Why Outcome-Based Medicine is better!

Are you still wondering if our new healthcare system is going in the right direction? Check out some research form the American Medical Association. Our system has always been a "fee-for-service" approach, hence why costs are high. But healthcare in the US is moving to a more outcome based, patient centered approach. Many Americans just don't understand the Affordable Care Act because of the bickering in Congress and the partisanship is brings to such issues - but this new way of thinking as a HUGE impact on your health and how we as a country pay for healthcare. When it comes to big issues (like the ACA) - we need to ignore party lines and look at what is best for Americans as a whole.  If knowledge is power ~ we need to educate ourselves and tell the truth vs. making up scary bed-time stories to tell our constituents. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!! And for many Americans, it starts with having knowledge about your health and being your own health advocate

In brief

Snapshots of some of the latest peer-reviewed research within psychology and related fields.

APA - Monitor Magazine

November 2013, Vol 44, No. 10

Paying physicians for how well they perform specific medical examinations and procedures yields better health outcomes than the traditional fee-for-service model, according to research conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Over one year, researchers tested a tiered pay-for-performance program at physicians' offices in New York City with high proportions of Medicaid patients, rewarding physicians for every patient who did well, and paying them extra for high-risk patients who were difficult to treat based on co-morbidities, such as diabetes or heart disease. The researchers found that nearly 10 percent of patients in the group getting extra pay showed improvement, compared with about 4 percent of patients in a comparison group operating under the traditional fee-for-service model in which everyone gets paid a set amount (Journal of the American Medical Association, Sept. 11).

Gallup: Americans' Desire to Shed Pounds Outweighs Effort

Well, it's the holidays and the time of year we all say we need to watch our waistlines. But, then the New Year hits and it's back to the gym, making resolutions, and promising next year we won't go overboard on all the holiday goodies. 

Well, read below to see if your perception of your weight is sabotaging your efforts!!

November 29, 2013

Americans' Desire to Shed Pounds Outweighs Effort

Majority exceed ideal weight, 18% are at ideal weight

by Alyssa Brown

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' desire to lose weight does not necessarily translate into their doing anything to achieve it. While 51% of adults want to lose weight, barely half as many (25%) say they are seriously working toward that goal. This discrepancy between Americans' weight-loss desires and behavior has existed for years.

The current 26-percentage-point gap between those who want to lose weight and those who are actively trying to do so is slightly narrower than the gap found in most years since 2002. The percentage saying they would like to lose weight has dropped eight points since 2011. At the same time, the percentage trying to lose weight has dropped four points.

These results are based on Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare survey, conducted Nov. 7-10 this year. Gallup has asked Americans to report their attitudes toward their weight and their current weight situation yearly since 2002 and occasionally before then.

Americans' desire to lose weight has not kept up with the rise in adults' self-reported weight over the past 23 years. Americans report weighing an average of 15 pounds more now than in 1990, but the percentage who want to lose weight is the same now as it was then.

Women (57%) are more likely than men (46%) to say they want to lose weight, consistent with what Gallup has found historically. But the gender gap is smaller in the percentages who are making an effort: 27% of women vs. 22% of men.

More Than One-Third of Americans Classify Themselves as Overweight

More Americans want to lose weight than actually see themselves as overweight. Overall, 36% describe themselves as overweight, on par with 34% in 2012, but down slightly from most years since 2002 and from 1990. This includes 34% of men and 39% of women who say they are overweight.

Americans are much more likely to say their weight is "about right" than to say they are "overweight." It is possible that that some adults are reluctant to label themselves as overweight or lean toward saying they are "about right" if they are only a few pounds overweight.

The Nov. 7-10 poll also asked Americans to state their ideal weight. Nearly six in 10 Americans are heavier than their ideal weight by at least one pound, while fewer than two in 10 are at their ideal weight. This suggests that adults are much more likely to know they are heavier than their ideal weight than to classify themselves as overweight.

Americans' self-reported actual weight is 176 lbs. and their ideal weight is 161 lbs., for a difference of 15 lbs. -- on par with the average difference of 16 lbs. since 2002.

Women, on average, weigh 157 lbs., but would like to weigh 139 lbs. Men tip the scale at 195 lbs., on average, but would like to weigh 182 lbs. The difference between the actual and ideal weight is larger among women than among men, 18 lbs. vs. 13 lbs., as has been the case historically. Women may face more societal pressure than men to have a lower ideal weight, or may have more weight to lose.

Implications

Americans are significantly more likely to want to lose weight than to be currently trying to achieve that goal. Separately, Gallup has found that the obesity rate in 2013 is on track to be the highest since Gallup and Healthways began Daily tracking in 2008, and Americans think obesity is a more serious problem than alcohol and smoking. Given these concerns, it is perhaps surprising that the percentages of adults who say they want to lose weight and who are seriously trying to do so have not significantly increased in recent years.

It is possible that some Americans who are overweight but not seriously trying to lose weight lack the motivation needed to consistently practice healthy behaviors. Gallup's previous research shows thatAmericans' eating habits are worsening in 2013, and fewer adults reported exercising frequently in the first half of the year. Additionally, Americans continue to frequent fast-food restaurants and do not pay much attention torestaurant nutrition information. If these trends continue, it does not bode well for the possibility that more Americans will make a serious effort to lose weight.

Another explanation may be that some Americans realize they are overweight, but only by a few pounds. Consequently, they may not see it as a major issue that requires corrective action. Employers can assume an important role in educating workers about strategies to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Losses in productivity attributable to workers' being above a normal weight or having chronic conditions are substantial, so employers that focus on their workers' physical well-being could reap the double benefit of a healthier workforce and cost savings.

While most Americans, particularly those who say they are overweight, say their doctor usually discusses the benefits of healthy habits with them, physicians may need to be more direct in their conversations with patients about reaching a healthy weight. The American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease earlier this year, which may prompt more physicians to speak with patients about their weight.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Nov. 7-10, 2013, with a random sample of 1,039 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

For results based on the sample of 562 men, the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

For results based on the sample of 477 women, the margin of sampling error is ±6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Landline and cell telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, and cellphone mostly). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2012 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S. population. Phone status targets are based on the July-December 2011 National Health Interview Survey. Population density targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

View methodology, full question results, and trend data.

For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit www.gallup.com.

Your Health - Snapshots of some of the latest peer-reviewed research within psychology and related fields.

In brief

Snapshots of some of the latest peer-reviewed research within psychology and related fields.

Monitor Magazine - APA

October 2013, Vol 44, No. 9

SLEEP

A sleepless night makes us more likely to reach for doughnuts or pizza than whole grains and leafy green vegetables, suggests a study led by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists. Using fMRI, the researchers scanned the brains of 23 healthy young adults, first after a normal night's sleep and then after a sleepless night. They found impaired activity in the sleep-deprived brain's frontal lobe, which governs complex decision-making, and increased activity in the brain centers that respond to rewards. They also found that participants favored unhealthy snacks and junk foods when they were sleep deprived but not when they were well-rested (Nature Communications, Aug. 6).

Black adults are more likely than white adults to skimp on sleep, and the sleep gap is especially wide for black professionals, according to a study out of the Harvard School of Public Health. Based on the results of a nationally representative survey of nearly 140,000 men and women, 29 percent of adults routinely get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night. Sleep skimping was more common among blacks in general than whites — 37 percent compared with 28 percent — but researchers found an even more noticeable difference between professionals: 42 percent of black professionals reported fewer than seven hours of sleep each night compared with 26 percent of white professionals. A sleep gap was not found among food and retail workers, and the overall racial gap was similar in men and women (American Journal of Epidemiology, online Sept. 9).

The color of your night light may affect your mood, according to a study involving hamsters conducted by psychologists at Ohio State University. The researchers exposed adult female hamsters to four weeks of nighttime conditions with either no light, dim red light, dim white light (similar to that found in normal light bulbs) or dim blue light. The hamsters that were kept in the dark at night drank the most sugar water — a treat they enjoy — followed closely by those exposed to red light. Those that lived with dim white or blue light at night drank significantly less sugar water, which the scientists say may indicate evidence of a mood problem. The researchers then examined the hippocampus of the hamsters' brains and found that those that spent the night in dim blue or white light had a significantly reduced density of dendritic spines, a condition that has been linked to depression (The Journal of Neuroscience, Aug. 7).

Diet & Nutrition

Soda consumption may be related to behavioral problems in young children, according to a study led by Columbia University researchers. The scientists examined data from a survey of 3,000 5-year-olds and their mothers in 20 large U.S. cities. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, researchers found any non-diet soft drink consumption by the children was associated with increased aggressive behavior. The soda-drinking children also had more attention problems than children who did not drink sodas (The Journal of Pediatrics, online Aug. 21)

Women may be happier when they gain weight, even though they are not as healthy, according to a study conducted at Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health. The researchers evaluated weight-and health-related quality of life data collected from more than 3,000 people over seven years. They found that weight gain led to a deterioration in physical health among women and obese men, but the female study participants experienced improved mental quality of life as their weight increased. The findings were observed even in women who were already overweight when the study began (International Journal of Public Health, September).

Overweight, obese and lean women are equally capable of impulse control, suggests a study conducted at the University at Buffalo. In the study, which included 24 lean and 24 overweight or obese women, participants took a series of hypothetical tests that promised different amounts of money available either now or in the future. Some participants were then asked to think about future events that would occur during the time periods involved in the monetary test. For example, if they were choosing between $95 now and $100 in six months, researchers asked them to think about the most vivid event that would be happening to them in six months, such as a birthday party. A control group was asked to think about vivid scenes from a Pinocchio story they had read. The researchers found that the women who engaged in the future thinking exercise were more willing to wait for the money and that there were few differences among the lean and the overweight or obese women (Appetite, December).

Monitor Magazine - The Science of Karma

QUESTIONNAIRE

The ‘science of karma' - Why is this idea that the good guy can win so revolutionary? 

Organizational psychologist and top-rated Wharton professor Adam Grant says one secret to success is helping others succeed.

By Anna Miller

Monitor Staff

October 2013, Vol 44, No. 9

Print version: page 28

Adam Grant, PhD, is one of those people you want to resent: At 32, he's the youngest 
tenured professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he has the 
highest course evaluation ratings of any teacher and where he's never taught a class that 
didn't win an Excellence in Teaching Award.

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, earned his PhD in organizational psychology
from the University of Michigan in less than three years and has published more than 60 
journal articles in his young career.

He's well-rounded, too: He's been an all-American diver (athletic, check), professional 
magician (charismatic, check) and is married with two young girls (loving and 
lovable, check, check).

But you can't resent him because, darn it, you like him.

According to Grant, being genuinely giving isn't just icing on the cake — it's why there's 
a cake at all. In his recent book, "Give and Take" (which is, naturally, a New York Times 
and Wall Street Journal best-seller), Grant compiles his and others' organizational psychology 
research on work motivation, pro-social behaviors, leadership and more, and sprinkles in stories 
of successful businesspeople and organizations, to make a compelling case that you don't have to 
be ruthless to get ahead at work. Instead, he says, techniques such as doing "five-minute favors" 
for others and reconnecting with loose acquaintances can reap long-term career rewards.

"There's reason to believe when you adopt a consistent stance of pro-social behavior, that has a 
profound effect on the depth and the breadth of your relationships," Grant says, "and so you end 
up with a wider set of relationships and a richer, more meaningful set of connections."

Employers can advance their businesses by tapping into people's kindheartedness, too, he says. 
In a study he conducted during graduate school with a team of students, Grant found that campus 
call center workers primarily raising scholarship money brought in 171 percent more revenue 
each week after hearing how their work positively affected someone's life (Organizational Behavior 
and Human Decision Processes, 2007). In another study, Grant and David Hofmann, PhD, found 
that physicians and nurses used 45 percent more soap and hand-sanitizing gel next to signs that 
read "hand hygiene prevents patients from catching diseases," whereas a sign that swapped 
"patients" with "you" had no effect (Psychological Science, 2011).

"Psychologists tend to study the causes of pro-social behavior, not the consequences," he says. 
"What I've tried  to do as an organizational psychologist is ask, ‘What are the implications of these 
behaviors for success?'"

The Monitor talked to Grant about what he's learned:  http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/10/karma.aspx

You're Welcome?.....

Check out this recent article on linkedin:

How often do you say "you're welcome" after someone says "thank you." Well, if you were brought up to adhere to social niceties like myself, probably all the time. However, is the right phrase you should be saying?  Read more to see why we might be saying the wrong phrase after someone thanks us!

"....according to one leading psychologist, this isn’t the best choice of words. After four decades of studying persuasion, Influence author Robert Cialdini has come to see “you’re welcome” as a missed opportunity. “There is a moment of power that we are all afforded as soon as someone has said ‘thank you,’” Cialdini explains. To capitalize on this power, he recommends an unconventional reply:

“I know you’d do the same for me.”

Read More:
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131112175357-69244073-why-you-shouldn-t-say-you-re-welcome

Compassionate Management

Here is an interesting article to follow the last post about Compassion Future. Check out this article by the Harvard Business Review about leadership focusing on more compassionate attitudes in business.  How do you, as a leader, incorporate aspects of compassion into your work?

Also, if you would like more information on compassionate meditation, just let me know. It is no surprise to me to see the Center for Investigating Health Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Waisman Center mentioned in the article. The Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks have shared their knowledge and experiences with many of the researchers the center to understand why meditation, or in this case, compassionate mediation is so powerful to our well-being.  Enjoy the article.


http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/09/the-rise-of-compassionate-management-finally/

HBR Blog Network

The Rise of Compassionate Management (Finally)

by Bronwyn Fryer  |   8:00 AM September 18, 2013

• Comments (17)
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Don’t look now, but all of a sudden the topic of compassionate management is becoming trendy.

A growing number of business conferences are focusing in on the topic of compassion at work. There’s the International Working Group on Compassionate Organizations. There’s the Changing Culture in the Workplace Conference. Then there’s Wisdom 2.0, dedicated to “exploring living with greater awareness, wisdom and compassion in the modern age.” The speakers are no slouches: eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Bill Ford (yes, that Bill Ford), Karen May (VP of Talent at Google), and Linked In CEO Jeff Weiner top the bill. At TED, Karen Armstrong’s talk about reviving the Golden Rule won the TED prize in 2009 and has given rise to a Charter for Compassion signed by nearly 100,000 people.

More evidence of this trend comes from the Conscious Capitalism movement, whose membership includes companies like Southwest Airlines, Google, the Container Store, Whole Foods Market, and Nordstrom. One of the cornerstones of the movement is to try to take care not just of your shareholders, but all stakeholders (investors, workers, customers, and so on). One member is Tata, the Indian conglomerate, who makes no bones about it: “Our purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities we serve.”

While the importance of compassion at work has long been touted by scholars like Peter Senge,Fred Kofman, Jane Dutton and others as a foundational precept of good management, managers of the traditional, critical, efficiency-at-all-costs stripe have scoffed. This isn’t surprising: given the number of nasty managers still sitting at the top of organizations, it’s easy to assume that the compassionate ones don’t often get hired, let alone encouraged and promoted. In fact, a Notre Dame study found that nice guys really do finish last, with more agreeable people earning less than those who are willing to be disagreeable. And all too often, compassionate people lack boundaries, thus allowing themselves to be used and abused; they become “toxic handlers” who absorb the organizational pain without much personal gain.

But something in the zeitgeist is changing. At Wisdom 2.0, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner told the audience that he is on a personal mission to “expand the world’s collective wisdom and compassion,” and that he had made the practice of compassionate management a core value at the company. For example, he described a former colleague who was publicly disparaging someone on the team. Realizing that he’d made that mistake himself, Weiner took the fellow aside and said, “If you are going to do this, find a mirror and do it to yourself first. You’re projecting your perspective and assumptions onto that person.”

To manage compassionately, Weiner noted, doesn’t come naturally to most managers. It requires spending the time to walk in someone else’s shoes — to understand what kind of baggage that person is bringing to work; what kinds of stresses she’s under; what her strengths and weaknesses are. In high-pressure environments, such a time investment is anathema to most of us. But such an investment is analogous to the work of a carpenter who carefully measures a piece of wood three times before cutting once: spending such “compassion time” with an employee, Weiner insists, pays off in that person’s much greater efficiency, productivity and effectiveness (and obviates later regrets). It’s not just altruism: as it turns out, companies that practice conscious capitalism perform ten times better than companies that don’t.

Findings like this may be one reason for compassion’s rise in the workplace: perhaps years of research are finally making a dent. Over and over, it’s been shown that compassion concretely benefits the corporate bottom line. Marcus Buckingham’s work on employee engagement has shown that engagement is critical to organizational success. Plenty of others have shown that practicing compassion is good  for your business. Consider what happened when a call-center company calledAppletree consciously set about increasing compassion among employees. The company set up the equivalent of a “Make A Wish” foundation to serve its adult employees, which it called “Dream On.” The CEO, John Ratliff, claimed that the gambit changed the culture of his company. (Call centers have a notoriously high turnover rate, largely because the employees listen to unhappy callers all day.) The Dream On program allowed employees to express compassion to each other on an everyday basis. As a result, the company’s turnover rate dropped from 97% to 33% within six months. (You can learn more about this story and much more about the effect of compassion in organizations here.)

The evidence also shows that compassion boosts employee well-being and health — another important contributor to the bottom line. And as my good friend Dr. Edward Hallowell shows in his book Connect: 12 Vital Ties that Open Your Heart, Lengthen Your Life and Deepen Your Soul, the more we compassionately connect, the better we feel, and the more others are there to support us when we need it, as even the most seemingly invulnerable of us someday, inevitably, will.

I also have a suspicion. It’s just a hunch, but I suspect most of us are experiencing cynicism fatigue. The overwhelmingly bad news springing from the news media leaves most people with two options: either they become cynics who drown themselves in their own pleasures, or they try to make a difference. Most of the smart people I know are little a bit of both, but they fight their cynical side. They try to work on something of worth at work and in the world. There is no better way to start doing this than to practice the golden rule on an hourly basis.

Of course, some of us are inherently more compassionate and empathetic than others. But the good news is that it’s possible to strengthen one’s compassion muscle — and so become a better manager. Researchers from the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconson-Madison’s Waisman Center found that engaging in compassion meditation — where you practice feeling compassion for different groups of people, including yourself — seemed to increase a sense of altruism.

To me, this is all great news.  The more compassion we can practice (starting right now), the better. And given that we spend so much of our lives at work, there is no better place to start than with the person in the next cubicle.

More blog posts by Bronwyn Fryer

More on: Managing people, Morale

Compassionate Future

What do you think about compassion and empathy? Enlightening or a naive philosophy? Watch this video from His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he interacts with middle school and high school students in Louisville, KY. Listen as he describes compassion, forgiveness and how it isn't just a religious practice, but a way to cultivate your own inner happiness and strength.

Is there room for compassion, empathy and forgiveness in your own personal life? What about in the work place? Is this practice compelling or a waste of time in the workplace?

http://dalailama.com/webcasts/post/293-youth-engaging-compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama interacts with middle and senior high school students at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, Kentucky on May 21, 2013.