I recently had the opportunity to head out to San Francisco to attend the Health 2.0 conference – I was pretty jazzed since this would be my third time out there since first attending as a volunteer in 2008. I think as the Health 2.0 field has matured over the past few years, there have been some pretty interesting initiatives and companies popping up. Being interested in covering this sort of innovation, I was pleased to see a company catch my interest – Health eVillages.

From what I initially gathered, the Health eVillages initiative works to integrate technology into healthcare systems around the globe. It looks like mobile is the main focus. The site’s landing page has a video to give you a glimpse into who is behind the program as well. Through press connections at the conference, I got a chance to catch up with Health eVillages’ co-founder and CEO of Physicians Interactive, Donato Tramuto – in order to get some thoughts on the history and inner workings.

P/S:  What prompted the creation of Health eVillages?

DT: I am a firm believer that healthcare is a right for every single individual on this earth. It’s not just the access to care that is so important but it’s the quality of care- every person deserves good, adequate healthcare. As CEO of Physicians Interactive, we strive to make healthcare more efficient and adequate through the use of mobile technology. A few years ago my sister-in-law died in childbirth due to a medical error so I’ve become very passionate in working to provide safer care– mobile information technology can significantly help make this possible. In an age where advancements in technology are surpassing all expectations, it is unimaginable that today there are areas in the world, including here in the U.S., where people continue to suffer and die due to a lack of access to sufficient healthcare. This is what prompted me to start Health eVillages- I wanted to make an impact.

About a year ago, I was fortunate enough to meet Kerry Kennedy through my involvement with her wonderful organization, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. She, along with her father, is a great hero of mine and her work has been inspirational. With her incredible commitment and passion to human rights and my expertise in the mobile medical technology field, we created Health eVillages to bring technology to areas where people often have no access to clean water, much less modern medical care.

P/S: How does education for community health workers/physicians take place regarding use of mobile phones?

DT: Because the clinics in most of the areas where these Health eVillages mobile medical devices are being implemented do not have the facilities to hold medical references or have the money to buy new editions and stay updated with the most current medical conditions, the mobile phones allow physicians to access information through the touch of a button. Doctors can easily find medical references, resources and solutions to a medical question or issue on their phone. These mobile devices are easy to use and is something that they can have on them at all times without having to go through medical books that they might not even have.

P/S:  Have the results from the pilot programs been received yet? If so, where can that information be found?

DT: To date, the organization has conducted pilot programs in several regions, including in Haiti, Uganda, the Greater Gulf Coast, and Lwala, Kenya. Because Health eVillages is new, we’re still in the process of collecting detailed feedback and data on the outcomes of these phones. We’ve worked with volunteer nurses at the Angels of Hope Clinic in Mattuga, Uganda, providing them with a number of mobile devices and mobile technical support in an area without basic electricity. Based on their successful use of the mobile technology, the organization has requested additional devices and applications as they begin their expansion into Northern Uganda.

P/S:  Is there a process to how Health eVillages receives the donated phones? Is that a process the general public can get involved with like Hope Phones?

DT: Unlike Hope Phones, Health eVillages only distributes smart phones which better support the Skyscape medical application. However, we are similar in that we are resourceful by distributing refurbished phones. Since we’re still in the early stage, we have not reached out to the general public for donated phones- it is definitely a possibility….

P/S:  What is the process for ensuring that the software loaded onto the phones are useful for each of the communities in the pilot programs? Is there a sort of co-creation/development process in order to maximize effectiveness?

DT: The new and refurbished mobile phones and handheld devices do not require Internet access and are preloaded with clinical decision support reference tools to ensure that caregivers and patients have access to updated medical references in remote locations around the world. All devices include drug guides, medical alerts, journal summaries and references from over 50 medical publisher resources powered by Skyscape.com, Inc. Health eVillages has had brainstorming sessions with healthcare workers during the pilot program to get feedback on the devices and how they could be improved to better fit the workers’ needs.

Big thanks to the Donato and the team over at Health eVillages for this look behind the scenes. I’m all about practical use of technology to change the infrastructure and processes for sustainable impact. Looking forward to following up when the initiative gets even more data on the pilot programs.

Pulse + Signal guest correspondent, Ana Tellez, attended the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting in NYC – here is her recap of the world-changing event.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting that was held in New York City. Security was tight, the star-power was bright, and expectations for improving our world were high and abundant. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together CGI members – organizations from the private sector, public sector, and civil society – to innovate collaboratively to alleviate poverty, create a cleaner environment, and increase accessibility to health are and education across the globe. President Obama even stopped by on the second day of the meeting to promote his jobs bill during a session on Sustainable Consumption. He positioned his pitch for the global audience at hand stating that what helps the U.S. economy helps the global economy and he talked about the need to upgrade roads, bridges, and schools across the country.

The meeting had many exciting moments across a diverse set of sessions that all opened with “commitment” announcements of new projects or progress reports on existing projects by CGI members. Certain sessions were closed to the press (including a couple I had really been looking forward to!) yet I persevered and based on my experience I give you my top 5 moments at CGI:

#5. Witnessing the Announcement of The Global Smoke-Free Worksite Challenge as a multi-sector partnership between the American Cancer Society, the Global Business Coalition on Health, Johnson & Johnson, Mayo Clinic, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The announcement came through a press conference that included the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health Howard Koh, along with representatives from each of the other partners. The challenge invites employees to protect their employees from the harms of secondhand smoke by implementing 100% smoke-free policies.

It was interesting to learn that one of the partners – Johnson & Johnson – was the first company to implement a policy of 100% smoke-free work environments in its worldwide locations since back in 1997. In addition, Dr. Koh from HHS noted that, “On January 1^st we announced that all federal employees can get access to smoking cessation services without added costs.”

#4. Learning about biomimicry as a design solution for fighting bacteria. During the “Form and Function: Designing for Humanity” breakout session, Janine Benyus from The Biomimicry Institute presented the concept of biomimicry as a design concept that can bring together biologists and designers to help address challenges across multiple disciplines. Her example of Sharklet blew me away! Sharklet is a surface design that biomimics shark skin to repel microbes instead of killing them – serving as a cost-effective solution for bacteria control in hospitals. You can also watch the full webcast of the session (which includes other innovative design solutions like a low-cost tablet by fuseproject).

#3. Listening to Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu shamelessly flirt with Aung San Suu Kyi while they were both being interviewed by Charlie Rose. Suu Kyi tuned in from Burma in her first interview since being released from house arrest. It was exhilarating to hear her and Tutu converse as two powerful forces of social justice as well as two individuals with great admiration for each other – him especially for her! Aside from the palpable chemistry between the two of them, it was inspiring to hear their calls for ongoing battles against poverty and oppression:

Archbishop Demond Tutu on HIV/AIDS: “We have done splendid work on HIV/AIDS – but please, let’s continue that work and have a generation free of HIV/AIDS.”

Aung San Suu Kyi on democracy: “People say democracy is a Western concept. Democracy is a Western word, but the concept is universal.”

For the full effect of the interview, watch the full webcast.

#2. Watching Chelsea Clinton interview the U.S. Secretary of State (her mom). As part of the closing plenary Chelsea interviewed her own mother, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and asked her some difficult questions about the role of the U.S. in Arab Spring movements in Egypt and Tunisia and the true meaning of democracy. A few tidbits include:

Clinton on the Arab Spring: “I can’t tell you what Egypt or Tunisia will look like in ten years but I can tell you that we made the right decision in supporting participatory movements in those countries.”

Clinton on democracy: “Democracy is not just elections…Democracy is hard. It doesn’t get easier and it’s not very efficient. Our challenge is to keep focused and committed when it’s a messy process.”

For the entire interview, watch the full webcast.

#1. Listening to Leymah Gbowee speak on the power of human perseverance through peaceful protesting. I will be honest, I had never heard of Leymah Gbowee before and had chosen the “Organizing for Change” Keynote Lunch for 2 reasons: 1) my general interest in participatory movements to empower disenfranchised groups and 2) the fact that Madeleine Albright would be moderating the session. As soon as I heard Leymah speak, though, I was completely blown away by her strength of character coupled with a lightness of being and charisma. She spoke eloquently and honestly about the hardships of peace-building work in a way that is not often seen in such high-level meetings. So of course it came as no surprise to me to hear that today she was one of three women to share the Nobel Peace Prize award! (Oh yeah, and the author Rye Barcott was also a panelist. Poor Rye, he never stood a chance against Leymah’s presence.)

If there is one CGI session that you would consider watching, make it this one!  It speaks to those of us working across sectors and disciplines to improve our world and the health of everyone in it.

Guest post by Ana Tellez, a Senior Health Writer at CommunicateHealth. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Communication & Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College where she is researching the intersection of technology design and health literacy.

Greetings, Pulse + Signalers! This week the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is hosting its annual meeting in New York City with numerous heads of state, CEOs, global leaders, and Hollywood stars wearing their nonprofit leadership hats (see the featured list of attendees here). President Bill Clinton established CGI in 2005 with the mission “to inspire, connect, and empower a community of global leaders to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.” CGI does this by facilitating cross-sector partnerships through its Member Meetings – like the one this week – and its Commitments to Action by Members.

The focus of this year’s meeting is threefold: jobs and generating employment, sustainable consumption, and girls/women. Each of these topics is in its own way tethered to issues of public healthand social justice – with certain breakout sessions explicitly focusing on these issues. To give you a taste of what’s in store, here are a few sessions I’m looking forward to:

• The World at 7 Billion: A Member Conversation with President Clintonwith the one and only Bill
• Sustainable Food Systemswith remarks by Nigel Harris, CEO of FARM-Africa and others
• Form and Function: Designing for Humanity with participants such as Jocelyn Wyatt, Executive Director of IDEO.org
• Reproducing Success: Game-changing Interventions in Women’s Health with remarks by Elizabeth Maguire, President and CEO of Ipas and others
• Designing Technologies for Economic Empowerment with participants such as Geena Davis, Founder of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Follow me on Twitter at @AnaTellezwhere I’ll be live-tweeting Tuesday through Thursday using the event’s hashtag of #cgi2011,and tune into the Pulse + Signal blog for a full-length post of the event in the coming days!

Guest post written by Cristian Liu, recently involved in Dept. of Health and Human Services innovation projects. His passions surround entrepreneurship, technology and healthcare.

Get ready to be blown away (hopefully). After last years official debut of a health track, the quality of entries seems to have picked from a quick analysis of 99 submissions in the health category at SXSW. Now is a great time for health to be on the docket at SXSW because of the massive shifts taking place in the sector.

Stripping out common terms like “health” and “SXSW,” a Wordle cloud of the tags show a couple of trends that healthcare is moving toward.

Wordle cloud generated from Wordle.net and Tags scrapped from the SXSW site.

The themes clearly popped out from the tags and while they are common to other sectors, the health sector is still in it’s pre-infancy stage when it comes to social, mobile and innovation:

1. Social Media:  Social Media has exploded over the past few years but healthcare has yet to effectively leverage its benefits at scale.  With the growth of social networking between patient groups, doctors, and specialists, one should expect to see the healthcare industry leveraging social media even more effectively.
2. Mobile: “Mobile is the new social.”  Picture the wave of social media over the past few years.  Now picture a new surge that’s coming up right behind it.  That surge is mobile technology and the unfathomable data capture that comes along with it.  The increased adoption of smartphones has opened the door to new services that can bring information, services, and doctors to patients’ fingertips.
3. Innovation: Disruptive innovation is the key to transforming healthcare and it is no surprise seeing this theme pop up.  Innovation is all the rage not only in the private sector (there are at least 4 health accelerators that launched within the last year – HealthBox (@health_box), RockHealth (@Rock_Health), StartupHealth (@startuphealth), BlueprintHealth (@bphealth)) but also in the government . It’s clear that the status quo isn’t going to work.  SXSW is the epitome of innovation.  By linking healthcare to the startup technology world, the opportunities are endless and as some VCs believe there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur and innovator in this sector.

There are a lot of usual suspects from the health world and it is refreshing to see some new faces. For example, check out the Food related submissions as compiled by Food and Tech Connect here. One thing, though, is clearly missing, view from emerging markets and global health. This blog of course has some bias because @mindofandre and @jaspaldesign submitted one of the very few that take a global view.  Check out a SXSW panel on global health issues here.

It’s clear that the health technology space is ripe for disruption.  The introduction of consumer web technology like social and mobile allows for patients to access services more directly, but business models here still need maturation. Additionally, similar groups are better able to connect with one other, leading to more effective knowledge sharing.  There is no time for small social media and mobile health stories at SXSW.  We should be well beyond that, moving into evidence and impact.  You can shape the future of this conversation and ensure the chosen panels reflect the true cutting edge.  Head over to the SXSW Panel Picker and be prepared to be blown away by the tremendous amount of health activity.

In yesterday’s post published here on the NextDrop team, we covered the innovative project’s mission to empower a community around necessary resource through simple technology. With great support from the local community in Hubli-Dharwad and with the recent boost from the Knight News Challenge – the team look poised to create sustainable impact.

The question during their alpha phase of the pilot was, just how much impact will be created with this new venture?

Well last week the results came in. Check out their post explaining the numbers but also the human aspect of how this project has touched lives. In their feedback from citizens using the service, the team captured a story:

Ones all the family members went to marriage party in near to Hubli (one hour journey) ,when I get the SMS from Nextdrop   I came to know that water is flowing , suddenly I send my younger brother to home and fill the water because next day all the relatives are coming to the home, if we missed the water we have to wait again 6 to 8 days .Your service is very useful on that time.

This is what makes my day when it comes to simple innovations that are taking place around the world in regard to health, wellness and happiness. Kudos to the NextDrop team.

This post was written on the Health Unbound website in development last month in my writing role there to highlight innovative global health projects. As an update, big congrats to the NextDrop team for recently winning the Knight Foundation News Challenge.

The confidence most of us have in our local municipal systems to provide consistent resources on a daily basis probably borders on the lines of being taken for granted. Having access to sanitation services (sewage, waste), clean streets and neighborhoods as well as clean water are all expected as citizens of a city. During crisis events – such as the ones recently experienced in the Midwest United States – many times results in temporary loss of these facilities. However in many developing countries, the lack of consistent resources and access to food and water is an ongoing aspect of daily life. Water has been a topic of many global health initiatives – from making sure the water is clean, transporting the water from sources and finally getting it to intended communities. According to the WHO, almost one fifth of the world’s population (about 1.2B people) live in areas where the water is physically scarce. In addition, a quarter of the world’s population live in countries that face water shortages due to a lack of infrastructure.

The good news is that sometimes when smart people get together with ideas and combine them with easy to use technology – these problems can be addressed. In this case, the fantastic team behind NextDrop are the smart people and the technology being used are mobile phones. I am continuously intrigued by the ideas that are simple, innovative and yet are highly effective and from what I have learned so far this project hits on all three of those points. With the proliferation of use around the world, most notably in developing countries, of mobile phones for SMS-based activities – the NextDrop initiative makes absolute practical sense. Created by graduate students at UC Berkley with diverse backgrounds in business, public policy, and civil engineering, NextDrop aims to reshape the water distribution system in developing countries, currently focused on Southeast Asia. The project launched in Hubli-Dharwad, a city in Karnataka, India (population nearly 1M). The problem is that families in many of these countries, while having a piped water system, are unable to get reliable/consistent water. Not knowing when water will arrive causes individuals and families to wait around, resulting in wasted time for other opportunities – many times ill afforded for the economically disadvantaged.

In a nutshell, water servicemen in the community use their mobile phones to send out an alert to residents prior to when the water will be available in their piped systems. In addition to the community members getting a notice of water, they are randomly selected to provide feedback letting the servicemen know if everything is happening according to the SMS reports. The mobile phones allow a circle of information and feedback to all parties involved, creating a quality assurance system. Here is a video of the NextDrop team explaining how the system works:

The NextDrop initiative got its legs through a competition around big ideas in information technology at UC Berkley, notably called the “Big Ideas” competition. I’m a big fan of competitions and challenges that effectively give a platform to ideas that can turn into sustainable solutions to the problems we are facing around the world – large or small.

UC Berkeley’s annual “Big Ideas” prize competition inspires innovative and high-impact student projects aimed at solving the world’s most pressing problems. By seeking out novel proposals and then supporting efforts to help them succeed, Big Ideas has produced remarkable results.

And in 2010, the NextDrop team in fact did succeed in the competition – helping them launch into existence. Coming up on a year since their pilot initiative began in about 200 households in Hubli, the team is continuing to grow their impact. The sustainability factor is always important with these types of initiatives so I wanted to find out from the NextDrop team their plans for the future.

From NextDrop Co-Founder & CEO, Anu Sridharan:

“Nextdrop could not have started without the collaboration with the Hubli water board- particularly chief engineer Mr.Jayaram. Through his leadership we will finish our pilot by December 2011 and be in the entire city of Hubli by Dec 2012.

In the next 3-5 years we hope that other water utilities and public services will follow Mr. Jayaram’s example to be on the cutting edge of innovation and provide better service for their customers. Together, we simply hope to improve the flow if information in not just the water sector, but any other sectors with information asymmetry.”

That last sentence really solidifies the mission of the the NextDrop initiative. It can also be a great way for future global health innovations to stay focused on what is necessary right now: simple and effective. The basics need to be tended to with the basics. Simple tools that work with the people to bring about tangible change

The global fight to end the destruction of lives from tobacco is something I can get behind. Today is World No Tobacco Day - a global initiative from the World Health Organization.

Some statistics that many public health professionals are aware of but always a good reminder:

• The tobacco epidemic kills nearly 6 million people each year, of whom:
  • more than 5 million are users and ex users
  • more than 600 000 are nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke
• Smokers are more susceptible to certain communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and pneumonia
• After high blood pressure, tobacco use is the biggest contributor to the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases — such as heart attack, stroke, cancer and emphysema — which accounts for 63% of deaths
• No consumer product kills as many people and as needlessly as does tobacco. It killed 100 million people in the 20th century. Unless we act, it could kill up to 1 billion people in the 21st. All of these deaths will have been entirely preventable

Here is the 2011 PSA for World Tobacco Day:

Some interesting news recently popped up about the dangers of hookah - which some young people seem to think isn't as bad as smoking cigarettes.

For some more interactive content throughout the day, check out the #WNTD hashtag on Twitter to keep up with the conversation, links and more.

Just a quick post here to get you all on board with something that I’ve been working on and think will be very cool but at the same time very useful.

The Project:
SXSW is a massive event taking place in Austin, TX next week. The Interactive portion of the event will bring together tech, media and futurists together from around the world to discuss innovative around a variety of subjects. This year, health is going to be a focus (yay!). What better place to engage folks around donating their old mobile phones to a great cause. For those attending SXSW or attending in spirit – I want them to know about this fantastic project.

Where You Come In:
If you have an old mobile phone (or more!), please think about donating to the Hope Phones project. If you are attending SXSW, please bring your old mobile phones – there will be collection boxes at a few places near the Convention Center. I’ve created a nifty Google Form for you to enter information so that they can stay in touch. Most importantly, you will get an update on where in the world your donation has made an impact for community health. If  you sign up prior to or even during SXSW, we’ll make sure and send out a note on where you can drop off your phones. The team and I will also be popping up at various parties/events focused on health & social innovation (e.g. Good Capitalist Party, etc.).

Form Link: http://bit.ly/hopephonesSXSW

Spread the Word:
Please spread the word however you can within your networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The project is also on Twitter as @hopephones. Stay tuned for a new website design and more from them!

2011 is build mode folks. Stay tuned for more goodies coming from myself, Pulse + Signal, and others working to push the envelope and make positive changes in public/community health.

Here on Pulse + Signal I’ve covered the journey of Josh Nesbit, Isaac Holeman and the rest of the folks working to bring mobiles to global health innovation at FrontlineSMS:Medic. Whether it be through a CNN highlight, exclusive footage of their community health worker training or a Poptech write up – there is no doubt that my fascination with mHealth started with their work.

Late last month, the team decided to change their name from FrontlineSMS:Medic to Medic Mobile. The only thing that I see different is how much deeper they are affecting populations in need of revolutionary healthcare methods. Their announcement does a great job of giving insight into their journey of growth and impact. I also like how they pay homage to the platform that started it all – the FrontlineSMS product that Ken Banks put together years ago.

Medic Mobile maintains FrontlineSMS:Medic’s team, values, and mission – using mobile tools to create connected, coordinated health systems that save more lives.

Right on.

Today was a big day for the World Health Organization (WHO). More streamlined and organized. Social media. Clear look at top stories. This is what the hopes were behind the redesign of the WHO website from what I read in the paragraph. However, there are some things that have got me puzzled:

• I would have liked to see some sort of expansive image (maybe a rotating image featuring countries involved in global health activities) in the top banner where the WHO symbol is – a little bit too much white space?
• There are so many great images that the WHO has shown me over the past few years, I would have liked to see that more prominently
• I don’t see social media anywhere above the fold (where you first see the website) or…even below the fold. Wasn’t that mentioned as part of the upgrade?
• The statistics across the middle section highlighting the Millennium Development Goals probably could have been illustrated better with a rotating image somewhere instead of just…text.
• I know there are links to multimedia at the bottom but maybe highlighting it on the main page rather than just through links?

Overall I’m happy that this large and influential organization took some time to think about a redesign for their visitors and those who depend on their information (and those with a fascination, such as myself) for improving the public’s health. Maybe there will be some tweaks in the near future.

Just my quick 2 cents. What do you all think of the redesign? Do you regularly visit the WHO site? Why or why not?