Tag: Health

Climate Change Is Having Widespread Health Impacts

Loknath Das

The climate crisis is making people sicker—worsening illnesses ranging from seasonal allergies to heart and lung disease. Children, pregnant people and the elderly are the most at risk from extreme weather and rising heat. But the impact of the climate crisis—for patients, doctors and researchers—is already being felt across every specialty of medicine, with worse feared to come. “There’s research suggesting that our prescription medications may be causing harm because of changing heat patterns,” said Aaron Bernstein, a pediatric hospitalist who is the co-director of the Center for Climate, Health and the…

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NHA, IRDAI recommend measures for effective healthcare through health insurance

Loknath Das

New Delhi: National Health Authority (NHA) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in a joint report released on Saturday recommended best practices, common standards, collaborative measures and IT framework for effective healthcare through health insurance in India. The report stated that such a robust arrangement will benefit all stakeholders – beneficiaries, policyholders, insurers, state health agencies, healthcare providers, implementing agencies and intermediaries etc. The Reports of Joint Working Group focus on — Hospital Network Management, Common IT Infrastructure for Health Insurance Claims Management, Fraud & Abuse Control and on Data Standards…

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Starbucks to boost workers’ mental health benefits, reduce ‘remedial tasks’

Loknath Das

CHICAGO — As 12,000 Starbucks store managers from the U.S. and Canada descended on Chicago this week, the coffee chain announced a series of changes coming soon that will affect employees. Starbucks’ Leadership Experience was the first conference for its employees since 2014 and CEO Kevin Johnson’s first since taking the reins as chief executive in 2017. Mental health initiatives One initiative is centered on mental health. Starbucks hosted two sessions on mental health during the conference and has more resources about the topic in the works. Its employee assistance program, which…

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Family health insurance: Medical health insurance for family in India

Loknath Das

Family health insurance plan is a complete package which is specially designed to offer protection to the insured and his family. Under a family health insurance plan, you can cover yourself, your spouse, dependent children (above 90 days) and dependent parents (65 years) against health issues. Family health insurance plans also take care of the treatment in case of a critical illness or serious medical conditions. Taking a family health insurance plan works out cheaper than purchasing individual health insurance plans for everyone. Insurers in India provide customized health insurance…

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These 5 healthcare startups will help you keep track of your health and fitness

Loknath Das

The healthcare sector in India is growing at a brisk pace, thanks to its improved services and coverage. Technology has also played an important role in transforming healthcare services in our country. However, numbers show that expenditure on matters related to healthcare expenditure has been lukewarm. In 2016, the country spent 3.66 percent of GDP for this sector, which was further reduced to 1.4 percent in 2018. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is seen as a fitness icon and a big believer in yoga. So much that he went on to say that yoga…

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Top psychiatrist voices caution over student mental health study

Loknath Das

A leading psychiatrist has warned against drawing definitive conclusions from a survey of students in which a third of respondents said they had a formal diagnosis of a mental health difficulty at some point in their lives. Brendan Kelly, professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, said the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) study, published on Tuesday, “highlights the issue of student mental health, which is incredibly important and often neglected”. But he said the low response rate of less than 1 per cent of third-level students “limit[s] the fine-grained…

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Despite calls to start over, US health system covers 90%

Loknath Das

America’s much-maligned health care system is covering 9 out of 10 people, a fact that hasn’t stopped the 2020 presidential candidates from refighting battles about how to provide coverage, from Bernie Sanders’ call for replacing private insurance with a government plan to President Donald Trump’s pledge to erase the Affordable Care Act and start over. The politicians are depicting a system in meltdown. The numbers point to a different story, not as dire and more nuanced. Government surveys show that about 90% of the population has coverage , largely preserving gains from…

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Insurers may deny health cover to diabetics dependent on insulin

Loknath Das

I am 40 years old and have a health plan from my employer. I have diabetes and am planning to take a separate health insurance for myself. Will the new health plan cover diabetes? —Asif Rehman Buying an independent health insurance, despite having a group insurance cover, is a good move. Consider a sum insured equal to your annual income. Opt for a plan with high no-claim bonus. You can accrue this bonus while you are still covered under your employer’s policy. Diabetes will be considered a pre-existing illness for your new plan. For…

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9 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Pears

Loknath Das

Pears are sweet, bell-shaped fruits that have been enjoyed since ancient times. They can be eaten crisp or soft. They’re not only delicious but also offer many health benefits backed by science. Here are 9 impressive health benefits of pears. Share on Pinterest 1. Highly nutritious Pears come in many different varieties. Bartlett, Bosc, and D’Anjou pears are among the most popular, but around 100 types are grown worldwide (1Trusted Source). A medium-sized pear (178 grams) provides the following nutrients (2): Calories: 101 Protein: 1 gram Carbs: 27 grams Fiber: 6 grams Vitamin C: 12%…

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More evidence that ultra-processed foods could harm health

Loknath Das

Previous research has suggested that consuming high levels of ultra-processed foods, such as packaged snacks and soda, could harm health. Two new studies confirm this notion and provide more evidence of the associated cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risks. Eating processed foods may raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. Numerous studies have linked a high consumption of ultra-processed foods with a raised risk of chronic conditions. Cancer, type 2 diabetes, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis are just a few of the outcomes associated with consuming processed foods. Some studies have also suggested that consuming processed meat…

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