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How COVID-19 is changing the exercise industry
Amanda Ghosh Sports & FitnessCOVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital fitness solutions, pushing the exercise industry toward a hybrid model. People will still attend brick-and-mortar gyms when the pandemic is over, but digital fitness classes will have increased their foothold in the market. Of course, the adoption of these solutions is not surprising. Many experts believed that the future of fitness was headed this way anyway, with pioneering companies like Peloton, MIRROR, Mindbody, Tonal, and NordicTrack paving the way.
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Beyond experts: The power of groups to inspire, guide and heal us
Victoria Fann Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThere are currently thousands of experts all over the world offering their ideas, opinions and suggestions about the problems in the world. All too often, we expect them, in one way or another, to solve our problems and to "save us" from what's causing us pain. It's clearly time for a change. The whole idea of experts leading us in a top-down system simply doesn't work. So, what's the alternative?
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National task force encourages Congress to maintain telehealth support,…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareFew subjects in healthcare have gained more attention than the meteoric rise in the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Doctors of all stripes turned to telehealth to keep their heads above water. Hospitals and health systems, too, implemented the technology in much the same manner: anything to keep revenue coming in and the lights on. However, nearly 60% of physicians interviewed as part of a recent survey said they remain leery about the quality of care they can provide remotely.
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Absenteeism costs employers billions of dollars every year
Grace Ferguson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAbsenteeism is a pervasive phenomenon impacting workplaces globally. In the United States, employers — aggregately — rack up billions of dollars in absenteeism costs per year. Before we nail down the numbers, let's review the concept of absenteeism. According to USLegal.com, "Absenteeism is the term generally used to refer to unscheduled employee absence from the workplace." In other words, absenteeism is when an employee fails to report to work as scheduled.
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Study finds 61% of Americans aren’t comfortable returning to the…
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAs the country struggles to return to normal — or adjust to the new normal — navigating the world of work is particularly problematic. Some employees consider working from home an added stressor. On the other hand, other employees actually find solace in work, as it provides a respite from the daily deluge of COVID-related headlines. But there’s one thing these employees agree on. A new study by Qualtrics finds that the majority of employees who have been working from home would prefer to continue that arrangement.
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Safe or risky? Indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now suggests that dining out increases risk of contracting coronavirus more than other activities, citing the fact that masks are not used while people are eating and drinking. In fact, a new CDC study found that people who tested positive for the coronavirus were twice as likely to have eaten at a restaurant beforehand. The researchers collected data during the month of July across 10 states from 314 adults with coronavirus symptoms.
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Study: Dryer weather connected to an increase in COVID-19 cases
Amanda Ghosh Medical & Allied HealthcareThere is yet another reason to wear your mask. A recent study published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases confirms that drier air is associated with an increase in COVID-19 cases. The study, entitled "Humidity is a Consistent Climatic Factor Contributing to SARS‐CoV‐2 Transmission," is the second to confirm the impact of humidity on the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, a 1% drop in relative humidity was associated with a 7-8% increase in COVID-19 cases.
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Report: Telehealth vendors are fighting off many more cyberattacks than…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareAs telehealth use has skyrocketed throughout COVID-19, so has the number of attacks on these systems by cyber thieves, according to a new report from cybersecurity rating firm SecurityScorecard and dark web research company DarkOwl. Attacks on similar video services, like Zoom, were headline news earlier this year, too, at the height of the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic. As organizations have moved to remote environments or offered services through telecommunications, these technologies have become honeypots to cybercriminals.
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Dental guidelines limit aerosol-generating procedures during pandemic
R.V. Scheide Oral & Dental HealthcareLast month, the World Health Organization recommended delaying "routine nonessential oral health care … until there has been a sufficient reduction in COVID-19 transmission rates from community transmission to cluster cases." But the American Dental Association was quick to "respectfully yet strongly disagree" with the WHO’s call to delay "routine" care now, as many dental offices have successfully reopened. "Millions of patients have safely visited their dentists in the past few months for the full range of dental services," ADA President Chad P. Gehani said the day after the WHO’s announcement.
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The 3 C’s of healthcare innovation: Curiosity, creativity, and critical…
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn the 21st century, myriad buzzwords and concepts have emerged within the healthcare realm, and one certainly stands out from the crowd in terms of its applicability in most any milieu or application, and that’s innovation. Three of the central engines that power innovation can be readily harnessed in the interest of progress and forward movement, and they are curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking — the three C’s of healthcare innovation.
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