Radiation Safety in Laboratory Settings

Radiation safety may not always be the top concern of lab workers, but it is a crucial step in working with radioactive materials, and lab managers who overlook it could be jeopardizing the long-term health of their workers. “It’s not that people don’t want to follow [safety procedures]. It’s just that once they become comfortable … Continue reading “Radiation Safety in Laboratory Settings”

Risk Communication Considerations for the West Virginia Elk River Chemical Spill

Every day, we each analyze risk and perform cost/benefit analyses for even mundane tasks. For many people, this is particularly true when it comes to our health, from eating fatty foods to avoiding toxins. Risk assessment is also crucial on a larger scale when it comes to health, in situations where it is imperative to … Continue reading “Risk Communication Considerations for the West Virginia Elk River Chemical Spill”

Five Ways to Improve Customer Experiences with Health IT

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”

Healthcare IT is ‘Like the Plane that Doesn’t Crash’

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’”

Workplace Safety Challenges Still Exist

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”

A Healthy Workplace Starts in Bed

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”

The Business Benefits of a Healthy Workforce

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”

Genomic Medicine in the Next Decade

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”