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5 Simple SEO Tips for the Blogging Healthcare Professional

The Healthcare Guys
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5 Simple SEO Tips for the Blogging Healthcare Professional

If you are a healthcare professional looking to engage patients beyond the brick-and-mortar enclosure of your practice, the internet space presents an ideal place to do so. You can use a blogsite to maintain interaction and build authority on the internet as an expert resource for online healthcare solutions. It’s no news that web success often translates to increased footfalls at your medical building.

However, blogging is a lot more than putting up enriching articles or “How-to” posts and waiting for people to visit your website. You must set the stage for internet success, right from the start. This starts with picking a suitable domain name.

Factors such as memorability, simplicity and shortened domain names are some important points to consider. See this post if you want to find out more about choosing a domain name.

After domain name registration, you must select a suitable web hosting partner. You can get a NZ based web hosting from $12.40 per month | Freedomain | Freeparking which is a good deal when compared to other available offers.

As soon as you have sorted the technicalities, you are good to start with creating blog content. The single most important thing to consider when blogging is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Your posts ought to be optimised for increased visibility when people search the internet for your services or queries relating to your subject post. If this doesn’t happen, you might as well be writing for no one.

Getting your medical posts optimised for search engines

Building authority online starts from web visibility; that is what SEO is about. You can additionally check out seo services pricing. The following tips should improve your blog traffic.

  1. Customise robot header tags

There are specific settings bloggers implement to make their blogs more SEO friendly. One of the is SEO Custom Robot Header Tags. It will be useful if you use custom robots’ headers tags appropriately. And they are easy to manage so you don’t have to be tech-savvy. Find out more about customising robot header tags here.

  1. Optimise the blog post title

One of the tricks of journalism is using titles to attract potential readers. With the right composition, you can make your titles catchy. Also, ensure they are optimised for SEO by using the target keywords your readers use when they type in their query. Every blog title tag has a customisable template, use this to improve the organic traffic coming to your site.

  1. Optimise your images

It is widely known that images increase the readability of a blog post. Ensure you have a uniform distribution of images to complement your post. In addition to that, use the right size and image resolution for your blog. Without this optimisation, your blog page could take ages to load and discourage visitors from staying long on your site.

  1. Employ the use of keywords

Keywords are those words or phrases people use to search for important terms or services online. With a keyword planner, you can discover popular keywords people use around a specific subject. For example, if you want to write about “Controlling allergies in early spring,” the keyword planner may suggest “avoid pollen” or “cure hay fever” as the common terms around the subject. It will help your SEO efforts to include these phrases significantly throughout your posts.

  1. Internal linking

It is common for people to link their posts to quality external sites in hope that they link back and improve their website’s trust flow. However, many people fail to recognise the importance of backlinks within posts in the same website. Endeavour to refer your readers to previous posts by inserting links that point to them.

As your blog becomes a renowned go-to site for reliable medical solutions, it will attract more visitors and build your online presence. Before long, this can translate to authority status and

The Healthcare Professional’s Guide to Choosing a Fitting Domain Name

The Healthcare Guys
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The Healthcare Professional’s Guide to Choosing a Fitting Domain Name

Most times, when the topic of domain names comes up the focus is on marketers, E-commerce business owners and other conventional IT based professions. Few people consider other industries such as educational institutions or healthcare.

Perhaps it’s because of the nature of the websites in these professions. While E-commerce websites aim to constantly persuade and convert potential buyers by the minute, websites run by professionals such as physicians are typically for announcements and advisory (relationship) purposes. As a result, people dumb down the need to include them in general domain discussions.

But a doctor’s need for website interaction is just as valid, and while the rules may deviate in some aspects, the underlying principles of SEO, site authority, brandability and so on are still applicable. As a medical doctor looking to take interaction with your patients beyond the hospital premises, an interactive website will suffice nicely.

All you need to do is conduct a domain search or think up a creative one and register with a domain name registrar. However, coming up with a domain name isn’t as easy as naming your pet. There are a number of online and business-based issues you must first consider.

  1. Choose a TLD extension (Top Level Domain)

TLD extensions are important. Unless you already own a .com TLD, and want to add others such as .org, .net, and .info for security, it is highly recommended you go for a .com first. For one, .com extensions are the most popular and easily recalled of all TLDs. People will easily remember your website if it ends in a dot com extension.

“In addition, Google search bots, are biased towards .com domains and place a higher value over them than other TLDs. This means your website is more likely to appear at the top of the search result page if it has a .com domain name.” Brendan from Freeparking.co.zr a service where you can Get .nz Domain Name Registration | Find & Register Domains Instantly‎ | Freeparking

  1. Choose a keyword in your profession

Whether you are a dentist or mental health expert, it is important to choose a domain name with your profession keyword in it. For example, if you specialise in cosmetic teeth whitening, your domain name could be sparklyteeth.com or if you are a specialist physician in addiction cases, your website could be named addictionsolution.com.

When it comes to hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare organizations, the keyword should be in the name or somewhere prominent on the website. For example, if you own a community hospital, your domain name could be mycommunityhospital.com or localhealthcarecenter.com, or if you’re a medical clinic focusing on sports injuries, sportsmediclinic.com would be an appropriate choice.

The reason is that keyword domains help online users arrive quickly at the answers when they search. Especially if they use queries relating to your service. The results will likely list your website and increase the chances of visitors to your website.

  1. Add a local geographical area

The SEO implications for this are huge. If you add the name of your location to the end of your domain name, it not only directs internet queries in that area towards you, it provides people with an immediate idea of the location of your practice.

If your dentist practice is in Harrogate, the ensuing domain name could be sparklyteethharrogate.com. This way, your potential customers know you whiten teeth and are located in Harrogate.

  1. Avoid trademark infringement

A trademark infringement is possible online, just as it is offline. You want to ensure that your domain name is unique to avoid legal conflicts. If another physician has a practice, addictionsolution.com and you register the domain name addictionsolutions.com, you could be ‘stealing’ their customers who incidentally type that extra ‘s’. This is grounds for a court case which could affect your practice in the long run.

Cases involving trademark infringement of domain names are treated at an arbitration procedure under ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRRP). The policy is an effective way for trademark owners to retrieve ownership of infringing domains quite quickly and at little cost.

Your domain name can be professional and still satisfy all SEO criteria for making it visible online. As you continue to engage your visitors, a well-chosen domain name will take you a step closer to industry authority.

Enhancing Your Brain’s Health & Cognitive Functions and Apps to Help on That

The Healthcare Guys
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Enhancing Your Brain’s Health & Cognitive Functions and Apps to Help on That

“Health is wealth” is a common phrase that virtually everyone of us has heard before. But did you know that your brain needs to be just as healthy as every other part of your body in order to function properly? In fact, the health of your brain directly impacts your entire body because the brain controls how the rest of the body functions.

Some Facts about the Human Brain

The human brain is a very important organ that stores information and serves as the human memory bank. The brain is also the emotional center of the body and carries out all the cognitive functions for the body. According to experts, the brain’s capacity to store a huge amount of information is unlimited, but its ability to recall stored up data is limited.

Several factors like fatigue, ageing, and poor nutrition can pose a threat to your brain’s health, thereby reducing your mental performance. That’s where brain boosters or brain supplements come in to help enhance the function of your brain. Which brings us to the subject of the day – NOOTROPICS.

Brain Enhancers

Many of you might have heard of Nootropics but are wondering exactly what they are and what they do. For those of you seeing this word for the first time, it may look really strange. A Nootropic is “a term for a substance that enhances brain health and/or cognitive functions such as memory, focus, processing speed, mental clarity, etc.” – Nootropic Geek. The word Nootropic has a Greek origin pronounced “No-uh-TROE-pic”.

Why You Need Brain Enhancers

We have already established that the brain is a fantastic organ in the body, capable of storing, processing, and recalling previously stored up information. But as amazing as the brain may be, it may fail when you need it to function the most. That’s where Nootropics can come in.

There’s several reasons why brain boosters can help out your brain. For instance, brain boosters can enhance concentration, motivation, and your ability to remember things easily. They can also strengthen your power of focus, thereby sharpening your cognitive abilities. The bottom line is that they enhance the overall health of your brain.

Research states that there are about 70 brain nutrients that are considered to be Nootropics that have the power to:

  • Strengthen stress resistance
  • Fight age-related cognitive decline
  • Enhance mood
  • Unleash creativity

There are different types of Nootropic ingredients that perform different functions in the brain, including:

  • Cerebral Circulation Boosters
  • Nootropic Vitamins
  • Brain Energizers
  • Brain Antioxidants
  • Brain Regenerators
  • Brain Wave Modulators
  • Stress Nootropics
  • Racetams

According to Nootropic Geek, there are three basic types of Nootropic supplements:

  1. Standalone supplements: Contain only one ingredient.
  2. Homemade stack supplements: Contain a blend of individual stand-alone supplements combined for specific mental performance benefits.
  3. Premade stack supplements: Supplements already combined by the manufacturer to achieve a certain effect.

Technology can also play an integral part in enhancing your brain’s health. Check out those five of the brain-training apps.

So why not give your brain some boost?

Technology and High Blood Pressure

The Healthcare Guys
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Technology and High Blood Pressure

Technology is making it easier and easier for diabetics and other people who have high blood pressure to monitor their blood pressure simply and on their own. They no longer have to rely on a doctor to do the monitoring for them or wait until they find a monitoring machine at a grocery store. They can check their own pressure at home easier than ever before.

Of course, at-home blood pressure monitoring technology has been around for some years, but it has now become more foolproof than ever. There used to be a risk that the monitoring device would not be positioned correctly and would give inaccurate readings or no reading at all. That’s becoming a problem of the past now, thanks to new wearable devices that indicate with a beeping noise or a visual aid whether the monitor is in the right place or not. It takes the guesswork out of blood pressure monitoring and ensures that everyone can take accurate readings.

Speaking of wearable technology, the bulky, medical-looking devices of the past are becoming ancient history. Now, modern blood pressure monitors look like smart watches. They are a bit larger than the average watch but really no bigger than a technologically advanced smartwatch.

Blood pressure monitoring technology is definitely getting more compact, easier to use, more accurate and more convenient for everyone. Doctors can rest a little easier knowing that their patients are using technology that tends to work well and provide trustworthy results most of the time. Patients can use the devices without having to be concerned about making a mistake or having to deal with complex controls and bulky apparatus. It’s a definite win-win situation, and it’s only getting better.

Display screens also get rid of some of the room for error that previous devices had. With bright LED screens, it is easy for patients to figure out what the reading is, and they don’t have to wonder if they understood it properly. It could not be simpler.

Best of all, these products are FDA approved, and they require no doctor oversight to use successfully. This allows patients to take control of their lives and their treatment. There is still the need for doctors in treating high blood pressure, but a lot of menial, daily tasks can be left to the patient without any concerns. That means that patients can have the care they need when they need it and not have to rely on a doctor. They can determine when their condition is bad enough that they need medical treatment, and they can have a bit more freedom and autonomy in their lives.

In the future, we expect this technology to only improve. It is likely to become smaller and less invasive, and it will probably be even easier to use and more reliable than ever before. As good as they are right now, after all, there is always room for improvement in blood pressure monitoring technology.

Seamgem Apps for Healthcare

The Healthcare Guys
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Seamgem Apps for Healthcare

Healthcare is our common interest, and it is something every single one of us needs to focus on everyday in order to ensure we are happy, healthy and any health or medical issues that come up are dealt with quickly and efficiently. Today there are tons of applications which focus on healthcare and provide healthcare related assistance, may they be preventive, monitoring or other sort of applications.

The first health related applications were developed for sportsmen and sportswomen who need  constant monitoring of their heart rate and other bodily functions, in order to ensure that their training brings the best out of them. The first independent heart rate monitors for runners and running watches and bands came to the market about 15 years ago and have been successful ever since. However now, that most people are using mobile phones for nearly anything, it is all natural that today you can download tons of health related applications onto your mobile phone. Even more, iPhones come with health related apps by default too.

Seamgen is a high level app design and development company that works with a great, high quality team with sound experience in terms of app design for both Android and iOS devices and who constantly works to provide high quality apps, either straight to the users or for 3rd parties.  In this post we would like to present some of the most popular healthcare apps created by Seamgen.

Dizzydoctor

This is a real revolutionary all-in-one app which knows how to monitor tons of things. The app can be downloaded on both mobile devices and desktops, and apart from having the ability to deal with tons of things it deals with the diagnosis of paroxysmal positional vertigo. The high level app also uses the device’s camera in order to monitor eye and body movements and head movements in order to set a proper diagnosis. Going even further, with the help of the camera, the app is literally able to read someone’s eye: it would focus on the pupil’s movement, track and monitor it and also has the ability to make recordings which patients can later represent to their doctors.

Wellmed

This is a patient care platform which Seamgen has produced for the large healthcare company called Wellmed. This is an absolute complex yet easy to handle healthcare platform where patients or patients to-be can read and learn tons of important healthcare related information, they can join health insurance programs and book Medicare plans according to their current state and age. The application is much more than a simple informative platform. It also has health monitoring capabilities. Although the app was initially designed in 2011 thanks to continuous updating it’s still among the best in the healthcare app business.

These were only two out of the many healthcare related applications Seamgen is dealing with. To learn more about their healthcare apps please check out their website seamgen.com.

Patient Experience 101: The Future of Healthcare

Abhinav Shashank
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Patient Experience 101: The Future of Healthcare

Whatever we do in the healthcare space, it is eventually meant for the greater good of patients, which is why today the aim of modern healthcare is shifting towards value-based reimbursement and with that the process is getting modified accordingly. Gradually, patient-centric care is becoming prevalent. The current standards require enhanced patient experience, and that comes with improved quality, coordinated care at a reduced cost.

CMS when releasing the fact sheet for Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program for the year 2016, said in a statement, “We now pay hospitals for inpatient acute care services based on the quality of care, not just the quantity of services provided.” Backing this statement was the fact that out of the four quality domains, patient experience of care bore 25% of the weight. This led to hospitals working earnestly towards enhancing the patient experience and utilizing the massive potential to qualify for the bonus and improve on current standards.

Why does Patient Experience Matter?

Patient experience is an essential component of the IHI Triple Aim, a schema for elevating the standards of providers’ performance:

  1. Improving the patient experience of care.
  2. Improving population health.
  3. Reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.

Fortunately, health systems know that patient satisfaction isn’t just a tool for a performance bonus. Improving patient satisfaction is a way to identify gaps in care delivery and develop quality services. Also, according to a survey conducted by a health system found that out of 1,019 adults interviewed, 85% were dissatisfied with at least one aspect of their providers. Creating a patient-centric industry where experience and satisfaction of patients are overlooked is almost impossible!

Improving Patient Experience

A lot of researches have established that improving patient experience directly results in higher quality of care. Healthcare systems have realized the importance of the Triple Aim, and here’s how they can start working in this order on improving one of the fundamental aspects:

Patient Engagement a Priority

Patient engagement has been one of the most talked-about aspects of healthcare and unquestionably a way to improve the care experience. What we need to ensure is that the patient is willing to participate in the decision-making and the provider advocating this intervention. Even though healthcare providers are making efforts to improve patient engagement at their end, a survey revealed that only 34% of the patients are highly encouraged. Some effective methods patients found useful are:

  • 59% of the surveyed people found increased physician-patient time vital.
  • 54% of the patients favored being part of the decision-making.
  • 36% promoted the growth of patient access to services.

Using Data Analytics

Data analytics have proven their worth in healthcare, and we have only scratched the surface of the immense sea of possibilities that can be realized using data analytics. When it comes to advancing patient experience, data analytics can be used in several ways:

  • Gathering data and creating actionable follow-up plans for patients.
  • Leveraging data analytics for accurate analysis of patients and reducing readmission rate.
  • Data analysis can zero in on inefficiencies and medical errors and help reduce avoidable expenses.

Understanding the Patient

A lot has been done when it comes to understanding the patient and listening to them, and a lot more can be done. Establishing a relationship with the patient is paramount, and more than half of the patients interviewed believed that their relationship with their providers could be better, while 82% of them considered that empathetic doctors are crucial. Listening to patients’ problems, building a rapport with them and making follow-up plans would result in a stronger bond between physicians and patients.

Focusing on Physician Engagement

The merits of strong physician engagement are being realized gradually in the recent times, and there is no denying that prominent physician engagement works its way towards improving quality and enriching patient experience. Physician engagement creates an affinity between physicians with an inclusion of values and ethics, and the ultimate goal of improving patient care will be the driving force for them. Every time there is even one percent increase in physician engagement, the overall hospital HCAHPS rating increases by 0.33% and the chances of patients’ recommending the hospital rises by 0.25%!

Putting Technology to Use

Every small detail matters. For instance, Care Coordinators with simple contact details of patients can get in touch with them to find out their health status and plan care accordingly. One where it is made sure that patient has the means of transport for follow-up visits, medications, caretaker, and many necessities that contribute in delivering quality healthcare. When the patient changes the PCP, the information is transferred for continued care.

There could be other relevant use cases to quality management, patient 360, and other PHM activities.In this day and age, technology can be harnessed in a million ways and can come in handy for perfecting patient experience. Today, we have mHealth to connect patients on the go, patient portals providing transparency and wearable technology equipped with real-time alerts. All we need is to tap this potential and the gaps in patient satisfaction will patch up.

Patient Experience is not just a metric

Improving patient experience is a task for some, an opportunity for many. In the shift towards value-based care, patient experience is not just another metric mentioned by the CMS that hospitals need to report on. Patient satisfaction is more than a regulatory requirement that providers have to meet; it’s a way to identify gaps in caregiving, a way to improve the quality of services and more than anything, it is an indication of how well a health system is doing.

Patient experience is not just about inpatient experience; it extends to post-episode care. The goals undertaken by providers influence patient experience, and a rich patient experience shapes health outcomes. Aiming for sound and wholesome patient experience is central to delivering value-based care.

Health Plans Take Another Hit on Provider Directory Accuracy

Don Lee
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Health Plans Take Another Hit on Provider Directory Accuracy

CMS completed the first of three planned reviews of health plan Provider Directory Accuracy and the results were not good.  A few stats jump out:

  • Nearly half of provider directory locations listed were inaccurate. (i.e. provider was not at the location listed, phone number was incorrect, or provider was not accepting new patients when the directory indicated they were)
  • One health plan had errors in almost 90% of their location listings! I feel like this one must have a reasonable explanation because that is just too ridiculous to mean what we think it means, but one was not provided.

That level of inaccuracy leads to comments like this from CMS:

“These findings suggest that MAOs are not reviewing the accuracy of their provider directories to ensure they are valid.”

Put that together with recent legislation in California plus a growing list of studies from groups like JAMA and Health Affairs and you’ve got a situation that could get out of hand quickly for the health plans.  The perception is that the plans don’t care. That opens the door for political grandstanders to impose layer after layer of administrative burdens that are intended to fix the problem, but really just add pain and expense.

Health Plans Must Take the Lead on Provider Directory Accuracy

The Health Plan industry needs to grab this issue by the horns and show they’re taking it seriously. To an extent, this is starting to happen and I listed a few of those initiatives in  my last post on my last post on Provider Directories. The organizations that are already taking the lead on this should aim to be as visible and aggressive as possible. They should be working together where it’s reasonable to do so and they should be celebrating small wins loudly and publicly. If the industry can show a coherent plan to address the core issues, and demonstrate progress by taking out some low hanging fruit, then we may be able to keep the regulators at bay and solve this issue in the private sector.

The low hanging Provider Directory fruit

CMS identified 3 core issues that they saw in the first round of reviews. They’re reasonable and addressable, so the health plans would be wise to start with them:

  1. Group practices often list a provider at a location because the group has an office there, even if that specific provider rarely or never sees patients at that location.

Providers already have this information and it’s used in daily operations. The health plans must provide a simple way for this information to flow without asking the providers to enter it in 20 different systems everytime there’s a change. How do we get this info seamlessly out of the EHR/RCM systems where providers are already maintaining it?

2. There’s a general lack of internal audit and testing of directory accuracy

This one is straight-forward. Just do what CMS, JAMA and HealthAffairs did. Call and verify. Add a single, low-level position who’s job is to call providers on the directory and ask the questions CMS outlined in their report. When they get through the entire directory, they can start over and do it again. The process is simple and you likely have someone on your staff who’s under-utilized and can start doing this right now. Seriously… you could probably get started and be productive on this today.

If you want to get a little fancier, then put some automation in place that checks NPPES, PECOS and other open, online data sources for potential changes and flags. Or, look to your own claims data. What changes in claims data would indicate that you may need to make changes in the directory listing?  Flag these items and give them to the employee we hired in the previous step.

3. The health plans are reactive and expect the providers to update them when changes occur. For example, CMS found retired and deceased providers in many of the directories.

This is a team sport. Both the providers and payers need to be proactive. Ideally, as discussed in number 1, we’ll find a way to make the operationally maintained and validated provider data flow seamlessly from the EHR/RCM to the payers.  Short of that, the manual verification described in #2 will catch almost all of these problems and cost you very little.

Side note: This bit about the dead doctors is real. I was told by a C-level at a well-known hospital (you would all recognize the name) that he knew they had dead doctors on payroll. They’re literally paying dead people because their provider data is so bad.

CMS has already started round 2 of the provider directory review

CMS is currently reviewing the online provider directories for 64 Medicare Advantage plans. That includes the top 10 plans by enrollment (9 of which were reviewed in round 1) and 54 more plans selected at random (excluding those reviewed in round 1). So we’ll get a first look at 55 plans and a follow-up on 9 plan. I’m sure the numbers will be bad in round 2, but hopefully, we’ll at least see an uptick. If we do, and the industry can point to a groundswell of documented, self-directed process improvement activity then we may be able to hold off the regulators a bit longer.

Originally published at thehcbiz.com on February 9, 2017. More from #hcbiz on Provider Directory.

Business Functions That Are Costing You Time and Money

The Healthcare Guys
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Business Functions That Are Costing You Time and Money

“Take care of the Pennies and the Pounds will take care of themselves”

The above saying is supposed to mean that as long as you handle the little issues that make up the big issues then you won’t have to worry about the big issues themselves. However, in the context of small business such as in orthodontics, paying mind to the above saying could be a case of, “Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.” This means that if you focus too hard on certain mundane business functions, you will end up using too much time and eventually not make as much as you would have.

Where the money is Lost

There are certain business functions that are vital to the running of the business. Although these functions or processes are not part of the core business, it is these functions that ensure the core business can run smoothly. Vital as they are, these particular functions never actually bring in any money. As a small business owner, if you allow these functions to take up too much of your time, you’ll also be spending a lot of time not making money. Some of these functions include:

  1. Purchase of supplies: In a small business such as an orthodontics practice, there are supplies that are needed every day. However, the process of getting these supplies such as finding a suitable supplier and organizing for transportation can take up a lot of time and resources. These are things small businesses don’t have in plenty.
  2. Accounting and Payroll: These are necessary parts of any business whether large or small. Hiring a dedicated person to handle these functions can be expensive. However, the large amount of paperwork that comes with this particular function may mean sleepless nights for the business owner.Furthermore, any mistakes in these functions could have serious legal ramifications. This sme payroll software can make this job quite easy and smooth.
  3. Human resource management: Recruitment of employees and looking into their wellbeing can be a time-consuming task. A single orthodontist will not have the time to sift through the hundreds of people who’ll apply to for the post of receptionist or assistant. And even having to interview ten random candidates will mean time spent not treating patients.
  4. Tech Support: If you have to attend to every mundane equipment malfunction or if you have to figure out why the computer with all the employee information is not powering up, you’ll be spending a lot of time not attending to your clients.
  5. Marketing: What business can survive without marketing? Marketing can consume a lot of money but it’s the only way people will get to know about the business. However, if the business owner has to spend time away from the business to handle the marketing, they may even lose the clients they already have.

The Remedy

In small businesses, time is money and this means that the core function of the business should be running regardless of any other activities. How then will a small business owner ensure that all the other things are handled while they focus on the primary function of the business? The answer is to simply outsource these functions.

In a small business such as a Utah Orthodontics practice, there are supplies that are needed every day.

Outsourcing is not a new concept and has been successfully made use of by large companies to streamline their operations. Small business can now also take advantage of such services.

For example, in the field of orthodontics, OrthoSynetics has come up with a business model where existing practices can outsource certain functions to them at a fee. OrthoSynetics don’t own any of the businesses that they work with but they have helped many orthodontists to concentrate on the healing function of their business while they take on the other tasks such as accounting, marketing, purchase, administration and even tech support.

What this means to the Business

Using the above example, the orthodontist will be able to have more time and thus they’ll be able to see more patients on a given day and also have some time to themselves. Because the outsourced functions are being done by people who are better qualified to handle them, the jobs are being handled with fewer errors. The end result is that by outsourcing certain processes, many orthodontists have actually ended up making more money while having more free time.

5 Ways Creating a Mobile App Can Improve Your Healthcare Facility

Chris Pautsch
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5 Ways Creating a Mobile App Can Improve Your Healthcare Facility

Since smartphones became essential aspects of everyday American life, mobile apps have transformed and improved countless industries. Mobile app innovations for the healthcare industry, however, were relatively slow to develop by comparison. Though much has changed in recent years, and mobile apps are increasingly poised to revolutionize the healthcare industry.

The first signal that a seismic shift was occurring in the healthcare industry came via the news that Kaiser Permanente made the entirety of its industry-leading electronic healthcare system available to 9 million members by way of an Android app. As the largest medical organization in the nation, it did not take long for Kaiser Permanente to enjoy 95,000 downloads. Its app has been downloaded more than 1 million times since its release in 2012.

Once Kaiser Permanente embraced the benefits of mobile apps, other medical organizations were quick to follow suit. Here are five ways your healthcare facility can improve by embracing the proven benefits of mobile apps.

1. Mobile Apps Improve a Patient’s Access to Care

Thanks to mobile technology, there is really no need for patients to receive care based upon their doctor’s location. With mobile apps, patients who live in rural areas or even halfway around the world will not be limited to the medical care in their immediate physical vicinity. Not only does this improve the nature of doctor “visits,” it also can become an incredible weapon in the war against poverty and limited healthcare access.

Similarly, and perhaps more practically for most Americans, it is incredibly convenient to meet with a doctor from the comfort of your own home. For those dealing with a chronic disease or ailment, simply getting to the doctor’s office can be a burdensome endeavor. Mobile apps completely alleviate this burden, all while providing quality care.

2. Mobile Apps Can be an Invaluable Ally in the Fight Against Fraud

Medicare fraud is an unfortunate reality of traditional healthcare, but apps can be used to cut down on this abuse. Billions of dollars are lost each year through Medicare fraud, and there are a number of tools available in digital apps to substantially reduce these troubling figures.

Digital apps are quite capable of tracking people’s locations and transactions, and it will likely not be long until apps are capable of verifying claims data with location data and time information provided by digital apps.

3. Patient Safety is Enhanced by a Quality Healthcare App

A quality healthcare app benefits patient safety. To name just one example, elderly and chronically ill patients can avoid having to make dangerous and risky trips to a doctor’s office.

Additionally, digital apps can provide patients with the necessary tools to better manage their own health. For example, traditional hospital visits send patients away with packets of information. In all likelihood, too few patients actually take the time to go through this bundle of advice. A digital app can condense this paper waste into only the “must know” advice related to the patient’s specific medical needs, as compared to a generic information packet.

Apps can also set alarms or reminders for when to take medication and monitor patient side effects. Then, this information can be effortlessly passed to a healthcare provider, ensuring the patient and provider are on the same page.

4. Mobile Apps Overcome Traditional Barriers to Patient Engagement

Plenty of patients bristle at visiting a doctor due to the long wait times, unnecessary delays or even the hassle of scheduling an appointment. Digital apps eliminate these frustrations, and there are plenty of other engagement barriers an app can remove.

Imagine an app that keeps track of when you take pills, automatically prompting you to choose whether you want to pick up your next prescription or have it mailed to you. In these ways, apps are uniquely suited to make life easier, creating happier patients in the process.

5. Mobile Apps Will Continue to Create New Business Opportunities

Finally, the data collection capabilities of apps will provide the healthcare industry with new business models and opportunities. The rise of digital apps will require health providers to think of creative ways to manage data and patient care in a coordinated way.

Clever healthcare providers will get ahead of these developments to uncover new ways in which digital apps may be profitably utilized.

5 Simple Reasons to Have Fruits for Breakfast

Karishma Pandya
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5 Simple Reasons to Have Fruits for Breakfast

Lately, lots of awareness is spread about the advantages of having breakfast and the reasons why one should not skip this first meal of the day. Having breakfast is very important but more important yet is having the right food in breakfast. It has been observed that the right breakfast pumps energy into your entire day, while the wrong food choices in this first meal would affect your mood, digestive system, and wellness in general.

You must thus develop the habit of having breakfast, and then look for the right food choices. Waking up to a bowl of fresh fruits is one of the best gifts you can offer your body. Fruits are easy to digest, full of fibers, and loaded with goodness that makes your mind alert and body active. Some key reasons to have fruits for breakfast are –

1. Light on stomach, heavy on nutrients

Breakfast is usually the combination of carbohydrates, plant proteins, and animal proteins like eggs, vitamins, and fats. When you take up animal proteins in the morning, it fills up your stomach and stays there for a longer period. Your digestive system gets engaged in digesting these tough fats. It affects the detoxification phase that is usually clocked by your body in the initial 4 hours after waking up. Taking fruits in breakfast would support this detox phase and flush out toxins.

2. Replenish sugar

After fasting for the whole night, your body would crave for the sugar. You can feed your body with sugar by having a cup of sweetened coffee or tea only to harm your body more. Fruits have natural sugar that is complex in nature. Waking up to a big portion of juicy fruit would replenish sugar in the body and make your brain alert for the day by providing enough glucose.

3. Happy Bowel

Happy bowel is the one that is clean. Fruit fibers would flush out all the toxins and residues from the colon. You will love the feeling of lighter body throughout the day. The sodium levels in the body are also regulated effectively when you have water-dense fruits like watermelon, papaya, and muskmelon in the morning. Fruits reduce bloating by increasing urination.

4. No, they are not acidic!

Those who don’t eat fruits in their breakfast would give a simple reason that they are acidic. However,  fruits gets converted to alkaline once they enter the stomach. Even lemon that is acidic in nature would become alkaline after entering the stomach and reacts with sodium and potassium present there. You won’t complain the conditions like acid reflux once you make eating fruits a routine.

5. Fuller but lighter

It is an amazing feeling. A bowl full of fruit would make you full by sending a signal to the brain. It will stay so for longer and reduce the habit of snacking on all wrong things. At the same time your body feels lighter to stay active for long.

Fruits don’t need any preparation time. You can grab a whole fruit, juice it up, or blend it in a smoothie for a quick tasty meal loaded with ample health benefits.

Different apps can be used to motivate you and keep you on track when it comes to consuming fruit such as, Get Fresh with Fruit and Fruits For Health.

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