The Caregiver’s Voice article excerpts this month include a blood test that can determine when you will die, Lyft’s health-care impact, leaving a lasting gift, and why many of us resist using online patient portals.
When will you die?
Steve Horvath, a biostatistician at the University of California, Los Angeles, has it all figured out. A blood sample is all it takes to determine (within four years) when you will die. He calls it the GrimAge test. Insurers are interested.
Leaving a Legacy: How Do You Want to Be Remembered?
[Update 11/7/2022: The title Merrill Lynch URL is no longer available. The following article provides similar information: Legacy Planning: Shaping the Future with a Trust]
Nearly half of Americans age 55 and older don’t have a will. Of 3000+ adults surveyed, only 18% over 55 have a will, health-care directive, and a durable power of attorney. Forty percent fear they have no advocate to look out for them as they age. Most Americans are willing to discuss end-of-life preferences and to distribute a part of their estate while alive. Scroll down on linked page and download a copy of Leave a Legacy of Kindness.
Why Most of Us are Still Not Using Our Physician’s Online Portals
As the health-care industry incorporates more technology to improve patient experiences and health outcomes, many providers are turning to patient portals. These secure websites enable users to access their health-care information online and to communicate with their physician’s office. There’s just one problem: Almost two-thirds of patients don’t use them. Sociology professor, Celeste Campos-Castillo at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, offers some reasons as to why.
Tips for Making Your Home Disabled Friendly
A worthy review of tips to help make your home safer and more accessible. Excerpt from website: Having handrails available throughout your home and making the kitchen and bathroom layouts easily maneuverable are helpful solutions for making your house accessible. Click on link above for full infographic including elevators for homes.
Lyft Economic Impact Report
Lyft is taking steps to solve transportation issues for healthcare. Having recently completed a study of 30,000 riders and 30,000 drivers, Lyft Corporate Communications Manager, Kate Margolis sent The Caregiver’s Voice the following: “Through our healthcare expertise… we’re partnering with leading health-care organizations like AllScripts, Ascension, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and LogistiCare – to get their patients to where they need to go. Knowing not everyone has a smartphone, or the ability to use one, we’ve made it easy for doctors/hospitals, etc. to request rides with the tap of a button.”
- 29% of surveyed riders report using Lyft for health-care trips.
- 36% of health-care riders state that since they started using Lyft for medical appointments, they are using urgent care less frequently.
