Topic: Disease Management

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Jun 20 2023

Sun Life 11th annual High Cost Claims Report: Insights and strategies to help you lower your risk of the top serious conditions

Health Risk Management

Sun Life publishes an annual research report focused on the highest cost health insurance claims. The data in the report is drawn from Sun Life’s stop loss claims, a type of insurance employers who self-fund their health insurance plan purchase to protect against the financial impact of very high cost health insurance claims. This year’s... Read More

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virtual seconc opinions
Mar 7 2023

The pros and cons of in-person and virtual second opinions

Second Opinion

A second opinion can be a valuable decision making tool for people who have been diagnosed with a complex, rare, or serious health problem or who have received a recommendation for surgery. You may also want to seek a second opinion if your current treatment isn’t working as expected, you live in an area where... Read More

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heat-related illness
Aug 2 2022

Overheated or heat-related illness? How to tell the difference.

Healthy Living  •  By Miles Varn, MD

If you feel like there have been more very hot days this year, you’re right. Data gathered by NASA projects that there’s a 99% likelihood that 2022 will rank among the ten hottest years on record. But what does this excessive heat mean for your health? Very hot weather increases the risk of heat-related illness.... Read More

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teens
Feb 8 2022

Strategies to encourage teens and young adults to take COVID precautions

Family Caregiving  •  By Miles Varn, MD

As the omicron COVID-19 variant drives record high case numbers in the U.S., public health experts are recommending that people redouble their efforts to lower their risk of contracting and spreading the virus. The key steps of risk mitigation are familiar by this point in the pandemic: Getting vaccinated and boosted as recommended Wearing masks... Read More

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Lifestyle medicine
Dec 14 2021

Could lifestyle medicine help you be healthier?

Healthy Living  •  By Miles Varn, MD

You know what a healthy lifestyle looks like—healthy food choices, regular activity, and avoiding health harming habits like smoking, excess alcohol, and substance use disorder. What you might not know is that there are physicians and other healthcare providers who focus on preventing and treating health problems by using evidence-based therapeutic lifestyle interventions to prevent... Read More

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medical cannabis
Oct 12 2021

Medical cannabis 101: A discussion with Dr. Caroline MacCallum

Complementary & Integrative Medicine  •  By Michael Scott, ND, MSA

Medical cannabis has been legalized in all but 14 states in the U.S. and its use for treating a range of conditions is a growing topic of conversation in the medical community. We talked with Caroline MacCallum, MD, a specialist in internal medicine, with expertise in complex pain and cannabinoid medicine. Dr. MacCallum is the... Read More

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preventive care
Jun 29 2021

Answers to common questions about preventive care

Preventive Care  •  By Miles Varn, MD

Preventive care is the foundation of a strategy to help lower your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes and mange risk factors for diseases like cancer. The goal is to help preserve your health, manage any health issues you’ve been diagnosed with, and detect serious diseases like cancer as early as possible... Read More

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medication review
Nov 17 2020

Should you ask your doctor for a medication review?

Health Risk Management  •  By Miles Varn, MD

According to statistics gathered by the CDC, nearly half of adults in the U.S. take one prescription medication, while nearly a quarter take three or more prescription medications. The numbers are even higher for people who are 65 and older. Eighty-nine percent of people included in a Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll take one... Read More

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social distancing
Sep 22 2020

Five strategies to encourage teens to practice social distancing

Family Caregiving  •  By Miles Varn, MD

Recent increases in the number of COVID-19 cases in U.S. have included a rise in the number of people under the age of 18 who are contracting the virus. Part of the reason for the growth in the number of teens and young adults who test positive for COVID-19 is their failure, or in some... Read More

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COVID-19
Sep 1 2020

Strategies to help you manage the high cost of care for COVID-19

Health finance  •  By Miles Varn, MD

There’s no doubt the cost of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 is high. Data collected by FAIR Health found costs that ranged from approximately $37,000 to more than $93,000 per patient, depending on age, location, and whether the patient had other health problems that increased the risk of complications from the virus. Early in... Read More

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