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When I think of life insurance…well I’d rather not think about it. It’s something that you pay for, but the return on those payments only happens after you die. Bleh. But what if your life insurer rewarded you for practicing healthy life-extending habits? Insurance company John Hancock is now offering policyholders a program where they get perks for things like buying healthy foods and getting preventive check-ups, as NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports.
With John Hancock’s program, members accumulate activity points. Like tiers in a frequent flyer program giving more rewards as people fly more, members earn more rewards as they adopt and stick with more healthy habits. “It's kind of a nice incentive,” says policy holder Matt Hudack. He says if he exercises and earns 500 or more points, the program will pay the cost of his Apple Watch for that month.
Sounds pretty good! But John Hancock is not just doing it to be nice. The idea is that healthier customers live longer, pay premiums longer, and boost the company’s bottom line, says CEO Brooks Tingle.
Cardiologist Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian collaborated on the program's dietary incentives. He says the game-like structure can help keep people engaged. Hudack says it’s fun to spin a digital prize wheel after hitting activity benchmarks.
So does a reward program like this really translate into longer lives? There’s not enough evidence yet to say, says geriatrician Dr. Samir Sinha. "However, if this can actually ingrain some healthy behaviors that become lifelong habits, this might actually create a longevity dividend," he says.
Learn more about John Hancock’s incentives program.
Plus: The dos and don'ts of starting a running routine |
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Are We Doomed?... Or…just feel doomed?
Is the world ending, or does it sometimes just feel like it?
Are We Doomed? investigates the greatest risks facing society, the planet, and our species. What’s real? What’s hype? And how do we actually make it out alive?
Nuclear war. Asteroids. Autocracy. Rogue AI. Climate-driven pandemics. Angry hippopotamuses. Teeth clenched, curiosity engaged, quips ready, this “slightly narrative” podcast, from public radio journalist Ben Bradford and distributed by the NPR Network, explores everything from the existential and the unexpected to the overblown. Wild true stories, forgotten moments in history, surprising science, and a surprising amount of hope — listen to Are We Doomed?, available on all podcast platforms. |
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In the past few years, some people have embraced AI chatbot therapists – and there's research to support their efficacy (as well as some risks). Many others, myself included, still prefer a flesh-and-blood mental health provider. But what about when clinicians use AI in their practice?
Across the U.S., a growing number of therapists are experimenting with artificial intelligence tools that record sessions, generate transcripts and draft clinical notes automatically, as NPR’s Windsor Johston reports.
"It's given me my life back," says therapist Kym Tolson of her AI record-keeping software. "I don't have notes following me around, haunting me. After I see my client, I review the note, sign it and I'm done.” She estimates that the system has cut administrative time down from 15-20 minutes per client session to 2 minutes.
After my psychiatrist started using an AI note-taking tool to record our remote sessions (with my permission), I noticed quickly that it improved my experience. Instead of pausing to type up my answers to her questions, she made more eye contact and appeared more fully engaged.
However some patients experience AI software in mental health therapy appointments as a breach of confidentiality. Molly Quinn of Fayetteville, Ark. said that when her therapist brought up using an AI note-taking tool, she said she wanted to research it first. But later in the session, Quinn noticed her therapist was recording their conversation on her iPad. A national poll by YouGov found that only about 11% of respondents were open to using AI for mental health care, many citing privacy concerns.
One company called Berries says it takes measures to protect patient privacy. Co-CEO Tal Salman says audio is processed in real time and deleted immediately, and therapy content is not used to train AI models. Also, transcripts are stored on HIPAA-compliant servers, meaning patient privacy should be protected. But that doesn’t eliminate the possibility of breaches, says Kellie Owens, an assistant professor of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "There are plenty of systems that are fully HIPAA compliant that still experience major data breaches,” she says.
Learn more about the risks and benefits involved when human therapists use AI assistance.
And: With therapy hard to get, people lean on AI for mental health. What are the risks? |
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Nurse convicted in patient's death is now a national speaker on hospital safety
'My body carried me,' Elizabeth Smart says. Now she's celebrating it
Listen: GLP-1s & eating disorders have a complicated relationship
COMIC: To raise a confident little talker, learn to speak 'parentese' |
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We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism online.
All our best,
Andrea Muraskin and your NPR Health editors |
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