About Modern Health Talk

Modern Health Talk is an altruistic website, established to encourage independent living and influence the future of health care policy and technology. It’s a retirement project where I can capture and share my unique perspectives — in original articles and through social and mainstream media. This is what I do every morning: 

Here's what I do every morning at Modern Health Talk: I find the best online articles, share my perspectives in comments, and then share on social media.

Find – I use several tools to automatically discover interesting information about health reform, trends, and solutions for independent living and home healthcare. I then spend all morning every day reading through it to cull out the best to tell you about. My discovery tools include Google Alerts, newsletter subscriptions, LinkedIn discussion groups, social media, Flipboard, and carefully selected social media accounts.

Curate – Most of the these publications allow me to add value by posting comments to their articles, sharing my perspectives & insight, and occasionally linking to a related article on this site. These comments often result in active online discussions.

Share – I promote the articles you see in this blog using various social media accounts, but I also promote many more articles that I find online in the mainstream media, including those that don’t make sense to republish or summarize here. That means most of the value I bring is not housed in mHealthTalk but instead is spread across the Internet so more people can benefit.

Here's a list of the Social Media Accounts that I use here at Modern Health Talk.

I primarily share on Facebook but also on Twitter and Pinterest for Infographics, universal design photos, and other images. I do have a YouTube channel with a few videos, but not a lot.

My Other Writing – Much of my writing lately has been in response to articles in the mainstream media and shared in social media. I share what’s most important in my own social media accounts, often adding my own perspective. If appropriate, I also include reference links back to supporting articles here on my blog. Please share these articles and follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

My Positioning – Venn diagram showing how Modern Health Talk is positioned at the center of several Health MiniTrendsModern Health Talk is positioned at the intersection of several overlapping trends, and as founder and senior editor, I write about healthcare policies (and politics). I also offer discussions and information about tech solutions for home healthcare. My original aim was to address concerns of seniors or people with disabilities, as well as their caregivers and families. My purpose has been to help them stay safe, healthy and independent at homes as long as possible, thus avoiding the high cost of institutional care. That’s what over 90% of them want.

I’ve been writing here since 2011 as a labor of love with no compensation, with the goal of helping to lower healthcare costs for individuals and the nation overall. The only reason I can do this is because I retired with from IBM with a full pension, now receive Social Security benefits, and live a modest lifestyle with my wife, a retired registered nurse.

Read My Story for more of what motivated me to start Modern Health Talk, and what shapes my perspectives. As you explore the site, you’ll see I’m passionate about Universal Design principles, Universal Broadband Adoption, Universal Healthcare, and connecting people with assistive technologies and home health solutions for independent living. You’ll also see I now write largely about policy and politics, believing that to fix healthcare, we must first fix our politics.

Modern Health Talk highlights low- and high-tech solutions such as the Apple iPad2, an ideal Home Health GatewayMy Audience – When not writing about the politics of healthcare, I primarily write for the empty-nested baby boomer whose time is split between her adult children (and grandchildren) and her elderly parents, often as an unpaid caretaker, motivated by love, duty, and a need to preserve family assets. I know she is more likely to go online to find solutions than her elderly parents, but in her caregiving capacity she has also developed an appreciation of her own mortality and the health of her immediate family.

As people live longer and baby boomers retire, we all face a critical need to replace institutional care (nursing homes & assisted living) with aging-in-place alternatives at home. See The Problem.

Many cool technologies can help, but how does one find them and decide which is best? That’s where Modern Health Talk comes in. It fills a niche not covered by online support groups.

LOW-TECH SOLUTIONS:  You don’t need high-tech to make homes safe, healthy and comfortable.

  • Eliminate tripping hazards with simple solutions such as removing throw rugs.
  • Provide accessibility with ramps, stair lifts, and knee space under sinks.
  • Apply universal design principles with stylish solutions that increase the value of your home.
  • Adopt subtle lifestyle changes that contribute to better health & safety, such as getting good sleep.

HIGH-TECH SOLUTIONS:  I write about new gadgets that help people as they get older or face disabilities.

  • Unobtrusive environmental devices track activity and improve comfort, convenience, security & energy management.
  • Medical devices monitor & report vital signs so trends can be analyzed and problems identified.
  • Communication devices keep you in touch with family caretakers and medical teams.

Status – Modern Health Talk features a blog with over 800 articles on mHealth, Telehealth, home robots, Universal Design, Big Broadband, Sleep Wellness, the Future of Health Care, and Public Policies that address the rising costs of care. My Pinterest boards include over 1,000 healthcare infographics, and I some have said I may have the web’s most extensive list of online Resources.

You’re relatively affluent & tech savvy, because you found me online. You are likely looking for ways you or a loved one can stay safe, healthy & happy at home as long as possible. You may also be looking to downsize or remodel a home and value design features that will help you to stay there and age-in-place. I hope you will also share what you’ve learned by commenting on my articles. Thanks for visiting.

Contacting Me

If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, you can reach me at:

Wayne Caswell
Founding Editor, Modern Health Talk
28946 Copper Ridge Dr (as of 8/18/2016)
Fulshear, TX 77441 USA  (a suburb of Houston)
512-507-6011

Cedar Park "Best mHealth" award, presented to Modern Health Talk for the 3rd straight year
The City of Cedar Park “Best mHealth” award was presented to Modern Health Talk. It was the 3rd time this website was recognized before moving to the Dallas area.