What Type Are You? Glass Half-Full, or Half-Empty? People who view life as ‘glass half-full’ tend to be more optimistic and believe ‘things will work out.’ Those of us who are ‘glass half-empty’ are always preparing for things to go awry... But an increasing number of recent long-term studies have linked greater optimism to a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other chronic ailments and to fostering “exceptional longevity,” a category one team of researchers used for people who live to 85 and beyond. I guess this makes sense...Optimists tend to take better care of their health. They’re more likely to exercise and eat better and are less likely to smoke, while pessimists bathe their bodies in damaging stress hormones! The good news is that we can change the way we think! The first step is to learn to catch yourself when thinking negatively—just that thought alone can can help turn ‘glass half-empty’ people into ‘glass half-full’ people! Selected Excerpt: “It’s never too early and it’s never too late to foster optimism. From teenagers to people in their 90s, all have better outcomes if they’re optimistic.” …see more

Your ‘Gateway’ Drug Can Now be Bought at CVS! Some of us remember when “pot/dope,” (AKA: marijuana) was considered (by parents and those in authority) to be a ‘the gateway drug’ to a life of more ‘hard drugs,’ crime and ruin! Many of my generation were raised with the message that marijuana would always(!) lead to heroin! And now it’s being sold along side your aspirin, toothpaste and shampoo! How is this the case? Well...just follow the money:the CBD market is expected to be as big as the tobacco industry! Who cares if it’s still not legal to smoke the stuff in all states... Times, they are achanging! …see more

Animals Share the Same Emotions As Humans...Or is it that Humans Share the Same Emotions as Animals. I’ve heard it said from anthropologists, scientists, biologists, geneticists and researchers that in fact animal emotions are the purest form of emotion. Why? Because they are not burdened by the “inner voice” humans have which distort the raw emotion with self-doubt, and rationalization. Think about that the next time you look into your pets eyes! Selected Excerpt: “Uniquely human emotions don’t exist. More and more, I believe that we share all emotions with other species in the same way that we share virtually every organ in our bodies with them. No exceptions.” …see more

Decrepit at 30? Or 40? I say bring on the “Olderprenuers!” This article talks about the “psychic unrest” of tech professionals feeling old in their 30’s and 40’s...really? Turns out that In Silicon Valley, the hiring rate seems to slow for workers once they hit 34 and the median age of a worker at Facebook, LinkedIn and SpaceX is 29. Seriously? The bias against people beyond 34 it seems is the brainwashed belief that those of us older are less mentally nimble, With a lessen associative mind. Hogwash. Take this: research suggests that businesses started by older people tend to have a 70 per cent chance of making it through the first five years, whereas among businesses started by younger entrepreneurs, the figure is only 28 per cent. Come on people: realize that young creative, limber-minded people grow up to be old creative limber-minded people. Geez... Selected Excerpt: “The social narrative is basically, midlife is a crisis and after a crisis you have decrepitude, But you actually are much happier in your 60s and 70s, so why aren’t we preparing for that?” …see more

Trust. What does that word even mean anymore? Rules. Doesn’t anyone respect them anymore? If you can’t trust Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute to uphold the absolute highest ethical standards in cancer treatment, then what’s a clinician to do? When your “star doctor” lies about taking money from drug companies and breaks the rules regarding disclosure, and you pay him $1.5M a year to be your “face” of cancer care, then what’s that say about the Hospital? Believe me or not, but Healthcare—all the way to its core of using science and evidence in the medical treatment of patient guidelines—is corrupted by big pharma, device manufacturers and for-profit incentives to physicians (and hospitals). It breaks my clinical heart every time I read a story like this. Selected Excerpt: “...One of the world’s top breast cancer doctors failed to disclose millions of dollars in payments from drug and health care companies in recent years, omitting his financial ties from dozens of research articles in prestigious publications... ...He put a positive spin on the results of two Roche-sponsored clinical trials that many others considered disappointments, without disclosing his relationship to the company. Since 2014, he has received more than $3 million from Roche in consulting fees...” …see more

Delivering medicine by drones is not the future. It’s our living reality, and Zipline is bringing the technology into the vaccination efforts. We wrote extensively about Zipline's efforts in using drones to deliver medical supplies in Africa. It’s great to see them joining the vaccine fight too. “More than 100 million people in America — in both rural and urban areas — live in pharmacy deserts and lack adequate access to the medicine they need to stay healthy,” Zipline co-founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo told CNBC. “Building this 21st century infrastructure will not only create more high tech jobs in rural America, and create more green, zero emissions logistics options, but it could revolutionize the way millions get their care delivered.” #zipline #vaccination #drones #ai #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #COVID19 #COVID_19 #coronavirus …see more

1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women have hypertension worldwide, estimates the WHO. As for the most common arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AFib), it affects some 33.5 million individuals globally; with its prevalence expected to double by 2030. These cardiovascular conditions need regular monitoring so as to prevent severe complications. Gathering multiple cardiovascular readings from a single device makes a lot of sense. I’ve recently tested the Viatom Armfit+ which can do exactly this, and I found that it gives accurate results extremely fast. My detailed review is getting published this week! #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #wearable #health #healthy …see more

Each week until the winter holidays, I’m going to reflect on a prediction I made in The Medical Futurist ’s e-book “Top Trends in Digital Health in 2020”. Prediction #7: Magic Leap will share its first mixed reality healthcare application. ✔️2020 Reality: They did share it with us! https://lnkd.in/eMwhGK6 #predictions #predictionsversusreality #2020indigitalhealth #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #ebook …see more

What is the one thing you'd absolutely want to share with a kid about the future of healthcare? This is an open-ended question to all my followers. I’m going to participate in a virtual Q&A at a local school, where we’ll be discussing digital health and the future of healthcare with students of age between 12 and 14. I can’t wait to hear what the next generation expects or has to say about it all, but I’m also curious: what would You tell them? #futureofhealthcare #thenextgeneration #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology …see more

Our holiday-related Instagram quiz sparkled a lot of interest. Is it really true that such a patch exists that alerts you before you get sunburnt? What's the name of the device that buzzes for dehydration? And so on. So here you are, my hitchhiker's (and vacationer's) guide to holidays! About wristbands that measure water in your blood with infrared light: I don't believe they are accurate enough (if they're not accurate for heart rate, forget about proper hydration levels). Apps that regularly remind you to drink water to avoid dehydration: You might be surprised, but I don't think we need a device for every drop of fluid, every blink, and every breath we take. But, challenge me if you know any concrete cases one needs a ding-ding for each glass of water. Wearable patches that measure sun exposure and notify the user when they are about to get sunburnt: I haven't seen that in practice - as far as I know, L'Oréal only came out with it as a pilot. I would gladly try them though! Dermatology apps that identify rashes and mysterious insect bites: I have tried First Derm by iDoc24 and I've had a good experience with them. It definitely won't hurt if you download it before setting off! #DigitalHealth #Holidays #DigitalHealthApps #HealthTech #FutureOfHealthcare …see more

Garmin's recent hacking shows just a foretaste of how it is like when hackers target multibillion-dollar companies with sensitive consumer data. This time, the hackers didn't steal user data, but it was just a matter of luck. So, prepare to meet new challenges we wouldn't have considered before, and double check if you take enough measures for your privacy! Such cases pushed us to work on our largest project so far: we'll dedicate this whole autumn to the question of privacy in digital health. At The Medical Futurist , we'll analyze every issue that should concern you - as user, professional or any decision maker - related to genetic tests, electronic medical records, sensors, and everything in digital health. Brace yourself. I'll be here to help. #DataPrivacy #PrivacyDigitalHealth #HealthPrivacy #HealthData #DigitalHealthData …see more

What a coincidence. I just had an interview with The Wall Street Journal about my forecast whether there would be an NBA season this year. I concluded that I can't imagine NBA's future without digital health devices. And now this. The WNBA and NBA are teaming up with digital health companies for the coming season. They'll provide Oura smart rings to every team and staff member, and also supply players, coaches and staff with the MightySat fingertip pulse oximeter. This is how Christy Hedgpeth, the COO WNBA, commented on these steps: “Protecting the health of players, as well as team and league staff, is paramount. Because players and staff will have the option to access additional personal health monitoring, the use of Oura Rings will further expand the league’s comprehensive safety and testing procedures for the 2020 season”. #DigitalHealth #COVID19 #SportsHealth #FitnessTrackers #HealthTracking …see more

I'm really excited as we just finished our largest live Q&A session! We received more than 300 preliminary questions about digital health, A.I. and many more topics, but viewers could also ask live and I did my best to provide relevant answers to everything that concerns them. Check out the full, really fast-paced Q&A in the video below! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. We will have more of these. :) #DigitalHealth #QA #QandA #LiveQA #FutureOfHealthcare …see more

Finally! We are getting really close to finalizing our first live stream, including a live Q&A session. We will launch next week on Patreon, talking about what kind of life will we return to after COVID-19, what new habits and regulations will we adopt and anything relevant to digital health you are curious about. I promise I will answer every question, even if there will be hundreds! Join our Patreon community to take part in the discussion: https://lnkd.in/gJet4TS #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #fromchancetochoice #Patreon #patreonexclusive #exclusivecontent #premiumcontent #community #digitalhealthcommunity #QA …see more

I'm delighted to see that we are forming a really active community on Patreon , with inspiring comments and truly insightful feedback - thanks to everyone who is taking part in that! Please join me on The Medical Futurist Patreon channel if you would like to access our exclusive, members-only content - with this, you also help us keep on producing free content and pursue our mission: to make every patient the point-of-care through digital health! Check our podcast, analyses, videos, and join the live Q&A with me tomorrow: https://lnkd.in/gJet4TS #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #Patreon …see more

I was thrilled to read Garry Kasparov's wise remarks about making peace with technology and learning that collaborating with artificial intelligence makes us, humans stronger. He also addresses the dangers of A.I. in a very sophisticated way: "People say, oh, we need to make ethical AI. What nonsense. Humans still have the monopoly on evil. The problem is not AI. The problem is humans using new technologies to harm other humans." His balanced, sensible stance on such issues posed a perfect contrast to the book I just finished, 'To Save Everything, Click Here"" by Evgeny Morozov. I understand that we have to be critical of advanced technologies and skeptic about their impact on our lives, but I'm always on the bright side of this debate and I'm very optimistic about our future because we are creating it. When it comes to our technological future whose stance can you embrace more? #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #book #reading #read …see more

There were some interesting debates about what digital health is at the recent JP Morgan event. We defined it clearly in a paper - and explained why we should all shift our expectations from the "digital" aspects to the cultural transformation it brings: "Digital health is the cultural transformation of how disruptive technologies that provide digital and objective data accessible to both caregivers and patients leads to an equal level doctor-patient relationship with shared decision-making and the democratization of care." https://lnkd.in/e7B3aNV #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #TMFI #research …see more

You can't fully understand how digital health trends shape healthcare without understanding the roles tech giants and artificial intelligence play in the industry. We put together 3 e-books to provide a context for you to understand better all these: top digital health trends, tech giants like Amazon or Google in healthcare and everything you need to know about A.I. https://lnkd.in/gDEU5ZM #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #book #reading #read #ebook …see more

Almost all of The Medical Futurist's most significant visions and expectations towards how technological advancements are changing medical professions are in these two e-books - The Technological Future of Medical Specialties and The Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Have you ever experienced any of these trends taking effect in your life or your profession in any way? Now you can download the e-books together from this link on Leanpub: https://lnkd.in/g-YNSQA #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #book #reading #read #ebook #artificialintelligence #AI #medicalspecialties …see more

After recently giving a talk about the future of digital health, I received a simple yet challenging question: "Where should I start?" The lady was the leader of a professional medical education organization in the US and she assured me she was on track with the whole cultural transformation of digital health. However, she was concerned about where she should start. I asked her whether she has seen or read about any technology in science fiction that made her excited. She told me that she loved those hoverbikes that flew in the desert in the original Star Wars. I asked her is she ever talks about that with her family or colleagues. She said no as she would feel embarrassed talking about such sci-fi things. I described that it starts with such discussions. Playing with the "what if" question is a wonderful way of developing a mindset for preparing for changes and the use of advanced technologies. What was the technology you have seen or read about that made you hopeful for the future? See more examples here: https://lnkd.in/gX7_zz4 #themedicalfuturist #digitalhealth #future #healthcare #medicine #technology #fromchancetochoice #speaker #keynote #speakerlife #scifi #starwars #whatif …see more