A Reinforcement Learning-Based Method for Management of Type 1 Diabetes: Exploratory Study.

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is characterized by chronic insulin deficiency and consequent hyperglycemia. Patients with T1DM require long-term exogenous insulin therapy to regulate blood glucose levels and prevent the long-term complications of the disease. Currently, there are no effective algorithms that consider the unique characteristics of T1DM patients to automatically recommend personalized insulin dosage levels.

The effect of technology-based interventions on pain, depression, and quality of life in patients with cancer: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The burden of cancer is increasing; projections over the next 2 decades suggest that the annual cases of cancer will rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million. However, cancer patients in the 21st century are living longer due to the availability of novel therapeutic regimens, which has prompted a growing focus on maintaining patients' health-related quality of life. Telehealth is increasingly being used to connect with patients outside of traditional clinical settings, and early work has shown its importance in improving quality of life and other clinical outcomes in cancer care.

The future of Connected Health in preventive medicine.

Over the last decade, Connected Health (CH) has shown great value in the management of chronic disease (CD), but has limited application in preventing these diseases that remain a huge burden to the society. Technological advances have made determination of genetic predisposition to disease possible and have gained wide use in oncology to develop more effective and individualized treatment strategies-Personalized Medicine. There is growing interest in the application of these genetic tests in predicting risk for complex genetic diseases; even, direct-to-consumer tests are increasingly becoming available and affordable.

Tuberculosis and poverty: the contribution of patient costs in sub-Saharan Africa--a systematic review.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is known to disproportionately affect the most economically disadvantaged strata of society. Many studies have assessed the association between poverty and TB, but only a few have assessed the direct financial burden TB treatment and care can place on households. Patient costs can be particularly burdensome for TB-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa where poverty levels are high; these costs include the direct costs of medical and non-medical expenditures and the indirect costs of time utilizing healthcare or lost wages.

Institutional Profile: Center for Connected Health.

The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare (MA, USA), is working to create a new model for healthcare delivery, by developing programs and innovative strategies to move care from the hospital or doctor's office into the day-to-day lives of patients. Our technology-enabled and patient-centric connected health initiatives are engaging patients, providers and the connected health community to improve quality and access to care. Many patients 'graduate' from these connect programs empowered and equipped to better manage their own health; and these programs are being successfully integrated across the Partners' network of hospitals and implemented by major employers.