SBWire

With the flu season already underway in most areas, it's particularly important to pay attention to the yearly advice offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As always, it's impossible to completely predict the seriousness of the coming flu season, whether it will develop into an epidemic, and which flu virus ends up causing the most problems. While it's also difficult to estimate when exactly the flu season will hit its peak, generally speaking it happens between December and February, which is why the CDC advice on preparing with precautions like vaccinations and awareness of hygiene is currently particularly timely.

On November 5 and 6 of 2015, the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) Conference took place in Boston, MA, at the Charles Hotel. Keynote speakers brought awareness to the growing shift of focus on consumerism in the healthcare industry, now that patients have more options for selecting a medical provider due to the growth of high-deductible health plans.

Increasing patient satisfaction has always been the primary focus of medical providers, both out of compassion and because patient happiness with services provided can be tied to hospitals' success rates. When steps are taken to improve patient perception of a facility, that facility's overall ranking is likely to improve, influencing funding and other important aspects of running a medical care center. Small details can greatly impact patients' reported opinions of the care they've received, and with ImageFIRST New York's remarkable healthcare laundry services and products, serving New York City with medical scrub uniforms and other products, area hospitals and outpatient clinics can take an affordable, simple step towards making patients comfortable and thus bettering their scores on important surveys.

Emerging as the leading topic for discussion at the HBS Healthcare Network's Annual Conference in Boston this November was the apparent and quick rise of consumerism in the healthcare industry. It was clear that both industry leaders and experts alike are aware of the changing situation, and they presented several thoughts on what consequences those changes will have in the near future. Keith Pitts, the Vice Chairman of Tenet Health, for example, anticipated that consumers will continue to put more emphasis on quality and service as well as price, which will force healthcare facilities to improve their overall service. Similarly, Josh Flum, the Executive VP of Pharmacy Services at CVS, shared his views on how he expects consumers to have a bigger voice in the future in communicating what they want, and by voting with their feet when it comes to the choice of their healthcare service or product providers.

Fast Market Research announces the availability of the new TechNavio report, "Global Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Closure Market 2016-2020", on their comprehensive research portal

Healthcare facilities are becoming more and more focused on enhancing the patient experience, as proven by the research findings presented in the Beryl Institute's 2015 State of Patient Experience report. Patients who are provided with poor-quality bed linens may have a negative perception of the medical facility at which they are receiving treatment. ImageFIRST Las Vegas, a premium provider of medical scrubs in Las Vegas, centers its laundry services on helping their customers improve patient satisfaction by supplying them with bright white linens and towels.

By far, one of the most important aspects of any patient's experience at a healthcare facility is how they are cared for by staff members. Nurses, in particular, are essential to providing patients with effective, compassionate care.

ImageFIRST's Pink Plush Gown, part of its Comfort Care line, was originally introduced in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, during which each sale of Pink Plush gowns was matched with a donation to breast cancer research by ImageFIRST. October has come and gone, but it's never too late to switch to the Comfort Care line.

Traumatic brain injury is a multifaceted injury with a broad number of symptoms and disabilities. The impact of brain injury can be devastating on a person and their families. Sportspersons across the globe are more prone to traumatic brain injury than others. However, to raise awareness about traumatic brain injuries, January has been marked as Winter Sports National Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month every year. To help people in this noble cause, My Identity Doctor is providing traumatic brain injury awareness medical bracelets at the most competitive prices. The range of medical bracelets they provide include men's bracelets, women's bracelets, kids' bracelets, bracelet strands and pre-engraved bracelets.

At ImageFIRST Lancaster, Customer Advocates are more than simply drivers and delivery people. By routinely delivering for the same clients on a regular schedule, many Customer Advocates become close with the hospitals and outpatient facilities to which they provide scrubs, robes and medical uniforms in Philadelphia, PA, and nearby – giving ImageFIRST Lancaster the opportunity to provide remarkable service by proactively anticipating and fulfilling clients' needs, not simply responding reactively.

With the growth of consumerism in the healthcare industry, an increasing amount of healthcare facilities are putting more focus and resources on improving the patient experience. It's now widely accepted within the industry that simply attending the medical issue itself is no longer enough, and that facilities have to provide their patients with comfortable and enjoyable overall experiences. To respond to this, ImageFIRST New Hampshire, the prominent provider of healthcare laundry services and products, from patient gowns to medical scrub uniforms in New England, NH, has created several lines of products and services that are specifically designed to help their clientele improve the patient experience.

The 2015-2016 influenza season may cause an increased influx of patients, which can pose a challenge for healthcare facilities. However, healthcare providers never turn down a challenge when treating their patients, and ImageFIRST Fort Myers strives to help the initiative. The medical laundry specialists make sure that the medical facilities they serve are adequately sourced with bed linens, robes, gowns and nurse uniforms in Mobile, AL, even during flu season.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a measure will spell big changes for surgery centers. In 2016, with the approval of CMS, patient satisfaction surveys will be available to outpatient and ambulatory surgery centers, designed to gauge patients' perceptions and improve their experiences at the centers.

Some of the early symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases are inaccuracy in speech and making mistakes in language. Most of the early symptoms go unnoticed as they are considered to be normal human errors. For example, a person may refer to an item with the class it belongs rather than referring to it by its name. If these types of errors are committed repeatedly by the person, the problem is serious and is only going to become bigger in the future if it is not attended to.

With an increase in illegal drug usage, parental guardians are taking matters into their own hands, in order to prevent the aftermath of drug abuse.

Smoke Evacuation System Market by Product (Smoke Evacuators (Portable & Stationary), Pencils, Wands, Tubings, Accessories), Application (Laser, Ultrasonic & Electrosurgery Units), End-User (Hospital, Surgical Centers, Clinics) - Global Forecast to 2020

Top 10 Medical Device Technologies Market by Type (IVD, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Endoscopy, Diabetes Care, Wound Management, Kidney/Dialysis, and Anesthesia & Respiratory Care Devices) - Global Forecast to 2020

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recently released "What You Should Know for the 2015-2016 Influenza Season," a slideshow of frequently asked questions about influenza season in the United States, the yearly flu season is both inevitable and unpredictable. In order to protect themselves, individuals should do their utmost to prevent the spread of flu by following CDC guidelines. ImageFIRST Denver, a provider of sanitized nurse uniforms in Denver, CO, recently shared the specifics of the CDC's report with its clients, just in time for peak flu season, which typically occurs between December and February.

Image Guided Surgery Devices - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2015

One of the most popular topics for conversation and debate within the healthcare industry in recent years has been the rising importance of the patient experience. Most recently, this was evident at the HBS Healthcare Alumni Association's annual conference in November. While there, several leading healthcare industry figures shared their thoughts on the future of the industry, and much of it concentrated on the rise of consumerism and the part that the patient experience will play in it, as patients increasingly approach healthcare facilities through consumerism. For example, Keith Pitts, who is the Vice Chairman of Tenet Health, stressed that contemporary consumers are looking for quality, service and price when they make decisions about their healthcare providers.

In a recent announcement, the patient experience measurement solutions provider Press Ganey Holdings informed that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the administering of Outpatient & Ambulatory Surgery (AOS) CAHPS survey for outpatient surgery facilities, which will help healthcare providers to identify where their performance for patient satisfaction needs to be improved.

With greater transparency in the healthcare industry will come a rising trend of consumerism—that's one of the prevailing messages heard by attendees at the HBS Healthcare Network Annual Conference held in Boston this past November. Elsewhere, industry professionals are also discussing what this trend means for healthcare providers. ImageFIRST Cedar Rapids, a medical uniform and laundry service in Des Moines, IA, offers its medical laundry services and exceptional customer care as a means of helping its clients adapt to this trend.

Isik Innovation, the creator of the likeWALK® Hands-Free mechanical wheelchair, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production and distribution of this innovative product.  This "rocking-wheelchair" is an active wheelchair driven by the body weight of the user.  Utilizing the back muscles, this patented technology allows users to operate a wheelchair hands-free.  The seat plate or cup is connected to a rollable rocker mechanism, allowing the user to move the chair using only a slight left-right tilt in the upper body.

Though the arrival of winters give relaxation from hot and humid weather, but their arrival also heralds the increased risk of heart diseases. As per new research, with every 1.8 degree Fahrenheit reduction in the temperature, the chance of additional 200 heart attacks increases. For those suffering from cardiovascular diseases, winters can be tough as the falling temperature can affect their heart by increasing heart rate and blood pressure, making the heart work much harder to keep the body warm, causing changes in blood that can increase the risk of developing blood clots and leading to heart attack and stroke. To sensitize people about the adverse impact of winters on heart patients, My Identity Doctor is providing a fantastic collection of medical awareness jewelry items at the most competitive prices. With their healthy heart awareness items, individuals can help in raising awareness about heart diseases that are common in winters like hypothermia.