All Your Vitals At Home With One Device

Sathya Elumalai, Founder and CEO of Aidar Health, wants to make using his simple device part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth, as a preventative measure in health, even if you don’t live with a chronic health condition.

For those that do, it can be a lifesaver. Even if you’re healthy it can be a lifesaver by detecting something early. We’ve all known otherwise healthy people who have a heart attack, stroke or even get diagnosed with cancer at a late stage.

Early detection still remains one of the best ways to prevent a fatal diagnosis.

The device called MouthLab is the first 30-second non-invasive, tricorder-style handheld device to record all your vitals.

You can use it within the comfort of your own home without the need of other devices.

“Although half of the US population have chronic conditions, the problem is, everyone is subject to multiple chronic conditions. Providing only what is essential for your one condition, is not going to really help you. Every year, patients develop other conditions.”

-Sathya Elumalai

Sathya learned this first-hand from his own experience with his Mom.

“My mom suffers from multiple chronic conditions. It started off with diabetes, and then moved on to heart condition, and then, all other complications associated with it. So, what MouthLab can do is help you predict complications early.” -SATHYA

MouthLab measure all these different parameters each day, so if you find something wrong, it can be detected early.

“Let’s say you’re diabetic, but if you see some problems within your heart condition, like blood pressure or or heart rate, that can be captured at a very early stage.” -SATHYA

It not only helps patients, but helps providers take care of patients at an early stage.

Specifically, the MouthLab device measures:

Your Temperature

Your Blood Pressure

Your ECG

Your Blood Oxygen Saturation

Your Pulse Rate

Your Breathing Rate and Pattern

Your Lung Function lung function (technically called FEV1. FEV1 or FVC)

And soon…Your Dehydration Level and Glucose

    Sathya Elumalai, MS, MBA, Founder and CEO of Adair Health, is a medical device executive with over 15 years of experience working with payers, providers, pharmaceutical companies, and patients. At Multisensor Diagnostics (MDx), Elumalai has developed a revolutionary tricorder-style rapid medical assessment device and artificial intelligence-enabled triaging system for efficient home management of chronic disease.

In addition to his efforts at MDx, Elumalai also serves as an advisory board member at Rutgers University, as a PCORI Ambassador, and PCORI merit reviewer. Elumalai holds a dual master’s degree in public health and healthcare management from Johns Hopkins University.

He is also a certified professional in healthcare quality and safety with over 10 years of diverse leadership experience at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute. Elumalai is a proven leader recognized for building scalable processes, integrating analytics into decision making, improving customer satisfaction, and driving large-scale digital transformations in health care.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://www.aidar.com

 

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Stay Healthy: Avoid Cancer Causing Glyphosate

• 

Bayer to Invest Billions in “Safe” Weedkillers.

 

Messinas is the global maker of Pulverize, the only safe, tested and trusted weedkiller.
Contact: james@messinas.com

One Day After We Post about Pulverize, a safe alternative to Roundup. 

We spoke to James Messina following Bayer’s announcement today and he had this to say:

“Speaking for a company who’s already selling an effective weed killer line that uses ingredients found in nature and others that are approved for organic gardening, with availability in more than 8,000 retailers in all 50 states, we are flattered to see that big companies are taking notice of the blueprint we’re laying out.”

“While Bayer takes years to reinvent the wheel, we want consumers to know that PULVERIZE Weed Killers are available today to provide an alternative to the active ingredient glyphosate found in products like Roundup and others.  While we may not have their advertising budget, there is a family standing behind these products ready to meet the groundswell of change the public is demanding for effective alternatives, and we’re excited at the brand we’re delivering.” – CEO of Messinas, James Messina

FOLLOWUP INTERVIEW with James Messina, CEO, Messinas:

When did you learn about Bayer’s announcement to invest $5.6B in an alternative, safe weed killer?  

JAMES MESSINA: Laying in bed this morning.  I was scrolling through the news and sent my team a text of the article screenshot at 5:58 am.

What was your initial reaction to the news? 

JAMES MESSINA: I laughed and thought, “I can just see the headline now…’NEW FROM THE MAKERS OF GLYPHOSATE!’  It’s a poorly vailed attempt at righting the ship.

 

What else do you think about it?

JAMES MESSINA: Personally I don’t think change ever comes from those in power; not governments, not companies…there’s no incentive for those who are in power to change the status quo.  They have everything to loose. 

I think this is a PR move meant to address the continued assault on their company, their products and their stock price.  I think they’ve blown this so bad that the only thing left is for them to get out of it and get back to their core business with a fund set up for the lawsuits…other than that, I just don’t see a way for them to regain the public’s trust. 

 

Why would they start from scratch rather than acquire a trusted brand like yours already in existence, even if you wouldn’t sell? Announcement says development would take years. Makes no sense. 

JAMES MESSINA: It makes perfect sense if you know anything about ego.  I’ve dealt with this before.  Big companies feel like this: with all of our resources and all of our expertise and all of our MONEY, how can we not find this solution internally?! 

Why on earth should we pay 100x when we can do it for 10x?  BOr worse, they think let’s steal this idea and make them sue us.  They’ll run out of money fighting us before they could ever beat us.  

Again, I’ve seen this, I’ve lived this, and I’ve fought against these types.  Corporate folks who spend their whole lives in big companies have no appreciation for the work small companies do.  They don’t understand our motivation. 

If you’re making a great living in a machine, you don’t believe small company people who work overtime without overtime pay.  You don’t think a guy in his garage can be better than a million dollar lab.  It’s like they speak a completely different language.

Is Bayer aware of your product? Have you made them aware of it? 

JAMES MESSINA: Oh yeah…check this out.  In May of 2018, we got an order through our website from someone at MONSANTO!  They used their work email and had the PULVERIZE product sent to their corporate offices.  Seeing this, I sent them a letter with it:

MONSANTO
Attn: Dan Wright / Paul Ratliff
800 N Lindberg Blvd, Q220
Saint Louis, MO 63167

RE: ORDER NUMBER 10126 FOR PULVERIZE WEED & GRASS KILLER

Dan/Paul,

I wasn’t sure who to address this to, as both of your names were on the order that was forwarded to me, but I wanted to personally thank you both for your interest in Messinas Pulverize® Weed & Grass Killer.

Should either of you or others at Monsanto wish to connect and discuss these products or other Messinas items, please let me know.I would be happy to make myself available.

All my best,

James Messina
President

Dan Wright is a Senior Science Fellow at Bayer

Paul Ratliff is Product Development Manager at Monsanto

 

What is the date of that letter?

JAMES MESSINA:  Recent. May 10, 2018

So, Monsanto is aware of you. Did they place an order with you?

JAMES MESSINA: Yes! They ordered two bottles of Pulverize on May 9th, 2018 at exactly 11:05 a.m. and we sent them the products.

Wow. What do you think their motives were? Stealing your secret sauce *laughter*?

JAMES MESSINA: I think they became aware of the product and wanted to evaluate how well it worked. I think they also wanted to send a message to use that we are on their radar. That’s why I sent a note back –to let them know I’m aware and am not going away.

Let me ask you, based on everything we now know about Roundup –do you think there is anything Bayer can do to get back in the public’s good graces? Clearly, the public isn’t buying their announcement today as being a genuine concern for their health and safety.

JAMES MESSINA: I believe that trust is something that is very hard to rebuild for big companies, especially when their motivation comes into question.  Had Bayer acted before the first lawsuit in the US, when countries in Asia and Europe started to question the product’s safety, it would have felt different. 

Had Bayer moved to re-evaluate the claims of Roundup, or release a statement about their interest in finding organic alternatives, before a jury awarded a couple in California damages in excess of $2,000,000,000, it would have felt different.  But they didn’t. 

They came out after more than $2.25 billion dollars in damages were awarded in three trials, after more than 13,000 other law suits are still yet to be decided and after multiple countries restricted and/or banned the sale of their product. 

It would appear that their motivation may not be as altruistic as people would wish it to be; appearing to be motivated by a stock price that has wiped 45% of their value off the books.

What’s most interesting is that this issue was not Bayer’s problem, originally; it wasn’t until they purchased Monsanto, the maker of glyphosate and Roundup’s trademarks.  They brought this fox into their henhouse, and it’s been a problem since the very beginning.

Thank you for your time.

You can view Health Correspondent, Maria Dorfner‘s full interview with Messina on BOLDTV

https://www.facebook.com/BoldTV/

Photo Courtesy: ASCHA STEINBACH/SHUTTERSTOCK / Farmer sprays crops in Germany.

Wall Street Journal

By Ruth Bender and

Jacob Bunge

Updated June 14, 2019 3:02 p.m. ET

Bayer AG BAYRY -1.53% plans to invest €5 billion ($5.64 billion) on developing new ways to combat weeds over the next decade, as the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant seeks to win back trust in its business in the wake of thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer.

A big legal fight over the blockbuster weedkiller—inherited with its takeover of Monsanto Co. last year—has plunged Bayer into one of the worst crises in its 155-year history. The company has lost the first three jury trials to plaintiffs claiming Roundup gave them non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with the highest award topping $2 billion. In response, its shares have almost halved over the past year.

FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE visit The Wall Street Journal at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bayer-to-invest-billions-in-weedkillers-in-wake-of-roundup-controversy-11560514273

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

BREAKING NEWS today. Bayer announced it will spend $5.6 Billion to create a safe, organic weed killer. It will take years to reach market.

“My two cents: My question to Bayer is why the need to develop your own when one (Pulverize by Messinas) already exists? Do you really care about people’s health or is this about caring about your own image and profits?

I have to say this reminds me of Coca-Cola getting into the water business ONLY after sales for a healthy alternative to toxic soda exceeded sales of soda. The public then learned their water was tap water.

When brands can’t be trusted to put people before profits –people really need to be careful, especially when it comes to health. You can’t replace or buy that back once damaged.”

-Maria Dorfner, CEO, NewsMD

Here’s all you need to know about glyphosate, the main chemical ingredient in Roundup, that is now infiltrating our food. LiveLoveFruit did extensive research to uncover where it’s hiding.

Once you read this check your pantry at home and make healthier choices now that you know. If you want to keep yourself, your family and children healthy know the facts.

Let’s face it TV segments are 2 to 5 minutes tops, so you’re not getting all you need to know in one place. Roundup was first registered in the United States in 1974. We’ve all been exposed to it.

New York City parks and playgrounds use it. When we’re out nature thinking we’re doing something healthy –we’re unknowingly being exposed to toxins. Now that all government official know and all consumers know and The World Health Organization has deemed Roundup toxic –sales of it need to STOP.

SHAME on BAYER for making it a part of their portfolio. We will not stop until it is banned everywhere.

We are grateful to those lawmakers taking a stand. NYC Councilman Ben Kallos has introduced a bill to ban it in all New York City parks and playgrounds. We appreciate his efforts on behalf of public safety and health. It’s not just this generation that is harmed. Glyphosate has been proven to harm DNA that affects future generations. It’s poison.

We are also grateful for Mother’s Across America, who are taking an active stand against it. They continue to grow and will continue their mission of eradicating Roundup from store shelves –educating all consumers about it.

Updated June 13, 2019 to reflect latest EWG test results in late May.

Concern over glyphosate in food is on the rise after Monsanto was found guilty in covering up their cancer-causing product, Roundup. Monsanto has been under scrutiny ever since they were ordered to pay $289 million in damages to plaintiff, Dewayne Johnson.

Just after the first successful trial in taking down Monsanto, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a haunting reporton the levels of glyphosate in food. According to the independent laboratory tests commissioned by the EWG, popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola and snack bars come with a heavy dose of the cancer-causing weedkiller, Roundup.

Why Should We Care About Glyphosate in Food?

Glyphosate is the main ingredient found in the popular weed-killer Roundup. Back in 2015, a famous study published by the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC) came to the conclusion that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans (1).”

The link between glyphosate and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is particularly strong. One study, published in 2008 by Swedish researchers, found that exposure to glyphosate tripled the risk of a subtype of non-Hodgkin called small lymphocytic lymphoma (2).

Another study published in 2003 showed a suggestive link between glyphosate-based herbicide use and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The more pesticides a subject used, the more non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidences increased. Subjects who used five or more of the nine pesticides were “twice as likely to be NHL cases than controls (3).”

Aside from cancer, glyphosate has been associated with a host of health issues, like kidney disease (3), reproductive problems (4), liver damage (5) and birth defects (6).

Glyphosate also interferes with the ability of a plant to uptake nutrients from the soil. Glyphosate, which is a patented chelating agent, binds with nutrients in the soil, and prevents plants from absorbing them. It also acts as an antibiotic (7), which can kill bacteria both in the soil, and our own guts (both of which are incredibly important for plant and human health).

Regardless of the evidence, Monsanto still states that “Glyphosate has a 40-year history of safe and effective use. In evaluations spanning those four decades, the overwhelming conclusion of experts worldwide, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has been that glyphosate can be used safely.” Despite the lawsuit, it seems Monsanto is still in denial.

Products and Brands Filled with Glyphosate

Aside from the EWG report on glyphosate in food, other companies have also done independent testing for glyphosate residues in everyday food products. In 2016, Food Democracy Now! and The Detox Project commissioned tests that found high levels of glyphosate in many American foods – even products that are certified organic or non-GMO.

Below is a complete list of foods that contain glyphosate residues. I’ve combined data from both the report EWG released, as well as the reports released from Food Democracy Now! and the group’s “Detox Project.”

EWG Report (source):

• Granola
– Back to Nature Classic Granola
– Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds
– Back to Nature Banana Walnut Granola Clusters
– Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats ‘n Honey
– KIND Vanilla, Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds

• Instant Oats
– Giant Instant Oatmeal, Original Flavor
– Quaker Dinosaur Eggs, Brown Sugar, Instant Oatmeal
– Umpqua Oats, Maple Pecan
– Market Pantry Instant Oatmeal, Strawberries & Cream

• Oat Breakfast Cereal
– Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
– Lucky Charms
– Barbara’s Multigrain Spoonfuls, Original, Cereal
– Kellogg’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran oat cereal

• Snack Bars
– KIND Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut
– Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats ‘n Honey
– Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip granola bar
– Kellogg’s Nutrigrain Soft Baked Breakfast Bars, Strawberry

• Whole Oats
– Quaker Steel Cut Oats
– Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
– Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
– Nature’s Path Organic Old Fashioned Organic Oats
– Whole Foods Bulk Bin conventional rolled oats
– Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (4 samples tested)

EWG Second Report (source):

– Quaker Simply Granola Oats
– Quaker Instant Oatmeal Cinnamon & Spice
– Quaker Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon
– Quaker Real Medleys Super Grains Banana Walnut
– Quaker Overnight Oats Raisin Walnut & Honey Heaven
– Quaker Overnight Oats Unsweetened with Chia Seeds
– Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar
– Quaker Oatmeal Squares Honey Nut
– Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
– Very Berry Cheerios
– Chocolate Cheerios
– Frosted Cheerios
– Fruity Cheerios
– Honey Nut Cheerios
– Cheerios Oat Crunch Cinnamon
– Quaker Chewy S’mores
– Quaker Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
– Quaker Breakfast Squares Soft Baked Bars Peanut Butter
– Quaker Breakfast Flats Crispy Snack Bars Cranberry Almond

EWG Third Report (source):

– Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch
– Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
– Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Maple Brown Sugar
– Nature Valley Granola Cups, Almond Butter
– Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios
– Nature Valley Baked Oat Bites
– Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats and Honey
– Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Peanut Butter
– Nature Valley Granola Cups, Peanut Butter Chocolate
– Cheerios Oat Crunch Cinnamon
– Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry
– Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats n Dark Chocolate
– Multi Grain Cheerios
– Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares, Blueberry
– Fiber One Oatmeal Raisin Soft-Baked Cookies
– Nature Valley Granola Peanut Butter Creamy & Crunchy
– Nature Valley Biscuits with Almond Butter
– Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut granola bars, Cashew
– Honey Nut Cheerios
– Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares, Cinnamon Brown Sugar
– Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate & Nut

Moms Across America (source):

– Tropicana Orange Juice
– Minute Maid Orange Juice
– Stater Bros Orange Juice
– Signature Farms Orange Juice
– Kirkland Orange Juice

Food Democracy Now! and The Detox Project (source):

– Original Cheerios
– Honey Nut Cheerios
– Wheaties
– Trix
– Annie’s Gluten Free Bunny Cookies Cocoa & Vanilla
– Kellog’s Corn Flakes
– Kellog’s Raisin Bran
– Kashi Organic Promise
– Kellog’s Special K
– Kellog’s Frosted Flakes
– Cheez-It Original
– Cheez-It Whole Grain
– Kashi Soft Bake Cookies, Oatmeal, Dark Chocolate
– Ritz Crackers
– Triscuit Crackers
– Oreo Original
– Oreo Double Stuf Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
– Oreo Double Stuf Golden Sandwich Cookies
– Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips (Frito-Lay)
– Lay’s: Kettle Cooked Original
– Doritos: Cool Ranch
– Fritos (Original) (100% Whole Grain)
– Goldfish crackers original (Pepperidge Farm)
– Goldfish crackers colors
– Goldfish crackers Whole Grain
– Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies
– Oatmeal Cookies Gluten Free
– 365 Organic Golden Round Crackers
– Back to Nature Crispy Cheddar Crackers

Mom’s Across America Wine Samples (Source):

– Gallo
– Beringer
– Mondavi
– Barefoot
– Sutter Home

U.S. PIRG Wine & Beer Samples (Source):

Wine
– Sutter Home Merlot
– Beringer Founders Estates Moscato
– Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon
– Inkarri Malbec: Certified Organic
– Frey Organic Natural White

Beer
– Tsingtao Beer
– Coors Light
– Miller Lite
– Budweiser
– Corona Extra
– Heineken
– Guinness Draught
– Stella Artois
– Ace Perry Hard Cider
– Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
– New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
– Sam Adams New England IPA
– Stella Artois Cidre
– Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager

Other Brands/Products and Miscellaneous:

– Ben & Jerry’s Ice Creams (source)
– Tampons (source)
– Non-organic cotton clothing products (source)
– Rainwater (source)
– Groundwater supplies (source)

How To Steer Clear of Glyphosate in Foods

Glyphosate contamination cannot be removed by washing (it is absorbed into the plant while it’s growing). It also is not broken down by cooking or baking.

In order to avoid glyphosate in food, follow the pointers below:

1. Always Look for Non-GMO Project Verified

If you’re purchasing a processed food item (that is, something boxed, bagged or canned), you can make sure it doesn’t contain GMO ingredients by looking for the Non-GMO Project Verified symbol (see below).

However, just because something is Non-GMO verified doesn’t mean that it isn’t necessarily clean of glyphosate. Glyphosate is a herbicide, and is sprayed on everything from wheats and oats to oranges and grapes.

The best way to ensure your products are GMO and glyphosate-free is to look for organic products with this Non-GMO verified label. That way, you know you’re eating a good product.

2. Certified Organic is Better Than Non-Organic

By purchasing certified organic foods, you’ll be rest assured that your food doesn’t contain any glyphosate-containing chemicals.

Unfortunately, glyphosate use is so rampant, that some organic foods may contain small amounts of glyphosate residues.

Damaging herbicide drift can travel far, especially when it is applied in mornings when the spray gets hung up and moves with the air mass across fields (due to air temperature differences) (8).

Glyphosate also leaks into the watershed, which means it travels far, and can contaminate surrounding organic fields.

This is probably why Bob’s Red Mill Organic Oats were found with small levels of glyphosate residues. Their response to this?

“Because we at Bob’s Red Mill are dedicated to bringing all of our customers natural, healthy products, whether organic or conventional, we have inquired directly with farmers and with our suppliers to determine if glyphosate desiccation is used by the farmers supplying our products.

The majority of our conventional wheat is grown close to home in the Pacific Northwest where growing seasons are typically longer and the practice of desiccation is as such rarely used.

We’ve been told desiccation is not a practice used by our individual farmers. The growing, harvest and communal storage practices sometimes used by the wheat industry in general make it nearly impossible, however, for our multi-source suppliers to guarantee the practice of glyphosate desiccation is not used with all of the conventional wheat the suppliers sell to us.

We are able to assure our customers, however, that glyphosate desiccation is not a practice used for our organic products as the use of glyphosate is not permitted at any time in the cultivation of our organically grown ingredients. Our Customers who desire to be certain that glyphosate has not been used may wish to choose instead from our extensive line of certified organic products.” (source)

They then go on to state: “We are able to assure our customers, however, that glyphosate desiccation is not a practice used for our organic products, as the use of glyphosate is not permitted at any time in the cultivation of our organically grown ingredients. Our customers who desire to be certain that glyphosate has not been used may wish to choose instead from our extensive line of certified organic products.”

However, their organic products do contain glyphosate, as pointed out in the studies above. As a result, Bob’s Red Mill is facing a federal class action lawsuit.

The good news is that organic foods contain much lower levels of glyphosate compared to their conventional counterparts. This one example doesn’t mean that organic products are bad. Bob’s Red Mill didn’t take their standards seriously when it came to organic products, so all we can do is hope that other companies do.

3. Grow Your Own & Farmer’s Markets 

Another great way to ensure your food is grown glyphosate-free is by growing your own food (or sourcing it from farmers you trust at farmers’ markets). By growing your own food, you’ll feel more self-reliable, which is a super great feeling. You’ll also become more connected to the food you eat, as you’ll appreciate the time it took to grow that squash or tomato!

4. Look for Glyphosate Residue Free Labels

The Detox Project, a research and certification platform that uses an FDA-registered food-testing lab to test for toxic chemicals launched their own “Glyphosate Residue Free” label. This label offers more transparency and assures the purchaser that they’re not getting any glyphosate in the food they’re buying.

While these labels aren’t mainstream, the Detox Project is working with food manufacturers and grocery chains to get this label on more products.

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Carly Fraser

About Author

Carly Fraser has her BSc (Hons.) Degree in Neuroscience, and is the owner and founder at Live Love Fruit. She currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with a determined life mission to help inspire and motivate individuals to critically think about what they put in their bodies and to find balance through nutrition and lifestyle. She has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals to re-connect with their bodies and learn self-love through proper eating habits and natural living. She loves to do yoga, dance, and immerse herself in nature.

RELATED ARTICLES: https://reason.com/2019/06/14/bayer-to-waste-5-6-billion-trying-to-appease-anti-pesticide-activists/

How much money does Monsanto make from Roundup?

In 2015, the company made nearly $4.76 billion in sales and $1.9 billion in gross profits from herbicide products, mostly Roundup.

 

If that’s not enough, here are MORE foods owned by Monsanto:

https://feast.media/food-brands-owned-by-monsanto

Be sure to read:

“A Complete Guide to Roundup Exposure. Are You At Risk?”

https://www.yourgreenpal.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-roundup-exposure-are-you-at-risk

HEALTH STORY? NEWS TIPS?

Contact: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com

NewsMD is a Division of Healthy Within Network

Sharing the Best in Consumer Health for Over Three Decades

“When We Tell Stories…People Listen.”

Messinas is the global maker of Pulverize, the only safe, tested and trusted weedkiller.
Contact: james@messinas.com

CBS THIS MORNING interviewed Dr. Agus, an oncologist for his expert opinion on glyphosate. Let’s just say it’s not a chemical he wants in his own body.

Dr. David Agus, a cancer specialist, joined “CBS This Morning” Thursday to sort out the claims. He says, “We just don’t know” exactly how glyphosate will impact the human body in the long run.

“The problem is when you eat something, say, glyphosate, there’s a 10, 20-year lag before disease and the intervention.”

Agus explains glyphosate emerged in the 1960s as a pipe cleaner, and then started being used as a weed killer. But in the 1990s, “usage went through the roof.”

When asked if he’d willingly put the chemical in his own body, Agus says he “certainly wouldn’t.”

Watch the complete interview with CBS THIS MORNING here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-glyphosate-the-cancer-linked-chemical-found-in-cheerios/

 

About NewsMD: What’s Hot in Health

Maria Dorfner has been covering Medical/Health since 1993 after 10 years of working behind-the-scenes at major networks. She created, produced and co-hosted 7 half-hour health programs airing on CNBC, which she helped launch in 1989. Original programs include Healthcare Consumers co-hosted with Jay Michaels, Healthy Living, Lifestyles and Longevity and more.

She produced medical segments for NBC and NBC Miami, helped launch MedPage Today (sold to CNN), is the co-founder of The Cleveland Clinic News Service (CCNS) and the founder of NewsMD, a full-service production company specializing in health. She produced 21st Century Medicine for DISCOVERY and has been a trusted go-to source in health news for networks. She has also helped raised millions for non-profits and hospitals in need through volunteer work and working on capital campaigns.

She has travelled extensively interviewing a Who’s Who in Health and has produced successfully syndicated major talk shows. She was awarded a Medical Reporting Scholarship from the American Medical Association, won a Media Recognition Award from the American Heart Association, a Freddie Award for Excellence in Medical Reporting and more. She is in Who’s Who in American Women.

She is currently producing Late Night Health radio with host, Mark Alyn and an Executive Producer with NewsMD and AJA Creative Media, working alongside 4X Emmy-award-winning producer, Alex J. Aguiar. Please follow BOLDTV, founded by Carrie Sheffield, a co-production with Al Roker Productions, where Maria will be contribute health stories.

She is the author of 3 books. Healthy Within, PRESSure: Break Into Broadcasting and a family recipe cookbook called, Health Heart and Humor in an Italian-American Kitchen. Books are available on Amazon.

Maria began her career as an intern at NBC on the TODAY SHOW in 1983, while an undergraduate at Pace University, where she majored in English and Political Science. She served as Director of Communications for Ailes Communications, a political consulting firm and producer of programming. NBC awarded her a graduate scholarship to Columbia University. She was Miss Pace University and a Sigma Tau Delta National Honors student in English and a member of the Intercollegiate Model City Council in New York City.

Her lifelong mission in life is to educate and empower people to lead healthier lives.

This is her blog.

You can reach her at: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com

 

New Healthy Vending Machine Partners with College

Thrilled to learn about FRESH FRIG health vending kiosks becoming popular by demand. I’ve always been disappointed when I go to a vending machine and there are no healthy choices or the ones deemed healthy are simply better than the alternative.

People usually go to a vending machine when they can’t get to a store or a dining area at a school or workplace is closed. No one should feel held hostage to unhealthy choices.

It’s even worse when that vending machine is located within a hospital, school, workplace or gym –all places you expect to care about your health and wellness. There are some vending machines that toss in a few items you know are loaded with sugar or carbs as there are a lot of fake “healthy” foods out there. So, it’s refreshing when a real healthy choice is available.

I interviewed Brad Callow, the CEO of 6AM HEALTH, who says his mission has always been to help people live healthier. He says he’s interested in psychology and behavioral economics. He knows from observation that people will make healthier choices or poorer choices depending on their environment.

So, he first started a delivery company called 5AM Juice to deliver a healthier choice.

He laughs as he recalls friends telling him the number 5 in the name looked like the letter “S” and people kept asking why he started a company called Sam Juice.

Then, he thought it’d be better to bring healthier foods to highly trafficked areas, like colleges, hospitals, airports, malls and large office parks.

So far, so good. He placed them at Tuck University and there is one in South Station in Boston.

Callow says,

“You can reserve items in advance. If you know you’ll be arriving at Penn Station in New York City and there is a FRESH FRIG there, you can pre-select what you’d like from your phone. Scan upon arrival.”

The FRESH FRIG is provided to locations free of cost as long as there are guaranteed sales from being in a highly trafficked area.

Fresh food selections include veggie salads and high protein items. They also include beverage choices of green juice, carrot apple juice, cleanse juice and coffee as well.

Individual item costs in the kiosk are from $6. – $9. which may seem high, but most nearby establishments charge $10. and above when open.

New “Healthy Vending Machine” Company 6AM Health Partners with Tuck Student Team

A team of Tuck students is working with 6AM Health, a specialty food business founded by Brad Callow T’13, to help bring the company to scale.

The first 6AM Health fresh fridge was installed in March in Tuck’s PepsiCo Dining Room.

MEDIA | INVESTOR INQUERIES: Contact Brad@6amhealth.com

_________________________________________________________________________

RELATED

BY KIRK KARDASHIAN

Brad Callow T’13 is quick to find the common thread in his post-MBA career: health care.

In his first few jobs, this is clear. He began working in the therapeutics space, and then switched to diagnostics and health care technology. But in 2017, he went in a different direction. That’s when he founded 6AM Health, a specialty food business that focused on green juices. He soon expanded to fresh salads and meals, delivering them directly to his customers in the Boston Metro area before 6 a.m. For Callow, food is the first medicine—both preventative and healing.

“I realized that problems like obesity have a lot of co-morbidities,” he says, “so if we use food to minimize obesity, we can prevent a lot of other diseases at the same time.”

Instead of selling food to individual customers through a subscription delivery service, 6AM Health will begin installing “fresh fridges”—think healthy vending machines—at locations across the Northeast.

Now Callow is partnering with Tuck students on a First-Year Project (FYP) to take his company to scale. As he learned more and more about the food industry, he discovered that success is mostly about logistics. You can have the freshest, best-tasting food, but without an efficient way to deliver it to customers, it’s not worth much.

So instead of selling food to individual customers through a subscription delivery service, 6AM Health will begin installing “fresh fridges”—think healthy vending machines—at locations across the Northeast.

The first one was installed in March at Tuck, in the PepsiCo Dining Room. He’s counting on the First-Year Project students to bring an entrepreneurial focus to the Fresh Fridge, testing pricing and product combinations and solving logistical problems.

“Having the FYP team will be incredibly helpful,” Callow says. “What we need to do is continue learning and sorting out what people like and don’t like. And I would love this to eventually be something like TuckStuff or theBOX, where it’s student-run and it becomes a permanent operation there.”

Callow is counting on the First-Year Project students to bring an entrepreneurial focus to the Fresh Fridge, testing pricing and product combinations and solving logistical problems.

Elizabeth Kachavos T’20 knows theBOX well: she’s worked there since arriving at Tuck last summer. The FYP with 6AM Health was a natural choice for her, since she’s interested in the food industry and looking for more opportunities for real-world learning in that sector. “We’ve seen there’s a great demand for healthier fresh food on campus—especially on the weekends when the dining hall is closed,” she says. “I’d love to play a role in increasing those options at Tuck.”

Another member of the FYP team is Elisa Scudder D’14, T’20. She gravitated toward 6AM Health because she’s interested in product entry strategy and market entry.

“This fits that niche perfectly,” she says. “It’s not too early-stage: the business model is set up but it’s just expanding into this new market.”

Scudder is also excited about working on a project that can have a real impact on campus. “We’re going to physically see what we’re working on and hear our classmates talk about how they like it or don’t like it,” Scudder says.

HAVING THE FYP TEAM WILL BE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS CONTINUE LEARNING AND SORTING OUT WHAT PEOPLE LIKE AND DON’T LIKE. AND I WOULD LOVE THIS TO EVENTUALLY BE SOMETHING LIKE TUCKSTUFF OR THEBOX, WHERE IT’S STUDENT-RUN AND IT BECOMES A PERMANENT OPERATION THERE.

At first, the Fresh Fridge will be stocked with food prepared at 6AM Health’s kitchen outside Boston, and will be re-stocked every week. During the course of the FYP, Callow hopes the team can find a more local farm to partner with, and the most efficient and cost-effective way to prepare and package the items. It might involve working with the Byrne servery, or the team from theBOX.

“This FYP is really about e-ship,” Callow says. “What’s the best, most sustainable way to keep this going? I’m also just fired up to work with Tuckies.”

This story will appear in the summer 2019 issue of Tuck Today magazine.

______________________________________________________________________

RELATED

Check Out This Healthy Food Vending Machine Coming to South Station

Waltham-based meal prep company 6AM Health is making moves with what they’re calling a Fresh Fridge.
by TESSA YANNONE

While vending machines have traditionally had a bad reputation for stocking unhealthy snacks, sodas, and candies the wellness world is busy revamping them. Last week, this one was installed at Brandeis University with healthcare products like condoms and Plan B. And at the beginning of May, meal prep company 6AM Health is installing one at South Station with a ton of healthy food.

The Waltham-based meal delivery service has been delivering healthy fare to the Boston area since 2017. Their process works much like any other meal prep service. You choose from a menu of pre-made meals and snacks like fresh salads, overnight oats, grain bowls, and juices. Then, they’ll have them delivered to your door-step before you even rise in the morning. Hence the name, 6AM Health.

Owner and founder, Brad Callow tells me the initial idea for the company was that if they can change people’s environment, by providing easy access to affordable and healthy food, they can help them make better nutrition choices. But they quickly realized just how much running around the city they were doing. And they saw a need for something just a little more convenient. Enter: the healthy food vending machine.

On May 6, whether you’re traveling out of town or commuting through South Station, you’ll be able to easily purchase meals or snacks from 6AM Health in a vending machine.

They’re calling it a Fresh Fridge and each item is packaged in mason jars, making it easy to eat on the go. And they’re not just stopping with one fridge. Callow says they hope to have 30 all around the Boston area by the end of June. Right now, there is currently one at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. And later this week a few more will be installed at places like the North Shore Mall.

Inside the vending machine you’ll find everything you see on their online menu. Callow explains that since things like salads have a shorter shelf life, there is some more maintenance involved in re-stocking and keeping the food fresh. They do plan to re-stock it every day.

“Grab-and-go food doesn’t need to be fast food or something that’s crappy for you,” he says. “Food is super impulsive. If we place these Fresh Fridges in convenient locations we can change the way people eat on the go.”

Eventually, the whole operation will be even more convenient with a mobile app, currently in the works. Through the app, customers will not only be able to find the nearest Fresh Fridge to them but they will also be able to search and reserve certain menu items at a specific location. So, if you’re really craving a buffalo chicken bowl you can be sure that when you get to the fridge there’s one waiting for you.

And the best part? Bowls and salads will cost you around $7-$8 and a 10 ounce juice will only put you back $5. Compare that to a $10+ Sweet Green salad and a $6.50 small juice from Jugos. You can also request to have a Fresh Fridge at your office, park, or building if you want.

This new concept checks all the boxes on convenience, accessibility, and affordability. And we’re totally here for it—just as long as the juices remain cold and the salads stay crunchy.

MEDIA | INVESTOR INQUERIES: Contact Brad@6amhealth.com

Or Visit: http://www.6amhealth.com

We love it.

Face2Face Health: Concierge Care for Children

Children running

Face2Face Health is a web & mobile-based holistic pediatric telehealth platform with a mission to help parents and caregivers accurately learn about, identify, and manage their children’s health and well-being challenges –all in one simple place.

Dr. Ami Shah, MD, FACP, FAARM, founder of Face2Face Health is not only a physician for over two decades, but she’s also a Mom, who was frustrated when her own children were diagnosed with physical delays and she couldn’t easily find access to care or evidence-based information.

Shah says, “I was shocked as both a doctor and parent. The top three health websites had such outdated information. I couldn’t believe it. So much traffic means millions of parents are misinformed. I couldn’t even find another parent going through the same thing.  I wanted everything in one place. That’s when I took a step back to create a solution.”

She realized parents, caregivers, and educators face the following fragmented approach to health and wellness:

CARE: Services are disconnected and not coordinated. Just 30% of 90M U.S. children are screened for challenges or receive timely and comprehensive care. Average wait time for a physician specialist can be 19 days & rural areas are underserved. One third must travel 40+ miles for care.

LEARN: According to the U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services, almost 90% of the population is health illiterate. Health and well-being information on several top websites is inaccurate, hard to find, incomplete and not reviewed by experts.

SHARE: Parents and caregivers feel isolated. Communities are needed that provide advocacy and support.

She’s not alone. 1 in 4 U.S. children have developmental, emotional, physical or learning issues and only 30% of all children are screened or have access to care, information and support.

AND the top 20 challenges in pediatrics cost our healthcare system $200B annually.

So she created Face2Face Health as a solution to offer people a complete digital wellness platform that allows access to multidisciplinary care via phone, video or concierge interactions; 200+ validated, evidence-based screening tools; 125+ peer-reviewed e-learning courses, and online support communities.

The Face2Face Health platform includes centralized Electronic Health Records (HIPAA, MU2, MU3, high tech). The EHR offers an integrative health approach covering over 70 traditional/alternative disciplines, SOAP forms, prescriptions, labs, remote monitoring, exercises, and other valuable resources.

This integrated hub streamlines clinical workflows and care coordination to expeditiously coordinate diagnoses, early intervention, comprehensive treatment, education, and optimized care.

It can be white-labeled, integrated, and adapted for different population segments & care conditions.

For many conditions, best patient outcomes can only be achieved through a coordinated, collaborative, comprehensive approach to care.

Surveys show parents & caretakers want expert-reviewed, trustworthy information in one place.

So if you’re seeking that one place, look no further than:

Face2Face Health at http://www.f2fhealth.com

On Twitter: @f2fhealth

Progress to date:User interface/user experience/product market fit: Questionnaire and phone survey of 500 multi-disciplinary providers and potential customers received over 85% product market offering support and guided site design. Developmental: Alpha tests and user experience feedback, each stage for optimizing product offering. We will be conducting beta testing with 500 to 1,000 parents and providers in Q4 2017, which has already been paid for as part of our UI/UX development. Pilots: we have partnered with a privately held company offering a B2C subscription testing service for children with over 500,000 parent subscribers and another organization involving both educators and parents. Competitive market gap analysis: Companies in the market offer limited services in comparison; few focus exclusively on pediatrics. Partners: We have partnered with a leading screening company and testing company.

E-Learning Development Progress:

1.Topic Identification

The use of Google Analytics drove selection of nearly 130 topics to be included in the Learning Module Development Series within Face2Face Health’s 5 (F2F) Knowledge Integrative silos:

a. General Health

b. Emotional Health

c. Development

d. Mind/Body/Nutrition

e. Education and Advocacy

2. Source Selection

Several top analytically driven consumer and professional websites were selected as information sources for each of the various topics, including:

a. Top medical literature and professional references

b. Popular referenced sites such as WebMD, Wikipedia

c. Reference databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar

3. Collection

Professional consultant researchers collected, referenced and tracked all relevant data to prepare for analysis of all available topic information.

4. Compare and Curate

Several subject matter experts compared and curated information to identify content reflecting the highest relevance, credibility and educational value.

5. Gap Analysis

To ensure comprehensiveness and quality control of our Learning Management System (LMS), global subject matter experts such as physicians, alterative health practitioners, developmental and educational experts further researched any gaps in integrative knowledge within the silos to guide further content collection as needed.

Transformation

The information was then transformed to original health-literate and referenced

copy materials.

7. Expert Review

Subject matter experts, including Advisory Board members representing expertise

across the 5 silos reviewed all modules for comprehension and accuracy.

8. Production Design and Development

Modules were then given to our design team for customized E-learning design

and development in collaboration with LMS consultant and content experts.

9. Delivery and Management

E-learning modules integration into the online LMS platform for interactive E-learning delivery and  management in process, including learning performance analyses and revisions and new content development as needed.

Face2Face Health Team:

Creator: Ami Shah

Education: Wright State University School of Medicine

Bio: Ami Anand Shah, MD FACP, FAARM is an entrepreneur, pharmaceutical industry executive, active part- time integrative medicine practitioner, philanthropist and leader in several local, state and national medical non-profit organizational communities.

She has over 15 years of both clinical practice and global versatile pharmaceutical industry executive experience with demonstrated leadership, people management and global expertise in the arenas of pharmacovigilance and risk management, clinical development, strategic business development/due diligence, global labeling, OTC/nutritionals formulation, clinical trial development and medical marketing from small sized to big sized pharmaceutical companies.

She is a Board Certified Internal Medicine physician and fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Board Certified in Integrative Medicine and also fellowship trained in Anti-aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine, as well as Aesthetics.

She currently practices part-time Integrative, Personalized Medicine which focuses on integrative evidence based, peer reviewed holistic health, e consulting, physician health coaching, and telemedicine services for over 15 years.

Dr. Shah has held several leadership positions at the local, state and national levels (see Affliations section).

To date, she has mentored several next generational leaders, performs various free health care services in clinics or lectures in the community.

She has travelled to over 20 countries on medical missions.

Dr. Shah is also a member of countless other non-profit organizations too numerous to name but have in common a focus on children and women’s global health and education issues.

She has been the recipient of the prestigious top 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in business 2012.

She is also featured as one of the top 101 Indian American Emerging and Global Leaders by Roshni Media published in 2015.

Hospital Affiliation: ACP Fellow, NY Country Medical Society, SAHI, AAPI, Clinical Associate Prof, Wright State University

Title: Founder & CEO

Advanced Degree(s): MD FACP, FAARM

WARNING: LONG BIOS AHEAD!  About Team Members

Raj Jhaveri
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, MS

Biography: Raj Jhaveri is an innovator, entrepreneur, social media persona, philanthropist, hip-hop dancer, and a former TV Host for Sony Entertainment Television and UrbanAsian.com.

He is known for his unique ways of charitable fundraising through entertainment and has been featured in multiple media outlets such as Entrepreneur Magazine, MTV, Vice Magazine – Motherboard, Wall Street Journal, Motley Fool, MedCity News and MedCrunch.

By day, Raj is a visionary entrepreneur and strategist in the Digital Health, Medical and Biotechnology Industry, who has worked with Bio-Reference Laboratories, Sage Science, Bio-Genex, Pfizer, Abpro Labs, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Genentech and the Department of Defense in the past.

He obtained his Bachelor’s at Ohio State University and continued his graduate studies at Harvard Medical School. Later, he co-founded Manethryn Technology, Inc. and assisted in launching Fermentöme, Inc.

Raj is a partner at The Catalan Group, a strategy consulting firm based in New York. It successfully founded and launched Canopy Apps, a company focused on medical translation services and education with over 200,000 medical provider users.

He is also an in-house mentor at Techstars and, an industry consultant for General Catalyst Partners in regards to their healthcare investments.

In his spare time, he partakes in the fashion, film, music, and dance industry, and enjoys being a true “Curious George” exploring anything that is new and intriguing, hence his former social media persona as “The Urban Nerd.”

This allowed him to become the brand ambassador for a rising fashion brand, Convey.

Raj is also known for hosting The Annual Aquarius Charity Affair, an annual free event held in January/February, which has attracted and raised thousands multiple charities since 2008.

He is currently working on forming his first non-profit, The Urban Nerd Effect, where global causes and charities are conveyed through entertainment and free networking events.

Title: Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer
Advanced Degree(s): MS
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajpjhaveri/

Dale McManis
Head of Education and Advocacy, BS, MEd, PHD

Biography: Lilla Dale McManis is President and CEO of Parent in the Know and Early Childhood Research Solutions, launched to focus on assessment of the parental role and child functioning, and a consultant for numerous start-ups to improve and position products and services.

She holds a PhD in educational psychology with a concentration in learning and cognition, a master’s in special education, and a bachelor’s in child development.

She has taught special needs K-12 students in the public-school setting, served as Academic Coordinator and instructor for court-ordered teens in a non-traditional educational setting and as an instructor of prospective teachers at the University of Florida.

She has held senior research positions at the Massachusetts Department of Education as lead evaluator for the state’s school health programs and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the Division of Maternal and Child Health as Project Manager for the state’s school and adolescent programs and Co-Director of the Office of Statistics and Evaluation.

She was on the faculty at the University of Texas-Houston in the School of Public Health and then the Medical School-Developmental Pediatrics in the Children’s Learning Institute and the State Center for Early Childhood Development as part of multi-disciplinary teams on CDC, USDOE, and NIMH research grants.

She is the former Research Director for Hatch Early Learning, a leading technology content development company, where she was on the product development team and conducted product efficacy studies.

She is a founding member of the Early Childhood Technology Collaborative, has served as research consultant on a number of large projects, presented frequently at national conferences, & has published a number of academic papers.

She has been inducted into several honor societies: Golden Key, Phi Kappa Phi, & Phi Lambda Theta graduated summa cum laude, on the National Dean’s List, and received the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Senior Award.

Title: Head of Education and Advocacy
Advanced Degree(s): BS, MEd, PHD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalemcmanisecars/

Doron Wesly
Chief Marketing Officer, BS

Biography: Doron Wesly is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Lotame, where he spearheads global marketing, communications, and research and insights for a global team of data management specialists, enabling marketers, agencies, and publishers to harness audience data across all digital devices.

Prior to Lotame, Doron spent more than three years at Tremor Video (NYSE: TRMR) as head of Market Strategy, where he helped brand marketers understand the advertising impact of online video relative to all screens.

As online video expanded to more viewers and devices, Doron played a critical role in helping advertisers understand the advanced analytics emerging from these campaign, enhanced by his deep knowledge of cross-media studies, marketing mix models, attribution modelling, and more than 20 years of experience spanning traditional media planning to the frontiers of digital.

Prior to joining Tremor Video, Doron served as Senior Managing Partner, Managing Director, Leader Business Science and Planning, North America, for Mindshare, based in New York, where he led a multi-disciplined team that included consumer insights, competitive intelligence, digital analytics, business planning, and advanced analytics.

Doron’s marketing and research career has also included time as Global Media Director at Cheil Worldwide, Samsung’s in-house ad agency, based in Seoul, South Korea, and Millward Brown’s Strategic Services.

He spent time at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) leading industry research efforts, and he has worked for Terra Lycos, Interevco, and Hotbar.com. Doron is a citizen of both the Netherlands and Israel and is fluent in Dutch, Hebrew, and English.

He is also proficient in German and French and enough Korean (to be dangerous).

Doron speaks regularly on marketing and media topics at industry events and universities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Title: Chief Marketing Officer
Advanced Degree(s): BS
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doronwesly/

Richard Hamilton
Head of Learning Management Systems, BA, MA

Biography: Richard Hamilton is a veteran Communications Services provider experienced in Instructional Design, Sales and Marketing Communications and Multi-Media Production in corporate, agency, private business and independent markets.

His credits include pioneering effort in the development and implementation of many industry innovations involving computer-based learning, blended learning, distance learning, online interactive learning, online accredited Continuing Medical Education, Intranet portals, learning management systems, sale force automation and integrated marketing strategies.

As a consultant, Richard provided communication services to Affymax, Allergan, Amgen, Baxter Bioscience, Centocor, Genentech, Medicis, Neutrogena, Pharmacia, Roxro Pharma and Scios in the pharmaceutical industry and to Medical Communication firms Chandos Communications, Churchill Communications, HLS, IntraMed West, Pacific Communications and Triage Health Communications.

Prior to consulting, Richard held corporate positions as Training Media Producer, Sr. Instructional Designer, Communications Analyst and Product Marketing Manager at Syntex Laboratories; Distance Learning Manager and Corporate Multimedia and Information Development Manager at Applied Materials; and World-Wide Sales and Marketing Programs Development Manager for Sun Microsystems.

During his early career, while pursuing an education in Behavioral Sciences, Communication and Education Technology, Richard worked as a Community Worker, Training Media Producer and Rehabilitation Counselor for the Santa Clara County Department of Health.

Title: Head of Learning Management Systems
Advanced Degree(s): BA, MA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwhamilton/

Florence Michelet
Head of Medical Communications, MS, MBA

Biography: Florence Michelet founded EosMorae, LLC in 2011, after more than 20 years of senior global and domestic US medical communications experience in major global corporations.

She has spent her entire career developing sound educational solutions for healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician’s assistants, etc.) and patients in a variety of therapeutic areas.

A French native, Florence started her career in Paris as a statistician. After moving to the United States in 1989, she earned her MBA degree in international marketing and joined the field of strategic medical communications immediately thereafter.

In 1998, she joined Physicians World (a Thomson Reuters corporation), holding positions of increasing responsibility and ultimately being appointed as General Manager for GeoMed Global Communications, the company’s global division.

Florence moved to Oxford Clinical Communications (OCC) in 2004 as President of North American operations (including the global and US promotional medical education activities, and the Oxford Institute for Continuing Education, the CME-accredited division).

Prior to starting her own business, Florence was Senior Vice President, Director of Client Services, at Publicis Groupe Company for over 5 years, where she provided strategic leadership to a number of the company’s clients, both at the domestic and global level.

Title: Head of Medical Communications
Advanced Degree(s): MS, MBA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florencemichelet/

Jennifer Kirschenbaum
General Counsel, BA, JD

Biography: Jennifer Kirschenbaum is a managing partner of Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum, P.C.’s healthcare department.

She devotes her practice towards assisting practitioners in all aspects of private practice, Office-Based Surgery practice, Article 28 facility formation and operation, Independent Practice Association formation and operation and hospital based practice and hospital relationships/arrangements.

Jennifer began her career focusing on third party payor and government payor audit defense, OPMC and OPD licensure matters and general practice matters, including license agreements, during her time as an associate at Abrams Fensterman, et al.

Her practice expanded when she joined Rivkin Radler LLP, where she focused on regulatory compliance and transactional matters.

After bringing healthcare to Kirschenbaum and Kirschenbaum, P.C. in 2008, Jennifer has grown the firm’s healthcare department to representing over 800 practices, Article 28 facilities, IPAs and small to mega-group private practices.

K&K’s healthcare department represents MDs, DOs, DPMs, DDS, DMDs, DCs, PTs as well as other practitioners. Jennifer operates the healthcare department in conjunction with the other practice areas of law at the firm.

When necessary our litigation, real estate, trust and estates or bankruptcy attorneys are available to assist in matters related to healthcare, issues involving practice break-ups, trademark infringement, breach of contract, etc.

Practitioners contact Jennifer at all stages of practice, from their first employment agreement review and negotiation, their first lease, first partnership agreement, first patient issue, first lawsuit, first HIPAA complaint, first hospital contract, collection issues, audit through partnership structuring, mergers and acquisitions, practice sale, hospital employment or closure and everything in between.

We are here to assist in any and all issues that arise that cannot be easily addressed internally or require third party consultation.

Title: General Counsel
Advanced Degree(s): BA, JD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kirschenbaum-1a169a17/

 

 

 

For More Information Visit:  www.f2fhealth.com

 

contact: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com

One Woman Starts Legislation Sweeping Nation To Inform Women Of Dense Breast Tissue

 

In 2004, Nancy Cappello, PhD from Connecticut, was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer.

She was shocked as she had no prior risk factors, and normal screenings for a decade.

“I was shocked my cancer had metastasized to 13 lymph nodes and was the size of a quarter, I asked my team of doctors, with my latest ‘normal’ mammogram report in hand, how could this happen since I just had a normal mammogram.” -Nancy

Each physician told her that her cancer was hidden by the mammogram due to her dense breast tissue.

Dense breast tissue is comprised of less fat and more connective tissue which appears white on a mammogram. Cancer also appears white thus tumors are often hidden or masked by the dense tissue.

As a woman ages, her breasts usually become more fatty. However, 2/3 of pre-menopausal and 1/4 of post menopausal women (40%) have dense breast tissue. 

Additionally, as the density of the breast increases, the risk of breast  cancer also increases.

Radiologists have been reporting a woman’s dense breast tissue to her referring doctor for twenty years.   Most often, that information is not conveyed to the patient.

Displaying heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue on a mammogram is considered dense (BIRADS C, D). 

Learn More

Amy Colton, Nancy Cappello

“After an extensive search of the literature, which existed for decades before my diagnosis, I learned that 40% of women have dense breast tissue, that mammograms are limited in ‘seeing’ cancer in dense breasts and that there are other technologies, such as ultrasound or MRI that can significantly ‘see’ cancers that are invisible by mammogram.”

When Nancy asked her doctors to report dense breast tissue to women in her community, each of them refused.  

Nancy Cappello featured in the New York Times

“My Italian heritage with our tenets of truth and justice immediately kicked in.”

 

Her doctors’ rejection led to action when in 2009, Connecticut became the first state in America to report dense breast tissue to the patient through the mammography report.

As of today, thanks to Nancy Cappello’s unplanned advocacy, thirty-one states have a density reporting law and more are pending.

 

Nancy Cappello: One of 8 ‘chemo’ infusions 3 months before 11th NORMAL mammogram

Nancy has since been honored by UNICO at its national convention with the 2017 Americanism Award for her breast health advocacy through the work of her two non- profit organizations, Are You Dense Inc. and Are You Dense Advocacy Inc.

The Americanism award recognizes an Italian-American who has made an enduring impact on humanity which encompasses the cornerstone of UNICO’s foundation.

“When I received notice of this prestigious honor, I bowed to give thanks to my parents and my Italian ancestors, who paved the way for me to relentlessly pursue an early diagnosis for women with dense breast tissue, through the democratic process, turning an injustice to justice for women’s breast health.”

Unico National President Tom Vaughn, Nancy Cappello and her husband Joe, Francine Nido, Unico’s National Secretary

Check out the following map link to find out if your state has a law and updates:

http://www.areyoudense.org/news-events/density-reporting-bills-spread-across-country/

For More Information on Nancy’s incredible advocacy work please visit: http://www.areyoudense.org

So much valuable information for women on http://www.areyoudense.org

 

Thank you, Nancy!

 

UPDATE:

BREAKING HEALTH NEWS:  Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Dean Heller (NV) and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) introduce a national bill requiring physicians to notify patients whether or not they have dense breast tissue.

On Twitter: Representative Mike Rohrkaste @RepRohrkaste and Senator Alberto Darling @SenDarling introduce bill in Wisconsin to prompt patient notification if they have dense breasts, which increases cancer risk.

#NotifyMeNow

New Study: Diet Soda During Pregnancy Could Mean Overweight Child Later

Many pregnant women worry about what’s safe and not safe to drink while expecting.

A recent study says women with gestational diabetes who drink diet soda during their pregnancy could be putting their children at risk for weight gain.

Salena Zanotti, M.D., of Cleveland Clinic did not take part in the study, but said previous studies have shown that drinking diet soda in moderation during pregnancy is generally safe, but this most recent study is the FIRST to look at the potential impact long-term.

Researchers looked at data from more than 900 pregnant women with gestational diabetes between 1996 and 2002.

About nine percent of the women surveyed drank at least one diet soda per day.

“”What they found, when they looked up to seven years – which is a long time so far for these studies – that their infants, especially the boys, had a higher risk of being overweight and being obese,” says Dr. Zanotti.

Researchers say the women who consumed diet soda were 60 percent more likely to have babies with a high birth weight compared with women who did not drink any diet soda during pregnancy.

Likewise, the children born to the women who drank water instead of sweetened beverages were 17 percent less likely to be overweight by age seven.

Dr. Zanotti adds,  “What remains to be determined is whether the diet soda alone was the problem, or whether the women who drank diet soda also ate diets high in fat and sugar.”

She says sometimes pregnant women will eat sugary and high fat foods and think it’’s okay if they’’re drinking diet soda, when really it’’s only okay to drink it if they’’re eating a well-balanced, low fat, higher protein diet.

“If you wanted to have an occasional soda, you could have one a day, if that’s what you want to have,” says Dr. Zanotti. “

For some people they’’ve given up a lot of things that they really like and this is their one vice and I think that’s fine, if they’’re doing everything else correctly.”

Dr. Zanotti says, “Water should be a woman’s beverage of choice during pregnancy.”

She says too much sugar is a problem whether it’’s real sugar or a sweet substitute.

“Excessive sugar intake leads to excessive pregnancy weight gain, which means a higher risk of having bigger baby and a higher risk of having to deliver the baby via a cesarean section.”

 

 

SOURCE: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyx095/3861466/Maternal-consumption-of-artificially-sweetened

Bottom line:  Stick to water.

Also, if you’re unaware an updated American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation urges parents to avoid giving fruit juice to children under one year of age.

Children’s health is so important and it begins at pregnancy.

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Pathfire: If you’re using the web browser, click on the ‘Provider Directory’ and look for the ‘Cleveland Clinic’ tab. Use the ‘Video News Feed Locator’ if you’re getting Pathfire via satellite.

 

*Also, now available using app.extremereach.com – select the ‘Cleveland Clinic’ destination to view the files. If you need assistance, contact videonetwork@extremereach.com

 

Stay healthy!

contact: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com

GAME CHANGER: NEW SMART HEART MONITOR

Re-sharing my pick for what’s hot in AI from 2017, since Heart Health is in the news.

Super excited to tell you about a new smart heart monitor you can use at home.   It will help 28 million heart disease patients in the U.S. keep track of their heart. Eko’s Artifical Intelligence (AI) and TeleHealth Technology improves early detection of heart and lung disease at any point of care.  There’s also a digital Stethoscope for physicians, which helps them hear heart murmurs more clearly for early detection of problems to prevent future ones.

Keep track from the comfort of their home at any time. And it’s just been FDA approved.

Meet Eko DUO.  The first handheld mobile, wireless, EHR-connected stethoscope, which connects to your smart phone.

It allows you to amplify, visualize and record crystal clear heart and lung sounds.

Imagine not needing to wait for your next followup appointment to transmit a concern to your physician. It works under the supervision or prescription from a physician.

Eko Duo is set to help millions of heart disease patients who are often discharged with little more than an info packet and instructions to monitor their weight.

Now patients can be sent home from the hospital with a direct link back to their physician, helping reduce readmissions and false alarms.

“The goal is to bring hospital-quality care to the home.”
–Connor Landgraf, CEO and co-founder, Eko DUO

The device wirelessly pairs with Eko’s secure, HIPAA-compliant app, enabling remote monitoring and diagnosis by a clinician or specialist.

It works with the Eko app on any iPhone, iPad, Windows PC or Android device.

Eko DUO can also be used by clinicians as an enhanced stethoscope for in-clinic cardiac screenings, enabling physicians to quickly diagnose and monitor patients.

Clinicians can use it bedside or remotely to quickly spot heart abnormalities including arrhythmias, heart murmurs, and valvular heart diseases.

I interviewed Ami Bhatt, M.D., a Cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Director of Outpatient Cardiology and the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and she believes Eko DUO will improve outcomes through early intervention.

Dr. Bhatt says, “Cardiology programs are looking for ways to deliver hospital-quality healthcare at home.  The ability to capture digital heart sounds and an ECG expands our portfolio of mechanisms to remotely monitor the heart – and brings diagnosis and opportunities for early intervention even further upstream.” 

Heart disease can strike people of all ages.

I spoke with Stacy Bingham, a registered nurse from Oregon with 5 children, who knows this firsthand. She and her husband have no prior history of heart disease in their family, yet 3 of her 5 children end up needing heart transplants.

When Stacy noticed her oldest child, Sierra acting tired with a loss of appetite for a few weeks, she never suspected the cause was an underlying heart condition.

“I noticed her face and eyes were swollen. She complained her stomach hurt.”

That’s when Stacy and her husband took her to a family practitioner.

“The doctor told us it’s probably a flu bug and sent us home. When her condition worsened she had an x-ray.”

X-ray results revealed Sierra’s heart was enlarged.  Dilated cardio myopathy. She later learned two of her other children also had heart problems.

“If they had not finally found Sierra’s heart condition, she may not have survived. We live in a really rural part of Eastern Oregon and we now have three kids with heart transplants that need to be monitored for life.”

Today, Stacy’s family takes nothing for granted, especially innovations that help.

“If this device can be used at home and we can rule out scary things and know when it’s not something we need to rush to a hospital for that would be wonderful.” –Stacy Bingham

James Young also knows how life can change in a heartbeat.

Young was just 40-years-old when he first experienced symptoms of heart failure. Symptoms he ignored until they were severe and his sister insisted on it.

“I was coughing in mornings and throughout the day. I thought it was simply allergies. I vomited phlegm some mornings and still didn’t see a doctor.”

But the coughing became more painful. While shoveling, it stopped him in his tracks.

“I was outside shoveling snow when I turn behind me and  see a trail of blood.”

His sister noticed he didn’t look well and insisted he go see a physician.

“That’s when I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I was shocked.”

James felt anxiety, depression and uncertainty about his future at this time. Young believes Eko DUO will not only help alleviate false alarms and unnecessary hospital readmissions, but needless worrying as well.

“Eko DUO would have given me assurance the doctor knew where I stood daily. If there were any issues outstanding needing to be addressed immediately. It gives the doctor an opportunity to respond expeditiously to those concerns.”

Today, James is doing great and is a national spokesperson and heart failure Ambassador for the American Heart Association.

“I went from a 25% functioning heart to being an avid runner and cycler. I’ve taken on a new lease in life. As a community advocate I can help inspire others and give them hope.”

Ami Bhatt, M.D says that hope also translates to much needed continuous care rather than outpatient care.

“Robust toolkits for caring for patients in the community will hopefully lead to more appropriate healthcare utilization through continuous rather than episodic outpatient care.”

HERE’S HOW EKO WAS DEVELOPED:

Eko’s co-founder & CEO, Connor Landgraf, is also a heart disease patient.

Connor navigated countless cardiology visits, screenings and referrals.

In 2013, during his senior year as at the University of California at Berkeley, Connor attended a panel discussion at UC San Francisco on technological shortcomings facing modern medical practices.

One technical gap cardiologists claimed stood out beyond the rest: the stethoscope.

So Conner and his co-founders welcomed the stethoscope, a two-century old tool, into the 21st-century.

Photo: Connor and his co-founders, Jason Bellet and Tyler Crouch

The newly FDA approved Eko DUO brings that to the next level.

To learn more about this remarkable 21st Century technology we love visit:  http://www.ekodevices.com

Factoids:

• According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.
  The American Heart Associations says the U.S. currently spends over $26 billion annually on heart failure hospitalization. 25% of heart failure patients are readmitted within 30 days — 50% are readmitted in 6 months with hospitals now being penalized for high readmission rates.
  ________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: 83% of parents experience anxiety surrounding their child’s referral to a pediatric cardiologist for an innocent murmur.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: Average cash price for an echocardiogram is $2,275 and even with insurance, patients can expect to pay 10 to 30% of this cost.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: For a pediatric subspecialist such as a pediatric cardiologist, patients must wait between 5 weeks and 3 months to get an appointment.
  _________________________________________________________________________________

• Fact: Internal medicine residents misdiagnose more than 75% of cardiac events.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: 70% of all pediatric cardiac referrals for murmurs are unnecessary.
  _________________________________________________________________________________

• Fact: Average PCP needs to coordinate care with 99 other physicians working across 53 practices.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: Only 50% of initial referrals are accompanied by information from the PCP.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: Patients in rural communities must travel an average of 56 miles to see a specialist.
  _________________________________________________________________________________
• Fact: About 46.2 million people, or 15% of the U.S. population, reside in rural counties.

Eko DUO.  A real game changer for heart patients worldwide.

http://www.ekodevices.com

Maria Dorfner is the founder of NewsMD. She has worked in Media for 38 years, beginning as an intern at NBC during college. She covered health for her college newspaper and covered The Ivy League Roundup. She has specialized in Medical/Health for 28 of those years. Her series on obesity won a Freddie Award for Excellence in Medical Reporting and she won a Media Recognition Award, Outstanding Leadership Award and Commitment to the Advancement of Women in Media Award. Her medical stories have aired on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, cable stations and O&O’s and affiliates.

She co-founded The Cleveland Clinic News Service, helped launch CNBC in 1989, helped launch MedPageToday and produced the weekly Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Report) airing weekly on every network. She also served as Director of Research for Ailes Communications, a political and media consulting company, which served as advisory to Presidents. She is the recipient of a Medical Reporting Scholarship from the American Medical Association and an Advanced Writing Scholarship from Columbia University. In 1998, she produced “21st Century Medicine” on tissue regeneration and regenerating life for Discovery, developed original medical/health programming which aired nationally on CNBC.

She’s travelled extensively interviewing a Who’s Who in pioneering medicine.

The series she created in 1993 include Lifestyles & Longevity, Healthcare Consumers, Healthcare Practitioners and Healthy Living with Dr. Joyce Brothers. She went on to replace Brothers as Host of the series.

Most recently, for a year, starting in 2019, she was the creator, producer and host of BoldHealth on BoldTV. In her spare time she enjoys nature, fitness, volunteering, reading a lot and helping people.

She began her career as an intern on the Today Show in 1983. She is the author of Healthy Within, Health Heart & Humor in an Italian-American Kitchen and PRESSure: Break Into Broadcasting.

This is her blog

Email: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com | @Maria_Dorfner on Twitter

Expert Newborn Screenings A Heartbeat Away!

This week, Jimmy Kimmel shared the emotional story of his beautiful newborn son’s heart surgery.  He and his wife Molly welcomed their second child, William “Billy” Kimmel.

At three days old, Billy had successful open heart surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and is now home with his family.  On his show, Jimmy opened up about his son’s birth and health complications. He also underscored the need for the accurate and timely screening of congenital heart disease (CHD).

Essential to early CHD diagnosis is the detection of a murmur using a stethoscope during a newborn’s first physical exam.

But routine neonatal examination without specialist consults fail to detect more than half of babies with heart disease.

Approximately 160 infants pass away from undetected Congenital Heart Defects each year in the United States.

William “Billy” Kimmel, who is absolutely adorable below is one of the lucky ones; looks like he’s already laughing at Dad’s jokes too.

Billy thankfully had the condition detected early, but many children with CHD get discharged with undetected or misdiagnosed conditions.

After the events of this week, expecting parents have every right to question if their child is being screened appropriately or if clinicians known to misinterpret heart sounds are interpreting their child’s heart sounds accurately.

Kimmel’s story is really a wake-up call that we need more nurses like the wonderful ones who treated his baby boy.

Now, there’s a device that will make sure congenital heart screenings more effective for infants.

 

And it’s not just infants. Over 1.3 million adults live with congenital heart disease in the U.S, which now surpasses the number of children with congenital heart disease.

Three entrepreneurs are well on their way to making sure accurate screenings are a heartbeat away. Their innovation paves the way for a new era of cardiac screenings.

They want to do what Shazam did for music, only for heartbeats.

Their new device called Eko [pronounced like Echo, as in a heart echo] offers the potential to dramatically improve the efficacy of newborn screenings, especially for newborns far from a pediatric cardiology center.

The San Francisco based digital medical device company, launched Eko, an FDA-cleared digital stethoscope that enables ANY clinician, regardless of their training level, to secure a virtual pediatric cardiology opinion on heart sounds recorded with their FDA-cleared digital stethoscope.

It was a pleasure interviewing one of the founders, Jason Bellet.

Bellet says, “The silver lining in Jimmy Kimmel’s story is that the congenital heart failure was detected early through a murmur using a stethoscope and could be treated, but very often these murmurs go undiagnosed and undetected and infants leave the hospital with potentially life threatening situations.” [:27]

“Eko Devices would enable nurses and clinicians to get Cardiologist’s second opinion to immediately decrease the number of missed cases.” [:12]

Bellet is the co-founder and a brilliant former student from the University of Berkley.  He graduated in 2014 and founded Eko Devices with two fellow students, Connor Landgraf and Tyler Crouch out of the Start-up accelerator at Berkley.

The three founders successfully pitched their idea and raised $5M to bring it to market quickly and bring it to as many clinicians as they can.  It received FDA approval in September of 2015.

QUESTION: WHAT IS EKO?

ANSWER:  It’s basically a Smart Stethoscope that can bring the sounds to a trained ear immediately.

The vision is to bring machine learning and physician support tools to every clinicians stethoscope to make their screening process as easy as Shazaming a song.

QUESTION:  HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR EKO?

ANSWER:  The idea stemmed from the fact that we realized the stethoscope is used as the primary screening tool for cardiac health, including for newborn babies.

But, it’s extremely outdated and ultimately leading to misdiagnosis and lack of cardiac conditions because you hear the heart sounds, but don’t understand what you’re hearing.

Cardiologists are the ones who can differentiate what is normal and what is not.

So, what we wanted to do was make it easy for clinicians to modernize their own stethoscopes to bring it into the modern era and send concerning or confusing heart sounds immediately to cardiologists in real time using this platform or capture it to send it to a specialist.

QUESTION:  There are other digital stethoscopes out there. Why is this one unique?

Bellet says, “Our digital stethoscope is the first to allow clinicians to stream sounds wirelessly from the stethoscope to a smartphone and to a cardiologist anywhere in the world.”  [:15]

QUESTION: Is it HIPPA compliant?

ANSWER:  It’s the ONLY digital stethoscope on the market that has built a HIPPA compliant software platform to stream heart sounds from any clinician to any specialist anywhere in the world.

QUESTION: THAT’S GROUNDBREAKING. WHERE IS IT CURRENTLY BEING USED?

ANSWER:  Eko is now used at over 700 institutions across the country and has been adopted by pediatric cardiology programs.

QUESTION: WHO NEEDS EKO?

The technology is applicable in many aspects of patient care, but especially in newborns.

QUESTION:  WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL WITH EKO?

ANSWER: The ultimate goal is bringing it even one step further.  Our idea is have machine learning tied directly into the stethoscope itself, so one day clinicians can be as accurate as cardiologists in their initial interpretation of what they hear.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Next, I spoke with renown adult congenital heart disease specialist Ami Bhatt, M.D. F.A.C.C. who says identifying congenital heart disease in the community can be challenging at any age whether we are trying to identify a high risk newborn like Jimmy Kimmel’s or catching congenital heart disease in a school age student or adulthood.

Ami Bhatt, M.D. F.A.C.C.  is director of outpatient cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as well as a renown adult congenital heart disease specialist.  She innovates with the Healthcare Transformation Lab, serves as a scientific advisor for Eko Devises and runs a telemedicine practice.  She can be reached at mghachd@partners.org

Bhatt says,  “Because congenital heart disease is relatively rare it’s difficult for clinicians to identify it. The use of digital stethoscopes and other telemedicine technology which can connect the patient and caregiver in the community with experts at academic centers can improve initial diagnosis AND longterm followup.”

QUESTION:  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KIDS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE AGE?

ANSWER:   Two things. One, as kids with congenital heart disease age, we know there are complications that may arise. Technologies like digital stethoscopes and the use of algorithms can help monitor their progression and track changes in disease BEFORE they progress too far.

And two, lack of follow-up is a persistent problem with children with congenital heart disease become adults. One of the main drivers is the challenge of access to subspecialty care.

Additionally, distance from medical centers, along with the time it takes and sometimes the cost of being away from work and family drives young adults to ignore their own healthcare needs.

The advent of digital health in congenital heart disease care empowers the patient to engage in a partnership to their health without taking away from their ability to live a full and active life.

QUESTION:  DO YOU THINK TECHNOLOGY HELPS OR HINDERS DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONS?

ANSWER: As the delivery of healthcare changes, caregivers are desperate to return to the ideal  doctor patient relationship, which is based on a human connection. As we build digital technology, and use machine learning to support our physicians at at time when there are so many diagnosis to be made, it allows us to concentrate on a shared patient and provider centered experience.

QUESTION:  HOW DOES AN ADULT KNOW WHEN TO GET THEIR HEART CHECKED?

ANSWER: If they had heart disease or heart surgery as a child, they should check in with their cardiologist to find out if they need any longterm care.

QUESTION: HOW DO THEY FIND A SPECIALIST?

There are advocacy websites, such http://www.ACHAheart.org which report self-identified Specialists in congenital heart disease or they can call a major center like Massachusetts General who can find a local center that can partner in their care.

QUESTION: HOW CAN THEY FIND OUT WHO USES THE EKO DEVICE?

ANSWER: If they want to find a specialist using the Eko Device people can contact Massachusetts General http://www.massgeneral.org\adultcongenitalheart for more information and ask about centers near them. They can also contact any hospital and ask for their telemedicine department and inquire if they use Eko.

QUESTION: HOW DO CLINICANS FIND EKO IF THEY’RE INTERESTED IN USING IT?

ANSWER:  Clinicians are able to access the device by going to the Eko Devices website at http://www.ekodevices.com and then if they’re interested in testing it they can purchase a unit directly from the website and send it back if they don’t like it. But that’s a rarity as the success rate has been high with over 5,000 clinicians across the country using it.

This truly is a hot technology that will save kids like Jimmy’s, as well as those who aren’t at top hospitals in the country.

Billy will have another open-heart surgery within six months to repair the hole, and Our thoughts, well wishes and prayers are with him and his family.

“As a cardiologist, we sometimes worry about technology interfering with the doctor patient relationship. However, in these cases, it is technology that brings us to meet the patient where they live. Technology is finally bringing us home.” 

-Ami Bhatt, M.D. F.A.C.C.

If you haven’t seen Jimmy Kimmel’s story see it on Emmy-award-winning @GMA:

WATCH: @jimmykimmel shares emotional news about newborn son’s emergency heart surgery; son now at home recovering. http://abcn.ws/2pSPakE

QUICK FACTS:

According to the CDC, 40,000 babies in the U.S. are born each year with congenital heart disease.

Recent studies estimate approximately 160 infants or 1 in 25,000 live births die per year from unrecognized CHD.

The reported sensitivity for detection of a pathologic heart murmur in newborns ranges from 80.5 to 94.9 percent among pediatric cardiologists, with specificity ranging from 25 to 92 percent.

A study in the American Journal of Medicine discovered internal medicine residents misdiagnose as many as 75% of murmurs with a stethoscope.

Routine neonatal examination fails to detect more than half of babies with heart disease; examination at 6 weeks misses one third.

A normal examination does not exclude heart disease.

Babies with murmurs at neonatal or 6 week examinations should be referred for early pediatric cardiological evaluation which will result either in a definitive diagnosis of congenital heart disease or in authoritative reassurance of normal cardiac anatomy and function.

Take care of your heart everyone!

 

For more on Eko visit: http://www.ekodevices.com

UPDATES:

Good Morning America
ABC NEWS
May 9, 2017
Jimmy Kimmel returns to TV with update on his son’s health, defends his call for children’s health care coverage

One week after Jimmy Kimmel revealed that his son, Billy, had been born with a heart defect, the comedian returned to host his late night show with an emotional update on his son’s health and a defense of his foray into the country’s heated debate on health care.

The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” also thanked his fans for their “humbling outpouring of support” and said that he and his wire “very grateful” for the multitude of donations made to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where his son was treated.

“First I want to tell you because so many people have asked: Our son Billy is doing very well,” Kimmel said. “He’s eating. He is getting bigger. He is sleeping well. He can read now — which they say is unusual [for a child his age].”

Kimmel, 49, revealed last Monday that his son underwent surgery on his heart three days after he was born, and will require another procedure when he’s a little bigger in three to six months.

During his monologue, Kimmel asked all politicians to come together to ensure healthcare for all Americans, especially those who have pre-existing health conditions.

Though there were many who supported Kimmel’s point of view, he noted that there were many others who called him an “out of touch Hollywood elitist.” To those critics, the late night host offered a sarcastic apology.

“I’d like to apologize for saying that children in America should have health care,” he joked. “It was insensitive – it was offensive – and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

To further the conversation, he interviewed Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator from Louisiana who last week tweeted that there should be a “Kimmel Test” for any healthcare bill passed.

The Jimmy Kimmel Test, he noted, would be in place to ensure that any healthcare plan would adequately cover pre-existing conditions “but in a fiscally conservative way that lowers cost.”

“I happen to like [it] a lot,” Kimmel said. “He is a doctor – a gastroenterologist. He is married to a retired doctor — his wife Laura, was a surgeon. And he co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, which provides free dental care and health care to the working uninsured. So obviously – this is someone who cares about people’s health.”

 

 

Today Is National Walking Day!

THE FIRST WEDNESDAY IN THE MONTH OF APRIL IS DESIGNATED AS NATIONAL WALKING DAY.

MY FAVORITE NON-COMPETITIVE SPORT!  BUT ACCORDING TO THE C-D-C, EIGHTY PERCENT OF AMERICANS DO NOT GET THE RECOMMENDED TWO AND A HALF HOURS OF MODERATE-INTENSITY AEROBIC EXERCISE EACH WEEK.

ERICA STEPTEAU IS A HEALTH COACH AT CLEVELAND CLINIC. SHE SAYS THAT STARTING A WALKING ROUTINE IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS GETTING YOUR BODY MORE ACTIVE.

CG: Erica Stepteau, MPH/Cleveland Clinic “Get up every five to ten minutes. Put a timer on your phone and see that those are ways that can actually help you get up more instead of just sitting all day.”[00:08]

STEPTEAU SAYS WE TEND TO UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WALKING.

SHE SAYS IT DOESN’T TAKE A GYM MEMBERSHIP OR A PERSONAL TRAINER TO GET YOURSELF UP AND MOVING.

WALKING IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN FIT INTO YOUR DAY ALMOST ANYWHERE. AND IT NOT ONLY HELPS YOUR HEALTH, BUT CAN ALSO BOOST YOUR MOOD.

STEPTEAU RECOMMENDS WALKING DURING YOUR LUNCH BREAK, TAKING THE STAIRS, AND WHEN YOU GET HOME, GET YOUR PETS OUT AND MOVING WITH YOU.

SHE ALSO SAID THAT SPRING IS A GREAT TIME TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEATHER CHANGING TO START WALKING OUTDOORS.

IF BRISK WALKING IS YOUR GOAL, SHE SAYS YOU WANT TO WORK YOUR WAY UP TO THE POINT WHERE IT’S A LITTLE CHALLENGING TO TALK WHILE WALKING.

AND LIKE ANY EXERCISE PLAN, STEPTEAU SAYS YOU’LL HAVE BETTER RESULTS IF YOU CAN FIND A BUDDY TO WALK WITH.

CG: Erica Stepteau/Cleveland Clinic “It can help you push you beyond your own limits because that person may be at a different level than you; higher or lower, depending; but it helps you either be the encouragement that that person needs to step it up, or it could be the encouragement for you to step it up for yourself.”[00:14]

IF GETTING YOURSELF MOVING IS A REAL CHALLENGE, STEPTEAU SAYS THAT IT’S IMPORTANT NOT TO BEAT YOURSELF UP ABOUT IT AND TO JUST START SLOW.

SHE SAYS IF YOU’VE BEEN INACTIVE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING A NEW EXERCISE ROUTINE.

 

[MEDIA SEE Pathfire#:10752 FOR VT]

HAPPY NATIONAL WALKING DAY!  Stay healthy.  -Maria Dorfner

http://www.clevelandclinic.org