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Pharmaceuticals

GlaxoSmithKline partners with Alibaba for China HPV vaccine market grab | Fierce Pharma

GlaxoSmithKline is partnering with Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba to educate users about HPV and cervical cancer. On Alibaba's Ali Health platform, users will also be able to make appointments to receive vaccinations of Cervarix, GlaxoSmithKline's competitor to Merck's Gardasil.

Medical devices

Mini-antennas could power brain-computer interfaces, medical devices | Science

New miniature antennas could pave the way for tiny medical devices and brain implants. One of the developers of the antennas is working with a Massachusetts General Hospital neurosurgeon to develop brain implants that could control neural activity, which would be useful in epilepsy treatment.

Information technology

OIG scolds New Mexico for failing to secure Medicaid data | Healthcare IT News

The Office of the Inspector General said New Mexico's Human Services Department didn't meet federal requirements for securing its Medicaid data and IT systems. "The vulnerabilities were collectively and, in some cases, individually significant and could have potentially compromised the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of New Mexico's eligibility systems," OIG officials said.

ONC, research network collaborate on consent form pilot | Health Data Management

The ONC is working with the Research Action for Health Network to create a digitally exchangeable patient consent form based on FHIR.

Depressed but can't see a therapist? This chatbot could help | Los Angeles Times

Over Facebook Messenger, a chatbot named Woebot helps its conversation partners use cognitive behavioral therapy to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression.

'Smart' pill bottles aren't enough to help the medicine go down | NPR

A recent study shows that so-called smart pill bottles don't help patients with medication adherence. The problem of medication adherence costs the U.S. about $100 billion to $300 billion every year.

In other news

A song's structure can be linked to its popularity | Science Daily

Songs with unexpected chord changes followed by predictable harmonies are more likely to be popular than those without those characteristics. "The brain enjoys surprise only up to a point, because unexpected events indicate a failure of prediction," said a researcher. "Hence, the release of tension from surprising sections of a song to common choruses is also signaled positively by the reward centers."