There’s a silent crisis affecting one of every five working adults across all genders, races and classes: the challenge of caring for an aging or sick loved one, such as a parent with dementia or child with autism. As employers provide programs to support employees bringing their best selves to work, the caregiving struggle is often overlooked. Wellthy provides modern, … [More]
Boost Employee Well-Being Programs
An increasing number of companies are implementing well-being programs to help their employees live healthier lives, reduce healthcare costs, and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. A recent employer survey by Willis Towers Watson found that 72 percent of U.S. companies “aim to improve their health and well-being strategies and programs over the next three years … [More]
Meetings that Work – and Work Out
It’s been said that “sitting is the new smoking” and a recent study revealed that those who sit without moving for more than two hours at a time during regular waking hours have a higher mortality rate than those who don’t. Wellness programs have become a popular way of addressing this. But imagine if company meetings provided teams with the opportunity to address and achieve … [More]
Pooled Approach to Healthcare Coverage
The Main Street program that Holmes Murphy started in 2014 to offer captive insurance programs for businesses with more than 50 employees was expanded earlier this year to target small businesses with 10–50 employees. The new program is not, actually, a captive but it works similarly to the original program by pooling together businesses to offer the best possible … [More]
Allergic to Work?
Americans miss 24.5 million workdays each year due to “occupational asthma” and lose energy and focus due to sneezing, coughing and watery eyes. And these numbers are getting worse as the number of people with allergies is increasing and global warming, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, is fueling longer allergy seasons. With the EPA saying the lingering cold … [More]
MedAvail Technologies Inc.™ Partners with Banner Health
MedAvail Technologies, a healthcare technology company that has developed and commercialized an innovative self-service pharmacy kiosk solution, has partnered with Banner Health to deploy three MedAvail MedCenters™ in its clinics and hospitals in the Greater Phoenix area. The MedAvail MedCenter™ provides an innovative solution that supports the dispensing of first fill and … [More]
Farm Express Mobile Produce Program Expands
Many Arizonans do not have access to healthy food options, which can lead to chronic health issues such as diabetes or obesity. To make a change and provide resources so residents have access to basic nutritious foods, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is expanding its partnership with the Discovery Triangle Development Corporation to launch a new Farm Express mobile … [More]
Employers Benefit from Price Transparency in Healthcare
Employers as well as consumers have been pushing for price transparency in healthcare for some time, but now the idea is gaining momentum. Employers know price transparency can help their employees make informed healthcare decisions and, ultimately, better manage the cost of care. Nationally, healthcare represents nearly one-fifth of the total gross domestic product, and the … [More]
MyUnity™ for Full Continuum of Care
myUnity™ is a cloud-based comprehensive electronic health record platform recently made available by Netsmart to serve the entire care continuum of care at home and senior living providers. The platform is the next step in the Netsmart strategy to support and integrate the entire care at home and senior living ecosystems with all of healthcare, and its workflows and processes … [More]
Oral Hygiene, Digitally
Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to revolutionize the oral hygiene category, with industry players increasingly harnessing this technology to uniquely attract and engage consumers, GlobalData reports. In GlobalData’s 2017 global consumer survey, just 18 percent of respondents said they currently use digital tools to monitor/manage their dental and oral hygiene, … [More]
Medical Marijuana: Establishing Standards
With bipartisan support in place, Arizona Senate Bill 1420 should end up as law, and while this paves the way for medicinal use of marijuana in the state, healthcare providers — and dispensaries — will have strict regulations to follow. SB 1420 passed the Arizona State Senate by a vote of 27–3 in late February, and the Arizona State House of Representatives held a hearing … [More]
Hereditary Cancer Gene Testing
Of the new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed in 2018, as many as 10 percent will be the result of an inherited gene mutation. Insight into hereditary risk would enable an individual to consider steps, such as more frequent screening, to potentially detect cancer in an earlier, more treatable stage. Sonora Quest Laboratories, Arizona’s leading provider of diagnostic … [More]
F.I.T. for an Apple Watch
UnitedHealthcare is adding a new incentive to its popular UnitedHealthcare Motion, a digital wellness program that provides people with access to activity trackers that can enable them to earn up to $1,000 per year by meeting certain daily F.I.T. (measurement of frequency, intensity and tenacity) walking goals. To date, participants have collectively walked more than 180 … [More]
Silent Office Productivity Killer: Indoor Air Quality
Employee productivity can make or break a company. Outside distractions like social media and cell phone use instantly come to mind, but there’s an enormous threat inside the office that’s often misunderstood and overlooked: indoor air quality (IAQ). In fact, poor air quality is so detrimental to employee performance that a recent Harvard study found cognitive function greatly … [More]
Driving Supply Chain Excellence in the Health Sector
Supply chain excellence is a distinguishing characteristic of many U.S. and global businesses. Companies as diverse as Walmart, IBM, John Deere and Costco attribute much of their success to having an efficient and effective supply chain as a differentiator. The healthcare provider industry, while frequently depicted as having one of the most inefficient supply chains, has … [More]
UA Physician-Scientist Awarded Grant for Schizophrenia Diagnostic Test
Amelia Gallitano, M.D., Ph.D., a physician-scientist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and a faculty member of its Department of Basic Medical Sciences, has received a grant to develop the first diagnostic test for schizophrenia. The $175,000 grant from the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation funds the development of a rapid and easily administered, … [More]
Sonora Quest Laboratories Launches Mobile-Friendly Website
Sonora Quest Laboratories’ newly redesigned website includes, among many new state-of-the-art capabilities, a simple online process that allows healthcare consumers to order their own lab tests without a doctor’s order through My Lab ReQuest™. The easy-to-use, secure experience, which also enables consumers to prepay and schedule their appointment, allows consumers an increased … [More]
Transforming Healthcare through a Collaborative Value-Based Care Model
The U.S. healthcare system is immersed in the most significant payment reform changes in decades. This transition from rewarding the volume of care to the value of care – measured by patient outcomes – brings substantial challenges and opportunities to all stakeholders in the industry. And it holds even more importance for an emerging healthcare hub such as Arizona, a state … [More]
