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]
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]
GlobalMed OK’d for DoD Networks
Scottsdale-based GlobalMed, an international provider of telehealth solutions, has earned the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Authority to Operate (ATO) on DoD networks for its industry leading virtual health platform. GlobalMed is the first provider of HIPAA-compliant clinical video collaboration to obtain an ATO. This much-coveted certification enables GlobalMed to put its … [More]
PCCN and UHC Launch Team Approach
Phoenix Children’s Care Network and UnitedHealthcare have launched an accountable care program that promotes a team approach to healthcare and improves quality, lowers costs and enhances the coordination of people’s care. This new accountable care relationship enables PCCN to treat patients using an innovative value-based model focused on keeping people healthy. … [More]
Mental Illness in the Workplace
Statistics show that one in four adults has a diagnosable mental illness. More than 50 percent of those with mental illness are not being treated. How does this impact their workplace? Stress and depression are two of the largest causes of absenteeism in our workplaces. It impacts our bottom line and causes difficulties for our employees. According to research by Harvard … [More]
Flu Season and the Bottom Line: A Direct Link
We all hate the feeling of coming down with a cold or flu while at work. But for businesses, office illness is, in fact, a financial concern. The flu results in 111 million sick days a year, which comes to $10.4 million in direct medical costs for American businesses. How can businesses improve their employees’ health and avoid unnecessary cost? Make an office plan. For … [More]
Employers Can Lower Diabetes Risk
According to the CDC, the average business owner spends roughly twice as much on employees with diabetes as on healthy employees. But those costs are shrinking thanks to a little-known and rarely used wellness program that was designed to help employees get healthier. The latest version of the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program, Prevent T2, was launched last year by the CDC to … [More]
