No surprise here, Scandinavian countries still hold the Top 3 rankings of the World's Happiest Countries – with #Finland in 1st place, Iceland in 2nd and Denmark in 3rd.
— Statista (@StatistaCharts) July 12, 2021
Why do you think these countries always rank high in these reports?https://t.co/HM4tRZ1ace pic.twitter.com/MeebdK64b6
All posts by She Seeks Serene
Bird Photography: The 2021 Audubon Awards
In contrast to recent years, few of the winning images emerged from far-flung expeditions. Most were taken by photographers working close to home. This may be a reflection of the many ways that birds provided solace during the challenging and restrictive conditions brought on by the pandemic.
Top Alpine Drives: Grimsel Pass In Switzerland (4K)
The Grimsel Pass is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of 2,164 metres (7,100 ft). The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the upper valley of the Rhône. In so doing, and as the Aare is a tributary of the Rhine, the pass crosses the continental divide between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
A paved road follows the pass, running 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Gletsch to Meiringen. The road is normally closed between October and May, due to the high snowfall on the pass. As it is the only direct road pass between the cantons of Bern and Valais across the Bernese Alps, attempts are made to keep the road open as long as possible with snow ploughs. A PostBus Switzerland service uses the pass several times a day, connecting Meiringen and Oberwald.
English Country Homes: Avon Court, Alveston
Everything about Avon Court has a opulent yet whimsical air about it — from the large wrought iron entrance gates, to the mature Willow tree in the garden that leads down to a mooring on a private stretch of river.
Avon Court’s glorious setting on a bend of the Avon — with private frontage, a mooring beside a lovely willow and dipping opportunities through the bull rushes on hot days — is hard to beat.
Paris Walks: ‘Le Marais’ (4K)
The fashionable Marais district in the 4th arrondissement, also known as SoMa (South Marais), is filled with hip boutiques, galleries, and gay bars. Once the city’s Jewish quarter, the area still hosts numerous kosher restaurants. The grassy Place des Vosges is home to elegant arcades and the Musée Victor Hugo, where the writer lived. Streets around Saint-Paul metro lead to the Maison Européenne de la Photographie.
Front Page Views: Wall Street Journal (July 12)
Views: Panarea – Aeolian Islands In Italy (4K Video)
Island of Panarea, Aeolian archipelago, a few miles north of the northern coast of Sicily. Let’s go to the discovery of another Aeolian pearl, the oldest, famous for the beauty of its landscapes, for the purity of its waters and for the elegance of the urban area.
Inhabited since prehistoric times, as shown by the spectacular ruins of the Neolithic village of Capo Milazzese, the island is at the center of a small archipelago in the archipelago, surrounded by the uninhabited Basiluzzo and numerous smaller islets (Dattilo, Lisca Bianca, Lisca Nera, Formiche, etc), sometimes little more than rocky stacks whose view nevertheless characterizes the marine panorama. Just look out from the terrace of the church of San Pietro to realize it.
Morning News: Global Corporate Tax Hurdle, Virgin Galactic In Space
A.M. Edition for July 12. WSJ’s Paul Hannon on how the international plan for a corporate minimum tax may face hurdles with U.S. lawmakers. Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flight.
Big U.S. bank earnings are expected this week. Companies see business opportunities in stressed-out Americans. Keith Collins hosts.
Podcast: World Economy Fault Lines, Afghanistan Abandoned, Publishing
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the new fault lines in the world economy, the catastrophic consequences of America abandoning Afghanistan (10:28) and how Mills & Boon, a famed publisher of romantic novels, wants to diversify its hero base (17:30)
Telemedicine: Growth Rate Peaked In April 2020, Stabilized During 2021
A year ago, we estimated that up to $250 billion of US healthcare spend could potentially be shifted to virtual or virtually enabled care. Approaching this potential level of virtual health is not a foregone conclusion. It would likely require sustained consumer and clinician adoption and accelerated redesign of care pathways to incorporate virtual modalities.
- Telehealth utilization has stabilized at levels 38X higher than before the pandemic. After an initial spike to more than 32 percent of office and outpatient visits occurring via telehealth in April 2020, utilization levels have largely stabilized, ranging from 13 to 17 percent across all specialties.2 This utilization reflects more than two-thirds of what we anticipated as visits that could be virtualized.3
- Similarly, consumer and provider attitudes toward telehealth have improved since the pre-COVID-19 era. Perceptions and usage have dropped slightly since the peak in spring 2020. Some barriers—such as perceptions of technology security—remain to be addressed to sustain consumer and provider virtual health adoption, and models are likely to evolve to optimize hybrid virtual and in-person care delivery.
- Some regulatory changes that facilitated expanded use of telehealth have been made permanent, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ expansion of reimbursable telehealth codes for the 2021 physician fee schedule. But uncertainty still exists as to the fate of other services that may lose their waiver status when the public health emergency ends.
- Investment in virtual care and digital health more broadly has skyrocketed, fueling further innovation, with 3X the level of venture capitalist digital health investment in 2020 than it had in 2017.4
- Virtual healthcare models and business models are evolving and proliferating, moving from purely “virtual urgent care” to a range of services enabling longitudinal virtual care, integration of telehealth with other virtual health solutions, and hybrid virtual/in-person care models, with the potential to improve consumer experience/convenience, access, outcomes, and affordability.
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