Helpful Health Care Links: January 2, 2015

Happy New YearHappy New Year! We start 2015 with no shortage of healthcare news you can use.

Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics — a report the high rate of influenza  and the deadline for using health flexible spending accounts. We also include an article from The Dr. Oz Show with a quiz to discover your resolution personality. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

What’s Your Resolution Personality?

A new year is a time to make good on the goals we’ve been meaning to accomplish. Take this quiz to find out if your personality type will make you more likely to keep your resolution, partially achieve it or abandon it completely.

Health Plan Enrollment Numbers Show Importance Of Coming Supreme Court Case

The subsidies that the court may eradicate are helping a large majority of HealthCare.gov customers pay for their medical insurance.

This Season’s Flue Activity Has Reached The Epidemic Threshold, The CDC Says

Fifteen children have died across the country from influenza, as the number of states reporting a “high” level of influenza activity jumped from 13 to 22 in one week.

Deadline Looms For Spending Health Flex Account Money

More than 15 million workers have employer-sponsored health accounts, which gave customers a chance to set aside up to $2,500 in pre-tax wages this year for health-related expenses not covered by insurance. But these accounts come with a big catch: Often you have to use the balance before the plan year ends or you lose it.

Federal Funding Bill Includes Alzheimer’s Accountability Act

Congress recently signed a funding bill including the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, enabling scientists at the National Institutes of Health to tell Congress the amount of funding they need on an annual basis to reach the national goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.

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What Should You Consider When Choosing An Assisted Living?

There are many things to think about when choosing an assisted living facility. Your loved one has many needs that must be considered during this transition. In this video, Lori-Ann discusses the importance of starting the process by talking with your loved one to keep them involved. This will not only help make the move easier for them, but your other family members as well.

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5 Breakthroughs in Healthcare in 2014

2014 Future2014 has passed in a flash.  Healthcare continues to develop in amazing ways.

What are 5 medical breakthroughs that happened in 2014?

1.  Wearable Technology Used in Surgery:  AMAZING!  Dr. Rafael Grossman was the first surgeon to use Google Glass  in surgery.   While operating, Dr. Grossman and others like him can pull up the patient’s medical history, view specific medical texts, or stream a live feed from the operating room to his or her students.  Google Glass and other wearable technology will continue to advance, allowing doctors to interact with patients in new and different ways.

2.  Telemedicine:  Telemedicine continues to grow throughout the world.  This technology allows patients who live far away from specialists to be seen by those doctors via the Internet.  Since good patient results tend to depend on seeing the right doctor at the right time, this growing technology will greatly help improve patient outcomes.

3.  3 D Printing:  You might not know that 3D printing is being increasingly used in medicine.  Healthcare providers are using 3D printers to print skin for burn patients, blood vessels for cardiac patients, and patching holes in patients.  This technology will help solve many healthcare problems over time.

4.  Bionic Eye:  In the past, very little could be done for blindness.  Now, for some types of blindness, surgeons have successfully implanted a bionic eye that allows patients to detect light and dark and see movement.

5.  Seniors at Home:  With all the technological advances in medicine, more and more seniors are able to live independently longer. For example, health conditions can be monitored with special wrist monitors and tablets, which allow healthcare providers to track their care while allowing the patient to stay comfortably at home.

As 2014 comes to a close, we continue to watch healthcare grow and develop in exciting ways.  I will continue to keep you updated on the healthcare issues that affect you the most.  Happy Holidays!