John Torous – Mindful Moods
Category: Resident
The Mindful Moods project aimed to go beyond the feasibility of collecting patient self report data in real time on a smartphone platform and instead investigate the clinical validity of that data. At this point in time, it is clear that technology can
do many things in a scalable and low cost manner, but the real question for healthcare is can technology do such things in a manner that is valid, safe, and effective. The smartphone app created for this study assessed nine questions related to major
depressive disorder on a daily basis and was piloted in 13 clinical subjects who used the app for one month, creating just over 3,500 data points. Results suggested that patients report symptoms of depression differently to a smartphone and that data
collected from mobile platforms holds potential but requires further clinical validation before being deployed on a larger scale. The results have been published and are freely available to read at
http://mental.jmir.org/2015/1/e8. Of note, the app was available on the iTunes and Android app stores during the study period and created with a budget of less
than $1,000. It highlights the ease of creation and potential clinic use of real time data for major depressive disorder but also underscores the important role that clinicians must play in the development of technology for healthcare.
Gavin Ovsak – Parallel Patients
Category: Student
The best medical care is experience-driven, but no doctor has experience treating every disease. To bridge potential gaps in knowledge, Parallel Patients supplements a physician’s toolkit by identifying patients similar to their own in the electronic
health record system. Using an anonymized EHR database from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with records from over 40,000 patients, we built a platform for clinicians to quickly find the top ten most similar ICU records for any given patient
admission, allowing new doctors in particular to view the management of prior cases, learn from the perspectives of other clinicians, and ultimately improve their medical outcomes. We are currently developing a grading website (
https://parallel-patients-gavinovsak.c9.io) for our partnered physicians to evaluate search results from our platform, and with their feedback,
we hope that our technology can empower doctors and add value to the future of medical care.
