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Weekly Wireless Roundup: Express Scripts inks pilot deal for GlowCap

St. Louis-based Express Scripts is set to launch a national pilot for Vitality’s GlowCap pill reminder device; Kaiser CMIO on mHealth opportunity; Aetna offers SMS, apps, mobile web services; and Epocrates CTO, CMO talk EHRs.

Express Scripts inks pilot deal for GlowCap St. Louis-based pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts is set to launch a national pilot for Vitality's GlowCap pill reminder device. Express Scripts plans to begin a small version of the pilot in about a month's time and will launch a larger trial focused on drugs related to cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart failure during the summer months. Express Scripts notes that while the trial's purpose is to determine the efficacy of GlowCap's reminder service, the companies are also eager to learn more about how patients take medication and why they fail to take it at times.

Dollars & Spence

David Spenciner

The life sciences were a relative bright spot in 2009 VC fundraising

Life science-focused venture capital funds fared pretty well last year, at least compared with the VC industry as a whole.

At the end of 2009, I summarized the fundraising atmosphere for venture capital raising funds that invest in the life sciences. Now data is out for VC as a whole:

"2009 can officially go on record as the lousiest year since 1993 (in terms of number of funds raised) or 2003 (in terms of dollars committed)."

So how did my sub-set of funds that at least partially invest in the life sciences compare with the entire group?

Edward Berger

Congress is incapable of a positive contribution to health care reimbursement

Congress has demonstrated that it is incapable of designing policies to reform healthcare reimbursement and it doesn't have the political courage to set standards and allow the incentives created by those standards to force change.

Three health care reimbursement developments of interest in the last few days:

Tod Brubaker

What to expect when you’re expecting

The process of naming — whether it's a new baby, a new product or a new company — can be fraught with conflict. Here are five simple suggestions to follow when brainstorming a new name.

Any parent can tell you the first rule of naming: Don’t blab your names to the whole world. It’s one of those lessons you learn the hard way. For example, when my wife was pregnant with our first child, I made the mistake of floating one of our top contenders past my father-in-law. “Ava?” he scoffed. “Ava Gardner was such a tramp.” Good thing we also loved the name Lucy.

Compliance Corner

Tim Mohn

Tim Mohn is an industry principal in Sparta Systems’ product management group. In this role, Tim is responsible for helping both Sparta and Sparta’s clients track and understand changes in the regulatory environment and trends in the life sciences industry. He previously served as worldwide quality systems manager at Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a division of Johnson & Johnson. At OCD, Tim championed eMDR and SAP integration activities, owned the CAPA process and supported multiple FDA inspections at OCD's locations. Prior to J&J, he worked at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Tim holds a B.S. in Biology and a Masters in Manufacturing Management from Penn State.

Chance-takers are accident-makers

Improving medical device safety from pre-review to post-market.

It pays to remember an old adage: "Better to be safe than sorry." Indeed, many medical device manufacturers are re-evaluating their quality systems as a result of the Food & Drug Administration's recent review of pre-market notifications and a FY 2011 budget request for additional funds to address product safety. Device makers should heed this advice and take the necessary steps to pro-actively — rather than reactively — address compliance issues.

03/11/2010 - 15:34

Tinker Ready's blog

Tinker Ready

Kennedy pulls for Dodd, who pulls for healthcare

Every week, veteran healthcare reporter Tinker Ready rounds up the latest news for MassDevice. This week, she takes a look at Ted Kennedy passing the healthcare baton to Chris Dodd, overworked residents at Mass. General and a report on the health of Boston.

Kennedy passes the healthcare reform baton to Dodd

Sen. Ted Kennedy, ill and unable to attend the ongoing Senate health reform battles, appeared in a campaign video this week for his old friend, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). Kennedy basically said Dodd is going to be key in the push for health reform that has been, according to Kennedy "the cause of my life." (Aside from running for president, perhaps?):

"Today more than ever, we have a real opportunity to bring health care reform to Connecticut and all across America. And I believe that, with Chris Dodd's leadership, our families will finally have accessible, affordable health care."

What to expect when you’re expecting

March 12, 2010 by Tod Brubaker

The process of naming — whether it's a new baby, a new product or a new company — can be fraught with conflict. Here are five simple suggestions to follow when brainstorming a new name.

Chance-takers are accident-makers

March 11, 2010 by Tim Mohn

Improving medical device safety from pre-review to post-market.

Tim Mohn's blog
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Weekly Wireless Roundup: Express Scripts inks pilot deal for GlowCap

March 8, 2010 by MassDevice

MedGadget's MedTech Monday: Croc mummy tomography

March 8, 2010 by MassDevice

Researchers in California use CT scanners on a pair of mummified Egyptian crocodiles; Syncardia's Freedom mobile artificial heart driver wins CE Mark; Cook Medical's Hercules 3-stage esophageal balloon hits the market; and EEG used in absurd torture device.

MedGadget's MedTech Monday: Croc mummy tomography

Mummified crocs get tomographed: Conservators from Phoebe A. Hearst Museum at UC Berkeley teamed up with Stanford physicists and clinicians to CT scan two Egyptian crocodile mummies that reside at the museum. Stanford's SCOPE blog is reporting that the crocs were also put through a physics laboratory CT scanner that produces higher resolution images than clinical ones.

Congress is incapable of a positive contribution to health care reimbursement

March 5, 2010 by Edward Berger

Three health care reimbursement developments of interest in the last few days:

Technically speaking, you don't always have to be technical

March 5, 2010 by Angel Micarelli

Sometimes less is more when gauging the right level of technical jargon to use in clients' marketing campaigns.

Technically speaking, you don't always have to be technical

Weekly Wireless Roundup: Updates from HIMSS

March 1, 2010 by MassDevice

Updates on mobile news at this week's HIMSS conference in Atlanta; the current global mHeralth opportunity could be $50 billion; and a report from Continua that that that the FDA believes new laws for connected health device regulations are neither likely nor needed.

HIMSS Goes Mobile: Honeywell; Google; Nuance Google Health announced a number of deals at this weeks Healthcare IT conference in Atlanta.