Speaking at upcoming conferences...Travel schedule, etc.

Looks like my travel schedule for the beginning of the year is filling up quickly. I'll be speaking at several great health care conferences in the coming months, and making some trips to various homelands of mine, so hopefully we'll get to connect along my travels. Ping me if you will be around one of these cities on these dates. Let's catch up in person!

January 23 - Boston, MA - Participating in Health 2.0 North East Event

January 28 - 29 - New York City - At the Always On Media Summit

January 30 - Philadelphia, PA - Speaking at the 7th Annual ePharma Summit

February 19 - 24 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

March 3 -4 - San Diego, CA - Participating in Health 2.0 Spring Fling

April 24 - 25 - Dallas, TX

May 4 - 8 - Las Vegas, NV - Speaking at the Consumer Health World Conference

Salon.com Features OrganizedWisdom Today

I wanted to pass along this great Salon.com article today that features OrganizedWisdom.

It's called "Is there a doctor in the mouse?" and one thing that means a lot is that it was written by a doctor (Rahul K. Parikh, MD). (I also have always loved Salon.com so it is an honor to be featured on their homepage!)

Dr. Parikh frames the problem:

The medical establishment...has taken way too much time to understand that the Internet is a disruptive innovation that has overturned the status quo. It has leveled the playing field between expert and novice -- in this case, doctor and patient. While some doctors ... may find that challenge threatening to their status as an expert, the Web is now providing the kind of information doctors need to be aware of if we want to continue to be good at our job, and the kind of trends that can help patients be smarter and healthier.
He describes the difference between OrganizedWisdom and Google

One example is Organized Wisdom, a search engine for medical issues. What gives it an edge over general search engines like Google and Yahoo is that its content is vetted by health professionals. If you type "autism" into Organized Wisdom, you'll receive an organized set of links to reliable sites that allow you to look at the symptoms of autism, potential treatments, research studies, and support groups. If you do the same using Google, the first site you'll see is Autism.org. If you click the link, you'll be taken to a page sponsored by groups preaching that vaccines are unsafe and favoring "alternative" treatments that are untested and potentially dangerous.

He wraps it up nicely...

Patients who, prior to a visit, consult information online can better share in the decision-making process with their doctor. Afterward, they can go online to find information that reinforces their decision or introduces them to viable alternatives.

Netflix, Fresh Direct, Amazon.com

I told my sister Gardenia the other day, that I don't think I could live anywhere where I didn't have access to these 3 services:

Netflix, Fresh Direct, and Amazon.com.

The good news is that Netflix is already starting to offer it's collection for download. And Amazon.com can deliver anywhere you get the mail, it is just cost-prohibitive, internationally right now. Fresh Direct? I guess, I will have to stay in NYC until WebVan relaunches:-).

We Love You Grandpa Hughes

My Grandfather Hughes passed away at 3:00 AM EST this morning. I had hoped to see him one last time this next weekend, but his late stage lung cancer swept in very quickly in the past two weeks. I am very thankful that I was able to spend his 89th birthday celebration with him this past summer when he was in good health and happy spirits.

And thanks to my cousins Kelly and Abby who organized a special Christmas present for him this year, everyone if our family wrote a personal letter in a combined family scrap book we shared with him at Christmas.

Here was the letter I shared with him:

December 2007

Dear Grandpa,

Merry Christmas!

Here are some thoughts that I wanted to share with you this Holiday Season. I want you to know that your lessons continue to help me everyday. Thank you for being the great Grandfather you are. One day I hope to pass your advice and wisdom on to my family!

*******

I will never forget the time you gave me an old 1917 one dollar bill. I must have been 10 or 11 and I mentioned to you one time when we were visiting from Iowa that I was just starting to collect coins – I wanted to learn to become a numismatist. You said, I’ve got something for you and you took me out to your garage and searched around until you found a container that had a bunch of coins and foreign currency in it. You said that Patrick used to collect coins when he was a boy and that when you were younger you used to collect different coins from your travels too. The old tin you gave me had a handful of colorful coins of all different shapes. There were coins from Panama and several islands and territories you had visited. You told me stories about each country and it was fun to hear about your time in the service and the exciting adventures you had. It was great to hear about your buddies and the exotic places you had seen. It made me want to explore the world and see many great places which I have been so lucky to have done!

I still have the 1917 bill, and you inspired me to keep collecting. I even made an investment at the time and purchased a bag of 5,000 pre-war pennies and Indian Heads which I bought for $150 (which worked out to 3 cents per penny). Lots of my friends thought I was crazy for paying 3 cents for a penny and spending so many hours sorting through them all. But when I appraised one of the first pennies I pulled out of the bag to be a rare Indian Head penny worth over $60 I knew I was on to something and I never stopped investing. Thank you for teaching me to see the real value in things that may be beyond the surface.

*******

One year you gave me a wristwatch for Christmas. It was the very first watch I owned and it was from my grandpa Hughes, which I loved! My parents probably hated that I got that gift, because from then on out I would tell them when we were late to school, or late to practice, or late to whatever. I wore the watch everyday to school and I loved it. I wish I still had that watch because it was perfect! I don’t wear a watch often today because I simply use my cell phone clock. But I know that I learned the importance of time from having that watch you gave me. To this day, I make sure I show up to meetings, dates with friends, or pretty much everything on time. Being considerate of time is a sign of respect and means a lot. Thank you for this valuable lesson. It continues to help me everyday.

********

Every time I go to my closet and look at my collection of ties, I think of your closet. You used to have hundreds of ties – every color, and style it seemed. A few times, you even gave me a couple of your ties and said I could have them. It made me want to wear a tie, even though I had no suit to go with it and I didn’t have to dress up for school.

You taught me how to tie my first tie and showed me it was as easy as tying my shoe. It wasn’t at first, but I kept trying and trying until I got it.

I felt like an adult and I couldn’t wait until one day I would get the opportunity to go to work and wear a tie. In high school I started collecting my own ties and soon built up a pretty neat assortment. Every color and style. So now when I go to my own closet I always remember your wonderful ties and how you taught me my very first knot.

*****

I wish I was with you in Ohio this holiday season! I can’t wait to celebrate with you for your 90th birthday.

Thank you for your love, wisdom, and all you have shared with me.

All My Love,

Unity

Thanks for All The Birthday Wishes!

Today, (well, officially, tonight at 10:25 CST, 11:25 EST), I will be celebrating my birthday. Thanks Mom for making it happen:-). And thanks to all my friends and family who have sent me good luck, notes, and messages. It means a lot! Especially, since I know you are all burned out from the Halloween to New Years festivities...

For those of you who haven't seen it, here is a short video filmed the hours and days after my birth: