The Health Sciences Spotlight

Arm-ing Yourself with a Flu Shot

  

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We at HealthRx are pretty darn excited about the Foil the Flu program going on at the NIH this flu season - mostly because our Vaccination Manager iPad app and online versions have been a huge hit once again.  This is the fourth year of HealthRx involvement in the program and the second year for our Vaccination Manager iPad app.  As the chief developer for the iPad app, I've been given permission to brag a little. With over 12,000 NIH employees and contractors vaccinated since September 19th, we've had over a 50% response rate for the satisfaction survey and 99% positive feedback! Here are some of the survey comments that made us smile:

• "I think that the set up and process for the vaccine was highly organized and efficient. I was impressed with how quickly they could get through so many participants."
• "In all of the years that I participated in getting my flu shots at NIH, this year has been the best ever. The scanning of the ID badge as opposed to having to sign in and fill out forms is so much better and a lot more efficient. At one point I hated getting my flu shots here at NIH, but now with this new system, all I can say is 'I'll see you again next year.'"
• "The setup was well organized and efficient to serve all fast and effectively with the electronic sign-in and one directional entry to exit- very lean."
• "Most efficient and organized vaccination program I have seen my 10 years working in hospitals/clinical centers!!!"
• "This was the quickest, most efficient process I've ever encountered for a flu vaccine anywhere. Excellent job!"
• "The automated process to scan the ID, answer questions, and transmit this survey was AWESOME."
• "I thought this year's experience was exceptionally nice. The line moved quickly and the ID badge scanning made a big difference in wait time."
• "The flu vaccine system is probably the best run program at the NIH. It is efficient and easy. The use of technology makes the entire system seamless. Kudos."

But, enough about us - here's some news you can use about this year's flu...s:

"Community Immunity," the community side of getting vaccinated 

The first US flu cases have been confirmed 

Kristi Yamaguchi advocates for getting the flu shot 

Retailers promote flu shots 

Messaging strategy to promote flu shots 

Information on whether to get your child a flu shot

Pharmacies are making getting a flu shot easier 

What Twitter can tell us about flu vaccination 

We hope that you will get your flu shot for the benefit of yourself and your community. Way to go to those who have already been vaccinated. Finally, congratulations to the NIH Clinical Center staff and the Occupational Medical Services staff for a wonderful partnership thus far for the 2011-2012 flu season.

(Image Credit)

Want to see the Vaccination Manager in action? Contact us for a demo or come see us at the 2011 mHealth Summit December 5-7, 2011.

NIH Safety Day Recap

  

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Hello, world. I'm Eric, HealthRx Technical Lead. Everyone once in a while we technical people get to see the Day Star and venture out in public. This time, it was to attend the first annual NIH Safety Day. Kelly and I got there bright 'n' early to set up our mini exhibit. Here's a picture of the "low maintenance" HealthRx display, complete with me playing on my two iPads:

We were happy to see that our brand new HealthRx syringe pens were a hit with the exhibit visitors!

The theme of the day was "Safe Science and Good Science Go Hand-in-Hand," a statement that we at HealthRx believe whole-heartedly in. Dr. Gottesman, Deputy Director for Intramural Research, began the day by telling us about the Irving Caesar safety songs he learned as a child. Even as children, we're taught to make safety an integral part of everything we do, but sometimes we forget those lessons when we're busy adults. Keynote speaker Jim Welch, Executive Director of the Elizabeth R. Griffen Research Foundation, spoke about the impact of not taking the time for safety precautions when working in a lab. Elizabeth Griffen, the namesake of the foundation, died of an eye exposure when working with macaques without wearing goggles. Her needless death was a reminder to the audience that people never get hurt from being too safe.

The first annual NIH Safety Day was an overwhelming success, and we sincerely thank the NIH Department of Occupational Health and Safety for hosting us so nicely. We really enjoyed getting to see many of our customers and chatting with them at our booth. The NIH is incredibly important to us, so it's always nice to be able to get out and see the people we serve, face-to-face. As a technical person, I don't tend to be able to connect lines of code with the bigger picture of enterprise biosafety. Being able to attend Safety Day was a real eye-opener for me, since I could see firsthand what an important role HealthRx gets to play in keeping researchers and employees at the NIH safe.

Hip Healthcare

  

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Here at HealthRx, we are big on celebrations - especially those that commemorate good health. A few years ago, I began to have pain while walking, radiating from my hip to my knee and back up again. I blamed it on sitting in my boss' chair for too many hours. Then, after working with a personal trainer, I blamed it on deep squats, lunges, and attempting to run.  It turns out that none of those were the issue, but there was a much worse one...I needed a hip replacement.

Last week, I celebrated my one year anniversary of my new hip, or as we prefer, my First Hip-iversary. I should add that we aren't just big on celebrations, but our company is big on sticking to a theme.  My "people" threw me a party where we enjoyed chicken legs (they tell me it was the closest to a hip-related food they could find)

and we finished off with a personalized Wegmans cake!

I'm thrilled to be in good health, and I wish health and happiness to all of you as well.

Biomedical Beginnings

  

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We thought it would be appropriate to launch our new corporate blog on the anniversary of our HealthRx trademark way back in 1990. We've come a long way since launching the original "HealthRx" product through our company's former name, Source Data Corporation.  The original HealthRx was a medically-based wellness program that was rather advanced for it's time, if we do say so ourselves.

We began to make our way into biomedical and health sciences research rather circuitously. Before anyone ever came up with the name "HealthRx" or the associated product, our President Pat did a miraculous quick change of Source Data's general scheduling product to make it work for clinical scheduling and management in radiation oncology. We installed this specialized product in over one hundred radiation oncology facilities around the world through our Dutch partner. That product grew tremendously as it launched at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, CT and Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA as the HealthRx Clinical Access Manager. Eventually, through hard work and a little luck, our Clinical Access Manager made its way to Occupational Medical Services at the National Institutes of Health in 1999. That relationship began an entirely new direction for HealthRx.

Beginning with those relationships at St. Mary's, Brigham & Women's, and the NIH, we've been fully entrenched in creating software to support all aspects of biomedical and health sciences research. Many of our staff members also have a personal investment in the industry as academics and researchers themselves. We just plain love our industry, and we hope that our passion is obvious through our products, services, and this blog.

Here's what you can expect from the Health Sciences Spotlight:

• Articles on industry news
• Interesting bits of corporate news
• Commentary on issues that are important to health sciences professionals, students, and fans
• A little bit of fun

Thank you for stopping by, and we hope to have plenty of interaction and discussion with you in the future.