In November, remember Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes, Hospice, COPD, and more

Here's a brief summary of the various health/disease awareness topics for the month of November:

• American Diabetes Month
• COPD Awareness Month
• Diabetic Eye Disease Month
• Lung Cancer Awareness Month
• National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month
• National Family Caregivers Month
• National Healthy Skin Month
• National Hospice Palliative Care Month
• National Stomach Cancer Awareness Month
• Drowsy Driving Prevention Week
• Get Smart About Antibiotics Week
• Great American Smokeout
• International Survivors of Suicide Day
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Awareness Week

Learn more about these topics from the National Health Information Center here.

Alzheimer’s Challenge 2012 #cisummit

ALZHEIMER'S CHALLENGE 2012: SEEKING NEW TOOLS TO HELP IMPROVE ALZHEIMER’S CARE

New Challenge Seeks Simple, Widely-Adaptable Tools to Track Alzheimer’s Progression and Support HHS “Triple Aim” of Better Care and Better Health at Lower Cost

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (January 26, 2012) – Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, together with its collaborator on the Alzheimer’s Immunotherapy Program (AIP), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), and the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative today introduced the Alzheimer’s Challenge 2012 at the Care Innovations Summit in Washington, D.C. The Alzheimer’s Challenge 2012 calls for inventive concepts to help improve the diagnostic identification and tracking of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mobile Personal Emergency Response System (MPERS) technology

Seniors Seek Technology that Promotes Secure Independence

Research by Lifecomm LLC Highlights Senior MPERS Adoption Motivated by Mobility and Design Factors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumer research by The Link Group research firm and Lifecomm LLC has highlighted design factors and features important to seniors when considering becoming a user of a Mobile Personal Emergency Response System (MPERS). Specifically, the research findings indicate that wearable device design and features must integrate into seniors’ lifestyle without an undesirable labeling of the user. Potential users identified design elements such as color, weight, and form as influencing their likely acceptance of such a wearable product. Appealing features included automatic fall detection, along with GPS and nationwide cellular capabilities, which enable seniors to remain independent. According to the research, the combination of these design elements with these features made respondents feel safe both in and out of their homes, without feeling stigmatized by the product.

Generic versions of Aricept (donepezil) approved by FDA

The FDA has announced that generic versions of Aricept (donepezil) have now been approved for patients who have Alzheimer's disease. Aricept was one of the first FDA-approved "acetylcholinesterase inhibitor" for patients who have Alzheimer's disease. Since then, we've seen quite a few other acetylcholinesterase inhibitors enter the market. Four cholinesterase inhibitors: tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine are currently approved by the FDA but tacrine is rarely used due to toxicities.

Now that we have an option to use a generic drug for patients with Alzheimer's disease, I wonder if we will see more patients receiving treatment for their dementia. Drug cost has always been a barrier for older adults (even if they have Medicare), but generics are often a fraction of the cost compared to branded drugs, so this should be interesting as we move forward.

Who should have an implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) chip?

Have you ever considered this question? Who should have an implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) chip? What about those people who come to the ER, unconscious with no identification? They get labeled: John Doe or Jane Doe. If you work in an urban hospital, you know what I'm talking about.

What about individuals with dementia who are prone to wandering? What about your toddler child who is prone to wandering?

The VeriChip Corporation, a Florida-based provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare, has a small chip that can be easily implanted. The VeriMed Health Link patient identification system includes an implantable microchip, the VeriChip. The thing is so small that you may not even know that it's in you. Some people feel that the chip should be implanted in certain individuals who are at risk for wandering. Others may even think that convicted sex offenders should be permanently tagged with a GPS-tracking chip.

The state of Pennsylvania recently passed a bill that would ban the forced implantation of identification devices in humans. The bill was introduced by Democratic State Rep. Babette Josephs and was unanimously passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 24. It will now go to the Senate for consideration. Do you agree that the privacy risks that could occur as a result of implanting such a device in any human, regardless of age or condition, outweigh any possible benefits?

Scott R. Silverman, chairman of VeriChip, says, "For years, we, as a company, have enforced a strict privacy policy that starts with the voluntary use of our VeriMed Health Link patient identification system, which includes our implantable microchip, the VeriChip. The primary application of our VeriMed Health Link patient identification system and the VeriChip microchip is to identify high-risk patients and their medical records in an emergency or clinical situation."

Sounds like we're getting into some serious ethical issues if we try to force implantation in anyone. At what point does an individual lose enough autonomy for these types of privacy-related decisions? If an elder has severe dementia, medical decisions are generally made by someone who is designated as the power of attorney. What if a non-competent adult lacks a power of attorney? Who then gets to decide about an implantable microchip?