Both active and retired members of the military and their spouses now qualify to receive low interest military loans that have been constructed specifically for those who bravely serve our country, both stateside and overseas, regardless of the number of years of service. There are many fine and reputable lenders who have set up shop online to offer these loans to those who put their lives on the line for freedom throughout the world.Military Loans OnlineThe most convenient place to receive your military loan is online. There are a plethora of lenders who do business online that are offering military loans at rates that are well below the national average for consumer borrowers. These lenders specialize only in financing military personnel, with money available for many uses – such as purchasing a home, automobile, paying for education, financing a vacation or cruise, home improvements and repair, or even consolidating debts such as high interest credit card debt, personal loans, student loans, or even mortgage loans.Savings GaloreIn fact, many members of the military and their spouses have found that these low cost military loans can save them a heap of cash by being offered at interest rates that cannot exceed the government cap for loan instruments of their nature. Oftentimes, these military personnel decide to take out a military loan for the sole purpose of consolidating their consumer debt into a more manageable and more affordable military loan that saves them money on interest and is easier to repay.This is especially true in cases of high interest credit card debt, which can easily increase after just a few months of owning your credit card. Predatory credit card companies lure in unsuspecting consumers with offers of zero percent interest for a certain period of time, after which interest rates as much as 19.99% might apply. By consolidating these more expensive debts into a low cost military loan, the savings can be quite substantial.Applying Online Is EasyTo apply for your military loan, you will visit the established website for your chosen lender. You will find information about the different types of military loans that they offer and links to frequently asked questions regarding this type of loan. From the website, you can begin the process of obtaining your military loan by filling out a brief application that will ask you for certain items that can document your circumstances, such as military identification and proof of service, other identification documents such as your state issued driver license, social security number, bank records, employment history, and personal references that can be contacted in the event that the lender is unable to reach you by phone, mail, or email.You can submit all required documentation, including scanned copies of your identification cards to the lender by email or facsimile. You can sign all required signature documents electronically for your convenience as well. Once approved, which is typically within twenty four hours, you can have your funds either deposited directly into your banking account or delivered via a paper check to your residence, whichever is most convenient for you.
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Implementing New Technology at Your Site
My primary care physician, the last time I was in for a checkup, had not adopted ePrescribing or started using an electronic health record (EHR). My understanding is that the medical group to which he belongs had not rolled out these capabilities to him yet but was planning to do so. Hopefully, this summer when I see him again he will be plugged into the electronic health record that the group is adopting. Although he may not be happy about having to adapt to this new way of working, I will be happy because it provides another layer of safety for me as a patient. For instance, the risks of miscommunication between my doctor and my pharmacy will be greatly reduced. From my experience as a quality and productivity expert, I know that there will be many benefits for his practice group. As the American Medical Association has shown in a white paper my physician may not be spending much less time handling prescriptions, but his office staff surely will. Overall, there will be a significant gain in productivity and safety for the office.After examining this example of the adoption of technology at my physician’s office group I recognize several challenges that the group faces, many of which are common to any enterprise adopting new technology faces, including not just healthcare providers but also small businesses and nonprofit organizations:· Will the new technology increase productivity?· Will there be a positive return on investment?· Will the new technology improve patient safety?· If the technology is adopted, how should it be rolled out or implemented?These challenges and questions should not be faced by just one person. Rather, a team with effective leadership should undertake the responsibility. The team should use a formal problem solving approach such as Plan-Do-Check-Act to insure success. One of the first things that the team should do is determine why the technology should be adopted. That is, it should clearly state the goals for the adoption. Perhaps the technology is mandated by an accrediting body or government body. This is the case for ePrescribing as CMS has mandated its adoption by the beginning of this year or physicians will be penalized. Another example is the case of my auto mechanic, Arie Nol Auto Center; his business is adopting new technological tools so that he can repair newer autoes that have many complex computer-based electronic components, thus remaining competitive.The technology should not be adopted if a good case cannot be made for doing so. This is the approach of Toyota Motor Systems, which first maximizes the effectiveness of any of its manufacturing processes that use human labor before adopting any robotic machinery on the floor. Using this approach it has stayed atop of quality when compared to other auto manufacturers. This year Consumers Reports placed Toyota first in 6 or 10 of categories of autoes.If a team decides to adopt a piece of technology or software it should next set up a detailed plan for adoption. One of the elements of the plan is the identification of measures of success. In the opening illustration I identified two measures: will the technology increase productivity and will it increase patient safety? The AMA stated that it would but each site should go beyond the research reports and measure its own success in implementation. Another measure that a team may want to examine is patient or customer satisfaction. Physicians implementing an EHR should see how it affects patient satisfaction.Next the team should create a detailed plan for implementing the technology. The plan should include collecting baseline data for the measures of success that it has identified, a detailed listing of steps in the implementation and the identification of a leader of the implementation. For larger businesses or medical groups the steps of implementation should focus on first having a limited rollout of the technology to a group that is eager to try it; this way, if the rollout cannot reach the goals that it has set the failure will be much less costly. Imagine the cost to a business if it does not experiment first and the supplier of the technology mislead the group on the capacity of the technology!During the implementation of the technology the leader should continuously collect data on the measures that the team has identified. This way adjustments can be made to the implementation if necessary or the project can be terminated if it can be seen that it will end poorly.If the implementation goes well, the team should celebrate its success and then plan how it can make better use of the technology that it has adopted while it rolls it out to the rest of the business or site. Most new technology is complex and fully implementing its features takes time. In fact, a business or healthcare provider may never use all of the capabilities of a product. For example, I purchased an iPad2 several months ago and I am still learning about some of it capabilities for my business. I anticipate learning much more so as to increase my own productivity.Before I close, I would like to mention a couple of sites that review medical apps for physicians, not for patients. One that I recently found and recommend is imedicalapps.com. It reviews apps not just for Apple products but also for Android systems and Blackberry. One feature that I found at this site was that the newest iPad will record dictation and add it to documents. This may be very handy for physicians who do not want to enter data into an EHR during a patient encounter. Apple in its App Store for iPad and iPhone has identified what it considers the top 50 apps for medical professionals. You can find out more about it at http://mobihealthnews.com/13638/.In conclusion, the adoption of new technology can be daunting. However with effective teams and leadership along with good problem solving techniques the adoption and implementation is quite manageable. Identifying goals and measures and creating a detailed plan of adoption will make the process much smoother, especially to those who are being asked to use the new technology.
Top Ten Travel Accessories
With 100′s of travel accessories available it is sometimes difficult to choose which ones to buy and which to omit. My list gives a run down on the top ten must haves for any traveller.1. Travel Adaptor. If you are travelling overseas to a country that uses a different plug socket to your home country then you will need the appropriate travel adaptor if you intend to take electrical devices with you whether it be your phone, laptop, iPad, camera or music player. If you are visiting multiple countries then you might want to look into a universal adaptor which will convert your plug to any worldwide socket.2. Travel Wallet. When travelling you carry many more documents than you normally would so your regular wallet is most likely not large enough. You will need room for your travel tickets, passport, visa’s, travellers cheques, credit cards, cash and boarding passes. It is a good idea to keep all of your documents in one place that is easy to access so that you pass through immigration swiftly. Look out for a travel wallet that is roomy and has a lot of sections to organise your documents into separate compartments. An exterior slip in pocket is useful for your boarding passes.3. Concealed Waist Wallet. After you reach your destination and settled in at your hotel you will no longer need to carry around all your travel documents. I recommend that you just carry the cash you need for the day and possibly a credit card. Many tourist destinations have a high rate of pick pocketing so a regular wallet can be unsafe. A concealed money belt however is hidden under your clothes and is invisible to a would-be thief.4. Pocket Travel Guide or Destination App. Visiting a new destination is exciting as you discover new places of interest but often with little knowledge of the destination a lot of time can be wasted whilst you get to know the area. Before smart phones a poker sized travel guide was the best option but if you now have a smart phone then there are many apps that will give you detailed information on the place you are visiting.5. Sleeping Mask. If you are travelling by plane, coach or train for an extended period catching 40 winks is advisable and can make a long journey seem short. Due to the less than ideal settings an eyeshade helps to cut out the light and make sleeping a little easier and more comfortable. If you reach your destination and are suffering from jet lag and need to sleep during the day then the mask will be useful again.6. Travel Pillow. Essential for a comfortable rest whilst travelling, travel pillows come in a variety of designs. Some are a horseshoe shape and loop around the back of your head and others are just a small version of your bed pillow. They can either be filled (usually foam) or inflatable. The filled ones are generally more comfortable but do take up a lot more room than an inflatable one, take this into consideration when choosing the right one for you particularly if you have limited space in your carry on luggage.7. Luggage Scales. Excess baggage fees can be horrendous and should be avoided at all costs so even though you will not use it much, a luggage scale can save you a lot of money. Weigh your luggage before you travel and then again before you return. Check that you know exactly what weight you are allowed to take with you and consider that when purchasing gifts from overseas. If you think you are getting close to your limit during the trip re-weigh your luggage and consider posting items back home if you are going to go over your limit.8. Toiletry Bags. Seasoned travelers always use a toiletry bag, it is a good way to keep all your toiletries in one place and they can stay in there for the duration of your trip some even have a hanger system so that they can open up and form a shelf in your hotel room. The other big reason for using a toiletry bag is spillage, your shampoo/aftershave could become damaged during transit and leak out onto the rest of your packing. Toiletry bags are usually waterproof so in the event of spillage the liquid is limited to the toiletry bag only and want soil your clothes.9. Travel Clothes Line. No one really wants to wash clothes on holiday but sometimes it can be unavoidable even if it is just a few items over the space of several weeks. You can always find something to use as a substitute washing liquid if you have no travel wash with you (such as soap or shampoo) but hanging the items can be difficult if you have no balcony and even then it is not ideal as your garments could end up dusty. The solution is a travel clothes line that garments attach to by a twist in the line and has no need for clothes pegs.10. Packable Bag. This kind of bag can either be a backpack or travel bag that folds away into our small pouch so in effect you are getting an extra bag that takes little space but can be unfolded to an extra, useful bag should it be needed.