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Michigan Addresses COVID-19, Take a Breath, Polio/TB Lessons, and Tips 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Michigan Addresses COVID-19, Take a Breath, Polio/TB Lessons, and Tips

The COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) continues to dominate the news in the US and across the world. The number of cases, and deaths, continue to rise. Today, Michigan reports over 22,700 COVID-19 cases and 1,270 lives lost. Michigan state…

What you need to know about the withdrawal of ranitidine (Zantac) 224 203 AEPC Health

What you need to know about the withdrawal of ranitidine (Zantac)

On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) announced it was requesting manufacturers to withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) ranitidine drugs from the market immediately. Ranitidine, sold as Zantac and generic equivalents,…

‘First, do no harm’ guides the practice of active surveillance for prostate cancer patients 2309 1299 AEPC Health

‘First, do no harm’ guides the practice of active surveillance for prostate cancer patients

When it comes to cancer, we frequently equate early detection with early treatment so that the cancer can be removed before it has a chance to spread and cause irreparable, sometimes fatal, harm. For prostate…

COVID-19 Spread, Masks, Mental Health & The Lighter Side 2121 1414 AEPC Health

COVID-19 Spread, Masks, Mental Health & The Lighter Side

The COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in the US and across the world dominates the news – from the number of cases, lives lost, and economic impact. The number of cases in Michigan continues to rise, with over 12,700 today…

CVS Health Announces COVID-19 Measures Focused on Patient Access 1920 943 AEPC Health

CVS Health Announces COVID-19 Measures Focused on Patient Access

CVS Health, the preferred Pharmacy Benefits Manager for AEPC’s prescription drug program, announced these COVID-19 related actions to assist all participating AEPC groups and their members. Additionally, most participating organizations in AEPC’s Pharmacy Benefits Plan…

COVID-19 Resource List 2560 1707 AEPC Health

COVID-19 Resource List

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact ever-increasing aspects of our personal and community health, the following resources may be useful to find credible information and assistance. COVID-19 screening tools COVID-19 Hotline: 888-535-6136, 7 days…

Coronavirus Screening Tools, Drug Hoarding, DNRs and More 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Coronavirus Screening Tools, Drug Hoarding, DNRs and More

The growth in the number of cases of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in the US and across the world dominates the news.  As of 5:30 pm today, there were over 100,700 US COVID-19 cases compared with around 16,600 last Friday.…

Struggling with medical debt? You’re not alone, and here’s what you can do about it. 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Struggling with medical debt? You’re not alone, and here’s what you can do about it.

Managing your personal finances can be tough even when you and your loved ones are healthy. But adding in expensive medical bills can lead to higher stress levels just at the time you need to…

Coronavirus- Treatment, Perspectives, Tips and News 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Coronavirus- Treatment, Perspectives, Tips and News

Last Friday, the US had approximately 1,300 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. As of 4:00 pm, today, there are over 16,600 cases.  This week, there has been a flood of new information about the disease, such as the risk it poses…

Struggling to pay for health care affects people with insurance 1732 1732 AEPC Health

Struggling to pay for health care affects people with insurance

Financial stress, hardship, and even bankruptcy caused by medical bills is a well-documented story in the United States. Health care costs topped $3.6 trillion in 2018, and having some type of employment-based health insurance is…

Coronavirus – Prevention and Preparedness 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Coronavirus – Prevention and Preparedness

The situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is changing minute by minute. There is no lack of news on the many dimensions of the pandemic ranging from prevention, testing, preparedness, event cancellations, and more.  Sorting through the information can sometimes…

Exhausted from the “spring forward”? Here’s how to cope 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Exhausted from the “spring forward”? Here’s how to cope

If you’re feeling tired and groggy this Monday morning, you’re not alone. Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts on Sunday at 2 am, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening by “springing…

How long can Coronavirus survive on surfaces? Be on the lookout in these places. 2121 1414 AEPC Health

How long can Coronavirus survive on surfaces? Be on the lookout in these places.

Practicing good due diligence on how to stop the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has recently become a top priority in nearly every setting. Whether you’re thinking about how it spreads at home, work, school, or…

Coronavirus – COVID-19 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Coronavirus – COVID-19

Today the World Health Organization (WHO) increased its COVID-19 (coronavirus ) risk assessment to “very high” as the number of confirmed cases outside of China grow. COVID-19 is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,800…

Great news: cancer deaths are down! How to keep the trend going in the right direction 1500 1000 AEPC Health

Great news: cancer deaths are down! How to keep the trend going in the right direction

And now for some good news! The annual Cancer Facts & Figures released in January by the American Cancer Society (ACS) indicates a nearly 30 percent drop in cancer death rates. The 30 percent drop…

Dire Projections for US Health – the Growing Epidemic 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Dire Projections for US Health – the Growing Epidemic

Climate change is not the only source of dire projections. In 10 years, nearly one in two adults will be obese. Nearly one in four will be severely obese – with a body mass index over 35, which means…

How does the President’s 2021 Budget affect healthcare? 2121 1414 AEPC Health

How does the President’s 2021 Budget affect healthcare?

In what promises to be a highly charged process to determine next year’s federal budget, the President released hisproposed 2021 Budget on February 10th. Over the coming months, Congress will review the President’s Budget, eventually coming…

The Leading Cause of Death for Women 2121 1414 AEPC Health

The Leading Cause of Death for Women

  Every February the American Heart Association’s women’s initiative, Go Red For Women, takes a multifaceted approach to increase women’s’ heart health awareness. A few quick facts: The No. 1 killer of women is cardiovascular disease.…

“I enjoy kissing more.” 2121 1414 AEPC Health

“I enjoy kissing more.”

A newly released U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking Cessation offers a big shot of support for individuals and healthcare systems seeking to curb smoking. That’s great, because the well-known facts about the harm smoking wreaks…

Coronavirus vs. Influenza – Know the Risks 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Coronavirus vs. Influenza – Know the Risks

The number of confirmed cases and deaths from the coronavirus continue to grow as it spreads across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency over the coronavirus with cases confirmed in the Asia-Pacific region,…

Could the latest challenge to the ACA threaten health care for millions? 2560 1707 AEPC Health

Could the latest challenge to the ACA threaten health care for millions?

Now facing its third major court challenge since being enacted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (sometimes called “Obamacare”) could be overturned if a lawsuit currently making its way through the system is successful.…

Youth Suicide – 2nd Leading Cause of Death 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Youth Suicide – 2nd Leading Cause of Death

Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among  people ages 10 to 24, topped only by accidents. After declining for nearly two decades, the suicide rate among Americans ages 10 to 24 jumped 56 percent between 2007…

Antibiotics aren’t always the best cure 2119 1414 AEPC Health

Antibiotics aren’t always the best cure

Medical professionals are no longer quick to prescribe antibiotics for ailments that commonly plague us during the winter months. This can be frustrating when you’re miserable with a cold or flu, but there’s solid science…

Is it just teenage moodiness or depression? 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Is it just teenage moodiness or depression?

Is it just teenage moodiness, irritability or something more?  The National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 3.2 million 12- to 17-year-olds have had at least one major depressive episode within the past 12…

Rural hospitals in crisis 2119 1414 AEPC Health

Rural hospitals in crisis

The Michigan budget deal reached late last year restored roughly $25 million to rural hospitals, halting the financial axe that was about to come down on its 70 rural hospitals. Losing those funds would have…

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” 2121 1414 AEPC Health

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke the words quoted above in a 1966 speech to the Medical Committee for…

More than seasonal blues: SAD 2242 1338 AEPC Health

More than seasonal blues: SAD

Gray days, fewer daylight hours, and less sunshine mark the winter months. For some, winter triggers a specific type of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD doesn’t occur exclusively in winter, though summer seasonal…

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare – Ethical, Privacy and Other Issues 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare – Ethical, Privacy and Other Issues

Last week’s  Weekend Reading segment provided materials on the history of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as its current and future role in healthcare. While AI offers opportunities to improve healthcare quality and control costs, it raises ethical, data security, and other…

2020 Resolutions . . . there’s an app for that 2560 1703 AEPC Health

2020 Resolutions . . . there’s an app for that

Looking to make good on your New Year’s resolutions? Chances are there’s an app that’ll help you stay on track. Here’s a quick look at a few apps or sources for apps that address the…

Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare 2121 1414 AEPC Health

Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare

The term “artificial intelligence” was coined in the mid-1950s, by Professor John McCarthy, which he would define as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” Although there is no standard definition of artificial intelligence (or machine learning), it is in broad…

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