February 2023

The Aeron chair, although relatively new, has managed to gain a strong following all over the world. This is mainly due to its design which answered the need for seating that would not cause any body pains even when the user sits for hours on end. Its design also answered the change in the working culture of most which has shifted to office work from field or active work. The Aeron chair has also garnered several awards and recognitions. One of which is being placed in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Rightfully so since the chair is a piece of art all on its own. It is a good looking chair, with several features and which gives several benefits as well. One benefit is the improved or maintained health of the user. Herman Miller, Inc., maker of the Aeron chair, hired a team of specialists, physical therapists and ergonomists to create a chair that contours the body, supports various shapes and sizes and adapts to every movement and position of its user. These specialists as well as the two designers credited for this world renowned piece of art, Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick, were able to come up with the Pellicle Suspension System which replaced uncomfortable cushions, allowing the body to cool while at the same time minimizing pressure points by spreading pressure evenly. Also, the Pellicle Suspension System helps the blood to circulate properly thereby increasing one’s alertness and avoiding any body pain. Another breakthrough is the ability of the chair to improve one’s overall posture thanks to its Posture Fit innovation. The said innovation provides support for the lower back by filling the space between the lower back and the chair. By doing so, the chair actually supports the pelvis’ natural tilt, promoting proper posture and aligning the spine properly. Thanks to this innovation, users are assured of long term comfort and an improved posture. The health benefits of the Aeron chair do not stop there. With the Kinemat Knee Tilt Mechanism, the user can naturally pivot his or her lower body (knees, ankles and hips) simultaneously. Thus, unlike most chairs, the Aeron prevents pressure concentration on the thighs or legs by spreading pressure evenly thereby reducing or avoiding altogether any leg pain. The chair also comes with an adjustable lumbar pillow which is quite similar to the Posture Fit innovation mentioned earlier in that it also supports the lower back. It also comes with a tilt tension adjustment which allows the user to control the resistance of the chair when leaning back and the Forward Tilt which allows the user to control the position of the chair in order to achieve the most comfortable computing posture. Basically, the Aeron chair improves one’s posture while at the same time avoiding any body pain. It also increases one’s alertness by allowing the blood to circulate properly and allowing the body to cool. To add to that, the Aeron chair boosts one’s morale and increases his or her desire to work. Source by Mike Arsosa

One of the healthy steps that you can take to improve your vision health is to add fruits and vegetables to your diet. When it comes to eating the right foods to improve eyesight research studies have shown that foods that are rich in anthocyanosides are a highly recommended part of your diet for better eye health. One example of an eye food rich in anthocyanosides is the blackberry fruit. Some of the general health benefits of the blackberry fruit includes diabetes prevention, better immunity, cancer prevention and better heart health to name a few. Therefore, if you are interested in improving your vision health by consuming the right nutrition, here are the vision benefits of blackberries including those related to your general health: Eye Health Benefits: As a food for better vision, this delicious fruit is rich in anthocyanosides. These are antioxidant rich compounds that protect the eyes from oxidative stress. This is accomplished by reducing the damaging effects of rogue free radical agents that breakdown healthy tissues and eye cells in the body. This fruit is a source of Lutein that protects the eyes by forming a protective pigment in the center of the retina called the macular, at the back of the eyes. This pigment protects the eyes from the harmful U.V rays of the sun. It acts like natural sunglasses in protecting vision health from harmful high wavelength light radiation. The blackberry fruit is also rich in the eye nutrients vitamins A and C that increase vision health. The anthocyanoside rich compounds found in this eye food consists of antioxidants that protect against eye diseases and reduce your risks for age related vision disorders such as macular degeneration and cataracts. Cancer Prevention: One of the main causes of cancer is the development of free radicals that damages the DNA of healthy cells. This destruction leads to the development of conditions in the body that are conducive to the spread of cancer cells. Antioxidants function as protective agents in the body that prevent this cell damage. They also neutralize these rogue cells in the body that lead to cell destruction and the breakdown of healthy cell DNA and tissues in the body. The Blackberry fruit consists of these antioxidants that are cancer fighting agents in the body thereby reducing our risks for various types of cancer. Furthermore, this vision food has a high ORAC rating. This stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. This basically means that a food with a good ORAC rating has high antioxidant content. Due to its high potency in antioxidant content, such foods are very effective in reducing cancer risks. These foods are also good at neutralizing free radical agents in the body according to scientific lab tests done in test tube experiments. Improves Mental Performance: Owing to their rich polyphenol content they are helpful in preventing age related mental decline and improve cognitive ability. This is due to the fact that they reduce the negative effects of aging in the brain thereby improving memory and neural function as well. Therefore, if you are concerned about staying sharp and improving your brain function, then, regular consumption of this fruit in your diet can help you to accomplish that goal. Better Heart Health: Its anthocyanoside, Magnesium and Fiber content all work together collectively in reducing the buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart. Additionally, it also creates healthy conditions in the heart for better circulation and the smooth flow of blood in the cardiovascular system. This can reduce the risks for diseases such as heart disease and stroke. By consuming blackberries regularly in your diet you are doing the things that you need to do to strengthen your heart and eyes; 2 important factors necessary for a healthy and properly working visual system. Source by Joel Travers King

The vast majority of people, would agree, we have experienced an unfortunate, horrific, public health crisis, because of this pandemic, of COVID19. Those paying attention, and being ready, willing, and/ or, able, to effectively listen to the advice and recommendations of the public health experts, understand, the only way, to bring this, to a more controllable, safer level, was, first, restricting contact with others, except for essential needs, and loyally, consistently, respecting the concept and necessity, for Social Distancing, and the benefits of wearing a mask. Although, President Trump, either, actually, believed it was a hoax (as he articulated, early – on), believed it was far less dangerous, than it ended – up, being, didn’t feel this fit neatly into his personal/ political agenda, and/ or, self – interest, or, merely made some sort of mistake, etc, we must now, reopen America, incrementally, and measured by specific expert – designed/ created, set of metrics, rather than, using public health and safety, as a sort of political – football! While many understand the smart approach, and, although, they may be stir – crazy, and feeling the economic impact, there are those, who, either don’t believe, understand, or care about the potential dangers, of proceeding, haphazardly, and not paying attention to what’s needed. How many more must die, and/ or, be infected by this virus, before you care? While, the nation reopens, those doing so, more quickly (with fewer restrictions/ precautions/ planning) have seen, undesirable recurrences, of this disease. With that in mind, 5 common sense steps/ approaches, etc, we need to understand, and use, and, thus, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, why this is important. 1. Important to continue Social Distancing, and wearing a mask: Since, it’s clear, obeying the principles/ concepts of Social Distancing, and wearing a mask, has worked, effectively, and, significantly, reduced the spread of the pandemic, why are some people, resisting using this type of common sense? Those, declaring, their, so – called, freedom, is more valuable than the health, and lives, of others, are, both, despicable, and failing to properly understand, what freedom, truly represents and means! 2. Many states experiencing more cases: While, about 20 states, are experiencing, spiking in the number of new cases, states, such as New York, have, not, merely, flattened – the – curve, but bent – it! Areas, where reopening has been, more gradual, planned, and using public health guidelines, etc, are now, doing best, in terms of the public’s health, and well – being! 4. Common sense: It’s way, past – time, to employ some common sense, and pay attention, in order, to be better prepaid, and minimize any negative ramifications of any second – wave! 5. This is serious, and NOT over!: Take this seriously, and proceed wisely, because the actual dangers, and potential ramifications, are serious, and not, close, to being over! No one wants, or seeks any form of economic hardship, but, while, one can still make money, in the future, and restore most, if not all, the damage, you can’t restore your life, as the over 110, 000 Americans, who, so far, have died from this horrific pandemic! Use your head, before, it’s too late! Source by Richard Brody

Health coverage is expensive- both for individuals and for companies that provide it. The costs affect much of the medical field, including drug prices, cost of coverage, costs of care and visits, and a myriad of other areas of the health industry. Part of those costs is resulting from the administrative handling of health insurance logistics, and those costs affect the rest of the field, too. According to studies in the field, noted by the CAQH Index, in 2019 they noted that “SPENDING ON HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION COSTS AN ESTIMATED $350 BILLION ANNUALLY IN THE UNITED STATES DUE TO IT’S COMPLEXITY.” Data from the 2019 CAQH Index indicates that $40.6 billion or 12 percent of the $350 billion spent on administrative complexity, is associated with conducting administrative transactions tracked by the CAQH Index. Of the $40.6 billion spent on these transactions, $13.3 billion or 33 percent of existing annual spending on administrative transactions could be saved by completing the transition from manual and partially electronic processing to fully electronic processing. The progress that the industry has already made to automate these administrative transactions has saved the industry over $102 billion annually.” Administration is, of course, an important aspect of any industry, especially one as complex as medical and related fields. The difficulty with modern health insurance means extensive administrative hours as they tend to a myriad of issues on multiple fronts. This means, as noted earlier, a great deal of expense that filters throughout the medical field. Unfortunately, small business owners tend to bear the brunt of these costs, at least when it comes to businesses rather than people. As noted here, “NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE COST OF PROVIDING HEALTH COVERAGE TO EMPLOYEES LOOMS LARGER THE SMALLER THE BUSINESS, BUT THIS ISSUE PLAGES BUSINESSES REGARDLESS OF SIZE” The price tag on health insurance is a significant pain point for small employers. The problem extends to recruiting and retaining talent, as well. To compete with larger employers, small employers are hard-pressed to offer benefits like health insurance, even as the benefit takes up a larger share of the bottom line. Two-thirds of businesses (69%) said the problem has been getting worse. They reported that costs have increased over the last four years; one-third of this group reported annual increases of 10 percent or more. Businesses with fewer employees cited bigger increases than larger businesses. Employers cited prescription drugs and lack of choice of health care plans as pain points. There are ways to curb this expense without impacting the medical field or health insurance. One method is the increased use of digital materials. According to the previously cited Index, “Although partially electronic transactions often cost less and are less time consuming than manual transactions, there are savings opportunities associated with moving from partially electronic web portals to fully electronic transactions. For the medical industry, $2.7 billion of the $9.9 billion total savings opportunity could be achieved by switching from partially electronic transactions to fully electronic transactions. The greatest per transaction savings opportunity for medical providers is a prior authorization. Medical providers could save $2.11 per prior authorization transaction by using the federally mandated electronic standard rather than a web portal. Understanding the impact of portal use in more detail is important as the industry focuses on opportunities to decrease administrative costs and burden.” The medical field is one area where increased use of digital technology has lagged in comparison to other fields. Concerns over confidentiality and security, combined with outdated legislation, mean much in the medical field is handled with pen and paper. That said, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in rapid inroads in digitization. Still, administrative costs remain high, with subsequent effects throughout healthcare. Along with the use of digital technology, another way to reduce costs is through increased automation. As noted by the previous study, “The 2019 CAQH Index estimates that the medical industry has avoided over $96 billion in annual administrative costs through efforts to automate administrative transactions. By comparison, the dental industry has avoided over $6 billion annually. For both industries, the largest annual savings has been achieved for eligibility and benefit verification at $68.8 billion for the medical industry and $3 billion for the dental industry. However, although the industry has already avoided significant administrative costs through automation, 33 percent of existing spending could be saved through further automation. To continue to drive progress, harmonization is needed across all stakeholders to reduce administrative costs and burdens. Aligning on a common understanding of the barriers to electronic adoption and the business needs of the future is imperative for plans, providers, vendors, standards development organizations, operating rule authoring entities and government to maintain and improve upon industry achievements to date.” There are other ways to mitigate costs as well, without subsequent suffering in quality. One way is to reduce what one article sites as administrative waste. As noted by said article, “ADMINISTRATIVE WASTE AS ANY ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING THAT EXCEEDS THAT NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE OVERALL GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION OR THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE.” The National Academy of Medicine’s seminal 2010 work, The Healthcare Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes, identified unnecessary administrative costs as one of six key areas that need to be addressed to bring greater value and lower costs to healthcare consumers. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS HAVE BEEN ESTIMATED TO REPRESENT 25-31% OF TOTAL HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURES IN THE UNITED STATES, a proportion twice that found in Canada and significantly greater than in all other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations for which such costs have been studied. Moreover, the rate of growth in administrative costs in the U.S. has outpaced that of overall healthcare expenditures and is projected to continue to increase without reforms to reduce administrative complexity. It is thus important to differentiate administrative waste from necessary administrative spending. As noted by the previously cited article, “A key segment of wasteful administrative spending is found in the significant amount of paperwork needed in our multi-payer healthcare financing system. Having myriad payers, each with different