December 27th, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Health Policy, Opinion
1 Comment »
Bill Crounse, MD, Senior Director, Worldwide Health, Worldwide Public Sector Microsoft Corporation shares his insights and describes four leading trends and technologies that will transform health and health care in 2012 and beyond.
These leading technologies include: cloud computing, health gaming, telehealth services and remote monitoring/mobile health.
Telehealth, Remote Monitoring, Mobile Health
I’d like to focus on telehealth and remote monitoring/mobile health since I feel telehealth is the nucleus of patient care, and telehealth can help reduce health care costs, and improve quality health care for patients. Telehealth technology combined mobile technology such as smartphones will make monitoring patients conditions easier and more efficient, and “cheaper and more scalable.”
Patient Quality Health Care
Through the Accountable Care Organizational Model (ACO), the core concept is to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
December 10th, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Health Policy, Opinion
No Comments »
How do companies curb health care costs?
Do healthier employees lead to increased productivity? Several progressive companies believe so and have committed to providing employees with programs to help engage them in a healthier lifestyle.
As part of the incentives to lead a healthier lifestyle some employers have instituted a penalty and reward system tied to the companies’ benefits. For example, smokers may incur a significant surcharge to the cost of their health insurance plan while nonsmokers could see a reduction in cost.
According to an article in The New York Times, a growing numbers of companies including Home Depot, PepsiCo, Safeway, Lowe’s and General Mills are seeking higher premiums from some workers who smoke, similar to Wal-Mart’s addition of a $2,000-a-year surcharge for some smokers.
Escalating health care costs Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
November 4th, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in News, Opinion
No Comments »
Social media has changed the landscape in health care. Social media is a powerful and phenomenal platform to help educate consumers, raise awareness of health issues and connect with consumers and colleagues.
Social media gives a voice to patients and consumers and it allows the conversation to get started with doctors and other health care professionals. Social media is all about the patient and it paves the way for new modern medicine to emerge.
Tapping into technology allows for the real-time and immediate exchange of information.
Consumers and physicians tapping into social media networking
According to a study published by Pew Internet and American Life Project, 65% of adult internet users use social networking sites and 80% of internet users gather health information online.
In a recent study by QuantiaMD and Care Continuum Alliance, over 65% of physicians Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
October 23rd, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Opinion
No Comments »
You Can’t Ignore It…Social Media Networking Isn’t Going to Go Away…
Engaging in social media networking by health care professionals continues to cause hesitation.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding social media networking, nurses at Scripps Cancer Center in San Diego, CA embrace it. They decided to educate themselves for a deeper understanding of this powerful form of real-time communication.
They are proactive and they step outside the box to gain knowledge to help them navigate through the social media networking maze.
In a recent interview with Guy Kawasaki, New York Times Best-Selling author, co-founder Alltop.com, and former chief evangelist of Apple, Kawasaki talked about the value of companies jumping the curve to excel. (Kawasaki’s latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.)
At the 31st Annual Scripps Oncology Nurses Symposium in San Diego, CA, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
September 23rd, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Opinion
No Comments »
In a recent Harvard Business Review Blog, David Armano writes about the six pillars of influence that lead to measurably favorable outcomes.
To achieve measurably better health, the pillars Armano explains can certainly be adopted.
He notes how the “social web can amplify signals, influence behavior and lead to action.”
Social networking has changed the landscape in health care. Technology has paved the way for instant communication and feedback.
While some companies continue to question the value of social media networking, debating whether or not they should be on Twitter or Facebook, others have superseded the hesitation, and are presently into the next phase of social networking. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
