(Txt): “Hi Glenn-Running 25 minutes late, sorry ; )”

(Upon Arrival): “Hey I’m really sorry but have you got any change? I need to feed the meter.”

(Settling In): “So what is it you do again? What’s this Practice Fusion thing?”

(During Conversation): “Oh I wouldn’t put my kids in public schools. No way.”

“You should meet this cocky, self-absorbed 22 year-old with no entrepreneurial experience and no network who I just met. He’s doing something just like you.”

“So how are you different from this candy-ass company I just invested in?”

Sigh.

Dear Pizaazz Readers-Thanks for stopping by!

Recently, I haven’t had time post regularly because I’ve been busy launching a startup company called Wellcoin. It’s in the consumer health space, and it’s based on a tremendous concept. At least I think so!

For updates on Wellcoin, please check our web site or follow us on Twitter. As for Pizaazz, I’ll be back at it soon!

Thanks, Glenn

Docs Averse to Sharing Patient Data, Even for Public Health. When it comes to disclosing identifiable patient information, family doctors are reluctant to do so – even for public health purposes such as tracking influenza, according to a recent study.

The Hype on Hypoallergenic Dogs Is Just That, Study Warns. So-called hypoallergenic dogs do not produce fewer allergens like dander and fur, and are hence are no less likely to make you sneeze than other dogs, a new study says.

Fitview Gives Personal Trainers A Comprehensive Fitness And Coaching Platform. The new startup launched yesterday, hoping to help personal trainers better connect with their clients and the general public.  Fitview is launching as a comprehensive SaaS for fitness trainers to upload a fitness curriculum, keep track of client progress and more.

Tennessee’s Telehealth Program in Disarray amid Fraud Investigation. A non-profit charged with managing Tennessee’s telehealth network is shutting down amid claims that two former executives stole or misused more than $1 million in grant funding.

Survey Finds High Rate of Spanking in Kids under Age 2. Thirty percent of North Carolina mothers of children less than 2 two years old say they have spanked their children in the last year, a concern since being spanked is associated with poor self-esteem, mental health problems and substance abuse.

Best Buy Leads $5.5M Investment with Valencell. The Series B investment in the mobile health company was joined by TDF and True Ventures. Valencell’s Healthset sensor tracks heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, speed and more through earbuds.

Once Rare, Infection by Tick Bites Spreads. Babesiosis, a potentially devastating malaria-like infection spread through tick bites, has gained a foothold in the Hudson Valley and the coastal Northeast, researchers have found.

FDA Okays New Abuse-Resistant Opioid. The regulatory agency approved a narcotic painkiller with abuse-deterrent properties, Pfizer has announced. The new drug, Oxecta, uses a “unique composition of commonly used pharmaceutical ingredients” to stop potential abusers from crushing, chewing, snorting, or injecting the opioid.

FDA Issues Draft Guidance for Artificial Pancreas. Addressed in the FDA’s document is a Low Glucose Suspend System, which can reduce the severity of hypoglycemic episodes by temporarily reducing insulin delivery. The early-stage system requires patients to manage glucose levels with a meter and give themselves insulin as needed.

Crow’s Feet Faceoff Yields Clear Winner. Crow’s feet responded significantly better to treatment with abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport) than with onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox), according to results of the first-ever randomized comparison of the two botulinum toxin compounds.

Federal Panel Votes To Delay Stage 2 Meaningful Use by One Year. The Health IT Policy Committee, an advisory panel to the federal government, divided over the appropriate start date for implementing Stage 2 EHR meaningful use requirements, voted to delay Stage 2 from 2013 to 2014.

Startup Health Launched to Spur Innovation in Healthcare. Former Time Warner CEO Jerry Levin will be chairman of the new program that proposes to help health startups raise capital, offer long term mentorship, and bring other resources to bear.

Pfizer Clinical Drug Trial Implemented through Phone, Computer. Results of the trial of the overactive bladder drug Detrol will be compared with those from a previous, traditional trial of the same drug. A close correlation might eventually help reduce the cost of commercializing other drugs.

CMS Extends Deadlines for Medicare ACO Demonstration Program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has extended its deadline for letters of intent and applications to participate in Medicare’s Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model demonstration program for at least 5 years

Healthy Vision with Dr. Val Jones, Now Available on iTunes. The engaging, free program covers the importance of regular eye exams, contact lens care and UV protection for eyes. Jones is CEO of the popular health blog aggregator Better Health.

Medicaid To Stop Paying for Preventable Events. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that it will no longer pay healthcare providers for treating Medicaid patients with illnesses, injuries or readmissions that should have been prevented.

Meet the First Rock Health Start-Up Class! Congrats and good luck to the health-focused tech startup accelerator’s first class! It includes BrainBot (technology to improve mental performance), CellScope (at-home diagnosis of diseases), Genomera (personal health collaboration), Health In Reach (medical procedure marketplace), Omada Health (clinical treatment social networking), Pipette (patient monitoring and education), Skimble (mobile fitness), and WeSprout (connecting health data and community).

ACO Initiative Draws Fire. Many health providers are claiming they won’t participate in accountable care organizations unless the Obama administration’s proposed guidelines governing their formation include better financial incentives and a reduced regulatory burden.

Dosecast iOS App Targets Medication Compliance. The free edition of the app features reliable push-notifications, flexible scheduling, customizable dose amounts and instructions, reminders, smart silencing, and privacy and security.

CMS: Patients Should Know Who Views Their EHR. Upon request, patients could see who has accessed and viewed their electronic health records, under a proposed privacy rule released by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

Privacy Issues Raised as Prisons Roll-Out EHRs. As prisons take steps to implement electronic health records, debate is stirring over whether mining inmates’ medical data would violate their privacy.

‘DC to VC’ Summit Seeks To Fund New Health IT Ideas. Morgenthaler Ventures has announced a nationwide contest to find the best startup ideas in health IT. The competition is open to entrepreneurs seeking seed or Series A funding.

Lower Risk of Death Linked to Optimism in Heart Patients. If newly diagnosed heart disease patients who must undergo treatment are optimistic and expect they’ll resume normal activities, they do better according to Duke researchers.

Artsy, Museum-Going Men Are Happier. Men who enjoy taking in the ballet or browsing art museums are more likely to be happy with their lives and satisfied with their health than men who don’t, a study has found.

Transgender Detainees Cut-Off from Hormone Drugs. An advocacy group is claiming that jail is depriving immigration detainees of  ’adequate health care’. The group, supported by the AMA and others, says that hormone replacement therapy is indicated for cases of gender identity disorder.

@MichaelSheeley  #ciht11 Lots of cool & innovation going on in the health & fitness world. Very exciting things are happening!

Indeed there are. The latest evidence for this could be found at Friday’s HealthTech 2011 conference in Boston. Sponsored by Careinnovators, #ciht11 drew hundreds of entrepreneurs, who used the day to share ideas, hear what investors thought about their space, and for a few of the heartiest, to nail their elevator pitch in a bar during the height of happy hour.

The Entrepreneurs
The large, engaged crowd suggests that #ciht11 touched a nerve, at least among entrepreneurs. Many of them believe we are entering a renaissance era in health and wellness, even bigger than the 1980s bubble which produced Access Health and HealthWise, among others.

The renaissance is being driven, they say, by strong tailwinds from many sources. The aging of the baby boomers creates a vast new market, including millions who want to maintain good health and even more who will inevitably develop chronic diseases. Inexpensive smartphones and monitoring devices are becoming ubiquitous, giving consumers real-time access to support networks and non-obtrusive ways to record data. Today’s Web-based platforms make it easy to develop products and store data.

Plus, it won’t be long before people who never knew life without the Internet will outnumber those who grew up before it. If these people can spend hours tending to eStrawberries on an eFarm, then surely they will use cool games that help them stay healthy.

There have been early successes in the space, as yesterday’s conference showed. Companies that track your work-out, like MapMyRun and RunKeeper have up to 5.5 million registered users and 300,000 active users, according to speakers and Twitterers at the conference. Shape Up the Nation provides health and wellness services to more than 2 million people via contracts with employers and payers.

The Venture Capitalists

@PearlF #ciht11 Bessemer’s Stephen Kraus: there will be next generation gaming plays on wellness, 4 now not investing, hard 2 separate from noise

Venture Capitalists seem to be more circumspect about the supposed renaissance, however. They have invested only sporadically in the space, although the few investments they have made—including a remarkable $2.25 million bet that Aza Raskin, the former creative lead at Firefox and Sutha Kamal can grow Massive Health from scratch—are noteworthy.

To be sure, most VCs absolutely do believe that some startups in this space will become wildly successful. It’s just they haven’t yet seen many startups that merit an investment at this point. Too many unproven business models. Too many marketing plans based on the premise—famously recounted at the conference by Excel Venture Management’s Rick Blume—that ‘if I build it, they will come.’

How will these startups overcome the troubling reality that 26% of people who download a health-related app use it just once, or that nearly a third of those who use health apps don’t use them as their developers intended? How realistic is a business plan that relies on users to fundamentally change their health-related behaviors?

@MatthewBrowning #ciht11 ROI, ROI, ROI is most important to investors

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