Deborah Abrams Kaplan writes on medical, health, healthcare, healthcare IT, healthcare tech, cancer, personal finance, business, supply chain, insurance, blockchain and COVID-19.
No Prescription Needed. But Will Insurers Cover OTC Hearing Aids?
About 48.1 million people in the U.S. over age 12 have some hearing loss. Yet insurance coverage for hearing aids is often nonexistent or minimal. Medicare specifically excludes coverage. Many private health and Medicare Advantage plans also leave payment to patients, with costs of $1,000 to $4,000 per prescription per hearing aid (one for each ear will be double the cost). There is now a less expensive option, thanks to the FDA’s final rule issued in August 2022.
Challengers of The Status Quo In Primary Care — More Consolidation and Private Equity Ownership
First, private equity came for hospitals and long-term care facilities, then it came for specialty practices such as anesthesia, emergency medicine, gastroenterology and dermatology. And now it’s coming for primary care. At the lower end of the physician pay scale, primary care practices have generally become targets for private equity investors eyeing value-care optimization and referral patterns.
Imaging For Endometriosis
Endometriosis is not easy to diagnose, partly because the symptoms often mimic menstrual pain. Diagnostic imaging, women's health, reproductive health, pregnancy
The Power Of Diversity In Clinical Trials
Today, more than 8,500 clinical trials1 are underway assessing potential new medicines for the treatment of COVID-19. The pandemic has been the catalyst for significant shifts in the clinical trial landscape and has had widespread impacts on healthcare. COVID-19 has allowed research teams to think more critically about study design and implementation to maximize patient ability to participate, from exploring new trial protocols that enable telephone or video-enabled e...
Building Vaccine Access And Confidence Through Public-Private Partnerships
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the healthcare industry has seen incredible innovation, collaboration and progress in developing and delivering vaccines around the world. The industry has delivered multiple vaccine options in record-breaking time1 and has broken down silos to partner in delivering these vaccines to many communities.
Why States Are Allowing Pharmacies to Dispense Returned Oncology Drugs
Repositories of donated drugs in 13 states are redistributing oncology medications to those in need.
With out-of-pocket specialty drug costs reaching $12,000 per drug, it’s no wonder that even insured patients have difficulty paying for treatment. “One of the reasons to advocate for drug donation is so many patients are having to choose (whether) they’re going to pay for their food, rent or medicine. pharma, oncology, pharmaceuticals, drug donation,
Redefining "retirement age." Why almost 1/3 of older adults plan to work past 70 or never retire
Susanne Gilliam, 65, is currently on her third career with no plans to slow down anytime soon. She doesn’t have friends who retired from the workforce at age 62, though a few are retiring at 65. Instead, many of the rest are also making a different kind of career change by shifting their work to new fields or part-time gigs. “At least 50% of the Boomers I know are on second or third careers at this point,” says the Sudbury, Mass. resident. retirement, health insurance, unretirement
10 Packing Tips: How to Pack a Suitcase for Vacation
Some people love the process of planning a vacation. But what may be less enjoyable, for some, is the essential task of packing for your trip. When you’ve done it well, a good packing job can help make for a better vacation.
Here are 10 tips on how to pack a suitcase for vacation:
travel
Technology and Personal Touch Bring Reassurance to Debt Relief Clients
Automation removes bottlenecks to resolve customers' financial distress and bring greater peace of mind. personal finance, debt, bankruptcy, automation, fintech, debt relief, small company, small companies
Payment processing made easy: How one company tweaked the model
Customers may be willing to pay credit card processing fees, if it's transparent. Small business profile, business operations, credit cards, payments,
Taking Responsibility of supplier diversity and CSR
An organizational & supplier diversity perspective on CSR & DEI
Practicing corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts employees, the community and, ultimately, it impacts the organization itself. Every company can benefit from prioritizing CSR. That’s why leaders in supply chain management, human resources and heads of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts joined HealthTrust for “Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility for Organizational DEI and Supplier Diversity.” procurement, vendor, supplier,
How Smart Hospitals Can Improve Patient Care
It’s rare to find a hospital staff member who is not strapped for time. There are always patients to see, charts to complete, family questions to answer, orders to review and medications to dispense. Add the focus on ensuring quality care and the current labor challenges throughout the healthcare industry, and you have healthcare professionals who are maxed out.
But smart technology is rising to help meet these challenges. healthtech, artificial intelligence, pharmacy,
Cervical cancer is preventable with screening and HPV vaccination
Cervical cancer continues to be the number one cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, but effective prevention has dramatically reduced the number of cases of cervical cancer and the number of lives lost in developed countries. Where widespread use of the Pap test, which identifies abnormal cells in the cervix before they progress to cancer, is in place, there has been steady decline in diagnoses of cervical cancer over the past 40 years. women's health, cervical cancer
Surviving bladder cancer — and keeping your bladder
Bladder preservation is possible with this new approach to treatment. When a patient is diagnosed with bladder cancer, their first question is often “Will I be able to keep my bladder?” cancer treatment