Wednesday 28 October 2015

Early cancer diagnosis variation 'unacceptable'

Vital opportunities to diagnose cancer patients in England earlier and increase their survival chances are being missed, experts are warning.











Cancer Research UK found “unacceptable variation” between different areas after reviewing cases in 2012 and 2013.


It said if all areas were as good as the best, 20,000 cases could have been spotted sooner across the country.


The worst area for late diagnosis was Merseyside, where half of cancers were found at a late stage.


This compared to the area incorporating Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire, where 40% were diagnosed late.





If that gap was closed, another 1,000 patients in Merseyside could have had their cancer diagnosed earlier.


Easier to spot


Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were found to have the second best rates of early diagnosis out of the 25 areas in England, with 43% found late.


At the other end of the scale, Greater Manchester and Durham, Darlington and Tees performed only slightly better than Merseyside.












The worst areas for early diagnosis
RegionPercentage of late stage diagnoses
Merseyside49%
Greater Manchester48%
Durham, Darlington and Tees48%

Earlier diagnosis can make a significant difference to survival.


For the eight most common cancers being diagnosed at stage one or two – classed as early diagnosis – means an individual has an 80% chance of surviving at least 10 years compared to 25% when the cancer is found at stages three or four.


CRUK, which used official data from Public Health England, to carry out its analysis, said it was unclear exactly why the variation was found


One factor is likely to be differences in the types of cancer being diagnosed – some are easier to spot earlier than others.


But the charity said there were likely to be other factors at play that were easier to tackle.


Diagnostic tests


CRUK’s Dr Jodie Moffat said: “These might include patients not going to their doctor as early as they could with possible cancer symptoms, and GPs sometimes failing to suspect cancer or not referring patients for diagnostic tests promptly.”


CRUK will be launching an early diagnosis campaign next week to encourage people to keep an eye on their bodies.












The best areas for early diagnosis
RegionPercentage of late stage diagnoses
Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire40%
Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly43%
East Anglia44%

Early diagnosis was one of the key themes of NHS England’s cancer strategy that was launched in the summer.


It pledged to create a target for diagnosis – four weeks from urgent referral from a GP – to help save lives.


A key element of this was increasingly the ability of GPs to order cancer tests directly themselves – instead of having to go through a hospital consultant.


Maureen Baker, of the Royal College of GPs, said this would make a difference, but said GPs were still doing a good job.


She added: “Where our patients live should not be a factor in their health outcomes.”


Sean Duffy, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, said the health service was working together to “deliver” on what was promised in the strategy.


Information for what stage a cancer is diagnosed at is only available for about two thirds of the 280,000 new cases a year. The 20,000 figure quoted by CRUK is based on these cases.


Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34653560












Early cancer diagnosis variation 'unacceptable'

Monday 26 October 2015

The rise of search marketing in healthcare

Search is ubiquitous, but what is pharma doing to assist in the user journey?







Every single person with access to the World Wide Web does the same thing when they need information – they search. So if this is the first step in our customers’ user journeys – whether they are carers, patients or healthcare professionals – what are we doing to help them?


social-media-pharma


In the health and wellness area, and certainly in the prescription-only medicine market, search is a relatively new discipline. So we need to understand how we harness it and what we should do in order to see the benefits.


Forward-thinking companies are investing in their teams and training people in social media; analytics; data visualisation; search engine marketing; and search engine optimisation in order to provide more relevant solutions to their target audiences.


But the key, according to Kate Burns, general manager of Buzzfeed, is to research where our target audiences are already online and place content there, rather than trying to lure them to our own branded websites.


While Buzzfeed is a global media company, many people share or consume content without knowing it has come from Buzzfeed. It is this power of sharing from peer to peer that is important in spreading online messages – whether they have been developed from an editorial, non-paid or branded standpoint.


Content is shared because of emotion – if people see something which reinforces their views or makes them feel better, they are likely to share it with others.


People spend most of their time on social networks, and they don’t want to be taken away from what they’re doing, looking at, whoever they’re communicating with, or what they’re reading. Content should therefore meet people where they are already.


Aileen Dalisay, head of health at Google UK, says that while some companies may be hesitant to get involved, the pace of change is only going to get faster. There are three billion people online today and Google expects one billion more to come online every year, which would mean the rest of the population could be on board within five years!


Revolutionary technology is on the horizon too – including smart contact lenses, self-driving cars and smart clothing – providing our audiences with more options to access online materials.


Google constantly studies how people search for the information they want, down to the last key word. In the last five years there has been a huge increase in searches using the words `near me':  so people want an immediate response wherever they are. It’s therefore important that the first information they find is the correct and most useful. That’s where we have an opportunity.


However, when we asked 90% of our partners what their search engine marketing strategy looks like it was a bit of a barren desert. That’s why we launched Search Unlimited.


Last month in the UK, searches for `diabetes symptoms’ (as an exact query) totalled just fewer than 50,000 – the first UK pharmaceutical company appears on page seven. Likewise for `heart attack symptoms’ 12,500 searches every month, yet the first pharma company link appears on page four.


Search engine marketing and search engine optimisation are the foundations for all online communications.


The biggest opportunities come in the smallest moments – there are hundreds of millions of searches in healthcare across billions of people providing an unprecedented opportunity for brands to be relevant at the moment of need and win people’s hearts and minds.


Whether it’s searching, whether it’s video content or whether it’s social content – businesses have an opportunity to interact with people and join them in their journey.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/smart_thinking/archive/2015/october/the_rise_of_search_marketing_in_healthcare_838082








The rise of search marketing in healthcare

Tuesday 20 October 2015

NHS starts 'stem cell factory' for diabetes

 











The NHS is setting up a stem cell factory in Liverpool to treat people with diabetes.




stem cellsImage copyright SPL
NHS Blood and Transplant wants to make and give the experimental therapy to patients at high risk of developing diabetes-related kidney problems.

It is hoped the injections will slow down or stop tissue damage, removing the need for dialysis or transplants.


Diabetes is the most common cause of end stage kidney disease, which kills around 40,000 people a year in the UK.


The 48 patients taking part in the study will be treated at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust or at another trial site in Italy.





The injection of cells they will receive are called stromal cells and they are grown from donated human bone marrow.


These immature cells can grow and change into a variety of tissue – bone, cartilage and fat. But it is their ability to release proteins that reduce inflammation in the kidney which interests the researchers.


KidneysImage copyright SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

In animal studies, stromal cell injections have provided measurable improvements in kidney function and it is hoped they will do the same in people.


Only some of the patients in the study will get the real jab (at different doses). The others will get a dummy injection. This will let the investigators check whether the treatment really works and if it has any side effects.


Project leader Prof Timothy O’Brien, from the National University of Ireland, Galway, said: “Diabetic kidney disease is very common so any therapy that could slow the progression of this disease would have a significant impact.”


About three in four people with diabetes will develop kidney disease. It is caused by damage to the small blood vessels that supply the kidneys. But it can be prevented or delayed by keeping blood sugar and blood pressure levels under tight control.


Dr Eric Austin, head of Stem Cell Immunotherapy at NHS Blood and Transplant’s site in Speke, Liverpool, said: “This is an exciting project for us to be involved with – especially as the treatment has the potential to lead to lifesaving outcomes for a major illness.”


The research project, NEPHSTROM, is being funded by a 6m euro grant from the European Union Horizon 2020 programme.


Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34570550












NHS starts 'stem cell factory' for diabetes

Monday 19 October 2015

NHS apps library finally closed

But new incarnation will be released with more ‘rigorous standards’, we’re told





Crop of doctor with pen and clipboard

The NHS’ security-flawed Apps Library has been shelved, following widespread criticism of the site.




Last month Imperial College London revealed serious problems with a number of the 79 apps sitting on the NHS-branded store.


These included software tools that provided diabetic users with inappropriate insulin doses, handed asthmatics shoddy peak flow calculators, and many apps with no security controls.


Just two apps which appeared on the previous app store will be included on the new NHS Mental Health Apps Library, dedicated to mental health issues. An NHS spokeswoman said the decision to take down the widely-criticised apps store was unrelated to the findings of the research.


She said: “We are working to upgrade the Health Apps Library, which was launched as a pilot site in 2013 and reviews and recommends apps against a defined set of criteria.”


Phil Booth, director of patient confidentiality group MedConfidential, welcomed the move. He added: “NHS England should take moral responsibility for its past misjudgements and malpractice. It shouldn’t just silently withdraw a few of its worst mistakes, perform a reboot and hope people forget.


“Medical apps, like medicines, can be powerful interventions with real effects in real people’s lives. They must be treated as such.”


The NHS said it will launch a series of new apps stores “to promote clinically validated apps in a range of other areas including diabetes, obesity prevention, maternity and early years, smoking cessation and COPD.”


The NHS Health Apps Library was launched as a pilot in 2013 and is due to end later this month. The NHS said the Health Apps Library reviews and recommends apps on the basis that they are clinically safe, relevant to people living in England and compliant with the Data Protection Act. A spokesman stressed the scheme does not formally “accredit” apps.


The NHS Mental Health Apps Library was launched in March 2015. The NHS said it is compliant with the Improving Access to Psychological (IAPT) quality standards and offers National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved treatments for depression and anxiety disorders. ®


Source The Register http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/13/nhs_apps_library_shelved/







NHS apps library finally closed

Friday 16 October 2015

Auditor General reports on issues raised in audits of three NHS boards (Scotland)

 






scrubs


The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, has issued reports to the Scottish Parliament on matters raised in the audits of the 2014/15 accounts for NHS 24, NHS Tayside and NHS Highland.


 


The reports draw Parliament’s attention to:


  • Problems and delays with NHS 24 implementing a major new IT system

  • NHS Tayside’s need for a Scottish Government loan to break even – for the third successive year

  • Improvements at NHS Highland following a critical report last year.

The report on NHS 24 is a follow up to one carried out last year. Delays in implementing a new IT system have brought substantial additional costs and risks to the board’s ability to meet its financial targets in future years. The implementation date for the new system has been delayed from June 2013 to October 2015. The estimated cost of the new system is £117.4 million, £41.6 million (55 per cent) higher than the original estimate of £75.8 million.


NHS Tayside’s continued reliance on loans (brokerage) to balance its budget largely stems from overspends on workforce and primary care prescribing, retrospective enhancements to holiday pay, and difficulties in selling surplus properties. It received £14.2 million from the Scottish Government in 2014/15 to break even. As well as repaying this loan and meeting continued workforce and primary prescribing spending pressures, NHS Tayside needs to make £27 million in savings in 2015/16.


The NHS Highland report provides an update on progress since a critical report last year on its 2013/14 accounts and responds to a number of issues raised by the Public Audit Committee in its own report in June 2015. The board has strengthened its financial management arrangements but more needs to be done to develop longer-term financial planning and reduce reliance on non-recurring savings.


Source Audit Scotland http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/media/article.php?id=312







Auditor General reports on issues raised in audits of three NHS boards (Scotland)

Wednesday 14 October 2015

New mobile-first online network for doctors launches

MedShr aims to be the future of medical education







Mobile social network for doctors MedShrA new mobile-based social network for doctors has been launched by a London-based doctor.


MedShr is a private, professional network for doctors to share knowledge and improve their medical skills and has been set up by founder and CEO Dr Asif Qasim.


He said: “Case discussion is at the heart of how doctors learn, from medical school through to consultants and specialist surgeons. Talking about cases is critical to the way we share knowledge.


“We started online case discussion several years ago at a time when cardiologists were still posting CDs of coronary angiograms and scans to one another. We built a web platform that allowed doctors to upload, share and discuss images as part of a secure professional network. There was a fantastic response and developing MedShr was the next step.”


MedShr is working in partnership with SARD JV – a UK provider of appraisal software for doctors – to allow consultants to reflect on clinical cases for appraisal and revalidation.


It is also currently running a pilot that allows junior doctors in London to regularly submit cases to their training portfolio via the network.


MedShr‘s advisory board includes Martin Ellis, chairman of UK medical affairs, pharmaceutical marketing and medical education agency Havas-Medicom.


“Peer to peer learning, with user-generated content, has rapidly become mainstream information in a number of consumer sectors and MedShr is an important and logical extension of this proven learning model,” he said.


“Continuing medical education is an imperative in these days of rapid advances in medicine and MedShr will undoubtedly become a major source of information and best practice among healthcare professionals.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/new_mobile-first_online_network_for_doctors_launches_840706








New mobile-first online network for doctors launches

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Health professionals happy with transparency on pharma payments

Comes as pharma companies prepare for payment disclosure database






ABPIA poll of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the UK has found that a majority believe payments made by pharma companies should be made public.

The survey of more than 500 doctors, nurses, hospital specialists and pharmacists, commissioned by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), indicated that 87% of respondents felt payments should be transparent.


The finding comes as pharma companies in Europe prepare for the implementation of payment disclosure database – spearheaded by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – that is due to come into effect by June 30, 2016. Under the lead of the ABPI, UK drugmakers have been disclosing aggregated (anonymous) data on payments made to HCPs since 2012.


The initiative in Europe is led by the industry, unlike the US where the Physician Payment Sunshine Act implemented a federally-mandated disclosure requirement, with the first figures published earlier this year.


The pharma-led system requires disclosure with HCP consent because of data protection and other laws, according to an EFPIA question and answer document, while in the US all payments above a certain threshold must be disclosed. Unlike the US model it also does not cover payments made for R&D purposes.


However, in Europe there is also a drive towards legislative disclosure requirements, with France, Portugal, Denmark and the UK all implementing new laws that will make disclosure of payments mandatory, regardless of HCP consent.


The ABPI’s poll found that 69% of HCPs with a current relationship with one or more pharmaceutical companies say that they have given or are likely to give permission for pharmaceutical companies they work with to disclose their payment information.


Around a third (32%) of those surveyed felt it was unnecessary to declare payments from pharma companies to individually named HCPs, and one in four(26%) said declaring these payments will adversely affect medical innovation.


While the majority (75%) of HCPs said the new policy will have no effect on their relationship with pharma companies, 23% of GPs say that they will be less likely to work with industry in future, a higher proportion than hospital specialists (17%), pharmacists (10%) or nurses (6%).


Dr Virginia Acha, executive director of research, medical and innovation at the ABPI, said: “In any other industry, it is expected – and even applauded – when innovators work with users of their products and services to make progress.  We believe this is also true for medicines.


“We are proud of the high-quality working relationships we have with HCPs in the UK,” she continued.  “However, it is important to make sure these relationships are transparent.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/health_professionals_happy_with_transparency_on_pharma_payments_840514








Health professionals happy with transparency on pharma payments

Friday 9 October 2015

Novo launches online news channel for haemophilia patients

New medical information website aims to be a ‘simple, centralised repository’






Novo NordiskNovo Nordisk has launched a new website that it hopes will be a simple, centralised repository for haemophilia patients in the US and their carers.

A key feature of RareBleedingDisorders.com will be its news channel, which will cover data from leading medical congresses for patients.


David Cooper, senior director of medical affairs at Novo Nordisk, said: “Novo Nordisk collaborated with medical professionals, people with bleeding disorders and caregivers to create this dynamic resource that helps community members become better informed.


“RareBleedingDisorders.com explores the mechanism of disease, signs and symptoms, and risk factors, as well as the process for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of congenital hemophilia A and B, acquired haemophilia, congenital factor VII deficiency, congenital factor XIII deficiency, Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia and other rare bleeding disorders.”


The website will feature new disease-state specific information announcements and research updates, links to patient organisations, government bodies and professional organisations, and downloadable information on the condition.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/novo_nordisk_launches_online_news_channel_for_haemophilia_patients_836550








Novo launches online news channel for haemophilia patients

Thursday 8 October 2015

MSD launches preventative healthcare accelerator

Joins forces with Wayra Open Future for Velocity Health fund







Digital pharmaMerck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has joined forces with Spanish telecoms company Telefonica to launch a new healthcare accelerator fund.


Velocity Health will be the UK’s first digital preventative healthcare accelerator and sees the pharma company collaborate with Telefonica’s Wayra Open Future start-up programme.


MSD’s managing director Mike Nally said: “Technology is revolutionising how we manage healthcare and the UK can be at the heart of it. Digital start-ups are at the forefront of this innovation.


“As a healthcare company with a long legacy of investing in innovation and R&D, we want to actively invest in these types of businesses and harness the amazing talent that is emerging so that we become equally good at ‘recognising and preventing’ disease as ‘diagnosing and treating’ to help reduce demand for expensive acute services and capacity in the long term.”


On offer via Velocity Health is a potential £64,000 injection for start-ups that can ‘reimagine healthcare beyond the 21st century’.


In particular MSD hopes to help fund start-ups that can address the challenges outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View, which was published last October and set out the UK health service’s future direction.


Velocity Health will offer a number of start-ups a 10-month accelerator programme involving access to a network of mentors, coaches and investors who will help nurture each business.


Up to a total of £64,000 will be offered to each start-up which will include 50% funds and the rest made up of dedicated acceleration services, including office space within Wayra Open Future’s academy in Central London.


They could also, potentially, gain access to Telefonica’s customer base (more than 300 million) and MSD’s networks locally and globally.


Gary Stewart, director at Wayra Open Future, UK, said: “We know that to make a real impact, we need to have a long term vision and look ahead to the next century of delivering innovative healthcare solutions.


“Through Velocity Health, we want to empower patients to take more control and ownership over their wellbeing and believe emerging digital technologies have a vital part to play in achieving this goal.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/msd_launches_preventative_healthcare_accelerator_832760








MSD launches preventative healthcare accelerator

Wednesday 7 October 2015

IBM teams up with Teva for global eHealth collaboration

Will also partner with ICON on cancer trials project







IBM Watson Health


IBM has signed deals with Teva and ICON that will see the firms use services based on its Watson supercomputer.


The agreement with Teva will involve the development of global eHealth solutions using the Watson Health Cloud by IBM and the Israeli company.


Teva becomes the first pharmaceutical firm to sign-up to use the development platform and aims to use it to target complex and chronic conditions such as asthma, pain, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases.


The partners will also harness big data and machine learning technology to create disease models and advanced therapeutic solutions.


Guy Hadari, SVP and CIO for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, said: “Teva is actively exploring the e-health evolution with a strong focus on fulfilling unmet and emerging patients’ needs. The IBM Watson Health Cloud provides a strong foundation on which we can realise this vision.


“By building on the Watson Health Cloud, we believe Teva will be in a unique position to put the best information and insights in the hands of physicians, care teams and patients, to empower treatment optimisation for individuals and populations across the spectrum of acute and chronic conditions.”


As part of the collaboration IBM’s Global Business Services arm will work closely with a Teva analytics team to assess the data and the analytics model requirements for a real world evidence e-health solution.


Clinical trial matching


Meanwhile, IBM’s deal with contract research organisation ICON will see it target patient recruitment with a Watson-powered ‘instantaneous clinical trial matching solution’.


This will be applied to breast, lung, colon and rectal cancer trials and aims to allow ICON to instantly tell trial sponsors how many patients match their trial criteria and where they’re located.


Despite the industry’s best efforts, patient recruitment remains costly and ineffective, with more than $1.3bn spent on it each year while in oncology cancer patient participation remains at the 2-5% mark.


ICON’s chief operating officer Dr Steve Cutler said: “Recruiting the required number of patients for clinical trials is a constant challenge for our customers and can represent more than 30% of total study costs.


“By applying IBM Watson to our clinical trials, we have the potential to revolutionise clinical trial feasibility, patient recruitment and study start-up timelines which will help our customers take significant time and cost from their development programmes.”


Under its deal with ICON, IBM’s Watson Health Cloud will enable the CRO to access de-identified patient data, including the 50 million patient records from Explorys, which IBM acquired in April.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/ibm_teams_up_with_teva_for_global_ehealth_collaboration_832751








IBM teams up with Teva for global eHealth collaboration