5 Financial Tips for Airbnb Hosts During the Covid-19 Outbreak

Through the news of industries that have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, one that has been slightly ignored is the world of Airbnb. There were 650,000 global hosts in 2019. There's a good chance all of them have been affected one way or another. To stem the loss of income, here are five financial tips for Airbnb hosts during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

1. Halt Design Improvements

Though big-box stores are promoting huge sales and low credit interest rates to stabilize their profits, this is not a time to invest in a huge renovation project. In other words, tearing down walls or building a new room from scratch. There are two reasons for this.

First, hosts won't find a contractor. If they do, there's a good chance they'll charge top dollar to risk their health to start a project. 

Second, if hosts take on improvements themselves and get seriously injured, then they can end up going to the hospital. Though it may seem selfish, beds in those medical facilities should be saved for those infected with the virus.

2. Don't Exhaust Savings Accounts

Connected to the first tip, hosts can't exhaust their savings accounts. They need to utilize what they have gotten from patrons to pay the mortgage, rent, and necessary bills. Any extra must be put aside in case the crisis goes longer than predicted. No need for hosts to jump online and spend their earnings on additional decorations.

In reality, Airbnb hosts should have at least six months of emergency savings available. In addition, they should be charging enough to have their expenses paid. That's how to make money with Airbnb.

3. Invest in Online Programs to Enhance Hosting

The one thing to do with the money previously earned from Airbnb guests is to invest in online programs about hosting. Companies like Bnbformula offer these learning sessions to help others become as successful as they have.



Should the number of guests be lower during the COVID-19 outbreak, it is a prime opportunity for Airbnb hosts to gain a better understanding of their industry. With the available time, they can absorb the material offered instead of rushing through it. 

In turn, they'll retain knowledge that can be utilized once the travel and business markets pick up. Overall, the return on investment in one of these online programs may be greater than the initial cost.

4. Refinance Your Mortgage

With interest rates at zero percent due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is no better time for Airbnb hosts to refinance their mortgages. By taking measures to accomplish this task, they'll be able to lower their monthly payments. If they do this while maintaining their regular guest fees, the hosts can increase their profits. Thus, they will stay ahead of the curve should another issue emerge.

Granted, some Airbnb hosts might be afraid to head to their bank to fill out forms. Luckily, many financial institutions allow homeowners to obtain refinancing estimates and complete the process online. All that's required is the necessary paperwork. That can be sent to the bank via secure document scans and uploads.

5. Look for Other Airbnb Properties

The COVID-19 outbreak hasn't shut down all businesses across the globe. Airbnb hosts still have plenty of tools at their disposal to search for other property investments in their area. This is the right time to review available locations. When the economy recovers, there's an excellent chance people cooped up in their homes for months will want to travel.

Therefore, hosts should consider investments not only near their current property but also those near tourist attractions. For instance, places in the mountains or near the beach that will not take a huge investment to freshen up. Even if hosts live in a shelter-in-place area, they can still travel to the other property for minor updates. As a result, the residences will be ready for use when the restrictions are lifted.

Though the circumstances are serious, there are opportunities for investment and financial security for Airbnb hosts. Yes, during the moments of nothingness there will be urges for these hosts to buy on impulse. If they can push those back and maintain their existing finances, the results for them will be more successful than they were prior to the COVID-19 crisis.

Should You Be Concerned With Your Oxygen Blood Levels

Your blood oxygen reading is a measure of how much oxygen your red blood cells bring throughout your body. Your body very closely manages your blood oxygen levels. Maintaining the precise balance of oxygen-saturated blood is crucial to your wellness.

The majority of youngsters and adults do not need to check their blood oxygen levels. As a matter of fact, lots of medical professionals will not check it unless you're showing indicators of an issue, like lack of breath or upper body pain.

Nevertheless, individuals with persistent health and wellness conditions need to monitor their blood oxygen levels. This consists of asthma, cardiovascular disease, and also chronic obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD).

In these situations, monitoring your blood oxygen level can help identify if treatments are functioning, or if they ought to be adjusted.

Maintain checking to discover where your blood oxygen level needs to be, what signs you may experience if your level is off, as well as what occurs following.

How your blood oxygen level is determined

Your blood oxygen degree can be measured with two various examinations:

Arterial blood gas

An arterial blood gas (ABG) level is a blood test. It determines your blood's oxygen level. It additionally can discover the degree of other gases in your blood, in addition to the pH (acid/base level). An ABG is very accurate, but it's intrusive.

To obtain an ABG level, your medical professional will take from an artery rather than a vein. Unlike veins, arteries have a pulse that can be really felt. Additionally, blood drawn from arteries is oxygenated. Blood in your veins is not.



Your artery in your wrist is used because it's easily tested in contrast to others in your body.

The wrist is a delicate area, taking blood there is much more painful contrasted to a vein near your elbow. Arteries are also much deeper and add to the discomfort.

Pulse oximeter

The pulse oximeter (pulse ox) is a noninvasive tool that estimates the quantity of oxygen in your blood. It does so by sending out infrared light into blood vessels in your earlobe, toe, or finger. Then it indicates how much light is reflected off the gases.

An analysis indicates what percent of your blood is saturated, known as the SpO2 level. This examination has a 2 percent error window. That implies the reading may be as much as 2 percent higher or lower than your actual blood oxygen level.

This test might be slightly less precise, but it's extremely easy for doctors to carry out. So physicians depend on it for quick readings.

Things like dark nail gloss or chilly extremities can create the pulse ox to check out lower than regular. Your medical professional might eliminate any kind of polish from your nails prior to utilizing the machine or if your reading seems extraordinarily reduced.

A pulse ox is not invasive, you can execute this test yourself. You can acquire pulse ox testers at most shops that carry health-related products or online. Meet with your medical professional prior to making use of a residential device to ensure that you learn how to analyze the results.

What should your blood oxygen reading be?

A test of your blood oxygen is called your oxygen saturation reading. It's called a PaO2 when utilizing a blood gas as well as an O2 sat (SpO2) when utilizing a pulse ox. These guidelines will certainly help you recognize what your outcome might suggest:

Normal: A normal ABG oxygen level for healthy lungs falls between 80 and also 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). If a pulse ox determined your blood oxygen degree (SpO2), a normal reading is usually between 95 and 100 percent.

Nevertheless, in COPD or other lung diseases, these ranges may not apply. Your doctor will tell you what's normal for your specific condition. As an example, it isn't unusual for people with extreme COPD to maintain their pulse ox degrees (SpO2) in between 88 to 92 percent.

Below normal: A below-normal blood oxygen level is called hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is frequently cause for worry. The lower the oxygen level, the extra serious the hypoxemia. This can bring about difficulties in body cells and also body organs.

Usually, a PaO2 reading below 80 mm Hg or a pulse ox (SpO2) below 95 percent is considered too low. It's important to understand what's regular for you, specifically if you have a chronic lung illness.

Your doctor can offer recommendations regarding what is the proper ranges of oxygen levels that are right for you.

Above normal: If your breathing is unassisted, it's tough for your oxygen levels to be too high. For the most part, high oxygen levels occur in individuals that utilize additional oxygen. This can be detected on an ABG.

What happens if your oxygen degree is too reduced.

When your blood oxygen degree goes outside the normal array, you might begin experiencing symptoms.

This consists of:

• shortness of breath
• upper body discomfort
• confusion
• migraine
• fast heart beat

If low blood oxygen levels persist, you might be showing symptoms of cyanosis. The characteristic indications of this condition are a blue discoloration of your nail beds, skin, and mucus membrane layers. Have this checked by your doctor immediately

Cyanosis is considered an emergency situation. If you're experiencing symptoms, you ought to seek instant clinical attention. Cyanosis can bring about respiratory system failure, which can be life-threatening.

Conclusion

Most of the population will never have to monitor their oxygen levels at home. Only those with help problems will have to use this device at home. If you do need to monitor at home you can purchase your own monitor and always be safe knowing what your oxygen levels are.

4 Financial Steps to Take after Being Diagnosed with Permanent Disability

When you get diagnosed with a permanent disability, it severely changed your life. You may have pain, difficulty doing the things you used to do, inability to work, and increased financial obligations. It’s rather difficult to handle financial difficulties when you aren’t able to work. 

Here are 4 financial steps to take after being diagnosed with a permanent disability.

Save, Save, Save

Permanent disabilities can come with some hefty costs to see doctors, treatment and medication, and any accommodations that need to be made. You also need to be prepared for any unexpected time off of work. This means you need to save when things are going well to be ready. Put a little bit of money away every check to ensure you have a safety net when necessary.

Find Work You Can Do

You may be forced to resign from your position due to your disability. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find other ways to make money. Identify your limitations and look for work that you can still do despite your limitations. 



The available work varies greatly depending on your disability. You may be able to talk to your employer to see if you can get transferred to another position that might suit your needs better.

Get Benefits

There are government programs designed to make life easier for people with disabilities. Do your research and see what programs you might qualify for. Look into both social security and medical programs. 

There may even be charitable organizations who step in when the government does not. Do not feel bad about getting help due to your condition. You have to deal with something most other people do not have to go through. Since you have this handicap, you deserve the help.

Call a Lawyer

There are a lot of aspects of learning you have a disability that can be confusing. Luckily, you can find the help you need by reaching out to a disability lawyer. They can answer any questions you have regarding employment law regarding disabilities, filing for benefits, and anything else on the topic of disabilities. This will protect you at work and help ensure you get the benefits you deserve.

There is more to consider when it comes to disability than the physical aspects. The disability can affect the other aspects of your life, including your finances. Follow these tips to keep yourself comfortable.

3 Reasons You Should Opt in for an HSA Account

With the expenses associated with healthcare continuing to rise, you should be doing everything you can to maximize your savings wherever possible. While there are many things that you can be doing to protect your health and contribute to your overall well begging, you will still want to safeguard your finances against any injury or illness that can come your way. 

It seems that many people have shied away from Health Savings Accounts because of the restrictions placed on how you can use the money that it put into it. While that might be a legitimate concern, consider the following three reasons why you should opt in for an HSA account.

You Can Invest Your HSA

This is an advantage that many people do not know about, but you can actually invest the money in your HSA. While most people just choose the default choice of putting the money in a low savings account, you can actually choose to put the money in a mutual fund if you so desire. 



The money in there can roll over year after year, giving you a similar investment effect that would be achieved by a Roth IRA or 401(k) account.

You Can Make Tax Free Withdrawals from Your HSA

Not only do you receive a tax deduction upon contributing to a Health Savings Account, but you will also enjoy the benefit of being able to make tax free withdrawals when the time comes. 

This makes it a unique type of investment account in that it becomes triple tax free. While we all know that paying taxes are a necessary part of life, it is nice to have an investment where we get to avoid the component of our finances for just a bit longer.

Save Your Receipts

The thought that you must make withdrawals in the same year that you make contributions is simply not true. In fact, you can save receipts from health related expenditures like dental crowns or contact lenses and then make withdrawals from the account in future years when you need the money. 

Just remember that all money you take out of your HSA must be for health related expenses. Beyond that, the timing is up to you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more reasons why you should contribute to an HSA, such as the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have money available in the event anyone in your family suddenly becomes injured or ill. It is a type of forced savings account that can really pay dividends when the time comes.

Natural Ways to Improve Your Mental and Physical Health

Photo by Storyblocks

Everyone wants to be healthy, but few of us are doing enough to get there. Study after study has revealed the bleak truth: Americans are obese, sick, and stressed out. For most of us, caring for our physical and mental health is a battle — and it’s one that we are losing.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The truth of the matter is that caring for your physical and mental health isn’t necessarily hard. It’s just that we tend to go about it in the wrong ways. We look for cure-alls and make big changes all at once. We opt for fad diets or crash diets, and then we fail to stick to them. None of this works, and we have the studies to prove it.

So what does work? Here are a few simple actions you can take and lifestyle changes you can make that will have a meaningful (and, crucially, a long-term) impact on your mental and physical health.

Take a vacation

Vacations are very good for you mentally and, in many cases, are even good for your physical health. Yet far too many of us are skipping our breaks and leaving our vacation days on the table. We’re working too hard and taking our work home with us, and we’re not doing enough to take ourselves off of the grid for a while.

Make a change. Head down to Florida or out to the West Coast for a relaxing vacation on the beach, or fulfill a lifelong dream and go see some powerful natural or man-made sites. While on vacation, do your best to ignore work completely (they’ll be fine without you).

You’ll get even more out of vacation if you manage to get some exercise in the sun. So go check out the kayak rentals in West Palm Beach or the surfing lessons down the coast. Nobody says you can’t break a sweat while you relax your mind.

Have fun exercising

Photo by Storyblocks

Most of us don’t get enough exercise, but the reason for that isn’t necessarily that we’re lazy. What’s happening is that we’re failing to make moving around and breaking a sweat into a habit. If your workout makes you miserable, then it’s not hard to see why you wouldn’t want to make it a habit.

That’s why the most effective workout for you is whatever workout you have fun doing. Whether it’s hiking, rock climbing, cycling, swimming, kayaking, or something else entirely, find something that you actually like doing and make exercise a part of your life instead of just some chore.

Make a habit of fueling your body

Diets don’t work because they don’t encourage us to form habits. Diets are drastic and temporary changes, and we tend to ditch them when we reach our goals (or before that, unfortunately). And what happens then? We go back to what we were doing which makes us gain our weight right back, and more importantly, makes us less healthy.

Try to make more long-term changes in your diet. This means you should not drastically cut calories or completely change the way you eat overnight. Instead, focus on filling up on more of the good stuff. That means whole foods, especially vegetables.

Your body also needs nutrients, and it can be made healthier with all sorts of other supplements, lifestyle products, and even beauty routines. Choose high-impact supplements like multivitamins, fish oil, and CBD. The last one is all the rage right now, explain the CBD experts at Pure for Life, because it has been shown to reduce anxiety and has a host of other health benefits. In fact, we’re still learning more about some of them.

Choose supplements that are easy to take. Take a multivitamin pill in the morning with your medication, or vape some CBD on your way to work. Use natural products whenever you’re ingesting things or applying things to your body in any way.

When you put the right products and foods into and onto your body, the right kind of physical and mental health outcomes follow.

Personal Injury Cases: How to Help Yourself Bounce Back Financially

Alongside the physical injuries that you may incur during a personal injury case, there are also financial responsibilities that you have to attend to. Whether you win or lose the case, you will have legal fees, you will have medical bills, and you will have other overhead costs.

If you do not have the right advice in your ear, you will find that bouncing back financially can be a difficult thing. Here are the tips you need to know.

Find Payment Plans

The courts may be able to help you find a payment plan. If not, you can partner with a financial services agency that specializes in contacting your creditors with a payment plan. 

Keep in mind this is not a bankruptcy plan or a consolidation plan. You are doing this before you run into any real financial trouble.

Cut Back

One of the things most people have to do is they have to cut back on the luxuries in life. The reason being is that you have to have the money to be able to pay off your bills and the things that help you survive from day-to-day. 



You may have to cancel certain TV subscriptions like Netflix and Hulu. You may have to eat at home more often than eating out. You may even have to sell off some things as well just to help make ends meet. 

These are extreme examples, but the bottom line is you should be willing to do these difficult things to make sure you are able to bounce back from your injury while making sure your bills are paid.

Use the Courts

If you are found not at fault in a personal injury case, you may be able to force an injunction on any creditors that are involved with the case, including your lawyer. 

First of all, you should not choose a lawyer who cannot deal with your financial situation as it is. However, you can petition the courts for a decent plan, especially if you have a change in your employment situation based upon your personal injury case.

Save through Work Programs

If you are employed and have insurance, you may be able to use those work programs to help yourself bounce back financially. This is not to say that your employer plays a direct hand in dealing with your financial problems, but employment insurance may be able to give you an income stream when you cannot work. 

There may be other work programs that you can involve yourself in, but you will never know unless you ask. Have a meeting with HR to discuss your options.

Get a Lawyer

This may seem like it will cost you more money, but this isn’t always the case. If you have been wrongfully injured or you are not being properly compensated for damages, you will want to get a law firm on your side like the Alexander Law Group to help you make sure you get the proper compensation you deserve and to make sure that you can financially survive your injury.

There are many options for you if you have to deal with a personal injury case. You do not have to destroy your financial situation just because your employment situation has changed. 

You do not have to go bankrupt just because you have been physically injured. You have protections, and you should use them. Use the tips above so that you will know where to go when things get back. There is nothing worse than having financial problems along with the physical and emotional problems of a personal injury case.

How Seniors Can Financially Prep for Healthcare Essentials

If you are a senior citizen, then you must prepare for health problems to avoid additional expenses. Today, people are living longer lives, but they are also living with an assortment of physical and mental health issues. It is especially important to prepare financially for daily or emergency medical problems.

Have Savings to Pay for Your Medical Bills

Make sure to have a saving account that has enough money to pay for medical appointments and medications. You may need to reduce your other expenses such as having cable television or taking vacations in order to have enough money saved for your health care needs. 

Watch for sales on over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers, cough syrup and antihistamines. You can find some of these medications on sale, or you can use coupons to save money. 


Check the expiration dates on medications to buy products that will remain fresh for several months or years.

Do You Qualify for Government-sponsored Medical Programs?

It is possible that you are eligible for government-sponsored insurance or medical programs. Some of these programs are operated at the federal, state or local level, so you should complete the necessary forms to determine if you qualify for any health care assistance. 

Not only should you have a last will and testament that is legally binding in your geographic region, but also, you should have a living will along with a health care proxy. 

You can choose a relative, friend or attorney to oversee your finances and health care when you are unable to make decisions on your own.

Reduce Your Other Debts

To avoid other expenses that will prevent you from paying medical bills, make sure to reduce your debts. Pay your credit card bills so that you aren’t paying high interest rates, and make sure to keep your mortgage payments up-to-date. 

As you get older, you may need in-home health care, so you should verify that your medical insurance includes this type of coverage. 

With in-home health care coverage, like that available from Baywood Home Care, you can hire a professional caregiver so that you can remain in your home while you are recovering from an injury or illness.

Look for a senior care advocate in your city. This professional can provide advice concerning the actions that you should take to protect you financially when you have a health problem that requires medical care.

Dental Dime: 4 Strategies To Keep Your Healthcare Affordable

Unfortunately, American healthcare can be unaffordable for some, which is a shame since most developed countries offer universal care to their citizens. Nevertheless, this is where you are, and you have to figure out a way to make health care attainable. 

What you want to do is find ways to make your health care a little more affordable. The following are four effective strategies that will help put healthcare within reach.

1. Ask Questions

One important thing to do is to ask questions. It is possible that a doctor might recommend tests or brand medications that are not absolutely necessary. 


You should make sure that each test is crucial, and find out if there is a generic brand medication that could substitute the branded one. This may save you some money.

2. Self-Care

Insurance companies and health care providers may charge more when you are a bigger risk or when you are sick. This is why self-care matters. You want to good, healthy foods. 

You want to make sure you exercise as much as possible. In short, take the time to take care of yourself right now. If you do a lot of preventative work it can help you to avoid unnecessary costs in the future. 

3. Affordable Help

There is a lot you can do to reduce your health care costs, but the health care provider you choose also makes a difference. You need to find health care providers, like those at Kyle J Frisinger DMD, that offer pricing or payment plans. The point is to look and compare prices to make sure you are getting the best you can. Remember to look for fair not cheap. 

4. Cash Discounts

You might not know this, but there are many health care providers out there that offer discounts to people who pay with cash. You are going to have to ask your doctor for upfront prices, and see if they offer discounts before making this decision, but it could end up saving you money. Remember, you can also talk to your insurance about this decision as they may offer additional advice.

Hopefully, some of these strategies help lower your health care costs. Yes, you are making sacrifices here, and you are going to do some research, but it is worth it. 

Be sure to keep an eye on what is happening in politics because health care costs could skyrocket at any time. This is your health, so take control of it.

Best Healthcare Technologies to Invest in as You Get Older

As you age, it’s not uncommon for simple tasks to become more of a struggle and the loss of independence can be quite hard to swallow. 

Technology is constantly advancing, and now there are different devices and systems that can assist with everyday tasks and improve the quality of everyday living. 

Here are some of the best healthcare technologies to invest in as you get older. 

The Tabsafe

The Tabsafe is a device that assists with medication consumption. It is a fully medication management system that can do everything from sending reminders on when to take medication and how much to take, to sending information to doctors when prescriptions are running low. 

This technology essentially assumes the role of a medication nurse and eliminates the need for any added fussing. One of the most useful features on this devices, is the fact that all information regarding medication and consumption can be accessed through a portal on any smart device or desktop – so loved ones, family members and healthcare professionals have easy access to any important information they may need in a case of an emergency.

The Grandcare System

The GrandCare device is a home system that has countless adaptable features. The system is a large tablet face with user friendly touch-screen buttons, which delivers instructions, reminders, medication prompts, social communications with friends and family and even videos. 

One of the most popular features is the Care Portal, which allows family members to stay connected with ease, by allowing them to exchange messages, and to access important information on things such as upcoming events, health indications and medication renewals. This technology is so versatile and user friendly that anybody could use it.

GPS

GPS technology systems are tracking devices operated by satellite locators. They are able to pin point the location of any receptive device, which can be extremely useful for the elderly. 

For example, this technology would be great in the event of an emergency, where a senior is suffering from a mental health problem, memory loss or confusion and leaves the house unattended. 

GPS tracking is easily accessed through smartphone devices and applications and can therefore allow the user to be situated and helped quickly. Technologies like sensors, GPS tracking systems and even senior focused social networking sites often mean that seniors can live at home and maintain a level of independence. 

Looking Ahead: 3 Crucial Factors When Planning Your Retirement Finances and Healthcare

Planning your retirement is a process that is going to take decades of hard work, and no one wants to find themselves struggling with financial problems or health complications that could have been avoided. 

Whether you have just graduated college or been working at the same company for years, here are a few factors that you must take into consideration when planning for your retirement.

Savings Accounts

Every extra penny that you invest while you are younger can have a major impact on your retirement. Those who begin setting up their investment accounts early can produce exponentially more wealth than those who wait until they are further along in their careers. 

As soon as you are hired by a company that offers retirement accounts, you should immediately begin investing. This is especially important if your company offers to match some or all of your contributions. 

Most of these accounts also have incentives that will reduce how much you pay in taxes once you begin withdrawing money instead of investing it. 

While government programs such as Social Security can be useful, retirees should not rely on them exclusively. As the senior demographic continues to grow, many of these programs have been pushed to their limits. 

At the very least, employees should try to invest some of their income into a diverse portfolio as an emergency fund.

Living Accommodations

Older adults tend to have much fewer expenses once they are no longer working or providing for a larger family. 

One of the biggest expenses for retirees is their living accommodations, and this factor should be taken into consideration well before you leave your job. Even if you own a home that you plan on living in for a short period of time, there may come a point when you need to start looking at additional living arrangements such as a retirement community. 

Many of these communities, like Sunshine Retirement Living where seniors have fun living in Texas, offer an incredible amount of freedom and are often designed specifically for retirees who would like to remain as active as possible.

Making a plan to transition to one of these communities will also allow you to use your home as an incredible asset after you retire. 

As soon as the market becomes favorable, you can sell your home as quickly as possible and seamlessly move to a community that you have already been in contact with. 

Your community will also provide you with access to ongoing support to keep you healthy, motivated, and socially active.

Insurance Policies

In addition to your living accommodations, your insurance policies will be another major expense that must be taken into consideration. 

Much like your retirement accounts, you should take full advantage of your company's insurance while you are still working. Unfortunately, you will most likely lose all of your coverage once you no longer work for that company. 

As an alternative, you should begin to look at government subsidies to help you cover some or all of the costs including your premiums and deductibles. Many of these programs are designed specifically for retirees who have different needs than younger individuals.

Life insurance is also an important aspect to keep in mind for future finances. Not only does this form of insurance protect your family's finances after you pass away, but it can also be used as one more layer of financial protection while you are still alive. 

Insurance providers often bundle life insurance policies with long-term care and disability coverage.

Your retirement will most likely be one of the biggest lifestyle changes you ever experience, and it is important that you continue to plan accordingly while you are still able to make and invest money.

Healthcare for the New Era

Industries that have been around for a long time have a hard time changing. The more established and complicated they are, the harder time they have jiving with the modern consumer.

Healthcare is one of those behemoths that ruffles the feathers of even the most conservative millennial. 

It stands in direct opposition to a million principles that we hold dear. It often sends people into debt because of its high cost. It throws its weight around with “trust me, I’m a doctor” instead of valuing transparency and patient-centric care. 

It devalues alternative options and promotes itself as the single authority when it comes to a healthy lifestyle.

Now, I’d like to make one distinction: I’m not saying that the healthcare industry is bad at adjusting to new procedures and treatment options. 

In fact, it’s one of the fastest-moving fields in the world when it comes to incorporating new developments. However, the industry itself and how it’s run as a business… that’s a ponderously slow beast that will only change its ways under extreme duress.

However, big changes are on the horizon for the healthcare industry. With a new era of consumers, healthcare industries are finding themselves faced with the “evolve or die” ultimatum. 

Millennials, as the new consumer force, are changing the way that healthcare does business.

Reasons the Healthcare Industry Has to Change

They have less personnel and less leaders: One major change that the healthcare industry is facing is an extreme shortage of qualified leaders. 

The modern economy has made a generation of debt-averse students. In a rapidly changing field, students no longer feel confident of the ability to quickly pay off the crippling debts that can get accrued in med school. 

While technology will answer many needs for more helping hands, it’s also true that more individuals will have the power to make waves in an increasingly sparse industry.

It’s just too expensive: With or without insurance, patients are increasingly appalled by the expenses that they have to face from just a checkup or a routine procedure. 

A friend of mine spent two years just paying off her appendectomy… and she’s a very financially responsible individual! 

While most people trust doctors, they also don’t believe that the cost is usually worth the service, and more and more people are looking for manageable options that will help them maintain health.

Technology is changing how we shop: A decade or two ago, no one would think to check out online reviews before choosing a primary care physician. 

Now, it’s unthinkable to many to accept a doctor without first checking out their online rating. The internet gives us the power to explore our options, and make informed decisions about who will be conducting our care. 

Technology is also changing how we’re able to monitor and direct our own health. Today, millions of people use wearable devices to determine how they’re doing with diet, exercise, and sleep. 

Not only does this allow for more specialized health care, but it also gives us a wider range of data to do research from and develop more effective care.

Some Changes You Can Expect Within Your Lifetime

1: More Openness to Holistic Care

An increasingly connected world means that we’re no longer stuck inside a narrow Westernized view. 

Information exchanges across cultural and geopolitical barriers make patients more curious about alternative treatments, and force western medicine to acknowledge that it doesn’t have the market cornered on healthcare. 

Although basic methodology will continue the same, more and more research will look into care that focuses on the well-being of the entire body, instead of a narrow focus. 

Part of the reason that we’ll see more and more of this is because integrated healthcare works. We know very well that mental health has a bearing on physical health, and that treating the body is just a part of treating the overall person.

2: Increasingly Preventive Care

More and more, medical education programs are requiring nutrition courses because we’re acknowledging that what we eat and do daily helps to determine our health. 

With America’s greatest health challenges being diseases like diabetes and heart disease that are easily preventable, in many cases, with changes in diet and exercise, more and more physicians are seeing the need for teaching patients personal care habits that will improve health instead of diagnosing and dosing.

This can be seen as a part of the new generation’s desire to be more involved in care, and to opt for cheaper routes. 

Most people will choose a new self-care regime that they can control over the knife any day. Now, I know that in a lot of my statements I sound like I’m pitting myself against the old order of doctors and health professionals, but I’m positive that I’m on the same side as most professionals when I say that this can only be a move in the right direction.

3: More Connectedness

Technology and communication options that we have today means that no one is an island. Online forums and texts mean that patients are well-informed about their health, and that connecting with others who confront the same challenges is easy. 

Since shutting down WebMD isn’t really an option, professionals have no choice but to enter the conversation instead. 

We’re seeing more and more physicians with an online presence who connect with patients online and do their best to dispel myths that are floating around out there.

An immediate consequence that we see of this inter-connectedness is that many hospitals are opening up device-enabled communication, instead of having all patients come into the office for care. 

Patients are able to connect with professionals from their own home.

What changes do you see coming up in the healthcare industry? Which ones are you most excited for?