Quickbytes

Editor’s note: Technology is playing an increasing role in the day-to-day business of sales reps. In this department, Repertoire will profile the latest developments in software and gadgets that reps can use for work and play.

Technology news

Invisible trackers Invisible trackers embedded inside many websites and apps are collecting data about you, including your location, browsing activities and search queries, according to an article in The New York Times. This data eventually gets into the hands of advertisers. Some third-party apps let you see the trackers that load and block them from

collecting your data. One of the newspaper’s favorites is Fyde, a free app for Android devices and iPhones. After activating the app, open a third-party app, then return to Fyde, tap on the Activity tab, and see which trackers are loading and being blocked. Repeat with other apps to determine which ones are trying to suck up lots of your data.

E-skimmers are everywhere E-skimming, in which malware infects online checkout pages to steal shoppers’ payment and personal information, is getting more common, reports CNBC. Companies that have been hit by e-skimming attacks in the past two years include Macy’s, Puma and Ticketmaster. Consumers should use credit cards instead of debit cards when shopping online to lessen any inconvenience if their card is compromised, advises CNBC. Users of credit cards usually have lower liability for fraud. In addition, getting money returned to your debit card can take some time. Another tip: Use a virtual credit card. Some banks and credit card companies offer the option to create a unique credit card number to be used for specific transactions. If this number is compromised, other charges will be declined.

Alexa unleashed! Alexa can do a lot of things besides acting as a glorified cooking timer, says an article in Fast Company. For example, you can rename the device (especially useful if someone in your house is named Alexa). If you’ve got multiple Alexa devices spread around the house, you can link them together for better-sounding music playback. And you can turn Alexa into an intercom by broadcasting your message via all Alexa devices in your house. Use Alexa’s Drop In feature for actual back-and-forth conversations.

Foldables anyone? Samsung, Motorola and Huawei are among tech companies that think we are willing to spend $1,500 or more for a foldable cellphone. Are we? Foldables come with a lot of cons, according to an article in The New York Times. Among them: 1) Foldables rely on flexible OLED, a display technology that is much thinner than traditional screen panels and easier to scratch or penetrate with a sharp object, like a pen. 2) When unfolded, foldable screens have a visible crease – an eyesore compared with seamless displays on other phones. 3) Questions remain about the durability of the mechanical hinges.

Your pryin’ eyes Google will soon make it easier for you to protect your personal data, such as your location, from prying apps, reports Fast Company. Once the next Android release comes out later this year, users will get a new “Only this time” option when apps ask for access to your mic, camera or location data. Apple added a similar choice to iOS in 2019, and both Apple and Google introduced alerts last year that remind users when potentially forgotten apps are quietly slurping up location data in the background.

Health news and notes

Blood-pressure earbuds Raleigh, North Carolina-based health tech company Valencell introduced a prototype of an earbud that measures blood pressure. President Steven LeBoeuf told CNET at this winter’s CES technology show in Las Vegas that the ear is by far the best area to measure blood pressure compared to a finger or wrist. That’s because it has more blood flow and a richer heart rate reading, and ears stay the same distance from your heart (as long as you’re not bending over). The goal is to launch earbuds that use Valencell’s new tech as “general wellness” devices, not medical-grade ones, reports CNET. Valencell is already talking to several partners, and sees the earbuds as a way to screen for high blood pressure, and dovetail with meditation and calmness audio apps. These earbuds would skip the FDA clearance path for now, with a possible goal in the future of pursuing that extra level of approval.

Eye vitamins? Don’t believe makers of dietary supplements marketed as eye vitamins, which they say can prevent glaucoma or reversing vision loss due to glaucoma, warns Mayo

Clinic. Few clinical trials of eye vitamins or supplements for glaucoma have been conducted, writes Alaina Softing Hataye, O.D., in a Mayo Clinic newsletter. “Some evidence suggests that a high intake of vitamin B through dietary sources, including green leafy vegetables, may reduce the risk of some types of glaucoma,” she writes. “But B complex supplements, including folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, don’t appear to offer the same benefit.”

Paid family leave pays off Implementing paid leave policies after childbirth reduces the number of women leaving their jobs, according to a study funded by the March of Dimes Center for Social Science Research and conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. An analysis of states that have implemented paid leave policies found a 20% reduction in the number of women leaving their jobs in the first year after welcoming a child, and up to a 50% reduction after five years. The study, shared in January 2020 at the American Economic Association Annual Meeting, analyzed labor market participation among women in California and New Jersey before and after each state implemented a paid family and medical leave system. Over the long term, paid leave nearly closes the gap in workforce participation between moms of young children and women without minor children. For women who do not have access to this leave, the study found that nearly 30% will drop out of the workforce within a year after welcoming a child, and one in five will not return for over a decade.

Read the label You may have noticed that on Jan. 1, new FDA rules went into effect regarding how food nutrition labels look, reports Cleveland Clinic News Service. Flip over an updated food item, and you will now see two columns – one for a ‘serving size’ and one for how much is in the whole container. According to Cleveland Clinic’s Susan Albers, PsyD, the idea behind the change is to give Americans a more accurate reflection of how much they’re typically eating. Prior to the change, many people didn’t realize that they were actually eating perhaps two or three serving sizes in one sitting, she said. Other changes: 1) Types of fat, such as the less-healthy saturated fats and trans fats, will now be listed, in addition to the total amount of fat; 2) vitamin D and potassium totals have been added, while listing for vitamins C and A have been dropped (because deficiencies of C and A among Americans are rare); and 3) a new listing for “added sugars” has been added.

Tax on sugar worked What looked like an old-fashioned tax ploy actually led to some good things for the citizenry of Cook County, Illinois, according to research published in the “Annals of Internal Medicine.” Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that short-lived Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax – one cent per ounce on sugarsweetened and artificially sweetened beverages – led to a 21% reduction in volume sold of taxed beverages in the county, even when counting for some cross-border shopping. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption has been associated with adverse health outcomes. (The unpopular tax was short-lived, having lasted only a few months in 2017.)

New Communications Tool Helps Standardize Shortage Communications New shortages and backorders report is based on a successful model already widely used by healthcare providers and the military

David Forbes, program director of HIDA’s Healthcare Supply Chain Collaborative

Supply chain executives have partnered to create a new Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation report designed for manufacturers to communicate key information about product shortages and backorders. By sharing this critical information, distributors and provider organizations can better partner with each other and manufacturers by standardizing communications about shortages – or potential shortages.

HIDA’s Collaborative and the Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) jointly released the “SBAR Report On Shortage/Backorder Event” to help better manage a current or expected backorder or shortage. The report is designed to facilitate communication between providers and distributors. It was developed with input from GPOs, manufacturers, distributors, and providers, capturing key perspectives from a broad cross-section of industry leaders. “It’s a huge step toward standardizing communication channels during product disruptions,” said Chaun Powell, Group VP at Premier. “We applaud the effort by the teams at HIDA and SMI to bring this to reality.”

An SBAR communications tool already has been widely embraced throughout healthcare provider settings to achieve clear and concise transfer of patient clinical information from one healthcare provider or professional to another

SBAR originally was developed by the U.S. Navy as a communications technique to be used on nuclear submarines. In the late 1990s, it was adopted by the healthcare industry. The World Health Organization and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are just two of the healthcare stakeholder groups that recognize SBAR as a reliable and validated communications tool.

during patient handoff. Just like communication failure in a healthcare setting could lead to medical errors, lack of continuity in the supply chain could lead to weaknesses in product availability – and ultimately impact patient care.

Example of the SBAR Report in a Supply Chain Setting Situation: Manufactura Inc.’s disposable non-sterile apparel products are experiencing a product backorder. The event impacts all catalog numbers and lots.

Background: Products are experiencing constriction in supply due to production labor constraints and foreign government supply sequestration. There is also a significant increase in demand, impacting existing inventory. Both supply and demand pressures are a direct result of COVID-19.

Assessment: There will be limited product availability as domestic production is increased. The estimated duration of this disruption is 4-6 months.

Recommendation: Visit the Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s website for recommendations for healthcare providers specific to proper use of PPE during this event. At this time there are no known alternative therapies or products.

The SBAR Report On Shortage/Backorder Event is a free PDF download available to HIDA members and non-members. It’s available at HIDA.org/Distribution/ Advocacy/Collaborative/SBAR-Form.aspx.

To learn more about HIDA’s efforts to increase supply chain visibility, connect with me at forbes@HIDA.org.

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