Yale New Haven Health System, a nonprofit healthcare system with headquarters in Connecticut, and DreaMed Diabetes Ltd., the developer of the personalized, cloud-based diabetes management solution, announces a collaboration to comprehensively assess the real-world use of DreaMed’s Advisor platform in optimally treating and managing people with diabetes. The overall evaluation will involve onboarding 100 pediatric patients with diabetes who will be followed either in person with supplemental virtual visits or entirely in a remote fashion for six months’ duration. It will evaluate the workflow, satisfaction, and financial aspects of adopting AI-based decision support systems, as well as a remote patient monitoring protocol.

Remote medical solutions have taken center stage in recent years, and the continued pandemic has made them a necessity. Such solutions have greatly enhanced our capacity to manage diabetes for people more efficiently, remotely, and just as accurately. DreaMed has led the effort to empower people with diabetes across the globe to have greater control of their own treatment. After taking part in proving the clinical benefit of using the DreaMed Advisor, as was recently published in Nature Medicine, YNHHS and DreaMed Diabetes will explore what it would take to adopt such a solution into a real-world health system. The focus will center on developing efficient workflows alongside optimizing the integration of the DreaMed Advisor into the system’s electronic medical records. Emphasis will also be placed on evaluating provider and patient satisfaction, as well as the overall financial impact.

Utilizing DreaMed’s Advisor Pro platform to create a virtual clinic, this real-world evaluation will assess the onboarding of 100 pediatric patients with diabetes. Participants of the program will receive the benefits of optimization of their treatment regimen either in a fully remote treatment environment or with virtual visits supplementing the standard of care quarterly in-person visits they would have for the duration of six months. Continuous glucose monitor, or blood glucose monitor, data will be integrated with information from patients’ insulin pumps forming the basis for treatment optimizations that will be recommended by the DreaMed Advisor platform, which must be approved by clinicians prior to dispersing the alterations to the patient. During the evaluation, different aspects of the treatment will be measured to assess how effectively they perform compared to conventional methods. This will include gauging satisfaction levels, both from the participant and the provider, as well as factoring in financial considerations, the effectiveness and precision of the treatment, the flow of service, and the ease through which administering changes can be applied.

DreaMed’s Advisor takes diabetes care forward by making the insulin pump and glucose monitoring technology an invaluable element in balancing the condition. The DreaMed Advisor platform offers personalized optimization of insulin therapy management, driven by a technology that runs on artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms. The platform’s purpose is to assist medical professionals in the management of people with Type 1 diabetes, who use insulin pumps, providing personalized recommendations on how to adjust a patient’s insulin therapy. Recommendations are based on analysis of information derived from CGM, glucometers, insulin pumps, and the use of event-oriented data.

“It’s an exciting time for solutions aimed at managing diabetes, and remote protocols could create a tectonic shift in how we manage the condition,” says Jennifer Sherr, MD, Ph.D., an attending pediatric endocrinologist at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine. “While persons with diabetes are generating a wealth of diabetes data, the interpretation of this data and optimization of the treatment regimen is often relegated to quarterly in-clinic visits. As insulin needs constantly evolve for youth with diabetes the use of more frequent dose adjustments may help more youth attain targeted glycemia. We identified DreaMed as the most promising platform to improve patient care while holding the potential to also streamline provider workflow and we look forward to seeing how a patient’s life can change for the better over the space of the six-month evaluation period.”

“We’re honored to take part in a collaboration with such a highly regarded health system like Yale New Haven,” says Eran Atlas, Co-Founder and CEO of DreaMed Diabetes. “Having our software utilized as a strategy that allows for both virtual and in-person visits is a necessity in the era of COVID-19 and the future of care, and its use over the span of six months will fully demonstrate how our platform manages the challenges while positively affecting a person’s quality of life.”

Regular eye checks are essential to maintain the health of your eyes and the rest of your body, as the state of your eyes can give clues to the health of other parts of your body. Every two years (or more often if advised by your optometrist or ophthalmic practitioner), get your eyes tested. Various tests will be carried out, and you may be advised that you require glasses to help you see better, but how do you choose the right glasses for your requirements? Here are some tips to make your decision easier.

Single Vision Glasses

Single vision glasses are the most common type of eyeglasses. They are used to help people see things better, either close-up or from a distance. The entire surface of the lens, from edge to edge, is just one prescription and can only be used to help farsightedness or nearsightedness – not both at once. Astigmatism is a condition where the eye is abnormally shaped, and light bounces off it differently than it should. Astigmatism can also be helped with single vision glasses.

Progressive Glasses

Progressive glasses have lenses with two or three different prescriptions over the surface of the lens. This type of eyewear can be worn by people who require clear vision at all distances and don’t wish to swap between a few different pairs continually. So, when it comes to choosing between single vision vs progressive lenses, it would make sense to opt for the latter if you require more than one prescription. Progressive (sometimes known as varifocal) lenses have a gradual shift in the prescription from top to bottom, rather than being separated by a blunt line like in bifocal lenses.  The top part of the glasses is usually used for looking ahead into the distance. The prescription gets stronger towards the bottom of the lens, which is the area used for reading.

Bifocal and Trifocal Glasses

Bifocals are lenses with two different prescriptions in one less, and trifocals have three. An area at the bottom of the glasses called the near segment corrects near vision, and the area above this in bifocal lenses is used for distance vision. Trifocal lenses have a strip between these two areas that is used to correct intermediate vision.

Specialist Glasses

If you spent a lot of time in front of a computer screen, you could purchase blue light glasses that will filter out blue light, which has a short wavelength and can penetrate the eye easily. It has been suggested that this light can damage light-sensitive cells in the retina.

Prescription glasses can also be purchased to be worn when partaking in sports and hobbies such as running, cycling, fishing, soccer, and tennis.  Sports glasses can protect your eyes from debris when cycling or running. Most glasses made especially for cycling are coated with an anti-fog coating as well as one to stop water from beading on the surface of the lenses. If you are keen on fishing, opt for glasses with a high UV coating to protect your eyes from the glare of the sun and water.

There are very few jobs that are more rewarding than a nursing career. Nurses truly are the glue that holds the medical system together. They intercede for their patients, communicate for the doctors, and offer support to both patients and their families alike. Once the decision has been made to become a nurse, the next step in starting your future career, is to decide how far your nursing education will go.

The reasons as to why you should pursue your masters in nursing are virtually endless, but today we will look at three in particular: a greater reach of influence, a higher salary, and an elevated career path. You can read more here.

A Greater Reach of Influence

When you earn your master’s in nursing, you also receive a broader reach of influence and accountability. Besides the new level of respect, from your peers and from yourself, you also can jump into new roles, for example, teaching. After earning your MSN (Master’s of Science in Nursing), others might also begin to see you as an inspiration. When other nurses see your hard work and determination, it can encourage them to continue on with their education as well. 

One of the best side-effects of having a deeper impact, is the effect it has on your community. By furthering your education, you are also furthering your local community. Patients, and their families, who find themselves in your care will also become beneficiaries from your degree. By growing in your medical knowledge, you will be able to give more in-depth care and attention to the medical problems that arise.

Salary Increase

The easiest difference to spot, between an RN or LPN, is the salary increase. The average salary for a nurse with a bachelor’s degree is around $80,000, where as the median salary for a nurse holding a MSN, is $120,000 (according to BLS.gov: numbers reflect nurses working in a hospital). Besides the salary increase, there is also a growing trend in the demand for nurses.

With an expected 26% growth rate, over the next 8 years, there is no worry of a job shortage coming anytime soon. Yet another plus side to earning a master’s in nursing. The nursing field is expanding faster than average; now is the perfect time to continue your nursing career.

Elevated Career Path

Lastly, after earning an MSN, the opportunities for career growth are seemingly limitless. You could decide to grow your knowledge by becoming a nurse practitioner, a nurse anesthesiologist, midwife, and more. When you hold a MSN, you also hold a wide-open future. Your career path can grow alongside your education, and allow your dreams to become a reality. 

Nurses really do make the world a better place. If being a nurse is your dream come true, then set it into motion by earning your master’s in nursing. With the ability to influence others, earn a comfortable salary, and elevate your career path, what is there not to love about earning your MSN.

You must maintain your physical activity so that you stay healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for most people to remain physically active, directly affecting their health well-being. Since attempting to stay at home, then your daily routine that includes fitness routines has changed significantly. Also as a result of the coronavirus, most students have to stay home and study online, many of them also decided to spend this time and play sports, read books, and for example, when they were busy, students ordered professional math, nursing assignment help or even related to any other subject like physics or biology and received excellent grades. In this article, we explore ways to help us stay healthy as we isolate at home while we practice social distance.

Create a personal gym at home

The majority of the gym centers are not open; however, exercising and staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic is achievable while at home. Even if space is a challenge at home, much exercise equipment can give you the entire body workout. You can tone your hamstring, quads, and glutes by utilizing fitness and sunny health upright squat assists trainer available at Buydig.com. Remember to spread out the equipment mat so that you protect the floor of your house from rigorous workouts. If you cannot create time to work out, consider exercising while working on your desk as you use the compact strider tool.

Step it up

During this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, it isn’t easy to achieve the suggested 10000 steps per day since we spend most of our time at home indoors. The good days we could walk to work or even walk during the lunch break are no longer there. Even the extra steps we spend as we walk from the bus stage to the office are all not there now. Even when you can’t walk to the grocery store or go window-shopping at the mall, you can get many ways to walk safely. Rather than sitting down and watching TV or even work for a long hour on a computer, consider taking a jog or a walk in an uncrowded area outside or indoors on a treadmill.

Boost the indoor air quality

Exercising is not the only option for staying healthy. Staying indoors throughout the day can result in the development of respiratory challenges. When indoor air stays for a long time, this leads to the rise in mold circulation in the house and the number of odorless dust mites. Using the air purifier available at Buydig.com, you get a guarantee of breathing clean and fresh air. This device is useful if you have a compromised immune system or have asthma. The air purifier has the potential to protect us from getting sick. During the flu season, an air purifier is a handy device to have in your house.

Keep track of your blood pressure.

It is a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic and all the protocols that accompany its management have led to great pressure on people’s lives. We must learn the mechanism of coping with anxiety and stress that comes with living in the pandemic era. Stress that increases our blood pressure is particularly critical to those struggling with hypertension. With the help of Omron smart gadgets, you can track your blood pressure levels at home. One of the ways of dealing with stress is to exercise.

Learning a bike ride

Practice the prescribed social distance by going alone when you are exercising. There are techniques you can adopt so that you stay safe as you exercise with your friends. Biking allows you to maintain social distance as you exercise with friends.

Prixa, the first Artificial Intelligence-powered healthcare platform in Indonesia, collaborated with Generali Indonesia, one of the leading insurance companies in the country, in releasing a new solution to enhance Generali’s customer experience in health services. This solution adds a new feature, prescription medication purchase and delivery, on the Gen iClick app. The move is set to mark the start of a brighter 2021 for both companies.

Starting from upper left: Vivin Arbianti (CMO Generali),Melissa Karim (Moderator), Jutany Japit (COO Generali), Natali Ardianto (CEO Lifepack), James Roring (CEO Prixa), and Edy Tuhirman (CEO Generali) in Virtual Press Conference of the prescription medication purchase and delivery feature in Dr Leo, Gen iClick App by Generali.

This new feature helps customers access healthcare with 24 hour virtual consultations with professional doctors and now prescription medication purchase and delivery services from within the app. Prixa and Generali Indonesia partner with Lifepack, a digital pharmacy start-up, to make this feature available to all users. The collaboration allows users to submit a prescription, complete the checkout and payment steps, and have the medicine delivered instantly.

Prixa had worked with Generali Indonesia to digitize healthcare through Dr Leo, available in the Gen iClick app, when it was launched in April 2020. Since its release, the app saw a 200% increase of active users. The telemedicine feature itself, provided by Prixa, has a 91% increase in usage since its introduction.

“The prescription medication purchase and delivery feature in Dr Leo is one of a series of innovations that we continue to present to assist and provide convenience for customers in all situations. Through innovative, more complete, and integrated features in the Gen iClick application, our customer’s health access can be much more effective and efficient. And most importantly, keep implementing health protocols so that it is safer for customers to use. These innovations are proof of Generali’s commitment to realizing the vision of becoming a lifetime partner for customers,” said Edy Tuhirman, CEO of Generali Indonesia.

“Through this innovative collaboration, users can also submit online claims seamlessly. To further cater to our users, orders for prescription medication during the first year will be exempted from postage costs.”

The collaboration brings a more pleasant user experience by combining doctor consultation as well as prescription medication purchase and delivery services into one efficient and effective process —all of the processes being done in one app, without the hassle of switching to multiple apps. Combined with one-click insurance claims, users can access these healthcare services through the Gen iClick app at any time. There is no need to worry about setting up an appointment with a doctor or queueing for prescription medication.

The strategic partnership between Prixa, Generali Indonesia, and Lifepack will bring more conveniences to Gen iClick app users using advanced technology and customer-focused approaches.

James Roring, CEO of Prixa, further added, “This collaboration brings us a step closer to realizing our vision of humanizing healthcare. Considering the healthcare challenges that we face and the shifting lifestyle in today’s world, we are pursuing the best digital healthcare experience for our users.”

“We hope that our continuing collaboration with Generali will enable better use of technology, which allows us to improve healthcare services for their customers and add value to their health protection offering.”

About Prixa

Prixa is the first Artificial Intelligence-powered healthcare platform in Indonesia that combines a proprietary AI-platform with personalized healthcare features and services. Prixa understands how difficult the challenges users face in accessing good healthcare services, including consulting with the best doctors, gaining a better understanding of living healthily and living a fuller life. At Prixa, we build a health ecosystem that puts users first. Established in 2019, Prixa already has more than 2 million users and has worked with trusted partners from various sectors, including Generali Indonesia, Mandiri Inhealth, Jabar Digital Service (JDS) and more.

Purify-One, an industry leading manufacturer of ultraviolet (UV) disinfecting devices, has teamed up with school districts throughout the country allowing them to reopen safely without exposing students, teachers, and staff to harsh, potentially toxic disinfecting chemicals.

“As a practicing front line emergency physician, we are seeing an increased number of patients seeking treatment in the emergency room for eye, nose, and throat irritation as well as respiratory impairment from exposure to cleaning chemicals,” said Dr. John Parente, the company’s Chief Medical Officer and board-certified emergency medicine physician. Dr. Parente added “By utilizing UV light with the Purify-One wand, the students, teachers and staff are eliminating exposure to chemicals which cause these unwanted side effects. Children’s vulnerabilities to chemicals are much greater than adults making them even more susceptible to harmful side effects.”

In addition to the reduction of chemical exposure, Purify-One offers an economical and eco-friendly alternative for school districts. A single Purify-One UV wand can disinfect a classroom for over 50,000 hours of use (approximately 10 years of normal use) greatly reducing cleaning costs for the district and protecting the environment by lessening pollution. In addition, classroom furniture, school electronics and sporting equipment surfaces are not destroyed or degraded by chemicals saving the district hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement costs.

School districts throughout the country are embracing this next generation technology for a safer, more economical and environmentally responsible option to reopen and stay open. Purify-One wands are tested and proven to destroy viruses (including SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19), bacteria, mold and mildew.

About Purify-One

Purify-One is a thirty-year veteran in the light technology space and leading manufacture of UV disinfecting devices with a guiding principle of improving the health of our communities. The company’s core purpose is to help educate the public on the many advantages of UV disinfecting as a healthier and safer alternative to traditional chemicals.

Cardinal Health announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Cordis business to Hellman & Friedman (H&F) for approximately $1 billion, which includes buyer’s assumption of certain liabilities and seller’s retention of certain working capital accounts. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of Cardinal Health’s fiscal year 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.

“Cordis has a long history of innovation in minimally-invasive cardiovascular technology, and we are confident that with H&F as its owner, Cordis will be well-positioned for growth, innovation and success,” said Mike Kaufmann, CEO of Cardinal Health. “Cardinal Health and H&F have a shared passion for delivering high-quality medical products to customers and we are excited about the future for the Cordis business under H&F’s ownership.”

“Our decision to divest Cordis demonstrates our disciplined approach to evaluating our portfolio and focusing our resources in our strategic growth areas where we are an advantaged owner,” Kaufmann continued. “Looking forward, we remain committed to our medical distribution and global medical products businesses.”

“Cordis is an excellent fit with our philosophy of investing in great businesses as a market-leading cardiovascular device manufacturer known for high-quality products, strong physician satisfaction and superb patient outcomes,” said Hunter Philbrick, Partner at H&F. “We are excited to invest in the talented Cordis, Ajax and Zeus teams to drive industry leadership, therapeutic innovation and improved patient experiences.”

“We at Ajax Health and Zeus Health are ecstatic about injecting growth into Cordis’ powerful platform, and will do so through investments in the core business and through an independent R&D engine – the ‘Cordis Accelerator’ – to develop and commercialize a new pipeline of products exclusively for Cordis,” said Duke Rohlen, CEO of Ajax Health and Zeus Health, partners to H&F in the transaction, and Executive Chairman-designate of Cordis and CEO of Cordis Accelerator. “We see an unparalleled opportunity to partner with both existing Cordis leadership and H&F to combine a best-in-class innovation engine with a strong and robust commercial chassis. Together, we will establish Cordis as the standard bearer for medical device innovation.”

After closing, most assets and liabilities associated with the Cordis business will transfer to H&F. Cardinal Health will retain full authority for lawsuits related to inferior vena cava filters in the United States and Canada, as well as liability associated with these matters. Cardinal Health estimates that, after completion of the transition services agreement, the divestiture of the Cordis business will decrease Medical segment profit by approximately $60 million to $70 million on an annual run-rate basis.

In connection with the entry into this definitive agreement, Cardinal Health will classify the Cordis business as held for sale, which Cardinal Health expects to result in a pre-tax loss of up to $120 million in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2021. Additionally, Cardinal Health was authorized to incur costs associated with the planned divestiture of up to $125 million, primarily in its fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

Tower Health in Pennsylvania has officially launched Epic Systems EHR across the entirety of its health system when it recently went live at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

Due to coronavirus travel bans and the need for social distancing, Epic Systems and health IT professionals at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children were forced to conduct a remote, virtual implementation.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this entire project was completed virtually, and the successful launch is a testament to the incredible hard work and dedication of the entire team at Tower Health,” Michelle Trupp, chief information officer at Tower Health.

“This is a huge accomplishment. The significance of this moment in Tower Health’s quest to advance health and transform lives cannot be understated. We are sincerely grateful for the hard work of so many individuals who have been instrumental to this launch, and your collective commitment to making this transition smooth and successful,” Trupp continued.

Affiliated Tower Health Medical Group practices, such as Reading Hospital, have been using Epic since 2013. This final implementation occurred roughly one and a half years after Tower Health completed its previous Epic implementations at Brandywine, Chestnut Hill, Jennersville, Phoenixville, and Pottstown Hospitals.

The health system said the Epic EHR system will provide real-time access for patients and providers, regardless of their Tower Health affiliation.

“Now, all Tower Health hospitals and physician practices are utilizing the same EHR, which is a huge step forward in our journey to becoming a fully integrated healthcare system,” said Don Mueller, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Chief Executive Officer.

“This is truly an exciting moment and one worthy of celebration. A single, shared platform will incorporate patients’ health information from all Tower Health care sites into one record – leading to more informed clinical decisions, improved outcomes, and seamlessly coordinated care. This will drive common practices, protocols, and care expectations, while also fostering timely communication among providers,” Mueller continued.

After completing the network infrastructure upgrade, St. Christopher built and tested the new EHR system. Across the entire clinical and non-clinical staff, there were nearly 570 total training classes and in total, they spent time learning the system with 195 super users, seven specialist training providers, 31 credentialed trainers, 1,922 Epic support team members, and 1,270 trained new users.

St. Christopher patients, or their guardian or parent caregivers, will also be able to access Epic’s patient portal, MyTowerHealth. Using the online patient portal, the patients and caregivers can schedule appointments, place orders for prescription refills, communicate with providers, and view both healthcare history and lab results. Patients can access the patient portal on their mobile phones or computer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked several notable hurdles for EHR vendors and health organizations across the country.

In May, Epic completed its first-ever remote, virtual EHR implementation at Valley Children’s Healthcare, which provides healthcare for over 1.4 million children in the Madera County area of California.

Not only was the entire go-live process conducted virtually, but Epic and Optimum Healthcare, a staffing and consulting services firm, teamed up to combine seven different EHR platforms into one Epic EHR platform.

This had been the first time a third party engineered an entirely virtual go-live. Optimum utilized over 20 analysts and provided executive oversight to help Valley Children’s IT team execute the transition.

According to the vendors and the health system, despite the lack of in-person support staff at the hospital, the implementation went live without an issue and it went on as if the vendors were on-site, both Epic and Valley Children’s Healthcare confirmed.