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WEST BLOOMFIELD 248.932.0870 • www.witbeckappliance.com AGGRESSIVE PRICING ON A WIDE SELECTION OF APPLIANCES 46 May 2013 I IUD MAD At what point will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) want to review a health app before it is released is a common topic of discussion among physicians using technology with patients. Currently, there is only draft guidance from the FDA regard- ing requirements for the review of medical apps. To date, the FDA does not regulate smartphones, tablets and most mobile health applica- tions. A review is deemed necessary only for mobile-health apps used in conjunction with already-regulated medical devices, or those that would transform a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, into a regu- lated medical device. A second area for discussion is that not everyone is excited about patients taking charge of their own healthcare. Historically, healthcare is a very paternalistic and conserva- tive industry, and many physicians may not want patients to become independent and too empowered. Topol points out, however, that as medicine becomes more of an infor- mation science, patient engagement will lead to better healthcare and lower costs. "These days, I'm prescribing a lot more apps than I am medications," Topol says. Indeed, the number and sophis- tication of health apps is growing and many are available at little or no cost. Seldom does a health app cost more than $10 dollars. Topol points to a growing number of apps and devices, none of which he is paid for using or endorsing, that are capable of measuring vital signs and then transmitting that data to smart- phones. Whether it's your heart rate or your sleep habits, Topol believes we should track our own conditions through our phones and use that data to see patterns and warning signs of illness. Topol speaks of a future where human beings are digitized through sensors in the bloodstream. "By having a sensor in the blood, we can pick up all sorts of things — whether it's cells coming off an artery lining [indicating heart attack], the first cancer cell getting in the blood- stream, the immune system revving up for asthma or diabetes, or you name it. All these things will be de- tected by sensors in the blood, which will then talk to the phone:' And when one of these warning signs is picked up by the sensor, a special ring will be sent to your cell phone. Like an engine warning light on your car's dashboard, this ring will indicate that trouble is brewing in a certain area of the body. Ideally, this would prevent life-threatening incidents, like heart attack. He argues that in the near future, everyone should have his or her DNA sequenced, which would reveal what diseases or conditions an individual is prone to, and also what types of drugs will or will not be effective for that particular individual. Topol is in full support of DNA sequencing, but there is some controversy regarding how effective DNA sequencing is when it comes to predicting illness. A few years ago, it cost Steve Jobs $100,000 to sequence his DNA; today you can do it for less than $5,000, with information available in a couple of weeks. Topol expects the cost of a genome sequence to drop below $1,000 in the next three to five years, and there's a distinct possibility for the $100 genome. Topol further predicts that finding a cure to ailments, from cancer to heart disease, depends on sharing our medical information. He insists that if we were serious about the war on cancer, people who had the disease would get their tumor ge- nome sequenced, record treatment techniques and outcomes, and then make it all public knowledge. "If we started to bring all this information together, the accelera- tion of knowledge and the transfor- mation of what we could do for the future of disease would be extraordi- nary?' RT DMC Health For Life Apps For the sixth consecutive year, Detroit Medical Center (DMC) has been named to the nation's "Most Wired" list in the July 2012 issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine and as one of the Top 25 Connected Healthcare Facilities in Health Imaging & IT Magazine. DMC lists several health-related apps on its website (www.dmc.org/apps): •Child Medical Guide answers questions on everything from ani- mal bites to earaches. • Run with DMC, a training com- panion with a running log to record your run details and keep you injury free. • DMC Pedometer to keep track of your steps toward a healthy life- style. • ER Wait Time to show the current ER wait times and a map showing you how to get to the DMC from any location. www.redthreadmagazine.com