North Carolina Health Link Weekly – April 20, 2015
The health care industry is one that begs discussion — it’s personal, it’s social, and it impacts us all. Every week we come across hundreds of articles, tweets, updates, and briefs. We thought you’d like to read some of what we’re seeing right now, and start a conversation. Tune in Fridays for your weekly dose of all things North Carolina health care news related.
Got a link to share? Tweet us at @bcbsnc with #NCHealthLinkWeekly, and we could feature your story in an upcoming edition.
Innovation and Trends
Is That Corporate Wellness Program Doing Your Heart Any Good? (NPR, 04/14/15)
- Odds are your employer has a wellness program that prods you to exercise and eat healthy. But that program may not be doing all that much for your health, according to the American Heart Association, and attempts to measure the benefits of wellness programs often fail.
RTP Company Gets $224K to Develop Obesity Research Tools (Triangle Business Journal, 04/14/15)
- A Research Triangle Park company that provides tools to researchers fighting the obesity epidemic received $224,000 from the federal government.
Health Care Technology
Google Glass In The ER? Health Care Moves One Step Closer To Star Trek (Kaiser Health News, 04/20/15)
- Imagine walking into an emergency room with an awful rash and waiting hours to see a doctor until, finally, a physician who doesn’t have specific knowledge of your condition gives you an ointment and a referral to a dermatologist.
How Wearables and Mobile HealthTech are Reshaping Clinical Trials (Venture Beat, 4/17/2015)
- If life science companies can get enough insight early in development, they can create a more efficient drug development process and prioritize resources for the most promising therapies.
Health and Fitness
Duke Study: Divorced Women Have Higher Rate of Heart Attack (Triangle Business Journal, 04/17/15)
- A Duke University study shows that divorced women suffer heart attack at a rate higher than those who stay married, and that’s something employers should pay attention to.
FDA Ponders Putting Homeopathy Through Medicine’s Rigorous Testing (NPR, 04/20/15)
- It’s another busy morning at Dr. Anthony Aurigemma’s homeopathy practice in Bethesda, Md.
Use Of E-Cigarettes Triples Among U.S. Teens (NPR, 04/16/15)
- A national survey confirms earlier indications that e-cigarettes are now more popular among teenage students than traditional cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, federal health officials reported Thursday.
Industry News
Progress in NC Toward Autism Coverage (News & Observer, 04/16/15)
- Autism is a cruel mystery, a “neurodevelopmental” disorder that in children affects the ability to communicate and organize thoughts. Doctors, advocates and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina worked on a compromise that would help with coverage after a years-long standoff.
5-star Hospital Ratings Elusive in North Carolina (Triangle Business Journal, 04/16/15)
- Most Triangle hospitals received a 4-star rating by Medicare, meaning this area slightly outperformed other hospitals across the state.
Big Bills A Hidden Side Effect Of Cancer Treatment (Kaiser Health News, 04/16/15)
- Anne Koller was diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer in 2011 and has been fighting it since.
Video
Jamie Oliver on why we need to teach every child about food.
