A woman in Illinois spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care to help her through a mental health crisis. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic.
(Image credit: Alyssa Schukar for KHN)
Children of parents with Type 1 diabetes have an elevated risk of getting the disease. For some families, a trial that provided annual screenings gave them information to prepare for the worst.
(Image credit: Ross Mantle for NPR)
Making your own Classic Coleslaw at home is so easy! This one tastes just like the stuff you buy at the store but is so much better for your health! Try it once, you’ll never go back…
It looks like the content of my fridge is dictating the course of my posts, lately… This time, I had a bunch of cabbage that needed to be used up, so I figured I would make my usual, go-to, favorite coleslaw of all times. And that lead me to realize that, while I had already shared this recipe with you, it had been ages, and I’d since improved it a bit! And also too, my old pictures could totally use a little revamping. So I thought it was well worth the update… Cuz I mean hey, who doesn’t like coleslaw, right?
Sometimes, though, making coleslaw can be a little bit intimidating… it’s hard to get it to taste just right, like the one we’re used to, the stuff we usually buy at the store, that’s seemingly healthy on the surface, but so very unhealthy once one takes a good long look at the list of ingredients… Scary, I tell you! How it is that they managed to take such a healthy dish and turn it into some kind of culinary monstrosity is beyond me.
But this homemade version, I’m telling you, is super easy to make and it tastes just like the “real deal”. I’ve no doubt that once you’ve made it, you will never again be tempted to go for the ready-made version; especially not if you have indeed checked that list of ingredients.
Alright, so let’s make us some slaw. It’s no rocket science, you’ll see.
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This Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is super quick to make and keeps well for several days in the fridge, making it an ideal contender for your next potluck, picnic, barbecue or other any social gathering where you’re expected to bring food…
This is a super simple yet crazy tasty salad that you can totally serve any time of the year, and that goes good with just about anything, too!
It’ll be your best friend for picnics, potlucks, barbecues, or any other social gathering where you are expected to bring food. Indeed, this quinoa salad will remain good and keep looking fresh for a few days, so you can totally make it way ahead of time. In fact, it’s probably better that you do, as it becomes tastier after a good sit in the fridge. Well, you might not want to push your luck, but 1 or 2 days is totally acceptable.
Plus, since it calls for very simple ingredients that can usually be found year round, you’ll have no problem whipping it up whenever you feel like it.
And although I tend to think of it as a great side dish, it would also make for a pretty awesome meal on its own…
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Cities and counties aren't the only ones suing opioid manufacturers. Hospitals have also filed lawsuits, seeking to recover the costs of treating opioid addiction and overdoses.
When I read ‘Fear of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients in Bed I was reminded of the old adage, ‘What gets measured gets done.’
In this video I lay out three solutions to the problem of overzealous pursuit of fall reduction:
What do you think?
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By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.
The post What gets measured gets done. So be careful what you measure! appeared first on Health Business Group.
A quiet revolution is underway in healthcare data. A decade after the HITECH Act spurred the rapid adoption of electronic medical records, we are seeing the resulting data being integrated with other sources such as insurance claims, clinical registries and social determinants of health to produce richer data sets for analysis and action.
As we’ve noted in our own consulting work, Datavant has emerged as a key player in connecting disparate data sources at the patient level while protecting privacy. The company’s methodology anonymizes patient identifiers with a unique patient key, matches records across data sets, and enables data exchange.
So I was excited to attend Datavant’s Future of Health Data Summit in Washington, DC earlier this month. As one would expect from a company that strives to organize and present data efficiently, accurately, and clearly, it was a quality event. The day featured 40-minute panels with strong moderators and 3-4 expert panelists along with keynotes from luminaries such as former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, CDER Director Janet Woodcock, and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
The closing panel, Healthcare Policy, Value-Based Care and Data Sharing was typical of the program. Moderator Neal Katyal (former Acting US Solicitor General) made the most of the expertise of panelists David Shulkin (Former VA Secretary), Mona Siddiqui (Chief Data Officer, HHS) and Andrew von Eschenbach (former FDA Commissioner).
They were all passionate about the ability to finally leverage healthcare data at scale. Shulkin talked about using data to prevent suicides of veterans. The highest incidence is in the first year after discharge, when they risk falling between the cracks as they transition from the DoD to VA system. Siddiqui bemoaned the difficulties of confronting the opioid crisis with 2-year old data, and von Eschenbach spoke of the potential to transform the whole healthcare system by improving care and reducing costs.
Shulkin seemed the most skeptical about where things are headed in the near term, predicting incremental change in the healthcare system as the most likely outcome of the fight between Medicare-for-All Democrats and Republicans who want to crush federal involvement. When Siddiqui gushed about the potential to use the planet’s largest healthcare data set (from CMS) in hackathons and challenges and system redesigns, Shulkin interjected that working with the government was, “not for the feint of heart,” and “,not a great strategy for a young company.”
There was an interesting back and forth about how to get the public comfortable with data sharing, how to overcome the decline of public trust in general, and how to address privacy from a policy and technological standpoint.
The panelists generally agreed that patients would be on board if they saw how use of data could help with their own care, and that even spectacular data breaches wouldn’t completely erode patients’ trust in the system. We have become accustomed to such breaches with our financial data, after all.
Shulkin thought people would get really upset if they learned that their data was for sale. I disagree -I think consumers are already coming to terms with their data being sold throughout the rest of the information economy; it’s by no means unique to healthcare.
In closing, von Eschenbach said he was “incredibly optimistic” due to the tremendous energy coming into the process right now. It’s a chaotic environment, he said, but we’ll look back in five years and be grateful for today’s chaos.
Shulkin pointed to the large number of healthcare data companies formed over the past three years, using that as an indicator of the level of optimism in the field. It wasn’t evident to me that he fully shares this optimism.
And Siddiqui presented herself as a realist but also a bit of a visionary and optimist, who is thinking about the healthcare system that we want to have. For her –and many of us– it’s one that’s more technology enabled, virtual care enabled, and homecare centric.
I’m heading to the HLTH conference in Las Vegas next week. I hope it’s as worthwhile as the Datavant event!
By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.
The post Future of Health Data –the Big Brains convene! appeared first on Health Business Group.
Diabetes can double a person's chances of developing Alzheimer's. Now researchers are beginning to understand the role of brain metabolism in the development of the dementia.
(Image credit: Science Source)
Got a bunch of veggies in the fridge in desperate need to be used up? This Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice is the perfect solution for you!
That’s the way it goes, isn’t it? Whenever you find yourself with a bunch of veggies in the fridge that desperately need to be used up, you immediately think “Fried Rice”. Well, at least that’s the way it goes for me… The good thing with fried rice is that it’s so versatile, you can throw in just about any vegetables you happen to have on hand that day. Or protein, for that matter!
While I must admit that the veggies I had in the fridge that day are particularly well suited and worked especially good in this dish, feel totally free to swap things around. The only thing you must keep in mind is that you should always work in “layers” and add your veggies according to how long they take to cook, starting with the slowest cooking first, and finishing with those that barely require any cooking at all. Follow this simple rule and you’ll be good to go. Even ratios of rice to veggies aren’t that important; you can’t really go wrong here, just follow your own preference… Likewise, feel free to use a different kind of protein, or a different variety of nut, if you don’t care for the ones I used.
Just let your imagination go nuts and make cleaning the fridge fun and delicious!
The post Vegan Tofu Cashew Fried Rice appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.
NPR's Scott Simon asks UC Davis Health psychiatrist Amy Barnhorst about training doctors to prevent gun deaths through counseling patients.
The science is nascent and a little squishy, but researchers are trying to better understand ASMR — a feeling triggered in the brains of some people by certain soft sounds and gentle gestures.
(Image credit: Catie Dull/NPR)
These Vegan Black Bean Brownies are so incredibly fudgy, dense and intensely chocolate-y, yet they are made from nothing but healthy, wholesome ingredients! Serve them at your next party and don’t say a thing: I can guarantee you that not a single soul will be able to tell…
Don’t think it’s even possible to make a decent brownie while leaving out the oil, butter, eggs and sugar? Well, I don’t blame you because I was pretty much in that exact same boat, until just a few days ago…
But then I did get a major craving for a good brownie, so I was left with no other option than to try my chances! I spent a couple of hours studying many recipes and from that, elaborated one that I thought would fit meet my needs. Or well, crossed my fingers that it would, anyway.
Well, guys, not only did these brownies meet my expectations, they totally blew them out of the water! I kid you not: these black bean brownies, they are probably the best brownies I’ve ever had! They really ARE super fudgy and dense, and so intensely chocolate-y, I swear, you can’t even tell that there are actually black beans in there. You’d swear they were the absolute real deal!
Take my word for it… next time you too get a craving for a good brownie, whip up a batch of these. I swear, they will totally BLOW YOUR MIND!
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Delicious, rich, creamy, filled with all kinds of bold flavors and a little kick of heat, this Vegan Thai Green Curry Tofu is a hearty, comforting meal that’s as good for your body as it is pleasing to the palate.
I recently attended a well-needed 6 day silent meditation retreat and well, usually, in those kinds of events, the food is kinda meh... I mean let’s face it, sometimes when cooking for larger groups of people, the overall quality of the food inevitably has to suffer. But wow, seriously? NOT that time! Every single day, we were treated to the most amazing and delicious vegan meals! As luck would have it, Tammy, the cook at the Samadhi Center, is a very good chef with years of experience in vegan cooking, and she did a fantastic job feeding us. Man oh man, I just never wanted to leave her side…
Of all the fantastic dishes she whipped up for us, my ultimate favorite was her Thai Green Curry Tofu. And apparently, I was not the only one: at the end of the retreat, after the silence had been lifted, we all agreed to say that this curry was THE ABSOLUTE BOMB!!
And although Tammy swore that she would send me her recipe as soon as she’d typed it — she’d only scribbled it onto a piece of paper when she’d created it, that day — I just didn’t have the patience to wait and proceeded to recreate it from memory – both from what I had tasted and from what I’d seen on said piece of paper when Tammy quickly showed it to me. While it’s not exactly the same (besides, even if I’d had her exact recipe, it still wouldn’t have been exactly the same) it’s just as crazy tasty, rich, creamy, filled with all kinds of bold flavors and a good little kick of heat!
Do yourselves a favor, make this. Make this today. I can guarantee you that it won’t be the last time!
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Researchers say chronic pain patients can feel suicidal or risk overdose when taken off medication too quickly. The warnings seek to course-correct after doctors felt pressured to taper drugs rapidly.
(Image credit: Douglas Sacha/Getty Images)
Most of the bans aim to curb emissions and protect pedestrians. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest they don't have that effect.
(Image credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
Spicy crumbled tempeh, loads of veggies and warm cashew queso scattered over a bed of organic corn tortilla chips… These Vegan Nachos with Spicy Crumbled Tempeh are the ultimate party food made good for you!
Nachos are definitely one of my favorite party foods! Since going vegan, they are one of the things that I’ve missed the most, especially when visiting my favorite local micro-brewery, where they [unfortunately] make a wicked plate of nachos, which is now totally off limits for me. Mind you, it’s probably better this way I guess, since their version is far from being healthy…
After making a batch of Cashew Queso the other day, I decided that this was the perfect occasion for me to try my hand at creating a much healthier version of this favorite party food of mine. I loaded it with all kinds of beautiful vegetables, added some yummy spicy crumbled tempeh and drizzled the whole thing with warm cashew queso. Wow! Talk about an explosion of flavors!
While I must admit that something has to be said for having loads of melted cheese to sort of hold everything together, which unfortunately the queso doesn’t do, this version has so much flavor to it that it totally compensates. Plus, I’m using much less tortilla chips, too… which also contributes to the whole yuminess factor. Less chips, more toppings. I’m all for that!
Only thing is: I strongly recommend grabbing a fork and a napkin or two before you dig in. You’re definitely going to need them!
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NPR's Noel King talks to Kate Pickert about surviving cancer. Pickert is the author of the new book, Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America.
Harvard's William G. Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe of Oxford University and Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore share the prize.
Vaping has attracted a new generation to nicotine, and is fueling a dangerous outbreak of lung disease. If you're a parent of a teen you're probably worried. But what should you say to your kids?
(Image credit: Meaghan Browning/Getty Images)
I’m not gonna be sharing a recipe today. I feel I need to clear the air instead…
It’s now been 10 months since I decided to go vegan, yet this place still has a very strong paleo flavor because of my past paleo life and I’ve been growing more and more uncomfortable with it. So I decided it was time for me to change that… As such, The Healthy Foodie is getting a brand new look! Of course, there will be a few inevitable hiccups to deal with initially, and, over the next few weeks, I will be putting more focus and energy on having this place better reflect my new beliefs and convictions, and also refine the super cool new Browse Recipes feature… Please, bear with me while I do that!
Unfortunately though, no matter how strongly I feel about veganism and how much I am convinced that it’s the right thing to do for the planet as well as for the animals, and much as I feel uneasy about all the meat-based and other non-vegan recipes on here, they do represent many many years of hard work and I can’t simply go about deleting them all. Besides, I feel it wouldn’t really be the right thing to do. I will learn to compose with their presence and embrace all of my recipes, past and present! I once was a meat eater and I think I have to come to terms with that.
However, I’m hoping that with time, the meat-based recipes will become less and less prominent on this blog and will get replaced with as many delicious plant-based, cruelty-free, good for you and good for the environment recipes.
But my real true hope is that this change will also happen in each and every one of your plates, if it hasn’t already, and that you will soon not even care to make any of my old recipes. (more…)
The post TIME FOR CHANGE! appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.
This Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie is a quick, easy, simple, nutritious and delicious way to start your day... or to keep your tummy satisfied when you're on the go!
I can't believe it had been that long since I'd last had a smoothie. In fact, for some strange reason, I'd almost forgotten that they even existed. I don't think that I've ever had one since going vegan at the beginning of this year.
But then eventually, I inevitably got a craving for one, and of course, had to go with one of my favorite flavor combos in the world: peanut butter and chocolate.
If you know me, then you're no stranger to the fact that I like to add all kinds of "unexpected" ingredients to my smoothies, in an effort to make them more nutritious, give them a boost of flavor and lots of texture: I love my smoothies to be thick and to offer my teeth a little bit of something to chew on.
This time, I decided to throw in a whole half cup of chickpeas to my Peanut Butter and Chocolate Smoothie. You read that one right: chickpeas. I figured their nutty flavor would serve to emphasize that of the peanuts, that they would also do a tremendous job as a thickener and would help a great deal in boosting the protein content.
I'm happy to report that they did a superb job on all 3 accounts! Try it for yourself, you'll see...
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