The use of social media by older people can offer valuable additional support in cases of sickness and diseases, new research from the University of Luxembourg has shown. In a new publication, Dr Anja Leist from the University's Research Unit INSIDE, concludes that possibilities for a systematic application in clinical practice seem promising.

Their study is the first to evaluate a smartphone app as the sole method for monitoring weight loss, with researchers creating My Meal Mate to trial against similar products for monitoring food intake, an online food diary and the traditional paper version. The My Meal Mate app allows users to monitor their food intake and exercise, set a weight loss target and sends a weekly update on progress via text message.

The European Commission's Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have agreed on a roadmap to strengthen transatlantic cooperation in eHealth and Health information technologies (IT). This builds on a Memorandum of Understanding on this topic, signed in 2010 under the auspices of the Transatlantic Economic Council.

Experts from across Northern Ireland gathered this week to mark the success of the Telemonitoring NI service. The service, which is being provided by the TF3 Consortium in conjunction with the five health and social care trusts, is designed to transform patient care across Northern Ireland by enabling better control over their health and improving care outcomes, and has benefitted 1,500 patients to date.

Self-management interventions delivered by computer and mobile phone currently provide limited benefits for people with diabetes, according to a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. Although computer and mobile phone-based self-management programmes had small positive effects on blood sugar levels, these effects seemed to be short-lived.

The Italian Association for People with Rheumatic Diseases (A.P.MA.R.) has announced the successful launch in Italy of the advanced mobile Application Software (App) for people with rheumatoid arthritis, named the Rheumatoid Arthritis App. A.P.MA.R.’s project has been developed by SB Soft s.r.l., with scientific support from Dr. Marilena Serra, Rheumatologist, Vito Fazzi Hospital of Lecce and Dr. Tiziana Nava, President GIS Rheumatology -AIFI (Italian Association of Physiotherapists) and made possible with a contribution from MSD Italy.

Telehealth does not seem to be a cost effective addition to standard support and treatment for patients with long term conditions, finds a study published on bmj.com. The findings follow a BMJ study showing that telehealth does not improve quality of life for patients with long term conditions.