AI tool helps radiologists detect brain aneurysms

Radiologists improved their diagnoses of brain aneurysms with the help of an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by medical experts and computer scientists.

* This article was originally published here

Study links sleep-disordered breathing to age acceleration

Increasing severity of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep disruption are associated with epigenetic age acceleration, according to preliminary results of a new study.

* This article was originally published here

Disturbed sleep linked to mental health problems in natural disaster survivors

Preliminary results from a new study suggest that sleep disturbances are associated with mental health problems among survivors of a natural disaster even two years after the event.

* This article was originally published here

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Squares

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Squares... Need I say more? Chocolate, Peanut Butter... that's all you need to know, right? Oh, and also vegan, gluten-free, made with a bunch of wholesome ingredients, super quick and easy to make. But really, who cares? Peanut butter and chocolaaaaate! Oh yeah, I know!

Peanut butter and chocolate... simply put, they're a match made in heaven! Some dreamy food combination thought up by the gods themselves. Right? Right! 

If you agree with the above statement, then you need to stop what you are doing right now and immediately run to your kitchen to whip up a batch of these babies. You won't believe how much flavor they pack under their hood! Think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, to the tenth power, in a much less sweet version. We're talking intense dark chocolate jab followed by a crazy peanut butter uppercut. These bars, they will send you straight to the floor, I tell you.

The best part is they are super super quick and easy to make! Ready in under fifteen minutes (well, the bad news is you then have to give them time to set... but just keep yourself occupied and that hour will totally fly by) and won't even dirty up the kitchen. All you need to make them are a few basic kitchen implements and a handful of simple ingredients.

Seriously... so easy, even a child could make them! 

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The post Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Squares appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.

* This article was originally published here

Circling the wagons in Rhode Island: I’m quoted in the Boston Globe

I’m getting tired of this

Looks like Rhode Island would rather create a health system monopoly than allow in a competitor from Big Bad Massachusetts. Partners HealthCare has been trying to acquire the second largest hospital system in RI, but now the governor has pulled together the three biggest systems to see if they can come together instead.

Partners is staging a tactical retreat (see Partners pulls out of talks for Rhode Island health system) in the Boston Globe.

Thankfully, I am not privy to the details of how things operate in Rhode Island and I don’t know how hard these three systems’ heads are being banged together to get them to team up. But my guess is there’s a good chance the parties will fail to coalesce and that Partners will be back.

Here’s what I told the Globe:

“It was clear that some of the powers that be in Rhode Island want to maintain a Rhode Island-dominated health care system,” said David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group, a Boston consulting firm.

“I don’t think it’s actually going to solve any of their economic problems,” Williams said, “and I think it’s reasonably likely that Partners will be back at the table in three to six months after Rhode Island determines that going it alone is not viable.”

—

By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.

The post Circling the wagons in Rhode Island: I’m quoted in the Boston Globe appeared first on Health Business Group.

* This article was originally published here

How Doctors Can Stop Stigmatizing — And Start Helping — Kids With Obesity

Physicians often harbor unconscious bias against kids and teens with obesity. It affects how they talk with their patients and can make kids' health worse. Some doctors are trying a new approach.

(Image credit: Andrea D'Aquino for NPR)

* This article was originally published here

'Well' Explores The Social And Political Underpinnings Of Health

In a new book, physician Sandro Galea calls for a change in how we talk about health in America. The real drivers of wellness, he argues, are not personal choice, but our history, policies and values.

(Image credit: WIN-Initiative/Getty Images/WIN-Initiative RM)

* This article was originally published here

Cashew Maple Spread

Much healthier than the fake, overly sweet store-bought stuff, this deliciously creamy Cashew Maple Spread requires only 2 ingredients and 5 minutes of your time to make! A heavenly treat that will no doubt become a pantry staple! 

When I was a kid, my mom would always buy relatively healthy food for us... Breakfast food items would include things like whole wheat bread, whole grain cereal, granola, apple sauce, peanut butter and all natural fruit jams. Sometimes, though, she would let me and my brothers choose a little indulgent treat for ourselves. Me? I would invariably choose the same thing: Map-O-Spread. Boy, oh boy did I love that stuff! If you're not familiar, it's a super crazy sweet, artificially flavored maple spread, made with sugar, sugar, and more sugar. Don't think I need to tell you that there's absolutely nothing healthy about it. 

Recently, I got some kind of a flashback that this thing existed and sort of started craving it. Of course, there was no way I was gonna give in to that! Besides, to be honest, I don't even know if it's still available at the store... Instead, I came up with this lovely, and much healthier, Cashew Maple Spread recipe. While it's not as sweet as the original — which is only a good thing, trust me! — this spread has the same creamy, sticky and velvety texture. 

And the best part is, it only requires 2 ingredients and 5 minutes of your time to come together... Faster than it would take to go to the store! 

I get the feeling I'll be indulging often... 

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The post Cashew Maple Spread appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.

* This article was originally published here

Partners names interim CEO. I’m quoted in the Boston Globe

Partners HealthCare moved quickly to appoint Dr. Anne Klibanski as interim CEO after the resignation of Dr. David Torchiana. I was quoted in the Boston Globe story about it:

The Boston health care consultant David Williams said naming an interim CEO gives the board some time to conduct a thorough search for a permanent replacement.

“They have a history of taking a senior physician and making them CEO of Partners,’’ said Williams, the president of Health Business Group. “Now I think they’re not sure if they want to do that again or if they want to look more broadly for, say, a business person.”

Partners would be wise to thing long and hard about what kind of a person should lead the organization. It may also be time to confront some of the internal contradictions and misalignments within the system and to consider restructuring. That may await the next CEO.

—-

By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.

The post Partners names interim CEO. I’m quoted in the Boston Globe appeared first on Health Business Group.

* This article was originally published here

Prescription drug costs steadily soar, yet price transparency is lacking

After reviewing tens of millions of insurance claims for the country's 49 most popular brand-name prescription drugs, a team found that net prices rose by a median of 76 percent from January 2012 through December 2017 -- with most products going up once or twice per year.

* This article was originally published here