Akeso Occupational Health has announced the acquisition of IMG- Industrial Medical Group, which is located in Santa Maria, California. The group is synonymous with occupational health care of top quality across its clients ranging from aerospace, industrial and agriculture. The move is a part of Akeso Occupational Health’s vision to demonstrate and build highly scaled health care platform, marking its fifth acquisition in the last twelve months.

Chuck Kruger, the CEO of Akeso, opined that they are excited about this partnership and look forward to collaborating with Drs. Greenberg, Young, and Christensen and also the entire IMG team and continue to consistently provide exceptional occupational health services to all employees spread across Central Coast Region. Due to the addition of IMG., the company will be able to rapidly expand across the Californian market.

Kruger adds that this partnership will elevate their coverage across eight occupational health centers in the state of California and further strengthen their ability for better outcomes. Akeso establishes occupational medical clinic groups through a focus on patient and a commitment to better collaboration with the buyer. They, as per the process, pick up  performing doctors who have like-minded goals of bettering patient care. Paul E. Christensen, MD, a partner at IMG, says that the physicians of IMG look forward to the opportunities that come up by joining forces with Akeso, as both the organizations are aligned towards the vision of practicing quality care which streamlines the client’s process.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. announced the Company has completed the acquisition of CenterPointe Behavioral Health System, the largest dedicated behavioral healthcare provider in the state of Missouri. The acquired assets consist of four inpatient hospitals with 260 acute care beds and 46 specialty beds for substance use and 10 outpatient locations. CenterPointe operates behavioral health networks through regional hubs in St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia. Acadia funded the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit facility.

Commenting on the announcement, Debbie Osteen, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Healthcare, stated, “The acquisition of CenterPointe provides a unique opportunity for Acadia to extend our footprint in high growth markets. This transaction aligns with our growth strategy to expand our operations through select acquisitions that meet the criteria of our disciplined capital allocation framework. As a certificate of need state, Missouri is an attractive market for an acquisition transaction.

“Acadia has a proven operating model, and as we acquire these facilities and programs, we expect to benefit from the additional scale and realize cost synergies. We also intend to make investments in future growth opportunities by expanding the facilities and adding service offerings to further enhance the continuum of care and meet the demand for behavioral healthcare services. The facilities will benefit from Acadia’s infrastructure through support by the corporate team that focuses on providing high quality patient care. We expect this transaction to be immediately accretive to our financial results.

“We also welcome the dedicated clinical staff associated with CenterPointe to Acadia, and we look forward to a smooth integration of our operations. We share a common culture focused on compassionate, patient-centered care. We are especially proud to continue CenterPointe’s specialized programs for military veterans and first responders. Together, we will focus on our primary objective to reach more patients and meet the critical demand for behavioral healthcare services in Missouri,” added Osteen.

AVer Europe, the award-winning provider of video collaboration systems, announces partnership with Hospital Services Limited (HSL), a leading specialist services provider of medical supplies and surgical equipment, to deliver innovative Telehealth solutions that will improve patient care.

A major area of focus for AVer across the UK, Ireland and across the EU, is to work with a select number of partners that will add value and deliver Telehealth solutions across its eco-system, helping health care providers and their patients communicate with each other at a distance and improve efficiencies and reduce workload through the use of video. Commenting on the partnership, Chris Godsalve, AVer Channel Sales Manager for the UK and Ireland said, “With HSL being recognised as a leading services provider in the healthcare sector this ties in nicely with our global partner strategy for the Healthcare vertical as we are always looking to work with partners that are delivering innovative and scalable Telehealth solutions.”

Amongst AVer’s portfolio are a number of simple, yet Innovative and scalable solutions that can be used for telemedicine applications, delivering better outcomes for both healthcare professionals and the patients. AVer’s Premium quality video conferencing cameras give people on both ends of a remote check-up the necessary clarity for diagnosing visible symptoms using 4K imaging and high frame rates, and if used with a VB130 wide-angle lens, more space is available for the user to move within.

Auto tracking cameras can be used to deliver telemedicine education, as this tracking function will follow medical school professors in classrooms or track every move of surgeons in operating rooms. AVer’s document cameras allow doctors to use these to a high-level optical zoom to look into medical samples with a microscope, evaluate an X-ray with a light box, and examine wounds. The visualiser can also capture images or record videos of the examination process.

Rene Buhay, SVP of Sales and Marketing at AVer Europe commented, “The pandemic has created an urgency for Health organisations to move fast and deliver solutions that can enable communication and collaboration and improve healthcare delivery for patients on a local and global scale and with both AVer and HSL sharing a collective passion to deliver a quality experience to the healthcare sector this makes the partnership a very exciting opportunity.”

Abbott announced today that the U.S. FDA has approved new expanded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatibility for its Proclaim™ XR Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) System with Octrode™ leads. The new labeling lifts MRI restrictions for lead tip location and the amount of radiofrequency power that can be used as part of the normal operating mode of an MRI scan. The expanded labeling covers the majority of Proclaim XR patients, providing additional benefits to those patients and their health care providers.

Under the expanded MRI labeling, patients with a Proclaim XR SCS device can benefit from higher quality images with faster MRI scan times.

MRI scanners use powerful magnets and radiofrequency energy to create detailed images of the inside of the body. Concern over how those magnets and radiofrequency energy could impact placement of implantable devices led to conditions being placed on the use of MRIs when a patient had a particular device. Restricted MRI labeling adds a layer of complexity on both patients and radiologists. They must find an imaging facility willing to modify their workflow and work within the MRI labeling limitations of the patient’s implant.

“MRIs have increasingly become an important tool helping doctors diagnose an illness or injury. They are particularly important for patients who have certain comorbidities, such as cancer or multiple sclerosis,” said Allen W. Burton, M.D., medical director of Abbott’s neuromodulation business. “We made it our mission to secure expanded MRI labeling for our spinal cord stimulation devices – both those that were already implanted and those still to be implanted – for the sake of the patients and their doctors.”

With the new labeling, Octrode lead tips can be placed anywhere they are needed along the spine and still be considered MR Conditional, which means a patient can undergo MRI scans within the approved outlined conditions. Radiofrequency energy no longer needs to be limited with Proclaim SCS and Octrode devices as long as the MRI is in the normal operating mode.

“The expanded labeling and reduced scan time address two major issues we face with these implantable devices. By improving the quality of imaging, as well as the experience for both the patient and radiologist, I can now enable more of my existing and new patients to benefit from MRI scans improving their care,” said Steven Falowski, M.D., neurosurgeon at Neurosurgical Associates of Lancaster in Pennsylvania.

Under the expanded labeling, patients with a Proclaim XR SCS device only need to wait 30 minutes between scan cycles of 30 minutes, allowing them to safely receive an MRI scan in a fraction of the time. If a scan exceeds a certain amount of time without a break, radiofrequency energy used during the scans has the potential to heat up the implanted device, which can damage the surrounding tissue. In general, the FDA requires radiologists to pause MRIs for anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes between scan cycles for patients with implants.

The label update will also benefit existing patients implanted with Proclaim XR SCS Systems with Octrode leads improving their access to MRI imaging. “Now more clinicians can utilize MRIs to improve quality of care among a patient population with complex needs. It allows clinicians to get to the source of a particular issue in less time and without fear of compromising safety or creating complications, ” said Timothy Deer, M.D., president and chief executive officer at The Spine and Nerve Centers of the Virginias, serving West Virginia.

The Proclaim XR SCS System is an implantable spinal cord stimulation device designed to allow patients to attain relief from chronic pain of the trunk and limbs. More than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.i There is a high level of clinical evidence for the efficacy of SCS on pain intensity after one year of therapy in patients suffering from a variety of chronic pain conditions.

The novel coronavirus has had a devastating impact on hospitals in the United States and worldwide. Health care facilities find themselves understaffed, underfunded, and overburdened. Moreover, with elective procedures being canceled or postponed, an alarming number of American hospitals are cutting staff pay and hours or going bankrupt.

Unfortunately, another virus is also giving the health care industry grief nowadays, though technically, ransomware is a type of malware, not a computer virus. Hospitals, clinics, and even charities are getting hit by ransomware strains in record numbers. The attacks can significantly impact operational capacity. For example, the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack on the NHS (National Health Service) in the United Kingdom forced health care organizations to decrease admissions, reduce elective admissions, and decrease lifesaving care. The malware also forced some hospitals across Europe to cancel emergency response procedures. Analysts say WannaCry cost the NHS over $100 million. And the total cost of WannaCry may have been over $4 billion.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is malicious software that online extortionists deploy to blackmail organizations, though some strains can also hit individuals. Some types of ransomware will encrypt files on computer systems and hold them hostage. Other types of ransomware like Petya will reboot computers and lock them.

Why does ransomware hit hospitals?

Some ransomware strains like WannaCry have computer worm-type qualities and spread across networks to any computer with system vulnerabilities. Other strains, like DarkSide ransomware, are part of targeted attacks. So, why do ransomware strains hit hospitals? For starters, cybercriminals usually don’t have any ethical qualms about attacking lifesaving organizations.

Hospitals are also easier targets because they often use outdated operating systems with system vulnerabilities or aging cybersecurity tools that can’t remediate ransomware infections. In addition, hospital staff are too distracted to watch out for common ransomware threat vectors like phishing emails, spear-phishing emails, smishing, open RDP ports, and more.

How hospitals can mitigate the risk of a ransomware attack

Remember, the larger the organization, the greater the risk of a ransomware attack through employee activities because of lapses in judgement. However, hospitals can mitigate their risk with the following steps.

Step #1 Ditch the Baked-in Antivirus

Every operating system has a baked-in antivirus tool. Although this is usually competent against computer viruses, it’s insufficient against ransomware. For example, Windows 10 has a built-in anti-ransomware tool that’s so poor that Microsoft has left it deactivated by default. Try an advanced antivirus for small business defense that detects ransomware proactively through artificial intelligence and machine learning. A good security tool will also offer ransomware rollback, so health care organizations can quickly return to operational capacity.

Step #2 Patch Your Systems

Many hospitals continue to run outdated operating systems leaving them open to exploits. The solution is to have IT teams update software to the latest version to plug flaws that malware can utilize.

Step #3 Train Staff

Undoubtedly, hospital staff are busy nowadays with patient care and paperwork. But stopping ransomware threats against hospitals is critical. Employees must learn good cybersecurity hygiene and avoid opening potentially unsafe links, messages, emails, and websites on hospital computers and devices.

It’s also prudent to bring in a cybersecurity team for advice and forensics security analysis. After all, preventing ransomware from becoming a menace requires a holistic approach.

References

[1] https://www.newsweek.com/hackers-increasingly-attacking-companies-through-employee-online-activities-1605745

[2] https://globalnews.ca/news/7963652/humber-river-hospital-ransomware-attack-toronto/

As people get older, they may require more assistance to do day-to-day activities. If you have aging parents, it is vital to be informed about how you can best take care of them because as people age, their needs will change and for many families, this means having to support aging parents in new ways. Many things can be done to help your parents as they age however, each parent is different so you must tailor your support to suit their specific needs. This article will act as a guide and provide tips on how to assist your parents as they grow older to ensure they live the last stretch of their lives as comfortably as possible.

Keep your family doctor in the loop

As people age, they tend to need more medical attention and because of this, you need to ensure that your family doctor is kept in the loop with the health status of your aging parents. Many older people have chronic health conditions that require them to take medication and be closely monitored. Apart from existing health conditions, older people are also more prone to developing new symptoms or health issues that need evaluation from a doctor. Older people need help recovering from illness and some chronic health problems can result in your parents losing the ability to make their own health decisions or direct their medical care. This is why you need to become allies with your family doctor to effectively care for your aging and ailing parent. You can research what you can do to ease their symptoms if they’re facing an illness – for example, the ozone cancer treatment is something that not many people consider, but many benefits may come from it. Such treatments are effective and safe and might be just what your parents need.

Do a regular check-in

When caring for someone, communication is key and without it, you will not be able to effectively care for their needs and cater to their desires. Growing old can be a lonely experience so you must make a concerted effort to communicate with your aging parents every single day. You need to make sure that they are happy and fulfilled and most important, that they feel love and support from you. Receiving love significantly improves the quality of life by making one happier so by showing love and support, you can improve the lives of your parents and that can improve their health as well.

Encourage them to stay active

Physical activity is a great source of vitality and old age is not an excuse to stop being active. Old people should also be encouraged to be active and do light exercise every day for a short period even if it’s just casually strolling around the garden. Make it a point to take your parents out of the house for little trips and attend social gatherings so that they can also experience excitement and adventure. Being old doesn’t mean you have to be confined in your house. As long as you still have life, you must go out and live! This will make them happier and healthier which will improve the quality of their life significantly.

Offer to help around their house

As you age, you lose a lot of energy and drive to do the most mundane things such as chores. Most older people still prefer to do their chores themselves because it is a way to keep active and busy during the day; however, sometimes it is appreciated if you help them out and offer to do the cooking and cleaning every once in a while when you can. This will give them a much-needed break and they will benefit from spending time with you as well which will be sure to make their hearts happy.

Be patient with them

Finally, you need to exercise patience when dealing with aging and sometimes ailing parents. Old people are slow and often forgetful which is a normal symptom of aging. Instead of getting impatient and hostile, it will be helpful for you to be patient and tolerant while lending a helping hand. Many liken taking care of aging parents to taking care of a child and it is somewhat true. Both require patience, tolerance, and extra care and attention. If you feel like you can’t provide the support they need, you can always opt for private home care for seniors because as your parents age, it is important that you fill their final stage of life with as much happiness and ease as possible. This will mean the world to them, and you, in the long run.

Memorial Health has been nationally recognized as a leader in creative and innovative internal communications, keeping its frontline and nonclinical workers engaged and informed, with a focus on employee well-being, in a time of uncertainty.

The five-hospital, Springfield-based health care organization was honored with a Best Crisis Management Award in North America by Workplace from Meta (previously known as Facebook) during the communication platform’s 2021 Customer Success Awards program. The award was announced earlier this month.

The Crisis Management Award went to the organization with the most effective management of an issue using Workplace from Meta, an internal communications tool that facilitates online group work, instant messaging, video conferencing and news sharing.

Other companies honored with a Workplace Customer Success Award include DirecTV, Accenture, Delta Air Lines and Gucci.

“Workplace was our organization’s answer to communicating quickly and efficiently during our planet’s first pandemic in more than 100 years,” said Cathy Strukely, system director of communications and marketing for Memorial Health. “Workplace helped us stay true to one of our most important core values: creating a safe environment for patients, visitors and colleagues. The platform gave us the ability to quickly communicate and educate on urgent updates throughout the pandemic, as well as the perfect vehicle to connect with one another.”

Memorial Health introduced Workplace in June 2018, with initial intentions being to combat email fatigue, reduce redundant employee messages and streamline two-way internal communications.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic made its way into central Illinois, Memorial Health expanded and enhanced its use of Workplace to provide employees with up-to-date information on topics such as visitor restrictions, masking requirements and vaccine opportunities.

“To keep our workforce safe and provide the safest patient care possible, we needed to communicate in real time with thousands of colleagues,” said Strukely. “The information had to be fast, accurate and easy to access.”

But even more than communication, the need for education was paramount. A “Knowledge Library” covering important phone numbers, infection prevention, vaccine, employee assistance, facility updates, mental health resources, preparedness plans and more, was created. In addition, the Workplace platform was used to broadcast live sessions hosted by Memorial Health leaders, where employees received the latest COVID-19 information and could ask questions. Leaders and subject matter experts also used the Workplace Live feature to post updates for employees across the organization.

“Perhaps most importantly, thanks to Workplace, Memorial Health was able to achieve connection and support for its colleagues, most of whom were located miles apart from one another,” said Strukely. “Our colleagues were able to get information and ask questions, as well as find the emotional support they so desperately needed throughout this pandemic.”

Today, more than 96 percent of Memorial Health’s 9,200 employees have the ability to collaborate virtually on Workplace.

Smarter Health announced that it has secured 5.15 million SGD in Series A funding led by East Ventures. The funds will be used primarily for product development and market expansion in Southeast Asia.

Led by seasoned senior executives across the full spectrum of the healthcare ecosystem, the team brings together deep domain expertise in healthcare operations, medical insurance and Third-Party Administration.

Smarter Health’s unified platform facilitates secure data exchanges between insurers, healthcare providers and patients throughout the entire healthcare journey. This enables the use of data to guide decision-making for patients as well as improve the accuracy and speed of claims processing. Future developments will drive greater operational efficiency, effectiveness and improve customer experience.

Having achieved promising traction in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Smarter Health is looking to further enhance and expand its market presence and suite of solutions.

“We are excited to partner with East Ventures and other strategic investors such as Orbit Malaysia, Citrine Capital, HMI Group, and Emtek to realise our vision of making healthcare ‘Accessible, Affordable and Accountable’. We look forward to collaborating with more insurers, healthcare providers and doctors to achieve this vision”, said Mr Liaw Yit Ming, Chief Executive Officer of Smarter Health.

Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures agreed, “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced insurers and healthcare providers to reflect and re-strategise on their operations, catalysing digital transformation. Smarter Health is here to make healthcare accessible, affordable, and accountable by providing an AI-powered interoperable platform. We are excited to support Smarter Health in resolving inefficiencies in healthcare processes between stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.”

Drug testing is a common practice that has been going on for decades. It is done in the workplace, schools, and other public places to help keep track of what employees, students, and others are putting into their bodies. So, here is how to find the top drug testing supplies.

1. Determine what you need

To find the top drug testing supplies you need to know what kind of test you will be administering. There are a few common types, such as urine and hair follicle tests, but they can get more specific for a certain job or environment. For instance, if you work in an industry that requires employees to drive forklifts or use other equipment often, then you may want to consider a saliva or breathalyzer test. Depending on if you need easy to use home drug test or more complex lab screenings, you can find the best drug testing supplies online or in a pharmacy. This also depends on your budget. You can find cheap drug testing kits for home use, but if you are doing multiple screens of employees or students then it would be better to go to a lab.

2. Determine your price range

If you need a few drug tests for personal use, then you can go with a basic $30 home testing kit. However, if you are looking to screen multiple employees or students in the workplace, school, or other institution then it would be better to go to a lab that offers bulk discounts and more comprehensive screenings. Make sure your budget fits into the testing kits available on the market—otherwise it may not be worth buying anything at all. This is why it’s important to keep track of prices and availability before committing to one brand over another. You should always buy from reputable suppliers because that way you can make sure all their products are legit.

3. Know when to conduct them

You may decide to do pre-employment screening, or you may want one done randomly on current employees. Either way, be sure that you know how often testing needs to take place for optimal results. This is why it’s preferable to use products from reputable suppliers because they will always have the most up-to-date information about when retesting might be necessary. This can vary depending on what you are testing for, but if basic usage is the only concern, then it may only have to happen every six months in order for accurate data to be gathered. If you are doing more intensive testing, then it may need to happen once a week. There are many factors that go into this which is why it’s important to have all the proper drug testing supplies you will need before getting started.

4. Know the difference between on-site and off-site drug testing

You may want to do a quick pre-employment drug screening, or you could opt for one that is done on the spot. Whether you choose an at-home test or something that can be administered in a lab, it’s clear that there are many advantages and disadvantages to both types of screenings. On-site tests can happen anywhere because they don’t require any special equipment. However, if someone is using drugs regularly then their metabolites will show up as soon as they urinate, so it may not be necessary to wait several hours before getting the results. Plus, these kits only check for basic usages such as marijuana and opiates, but if there is reason to believe cocaine use is also present then swabs or other, more costly supplies would need to be used. There are many factors to consider, so the best thing you can do is take the time to research the top drug testing supplies that will fit your needs.

5. How long do the supplies take to work?

When you are looking at testing supplies, it’s important to think about how long the testing process will take. For example, if you need something that can be done on-site and quickly, then a saliva test would be your best choice. However, it may not be able to catch anything except basic drug usage such as weed or cocaine use—which means you might need different supplies if there is reason to believe that harder drugs are involved. Urine tests are probably your best option when it comes to accuracy because they can pick up multiple types of drugs rather than just one type. Plus, most people don’t have time constraints in their day, so it is no problem waiting several hours for results. The more thorough the screening process is, the more accurate your results are going to be–so make sure you know how long every type of screening takes before getting started.

6. What if something goes wrong?

If someone is using drugs, and getting tested, it’s important to know what can happen if something goes wrong. Reactions to certain types of drugs may vary, so there is no guarantee that they will show up in the results of any test. A screening could come back with false positives or negatives which means nothing would get done about the drug use, and it might even be covered up by management. If you want to ensure that proper action gets taken when someone fails a drug test then you need to look for supplies that are designed specifically for people who want quick and accurate results. It is also essential to make sure that all the supplies are approved by medical professionals, so you can be confident in their reliability.

7. Know the results of drug testing

Testing supplies can vary depending on what you are testing for, but it’s essential to know what happens once the test has been completed. When you are testing urine, saliva, or hair samples, it’s important to know that there is no way to change the results after they have already been sent off for analysis. If someone fails their drug test then there will be proof of this for at least several days or months depending on which type of supplies were used. On the other hand, if someone passes their screening then it can’t be proved that they weren’t using drugs because metabolites can stay in fat cells for much longer periods of time. Only an expensive and invasive procedure would be able to prove whether someone was clean or not—but even that wouldn’t work if too much time had passed before getting tested.

The best way to find the top drug testing supplies is to research what kind of factors there are to consider and to look for those specific items. So, if you have a drug test coming up and want to ensure that nobody gets away with using drugs, then be sure to get top-of-the-line testing supplies.  Good luck!