Will We All Live to be 100?

An author predicts that we will all live to be 100.

I know, it sounds like a weird futuristic prediction, but author Sonia Arrison says that with help from the healthcare industry, we can all live to be 100 years old or more. To some, it might sound too good to be true, although I think that it could be exhausting.

In her new book, 100 Plus, she says that technology and healthcare will be working together to help people live longer lives. She theorizes that since scientists have mapped the human genome, they can reverse engineer it to allow medical professionals to repair damage and replace diseased or ageing organs.

It's an incredible idea, but I can't help but wonder what the impact of that type of longevity will be. Will we be forced to cope with an even larger population boom? Right now, as new people are born, older people die. It's the circle of life and increased life-spans will certainly delay the process. Already, our planet is struggling with overpopulation and some countries have even placed strict limits on reproduction. Will that become commonplace?

Another issue, at least to my mind, is healthcare costs. If it becomes possible for medical professionals to just grow a new heart using stem cells and replace a diseased one, what will the cost be? Will the life saving and life span extending procedures become something that only the rich will be able to afford? Will there be a black market for organs? Even worse, will there be greedy corporations who will offer financing for these organs?

If we had the potential to live over a century, what effect would that have on health insurance? Would we be able to have open-ended coverage? It seems to me that providing insurance that would cover all of these types of transplants and repairs would be expensive, not to mention the effects that so many surgeries would have on our bodies.

Although the idea of living past 100, with the help of science and technology is still a little far-fetched, it raises many concerns that we all should think about. Even though these futuristic medical treatments might be able to fight disease and aging, they won't be able to prevent accidental deaths.

It's interesting to think about the possibilities, but I don't think that this sort of technology is something we are likely to see in our lifetimes.

What do you think about this futuristic notion? Do you think it's possible? Let me know in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for HealthcareJobsiteBlog and Beyond.com.. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

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4 Tech Tricks To Improve Your Life

Create some new habits that can save you time and make you more productive.

Technology makes things a whole lot easier, but sometimes it can still be a pain to sort through loads of data and emails just to realize that the file you were looking for isn't there. It might seem like the technology is making things more difficult when you are struggling to sort through hundreds of emails and getting stuck doing repetitive tasks for what feels like an eternity.

Getting the most out of your technology will make you more effective and productive at work. And, as you probably know, staying organized and having access to your data is much more important when you are looking for a job. But, there are plenty of tips and tools that can help make you life easier and keep you working more efficiently.

Many of us are still learning how to make the most of the technology we have access to and aren't aware of some of the brilliantly useful shortcuts that are built right into our computers. To help you out, here are some tech tips to improve your life:

• Work faster without your mouse – Keyboard shortcuts are a lifesaver. They may not feel comfortable at first, but once you get used to them, they will save you tons of time. My favorite shortcuts are:
  • Ctrl-S to save a document.
  • Ctrl-T to open a new tab, or Ctrl-Click to open a link in a new tab.
  • Ctrl-C to copy
  • Ctrl-V to paste
  • Alt-Tab to cycle through all open windows
  • Windows-F launches the search tool
  • Windows-D minimizes all windows to show the desktop

• Use your camera phone as your personal photographic memory- Just about everyone has a camera in their cell phone these days. You may not have thought of it, but you can use the camera to help you remember everything. For example, you can take a picture of the sign in the parking garage so you will remember where you parked, take a picture of the item in the store you want to research later, take pictures of ads in sales papers before you go shopping or even snap photos of business cards, receipts and phone numbers. It is easier than writing them down, you don't need a pen and you won't lose the information.
  
  
• Consolidate email addresses with Gmail – Managing multiple email addresses can take up a lot of time. Consider creating a Gmail account. Gmail works as an email client and as an email host. It has a built in email fetcher, and can monitor the inbox on up to 5 additional email accounts. The best part is that you can even send email from your non-Gmail accounts directly from the Gmail compose screen. Just toggle the “from” address and the email will route from the selected account.
  
  
• Use Google Calendar to keep up with appointments and birthdays – The Google calender is easy to work with and will send you reminders about upcoming events via SMS text messages or email messaging. When you get emails in your Gmail account inviting you to an event or confirming an appointment, Google even prompts you to add the event to your calender.

Source:

PC World

What are your favorite time saving tech tricks? Let me know in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

5 Things College Freshmen Will Never Have to Do

This past week, I was going through college brochures with my daughter and it got me thinking about my college experience and how different hers would be. It was a shock to me when I realized that most of the students entering college this year were born in 1991 or 1992. The time when the war in Iraq was ending in an apparent success, when the Berlin wall came down and the U.S.S.R collapsed. Computers were just starting to become commonplace, although not widely used. We still typed our essays with a typewriter and white out was a staple of every student's school supplies. But times have changed and there are many things that were such a part of my life that most of our children will never experience.

Here are 5 things that new college students will never deal with:

1. No Internet, or Dial up Internet access- Remember that screechy dial up sound? Or worse, the busy signals and constant redials? Yeah, our children will never be able to understand, even if you explained it. With the world being so connected, college students send papers via email to their professors, and some students even take their classes online. Finding a college used to mean getting information packets, visiting the school to submit the application and the visiting again for an admissions interview. Now, all of that can be done with just a few clicks of the mouse.
   
   
2. Checking email frequently- For the younger generation, the idea of checking your email constantly is foreign. Email is used primarily for business communications and work. Keeping in touch with friends and family is much easier to do with social networking. The information can be delivered to their mobile phones and responded to right away.
   
   
3. Developing film- Last week, my daughter was trying to tell me that she wanted to get actual prints made of some photos she took at a concert. She said “I need to stop somewhere and get my pictures printed.” I asked if she meant that she needed to get some photos developed, and I all I got in reply was a confused look. I realized that I had my terminology all wrong.
   
   
4. Carrying cash or writing checks- When I was in college, almost every week I would have to go to the bank or the ATM at the bank to get cash for the week. Finding an ATM machine in places other than at the bank was rare. Now, when you have a debit card, there really isn't much need to carry around a lot of cash. In fact, most places even let you use a debit card at the laundromat, so the rolls of quarters each week aren't necessary either.
   
   
5. Using an actual map- My grandfather recently had asked my older sister to take him to his doctor. He actually went to AAA to get a map for her, so that she would know how to get there. Of course, she has GPS in her car and she has Google maps (not to mention that she was familiar with the place he needed to go) even for her, the idea of getting a fold up map seemed foreign and unnecessary.

Bonus:

Wearing a watch- Watches have become much more of a fashion accessory than a practical way to keep track of time. Unless you are Flava Flav, there is no need to have several reliable watches. Most everyone keeps a cell phone handy so knowing what time it is isn't so much of a problem.

Can you think of other things? Let me know in the comments.

Are you looking for a new job in the Philadelphia area? Take a look at PhillyJobs.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

The How, And Why, You Need To Embrace Social Network Strategies

Those working in the medical and health field have a formidable competitor these days when it comes to dispensing advice, insight and information about remedies and treatment: the Web.

As a recent article in the Charlotte Observer explains, patients are running to the Internet when they have a medical question, problem or issue and very often take online information as gospel, even when contradictory data is offered up by medical professionals during appointment times.

This means medical professionals are not only trying to educate patients about personal health issues, concerns and what to do, but have to make patients understand that Internet-info may not be all that reliable, trustworthy or factual.

So what can you do when dealing with this issue? Well first, says the article, you can refer patients to reputable and reliable sites such WebMD.com and tell them to make sure any site they use has the Health on the Net seal of approval.

The reason you don’t want to discourage patients from using online resources is simple: many people are already taking Internet data as pearls of wisdom to live by given a survey that shows Google searches come in second after meeting with a doctor on a medical concern.

What healthcare professionals may also want to do, and which could be a professional feather in the career cap, is talk to management and business leaders at their companies about doing some public service initiatives to help patients discern the fact from the false when it comes to Web research on medical topics.

Another potential way to help patients is to provide a social networking presence, whether it is a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, that lets physicians and medical staff offer up suggestions and insights about newly published materials and sites that can help patients make better decisions on care but always with the big caveat of attaining a medical professional’s advice of course.

Social networking efforts can be done without legal and liability issues coming into play, say experts, and provides a valuable add-on service that may make the difference when it comes to retaining patients and boosting patient rosters.

One good example in the article is a look at how the Carolinas HealthCare System has carved out a Facebook strategy that’s working and the challenges inherent in the social networking effort.


Looking for a new job in the healthcare industry? Check out the 226,947 jobs currently available.

By: Judy Mottl

Why IT Must Embrace Data Security In Pushing EHRs

It’s pretty much a no-brainer that electronic recordkeeping technology, once integrated and deployed, will save big amounts of time and money for medical and healthcare enterprises.

One industry report notes that digital health records could reduce costs in the U.S. by an estimated $80 to 100 billion every year.

But it also promises some big headaches for IT department tasked with managing, storing, protecting and providing access to the digital files.

So the IT professional’s role also includes making sure the data remains secure and confidential in nature, which means protecting users’ privacy.

Right now, according to a new paper from researchers at North Carolina State University's College of Management, that isn’t happening. The document, “Privacy and Security in the Implementation of Health Information Technology (Electronic Health Records): U.S. and EU Compared,” was co-authored by Janine Hiller and Matthew McMullen of Virginia Tech and Wade Chumney of Georgia Tech.

“Using electronic records allows the health-care system to operate more efficiently, minimizes duplicative testing, et cetera. But you can only get those cost reductions if everyone, or nearly everyone, makes use of the records, from health-care providers to pharmacies to insurance companies,” notes Dr. David Baumer, head of the business management department at NC State and co-author of the paper.

What’s needed in the U.S. is more public support about boosting privacy when it comes to EMR adoption such as what’s happening in the European nations.

“We are moving in the right direction in regard to putting better privacy protections in place, but we have a long way to go,” Baumer says in a press statement. “For example, approximately 50 percent of people in the U.S. have EHRs, but doctors will have to check for paper records until EHRs are so widespread that checking for paper records is no longer considered due diligence.” By way of comparison, approximately 95 percent of people in Holland have EHRs.

The paper offers up both technical and legal recommendations that could make EHRs more viable, including introduction of civil penalties if people share information inappropriately.




If you're thinking of moving into an IT healthcare job, check out this site for insight on what you need to know.

By: Judy Mottl