Month: January 2023

Health-care numbers suggest the system is the problem: Opinion

Health care is underperforming despite new money and resources having gone into it

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The Economist ran a piece this week on the “wobbling” health-care systems that are a problem in many countries these days. If anything, Britain has it worse than we do in terms of crowding and wait times. In passing, the piece mentioned that Canada’s health-care system employs 1.6 million people. For some reason, I had never thought of it quite that way. Total employment was 19.8 million in December, so that’s a little over eight per cent of all jobs.

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I suspect that number comes from the OECD, whose website provides a lot of cross-country health-sector stats. I checked out how some of ours had changed between 2010 and the latest year for which data are available, which in most cases is 2021 — admittedly not your most typical year, being the second in a pandemic.

Particle Health’s Latest White Paper Offers the Industry’s Most Comprehensive Health Information Network (HIN) Data Exchange Performance Metrics to Date

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Particle Health, a developer-friendly API platform for bi-directional healthcare data exchange, today announced the availability of its white paper that highlights the most comprehensive view of Health Information Network data performance available to date – and provides vital information to gain a true understanding of healthcare interoperability.

The paper, 2023: State of U.S. Healthcare’s National Network Data Exchanges, analyzes not only quantitative comparisons of the data currently exchanged on HINs but also the work that still needs to be done in order to spread the true value of the networks across all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. The report also details critical information on how to successfully leverage HIN data when building digital healthcare tools and operating healthcare organizations or digital platforms.

The recent paper revealed that the nation’s three largest Health Information Networks have indexed healthcare records for the vast majority of Americans, as shown by Particle’s platform finding data across HINs for about nine out of every 10 patients searched for. The CommonWell Health Alliance has access to 29,000 sites and 153 million individuals; Carequality has access to 55,000 sites and 300,000,000 document exchanges per month; and eHealth Exchange has access to 75,000 sites and 120 million individuals. A sample of queryable data found that a plurality (about 45%) of health data available on HINs was generated within the past three years.

To help digital health organizations looking to gain deeper insights into how to search and return patient data more successfully on HINs, Particle Health studied its own technical data from connecting to the three major HINs. By mapping out each network’s endpoints in the U.S., the company was able to rank states by their endpoints per capita. Particle Health found that in 2022, on average:

  • Query success rates (requests

Social media influencers give inaccurate, possibly harmful sexual health advice

January 20, 2023

2 min read


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Social media influencers who offered sexual health advice often provided unreliable information, highlighting the need for teenagers to critically evaluate the information they receive online, according to researchers.

Many young people get information about sexual health from social media, often from influencers or microcelebrities who have many followers. Since previous research has found that social media influencers have “powerful persuasive effects on attitudes and behaviors,” Emily J. Pfender, MA, a PhD student and instructor in the department of communication at the University of Delaware, and M. Marie Devlin, an MA student in the department of communication at the University of Delaware, wrote that it is important to assess how influencers convey sexual health information about topics like birth control.



The AMA advised the FDA to make birth control pills OTC drugs instead of prescription. Source: Adobe Stock

Social media influencers who offered sexual health advice often provided unreliable information, highlighting the need for teenagers to critically evaluate the information they receive online, according to researchers. Source: Adobe Stock

“Getting sexual health information from social media gives young adults the opportunity to get peer perspectives and seek out relatable information,” Pfender said in a press release. “It is an especially good way for underrepresented groups such as LGBTQ+ young adults to get tailored sexual health information. It is important, however, that young people critically evaluate the health information they receive on social media and the source

New health department in Adams County planning health equity

One of the fastest growing, most diverse Colorado counties launched a health department with a Health Equity and Strategic Initiatives Division.

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Sitting near a podium where just hours before a grand opening ceremony for the Adams County Health Department was held, Monica Buhlig reflected on her background, which stretches from philanthropy to public health. 

“And each place I learned more and more about the impacts that influence people’s health,” she said. 

Buhlig will lead the newly-formed department’s Health Equity & Strategic Planning Division, as director.

The new health department comes after the former Tri-County Health Department dissolved at the end of last year, and Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties all formed their own departments.

With a staff of 26 people on Buhlig’s team, she said a community health assessment for Adams County last year helped direct her team on how to go about the first stages of their planning.

The assessment found the top issues include food insecurity, housing instability, and mental and behavioral health. 

But aside from that, she believes the pandemic exacerbated the disconnect between public health and the citizens they served. 

“Public health did a phenomenal job reaching people with evidence-based practices. But as the pandemic elevated, we were missing the connections and leaning on community organizations to reach people. And the pandemic reminded everyone in public health that that is how it’s done,” she said. 

Understanding a diverse community

Adams County is one of the first Denver metro counties where the majority of the population are people of color, according to the state demographer. It also holds one of the state’s largest Hispanic populations and saw the state’s most growth for that group.

Amid the height of the pandemic, Adams County-based organizations worked to provide access to COVID-19 vaccines through clinics,

Public opinion pushed provinces, Ottawa into alignment over health care, N.B. premier says

New Brunswick’s premier says public pressure has been the key factor in recent progress toward a deal on health-care funding between the federal government and provinces.

Blaine Higgs said in an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live that he was optimistic premiers and the federal government would be able to meet to sign a deal in February. The two sides face a time crunch to get a deal done so that any new changes can be reflected in a spring federal budget.

But as negotiations have dragged on, Canadians have witnessed a series of high-profile instances of failures in the health-care system, including long delays, ER closures and even deaths of Canadians waiting for care.

“The public are expecting a better health-care system in our respective provinces…. They expect if we’re putting more money in the system we have to see results,” Higgs told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

WATCH | New Brunswick premier discusses progress on health funding:

‘Public opinion’ part of breakthrough on health-care deal negotiations, says N.B. premier

Rosemary Barton Live speaks with New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs about a potential health-care deal between the federal government and the provinces that would give more funding to ease the current pressure on the health system. After months of stalled negotiations, Higgs says public opinion was part of the breakthrough.

Premiers and the federal government have been locked in a running battle over funding for the health-care system for years, with provincial leadership urging Ottawa to make significantly higher contributions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during the early days of the pandemic that he was supportive of the federal government taking on more of the financial burden, but negotiations would have to wait until the crisis subsided.

Provinces and the federal government have traded sharp public

Zech McPhearson: Winning with style points

On a scale of Barkley, whose style Josh describes as universal and bold, to McCaffrey, who leans more toward simple and chic styles, Zech falls somewhere in the middle. Josh’s agency, PEÆK, boasts an inventory that caters to their varied preferences.

PEÆK has interchangeable spelling, and its meaning aligns with his purpose of helping athletes look, feel, and in turn, play their best.

“P-e-a-k means I want those who I’m styling to reach their peak in their respective careers and life with goals; I want it to be just deeper into fashion,” Josh said.

“P-e-e-k means that I want my clients to gain notice from what they’re wearing, for people to peek at them when they wear their clothing. I think that it brings confidence, knowing that you look good, but that other people notice that as well.”‘

Even when they aren’t working toward a gameday fit, Zech still seeks his brother’s style expertise.

The two often FaceTime, talking football, family, and goals while Zech poses in front of his propped-up iPhone and Josh perfects his outfits.

It’s been a record year already for the McPhearson clan – which boasts eight athletic siblings: Gerrick Jr., Derrick, Emmanuel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Josh, Zech, and Kimberly. And the best is yet to come.

Josh expressed his interest in expanding his influence past the NFL, eyeing opportunities to work with individuals across other sports and the broader entertainment scope.

As for Zech, he’s had a fruitful second season, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after a standout performance in the team’s season opener – he totaled a career-high-tying 2 special teams tackles and recovered a surprise onside kick in the third quarter that set up a scoring drive in the 38-35 victory in Detroit. He recorded his first career sack

Natural disasters strike everywhere: Ways to help protect your health

A powerful, destructive storm producing a tornado crosses through fields and roads, throwing debris up into the air as lightening forks down in the distance

Climate change is an escalating threat to the health of people everywhere. As emergency medicine physicians practicing in Australia and the United States, we — and our colleagues around the world — already see the impacts of climate change on those we treat.

Will we be seeing you one day soon? Hopefully not. Yet an ever-growing number of us will face climate-related emergencies, such as flooding, fires, and extreme weather. And all of us can actively prepare to protect health when the need arises. Here’s what to know and do.

How is climate change affecting health?

As the planet warms, people are seeking emergency medical care for a range of climate-related health problems, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, asthma due to air pollution, and infectious diseases related to flooding and shifting biomes that prompt ticks, mosquitoes, and other pests to relocate. News headlines frequently spotlight physical and emotional trauma stemming from hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and floods.

We care for people displaced from their homes and their communities by extreme weather events. Many suddenly lack access to their usual medical team members and pharmacies, sometimes for significant periods of time. The toll of extreme weather often lands hardest on people who are homeless, those with complex medical conditions, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, minoritized groups, and those who live in poorer communities.

On a recent 110º Fahrenheit day, for example, a woman came to an emergency department in Adelaide, Australia complaining of a headache, fatigue, and nausea, all symptoms of heat exhaustion. She told medical staff that she had just walked for two hours in the sun to obtain groceries, as she had no car or access to public transportation. While health advisories in the media that day had advised her to stay inside in air conditioning,

Federal minister reports ‘a lot of progress’ in health-care talks with provinces

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday that ongoing federal-provincial talks on the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) are going well — and there could be a summit between the prime minister and the premiers in the coming days to finalize an increase to the Canada Health Transfer.

Speaking to reporters in Hamilton ahead of a Liberal cabinet retreat this week, LeBlanc said he’s been working the phones, talking to premiers and senior provincial officials as Ottawa looks to secure an agreement to increase the federal-provincial CHT transfer with conditions attached.

The provinces have been demanding a multi-billion dollar cash injection to stand up a system that has been undermined by COVID-19 and labour shortages.

Ottawa has said it wants its investment to go beyond short-term fixes to deliver systemic change to a system that faces a multitude of challenges — in primary care, mental health, long-term care, virtual care and data collection.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is seen leaving a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says there’s been solid progress in health-care talks. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

LeBlanc ‘optimistic’ about health-care deal 

“There’s been a lot of progress over the weekend,” LeBlanc said. “I’m optimistic.”

LeBlanc also suggested the deal that’s in the works could guarantee a certain level of funding for years to come.

“This is part of a process that will take us, we believe, to an important agreement that will improve the health-care system for the long term for Canadians,” he said.

LeBlanc said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his provincial counterparts only when some of the finer points of the deal have been negotiated.

The premiers have been demanding a face-to-face meeting with Trudeau for months.

“At the right moment, as the prime minister has always said, he’ll sit down with his fellow first ministers,” LeBlanc said.

To help stabilize the system, the

Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department director to retire

Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department on Tuesday announced that its director of health is retiring at the end of June.

Dr. Anthony Chen said in a statement Tuesday, “We have plenty of work ahead of us to protect and improve the health of all people and places in Pierce County. I look forward to seeing where the next leader will take our local health department.”

Chen has served in the position since 2008 when he was selected by the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health.

“When I reflect on my time at the Department, I am especially proud of our work to create an innovative and leading local public health agency,” Chen said Tuesday.

01AnthonyChenLong.jpg
Dr. Anthony Chen, Director of Health for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, has lived around the world and across the county, but says Tacoma is his home. He is shown in downtown Tacoma, Washington on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Tony Overman [email protected]

Lengthy career in state, area

Chen is a Duke University medical school graduate. He completed family medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati and a faculty development fellowship at Duke University and a fellowship in minority health policy at Harvard University, according to his TPCHD biography. He received his master’s in public health at Harvard School of Public Health.

Chen came to Washington in 1993 to serve as faculty for the Swedish Family Medicine Residency Program. One its satellite programs soon caught his eye: a public health clinic.

“This site had a huge refugee and immigrant population, which was what I was just really attracted to,” he told The News Tribune in an interview in 2021. As an immigrant, Chen could relate to their experiences.

Chen faced an array of challenges during his tenure at TPCHD, including at least two separate attempts to break up

mainstream retailers embrace second-hand clothing

High street retailers are following in the footsteps of their online rivals, offering more second-hand clothes to lure in shoppers wanting to steer clear of fast fashion and hunt for bargains amid a cost of living crisis.

The second-hand clothing market has exploded over the last decade to an estimated £6.5bn last year, largely thanks to online sites like eBay, Vinted and Depop. That figure is expected to double by 2027.

In 2022, eBay saw a 24 per cent increase of circular fashion businesses join their site, and searches for pre-loved clothing on eBay UK have skyrocketed 1600 per cent since last summer.

Kirsty Keoghan, eBay UK’s global fashion general manager, told City A.M. that shoppers’ changing habits are down to two factors.

“The first is related to consumers’ growing awareness of their individual environmental footprint, and the second is related to their expectation of high-quality products at great value, which is more important than ever as we grapple with the cost-of-living crisis,” Keoghan said.

“A potential recession, the climate crisis, and global unrest are all reasons that, going into 2023, consumers are making shopping decisions based on value… as well as personal values,” Rati Sahi Levesque, co-CEO of online second-hand marketplace The Realreal, said following the publication of a report by the firm on the boom in circular fashion.

But, worried about losing out to online sellers, now mainstream high street retailers want a slice of the pie.

Last week J. Crew Group announced the launch of a resale programme ‘J.Crew Always’, which will sell curated vintage styles in select stores and customers’ pre-owned threads online in return for credit.

Selfridges has also set up its ‘Reselfridges’ scheme, saying it aims for 45 per cent of transactions to come from its circular scheme

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