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Happy hygge! Get cozy this Valentine’s Day to boost your happiness

Amanda Ghosh Mental Healthcare

According to World Happiness Reports, Denmark consistently ranks in the top three happiest countries on earth. Their practice of hygge (pronounced "hyoo-ga") may be the secret to their exceptional happiness. But what is hygge, and how can you gain happiness from it? Read on to find out.

Taking on the coronavirus with a new next-generation sequencing strategy

Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus named 2019-nCoV. The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China, but cases have been identified in a growing number of other international locations, including the United States. In the meantime, to monitor how viruses like this one spread and evolve in animal populations, researchers are exploring next-generation sequencing (NGS). However, NGS can be costly and laborious, so geneticists are developing less expensive and more efficient NGS strategies.

When sickness sets in, teachers can be reluctant to take sick days

Brian Stack Education

My wife Erica recently returned to the elementary classroom after a decade-long hiatus to raise our young family. In late January, she succumbed to her first multiday battle with the flu. She knew she was going to be in trouble when the aches and pains started to set in, then the cough followed almost immediately after. Twenty-four hours later, she was laid up on the couch and miserable. Ironically, for as bad as she felt physically, the guilt she felt from missing her students and her team was significantly more impactful than anything else.

Study: Bacteria the cause of most infections in first year after solid…

Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied Healthcare

In the first year after transplant surgery, bacteria cause more than half of the infections that occur in solid organ transplant recipients. That's the result of a patient analysis conducted as part of the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study. The information is important since it allows transplant teams to prescribe appropriate immunosuppressant drugs. Following an organ transplant, three periods of infection have been identified.

US employers add 225,000 jobs; unemployment ticks up to 3.6%

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

In January, U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by a total of 225,000 after December's gain of 145,000, while the rate of unemployment rose to 3.6% from 3.5% the previous month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2019, the average monthly gain of jobs was 175,000. The total number of unemployed persons rose to 5.9 million in January from 5.8 million in December. January's data showed that unemployment among major worker groups experienced little or no change versus December's numbers.

Infographic: How eating plants improves health and reduces disease

Brian Wallace Food & Beverage

In the past decade, 75% of Americans have changed their diet to be healthier, and 43 million Americans regularly eat plant-based alternatives to meat. A whole-food, plant-based diet may reduce inflammation factors associated with cancer and heart disease. Furthermore, 86% of Americans who regularly eat plant-based protein don't identify as vegetarian or vegan. So, what does a plant-based diet really mean? Find out more with this infographic.

Hotspotting: The pros and cons of a key healthcare trend for 2020

Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

"Hotspotting" is a new strategy in healthcare meant to reduce the medical expenses of the highest-cost patients in your system. The basic idea: "super-utilizers," or patients who have been admitted to a hospital three times in a brief time period, are identified. Using a range of healthcare team members, patients’ lifestyles and needs are analyzed to determine where their treatment costs can be cut without compromising their care. There are both pluses and minuses to consider. Take these considerations into account to see if hotspotting may be appropriate at your facility.

Infographic: The future of health insurance for millennials and Gen Z

Brian Wallace Healthcare Administration

The way people work is changing, and that means how people access healthcare and buy health insurance is changing, too. But what are younger generations looking for in health insurance? Learn more with this infographic.

Coronavirus: A reminder for employers to have contingency plans for health…

D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The recent outbreak of coronavirus in China reminds us that employers need to take certain actions to be prepared for public health crises in general. This article outlines some of the basic steps that employers can take now to get ready for a rapid spread of flu, coronavirus or some other pandemic threat. For example, you should strive to keep your safety policies and practices up to date. Consider what policies or practices you can adopt now that may come into play if there is a pandemic or major outbreak.

Epic Systems wages interoperability war on CMS

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

There's a major hubbub going on in healthcare right now regarding interoperability. This includes a campaign from the CEO of an EHR company to health system leaders encouraging them to rally against federal interoperability reform; tech giants telling the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to enforce its rules; and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma suggesting that some healthcare EHR vendors are attempting to protect "short-term profits." Where to start? In this case, we'll begin to break this drama down at the top — with the regulators, CMS.

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