Information technology in the healthcare industry has the capacity to improve the experience of consumers, but it if not handled properly those efforts could backfire. For every wearable device and mobile app, there’s a potential security breach lurking in the shadows. With the ability to crunch Big Data comes the responsibility to present that data … Continue reading “Five Ways to Improve Customer Experiences with Health IT”
When it comes to information technology, the health care industry is “clearly lagging behind,” according to Ashish Jha, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s K.T. Li Professor of International Health. We live in an era when anyone with a smartphone can host a business meeting, deposit a check, and navigate the quickest route home … Continue reading “Healthcare IT is ‘Like the Plane that Doesn’t Crash’”
With the modern office-based economy, it’s easy to think about workplace injuries as relics of a bygone era, when factory workers smelted iron in blast furnaces and coal miners toiled in unregulated conditions. Workplace safety remains a challenge in many regions of the globe, and developed nations, like the United States, aren’t exempt. “We still … Continue reading “Workplace Safety Challenges Still Exist”
Employees who sleep better, work better, according to emerging research. Studies conducted by people like Nicolaas Pronk, adjunct professor of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, have broken ground when it comes to connecting the dots between productivity in the workplace and health indicators such as diet, exercise, and … Continue reading “A Healthy Workplace Starts in Bed”
Companies with strong health and wellness programs outperform others on the stock market, and some experts suggest the investment community could benefit from scrutinizing health and wellness metrics when they value companies. Robert McLellan, chief of occupational and environmental medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, is one of those experts. He’s co-author of a new paper in the … Continue reading “The Business Benefits of a Healthy Workforce”
The field of genomic medicine is only about 10 years old, said Gerardo Jimenez-Sanchez, a leading researcher in the field. Raju Kucherlapati, from Harvard Medical School’s department of genomics, adds, “The rate of accumulation of knowledge” is moving at an “ever increasing pace.” It’s clear that 10 to 15 years from now, genomic medicine will … Continue reading “Genomic Medicine in the Next Decade”
Genomics has, in a remarkably short period of time, led to revelations across a wide range of scientific disciplines. It’s helped us better understand everything from cancer to dinosaurs to the intricacies of sexual selection. In medicine, the study of genomics is already saving lives and driving trillions of dollars of economic activity. The ability … Continue reading “Genomic Medicine in the Real World: ‘Hope’ and ‘Hype’”
“IRBs are not the most popular kids on the block,” said Delia Wolf, referring to institutional review boards, the oversight groups that approve – and bury under paperwork, depending on whom you ask – clinical research projects involving human participants. Of course, popularity isn’t everything, but Wolf is helping give the IRB process a makeover, … Continue reading “New Opportunities in the Field of Ethical Research Oversight”
On Mother’s Day, 2003, 5-year-old Matthew Siravo, who had epilepsy, died at Boston Children’s Hospital, two days after suffering a seizure that lasted an hour and a half. Siravo’s story made headlines in the local news, and in September of that year, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued what The Boston Globe called “a … Continue reading “Equipping Physicians To Manage The Rapidly Evolving World of Health Care”
The idea of negotiating with a patient may seem odd, or even off-putting, to physicians and patients alike. But many physicians find they’re using management and leadership skills – such as negotiation and communication techniques – directly with patients, according to Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath, professor of health communication at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public … Continue reading “Negotiating and Communicating With Patients”
