Tag Archives: health technology

Asthma Management: Lifestyle & Medicinal

May 11, 2018employee performance, well-beingasthma, asthma attack, Asthma management, asthma symptoms, cold virus, COPD, cost effective management, difficulty breathing, GSK, health technology, medication adherence, respiratory therapy, rhinovirus, September Asthma Peak, severe asthma phenotypes, sleeve sneeze, smart inhalers, spirometry, T-cell therapies, wearable technologyBestinCorporateHealth

Asthma Management: Preparation for the September Asthma Peak

Asthma management – was NOT what The Happenings had in mind with their hit “See You in September” !

Summer goes by quickly. Let’s start getting ready for asthma season.

Every September, there is a dramatic increase of children being take to Emergency Rooms with asthma attacks. Week 38, known as the September Asthma Peak, can be unpleasant for one in four Canadian students living with asthma. Alarmingly – each year in Canada – 20 children and 500 adults die from asthma.

According to the CDC, in 2013 the economic burden of Asthma in the workplace was 81.9 billion and the 2017 CDC stats say 8.3% of both adults and children have asthma, and there are 1.7 million ER visits yearly due to asthma and there were 3,615 deaths attributed to asthma.

An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms caused by the tightening of muscles around your airways (bronchospasm). During the asthma attack, the lining of the airways also becomes swollen or inflamed and thicker mucus — more than normal — is produced.

Asthma Management & other Upper Respiratory Disorders with Dave Allen GSK:

Dave Allen, the head of the Respiratory Therapy Area at GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and is responsible for the identification of novel differentiated medicines and their progression to registration and launch. He leads a group of over 200 scientists and clinicians who exploit scientific innovations that have the potential to address the major unmet needs in diseases such as COPD, severe asthma, acute lung injury and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Dave is a member of a number of GSK’s senior decision-making boards within research and development. In November 2014, Dave was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Strathclyde in recognition of his pioneering work in drug discovery. Dave joined the company as a research chemist in 1981 after completing his MA and BA at Oriel College, Oxford. During his career he has also worked on discovering antibiotics and cardiovascular medicines, as both a medicinal chemist and project leader.

Topics of Discussion:

Why do asthma attacks rise in September? Preparing for September through out the summer
Asthma management, COPD
Asthma triggers
Developing asthma at different ages
severe asthma phenotypes
a mild asthma – sudden increase in symptoms, difficulty breathing, always take asthma seriously
The spike in asthma in Canada, Israel & other countries in September
The cold virus, rhinovirus, transferring the cold virus & asthma
Triggers for asthma
medication adherence
The Canadian Sleeve Sneeze….so smart
Research in upper respiratory disease
T-cell therapies from oncology
Researching asthma focusing on people going in and out of remission
inflammation and disease, immune response
Stop smoking – its a necessity – once there is COPD it is not reversible
Burning animal dung……..ugh….and COPD
spirometry – assessing lung function
COPD + Cardiovascular disease
Smart Inhalers – digital inhalers the future of inhalers – cost effective management

Best In Corporate Health: Providing Health Technology , Live interactive webinars, Corporate health engagement and participation……

We provide the scalability & cost savings with technology, and still provide personalized health, guiding people to have fun participating, all toward the corporate health culture.

URAC approved health technology…..Having earned the trust of 6 million people per month

health hub
personal health record….import health data into one space
digital health coaching determined by Health Risk Assessment
white labelled
Health Risk Assessment (Customizable)
Extensive reporting – Productivity, Presenteeism, Data to measure ROI VOI
wearable technology
virtual adventures
Corporate challenges
Fully integrate with other health tech
Engagement……the most robust health technology platform at an unbeatable price
Choosing the best specialist: rankings & cost
Live, interactive webinars: engagement, building health literacy –

Shira Litwack, Corporate Program Designer — Shira Litwack, BSc, Corporate Wellness specialist, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist

Questions, brainstorming, demos……..Shira@BestInCorporatehealth.com

Let us customize your corporate health program.

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Articles featured in: European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio

Ankylosing Spondylitis – May is Arthritis Month

May 8, 2018well-beingabsenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace, accurate diagnosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, arthritis, Axial Spondyloarthritis, back pain, chronic pain, cost savings with technology, digital health coaching, digital health technology, effects of inflammation, health hub, health technology, HLA-B27, May is National Arthritis Month, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, rheumatologist, Spondylitis Association of America, UHN Toronto, uveitis, We've Got Your BackBestinCorporateHealth

Ankylosing Spondylitis…An Interview with Dr. Nigil Haroon

Ankylosing Spondylitis is a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine, although other joints can be affected, causing inflammation of the vertebrae and can lead to severe, chronic pain and discomfort.

Back pain is a major cause of absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace.

May is National Arthritis Month

Ankylosing Spondylitis is not a rare disease. The Spondylitis Association of America says it is more prevalent than multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease combined, but, it is tricky to diagnose. It can take up to 10 years from the time the first symptom is experienced to get an accurate diagnosis. Patients often have to see five or more health professionals, and over 60% (finally) get their diagnosis from a rheumatologist.

Today with Dr. Haroon, we discuss:

differentiating Ankylosing Spondylitis from arthritis, from back pain
ASAS International Society for the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis
Axial Spondyloarthritis
Diagnosis
Symptoms: differences to mechanical back pain & osteoarthritis
The importance of exercise
The effects of inflammation – symptoms throughout the body, potential risk with cardiovascular disease
Eye (uveitis), gut & skin (psoriasis) side effects
High association with a gene HLA-B27, Genomics
The window of opportunity for diagnosis providing best treatment & outcomes
“We’ve Got your back ” UHN Education for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Medication choices
Lifestyle tips – Group exercise, seeing a physiotherapist
Epidemic of arthritis now: lifestyle tips- Diet, exercise, caloric restriction, compression

More info, please refer to StandUpToBackPain.ca

Dr. Nigil Haroon:

University Health Network, in our own very beautiful Toronto, Ontario Canada. Dr. Haroon is Associate Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology, University of Toronto, and speaks 4 languages!!! From my research – it looks like the Doctor has earned the Dr. several times over between medical school, internal medicine, Immunology, rheumatology, and sure why not get a PhD as well! Listen & learn with Dr. Haroon

Providing Health Technology , Live interactive webinars, Corporate health engagement and participation……

We provide the scalability & cost savings with technology, and still provide personalized health, guiding people to have fun participating, all toward the corporate health culture.

URAC approved health technology…..Having earned the trust of 6 million people per month

health hub
personal health record….import health data into one space
digital health coaching determined by Health Risk Assessment
white labelled
Health Risk Assessment (Customizable)
Extensive reporting – Productivity, Presenteeism, Data to measure ROI VOI
wearable technology
virtual adventures
Corporate challenges
Fully integrate with other health tech
Engagement……the most robust health technology platform at an unbeatable price
Choosing the best specialist: rankings & cost
Live, interactive webinars: engagement, building health literacy –

Questions, brainstorming, demos……..Shira@BestInCorporatehealth.com

Let us customize your corporate health program.

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Physical Activity While Sitting

April 11, 2018employee performanceaerobic exercise, CDC preventing chronic illness, corporate health engagement and participation, desk job, drink water, elevate heart rate, employees happy, focus and productivity, great investment for employers, health of brain cells, health technology, kegel exercises, muscle mass, oxygenating the brain, physical activity, physical activity while sitting, sedentary lifestyle, sitting is the new smoking, technology platform, turkey neck, urinary control, wearable device, work stationBestinCorporateHealth

Physical Activity While sitting – Preventing Chronic Disease

Physical activity while sitting…. Make it a habit.

Given the CDC release of yet another study concluding the omnipotent role of physical activity in our lives, a brief list for the desk bound. Physical activity does not have to be in a gym. Even when confined to the deadly potential of sitting, physical activity while sitting is a habit to nurture.

Physically active = Work the muscles + elevate the heart rate (from physical activity not stress)

A brief summation from the CDC Preventing Chronic Disease Percentage of Deaths Associated With Inadequate Physical Activity in the United States

“Current physical activity guidelines recommend that adults participate weekly in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity equivalent aerobic physical activity to achieve substantial health benefits. Conclusions:

A significant portion of deaths was attributed to inadequate levels of physical activity. Increasing adults’ physical activity levels to meet current guidelines is likely one way to reduce the risk of premature death in the United States”

Yes, sitting is the new smoking. Sitting is a reality of our computer dependant lives, so let’s evolve to:

Walk hourly, as much as possible
Get physical activity while sitting

One of the more profound experiences of my life was about 10 years ago sitting in a hospital room wth my uncle, as he was in a coma. He stroked out during angioplasty, unblocking the arteries of the heart, and lay in a coma for many months afterwards. My uncle, albeit a brilliant man in many ways, a Queen’s Counsel, he thought our beliefs in a healthy diet and exercise were “rubbish”. While he was in the coma, physical therapists came around every hour to work his muscles for him – not just to stop bed rash, but to work his muscles to pump. It is just that important.

Current stats show us most North Americans are are sitting an average of 13 hours a day and sleeping an average of 8 hours resulting in a sedentary lifestyle of around 21 hours a day……..

Do you have a desk job, spend a great deal of time driving, in front of the television, computer, dining table…….Experts say, for those with a desk job, we should start standing up at work for at least two hours a day — and work our way toward four.

One of the best investments I ever made was my work station bike. I can peddle away while I am working. There is a wide variety of work station exercise equipment. Check around for the best deals. Certainly a great investment in your health, energy, focus and productivity! A great investment for employers, work stations get employees happy, healthy & productive (oxygenating the brain), and very appreciative.

Another great investment is a heart monitor or a wearable device that monitors activity and heart rate at a minimum. Please don’t believe the calories burned in most of the devices out there. Again, we want to elevate heart rate from movement and using that precious muscle mass.

A few ideas for physical activity while sitting:

Keep resistance bands at your desk. Use them
Dance in your seat – who cares if anyone is watching – hopefully it’s contagious
Tennis ball squeeze – raise your arm in the air and squeeze, Squeeze between the knees….
Feet on the ground: step in place push hard into the floor
Pump arms, pump legs, torso twist…..
Great time to do Kegel exercises – improve urinary control & your sex life. 50-100 reps
“No turkey neck” exercises – counteract always having head down to computer
Stretch the neck gently, carefully, release stress and deep breathe
Get up and walk at least 3 minutes per hour
Drink water so vital to your health and make you go to the bathroom more often
I keep a Pilates wheel at my desk
Isometric contractions – push against a static force, such as the floor and breathe deep. Push hands against each other Not recommended for those with high blood pressure.
Many telephone calls can be done while standing

There is an endless list here.

And while watching television?

Don’t just watch DWTS, Dance with the stars. Don’t just lay down on the sofa, do leg lifts, bridges…..core work……. Choose your fav TV show – and make that an exercise time, even from your sofa.

Life combo: Our heart speeds ⇒ raising heart rate to pump extra food and oxygen to those beautiful muscles. Breathing speeds up to get more oxygen and to get rid of more carbon dioxide. The more muscles we work together, the better the physical activity.

Aerobic exercise to increase blood flow to the brain. Aerobic exercise can raise our cardiovascular function and, thereby, also increase blood flow to the brain. Further, it is very helpful for oxygenating the body, which will improve the health of brain cells and tissue connections

And a BTW here, if you think you have “no energy”, “no time”, “no strength”, “too sore” for any of these – chances are very high that you are not getting enough physical activity. The more you do it, the more you want it. Physical activity while sitting can be invigorating, the more you do it the more you want it, the more physical activity you will crave.

Rest Is Rust, Motion is Lotion!

Physical Activity while sitting at the office? – Ask us – let us get your employees happy, healthy & productive.

Providing Health Technology , Live interactive webinars, Corporate health engagement and participation……

URAC approved health technology…..Having earned the trust of 6 million people per month

health hub
personal health record….import health data into one space
digital health coaching
white labelled
Health Risk Assessment (Customizable)
Extensive reporting
wearable technology
virtual adventures
Corporate challenges
Fully integrate with other health tech
engagement……the most robust health technology platform at an unbeatable price

Choosing the best & most affordable specialist, live coaching & webinars, choosing insurance……all your health benefits simplified, integrated & most of all, affordable

Questions, brainstorming, demos……..Shira@BestInCorporatehealth.com

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Cyberchondria..Depending on Dr. Google

March 13, 2018employee performanceabnormal psych, affordable healthcare, anxiety, Cyberchondria, Dr. Google, employee health programs, health literacy, health technology, personal health record, self diagnosing, URAC approved, virtual adventuresBestinCorporateHealth

Cyberchondria……Is Dr. Google infiltrating our heads?

Cyberchondria – Uh Huh……the fears we get from reading too much from Dr. Google. It is not empowering with knowledge, but debilitating with anxiety. And worse of all – people are self diagnosing.

I remember when I was studying in high school and college, um, before the internet and the resident Dr. Google, I was a health sciences student – I majored in psychology & chemistry. The worse was abnormal psych. I was actually fearful and diagnosed myself with every illness.

Well now its far easier to self diagnose ourselves with every physiological & psychological illness, driving us to cyberchondria.

Avoiding Cyberchondria:

Remember how it was said “get a second opinion”? Googling our symptoms and concerns can lead to far more than “second opinions”. Check out carefully the credentials of the author, institution…anyone can call themselves an expert. As I always say, my chihuahua could post something on the internet. OK, she happens to be a very smart chihuahua, but no, she is not an accredited healthcare professional.
Send those junk emails to spam. Those emails that promise you …the “unpromiseable”. You know, the cures, achieving the unthinkable, discount drugs and supplements, ignore them all – and please do not click on any links. Scaremongering is a tactic to play with the head. A reputable source will not be sending out spam.
Do not take anything, supplement or otherwise, unless consulted with a healthcare professional. The truth is you could be creating an issue, or, have an interaction with medication.
Researchers have proven that the constant checking – attempts to self diagnose – that we go through online actually increase, rather than decrease, anxiety about physical ailments. We are not helping ourselves.
Be an active partner with your healthcare professionals. Keep a personal health record. Record any symptoms & go for regular checkups. Discuss with your healthcare professionals any symptoms or issues you might be having – but leave out the judgment and diagnosis. Leave that to the professionals.
Sure get educated. There are a number of great, reliable health sites from reputable organizations. Get on the email list and learn. Feel confident you are learning from reliable resources. Any of these reliable resources, will tell you to never self diagnose, and their information is to never replace seeking help from healthcare professionals.
Live a healthy lifestyle. Eat a healthy diet, get exercise & physical activity, breathe, have fun. It is overwhelming how living a healthy, balanced lifestyle can help you analyze more logically.
You take control, don’t let the internet control you. Be a savvy researcher. A researcher knows what goes into forming a conclusion, it is far beyond cyber surfing. Use reliable sites to learn, not to diagnose. Ask your medical doctor, naturopaths…whatever healthcare professionals you have entrusted with your health which sites they recommend. Use the information to ask informed questions, not to judge and panic. Health literacy is to be commended.
The same goes for apps. Just because someone has an app does NOT make them a health expert.
If you are blessed to have access to Tele-health or Tele-medicine, contact them with your concerns. Check out employee health programs, community health programs that have validated the authenticity of the providers. Get engaged. Become a health ambassador in your company and community.

Remember: Psychologists tell us, the experience of being left alone with our own thoughts can potentially turn out to be anything but relaxing. In fact, it can be downright anxiety producing. Ever woken up in a cold sweat? Our minds can have a tendency to race, running away with our concerns. Thoughts can spiral out of control, building a web of anxiety and confusion that is not easy to claw through the panic and back to reality. Decipher the cyberchondria from reality. Taking deep breaths, counting to five while inhaling and five as exhaling, can help alleviate fears. Go for a walk and deep breathe, tickle your senses with joy.

URAC approved health technology…..No more Dr. Google…affordable employee health

health hub, personal health record, digital health coaching, white labelled, Health Risk Assessment, Extensive reporting, wearable technology, virtual adventures, engagement……the most robust health technology platform at an unbeatable price…..Everyone deserves affordable healthcare – ask me for a demo.

Interactive corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place. Ask us about our digital health platform and our wearable technology program – where wellness programs are included!

Informative ➪ Informalive

Shira@BestInCorporateHealth.com

“Abbey Normal” Brain, Young Frankenstein……Enjoy!

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 15 years:

Health Technology Cutting Presenteeism

December 1, 2017employee performance, well-beingBest in Corporate Health, corporate health programs, digital health platform, employee health, engaged in wellness, health and wellness programs, health related work losses, health technology, illness related absenteeism, interactive corporate heath, interactive learning, medical expenditures, presenteeism, preventing illness, productivity loss, public health hazard, TEC, Technology Enabled Care, total cost of presenteeism, wearable technologyBestinCorporateHealth

Health Technology: Boosting Engagement – Reducing Presenteeism

That pesty presenteeism – that nasty cloud over productivity – like smog over a metropolis…….health technology, waking people up to their health……

Unlike absenteeism, presenteeism is more insidious. You know when employees don’t show up for work, but we don’t know when—or how much—illness or a medical condition is hindering someone’s performance…we only detect sub par quality or productivity. Researchers have found that less time is lost from people staying home than from them showing up but not performing at full capacity.

The National Institute of Health refers to presenteeism as a public health hazard.

According to the National Health Survey the average working adult American experiences an average of two episodes of medical symptoms a month or twenty-four a year. Duration of episodes vary. The majority of the time people choose to go to work rather than stay at home. 42% of respondents say they go to work exhausted or feeling ill regularly.

Getting people engaged in their health successfully is a critical component of reducing presenteeism. Enter health technology…..to infinity and beyond!

Remember Charlie Brown’s teacher? Are we doing this with health & wellness programs?

Harvard: Health-related work losses are estimated to cost US employers more than $260 billion each year, and may cost some companies more than direct medical expenditures.

American Productivity Audit— Calculated the total cost of presenteeism in the United States to be more than $150 billion per year. Studies confirm that presenteeism is far more costly than illness-related absenteeism or disability. On-the-job productivity loss resulting from depression and pain was roughly three times greater than the absence-related productivity loss attributed to these conditions. That is, less time was actually lost from people staying home than showing up but not performing.

Gallup– 70 % of U.S. employees are not showing up to work fully committed to deliver their best performance. Adding insult to injury, 52 percent of those workers are basically sleepwalking through their day, and 18 percent of them are busy acting out their unhappiness.

Health Technology…The move from Informative ➪ Informalive

Finally, we have the ability to get people engaged in wellness, thanks to health technology. We all agree we need to get people more into wellness, taking charge of their health – managing existing conditions and preventing illness.

I know I have quoted the CDC on this many times before, so please forgive the repetition.

80% of chronic illnesses are lifestyle induced…..

But people are tired of being lectured, everyone thinks they are too busy…whatever the reason. Health technology engages people, often fascinates people, and here is some data, explaining why interactive learning is far superior to the traditional “lecture based” or reading based learning.

National Academy of Sciences– Undergraduate students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more stimulating, so-called active learning methods.
The meta-analysis concluded that teaching approaches that turned students into active participants rather than passive listeners reduced failure rates and boosted scores on exams by almost one-half a standard deviation.

Interactive learning in the workplace….

59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video
54% of senior executives share work related videos with colleagues weekly
4x as many customer would rather watch a video about a product than read about it
YouTube has over a billion users, almost one-third of all people on the internet
48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next yea
People spend on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without

When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.

Getting Employees Interactive with Health Technology…….Make it pleasure, not pain!

TEC Technology Enabled Care: A collective term for telecare, telehealth, telemedicine, digital health TEC unites health technology, digital, media and mobile telecommunications and has become a cornerstone of health technology and wellness solutions addressing many of the challenges facing the health and social services allowing access to everyone, affordability, privacy…. A good, thorough wellness platform will encompass all of these services, provide cohesion and act as a triage for corporate health as well as employee health.

The aim of TEC is to improve people’s ability to self-manage their health and wellbeing, alert healthcare professionals to potentially unhealthy changes in health, wellness compliance and support medication adherence.

Digital Health Platforms: Health Technology with endless possibilities…Happily earning the trust of 6 million viewers per month

Wearable Technology.……health technology Extraordinaire! Creating health, incentivize, reward, wellness programs all in one. Not all wearable technology are worth the faith or $$. Only choose wearable devices that present actual biometrics – NOT calculated data based on averages.

Nothing has gotten people off the couch like wearable technology.

Interactive corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place. Ask us about our digital health platform and our wearable technology program – where wellness programs are included!

Informative ➪ Informalive

Shira@BestInCorporateHealth.com

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years: