46+ min ago (597+ words) Dr. Sai Balasubramanian is a healthcare strategy executive, speaker and writer, focusing on the intersections of healthcare, digital innovation, and technology. He completed an M.D./ J.D. dual-degree with distinguished honors, focusing his scholarship on how systemic changes to healthcare affect the realities of actual patient care and societal health outcomes. Dr. Balasubramanian draws upon his clinical training, legal education, and background in strategy to analyze the operational, business, and political frameworks that impact clinical medicine, innovation in healthcare, and health policy. He is an avid reader of non-fiction books, and enjoys writing, public speaking and biking in his free time. The Healthcare Workforce Shortage Is Growing; States Are Rushing To Fix It A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine reaffirms a fear that has been persistent for the last decade: the healthcare worker shortage across America is growing, especially…...

3+ hour, 54+ min ago (429+ words) More Republicans are voicing support for an extension of tax credits for those who buy individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. A sampling of public statements and media reports from over the Thanksgiving holiday shows Republican support slowly growing to extend the subsidies. That will be needed since Republicans have a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. There remains talk in Washington about a potential two-year extension of Obamacare tax credits. California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, for example, has been doing interviews touting the two-year extension as a compromise between Democrats who want the tax credits extended permanently and Republicans who want them to go away entirely. "I don't think it's a good thing for 22 million Americans to suddenly have to pay double or more for their health insurance," Kiley said in an interview…...

8+ hour, 43+ min ago (1055+ words) Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, is a Senior Contributor for Forbes who has been covering health, medicine, wellness and science for Forbes since 2015. He is a journalist, professor, researcher, entrepreneur, science humorist and avocado-eater, not necessarily in that order. His writing also appears in "A Funny Bone to Pick" for Psychology Today, Minded by Science and numerous other news outlets such as The New York Times, Time, The Guardian, The HuffPost, and STAT. For over two decades, Dr. Lee has led AI and computer modeling work in industry, academia and companies that he founded. Currently, he is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health, Executive Director of PHICOR and the Center for Advanced Technology and Communication in Health (CATCH) and CEO of Symsilico. Previously, he served as a Professor at…...

9+ hour, 58+ min ago (1130+ words) Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, is a Senior Contributor for Forbes who has been covering health, medicine, wellness and science for Forbes since 2015. He is a journalist, professor, researcher, entrepreneur, science humorist and avocado-eater, not necessarily in that order. His writing also appears in "A Funny Bone to Pick" for Psychology Today, Minded by Science and numerous other news outlets such as The New York Times, Time, The Guardian, The HuffPost, and STAT. For over two decades, Dr. Lee has led AI and computer modeling work in industry, academia and companies that he founded. Currently, he is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health, Executive Director of PHICOR and the Center for Advanced Technology and Communication in Health (CATCH) and CEO of Symsilico. Previously, he served as a Professor at…...

1+ day, 1+ hour ago (903+ words) Micro-joys, like savoring a cup of coffee, taking a quick walk in the sun or receiving a heartwarming message from a friend, do more than brighten a moment of your life. Research shows that they build resilience, reduce stress and compound into lasting mental-health gains in ways that grand achievements often cannot. Both new and classic research suggest that these micro-joys matter more for day-to-day mental health than we give them credit for. They broaden attention, incrementally raise baseline mood and, crucially, create upward spirals of positive emotion that big milestones rarely sustain. Big milestones deliver powerful spikes of joy. You get the job, close the deal and cross a finish line and feel a sharp boost in your confidence and happiness. But classical research on hedonic adaptation shows people quickly return to baseline after major rewards. In contrast, positive…...

1+ day, 7+ hour ago (656+ words) Below are three research-backed psychological reasons why many people misjudge their own appeal. If understood properly, they point toward a surprisingly optimistic conclusion that you are almost certainly more attractive than you think. People often assume that their sense of their own attractiveness is objective and that what they "see in the mirror" is the same thing the world sees. But this belief runs headfirst into one of psychology's most robust and replicated perceptual patterns: the contrast effect. A 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology demonstrated how facial-attractiveness judgments are not fixed but highly context-sensitive. When people evaluate a face, whether it's someone else's or their own, the presence of extremely attractive comparison targets has a measurable distorting effect. This means that a highly attractive group, even a small one, changes the baseline. After looking at very attractive faces, participants…...

2+ day, 4+ hour ago (537+ words) The gaps begin early'through adverse pregnancy outcomes and autoimmune conditions that quietly elevate long-term risk'and extend through diagnostic pathways not built for women's symptoms or physiology. American Heart Association Ventures aims to close those gaps by investing in solutions that reflect the realities. The urgency behind that work is well documented. In its global review of women's heart health, The Lancet wrote: "Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in women globally, yet it continues to be understudied, under-recognised, under-diagnosed, and unde-rtreated in women." The Go Red fund invests elsewhere: These categories reflect where women face higher risk, more severe outcomes, or inadequate diagnostic pathways. "The market for products more attuned to the health of women has shown up more lately than in the past," Suennen emphasized. "It's about damn time!" Global data reinforce her point. According to the…...

2+ day, 8+ hour ago (666+ words) Here are the three main reasons your brain gravitates toward negativity and what you can do about it. Long before smartphones, deadlines or social media existed, humans had one job: to survive. And that meant paying extremely close attention to anything that could cause harm. A rustle in the bushes, subtle changes in weather and the strange pugmarks of a wild animal could all mean certain death if left unaddressed. In other words, missing a potential threat could be fatal. Missing something positive, like a pretty tree or a pleasant sound, rarely had as severe a consequence. Over thousands of years, this led the human brain to prioritize negative or threatening information. Even today, the brain uses the same ancient alarm system, treating social rejection, criticism, financial fears or uncertainty like potential threats to one's survival. Research also confirms that…...

2+ day, 9+ hour ago (177+ words) This post was created in partnership with BestQool. If you buy something using a link on this page, Forbes may also receive a small share of that sale. This article was created in partnership with BestQool. All selections and source material were provided by BestQool. The Pro100 offers a balance of affordability and professional-grade performance, making it the ideal choice for those seeking high-quality therapy on a budget. With its clinical-level irradiance, this device accelerates muscle recovery, eases joint stiffness, and supports overall wellness, particularly for individuals who experience frequent pain or tension. Designed for more immersive therapy, the BQ150 covers half the body at once with its 150 dual-chip LEDs and 250-watt output. Featuring four wavelengths (630, 660, 850 and 940 nm), it helps improve circulation, reduce inflammation and enhance post-workout wellness. This option is ideal for those who want a high-coverage device without stepping into…...

2+ day, 10+ hour ago (427+ words) It is too easy to focus on bad news and stressful events, especially in the era of "always on" social media. As an antidote, I would like to highlight three recent studies offering good suggestions on ways to improve one's cognitive health, happiness, and longevity. Note that much of this research is still preliminary. But they are all actions anyone can pursue at home for zero or minimal cost. 1) Listen to more music (I don't know why both listening to music and playing an instrument was not as effective as either alone.) 2) Speak another language A study of over 80,000 people in 27 European countries found that "people who speak only one language are twice as likely to experience accelerated aging compared to multilingual individuals." Furthermore, the effect persisted "after adjusting for linguistic, physical, social and sociopolitical" factors. The more languages one…...