce the cost of healthcare.

As a practicing geriatrician who has utilized EHRs for more than a decade, this is long welcome positive news.

Dr. Richard Stefanacci, Director of the Institute for Geriatric Studies at University of the Sciences. As an internist/geriatrician, Dr. Stefanacci has a longstanding interest and commitment to geriatric health, particularly the frail elderly and long-term care.

Ethics in Computing

Ethics in Computing. During a class discussion in our Information Technology (CS-250) course at The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia we were examining the ethics of computing. History has shown us that the use of technology can be for good or for bad intentions. For example, nuclear technology provides us with medical therapies and clean energy but has also been used as a weapon of war. The automobile has provided society with an easily accessible travel vehicle but also results in many deaths each year and degrades the environment. Computers and the Internet have had profound impacts on society.  Many positive changes to business, entertainment, and social networking have been due to computer technology.  But there are also negative aspects to the computer revolution. As a professional computer scientist or computer engineer, you should help advance the field of study by adhering to a set of ethical standards that illustrate the positive aspects of modern computer technology.  Computer scientists need to be at the forefront of identifying unethical uses of computer technology. We came up with the following list of intentional unethical uses of computers. Can you identify any others?

1. Hacking

2. Spam

3. Phishing

4. Pirating 

5. Stealing Data

6. Identity Theft

7. Cyber Bullying

8. Spreading Viruses

9. Cyber Snooping

10. Online Gambling

11. Online Illegal Solicitation

12. Cyber Squatting 

Teaching and Learning with the Pulse Smartpen

I have been testing the Pulse Smartpen by Livescribe for several weeks now. This amazing device is a computer in a pen that also records audio while you take notes on special "dot paper". What a great way to document notes in a meeting (don't forget to ask permission to record audio) or take notes during a lecture. You can immediately play back the audio by tapping on your hand written notes -- listen using the built-in pen speaker or included ear buds. These special ear buds also have built-in binaural microphones so you can record stereo while you appear to just be listening to music! The pen even has an OLED display that can be used to display the results of calculations you tap out on a printed dot-paper calculator.

Impressive, but there is more. Back at your desk, you dock the pen to recharge and simultaneously sync your hand scribbles and audio to the Livescribe Desktop application on your PC or Mac. The desktop application organizes all your notes and even allows you to search your hand writing to locate a particular passage. Of course, you can play back your audio recordings by clicking your mouse anywhere on the images of your hand written notes.

As an extra bonus, you can share notes and audio with specific individuals or the public by uploading your recording sessions to the Livescribe Online Community site. Students can now take notes during class while recording the audio and share the "pencast" with their classmates -- a student note-taking service for the 21st Century!

To illustrate this new way to teach using a "pencast", I scribbled a concept map on podcasting. The Pulse Smartpen is a great way for faculty to illustrate and animate concepts they used to draw on a blackboard and make it available to students with audio narration. Look for the Pulse Smartpen in the University Bookstore this fall. See and hear my "pencast" demo...

Pencast on Podcasting by Rod Murray
brought to you by Livescribe

Investing in Academic Technology

The administration of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia has recently committed to investing in e-learning by creating a new Department of Academic Technology. I am honored to serve as the department's new executive director. Besides pulling together a new department, one of my first goals is to help consolidate support services for desktop PCs, academic applications, classroom technology and the learning management system (Angel). We plan to have a new help website established in time for the fall semester featuring live 24/7 help via phone and chat, a new frequently asked questions (FAQ) database and other self-help resources.

Other goals include building a more robust e-learning platform offering more online options that will allow students to learn, study and interact with fellow students and faculty, at any time and any place. Significant new training opportunities will also be made available to help faculty and staff take advantage of new web-based collaboration and teaching tools.

Stay tuned to this space for academic technology news and tips about making the most of the University's online teaching and learning resources.

Rodney B. Murray, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Academic Technology

Dr. Rodney B. Murray, Executive Director of Academic Technology at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, earned his PhD in pharmacology from Temple University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the University, Dr. Murray served as director of application and web services at Thomas Jefferson University, where he was recruited in 1987 to create the Office of Academic Computing and to teach pharmacology in Jefferson Medical College. His leadership brought significant achievements in the areas of instructional technology, knowledge management, application development, and the University’s Internet presence. Dr. Murray is promoting the latest e-learning technologies, including Web 2.0 applications, social media, blogs, wiki's, e-portfolios and podcasts. He has become a recognized expert in this area, producing his own educational podcasts at www.rodspulsepodcast.com.