Unless you live in Texas, you’ll have to wait to try out NowClinic. It’s being introduced state by state, starting with the lone star. Created by OptumHealth (a division of UnitedHealth Group), it operates independent of insurance coverage. That’s a first.

This New York Times article, written when NowClinic was first introduced, reveals some mixed emotions concerning this type of virtual practice. One doctor called it a “pale imitation” of an in-person visit, others think it’s the future of healthcare and a way to offset shortage areas and overcrowded medical facilities.

Face-to-face visits are essential in creating a meaningful relationship with a doctor. But once those have been established, virtual communications can be a great way to build the relationship and cut down on costs and time. Our Better Health Conversation is designed not to replace an in-person visit, but to make that visit more valuable.

This technology isn’t a heart monitor or stem cell research (or even the Vscan). It’s the set of technologies that can “improve the most critical factor in the quality of health care: the patient’s relationship with the provider.”

The great thing is, many of these technologies already exist: email, videoconferencing, mobile phones, etc. But we aren’t using them within the healthcare system as well as we could be. Author Dr. Ronald Dixon believes virtual communication can and should augment in-person visits, improving the patient-provider relationship as a whole. In his words “virtual interaction can support more solicitous care, not less—and lead to better outcomes.”

What if you could email your doctor? Or what if an elderly relative had access to a kiosk that could monitor blood pressure straight from his or her assisted-living facility? Reliable data could be shared with the doctor in real-time, creating a situation where prompt feedback from a doctor or nurse is viable.

According to Dr. Dixon, up to 60% of today’s office visits could be eliminated if doctors and patients engaged in multiple forms of virtual communication. Wow. That time could instead be used to care for additional patients and address shortage areas. A pretty amazing prospect.

The idea is physicians will provide an answer within minutes of a question being asked. According to this NY Times article, Truth On Call wants to eventually offer the service to caregivers and doctors in developing countries who are looking for advice from doctors in the US.

A great idea, but it comes at a price. Right now, it costs $50 to ask one question—not cheap, especially considering less targeted or reliable (but wider reaching) real-time services like Twitter are free. Speaking of, you can follow the organization on Twitter: @truthoncall. Their bio is promising: “earth’s fastest verified physician input.”

The panelists specialize in health, economics and public opinion, so their discussion conveys the complexity of the issue while putting the politics in context. They talk about what needs to be resolved in order to take constructive legislative action. It’s about an hour and a half long, so you may want to pop some popcorn for this one.

MIT has several other videos on health taken from public events the university has hosted. You can also search by topic (e.g. cancer) to pinpoint your results. They’re worth looking at, especially for the times when you feel like watching instead of reading.

BMI is a statistical measure comparing one’s weight and height. It looks at the relationship between those two numbers to estimate a healthy body weight. You can calculate your (or your child’s) BMI here.

A healthy BMI is typically in the range of 18.5-24.9. That’s accurate for most people, but not all. As the Mayo Clinic points out, BMI doesn’t consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass, meaning it may:

- Underestimate body fat for older adults or those with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit

That said, even if your BMI does accurately reflect your health, it can be hard to put a single number into a larger context. One of our recent data visualizations helps illustrate how BMI can correlate to certain health risks.

When you have a comprehensible picture of how common conditions relate to one another, you’re better able to understand your own health.

An intriguing use of Twitter, it’s also an innovative way to alleviate fear of the unknown, educating individuals on various procedures by sharing what happens behind closed doors. The medical team can answer questions in real-time, making a great teaching tool for medical students and the general public.

Here’s a look at how surgeons walked medical students (and curious onlookers) through a double-knee replacement surgery, via Twitter last year.

Do you think tweeting belongs in the operating room?

Referencing a national study, she says that between 1977 and 2002, “the percentage of the American population eating three or more snacks a day increased to 42% from 11%.” A massive leap.

The eating habits we develop when we’re young stick with us, so try to structure the snacking, especially with kids. Dietitian and family therapist Ellyn Satter recommends focusing on the what, when and where of feeding your kids. They’ll decide how much to eat. The key, she said, is to “end grazing.”

When you do snack, try to focus on your food. Eating in front of the TV or computer encourages mindless chomping away and leads to the inevitable feeling of surprise that comes after you just finished off that entire bag of potato chips.

What are your snacking tips?

Proloquo2Go is a text-to-speech app that lets kids communicate by choosing symbols and words that mirror their thoughts. These can be pieced together to create sentences describing the user’s feelings (e.g. I want a drink of ginger ale). Messages can be spoken, saved and categorized. There’s also an alternative keyboard with over-sized keys.

The price is just $190, a drop in the bucket compared to other products on the market.