Modern Health Talk

Explore hundreds of articles about Healthcare Policy, Technology, Futures, and solutions for Independent Living, from the perspective of a retired IBM technologist, futurist, market strategist, and consumer advocate.

RECENT ARTICLES

Technology | Videos

Lowering Barriers to the Smart Home, and Healthy Home

Unlike traditional market research and forecasts, “Middle Market: Lowering Barriers to the Smart Home” offers specific analysis and advice that can help companies and the entire industry advance into the next stage of smart home adoption….

Policy

Making Healthcare a 2024 Election Issue

Realizing abortion is a losing issue, Republicans are working to make healthcare a 2024 election issue. They may be on to something, because rising health care costs are a sore point for voters. But just as…

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My Biggest Lesson

I started Modern Health Talk to write about the growing global problem of aging — a demographic change that is stressing our healthcare system and causing shortages of medical staff and facilities. But while critiquing our broken healthcare (sick care) system, I learned that fixing it requires fixing our broken political system too, and to do that we must get the corruptive influence of big money out. The benefits of doing that, however, would be so immense that I now write here with new priorities.

Huge Potential Benefits from Health Reform

The U.S. spends about twice as much on healthcare as other rich nations, measured as per capita or percent of GDP. But we still don’t cover everyone and are ranked near the bottom in average longevity and health outcomes. So, we should be able to reduce overall healthcare spending by $2 trillion per year by just becoming average and matching what others spend. That rough estimate is based on current spending of over $4 trillion per year ($3.65 trillion in 2018). But why settle for mediocracy when we can do much better?

I’m encouraged and driven by the potential economic benefits of health reforms that aim to resolve those disparities. And then there’s the added economic benefits of making strategic public investments in a healthy, skilled, productive, and well-paid workforce that creates market demand for the goods & services they work to develop and deliver. Combined, these health, wellness, and productivity benefits would increase corporate profits, GDP, and global competitiveness.

But making the needed changes won’t be easy. That’s because the powerful medical industrial complex is fiercely resistant to change and has powerful political allies, thanks to intense lobbying. Still, such large potential benefits make reform almost inevitable, as we can’t continue our current trajectory. So, many of my articles now focus on this and related issues.

AWARD WINNING: Before moving to the Dallas area, this website received a “Best of Cedar Park” award three years in a row and was been recognized as one of the Top 100 [independent] health blogs in the world. Since retirement, my focus today has shifted largely to commenting in mainstream media and posting on Facebook and in other social media, although I occasionally edit or write new articles here.

ROOM FOR OPTIMISM: Innovative technologies can help make our private homes safer and healthier places to live, and a much cheaper and preferred alternative to institutional care. But how does one find and evaluate the tech solutions? Modern Health Talk can help, filling a niche not covered by online support groups.

My aim is to help dramatically reduce U.S. healthcare spending, which was $4.3 trillion in 2022, and to improve quality of life through modern solutions like telehealth, AI, healthcare robots, etc. Yvonne and I now live a modest lifestyle in Bonterra, a 55+ retirement community in Fulshear, TX. With our Social Security and my IBM pension, I’m able to maintain this site and share my perspectives without advertising or any revenue source, and without the bias that comes with it.

Coming of Age In Aging America – big picture in 4 min

What will it mean for us all to grow up, live and age in a society where half the citizens are over the age of 50? Coming of Age in Aging America is a PBS documentary broadcast, multi-platform media and public engagement project that urges a national conversation about more people living to 100 or more.

Add Caring to Caregiving

Technology can improve caregiving and aging-in-place, but this next video shows the importance of not isolating our elderly at home or even in an assisted living facility. After learning how to find the power button and use the Apple iPad, these true seniors have become avid users of e-mail, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. I hope you enjoy this heartwarming video as much as I have.