The Watson Health Cloud will be an open source but secure platform on which care providers and researchers can share and analyze health data for greater insights into trends to improve individual and overall patient outcomes.

IBM, which made the announcement at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Chicago, also said it has acquired big data healthcare analytics providers Phytel and Explorys, whose software will be used in concert with Watson Health.

The Explorys platform enables healthcare systems to collect, link and combine data from hundreds of disparate sources across their enterprise and clinically integrated networks. This data will be derived from clinical, claims, billing, accounting, devices, community and patient information.

Phytel develops and sells cloud-based services that help healthcare providers coordinate care in order to meet new healthcare quality requirements and reimbursement models.

“Their data sets represent 90 million lives, primarily in this country,” said Mike Rhodin, senior vice president of IBM’s Watson Business Group.

Additionally, IBM announced three new partnerships with Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic to optimize consumer and medical devices.

BM will apply Watson Health cloud services and analytics to Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit, two features announced with last month’s release of Apple Watch. HealthKit enables the collection of data from the Apple Watch, and ResearchKit enables Apple Watch wearers to take part in massive health data studies by sharing the baseline vital signs and activity data.

Apple engineers have been working with dozens of research institutes, such as the Mayo Clinic, in developing apps that will help in research on Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, asthma and breast cancer.

IBM will provide a secure research capability on the Watson Health Cloud platform, de-identifying personal data to allow researchers to easily store, aggregate and model information collected from iOS users who opt-in to contribute personal data to medical research.

Johnson & Johnson will collaborate with IBM to create intelligent health coaching systems centered on preoperative and postoperative patient care, including joint replacement and spinal surgery.

“There’s so much we have to learn with this sea of data,” said Len Greer, president of Health and Wellness Solutions at Johnson & Johnson. “We’re going to start this collaboration [with IBM’s Watson Health] with joint replacement surgery… joints, knees and hips.”

Johnson & Johnson recently launched Patient Athlete, a pre and post operative video health coaching program, but Watson’s analytics and “cognitive” capability will enable the program to grow into a virtual patient coach, working with patient data to tailor a post-operative recovery coaching program.

Johnson & Johnson also plans to launch new health apps targeting chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, which take up as much as 80% of $7 trillion global healthcare spending, according to Greer.

Medtronic will leverage the Watson Health Cloud insights platform to collaborate with IBM around delivery of new highly personalized care management services for people with diabetes. The system will receive and analyze patient information and data from various devices including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, and use this information to provide dynamic, personalized diabetes management strategies to patients and their providers.

Rhoden said Watson Health will include the open source sharing of code, so that any company can become a partner and develop applications for the platform.

“They’ll be solutions we bring to market, solutions we work with others to bring to market, and startups can even take advantage of the analytics to build future solutions,” Rhoden said.

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DICOM Grid today announced the release of “medical selfie”, a new feature available through its mobile optimized medical image management platform. Using the feature, patients and care providers can upload medical pictures taken on an iOs device and securely share them with physicians.

“The ability to quickly send a picture is especially critical in trauma situations or frankly just to monitor ongoing care, “

Morris Panner, CEO of DICOM Grid said. “For example, patients or referring physicians can snap a shot of a burn, wound, or other injury and share it with a specialty provider in minutes.  A physician can view the picture through our secure portal to determine a treatment plan and advise whether or not the issue requires an in-person visit.”

DICOM Grid is a pioneer in the rapidly evolving telehealth space, providing web-based tools that facilitate remote consultations involving imaging. On-line features for 24/7 access, real-time image sharing, mobile viewing, and secure messaging are made possible through its award winning product line, DG Suite.

The medical selfie feature facilities real-time sharing of “visible light” imagery in a HIPAA secure environment.  Commonly used in dermatology and wound care, visible light imagery can be assessed without special equipment. In addition to still pictures, patients are also able to share diagnostic imaging and related data. By creating a DICOM Grid account, all information that is uploaded and shared can be accessed and viewed by patients online.

“As a physician who performs online patient consultations, tools like medical selfies help to streamline the telemedicine process,”

comments Dr. Rourke Stay, user of DICOM Grid and Founder of Lightbulb Radiology, an online destination for patients seeking second opinion services.  “From a workflow standpoint, having images and pictures sent directly to my worklist is great. These tools empower patients by enabling them to seamlessly transfer imaging data from their own iphones into the hands of an expert consultant.”

To learn more visit:http://www.dicomgrid.com/medical-selfies.

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