Posted on Patient Talk

Tips On Starting A Compassionate Care Company


There are around 48 million people caring for adult friends and family members in the United States. These loving individuals do so without pay but with all of the responsibilities of a paid care provider. And sometimes, they need a break or support in ways that their current network can’t offer. This is where you come in. Caregiver support is a crucial service that can help those who help our nation’s most vulnerable.

Today’s quick guide from Patient Talk will cover several topics, including general business formation, where to find workers for your family support endeavors, the types of services you might offer, and how you can ensure that your clients are well taken care of.

Business Formation

In any business, you want to make sure that you have the right protections in place. If you’re going into people’s homes and dealing with individuals on a one-on-one level, a limited liability company is a smart choice as it reduces your personal liability in case of legal issues with your company. An LLC is not difficult to form, and if you don’t mind reading local formation regulations and following best practices, you can establish your LLC online using a formation service instead of paying for an expensive attorney.

Next, it’s time to market your services! You should spread the word via social media, of course, but it’s also a good idea to put together a kind of newsletter or digital pamphlet that contains all the information a prospective client might need. Your best bet is to start in Word, then save it as a PDF. If you need to make changes later, the best solution is to use this free PDF editing tool.

Finding The Right Staff

If your future business (more on that later) needs healthcare workers, a staffing agency can help you find the right certified care specialist, or you can search for them yourself. Make sure you request and check references, since your workers are crucial to your success. Get Smarter suggests that you can look for characteristics such as honesty, professionalism, dependability, and innovation to identify your best candidates.

In Demand Services

The act of supporting family caregivers typically falls under the respite care category. This could be any number of services, from companion care to housekeeping to assistance with skilled nursing needs. You can start a business doing any or all of these programs, each of which is highly in demand and much needed across the US.

Exceptional Customer Service

Regardless of your industry, customer service is crucial. However, when you’re dealing with overworked, underpaid, and overwhelmed individuals, customer service must be handled delicately. In addition to knowing your customers, listening to them, and providing the support they need, you and your employees must be compassionate caregivers, great listeners, and friends. For this reason, you have to make a point to get to know the personality of each employee to ensure they are the right fit for today and in the future.

Supporting Your Staff

You expect your staff to support your customers, but you also have to support your staff, especially those in the medical field. As American Nurse explains, nurses and other medical professionals today experience anxiety, burnout, and other mental health problems at an exceptional level. Make sure that you give your employees plenty of time off and benefits, such as gym memberships, paid vacation time, and mental health services, that can help them live their best life both on and off the clock.

Starting a business supporting caregivers is a great way to secure your future income. But you have to have the right employees, set up your business structure, offer the right services, and support both your customers and your staff if you want to be successful. The above tips can help you get going, but it’s your care and compassion that will help you meet your goals.

Patient Talk is a place for patients and caregivers to discuss the issues that matter most to them. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Posted on Multiple Sclerosis

Insomnia and sleep apnea contribute to reports of cognitive decline in women with multiple sclerosis.


People with MS who have sleep disorders notice more changes in their thinking


For women with multiple sclerosis who report cognitive dysfunction — one of the most common and disabling symptoms of the disease — sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea may contribute to the perceived decline, a Michigan Medicine study suggests.

Researchers analyzed data from over 60,000 women using the 2013 and 2017 waves of the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-term study focusing on risk factors for chronic diseases in women. Using composite scores of self-reported diagnoses and symptoms, they found that women with multiple sclerosis were likelier than those without MS to report sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and sleepiness.

Results published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal also reveal that sleep disorders identified in 2013 contributed to cognitive problems reported by women with MS in 2017, including ability to follow instructions and conversations and memory. Insomnia mediated more than 10% of these outcomes, and sleep apnea accounted for 34% of the total effect between MS and the ability to follow instructions.

“Sleep disorders have gained substantial recognition for their role in cognitive decline, which affects up to 70% of people with multiple sclerosis,” said lead author Tiffany Braley, M.D., director of the Multiple Sclerosis/Neuroimmunology Division and multidisciplinary MS Fatigue and Sleep Clinic at University of Michigan Health.

“Our results highlighted important pathways between sleep and perceptions of cognitive function in women with MS. We have previously identified important associations between objective cognitive performance and sleep in people with MS, but little is known about how sleep and MS interact together to impact long-term cognitive outcomes, particularly among women who are less likely to be diagnosed with sleep disorders,” Braley said.

Past studies have found that people with MS have a high burden of sleep disorders that have been shown to affect quality of life. As people with MS are at risk for sleep and cognitive problems, researchers sought to examine cognitive outcomes among nurses with MS and sleep disorders.    

“With this longitudinal study design, we are able to better estimate the burden of sleep disorders among nurses, compared to health care claims data of similar size, which include diagnosed people with sleep disorders,” said senior author Galit Levi Dunietz, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Department of Neurology’s Division of Sleep Medicine. “However, as sleep disorders are frequently under-diagnosed, health care claims data miss many people with sleep disorders who were not evaluated for these conditions.”

Braley says interventions to delay cognitive decline in MS may be most effective in pre-symptomatic or early symptomatic stages.

“Perceived cognitive decline, even in the absence of objective changes, could be an important window of opportunity to identify treatable exacerbating factors, such as sleep disorders,” she said.

Posted on Diabetes

A new study shows medication adherence tool is the world’s first to predict hospital admissions and readmissions of Type 2 Diabetes patients.

Medication adherence


The SPUR tool, developed by Kingston University and healthcare technology company Observia, can help patients with Type 2 Diabetes take their medications correctly. CREDIT Kingston University

A pioneering behavioural diagnostic tool developed by Kingston University, London and healthcare technology company Observia to help patients take their medication as prescribed is the first holistic model in the world to accurately predict hospital admissions and readmissions in people with Type 2 Diabetes, according to a new study.

The SPUR tool was developed to help better understand the reasons for medication non-adherence, defined as the extent to which patients don’t take their medication as prescribed. Non-adherence was identified as a global issue by the World Health Organisation in 2003 and costs almost $300 billion per year in the United States and €1.25 billion across parts of Europe, according to a report by the International Longevity Centre UK.

This highlights that in addition to the impact on the health of patients, who may not experience all the intended benefits from their treatment, non-adherence has significant economic implications for healthcare systems across the world. These costs come from higher hospital admission rates, readmissions and increased lengths of stay.

The SPUR model, created in 2017, has now been found to be the first holistic model in the world to accurately predict hospital admissions and early readmissions by a new observational study published in the Patient Preference and Adherence Journal.

Testing 200 patients living with Type 2 Diabetes recruited by Kingston Hospital, study lead Kingston University PhD candidate Josh Wells, chief investigator and Head of Kingston’s Pharmacy Department Professor Reem Kayyali and healthcare statistician Dr Chao Wang found SPUR could predict patients’ non-adherence risk and also provide contextual information on patients’ behaviour to explain the reasons for that risk.

Those tested were of varying ages, ethnicities and genders, took a differing number of medicines and had a range of incomes and medical conditions, including Covid-19 diagnoses. Patients registering higher SPUR scores (increased adherence) saw a significantly lower number of admissions to hospital. They were far less likely to experience early readmission, defined as admissions occurring within 30 days of a previous discharge.

While a limited number of medication adherence models have been linked to hospital admission, SPUR is the world’s first holistic behavioural model that can predict admission and early readmission in hospital patients, something Mr Wells was excited to be a part of.

“This will benefit the patient in not only terms of their care and experience with medicines but also a health economic benefit associated with harm reduction for NHS Trusts and other care services that may adopt the SPUR model within routine care,” he said.

Posted on Autism, Eye health

Autistic far less likely to have vision screening despite the high risk of severe eye disorders

Disparities exist within this population, with Black children having lowest screening rate
Disparities exist within this population, with Black children having lowest screening rate


Young children with autism are much less likely to receive vision screening than their peers, despite high risk for serious eye disorders, according to a study by Nemours Children’s Health published in Pediatrics.

“I noticed that many of our patients with autism have never had vision screening, even though it’s recommended for all young children,” said the study’s senior author Brittany Perry, DO, a pediatrician at the Nemours Swank Autism Center. “So, I wanted to study whether this might be a broader disparity – whether kids with autism receive vision screening less often than other kids.”

The study found that only 36.5% of children with autism had completed vision screenings at well visits, substantially less than the 59.5% rate for children without autism . Moreover, among children with autism, the screening rate for Black children (27.6%) was considerably lower than that for White children (39.7%) and for children classified as multiracial (39.8%).

Early childhood is crucial for vision development, and early detection and treatment of eye problems can prevent long-term vision loss. The research team examined data from 63,829 well visits of children ages 3 to 5 from 2016 to 2019, across a primary care network encompassing Delaware, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Researchers said that the Florida facilities had much higher rates of vision screening for kids with autism (45.7%) than those in the Delaware and Pennsylvania (28.1%). They noted that 80% of Florida medical practices used the vision-testing method of photoscreening, compared to only 13% in the Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Photoscreening, which uses a specialized camera or video system to capture detailed images of a child’s eyes, is particularly helpful for children with autism because they cannot always understand and verbally respond to instructions or questions in conventional visual acuity tests. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends annual instrument-based vision screening particularly for children with developmental delays. The researchers said that reimbursement is necessary for greater photoscreening use in primary care – a concern that AAP has also noted.

“Increased use of photoscreening may prove to be a great tool for reducing disparities and increasing vision screening in more vulnerable populations with autism,” Perry said.

“The key takeaway from this study for providers is to be aware that these disparities exist for all children with autism, so we can work to provide better care,” she added. “And for parents, it may help them to better advocate for their children with autism and to request a vision screening at a well visit, or a referral to an eye specialist, if their child is overdue.”

Posted on Autism

International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) 22nd Annual Meeting to be held in Stockholm, Sweden May 3- 6, 2023

Leading autism researchers, clinicians, and advocates from around the world will gather to share latest findings and discoveries
Leading autism researchers, clinicians, and advocates from around the world will gather to share latest findings and discoveries


The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) will hold its 2023 Annual Meeting – the organization’s 22nd – from Wednesday, May 3 through Saturday, May 6, 2023, bringing together a global, multidisciplinary group of hundreds of autism researchers, clinicians, advocates, self-advocates, and students to exchange the latest scientific learnings and discoveries that are advancing the expanding understanding of autism and its complexities. This year’s meeting will be held in-person in Stockholm, Sweden at Stockholmsmässan, the largest exhibition facility in the Nordic region.

The INSAR Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of scientists and specialists who continue to catalyze innovative research into all aspects of autism spectrum disorder, including its nature, causes, and treatments. The 22nd INSAR Annual Meeting will include in-person presentations of oral papers and posters, and panel sessions and demonstrations of new and emerging technologies. Select sessions will be recorded during the live event and repurposed as separate educational offerings starting in June 2023.

This year’s INSAR Lifetime Achievement Award will honor Dr. Jan Buitelaar, Radboud University. The INSAR Research Advocate Award will be presented to Harald Neerland, president of Autism-Europe. Other awards presented at this year’s meeting will include the 2023 INSAR Cultural Diversity Research Award, which will honor the SPARK Research Team, as well as the INSAR Early Career Investigator Awards, Dissertation Awards and Slifka/ Ritvo Innovation in Autism Research Award.

For the first time, recorded video interviews with selected scientists discussing their newsworthy research will be available to media beginning May 3. The researchers will also be available for one-on-one interviews prior to the INSAR 2023 Annual Meeting and during the conference. Please contact apockriss@rubenstein.com or skaplan@rubenstein.com to arrange.

To register to attend the INSAR Annual Meeting, visit the INSAR website. INSAR Membership is not required.

Media wishing to attend must register in advance here.

Research will be presented on topics including:

  • Understanding clinical heterogeneity
  • Precision health for neurodiverse communities
  • Inclusion in research on early identification and intervention
  • Models of care for underserved communities and low resource settings 
  • Understanding the diverse experiences of aging autistic adults