What’s Next in Healthcare Technology?
Healthcare technology is developing all of the time. One of the latest developments in healthcare technology is the use of predictive data. This data can be used to predict what an individual’s disease risk is going to look like in the future. It is another tool for the health care industry to use.
The use of Electronic Medical Record keeping is available and increasing. This is something that many medical professionals can use to make a difference in people’s lives. This is something that is currently available and will help medical staff easily retrieve patient data and make medical records more usable in the medical realm. Healthcare Analytics can help to predict risk management in healthcare, and these techniques will be helpful.
Technology is the wave of the future. Many medical professionals are looking toward this type of data to help health care companies save money, and to better evaluate patient risk. Other developments in health care technology concern the use of smart phones to get a better picture of the patient and current medical developments.
Medical software and medical hardware has undergone a great deal of development as well. Some of the more amazing projects in the way of medical developments include the use of various software programs that help with patient care coordination, and better coordination of medical services. There are hardware software and hardware innovations happening all the type.
Other innovations in technology include the use of Skype or long distance coordination with doctors from patients that are located in remote areas that may be far from the hospital. Software developments also include the use of CAD software and medical imaging techniques that help individuals find and detect disease earlier than ever before.
Developments that have been coming to fruition include the use of some improvements to PET, MRI and as previously mentioned, digital imaging procedures. The use of these new technologies will make medical research, and patient tracking and care some of the best that the world has ever seen. It is a new and technologically important for medical professionals to offer some of this new and innovative treatment.
Tips for Seniors to Stay Healthy
Staying active is very important for seniors. You may not be running marathons but you can still stay active. One of the best tips for seniors to stay healthy is to find a walking partner. A walking partner will encourage you to show up for your daily walk even when you may not feel motivated to. Assisted living facilities in Michigan are a great place to find people who will walk with you each day.
Simply walking each day can add many years to your life, especially when compared to a sedentary lifestyle where you just lounge on the couch each day watching television and snacking on food.
The level of activities that seniors can perform at varies a lot. Some seniors can run marathons, lift weights, ride bicycles, and go swimming amongst other activities. For other seniors simply being mobile is in itself an activity. Regardless of how much or how little you can do it is important that you stay active doing what you can activity-wise. If you only walk casually at a slow pace then force yourself to go walking each day.
Depending on your health level you may be able to go skiing or other more extreme sports for seniors. If you do not feel comfortable participating in sports that you once did then you can cut it out, however you should remain involved with activity at a level you feel confident and safe doing. If for example you use to participate in diving but you feel your bones may be too brittle to continue diving, you can still show up and swim laps and aqua exercises even if you live in assisted living facilities in PA.
You may feel discouraged that you can no longer perform at an athletic level similar to what you could do when you were younger. Massachusetts assisted living people now understand that you need to accept the fact that you are older and exercise and remain active at whatever activities and exercise you can do to help keep your body in the best health possible and to allow you to live longer so you can enjoy your grandkids for many years to come.
10 Ways That Helping Addicted Employees Recover Benefits Your Bottom Line
As an employer, you may struggle in knowing what to do if one of your employees is an addict. You may question if it is even your business to bring the subject up with your employee, especially if the employee is handling his or her job duties acceptably, if not superbly. However, it is in your best interest to help the employee’s addiction recovery. An addicted employee can cost the company money in the following ways:
- Costs and losses associated with chronic absenteeism and lowered productivity
- Increased healthcare costs and workplace injuries
- Costs associated with the hire and training of new employees who must be hired to replace addicted employees who have been let go
Learn more about The Family Medical Leave Act and addiction in the workplace.
There are many non-monetary benefits to helping addicted employees recover as well. Below are some examples of how helping addicted employees can help your bottom line and company morale at the same time.
1. More productive behavior: A recovered employee has more energy and focus to perform job duties. He is no longer limited by the shackles of his addiction, or missing workdays due to the addiction, and can return to giving 100% to the job.
2. Better employee morale: Not only will the addict have better morale thanks to your assistance in her recovery, but the morale of other employees will increase as well. An addicted employee heavily impacts co-workers. They often have to work side by side with the addict, which may make them uncomfortable. Co-workers also may have to take on extra work due to the addict’s inability to perform her job duties. It is easy to see how resentment can set-in in these cases.
3. Lower absenteeism: Without a doubt it is in your best interest to help your employee recover from an addiction if he misses work due to the addiction. Once the employee has recovered, he won’t miss workdays due to the addiction, nor will he be limited in his work contributions by his addiction. Both of which help your bottom line.
4. Safer work environment: Depending on the type of addiction your employee suffers from you may have a dangerous work environment on your hands. It is common for both alcoholics and illicit drug users to become violent and act dangerously when they are drunk or high. If they are bringing these behaviors to the workplace then you have an obligation to your other employees to confront the addict in order to create a safe work environment.
5. Better employee attitude: All of your employees will benefit from your helping an addicted employee recover. Chances are the other employees are well aware of the situation and may feel tense or anxious due to the addicted employee’s behavior. By helping the addict recover, you are demonstrating that you value your employees and the contributions they make to your business. This demonstrates your commitment to employee welfare and lets the employees know that you will be there to support them if they ever need it. All of this will engender loyalty to your business place, which translates to better workers.
6. Better customer service: It is in your company’s best interest to ensure your front-line employees protect the image of your company that you want them to project. An addict would have a hard time being at her best every day; thus, having an addict as your customer’s first point of contact with your company could turn customers away.
7. Less employee turnover: This is a two-fold benefit. First, you won’t lose your addicted employee due to poor job performance as a result of his addiction and train a new staff member. Second, you are creating a more stable, safer work environment for the rest of your staff who might otherwise have contemplated leaving due to a co-worker’s ongoing addiction problems.
8. Culture of caring: Assisting an addicted employee demonstrates to the rest of your staff that your company cares about its employees. An added benefit is that you are leading by example and creating a culture of caring in the workplace. Perhaps your example will be adopted by your staff, who then extend it to care for each other. Once this happens, you have created a pervasive culture of caring which makes a workplace a much more enjoyable place to work and, in turn, your employees will perform better.
9. Promote healthy living and seeking help for addiction: As you reach out to assist your troubled employee, you are demonstrating a commitment to healthy and clean living and letting them know that it is perfectly alright to seek help for addiction problems.
10. Environment free of drugs and alcohol: A commitment to helping an addicted employee is a commitment to creating a workplace free of drugs and alcohol. By making an effort to aid your addicted employee, you are taking a stand against drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
About the Author:
Alan Goodstat, LCSW received his Masters in Social Work at Columbia University. He’s now a Director of Performance Improvement and contributes to the Addiction Treatment site RecoveryConnection.org. He wrote a chapter on substance abuse to the book “Put Yourself in Their Shoes: Understanding Teenagers With Attention Deficit Hyperactvitiy Disorder.”
