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April 2026

It's worrisome – Where people get health information and what they do

The recent report from Pew deserves some thought – and much concern.  First look at this chart – then consider (see Figure 1).  Getting information from providers – that sounds positive and most think that information is accurate.Never mind that one-third of people in the US lack a primary care provider. But the survey results go downhill from there -- getting data from people who have a similar health issue to you (a neighbor?), then past WebMD, straight to government agencies tied with news organizations, and then, where else, over to social media. Half of Pew responders say it is difficult to judge whether information is accurate.  No kidding.

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Senior living -- can tech improve the product that no one wants to buy

If your older family members are like most, they do not want to move to senior living. Life expectancy for the 65+ is another 20 years (both men and women).  For those who love their homes, there is no appeal to spending that 20-year life span in a senior living community, even if viewed as affordable – a view not shared by most.  In fact, according to a Harvard housing study, only 13 percent can afford an assisted living facility in their area. And when asked, senior housing industry execs agree that the so-called middle market option never really materialized, though they offer hope: “From an industry perspective, these trends point to the need to keep evolving to address affordability and access while communicating the value of senior living as a proactive solution, not a last resort.”

The more things change – medical alert phone scams live on!

You know the drill – which amazingly seems unchanged.  A bot advises you that many older adults would benefit from a free monitoring service in the event of a fall.  The bot attempts to verify age and then hands off to an offshore call center rep that cannot pronounce ‘Houston’ – an element in the name of the service company, nor can the rep identify the maker of the medical alert service they are offering. Naturally, the rep cannot remove a name from the cold-calling list -- and when asked to do so, hangs up. But there's good news...

We like to complain about technology -- does it make us stupid?

We like to complain about the obvious.  For a long time (I am embarrassed to say how long), I complained that my devices ran out of charge before the day was done. Every day I railed about the incompetence of the company that would create such a thing – a smartphone that couldn’t last the full day. Finally, idly, I glanced at a blog that advised on how to extend the device’s daily charging life by shutting down apps and features we don’t use. Duh.  You might then notice that there are at least a gazillion sites that offer advice on preserving daily battery life. And the advice is not all the same!

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