New mouse, new possibilities Ractiv has launched Touch+, a modern day mouse designed to permit users to control their computer from any surface, with natural hand gestures. The goal is to make everyday tasks, such as web browsing, easier, while facilitating more sophisticated interaction, such as typing on a TV without a keyboard. Touch+ is a small bar that connects to any … [Read more...]

Next-generation car buyers AutoTrader.com released the findings of the 2014 Automotive Buyer Influence Study, which provides insight into how consumers shop for vehicles online, offline and across multiple devices. Now in its third year, the study demonstrates how the consumer shopping process is rapidly evolving as the next generation of car buyers – millennials – are quickly … [Read more...]

About the equipment Fetal and vascular Doppler technology is based on the Doppler shift principle first discovered by Christian Doppler, an Austrian physicist, in 1842. The principle is similar to hearing a train bell approaching, and then moving away from you, and how the audible pitch of that train bell changes from high to low. Basically, what happens is that the pitch … [Read more...]

October is breast cancer awareness month – a good time for sales reps to discuss the importance of diagnosis and testing with their physician customers. Breast cancer – a disease in which malignant cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast – is the most common cancer among women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It follows that physicians will have … [Read more...]

What providers can do to prepare for an infectious disease outbreak, and how sales reps can help By Alan Cherry The Ebola outbreak in Africa continues to be a cause of concern for the world’s healthcare industries and organizations. As with any threat that has the potential to become a global health crisis, knowledge, preparation, and vigilance are of the upmost … [Read more...]

Flu prevention in long-term care facilities requires a multi-faceted approach For the next six to eight months, long-term-care administrators and staff will need to be particularly vigilant to contain the spread of seasonal flu. Sales reps should address this topic with their customers before an outbreak occurs. There is plenty of opportunity for flu to be introduced into … [Read more...]

The following are Choosing Wisely choices from the American College of Surgeons: Recommendation: Don’t perform axillary lymph node dissection for clinical stages I and II breast cancer with clinically negative lymph nodes without attempting sentinel node biopsy. Rationale: Sentinel node biopsy is proven effective at staging the axilla for positive lymph nodes and is … [Read more...]

The purpose of the Choosing Wisely campaign is to encourage and facilitate more informed dialogue between patients and their physicians regarding the use of non-value-added healthcare services and products, says Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA, chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Council on Research and Quality. “When there is evidence that a test, procedure or product … [Read more...]

The Choosing Wisely recommendations shouldn’t be confused with formal guidelines published by health professional societies such as the American Society of Anesthesiologists, says Richard W. Rosenquist, MD, chair, ASA Committee on Pain Medicine. Such guidelines are systematically developed recommendations to assist the practitioner and patient in making decisions about … [Read more...]

“One thing we really like about Choosing Wisely is the prompt it gives the physician or other provider to talk to patients about what their options are,” says David Ross, DO, FACEP, Front Range Emergency Specialists, Colorado Springs, Colo. Ross has been active in American College of Emergency Physicians for many years, and is chair of ACEP’s Cost-Effective Care Task Force, … [Read more...]