Sep 2026 DOI 10.14302/issn.2474-7785.jarh-26-6471
Ray MarksCorresponding author
Sound bone health and the ability to respond effectively to unexpected mobility obstacles that heighten falls risks are crucial for mediating many life affirming activities at all ages, but may be impacted adversely over the course of time by multiple factors, such as excess body weight and its link to type 2 diabetes. To better understand this issue which does not seem to be effectively addressed, the PUBMED, PubMed Central, and GOOGLE SCHOLAR data bases were sourced for relevant data published between January 1 2015 and November 1 2026 on these topics. These data show while a pervasive idea has been that obesity may be beneficial in some respects to bone mineral density attributes and fracture protection, several current publications tend to portray a negative impact of obesity on bone health via multiple proposed mechanisms and that continued clinical vigilance of vulnerable individuals both young and old are those with pre diabetes or actual existing type 2 diabetes who may have a high risk of sustaining falls and bone fractures.
Feb 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2641-5526.jmid-21-3739
Ralph J. JohnsonCorresponding author
Background As healthcare markets have become more dynamic and turbulent, healthcare organizations have evolved by becoming increasingly “Smart-Agile” in their business practices. Smart-Agility definition-ally ensures success due to its inherent ability to rapidly detect and react appropriately to varied and evolving unclear, complex, and seemingly tumultuous situations and produce high-quality, low-cost goods and services with high customer satisfaction. Thus, there is a vital need for Smart-Agile healthcare IT systems for collection, analyses, and reporting of substantial quantities of healthcare data to inform patient treatment and organizational decisions. EPIC® and its meaningful-use components appear increasingly popular, capturing a majority portion of the healthcare Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) IT market (>~30%).Yet, there are few, if any, studies reporting on EPIC in terms of Smart-Agility. Aim The intent of this article is to report a systematic review of scientific literature regarding EPIC’s healthcare IT systems meaningful-use features cross-compared with Smart-Agility aspects to produce a positive vs. negative report card—and whether its features are critical vs. non-critical in terms of Smart-Agility. Method Findings reported herein derive from a grounded, iterative review of open-source, peer-reviewed scientific literature following PRISMA. Findings Report card results were mixed. EPIC clearly succeeds and excels (better than average) on Smart-Agile healthcare IT system core aspects that are the most central, critical and valuable in terms of informing healthcare organizations’ decisions and their patients’ care (6 out of 7; B+, -A), specifically: Standardized Data Collection / Connectivity, Real-Time Data Warehousing/Outcome Measures, Enhanced Patient Safety, Patient Tracking and Follow-up (Continuity of Care), Patient Involvement, and Potential Use in Medical Education. The only critical core criterion it failed on was End-User Satisfaction, and some of that appears to dissipate with new users’ software familiarity. Conclusion EPIC provides a solid and relatively inexpensive foundation with great potential for enabling Smart Agility in healthcare organizations with its high-quality collection and management of vast amounts of inter-connected raw data, auto-analysis, and fast report generation. But it does so with hidden costs and inefficiencies. Avenues of further inquiry are suggested.
Oct 2025 DOI 10.14302/issn.2474-7785.jarh-25-5784
Ray MarksCorresponding author
This mini review examines the potential efficacy of applying electromagnetic field therapy for purposes of reducing osteoarthritis pain and other related disease features such as frailty, muscle sarcopenia, obesity, bone loss and fragility, and cartilage derangements and degradation in the older adult. Based on selected English language literature published largely on PUBMED between January 2000 and October 2025, papers describing the impact and potential synthetic and disease modifying impact of electromagnetic stimuli are explored. These data reveal a high degree of promise in fostering joint tissue reparative efficacy trends post electromagnetic stimulation. Its usage may allay the extent of the disease and its degree of disablement, while facilitating function.