Here are five reasons that you might not know:
Did you know that poor oral health can affect your heart? It’s a little crazy, but research has shown that gum disease and inflammation are linked to heart disease. Bacteria from your mouth can enter your bloodstream and attach to fatty deposits in your heart’s blood vessels, potentially leading to serious cardiovascular issues.
Maintaining good oral hygiene is also crucial for people with diabetes. Gum disease can make it harder to control blood sugar levels, and high blood sugar can lead to infections, including gum disease. By taking care of your teeth and gums, you’re also helping to manage your diabetes.
The health of your mouth can also surprisingly impact your lungs. Harmful bacteria from the mouth can be inhaled into the lungs, leading to respiratory infections such as pneumonia. Keeping your mouth clean reduces this risk, which is especially important in the colder months, which are many in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
For mommies-to-be, oral health is truly vital. Gum disease has been linked to premature births and low birth weights. Keeping your mouth healthy helps ensure a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby.
Good oral health contributes significantly to self-esteem and overall mental health. A healthy, bright smile can boost confidence, while oral issues like bad breath or missing teeth can lead to social anxiety and depression and can even be a barrier to employment.
As Alaskans, we understand the importance of taking care of our overall health and that includes our oral health. At PEHT, we offer a variety of dental plans to help you stay on top of your oral hygiene. Remember to schedule regular checkups and cleanings every six months; it’s a small but mighty step in that makes a huge difference in your overall health!
Celebrate Dental Hygiene Month with PEHT, and let’s keep those lovely smiles shining bright!
These providers have listened to your requests and successfully negotiated in-network contracts directly with the Trust to better serve you and your loved ones.
You can view your health plan’s direct contract listing by visiting pehtak.com/preferred-providers.
Imaging Associates is in the Aetna network and able to provide therapeutic injections along with other specialized services. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call:
Anchorage Office: (907) 222-4624
Valley Office: (907) 746-4646
imagingak.com
When you need same-day, expert care for minor illnesses and injuries that you just can’t treat at home.
Clinic locations in Anchorage and Eagle River are open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Walk in or make an appointment online that fits your schedule. Virtual visits are also available.*
When you have an illness or injury that needs immediate attention but is not life-threatening, Urgent Care is an alternative to an emergency room visit.
Our convenient midtown Anchorage location is open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Walk in or go online to reserve your spot in line.*
When you’re looking for personalized, whole-person care that helps you achieve and maintain optimal health and wellness.
Multiple Anchorage locations are available. Scan the QR code to find a provider.
For critical illnesses and injuries that may be life-threatening, don’t wait. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Examples of conditions that may be life threatening are:
Always open.
*Visit providence.org/expresscare to learn more, schedule an ExpressCare visit or reserve your spot in line at Urgent Care.
The ExcelsiusGPS™ is a revolutionary robotic navigation platform that combines a rigid robotic arm and full navigation capabilities for improved accuracy and alignment in spine surgery.
If you are experiencing chronic back pain that is unresponsive to non-surgical treatment, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery in conjunction with ExcelsiusGPS™. Talk to your doctor to learn more and find out if this option is right for you.
On September 18, 2024, the Public Education Health Trust Board will commence its election process for Seats B and G. To access the ballot containing the candidates’ biographies, please visit pehtak.com on the aforementioned date.
To vote, you will be required to login using your full name as the username and your health plan member number, which can be found on your health plan ID card, as the password.
Following the conclusion of the voting period on October 16, the candidate with the highest number of votes will be assigned to Seats B and G. Their term will span from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027 (3-year term).
Before your doctor writes a new prescription, ask them to use a digital tool called Real-Time Benefit Check. This tool provides information on:
Work with your doctor to choose the most cost-effective option.
If you've been finding it tough to lose weight through just diet and exercise, or if your weight is starting to affect your health, you might have considered weight loss medications. These drugs usually work to help you eat less, absorb less fat and burn more calories.
There has been a lot of media buzz around a weight loss medication called GLP-1 agonist. They work for many people, but they are also pricey. They can cost over $1,000 per month. With nearly half of U.S. adults potentially eligible for these drugs, U.S. employers have had to decide whether to cover them. This could mean high insurance premiums for employees.
As of July 1, 2024, your plan will no longer cover GLP-1 agonists for weight loss. This will help us keep premium costs down.
Talk to your doctor about alternative treatments for weight loss, such as oral medications or lifestyle/wellness options. Oral weight-loss medications covered by your plan:
Vitality, a wellness program, is online and user friendly, helping you make smarter health choices and even rewarding you for hitting your health goals!
Another option to consider is patient assistance programs. Many drug companies have savings offers for high cost medications. Visit the drug company’s website to see if they offer copay cards you can enroll in.
Hope this helps you navigate your choices and keep moving forward on your health journey!
Vitality rewards your efforts to improve or maintain a healthy lifestyle. When you engage in health-related activities that Vitality can track and measure, you earn Vitality Points. Track your progress with your Vitality Status and stay motivated. As you earn more points, you raise your Vitality Status from Bronze to Silver to Gold to Platinum.
In addition to increasing your Vitality Status, you can also use those same points to reward yourself. Every Vitality Point you earn equates to one Vitality Buck. When you achieve a higher status, Vitality celebrates your success by awarding you Bonus Bucks. Members can redeem their earned Bucks in the Vitality Mall on wearable devices or electronic gift cards.
Members who register on Vitality between August 1 – October 15 will earn a 150-point kickstart bonus!
In efforts to encourage your Vitality engagement, Members who complete their Health Assessment* for the first time between August 1 – November 30 will receive a 250-point bonus!
During this time, members can expect additional communication to help them navigate through the Vitality platform and provide suggested activities to achieve higher statuses like Silver and Gold Status.
Start your Vitality journey today. Earn up to 400 bonus points!
Exercise-based physical therapy is a clinically and cost-effective treatment for MSK conditions, which are the leading cause of disability worldwide. As such, the use of synchronous telerehabilitation — which is live video conferencing between physical therapy provider and patient — has gained popularity as a more accessible alternative to in-person treatment.
Previous systematic reviews support the effectiveness of synchronous telerehabilitation in patients with MSK conditions. However, this kind of treatment still requires physical therapists (PTs) to meet one-on-one with patients during every session. This poses scalability and scheduling issues, as many patients are unable to consistently attend appointments during regular working hours. Not to mention, there is an ongoing shortage of PTs in the U.S., which can create long waiting lists and additional schedule constraints. Therefore, synchronous telerehabilitation cannot adequately tackle the growing need for physical therapy services.
This is why asynchronous telerehabilitation with biofeedback has emerged as a more scalable solution for the treatment of MSK pain. Asynchronous telerehabilitation with biofeedback refers to digital physical therapy using wearable motion sensors or camera-based sensors to provide biofeedback and patient monitoring. The physical therapy provider does not need to observe the session in real time. This solution allows patients to complete their prescribed exercises on their own schedule, and it allows providers to use biofeedback and adherence metrics to adjust the treatment as needed.
Until now, however, there was no systematic review evaluating the effectiveness of this type of asynchronous treatment.
Sword researchers’ systematic review focused on trials published in the last five years to summarize and assess the effectiveness of asynchronous, exercise-based telerehabilitation incorporating biofeedback. In total, 14 papers were included and analyzed. Among them were eight randomized control trials, three non-randomized control trials and three single-arm studies.
The majority of studies used wearable inertial motion sensors to provide biofeedback during exercise sessions, while four studies used camera-based sensors. All studies included some form of communication system between health professionals and patients, but only six studies allowed patients to reach out as needed.
The systematic review showed that asynchronous, exercise-based telerehabilitation incorporating wearable motion sensors is effective in improving pain and function in patients with MSK conditions, yielding at least similar improvements as compared to usual care (including in-person rehabilitation).
The results of this study reinforce the effectiveness of digital solutions such as Sword Health in treating MSK conditions, which is excellent news for patients, providers and employers. Digital MSK programs allow patients to get the treatment they need from the comfort of their homes, as soon as they need it. In other words, the relative accessibility of digital MSK increases the likelihood of patients receiving timely and proper care, which is a key factor in avoiding unnecessary surgeries and other invasive procedures down the line. Meanwhile, providers can effectively treat more patients in less time. And employers can tackle MSK issues in their workforce using a solution that is just as effective as in-person physical therapy and synchronous telerehabilitation, but less costly and much more convenient.
Want to learn how Sword Health can help free your people from pain and reduce your organization’s medical spend? Request a demo by visiting swordhealth.com/request-demo/thrive.
Accessing PEHT legal notices on the PEHT website is quick and easy. Simply visit pehtak.com/forms and scroll to the bottom of the page to find important documents, including COBRA Continuation Coverage, Medicare Part D Disclosure, Notice of Privacy Practices, and the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998.
