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New ways to support your hospice caregivers

Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

The generous and caring determination of a hospice caregiver is truly an honor to behold. As an organizational administrator, your goal is no doubt to help these excellent professionals provide the most help to their patients as they can — and you want to offer them all the professional and emotional support they need as well. Fortunately, research has pointed out new directions administrators can go in terms of making their staff members' daily experience as streamlined and trouble-free as possible.

Company’s new tech brings AI to overlooked aspect of healthcare

Shawn Smajstrla Medical & Allied Healthcare

Weekly, if not daily, articles are published and posted across the internet hailing the potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Much of this content focuses on two primary aspects of the overall healthcare ecosystem: clinical and administrative. But Change Healthcare, a tech company that works with providers and payers to build a more collaborative and efficient healthcare system, has identified a different kind of use case.

The benefits of VR are so broad, they’re beyond tangible

Joseph Zulick Science & Technology

Amidst all the hype and wide-eyed growth predicted for virtual reality, it's often difficult for stakeholders to decide which of its two words to focus on. Will VR deliver only indirect, "virtual" benefits to businesses or direct, tangible benefits that become bottom-line reality? On this topic, today's hype will definitely become tomorrow's given. Even in these earliest days, VR is already a game-changer, and the future holds immense promise for almost every business vertical.

Deceased football players’ families file lawsuits against the NCAA

Seth Sandronsky Sports & Fitness

On Aug. 27, as the football season was about to get underway, families of four former college players filed wrongful death lawsuits against the NCAA. Take Sarah Staggs. Her late husband, Jeffery Staggs, played linebacker for San Diego State University in 1965 and 1966, and his brain autopsy revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease from traumatic head injuries like concussions. Families of deceased football players at the University of Southern California; University of California, Los Angeles; and Grand Valley State also sued the NCAA over the athletes’ alleged wrongful deaths.

Dental benefits deconstructed: Dentists’ top concerns

Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental Healthcare

Unsurprisingly, dentists across the nation have lots of questions and concerns when it comes to their patients' dental plans, benefits and third-party payers. From pre-authorization headaches to refund requests, dental benefits can be a confusing topic to navigate. Most dentists would rather be in the exam room, doing what they were trained to do in dental school, rather than trying to decipher benefits rules and policies. This is where the team of experts at the ADA Center for Dental Benefits, Coding and Quality within the Practice Institute really shine.

Study shows promising new therapy for humans, dogs with Type 1 diabetes

Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

In the U.S. alone, more than 1 million people are living with Type 1 diabetes, and approximately 80 people per day, or 30,000 per year, are newly diagnosed. Despite continual improvements in insulin, insulin delivery methods, and home glucose monitoring methods, most people with Type 1 diabetes do not achieve recommended levels of glycemic control. A new therapy for diabetes might mean that instead of injecting insulin once a day or wearing pumps, those with Type 1 diabetes would just need an injection of collagen mixed with pancreatic cells every few months.

Medicare ACOs saved $1.1 billion last year, adding to good news

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering new data that shows the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) saved $314 million for Medicare after bonuses paid to accountable care organizations (ACOs) in 2017. ACOs saved $1.1 billion total and CMS shared $780 million in savings with providers. There were 472 MSSP ACOs in 2017, and 60 percent saved money while 34 percent earned shared savings. The results come just after CMS said its Next Generation ACO saved Medicare about $62 million and maintained quality of care for 2016.

Assaults on Medicaid: Threats to America’s most vulnerable children

Howard Margolis Education

Throughout America, the 2018 election may prove to be a momentous turning point for parents and supporters of vulnerable children, like children in poverty, children with chronic illnesses, and children with mild-to-profound disabilities. Not voting or voting for the wrong candidate may devastate these children. Ongoing assaults on Medicaid help to explain why. They explain why every vote by Americans who care about these children should reflect their distrust of both the executive branch of government and the current Congress.

Employment grows by 201,000 in August; jobless rate stays at 3.9 percent

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Nonfarm payroll jobs increased 201,100 in August vs. 157,000 in July, as the unemployment rate remained at 3.9 percent for the second straight month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. With a labor force of over 150 million, job gains occurred in professional and business services, healthcare, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and mining. In August, the number of jobless workers, 6.2 million, was little changed. For major groups of workers, unemployment rates showed scant movement between August and July.

Study shows increased disease risk from childhood secondhand smoke exposure

Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied Healthcare

Childhood exposure to secondhand smoke has been shown to result in an increased risk of and harm from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study was undertaken by a group from the American Cancer Society’s Epidemiology Research Program. The conclusions were made after looking at the association of exposures to secondhand smoke in childhood and as adults to death of all causes, including ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among 70,900 smoking men and women who never smoked.

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