Author: Swastik Saraf

Retail giant Costco has teamed up with healthcare marketplace Sesame to offer its members access to sought-after weight loss medications and clinical consultation services. In an announcement, it was revealed that \”Effective immediately, Costco members across the nation can enroll in a comprehensive weight loss program through Sesame, priced at $179 for a three-month package\”. This initiative marks Costco\’s latest endeavor to provide affordable and accessible healthcare services to its members, following its successful partnership with Sesame in 2023, which focused on core health services like virtual primary care and mental health therapy. Through this expanded partnership, Costco members will…

Paris-based robotics entrepreneur Alexandre Boulanger, renowned for his work in self-balancing exoskeletons at Wandercraft, is now leading a new frontier in wearable technology. Leading the charge at Metyos, Boulanger and his co-founder, CTO Olga Chashchina, are spearheading the development of an arm-worn patch aimed at monitoring chronic kidney disease (CKD). The impetus behind Metyos comes from a convergence of factors: the burgeoning interest in biowearables, the escalating costs of healthcare provision, and the imperative to devise smarter solutions for managing chronic diseases. Leveraging expertise in biosensors, particularly in real-time sensing technology, Boulanger and Chashchina aim to create a semi-invasive device…

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital have achieved a significant medical breakthrough by successfully transplanting a genetically modified pig kidney into a living human. This monumental event marks a pivotal moment in the history of organ transplantation, potentially opening a new frontier in the fight against organ shortage crises. Rick Slayman, a 62-year-old Massachusetts Department of Transportation manager, became the recipient of this innovative transplant after being diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. Slayman, who has been a part of the hospital\’s transplant program for over a decade, had previously received a kidney transplant from a human donor in 2018. However, complications…

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a leading health and well-being company, has announced a substantial financial assistance program exceeding $2 billion to aid healthcare providers impacted by a recent cyberattack on the U.S. health system. This cyberattack has caused significant disruptions, prompting the company to take immediate action to support the continuity of healthcare services. In a concerted effort to mitigate the effects of the cyberattack and facilitate the recovery process, UnitedHealth Group, alongside Change Healthcare (NASDAQ: CHNG), has started rolling out medical claims preparation software. This deployment is a pivotal move towards the gradual restoration of full services to customers,…

Digital Healthcare applications and software are programmed to record and manage bulk data in a structured and systematic manner. They can track, collect, present, and analyze data to draw preliminary conclusions about a patient that help understand their condition in more detail. These apps are often linked with cloud storage systems making it hundreds of times easier to access old reports. It is therefore no surprise that the top Healthcare apps available in the United States today are recommended and used not only by chronic patients but also by physicians, nursing homes, and hospitals themselves to evaluate healthcare, medication, and…

Are Telehealth vs Telemedicine the same? Not really. Telehealth and telemedicine are often used interchangeably, but they are very different when it comes to the services they provide and the healthcare providers they involve. Telehealth refers broadly to the use of telecommunications technology to provide healthcare services remotely, including clinical services, education, and administrative functions. Telemedicine specifically focuses on clinical services delivered remotely through technology. When your insurance company or care management team talks about virtual interaction with physicians, they are most probably talking about telemedicine. Telehealth, on the other hand, focuses on both disease and well-being, meaning even healthy…

Modern society brings with itself several challenges, both internal and external – which is exactly why the use of similarly modern technology to combat healthcare obstacles and make way for better social integration for chronic patients is so crucial!  Understanding this, many of the leading healthcare tech companies have started coming up with state-of-the-art chronic care management services that provide a holistic, easy-to-use solution to the day-to-day struggles faced by us patients and our families. Today we have brought for our readers the ultimate list of chronic care management software options, each of which provides unique features and suffers from…

Are you looking for a painless alternative to the traditional, prick-based blood sugar measurement devices usually offered by healthcare professionals? Thankfully, these days everyone can afford and use the non-invasive glucometers that have captured the medical market. These either use vacuum blood-drawing methods or body-fluid reading techniques – the latter being a revolutionary experiment that is yet to become normalized. Would you like us to tell you about this in more detail? If yes, keep reading to understand the many qualities of some top glucometer tools and what makes them unique! How Can Blood Glucose Be Measured? For those with…

Modded medicine has come a long way – and one of its biggest challenges today is the provision of long-term care affordably and instantly. While resources to do the same in real life are dwindling, digital alternatives are coming up to take their place. Digital therapeutics kits and apps are almost like constant companions in our journey toward better health. These smart algorithms seem to understand us better than ourselves – they also share these reports with health professionals and caregivers to make the process of being healthy more rewarding. Not only chronic patients and individuals with intense mental disorders…

It is a significant development from the US FDA which has just given approval to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, a medication initially approved for weight loss, which has now also been approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in adults. This groundbreaking decision marks Wegovy as the first weight-loss medication to be approved for preventing life-threatening heart conditions in individuals with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese. Wegovy, an injectable semaglutide developed by Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, acts as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. The FDA’s recent announcement highlights its effectiveness in lowering the risk of…

A recent study conducted by researchers in Shanghai, China, has raised concerns about the consumption of diet sodas and other artificially sweetened beverages. According to the findings, individuals who consume two liters of such drinks daily may face a 20% higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a dangerous type of irregular heartbeat, compared to those who abstain from these beverages. Atrial fibrillation, often referred to as A-fib, is characterized by an erratic quivering of the heart’s upper chambers, disrupting the heart’s normal rhythm. Theodore Maglione, a cardiologist specializing in cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrhythmias at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital…

We know that there is no hiding the fact that obesity has become a major concern all around the world when it comes to health of our population and while there were doubts about malnutrition in the past few decades, obesity has now become the worst form of malnutrition in this day and age. It is worth noting that our mentality is also to blame for obesity where we believe that someone who is healthy or on the verge of being obese is nourished well as compared to someone who is slim and fit who we consider as undernourished. This…

Technology might have played a part in making humans prone to diseases – but it has certainly also given us ways to combat those limitations! Thanks to the latest smart, portable devices we can all become our doctors and take care of ourselves on a day-to-day basis. Remote Patient Monitoring is a preliminary system that includes multiple sets of devices that can track a patient’s body every day, even when they are far away from a doctor’s chamber. This technology is a lifesaver for those battling lifestyle diseases or chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, leukemia, etc. Most RPM healthcare devices…

Google-owned Fitbit is a compact, efficient device that can conduct several essential vital signs and biometrics monitoring on a minute basis. There are several different models available in the market today, and almost everyone is popular among its diverse and growing fan base – athletes, corporate workers, chronic patients, persons with special abilities, etc. Surprisingly, a Fitbit that tracks blood pressure is still not available in the market, though. And after waiting for years for the addition of such a simple but revolutionary technology, the wait might finally be over. When Will The Fitbit Blood Pressure Monitor Launch? Do Fitbits…

We know that weight loss drugs have become very popular but the extent to which they are in demand was not known earlier. Now, there is a report which says that Wegovy, the prescription weight loss drug, is experiencing unprecedented demand, leaving pharmacies and patients grappling with shortages. Developed by Novo Nordisk, Wegovy has become a beacon of hope for millions seeking to combat obesity, a condition affecting over 42% of American adults according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wegovy, approved by the FDA in 2021, stands out for its efficacy in facilitating significant weight loss…

We know that the world is still fighting COVID-19 and there is now a new evidence which has emerged suggesting that Long COVID might essentially be considered a form of brain injury. This revelation comes from a series of comprehensive studies that have meticulously analyzed the neurological symptoms presented by patients suffering from the condition known colloquially as Long COVID. Long COVID, characterized by persistent symptoms long after the acute phase of the infection has passed, has puzzled scientists and doctors since the pandemic’s outset. Symptoms range from chronic fatigue and brain fog to more severe neurological impairments, affecting millions…

The inaccessibility of regular healthcare in most countries of the world is alarming. The day isn’t far away when patients will have to take out a loan to go get checked up by a doctor!  Further, the wait of weeks before we receive an appointment is also concerning. Thankfully, this is somewhat mitigated by the medicinal help we receive through online healthcare services like doorstep delivery, caregiving assistance, etc.  One such amazing service is the Symptom Checker Software. Symptom Checkers like the Symptomate promise to make diagnosis instant and accessible by providing online assistance. Qualified AI algorithms included in this…

It is reported that Samsung Electronics has received the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its innovative sleep apnea detection feature in its latest smartwatch model. This marks a pivotal moment in the intersection of technology and healthcare, offering millions of users a potentially life-changing tool right on their wrists. Sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops and starts during sleep, affects millions worldwide and can lead to serious health complications if left untreated. The condition has traditionally required cumbersome and expensive sleep studies for diagnosis, involving overnight stays in clinics hooked up to multiple…

We know that a lot of links have been found between drugs that are used for something else but have been found to be useful for some other life-threatening diseases as well. Recently, we saw how the drugs used for diabetic patients are now used for weight loss and they are quite successful as well. Similarly, in a recent study published in the prestigious journal “Neurology,” researchers have unveiled potentially groundbreaking findings that suggest a link between the use of erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Conducted over a span of six years, the study…

A study published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry is very interesting and groundbreaking because researchers have uncovered a significant link between the use of weight loss drugs and a decreased likelihood of receiving new diagnoses of depression and anxiety. The findings, derived from a comprehensive analysis of health records, suggest that weight management medications might play an unexpected role in mental health care. We know that when you exercise daily, there are some hormones released inside your brain that uplift your mood but the same can be done via medication is a major revelation. The study, led by Dr.…