A path toward lower health care costs

Containing the cost of health care is an issue that has bedeviled patients, providers and policy makers for decades. It is an elusive goal; it was one of the driving forces behind enactment of the Affordable Care Act, and we are yet to see whether Obamacare will be able to tackle the problem of rising health care costs. But the solution to this problem - at least a partial solution - may lie not in the corridors of Congress or the laboratories of medical scientists but in our ears. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has discovered a significant association between hearing loss and higher health care costs.

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Ability Care Services

Ability Care Services is a professional Organisation specialising in providing high quality Care at Home Assistants / Support Workers to care for a diverse range of Service Users within their home environment. Ability Care Services has been providing care at home services in the Renfrewshire area for 10 years. The Company has consistently received the highest Care Inspectorate rating in the area, with our most recent inspection resulting in excellent ratings across all areas inspected. Due to continued expansion of the Company, we are seeking more great people to ensure our Service Users receive the best possible care. We are proud of the reputation that we have built but we are always mindful that it is dependent on the people who work with us.

OTHER ARTICLES
Health Technology

Transforming Healthcare From A ‘Service’ To A ‘Product’

Article | September 12, 2023

Healthcare is top of mind as the coronavirus hits hard everywhere. The inefficiencies of the system itself are on full display during the pandemic — where testing is hard to come by, diagnoses and treatments are reactive rather than proactive, and many people do not get the care they need, when they need it. Adrian Aoun, CEO and founder of Forward, a tech-driven healthcare startup, told Karen Webster that it’s possible to build a completely new healthcare ecosystem, beginning with primary care — and the overhaul needs to leverage data and artificial intelligence (AI).

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Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

What is the need for SOC in Healthcare?

Article | July 14, 2023

With data security becoming a pressing issue in the healthcare industry, having a robust security operations center is the cybersecurity solution. Over the past few years, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data breaches have been at an all-time high. Moreover, in the United States alone, cyber-attacks on the healthcare systems result in a loss of US$6.2 billion every year. Thus, making the use of SOC in healthcare very crucial.

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Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

How Telehealth is Changing the Nursing Industry

Article | September 7, 2023

Before we discuss the importance of telehealth and how it is changing the nursing industry in general, it is important to understand what telehealth is all about. With the advent of new-age technologies and their impact on the fast-paced, growing population, medical health is an essential department that requires special attention. One’s health is of utmost importance, and to enhance the medical facilities, we as responsible citizens and experts in this particular field must come up with novel and quick solutions to provide optimum precaution and cure. Hence, one of such technological achievements is telecommunication,s and by utilizing such a useful resource, health-related services too can be offered. Telehealth promotes the distribution of various services related to medical health through electronic devices and telecommunication technologies. What can one possibly do if he or she lives in a different country and is pushed to an emergency situation where he requires medical advice from a physician who lives in another corner of the world? Of course, through telecommunication devices, the whole process of exchanging information becomes smoother and easier. Several health-related services such as medical advice, medical care, monitoring, education, remote admissions, and intervention can be extended to a long-distance patient with the help of telehealth facilities. Hence, the contemporary picture of health and medicine has been radically improved with the introduction of these electronic telecommunication systems.

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Health Technology

Predictive Analytics: A Blessing for Healthcare Spaces

Article | August 12, 2022

Introduction Over the past couple of years, there has been a substantial rise in the burden of chronic conditions and treatment costs, along with the growing elderly population, which is transforming the healthcare sector at a rapid pace. As per a study, healthcare spending across the globe is anticipated to reach an unprecedented value to total US$ 18.3 trillion by 2030. In response to these trends, volume-based payment models are being replaced by outcome- or value-based models. Predictive analytics helps health organizations to get in line with these new models and improve patient care and outcomes. From predicting critical conditions such as heart failure and septic shock to preventing readmissions, the recent advancements in big data analytics are boosting the adoption of new predictive analytics solutions that aid clinicians improve outcomes and cut costs. Predictive analytics in healthcare is most helpful with clinical care, administrative tasks, and managing operations. More importantly, the technology is already making a difference in a wide range of healthcare settings, from small private doctor's offices and large academic hospitals to healthcare insurance companies. How is Growing Healthcare Data Favoring the Penetration of Predictive Analytics? The growing inclination toward digitalization in the healthcare industry has led to the creation of huge new data sets. These include radiology images, electronic medical record (EMR) systems, lab results, and health claims data. The amount of data is expected to reach new avenues with increasing genomics and cytogenesis research data in the near future. New data is being generated and collected by the novel medical devices at the edge, such as monitors and patient wearables. In addition, outside the healthcare setting, patients are generating quasi-health data through the use of health monitoring applications, fitness trackers, and personal wearable devices. By using data from these sources, health care providers can find new ways to use predictive modeling for health risks, predictive analytics for medical diagnosis, and prescriptive analytics for personalized medicine. Predictive analytics has become a crucial component of any strategy for health analytics. Today, it's an essential tool for measuring, combining, and making sense of biometric, psychosocial, and behavioral data that wasn't available or was very hard to get a hold of until recently. Here are some of the applications of predictive analytics for healthcare Identifying Patients at Risk Clinical Predictions Disease Progression and Comorbidities Predicting Length of Stay Speeding Treatment of Critical Conditions Reducing Readmissions The Future Story With the growing prominence of innovative technologies across the healthcare industry, a number of health IT providers are focusing on developing their own analytics software and engines to assist healthcare spaces deliver optimal patient care. For instance, in 2020, Eversana, a U.S.-based provider of innovative solutions to the life sciences industry, announced the introduction of its ACTICS predictive analytics solution, which enables clinical spaces to combine multiple data sources into a single comprehensive system. Also, some U.S. companies are partnering with healthcare institutions to develop proprietary algorithms designed to enhance organizational performance, improve clinical care, and increase operational efficiency. Such developments are projected to increase the popularity of predictive analytics solutions in the healthcare sector in the coming years.

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Spotlight

Ability Care Services

Ability Care Services is a professional Organisation specialising in providing high quality Care at Home Assistants / Support Workers to care for a diverse range of Service Users within their home environment. Ability Care Services has been providing care at home services in the Renfrewshire area for 10 years. The Company has consistently received the highest Care Inspectorate rating in the area, with our most recent inspection resulting in excellent ratings across all areas inspected. Due to continued expansion of the Company, we are seeking more great people to ensure our Service Users receive the best possible care. We are proud of the reputation that we have built but we are always mindful that it is dependent on the people who work with us.

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Exercise Lowers Risk for These 13 Cancer Types

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Depression may lower pregnancy chances: study

May 26, 2016

Women suffering from severe depression may have a lower chance of becoming pregnant, a new study has found...

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May 26, 2016

Infants fed with breast milk by either mode for six months had an approximately 30 per cent reduced risk of diarrhoea, researchers said...

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May 16, 2016

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Read More

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