This partnership is truly first-of-its-kind and we’re proud to work with Alignment Healthcare to create, what we believe to be, the gold standard of Medicare Advantage partnership programs.

LOS ANGELES (PRWEB)
October 24, 2019

Heal, the market leader in doctor house calls, today announces Alignment Health Plan members in select cities throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties (California) can now select licensed, board-certified Heal doctors for primary care. Through the combined power of Alignment’s innovative Medicare Advantage plan and Heal’s award-winning primary care delivery, these two powerhouses are partnering to deliver end-to-end proactive primary care to patients.

“This partnership is truly first-of-its-kind and we’re proud to work with Alignment Healthcare to create, what we believe to be, the gold standard of Medicare Advantage partnership programs,” said Nick Desai, Heal co-founder and CEO. “Together, we’re offering the most coordinated, proactive end-to-end care to Medicare Advantage patients – especially those who struggle finding convenient options for primary care. We’re pleased Alignment Healthcare shares Heal’s commitment to put patients and providers first and that we see eye-to-eye with how technology can make healthcare better for seniors, while lowering costs, offering more services, creating ease of use, and bettering care coordination.”

As of today, members of Alignment Health Plan in Los Angeles and Orange Counties can use the Heal app to choose a primary care provider, book regular appointments with a Heal doctor within a two-hour window, and utilize the power of the Heal Hub for remote monitoring. Heal primary care doctors will provide primary, preventive, sick care and urgent care from the privacy, comfort, and convenience of the patient’s home. While in the home, Heal doctors have the opportunity to assess the patient’s home environment and social determinants of health, review medications and evaluate the patient’s physical health, to ensure they deliver precise, personal care plans, customized based on a patient’s complete health history, medication status, diet, lifestyle and home health environment.

Heal doctors are fully equipped to care for any issue typically seen in a doctor’s office or urgent care facility without requiring patients to travel to the location, sit in a waiting room for, on average, 45 minutes, only to meet with their physician for seven minutes in a rushed appointment. Heal doctors may spend 35 minutes to two hours with each patient, deliver personalized, old-fashioned, high-quality care, and identify environmental and social determinant issues that impact patient health and wellness.

Additionally, all Medicare-eligible individuals who live in Los Angeles and Orange counties will have the option to select one of Alignment’s plans – with exclusive access to its ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program and black card during Medicare’s annual election period, October 15 through December 7, 2019. Available only to Alignment Health Plan members, the ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program provides round-the-clock access to a board-certified doctor by phone or video, a dedicated concierge team, and a special black card that can be used as a debit card to buy eligible items at more than 50,000 retailers across the country.

“Today’s seniors need – and deserve – a simplified process, with coordinated care that addresses their ever-evolving health issues,” said Dawn Maroney, consumer president at Alignment Healthcare. “We’re pleased to expand our in-home physician care options so more of our members can experience the convenience of receiving primary care in the comfort of their own home. With Heal in our network, more of the seniors we serve have immediate and easy access to in-home primary care for their wide-ranging needs, providing peace of mind, simplicity and a greater overall health care experience.”

Heal is available 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year. In less than four years, Heal has grown to provide house calls across California, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia, and has reduced unnecessary emergency room and urgent care visits by up to 71 percent. Heal has also reduced hospitalization by 28 percent. In 2019, Heal will perform more than 100,000 house calls, averaging an estimated $53.7 million per year in overall healthcare cost savings, propelling a growth rate of 310% over the last 12 months. Alignment members living in Anaheim, Downey, Fullerton, Montebello, Placentia Linda, and Whittier can now benefit from this unrivaled availability and opportunity for high-quality care.

Alignment members can choose a Heal doctor as a primary care provider by calling their Alignment On-Demand Concierge at 1-833-AHC-ACCESS (1-833-242-2223), TTY 711, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Appointments to see a Heal doctor, in-home, can also be made by phone by calling 1-844-644-4325 or on the web at https://heal.com/.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare is redefining the business of healthcare by shifting the focus from payments to people. We’ve created a new model for healthcare delivery that cuts costs and improves lives by unraveling the inefficiencies of the current system to drive patients, providers and payers toward a common goal of wellness. Harnessing best practices from Medicare Advantage, our innovative data-management technology allows us to commit to caring for seniors and those who need it most: the chronically ill and frail. With offices and care centers across the country, Alignment Healthcare provides partners and patients with customized care and service where they need it and when they need it, including clinical coordination, risk management, and technology facilitation. Alignment Healthcare offers health plan options to California residents through Alignment Health Plan, and partners with select health plans in North Carolina and Florida to help deliver better benefits at lower costs. For more information, please visit http://www.alignmenthealthcare.com.

About Heal

Heal is bringing technology innovation to re-humanize the practice of medicine in a way that is fulfilling for doctors and patients alike. Offered throughout Atlanta, Georgia; California, New York, Northern Virginia, and D.C., we believe in making healthcare a more personal and convenient experience by creating a more efficient doctor’s office in your home, that inevitably improves healthcare outcomes. Through the touch of an app or a click on our site, a highly-vetted, qualified medical doctor will arrive at your door, twelve hours a day, 365 days a year.

Heal is in-network with all major PPO insurance companies in California, and New York, as well as Medicare, and will soon be in-network with insurers across the country. Heal investors include Fidelity ContraFund, Jim Breyer, the Ellison Family, Lionel Richie, and others. For more information, please visit http://www.heal.com/. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

BioFit 360 Sample Pak

We understand the importance of offering fully transparent, physician-recommended CBD products with concentration levels that achieve a therapeutic dose. Those qualities, and many more, are what set us apart. – Heather Hughes

LOS ANGELES (PRWEB)
October 24, 2019

BioFit 360, an industrial hemp CBD company, recently launched its BioFit 360 Sample-Pak by request to help users familiarize themselves with BioFit 360 CBD products. The launch comes at an opportune time as the holiday season approaches, with consumers shopping for unique and valuable gifts.

The Sample-Pak includes six Gummies (30 mg CBD per gummy), four topical Relief Cream packets (10 mg CBD per packet), one sample bottle of Relief Tincture (60mg CBD per bottle), one sample bottle of Revive Tincture (60mg CBD per bottle), one sample of Calm Sleep Tincture (16mg per bottle) and one sample bottle of BioPet Tincture (16mg CBD per bottle). All of the products are third party laboratory tested, vegan, GMO-free, made-in-the-USA, organically sourced and have high customer satisfaction ratings.

“We think the Sample-Pak is a great way for people to be introduced to the benefits of BioFit 360 CBD products,” said Heather Hughes, president of BioFit 360. “We understand the importance of offering fully transparent, physician-recommended CBD products with concentration levels that achieve a therapeutic dose. Those qualities, and many more, are what set us apart. We are a group of medical professionals striving to improve the lives of others with our premium CBD products.”

It’s interesting to note that pets can also use CBD too. In fact, the BioFit 360’s labradoodle ambassadog, Frankie Feldman, was featured in a Los Angeles Times article about how he uses CBD.

In addition to BioFit 360’s pet products and Sample-Pak, the company also offers convenient Go-Paks for travelers and university students; and full-size bottles of Relax Vegan Gummies; Relief, Revive and Calm Sleep tincture oils; and a unique topical Relief Cream, all available on their website.

For more information about BioFit 360 and its products, visit https://www.biofit360.com.

About BioFit 360

BioFit 360 is an industrial hemp derived CBD company offering gummies, topicals and tinctures for humans and pets. BioFit 360 was founded by a group of medical professionals seeking natural alternatives to managing sleeplessness, pain, inflammation and anxiety. All of the company’s industrial hemp derived CBD products are third party laboratory tested, THC-Free (less than 0.3%), vegan, GMO-Free, made-in-the-USA, organically sourced, and have the highest customer satisfaction ratings.

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Dr. Kaixuan Liu

Frequently called arthritis of the spine, the debilitating disease initially manifests itself as stiffness, transient pain and inflammation of tendons in the vertebrae of the neck and back, especially in the lowest portion of the spine where it meets the pelvis.

WEST ORANGE, N.J. (PRWEB)
October 24, 2019

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) — like the name, “it’s a bit complicated,” says spinal surgeon Kaixuan Liu, MD, PhD, who notes that the chronic, inflammatory joint disorder is difficult to diagnose, and its causes still not clearly understood. Frequently called arthritis of the spine, the debilitating disease initially manifests itself as stiffness, transient pain and inflammation of tendons in the vertebrae of the neck and back, especially in the lowest portion of the spine where it meets the pelvis. If left untreated, the condition can prompt bone-spur formation. The spurs grow and eventually create bony bridges and fusion of vertebrae, making the spine less flexible and forcing a hunched-over posture that may impede breathing, says Dr. Liu, founder and medical director of the Atlantic Spine Center.

As the condition progresses, it affects other tendons and joints like the hips, elbows, knees, and Achilles tendon and various bodily systems, such as the eyes (uveitis), heart, gut, even the skin (psoriasis), Dr. Liu indicates. He refers to recent studies that show a higher risk of death from heart disease and stroke and a reported 50 percent increase in risk of blood clots in patients with AS.

“What happens in AS is that a patient’s immune system becomes dysfunctional and begins attacking healthy tissue in the joints and other areas of the body,” Dr. Liu explains. Bone spurs and spinal rigidity occur when the body attempts to quell inflamed tendons by building up calcium in affected areas.

AS appears to develop most often in younger men between their teen years and mid-40s, although some experts suspect the disease may be under-diagnosed in women.

Besides gender, other potential causative agents include genetic variants, alterations in the body’s immune system, ethnicity, family history and environmental factors, such as exposure to certain toxins and infections — even changes in the bacterial population that normally inhabits the colon, says Dr. Liu. A study published online in August 2019 in the journal Plos One contends AS patients are more likely to have had a history of previous inflammatory problems, such as tonsillitis and appendicitis.

The Arthritis Foundation reports that nearly a half million people in the United States struggle with AS, which is a form of spondyloarthritis and which gets its name from the Greek ankylose, meaning to fuse or grow together, and spondylos, which refers to vertebra. The disease was first described in the 1600s.

Although AS has no known cure, new treatment protocols are proving increasingly effective in controlling the disorder, especially in its initial stages, says Dr. Liu, who emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis by a spinal specialist or rheumatologist. Just this year (2019), the American College of Rheumatology partnered with the Spondylitis Association of America and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network in issuing updated guidelines for the treatment, assessment and diagnosis of AS.

“AS is suspected as a potential diagnosis if a patient is 40 years of age or under, complains of back pain or pain in the upper buttocks that has persisted for several months, and indicates the pain lessens with exercise and worsens during rest,” Dr. Liu states. “Although no single test provides a definitive diagnosis of AS, magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays and ultrasound, as well as a blood evaluation, can help determine presence of ongoing inflammation, especially in the lower back and hips.

“Patients often go to multiple doctors before getting a correct diagnosis,” says Dr. Liu.

Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, as well as physical therapy, are one way of controlling AS. As scientists learn more about the disease’s causative factors, new therapies, including medications targeting dysfunctional immune system cells that promote inflammation, are being developed, he says.

In advanced cases, surgery may be required to repair damaged hips and other joints. Less common is spinal surgery, which is usually reserved for correcting severe downward curving of the spine and other significant spinal deformities caused by the disorder, Dr. Liu says.

Meanwhile, Dr. Liu suggests lifestyle changes that AS patients can make to help control their disease:

• Exercise regularly to maintain spinal flexibility and increase strength and mobility. Recommended “gentle,” but effective, exercises include walking and swimming.
• Practice good posture when sitting, standing or walking; don’t slouch.
• Sleep on a firm – not hard – mattress and use a pillow.
• Stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. Recent research indicates smoking impairs patient response to medications for treating inflammatory arthritis.

Improve diet and drop the pounds. Extra weight puts added stress on spine and other joints already affected by disease.

Atlantic Spine Center is a nationally recognized leader for endoscopic spine surgery with several locations in NJ and NYC. http://www.atlanticspinecenter.com, http://www.atlanticspinecenter.nyc

Kaixuan Liu, MD, is a board-certified physician who is fellowship-trained in minimally invasive spine surgery at Atlantic Spine Center.

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