Recent Articles

  • New study links education levels to heart failure risk

    Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

    A Norwegian study of over 70,000 cardiac patients found that the more education patients had, the less their risk of heart failure was. Previous research has shown that patients are more likely to die after a heart attack if they have a lower educational level, but information on the mechanisms involved was sparse. Since heart failure is the most important incident in the chain of events leading to death after a heart attack, the researchers hypothesized that it might contribute to the observed educational disparities in survival.

  • Ready or not, MACRA is coming

    Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

    From meaningful use to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the headlines in healthcare for the foreseeable future will surround the latest payment carrot-and-stick regulations. Like meaningful use, which is now regular vernacular in healthcare, the potentially disruptive MACRA will soon be just as popular of an expression for those in every aspect of the care protocols. Right now, not so much.

  • How to keep political talk in the office in check

    Candice Gottlieb-Clark Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    Politics may be something we all talk about in the office — but in an election year, particularly this election year, the expression takes on a whole new meaning. Strong opinions and reasonable criticisms of both major-party nominees can cause employees to polarize. Even employees who typically get along may find themselves involved in tense discussion, or worse. The best strategy for keeping these office politics at bay is to get in front of them and plan ahead, as much as is still possible.

  • What the driver can do to maintain the service life of a pump

    Frank R. Myers Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

    To help maintain a pump in good working order and extend its service life, a driver can keep pressure out of the pump when not in use, keep it cool during pumping operations and prevent debris from entering it. I tell my driver engineers that centrifugal pumps do not like heat, debris and air. At a recent breakout session at the Fire Department Instructors Conference, presenter Chad Szeklinski from the Milwaukee Fire Department addressed how to relieve pump pressure. His method was to briefly open the tank-to-pump valve while the truck was out of pump gear.

  • Is a refrigeration revolution in the air?

    Andrew Gaved Manufacturing

    It is not too often that the world of supermarket refrigeration has played host to major technological change. Apart from the debate over whether chiller cases should have doors on them, recent years have been more about evolution than revolution. But now, retailer Asda, part of the global giant Wal-Mart, has signaled what could be one of the most radical changes in modern retail refrigeration by opting to replace conventional display cases cooled by piped refrigerant with versions cooled by air from a central plant.

  • Consumers want an experience. Do you offer one?

    Danielle Manley Retail

    Retailers now have the task of selling to consumers who don’t "seem to enjoy purchasing things," according to Fast Company. In the past, people enjoyed purchasing luxury items. Buying luxury items in and of itself was the experience shoppers desired. However, this has become "boring" and doesn’t bring the excitement today’s consumer desires. What do consumers want? What will make them your customer? Give them an experience.

  • Ethology and veterinary practice: Effect of person

    Dr. Myrna Milani Pet Care

    Why could putting a "Watch!" or "Aggressive!" label on a patient file backfire if the file included no supporting behavioral and bond information? This takes us to one of the unique factors that characterizes the natural environment of companion animals compared to their wild counterparts: they live in a human-controlled environment. However, long before homosapiens entered the scene, wild animals routinely shared their environments with animals belonging to different and similar species.

  • New home sales rise as inventory shrinks

    Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

    A patch of blue has opened up in the murky waters clouding the prospects for the housing industry. Both new home starts and new home sales rose in June, the latter well above expectations. Builders received the news with guarded optimism, however, as a number of challenges still confront the industry. Among them, demand continues to outstrip availability as inventories shrink and prices rise.

  • What does the association of the future look like?

    Robert C. Harris Association Management

    Does anybody know what the association of the future looks like? At the Institute for Organizational Management, offered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, I have the opportunity to teach — or facilitate — a class entitled "Strong Associations for the Future." The elective is described as an environmental scan of challenges, opportunities and resources to better position organizations.

  • Medical marijuana’s influence on Medicare drug spending

    Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied Healthcare

    Is the use of marijuana as a medical prescription treatment saving the government money? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is one of the largest purchasers of prescription drugs in the U.S. The amount the government spends on prescription medications through Medicare Part D may have come down in states that allow for the use of marijuana as a treatment for several medical diagnoses, according to a recent study.