Our Homes Are Health Delivery Platforms – The New Home Health/Care at CES 2021
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted and re-shaped the annual CES across so many respects — the meeting of thousands making up the global consumer tech community “met” virtually, both keynote and education sessions were pre-recorded, and the lovely serendipity of learning and meeting new concepts and contacts wasn’t so straightforward. But for those of us working with and innovating solutions for health and health care, #CES2021 was baked with health goodness, in and beyond “digital health” categories. In my consumer-facing health care work, I’ve adopted the mantra that our homes are our health hubs. Reflecting on my many conversations during CES
How Retailers Are the New Public Health Purveyors
CVS stopped selling tobacco on October 1, 2014. In that moment, a Fortune 100 company stepped an entire foot, and not just a toe, into public health waters. [I covered that event with joy here in Health Populi as soon as it was announced months earlier on February 14th]. The company re-branded from CVS/pharmacy to CVS Health. That was a watershed moment in U.S. public health history, a wave that has continued to grow over the past six years to this moment, in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic. This week’s news that Best Buy will require shoppers to wear
The Coronavirus Impact on American Life, Part 2 – Our Mental Health
As the coronavirus pandemic’s curve of infected Americans ratchets up in the U.S., people are seeking comfort from listening to Dolly Parton’s bedtime stories, crushing on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s science-wrapped-with-empathy, and streaming the Tiger King on Netflix. These and other self-care tactics are taking hold in the U.S. as most people are “social distancing” or sheltering in place, based on numbers from the early April 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation health tracking poll on the impact of the coronavirus on American life. While the collective practice of #StayHome to #FlattenTheCurve is the best-practice advice from the science leaders at CDC, the NIAID
Income Inequality is Fostering Mis-Trust, the Edelman 2020 Trust Barometer Observes
Economic development has historically built trust among nations’ citizens. But in developed, wealthier parts of the world, like the U.S., “a record number of countries are experiencing an all-time high ‘mass-class’ trust divide,” according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer. For 20 years, Edelman has released its annual Trust Barometer every year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, recognizing the importance of trust in the global economy and society. Last year, it was the employer who was the most-trusted touch-point in citizens’ lives the world over, I discussed in Health Populi one year ago. This year, even our employers can’t
The 2020 Social Determinants of Health: Connectivity, Art, Air and Love
Across the U.S., the health/care ecosystem warmly embraced social determinants of health as a concept in 2019. A few of the mainstreaming-of-SDoH signposts in 2019 were: Cigna studying and focusing in on loneliness as a health and wellness risk factor Humana’s Bold Goal initiative targeting Medicare Advantage enrollees CVS building out an SDOH platform, collaborating with Unite US for the effort UPMC launching a social impact program focusing on SDoH, among other projects investing in social factors that bolster public health. As I pointed out in my 2020 Health Populi trendcast, the private sector is taking on more public health
The Link Between Wellness & Wealth Is Powerful for Everyone – and Especially Women
In the U.S., the link between wellness and wealth, money and health, is strong and common across people, young and old. But the impacts of money on health, well-being, and life choices varies across the ages, based on a study from Lively, a company that builds platforms for health savings accounts. The first chart illustrates that health care costs challenge people in many ways: the most obvious health care cost problems prevent people from saving more for retirement or paying down debt. Eight in 10 Americans concur that rising health care costs challenge their ability to save for retirement. Beyond the
Walmart’s Growing Footprint in Healthcare and Public Health, from Guns to Mental Health and Gardens
Over the past couple of weeks, Walmart is demonstrating its growing commitment to and leadership in healthcare and public health. The company’s announcement this week of pulling products that can be used in military-style weapons from its Outdoor Sports/Shooting department is a major move for public health that is something of a watershed that will impact well beyond the company’s inventory and stock price. This announcement will continue a trend among some thoughtful business leaders, like CEO Edward Stack of Dick’s Sporting Goods, banning gun sales from the retailer’s 125 stores in March 2019, who have begun to listen to
Jane will brainstorm telehealth, healthcare access and health equity at ATA's EDGE conference on 2nd February 2021.In his Forbes essay, "The Era of Health Citizenship Starts With Vaccine Confidence," W2O Group's Founder and CEO Jim Weiss explains Jane's model and call-to-action for health citizenship, accelerated in the era of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jane is grateful for the opportunity to interview Dr. Osterholm, a member of President Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, and public health leader at CIDRAP, during South-by-Southwest 2021. We'll be one of the Featured Speakers session for this important, timely conversation on "what's next" for the coronavirus pandemic in America and the world.
