A Spinal Surgery Overview

The human spine is literally the backbone of our anatomy. The complexities of the spine direct bodily movements and functions. The spinal column consists of 24 vertebrae, intervertebral discs, spinal discs, the sacrum and the coccyx. Inside the spinal canal is the spinal cord. Spinal surgery at a Watseka hospital, both invasive and non-invasive, helps to correct backbone damage or defects.

The spinal series of nerves, bones and discs also has natural curvatures. The four regions of the spine are defined by these curvatures. The medical terms for these regions are cervical, thoracic, lumbar and pelvic. Pelvic and thoracic curvatures are called primary curves because they are also present in a human fetus. After birth, the secondary lumbar and cervical curves are developed by the time the child is 18 months old.

Injuries, birth defects and other abnormalities can cause back pain and minimized range of motion. Those suffering with spinal pain and problems have a variety of treatment options. During the initial stages, non-surgical treatment is rendered to try to improve back pain symptoms. Often medication is administered to alleviate pain. If the symptoms are persistent for more than several months, spinal surgery at a Watseka Illinois hospital might be considered.

Spinal surgery can be non-invasive, minimally invasive or more extensive, depending on the extent of the problem. When you are unable to complete basic activities, the physician will present treatment options to help you decide the right course of action.

The purpose of spinal surgery is to correct an anatomical lesion if the patient has not shown significant improvement with more conservative treatments. A specific lesion must be detected as spinal surgery is never done for exploratory purposes. Modern preoperative imaging techniques make it simpler to identify anatomical lesions to develop a successful treatment plan.

Spinal surgery is performed by neurosurgeons or orthopedic surgeons. Basically, spinal surgery is done for three main purposes. It can decompress the spinal cord or a root nerve. Fusion surgery can stabilize a painful or unstable segment of the spine. Finally, spinal surgery can reduce a deformity, such as scoliosis surgery.

In days gone by, spinal surgery was risky and invasive. The patient underwent a serious surgical procedure with weeks of recovery. The latest spinal surgery technology is non-invasive and only rendered after other treatments and therapies are fully explored.

Minimally invasive spinal surgery procedures at a Southern Will county hospital allow patients to return home within 24 hours. The incisions can be as small as 1 to 2 inches. Minimally invasive techniques are used to treat compression fractures, stenosis and herniated discs.

With so many spinal surgery options available at a Watseka hospital, back pain does not have to be a way of life. People suffering from immobility have the chance to regain an active lifestyle by treating at a top Watseka Illinois hospital such as Riverside Medical Center. Many patients are able to resume their normal activities thanks to non-invasive spinal treatments and techniques rendered at a Southern Will County hospital. Riverside is proud to be the recipient of the HealthGrades¬® Specialty Excellence Award™ in spine surgery for being among the top 10 percent in the nation.

What You Need to Know About Durable Medical Equipment

Many individuals look forward to when they turn 65 years old. For the majority of them, they finally get to retire after nearly 40 years of work and are now eligible for the government's health insurance program, Medicare, and Social Security. As a result, they know they will be taken care of so they can retire without worry. Medicare was signed into law on July 30, 1965 during the Lyndon B Johnson administration. As part of the ceremony, President Johnson handed out the very first Medicare card to former President Harry S. Truman. Not only will President Truman be remembered as the United State's thirty-third president, he will also be known as the first Medicare beneficiary!

Medicare does not only cover health insurance for those over 65 years of age; other special groups of individuals also fall under its umbrella of care. One such exception is those who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. The term durable medical equipment is used specifically to mean the equipment for which Medicare is obligated to pay under Title XVII of the Social Security Act. This equipment ranges from wheelchairs and hospital beds to iron lungs and oxygen tents. For those with diabetes, regardless of what type, Medicare will cover the cost of blood-testing strips and blood glucose.

All of the equipment covered by Medicare is subject to necessity of course. Individuals need to prove their need with a note from a doctor. Several large and small companies carry durable medical equipment because a growing number of US citizens are falling under Medicare. If you have Medicare and need a certain item, there is a possibility that it is covered by Title XVII. Before you make any expensive purchases, check with your doctor or a medical equipment supply company to see if Medicare will cover the cost of that item. Saving money is always a good thing!

High quality medical equipment is extremely expensive and that is why so many people are thankful for Medicare in this country. It is a relief to know that you can get the medical treatment you need after you retire. Several articles online will tell you more about durable medical equipment. Make sure you know what you are eligible for before you pay the expenses out of your own wallet!

If you would like more information about durable medical equipment or medical products, please visit the Medical Machines Online website.

Social Security Disability - 5 Tips Before You Apply

Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI is not simply an event--it is a process and a commitment. There are loads of paperwork, phone calls, medical visits and medical records, and you'll probably be denied once or twice (or more!). Your disability application is the first step in the process, and not one to be taken lightly. Before you apply, there are 5 things you should understand first.

Tip #1: Don't take shortcuts.

You may be tempted to do whatever is quickest and easiest when it comes to providing information in your disability application and in your interview. This is a big mistake. Do the extra work to gather every detail you possibly can, and make sure your case worker at the SSA has everything BEFORE your interview. Don't give Social Security any reason to put your file on the shelf--a quick decision, even if it is a denial, is actually a good thing. Why? Because of tip #2.

Tip #2: Expect a denial.

Is this pessimistic? Not really. Most disabled applicants are denied at first, and many are quite obviously disabled. In fact, statistics show that many are denied at the next level as well. If you expect this and plan accordingly, you will be prepared to appeal as soon as the disability denial comes. If you are one of the lucky few who are approved immediately, congratulations. If not, appeal quickly and get your disability claim considered again as soon as possible. The point in the disability process where you have the best chance of being approved is at the hearing level.

Tip #3: Get your own medical records.

Social Security will tell you not to worry about getting your medical records, because the workers will do that for you. I suggest that you do not allow Social Security to request all of your medical information, for three reasons:

One, doctors are often intimidated by the formal requests Social Security sends, and they feel like their license may be in question if they give too strong a recommendation for you. Thus, only about 50% of doctors actually send records in to Social Security, leaving many disability claims without the necessary medical evidence.

Two, when Social Security requests records, it usually takes much longer to get them back and processed. This means you are waiting longer than you should.

And three, getting your own medical records allows you to speak with the doctor about your disability claim. Ask him or her about your ability to work, any restrictions he or she recommends, and ask if he or she would complete a medical questionnaire with questions specific to Social Security's medical requirements. If the doctor is supportive, he or she will be happy to provide you with all the paperwork you need. If not, you'll know it is time to find another doctor.

Tip #4: Get financial backup.

Since the process of applying for disability or SSI takes so long, you may want to have a backup plan for awhile. Do not wait until you are homeless to apply for Social Security benefits. Check with family members and friends, and be prepared to sell assets or use your savings, if applicable.

If your electricity or heating is being turned off, you are being kicked out of your home, you can't afford direly necessary medications, or your life is threatened by your disability, let Social Security know immediately as they may be able to expedite your case. If your situation is extremely dire, you can always contact your state representative and ask them to contact Social Security regarding your disability claim.

Tip #5: If you are applying for SSI and are working, watch your paycheck.

If you are able to work a little, Social Security will be watching to see if you can meet SGA, or Substantial Gainful Activity. This is an income limit that is dependent on a few different variables. Ask your case worker what your current limits are, as they increase every year. If you meet or exceed SGA, your application will automatically be denied. If you have already been approved, caution is even more important--your benefits will be discontinued and you may have to pay Social Security back.

Wherever you are in the Social Security disability process, best of luck.

Becca has been involved in the Social Security world since 1995 and enjoys watching the program change peoples' lives.

Radiology Supplies - Making Medical Diagnostics Successful

The pictures taken of the inside of your body by an x-ray technician help doctors pinpoint injuries and illnesses. A break in a bone can be seen. A shadow in the chest are may indicate pneumonia or even cancer. A blocked artery can be diagnosed and treated before it ever leads to heart failure. Compensation filters help techs get the clearest picture of the affected area.

The x-ray process seems fairly straightforward - push a button, take a picture, view results - but there is so much that goes into it behind the scenes. Film and development, special lighting in the dark room and handling of the films using cassettes, cleaning the equipment to keep it in tip-top condition - all of this takes place without the patient knowing much about it.

One of the key areas that patients don't think much about is protection. Upon situating for an x-ray, a patient's sex organs are covered with a lead-lined blanket. This is to protect them from sterility and other sexual and reproductive complications. Technicians avoid taking x-rays of pregnant women whenever possible.

There's more to radiology than just x-rays, though. Any mother can tell you the joy she felt when she was given her first ultrasound to hear her baby's heart. She'll probably also be able to tell you just how cold the wand was! That problem can be eliminated by using a warmer for your gel bottles. And sanitizing cleansing solution to clean the wand will remove the risk of spreading germs from patient to patient. It is these radiology supplies that make diagnostic imaging successful.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of radiology supplies and health care industry products. For the complete radiology imaging line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/diagnostic-imaging

Pediatric Office Equipment - Making a Pediatrician's Job Easier

No one wants to think about children having to spend time in the hospital, but for millions of children every year, this is the reality. It is something that outs a strain on families, scares children, stresses parents, and presents a different set of challenges to hospital staff.

Keeping an infant or toddler still is something that every parent knows the difficulty of. For x-ray technicians and surgeons it is imperative that kids remain immobile. Equipment suppliers and technical consultants have worked to develop special equipment that helps keep young patients still for a procedure, be it an x-ray or stitches, facilitating the speed and ease with which a procedure can be completed. Keeping things moving at a faster pace helps eliminate stress on the young patient.

Of course, the obvious must be dealt with, too: Children are much smaller than other patients! This requires smaller stretchers, smaller back boards, smaller blood pressure cuffs - the list goes on. As with bariatric patients, equipment must be made to size for the littlest patients, too.

Then there is patient comfort to consider. Children appreciate things they can relate to: color, shapes, images of animals. Putting a little girl at ease for an exam is as simple as replacing the plain white exam gown with a colorful printed one. It makes them feel more involved in what is being done to them, and makes them more cooperative. Pediatricians can make the effort to have printed roll paper for their exam tables that can help distract toddlers during checkups. Pediatricians have a vast array of pediatric supplies at their disposal to make their daily routine easier.

It's the little things that matter for the little patient - in every way.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of pediatric equipment and health care industry products. For the complete pediatric equipment line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/pediatric-equipment

Hospital Lighting - A Bright Idea

In medieval times, rudimentary surgery was performed by candle light. Cuts were messy, sutures sloppy, mistakes were made, and patients died. Then Thomas Edison made things a lot safer for all of us! No more dentists poking around blindly, no more messy stitches.

Like any other piece of medical or surgical equipment, having the right lighting is integral. To see into a mouth or an ear, to deliver a healthy baby, to remove a tumor - these are all areas where top-notch lighting makes a difference. Second best is not an option - you need to know that a light isn't going to stop working in the middle of a procedure.

Dermatologists and dentists both use lighted magnifiers. A rash on your skin may look like one thing in natural light, but can be diagnosed as something completely different when viewed under a professional lamp. A dental surgeon can see deep into the opening of a root canal to be certain that all decay is removed.

Lighting is incredibly important in an operating room. Halogen lighting provides clean, crisp lighting inside exam rooms and operating theaters, whether ceiling mounted or on adjustable arms. Lights cannot give off glare or shadow surgeons may make mistakes. In addition to the overhead lights, surgeons use head mounted halogen spotlights to better see inside their patients.

Hospitals, clinics and dental offices of all types need adequate - above adequate - hospital lighting to ensure that patients receive accurate diagnoses and the best possible care.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of hospital lighting and health care industry products. For the complete hospital lighting line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/medical-lighting

Arm Surgery Tables Making a Difficult Procedure Less Stressful

Whether repairing the effects of a spinal cord injury (via tendon transfer) for patients exhibiting tetraplegia, or opening a carpal tunnel to relieve pressure and numbness, arm surgery tables are an invaluable surgical aid, allowing surgeons immediate and unhampered access to the area in question.

Lightweight yet stable, with optional removable legs, these arm surgery tables slot into an operating room table easily and guarantee 'wiggle-free' surfaces during delicate, exacting surgeries like an AV (arteriovenous) fistula, an abnormal connection or passageway between an artery and a vein.

Arm surgery tables are also invaluable during C-arm procedures, or fluoroscopy (a continuous X-ray scan) prior to surgery to correct injuries or anomalies in the limb, and fasten or mount easily in scanning suites for pre-operative evaluation by surgeons.

Arm surgery tables, available in both rectangular and hourglass models, allow surgical room personnel to adjust the table height via support legs, or provide extra room for the surgeon's elbows and essential equipment, and many come equipped with built-in handles for portability and easier storage when not in use. Pads are available for all models for added patient comfort, and many arm surgery tables come equipped with integral mounting clips for easy installation and removal.

The star of this panoply is undeniably the Carbon Light table, with or without leg. The Carbon Light provides the paradigm of table stability, is compatible with any standard operating room table, and comes in a standard and ultra-lightweight model as well as the surgeon-preferred hourglass shape.

Whether stitching up a wound, or performing the most delicate tendon transfer, arm surgery tables put the affected area front and center, which is precisely where skilled surgeons want it.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of arm surgery tables and health care industry products. For the complete arm surgery table line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/operating-room/arm-tables

The Value of Certification in Wound Care

The incidence of nonhealing wounds is on the rise, owing to longer survival rates for patients with conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. This situation has led to the need for specialists in wound management. To meet this growing need, several organizations have emerged that provide certification in wound care to nurses, physicians, physical therapists, and other specialty groups. There are many advantages to certification for healthcare professionals, administrators, and consumers alike.

Advantages for the Practitioner

As a certified wound care specialist, providers demonstrate to themselves and others their interest and knowledge in a specialized area of patient care. Professionals who have achieved such specialization report a sense of personal satisfaction, pride, and confidence in their ability to manage complicated wounds. In addition, professionals also earn the respect of their employers, colleagues and patients.

Becoming wound care certified may also provide the professional with some degree of legal protection, reducing the risk of litigation in an environment where nonhealing wounds can lead to serious disability and pain for the patient.

A specialist who is wound care certified may also enjoy certain advantages in the workplace, such as the opportunity for advancement and an increased earning potential. Employers will often recognize the fact that certification requires strict and rigorous continuing education and practice requirements. Above all, becoming wound care certified will bring greater job satisfaction.

Advantages for the Administrator

In this day and age of competition and increased consumer awareness, supporting healthcare professionals to achieve wound care certification offers several advantages.

Many employers in home health care agencies, hospitals, and wound care centers are now requiring their practitioners to achieve wound care certification. Ensuring that employees become certified brings a competitive advantage.

Patient outcomes can be improved by using certified wound care specialists, as these professionals are able to recognize symptoms and complications before they arise, which can improve legal liability issues, leading to fewer malpractice claims.

Investing in wound care certification can improve staff retention, as committing to hiring certified wound care specialists can make a healthcare organization unique from competitors. Supporting professionals to become wound care certified shows that they are valued as professionals and leads to increased job satisfaction and staff retention. Most importantly, consumers will receive the highest quality care from professionals who are the most knowledgeable in wound management.

Advantages for the Consumer

Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable in regards to their own care, and are also more cognizant that they have choices in healthcare. Certified wound care specialists are current on best-practice standards, and are able to provide teaching and management techniques to their clients. Today's consumers are taking more interest in learning about their own healthcare needs. Certified wound care specialists have completed many hours of classroom and clinical experience and are in a unique position to be able to provide in-depth teaching and expertise to their clients.

The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once said, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step". Taking the Online Wound Management Training course can be the first step in a more rewarding and enriching career, providing the opportunity to achieve wound care certification. Register now and begin your journey!

WoundEducators.com offers comprehensive online wound management training programs designed to educate and prepare health care practitioners to become certified in the rapidly growing field of wound management. Visit us at: http://woundeducators.com for more information.

Hospital Acquired Conditions and Your Health System's Bottom Line

The current Medicare payment system is considered to be prospective, in that the amount paid to a hospital for a patient is fixed in advance and depends only on the diagnoses and major procedures reported at discharge. In reality, payments under this system have never been completely prospective, being influenced to some degree by what happens to an individual patient during a hospitalization. For example, higher payments are made on behalf of patients in whom clinically significant complications develop after admission than for those with the same diagnosis who have no such complications. There are also so-called outlier payments that partially compensate hospitals for the additional expenses incurred for very-high-cost cases. With regard to preventable complications, these retrospective features of the DRG payment system have harbored a perverse incentive: hospitals that improved patient safety and eliminated problems such as nosocomial infections saw their Medicare revenues, and sometimes their profits, reduced.

Believing that this counterproductive incentive should be eliminated, Congress instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2005 to "select at least 2 conditions that are (a) high cost or high volume or both, (b) result in the assignment of a case to a DRG that has a higher payment when present as a secondary diagnosis, and (c) could reasonably have been prevented through the application of evidence-based guidelines." After issuing a proposed set of measures and considering comments from stakeholders and experts, CMS decided to disallow incremental payments associated with eleven secondary conditions that it sees as preventable complications of medical care. These conditions, if not present at the time of admission, will no longer be taken into account in calculating payments to hospitals after October1, 2008.

The eleven selected conditions include:

1. Foreign Object Retained After Surgery (750 cases nationally in 2007)
2. Air Embolism (57 cases)
3. Blood Incompatibility (24 cases)
4. Stage III and IV Pressure Ulcers (257,412 cases)
5. Falls and Trauma (193,566 cases)
6. Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (12,815 cases)
7. Vascular Catheter-Associate Infection (29,536 cases)
8. Surgical Site Infection-Mediastinitis after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (69cases)
9. Surgical site infections following elective procedures
10. Glycemic Control issues such as diabetic ketoacidosis, nonketotic hyperosmolar coma, diabetic coma, and hypoglycemic coma (16,060 cases)
11. Deep Vein Thrombosis / Pulmonary Embolism (140,010 cases)

While the new reimbursement rules present significant risk to hospitals and health systems, they also create great opportunity to develop world class quality management processes, infrastructure, and organization.

Significant Financial Impact

The new rule will result in hospitals seeing substantial reductions in payment for the care of individual patients with preventable complications. For example, if a patient were admitted to a Boston-area hospital with pneumonia and developed a urinary tract infection or bed sores during the hospitalization, the hospital would currently be paid $6,253.58, under DRG 89 ("pneumonia with complications"); under the new rule, if there were no other complications, the hospital would be paid only $3,705.38, under DRG 90 ("simple pneumonia"), a difference of $2,548.20 (a reduction of approximately 40%).

A study of the reimbursement impact on nosocomial urinary tract infections alone at one New York hospital was reported in AHIMA Perspectives online journal. The urinary tract remains a significant site for hospital-acquired infections, with 66 percent to 86 percent of UTIs being associated with urinary catheterization. The prevention of UTIs represents a potentially rich opportunity to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections. Analysis of w/CC vs. without CC DRG-pair reimbursement for patients having a secondary diagnosis of UTI, and under the assumption that the UTI was the reason for upcoding to the with complication DRG, resulted in the hospital receiving $4.5 million greater reimbursement due to the nosocomial infection. Three DRGs were randomly selected for detailed chart review, and within that subset it was determined that the nosocomial infection was the sole reason for about 15% of the higher DRG assignment. Extrapolation of this to the entire population resulted in an estimation that the hospital would have received $675,000 less in Medicare reimbursement for the UTI issue alone.

Vascular catheter associated infection represents another major area of risk for hospitals. A significant number of patients rely on vascular access devices, like PICC lines, to deliver needed medication. The line has to be placed and maintained in a specific manner, or it has a potential to cause a catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI.) CRBSI, along with ventilator-associated pneumonia (which CMS is considering adding to the selected conditions list for FY2009), are the two most costly infections to treat. Analysis in one Midwestern hospital identified that the average cost to treat a CRBSI was $91,000, whereas the average reimbursement was about $67,000; an operational loss of $24,000. As of Oct. 1, 2008, reimbursement will be zero. The CDC estimates 250,000 central line-associated infections occur in the United States annually, with an attributable mortality rate of 12 to 25 percent.

This reimbursement change represents the leading edge of a series of anticipated CMS reforms of provider payment, which include a shift toward pay for performance. Hospitals may therefore view the new policy as a harbinger of things to come and act in anticipation of more substantial reimbursement changes. Nine additional HACs are being considered for addition to the reimbursement exclusions in October, and 43 additional are being considered for implementation in FY 2010. Finally, as was observed with the DRG reimbursement system, private third party payers will be expected to adopt a similar approach.

Proactive Solutions

Just as advent of the Prospective Payment System revolutionized hospital Cost Management in the two decades ago, pay for performance will revolutionize hospital Quality Management over the next decade. To prepare your health system for this change in the game, we recommend you take the following steps:

• Assess your Health System Quality Management Readiness. Evaluate how your Health System stacks up in the five Critical Markers of quality management effectiveness: Strategy, Process, Infrastructure, Organization and Culture. Identify Gaps and corrective strategies.
• Estimate the impact on your Hospital or Health System. Using macro data analysis and chart sampling estimate your risk exposure by major diagnostic category and HAC.
• Identify the Gaps. Identify major problem areas and identify the required metrics, clinical and process improvements, available technology enablers, and organizational enhancements required to significantly reduce your risk exposure.
• Design the Fix. Assemble multidisciplinary process improvement teams to develop effective Present on Admission (POA) assessment processes, address the root cause of quality gaps leading to hospital acquired conditions, and to design innovative sustainable solutions.
• Implement the Fix. Test and refine the designed solutions in innovation labs and adopt a Quality Accelerator approach to integrating the solutions into the fabric of your health system.
• Measure the Results. Design and implement monitoring systems that measure the effectiveness of your efforts and provide closed loop feedback to ongoing quality management activity.

When healthcare quality is high, everything else follows. Patients are delighted. Physicians and employees are happy, efficient and effective. Market share rises. Margins increase. Your organization grows and thrives.

Scott Hodson is a Principal in Maverick Healthcare Consulting.

To learn more abouthim and his firm, visit his healthcare quality website at http://mavhc.com

Free Medical History Forms

Having hard time drafting a medical history for your patients? Then, make your move online to check out same free medical history forms. The format is available there to be your guide. Basically, the form includes questions such as name, date, reason for current visit, family's hereditary sickness, symptoms, medication allergies, current medication, pregnancy, history of tobacco use and illegal drugs, experience of falls or falling injury, and alcohol consumption. These are all necessary to the medical history form because these can improve the accurate determination of the current condition of the patient. Simply, the medical history form is the narration of the past to trace out the causes and roots of the current condition of a patient.

Aside from the format, you should also know the things that will come under every question. Obviously, the name should include the first name, last name and middle name. The data should be completed to keep track of the file properly to avoid confusion and mismatching. The date should also be filled out, because it is essential in documenting the patient's visit. After the date, the reason for the visit comes next. This is the most significant information that should be given so that the doctor could have a hint what the problem is. The family's hereditary sickness is a great factor in anyone's health so it will also contribute substantial information on the medical history of the patient. After it the symptoms form comes next, this should be filled out completely because it will help the doctor assess the real problem to address proper remedy. The information on medication allergies and pregnancy should also be present so that the doctor could avoid prescription that is not suitable for the patient. The rest entries on the forms such as the history of tobacco use and illegal drugs, experience of falls or falling injury, and alcohol consumption are also included because these factors could help out a lot to ascertain the best medication program to be given to the patient. The overall data on the accomplished free medical history form given by the patient will draw out the actual situation thus helping doctors assess what should be done.

The free medical history forms online will really help you a lot in practicing your medical profession. It gathers all the information that you need from your patient so that you could wisely give prescription and remedy to the illness that your patient is currently experiencing. Tracing out the patient's medical history is very substantial because the root of the current illness is usually interconnected to the past sickness that the patient had. With this information from the free medical history forms you will surely do extremely well in your profession and treat all of your patient's sickness the best way.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about medical history forms visit Alternative Medicines Today for current articles and discussions.

Free Medical Release Forms

Medical release documents are usually asked by schools, institutions or group when a person will be joining an athletic event or will be performing a task that is highly prone to accident. This document could be drafted either by the player himself or by his parents or guardian in case of minority and they can get these free medical release forms online. This is required by schools, institution or competition group so that when the player encounter accidents that requires major treatment, they can automatically submit the player for laboratory test, surgeries and other treatment that is necessary.

Here's a format of a free medical release form to give you a clearer picture of its contents. Usually the title is never changed, it is just written in bold that look like this "MEDICAL RELEASE FORM". Under that, you can write one paragraph by stating your name, you relation to the player if necessary and your consent that in any event an injury on you or on your child, you authorize any physician, dentist and medical staff to attend immediate treatment even without your presence. The consent must also include the performance of laboratory test, surgery and other major medication treatment so that these could be done in cases of serious injury. Under the first paragraph, you could include your or your child's medical history whichever is applicable. On this portion, it is also important to include the name, address and contact number of your family physicians so that if he's necessary he could be easily notified. If the person concern on the medical release form is insured, the policy number, the insurance company and its contact no could also be included so that immediate notification of the accidents could be done to recover claims. After this, you should also put your name, your phone number and address under the person to be notified in case of emergency so that you could be informed immediately.

To make your accomplished free medical release form formal and become a public document, you could submit if for notarization on licensed lawyer or notary public. This is usually required for the validity and admission of the document. This portion will be the last part of the medical release form. Under this your oath on the validity of the statement above the form will be sworn with the notary public and registered. Here, don't forget the date and the expiration of the document so that it could only be used on the timeframe that you specified.

The medical release form that you will draft would be beneficial to all parties concerned, the player, the parent, the institution who requires the document and the hospital. The player and the parent benefits on this because immediate medical attention could be given in case of an accident. On the part of the institution and of the hospital, this is also favorable because they will not be held liable in any event the parent or the athlete complained about the medical attention given. So before you or your child gets into an athletic event or competition make sure to draft out a medical release form based on this free medical release form.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about medical release forms visit Affordable Medications Today for current articles and discussions.

Operating Room Equipment - Keep Your Surgical Suite Updated

A typical operating room has a wealth of devices designed to keep patients immobile, safe and comfortable during surgery. It contains equally as much equipment for the benefit of surgeons, from special glasses that give a nearly microscopic view of tiny blood vessels to limb extensions which provide an extended mini-theatre for surgical repairs.

Arm and leg guards provide a firm, reliable surface for surgeons, who must often lean across a patient's extremities to perform surgery. The arm guards also stabilize IV, or anesthesia lines, while arm and leg guards insure a patient's limbs won't slide off the table under anesthesia.

One of the most essential pieces of equipment in an operating room is a surgical loupe, which come as one-piece units or eyeglass clip-ons, allowing surgeons to magnify an area they are working on.

Equally as vital in close, delicate work is the wrap-around magnifier and light, which - when worn - offer not only close viewing but added illumination for those same delicate procedures.

Anesthesia screens are set up over the patient's body to block the operating site from the anesthesiologist's work area, reducing the spread of infection and eliminating a source of distraction to surgeons and surgical nurses.

Hand, arm and limb positioners extend individual portions of the body beyond the operating table, allowing surgeons to do intricate work on elbows, for example.

Gel pads in either table-length or partial length, provide patient comfort and support during lengthy procedures while under local anesthesia, and provide perineal cutouts for surgical procedures in the vaginal or anal area.

Patients will likely never see many of this operating room equipment, but their importance to surgeons and surgical staff is inestimable.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of OR Equipment and health care industry products. For the complete OR Equipment line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/operating-room

Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans

Medicare Advantage was created out of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. In short, Medicare Advantage was designed to allow private carriers like Anthem Blue Cross, United HealthCare, Humana and others to create health care plans designed for individuals using Original Medicare. The plans would be uniformed to cover what is offered by Original Medicare along with enhanced benefits such as preventive care, dental, vision and even hearing.

These Medicare Advantage Plans come with additional supports for seniors to help minimize overall medical expenses. Medicare Advantage is approximately a 17 percent subsidy on top of the 80 percent paid by Original Medicare.

To be eligible for Medicare Advantage Plans the below listed requirements must be met:

- Must have Part A Original Medicare
- Must continue to pay for Part B Original Medicare
- Must live in a plan service area
- Can Not have End Stage Renal Disease at the time of enrollment

To help you understand the difference let us assume that you are 68 years of age and you require a Hip Replacement. After the initial doctor's visit, the specialist visit, the surgery and about 6 months of rehabilitation, you have amassed $68,000 in medical bills.

Under Original Medicare:

- Medicare will pay 80 percent or $54,400
- You are responsible for the outstanding 20 percent or $13,600 out of your pocket

So how do you plan to cover the $13,600 in expenses? For most, that is a huge expense especially if you only have Original Medicare. If you are fortunate enough to have an affordable Medicare Supplement this may not be a big issue. However, for millions of Americans, paying for a supplement is not an option on a fixed income. This is one of the reasons why the Medicare Advantage System exists.

Under Medicare Advantage:

- Original Medicare will cover 80 percent or $54,400
- With Medicare Advantage covering another 17 percent (roughly) or $11,500
- Your total out of pocket expenses are roughly $2100

I'm sure you're thinking, Medicare Advantage can save me a lot of money on my medical bills. Sign Me Up! Well, before you sign it's important to understand the different types of Plan Networks. This is where seniors tend to make a mistake, buying an Advantage Plan just based on price. If you choose the wrong network, you will be spending more money for medical services.

In general, there are 3 different types of Medicare Advantage Plan "Networks" available. They are as follow:

- Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO Plans)
- Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO Plans)
- Private Fee for Service (PFFS Plans)

HMO Medicare Advantage Networks have the smallest network of providers. HMO Networks are small because they have a limited number of doctors, hospitals, and other facilities. PPO Medicare Advantage Network has a wider number of doctors, hospitals, and facilities so it will allow more choices for individuals who may need care which may not be offered within the smaller HMO Network. Privat Fee For Service represents the largest number of doctors, hospitals and facilities available to treat senior for medical conditions.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO):

- There will be copayments and coinsurance
- You must receive care from a doctor in the HMO Network
- You must receive hospitalization from within the HMO Network
- You must use the facilities within the HMO Network
- You must have prior authorization in order to see a specialist
- You must see a specialist in the HMO Network
- If you get services outside of the HMO Network you will be subject to full Out of Network Charges - Some HMO Networks have their own prescription drug program (ie; Medicare Part D)

The HMO Medicare Advantage Networks are probably the most restrictive but they are effective if you do not mind switching doctors, hospitals, and other facilities.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO):

- There will be copayments and coinsurance
- You can see any doctor that participate in the network
- You must receive hospitalization from hospitals in the network - You must use the facilities accepting Medicare
- You must have prior authorization in order to see a specialist
- You will be subject to a percentage of Out-of-Network charges (usually up to 30 percent) if you seek services outside the PPO Network.
- Some PPO Networks have their own prescription drug program (ie; Medicare Part D)

Choosing a Medicare Advantage PPO Network is less of a hassle because you can generally get services all over the State but often from only one hospital provider network. If you go south for the winter you must find services in that local network.

Private Fee for Service (PFFS):

- Copayments and Coinsurance will apply
- Can see any Medicare approved doctor
- Can go to any Medicare approved hospital
- Can go to any Medicare approved facility
- Can seek services outside of service areas
- Don't need referrals or prior authorization to see a specialist
- Generally they have individual Medicare Prescription Drug Plan but there are plans that include Prescription Drugs

If you choose this type of Medicare Advantage Plan it provides an individual with the greatest amount of freedom. There are no network restrictions for hospitals, doctors or other facilities.

Now that you understand the difference and different plans you must determine if this is the right plan for you. You must determine if it makes more sense to pay now or pay later but choose wisely and know the details of your specific plan and if your doctors are in the network. Sometimes the wellness benefits like dental and hearing are the key to making a choice. Certainly if you cannot afford the premiums of a traditional Medicare Supplement then this is a good option. If you know of someone who isn't happy having an Advantage Plan they most likely didn't look into the network.

Carlotta Katra has been helping seniors and their families with eldercare issues for years. She developed http://www.AgingAvenues.com to empower families with information on all issues to help them make informed choices.

The Benefits of Getting a Senior Health Care Plan

A lot of people dread going old, but whether we admit it or not, getting old is just a part of life and something that all of us expect. However, there are always ways for us to be able to prepare for the so-called "golden years". This is to ensure that life after retirement will definitely be just like a walk in the park - absolutely free from worries.

You have probably heard of most seniors getting stuck in an old folks home that they do not like , but are stuck with considering that they practically have no choice. This, and other seniors' needs especially senior health care, can be well taken cared of if you will make the effort to start preparing for it now.

The usual way to go when it comes to preparing for retirement or taking care on health is by acquiring a retirement plan from life insurance companies. This kind of life insurance plan is best started as early as you start working. Why? Well the sooner you start, the sooner you premium will mature thus, the bigger benefits for you. While retirement plans give you just retirement money to you on whatever you please, there are also health plans available wherein you will also need to pay monthly premiums for some years to ensure that when you reach that certain age, you will certainly have someone or a place that will look out for you.

Considering that in Western countries it has never been a practice for the elders of the family to stay in their kids house, it is definitely a great idea to have a health plan ready , just so that you will be ready with whatever may happen to you in the future. Just think , heaven forbid, if you got sick and you do not have any means to pay for medical help, will you just be content in letting yourself weaker by the minute - and eventually die from sickness? Have a senior health care plan will prove to be of very good use to you whether or not you have a sickness that needs to be taken cared of. There are also some perfectly healthy seniors in old folks home too but they still avail of senior health care plans just to ensure that all their needs will be taken cared of - even something as simple as have the right vitamins.

These days, health care has actually grown into a big, big industry already wherein more and more institutions are being put up to cater to senior health care. Usually, clients are given the option to hire a private nurse that can stay in the clients home and work full time while there are also caregivers or nurses available to assist to the needs of seniors in old folks homes. But do not think that just because it is an old folks home, you will not be able to receive the as good senior health care as the kind offered by private nurses. Times have changed and old folks homes or communities are actually more modern and well maintained already so there is absolutely no reason to worry.

Healthcare Mystery Shopping - Who, What, Where and Why

There are countless mystery shopping companies worldwide; approximately 250 are members of The Mystery Shopping Providers Association. To become a member you must be in business a minimum of two years and uphold a solid reputation in the industry. References are verified and members adhere to a strict code of ethics.

There are a small number of members that specialize in healthcare and understand the intricacies of the industry. If a healthcare organization or facility is considering a mystery shopping program, it is highly recommended they hire a company that has extensive experience in healthcare; ask how many healthcare shops they have conducted and for whom. Ask what percentage of their business is dedicated to the healthcare industry. Check references and listen for language that will assure they have a complete understanding of the healthcare industry. There is a vast difference between mystery shopping for the retail industry and healthcare or long term care.

Specialized companies recruit and train experienced mystery shoppers to be their "secret/mystery patients". They are trained specific to healthcare with an understanding of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the specific needs of the given client and their specialty. Ask who has access to the evaluations; are they stored securely? Shoppers should be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and a release of liability. The MSPA offers certification for shoppers which assures quality observation and writing skills.

What is Evaluated and Reported?

Healthcare mystery shopping is in place to measure and improve the patient experience thereby increasing patient satisfaction. Mystery shopping examines the patients' perception of the providers' interpersonal skills, the organizations policies and procedures and the overall atmosphere of the facility. Medical Mystery Shopping is not about judging clinical skills. The information gathered should be used strictly for training, encouraging and rewarding providers and staff. An experienced healthcare mystery shopping company provides detailed evaluations and a comprehensive narrative of the shopper experience. They may also provide a report based on the combined findings of multiple locations. Medical Mystery Shopping companies will not displace an actual patient in an emergent situation nor will they endanger the shoppers with invasion tests or procedures. They are also sensitive to the value of the providers' time and will perform evaluations in a manner that will be cost effective for the provider and or organization. An organization or practitioner may use one or a combination of the different types of mystery shops available, these include:

The Complete Patient Experience: This is the most comprehensive evaluation. It begins with the phone call to schedule an appointment, front office staff, clinical staff and doctors' interpersonal skills, wait times, compliance with policy and procedure and facility ambience, exterior and interior. The mystery patient presents with a non-emergent complaint or a new patient consultation. An experienced Healthcare Mystery Shopping Company will create believable scenarios, will never involve insurance and understands the process of referrals for specialty practices.

The Walk-In Visit: Mystery shoppers visit the facility and interact with the front office staff or registration. The mystery shopper does not see clinical staff. They are prepared with a believable scenario strictly protecting their identity. Their observations will include the reception staff response time, interpersonal skills, procedure and policy knowledge, first available appointments and facility ambience, exterior and interior.

Telephone Mystery Shopping: Mystery shoppers call a facility to access the patients' initial, most important first impression. They evaluate phone etiquette, hold times, automated systems, scheduling, compliance with policies, scripting and procedures. Phone Mystery Shopping determines the number of potential new patients/clients a facility may be losing. It is an extremely helpful tool for train. If a client requests, the calls are recorded.

Patient Interviews: Patient interviews may be conducted as part of an ongoing mystery shopping program. With prior written consent, a representative will call the actual patient of record at different intervals of their treatment. In some instances the patients are given the evaluation tool to review before their visit so they are prepared for the call. For the patient, it is simply a phone call; the information is presented in a professional manner to the client. Generally the patients identity is strictly protected understanding the patient may develop a relationship with their provider; this allows for a completely candid interview.

Nursing Home Mystery Shopping and Assisted Living Community Visits: These are made unannounced at varying times by the mystery shoppers. The mystery shopper will present as a family member of a loved one in need of care. They tour the facility and evaluate staff interpersonal skills resident care and overall appearance of the building.

Where is Medical Mystery Shopping Performed?

There are a multitude of healthcare providers that see the value and need for mystery shopping. Fee for service or cash driven practitioners and organization are amongst the extensive list; these would include plastic surgeons, optometrists and ophthalmologists, dentists, med-spas and more. Other providers that use mystery shopping include hospitals, managed care groups, insurance providers, individual and group practices, practice management consultants, medical marketing firms, healthcare manufacturers, nursing homes and assisted living communities.

Why Do Organizations and Practitioners Use Healthcare Mystery Shopping?

While patient surveys are an excellent means to gather patient feedback they may tend to be one sided and not always accurate. The combination of patient surveys and mystery shopping is used frequently to obtain the information necessary to increase patient satisfaction. These valuable tools identify service opportunities and highlight training needs.

Mystery shoppers recall their total experience in an unemotional, unbiased, accurate manner. They are experts at remembering and recording the information they are asked to provide. They thoroughly review the evaluation form and shop guidelines before placing a call or visiting a facility.

Mystery shopping has proven to increase patient satisfaction scores, patient retention, referrals, treatment acceptance and reduce staff turnover. There is small percentage of staff and doctors opposed to the process and my thoughts are they may not have been informed it was happening making the process feel covert. Presenting the project and how the information gathered is used is essential to the success of the project. It has been my experience, when informed, staff, doctors and all employees are proud to be part of an organization that strives to provide the best possible patient care.

Examine Your Practice, Inc. is the nations leading expert in Healthcare Mystery Shopping. Healthcare service evaluation is our core competency. We provide Medical Mystery Shopping to the healthcare and long term care industries solely. We are strictly the fact finders, providing unbiased, objective observations. The MSPA certified "mystery patients" we send to a facility have excellent observation and writing skills.

I founded Examine Your Practice in early 2004 and have since conducted thousands of medical, dental and nursing home mystery shops for clients nationwide. Allowing the providers to see their service through the patients' eyes has resulted in increased patient retention, referrals, treatment acceptance and most importantly, patient satisfaction.

I have been in the medical industry for more than two decades with diverse experience as a dental auxiliary, healthcare sales representative, management and practice development. I am published in The Journal of Medical Practice Management as well as various other industry publications. Examine Your Practice has had tremendous recognition from the press and media including 'O' The Oprah Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, ABC Good Morning America and more that may be viewed on my web site at http://www.examineyourpractice.com

I am a proud member of the respected Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Shoppers interested in becoming certified please visit the MSPA site at http://www.MysteryShop.org/shoppers/certification.php

Patient Transfer Equipment - Getting the Patient There Safely

Sometimes, getting from point A to point B is half the battle. Patients that are immobile often have a hard time arriving at their desired destination. Durable patient transfer equipment can mean the difference between living with an illness and finding a proper diagnosis.

Regardless of the reason for immobility, all medical patients need a way to visit their physician with ease. Wheelchairs that can withstand a vast amount of weight help patients to move around homes, hospitals, sidewalks, and corridors without a constant struggle.

Once a patient arrives at a medical facility, the transference from a wheelchair to a medical table can also be a difficult challenge. For these moments, transfer boards that come in numerous sizes and widths provide both medical professionals and patients with a way to get through an examination without any amount of awkward maneuvering.

Patient lifts can also help medical staff to effectively weigh and move a patient without any struggle on the patient's part. Hospitals, clinics, and offices that are outfitted with this equipment will find that assisting patients is not a difficult thing to do. After all, the most important part of any patient examination is the overall comfort and ease of the actual patient.

Bariatric, geriatric, and disabled patients can all benefit from quality lifts and proper patient transfer equipment. Dealing with any kind of immobilizing disability on a daily basis is hard enough... it shouldn't have to be impossible for those that cannot walk to visit a physician for treatment and diagnosis.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of patient transfer equipment and health care industry products. For the complete patient transfer line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/patient-transfer

Medical Lighting - Shedding Light to Make the Proper Diagnosis

Nowhere else in the world is precise procedural lighting more important than in medicine. Electrical component welds can be repaired, architectural drawings corrected, but a faulty diagnosis or improper incision can lead to a poor prognosis for patients and complications for doctors.

Medical lighting is not simply illumination but, in some instances, a spectrum of light that allows levels of color rendition not possible under ordinary, fluorescent light. This is equally as important in the office of a general practitioner, who uses it to determine skin color and tone as a measure of health, as it is in a specialist's office, where change in the color of a mole or lesion may signal the need for immediate treatment.

In emergency rooms, where project or target lighting allows physicians to determine the extent of injuries, well-engineered lighting that can be easily moved from room to room provides an ideal solution at an affordable cost. In outpatient surgery clinics, a wall-mounted magnifying light that moves to exact positioning, and remains there, allows surgeons to perform delicate biopsies without the interruption of constantly adjusting the lighting source.

Portable, hand-held UV lights are ideal for diagnosing skin diseases. Normal skin will not fluoresce under UV light, but fungal or bacterial infections will, giving the clinician an instant diagnosis. UV lights are also useful for examining blood vessels or potential infection in the eye without blinding the patient.

In dental surgeries, lighting is second in importance only to the skill of the surgeon, and Halux lights, which provide brilliant, heat-filtered light, offer a safe and comfortable alternative to other flexible lighting solutions, which can become dangerously hot and even burn skin if surgeries are difficult and prolonged.

Precise, medical lighting, with built-in durability and versatility, enhances any surgical suite, dermatological practice, dental clinic or obstetrician's office by providing accurate, intense, task-specific lighting that allows the most delicate operations to proceed without interruption.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.

Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of medical lighting and health care industry products. For the complete medical lighting line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/medical-lighting

Transparent Health Care a Must

You might be wondering how having transparent health care costs would make much of a difference. Think about this. If you know the precise price of something versus not really knowing how much it costs because someone else pays the bills, you tend to budget wisely.

Budgeting wisely is what not only saves money, but reduces the abuse of the health care system. How is that you are wondering? If you knew exactly what it cost to see a doctor for a minor cold or cough you would think twice about running to see him at the drop of the hat. Think about this in relation to having children who tend to have a lot of ear, nose and throat infections while growing up.

If you have three children and take all of them to see a doctor for the sniffles and don't know what it costs because your co-pay is so low it doesn't matter, think how you would change that habit if you found out it cost about a $100 a pop for the doctor to see each child just to say, "You have a virus, take aspirin and rest."

You would then have spent $300 for something you could have done on your own at home without further taxing the health care system, which is really there for serious illness, not the sniffles.

The bottom line here is that the resources in the American health care system are sadly limited and this isn't getting any better. The more we tax those resources to the limit the more the system suffers in terms of physician burn out, increasing medical errors and rising costs. We need to start taking responsibility for our own health care.

This isn't to say you stay at home and suffer if you have a cold that may turn to pneumonia or something else that you know you cannot treat alone without medical help. It is saying however that discretion and being smarter about running to the doctor for small things s/he does not need to deal with will make an enormous difference on how available that same doctor is when you really NEED him/her.

Clelland Green is with Benepath.com, a leader in providing health insurance quotes. Benepath provides individuals, families, and businesses with affordable health insurance quotes in just a few mouse clicks. To learn more, visit http://www.benepath.com

How Hospitals Can Avoid Infection Through Infection Control

In the hospital, it is expected to have the most number of viruses and bacteria that came from different cases of diseases. It is a normal thing to know that the hospital can be considered as one of the most virus contaminated edifice in one place. These facts have become the driving force of all medical people so to make the hospital always sanitized and infection free by means of an effective infection control system. Both the government and other concerned groups are making the effort to have all hospitals in the country infection free. The government has released regulations pertaining to the maintenance of the cleanliness in all hospitals while all hospital administrators have their own way of addressing infection related cases.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel are taught on how to control infection from spreading. Even from schools, nurses are taught of the proper way of washing their hands and other parts of their bodies. They are also required to use infection control supplies such as masks, PPE, gloves, etc. All the used medical paraphernalia are being subject to strict quarantine and cleaning and all the equipments are sterilized. Used surgical supplies such as cottons, gauze, threads, etc, are also disposed correctly at a designated area.

Patient segregation is done in all hospitals and generally apply in cases that are being grouped according to gender. Special cases, such as burns, cancers, and other communicable diseases are separated from the others. Children below a designated age are also separated from adult patients. In the wake of the SARS virus, the government ordered that all hospitals should have their own designated quarantine area in order to protect other patients from being contaminated by the said virus. All of these things are ways of controlling spread of infections in the hospital.

Cleanliness of the surrounding is the key to control the spread of infection in the hospital. No matter how good the medical practitioners are if the surroundings are not clean, chances are that even these practitioners can be contaminated. There are specifically used infection control products to clean hospital premises. These are concentrated cleaning agents that can kill even the smallest germs alive.

The cleanliness of the hospitals in the country is monitored by a government control agency to ensure that patients are well protected against any unwanted contamination of infections inside the hospital. OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration also requires all hospital personnel to have their own personal protective equipments and that the hospital must be equipped with ready cleaning facilities.

World Elderly Health Problem - What's Happening to Our Health Care Systems?

There is a major concern for the elderly in this day and age. The nursing homes are over populated, and the staff is at an all time low. The elderly just don't have the care available today that they did years ago. This problem affects the health of the elderly as well. If conditions are not up to standard in these facilities, then the elderly person's health will suffer.

Another problem the elderly face today is medicare benefits. Medicare doesn't pay what it used to, and many people are forced to suffer with their health problems without always being able to seek treatment. This is a world elderly health problem. If we don't do something now to improve this situation, then things will continue to spiral out of control, leaving us in rough shape for the future. Social Security is already a concern for many people. They wonder if they will receive any benefits at all when they retire. With the cost of health care rising every year, the future looks bleak indeed.

There are some cultures who don't put their elderly parents in nursing homes, they take them into their own homes and care for them, as long as they are able to. They drive their parents to their doctor appointments and other places, thus avoiding the need for care vans or meals on wheels. If everyone did this, the world elderly health problem would not be nearly as catastrophic as it is today.

By time the baby boomers are well into retirement, there will be even more elderly people in the world, thus the problem of poor care will escalate. The prices that todays nursing homes require is nearly unaffordable. It would be cheaper for the elderly to spend a few years on a cruise ship than it would be to pay the astronomical price of an elderly facililty. This is a widely known humorous look at elderly care, but sadly, it is true. Nursing homes charge more per week than it costs to take an all-inclusive cruise. Some even joke that if you pass away while you're on the ship, they could just toss you over the side, and that's about as cheap a funeral as you can get.

It's sad to think about the future for the elderly. And if the health care costs continue to skyrocket, then the world elderly health problem won't go away anytime soon. It has become necessary for people in their midlife to start saving money for their retirement facility, rather than starting to save their money so they can go on vacation after they retire. It might be a better idea to do all your traveling while you are in good health, and worry about the nursing home after you have spent all your money.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about world elderly health problem, please visit Geriatric Fitness for current articles and discussions.

Some Ethical Issues in Health Care - Requirements and Treatments

When it comes to health care ethical issues, there are almost as many ethical issues as there are health issues to be treated. There are laws in place to direct the behavior of almost every person in the health care personnel chain, from the nurse to the nurses aide who assists them and the doctor who ultimately gets to try and make the decisions to treat within the confines of the insurance system ruling over the life of the patient in question.

There are ethical issues that are clearly defined, such as the requirements for treatment decisions when a patient has a Medical Power of Attorney or a Living Will. Then there are thealth care ethical issues that don't have such clearly defined areas, such as whether it is allowable to withhold a possible lifesaving treatment from a patient only because their insurance will not pay for it.

Health care providers must make their treatment decisions based on a great many determining factors, perhaps the most constraining of which is the insurance reimbursement regime. If doctors and other health care providers could just treat their patients and have only that to worry about, what a wonderful world it would be. But doctors have to constantly worry about whether or not they and possibly the facility where they practice will be paid by the insurance companies. The next most important factor which affects health care providers ability to provide the care patients truly need is whether or not the patient has been truthful with the information they have given to the health care provider, and whether or not they have had access to health care to establish and maintain their health care needs.

Ethical concerns also come into play with patients whose family constellations are unclear. A patient who has a spouse has a straightforward next of kin when decisions have to be made. When a patient is separated from their spouse, and even perhaps has a new significant other, the next of kin can be much more difficult to determine, and protecting all health care providers-doctors, hospitals, etc from the liability risk of allowing the person who does not have a legal right to make decisions for a patient is a necessity. The health care ethical issues presented by these kinds of situations are very delicate.

One important ethical concern in health care is the need to protect oneself from the very real danger of the transmission of communicable diseases in bodily fluids. Especially in cases where a patients history is not available, health care providers have the right and the responsibility to protect themselves from viruses and bacteria that may be present in the body fluids of patients to which they are exposed taking care of these patients. However, this must be balanced with the possibility of making patients feel accused or uncomfortable by these same protective measures.

One last important health care ethical issues, especially in this day in age, is the protection of private, personally identifying information. Patients records used to be kept in public places where almost anyone could read them-filing pockets outside their doors, for instance. This kind of situation is not longer allowed, and records are more closely guarded nowadays, and many hospitals now rely on records kept entirely on computers.

Ethical issues are a part of almost every field, but health care has a special place in the system, where people are trusted with making those who are sick feel better, those who are injured able to return to their prior lives, and those who have chronic conditions and those who love them more able to cope with the demands of living with those conditions.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about health care ethical issues, please visit Finding Quality Health Care for current articles and discussions.

What Does Medicare Cover?

As a person receiving benefits from Medicare, it is very important that you should know what Medicare includes in its coverage and what they don't in order for you to know what kind of medical treatment and services you need to share expenses with and how much.

There are basically two kinds of Medicare. The first is the Part A and the second is part B. What are covered in Medicare Part A are hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care, home health care, hospice care, and blood. However, you need to remember that the cost is only reduced. You will still need to share some of the expenses incurred while you or your spouse was being medically treated.

On the other hand, Medicare Part B is optional and that you will need to pay a monthly premium for it.

What are covered in Medicare Part B are other services that Medicare Part A does not cover. If you want additional healthcare services covered by your Medicare, such as the doctor's services, ambulatory services, durable medical equipments, outpatient mental health care, speech therapy, diagnostic tests, outpatient medical and surgical services and supplies, second and third surgical procedures, and outpatient occupational and physical therapy, then you may want to get covered with Medicare Part B.

These are some of the few things that are covered in Medicare Part B. You need to pay some of the services rendered under Medicare Part B and sometimes Medicare will be able to handle the entire expenses where you have to pay nothing at all.

These are the things that you have to remember about Medicare coverage. By knowing about the benefits of Medicare and what is being covered by it, you will be able to know what you will get when you need to go through medical treatment.

For More Information on Medicare Coverage Including Articles on How to Sign up for Prescription Drug Coverage, Visit the Medicare News Center Today at http://medicarenewsline.com/

Medical Professionals Rate Low in Customer Service

Another sore spot with me are lab results. Why is it that the medical profession insists our lab results read like that of a 20-year-old? Especially if you happen to be part of the baby boomer generation. My veins...my arteries are not 40 years younger. They are not supple anymore. Let's face it. They are hardening and it requires more effort to get things moving through them. That is one of the reasons why blood pressure climbs. It's a long way to travel to the brain and more pressure is required to get there. It is literally an "uphill" journey.

And what about cholesterol? After all, cholesterol is the "band-aid" required to patch up blood vessels that sustain nicks. This keeps the blood platelets from latching on and therefore causing a major "traffic jam" with the resultant build up that can lead to a blocked artery or vein resulting in a heart attack or stroke. If our cholesterol is supposed to be as low as the medical professionals have us believe, than there seems there wouldn't be enough "band-aids" to heal those nicks. It has been reported low cholesterol reading in the more mature years could be a sign of dementia or even Alzheimer's.

A trick of the trade is to divide your total cholesterol number by your HDL (the good cholesterol). I found out about this formula during one of my health screens. The comment was made, "You do have high cholesterol but we aren't worried because your HDL is high." Yes...it's high because I exercise and I watch that my simple carbohydrates are kept to a minimum. If the result is less than 5.0, you are not at risk of a heart attack. So...say your total cholesterol reading is 240 and your HDL is 60. After dividing the numbers, the result is 4.0. Now...your doctor will tell you that you will need to promptly start medications to lower that total cholesterol number. But you know good and well you are not at risk and you refuse the doctor's recommendation.

Another reading is blood sugar. Specifically fasting blood sugar. How reliable is that? Given the dawn phenomenon that usually happens in the middle of the night in which your blood sugars raise, preparing you for the start of the day, I would think the morning fasting is a bit skewed. And there are a lot of people who experience this. To top that off, one has to eat to stop those sugars from rising further. I firmly believe in the A1C readings done every three months. That seems to be more accurate in giving the reader the true picture of the way blood sugar is being used in the body.

Have I told you anything you already knew? I hope you, the reader, have at least begun to question any suggestions your doctor may give you regarding your health care. It is time we teach our family doctor that we are not a "paycheck" but people who rely on their expertise to help us reach an educated decision in our health care. We refuse to blindly accept their advice that makes us feel uncomfortable or there is no acceptable explanation forthcoming for this suggested treatment or that medicine to be taken, in our pursuit of a reasonable and healthy lifestyle.

Most of us have had to seek the advice of our family practitioner and when finished, wonder about the lack of customer service. That's right! Medical professionals need to brush up on their customer service skills when it comes to spacing appointments. How many of us wait, wait and then wait even more to see a doctor? Time is money and when we have to wait, we are wasting money. It is rare that you find a doctor who makes sure word gets back to their impatiently waiting patients that they are behind in appointments. Personally, I give the doctor a half hour and then reschedule my appointment, provided I am not too upset to do so. After all, we are the ones responsible for the lifestyle they have acquired and wish to maintain.

American Patients See Mexico As a Better Health Care Alternative

Plastic surgery in Mexico is getting a bit more organized. Due to the demand for lower plastic surgery cost and consumers still demanding savings for medical care, affordable plastic surgery in Mexico is again on the hype.

Two weeks ago, Grupo Angeles, the parent company of Mexico's largest private hospital group, Hospital Angeles, signed a contract with Health Travel Guides (HTG) to provide the technology infrastructure for managing its medical tourism operations. Another leading medical tourism agency, GoSculptura, now provides excellent but affordable plastic surgery packages in Mexico. GoSculptura now includes Mexico in its network of medical vacation destination and now has more than 500 satisfied patients and a 97% satisfaction rate. Other agencies such as Healthbase also chose the country to be part of its health care network and provide U.S. patients satisfactory plastic surgery in Mexico.

The overwhelming plastic surgery cost and the long wait to get medical treatment are two of the top reasons why American patients travel to other countries to receive medical and dental work. Whether a good new hip and a nice new face, you might have to dig deep into your wallet or wait several months before receiving the medical or dental care that you require. In 2006, more than 50,000 Americans go abroad to acquire affordable plastic surgery and dental work. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, year by year millions of patients from all places go to Mexico, Argentina, India, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Costa Rica. The reason - to evade the trauma of plastic surgery cost, to acquire affordable plastic surgery with less time to wait and experience inclusive vacation package and recuperation activities. These countries are top notch medical destination places where health care, medical facilities and surgeons are comparable and may exceed the quality of health care of the U.S.

As of now plastic surgery in Mexico is at the height of fame, thanks to medical tourism agencies. Mexico offers the same medical care quality as the U.S. but goes out with rock-bottom plastic surgery cost. Although the medical care in Mexico may not be as inexpensive as the ones in some Asian nations, the proximity to the U.S. is a big advantage to patients. Some U.S. companies are now sending employees to Mexico for their annual checkups. Some expert also find Mexico as a definite answer to treat the aging and under-insured Americans at a time when the retirement of baby boomers will further tax the U.S. health care system. An estimated 43 million Americans, about 15 percent of the population, are uninsured, according to a Census Bureau study.

The growth of medical tourism in Mexico and how the country will mature in terms of health care will determine the future of most American patients. According to Peter Maddox, Christus Health senior vice president for business, strategy and corporate development, "Our country will go broke unless we find a health care alternative". He sees Mexico as a wonderful alternative with incredible potential.

Paul D. Johnson is an analyst and one of the medical experts of GoSculptura, a medical tourism leader in the organization of packages for plastic surgery in Mexico. Patients will have the benefit to know information such as plastic surgery cost and inquiries on how to get affordable plastic surgery in Argentina by visiting the site - Gosculptura.com.

12 Reasons to Choose a Senior Planning Service

Not near your loved ones? Can't be there all the time to care for, support, and help? Concerned and fearful about their well being? No need to worry anymore....

That's now a Senior Planning Service's responsibility!!!!

1. Senior planning services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year so you don't need to be there.
2. If you think your family is difficult to deal with, believe me, they probably have met worse.
3. Next time your Dad calls and starts to drive you nuts you can tell him to call the senior planning service instead. Your mother can call when ever she wants and talk all about her lumbago, sciatica, or Mrs Sweeny's gallbladder surgery. Every situation is different; every life unique; A senior planning coordinator will customize their services to meet the needs of each individual client.
4. A senior planning service can be less expensive than roundtrip airfares. They will save you time, money and aggravation while providing respect and compassion for your loved ones. A senior planning service can be less expensive than roundtrip airfares.
5. Senior planning coordinators are conscientious and dedicated and will provide you with important information that will allow you the ability to choose which assisted living or nursing facility best fits your parents needs and personality.
6. Your parents can't push their buttons. Senior planning coordinators are trained professionals and have experience in managing different situations, plus your parents didn't know them when they were in diapers.
7. To Mom and Dad your still a kid and wet behind the ears. How can you possible know what's best for them? A senior planning coordinator will explain to them in a way that they will understand and accept, what you have been trying to advise them all along.
8. A senior planning service can accomplish in two hours what could possibly take you weeks to achieve.
9. A senior planning coordinator can tell your "know it all" annoying sibling that they really "don't know it all" without causing a major family feud. They can mediate between family members without causing any hurt feelings.
10. A senior planning coordinator knows how to help your folks get through the fear of spending their retirement savings, when they are in need of additional help.
11. A senior planning service will provides you with the stress free, ease of mind knowledge, that they will quickly check up on your parent when you're told "everything is ok" and you know better.
12. A senior planning service will ensure that you and your family feel comfortable with your decisions and the quality of care your loved ones will receive.

"If You Have Touched One Heart, Taught One Lesson, And Given Unselfishly Of Yourself... Then You Truly Have Lived." - Bev Rosen Katowitz

Senior Planning Services to Help Older Adults & Their Families
Golden Autumn for Seniors - Planning Services
http://www.goldenautumnforseniors.com

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Healthcare Plans That Can Bailout Your Medical Expenses

How many of us had to go through the embarrassing situation where you found your pocket empty when you had to pay to the cabbie. Later when realizing the real reason behind such embarrassment was that just before taking a cab you were with all due respect robbed by the multinational hospital for your medical expenses for which you weren't left with not even a single cent. The reason for burning a hole may differ but the reason for finding ourselves in soup remains the same- which is getting robbed by the expensive medical care. So is there any bailout plan which can show us light at the other end of the tunnel?

Actually there is good news for all those who cannot afford costly medical care. A new crop of healthcare companies have forayed into healthcare space in providing quality supplemental healthcare for an estimated 47 million working population who can ill afford these otherwise expensive medical care. These healthcare companies are a force to reckon with in healthcare space. By bringing more and more innovative healthcare products to the reach of the masses they are doing good to themselves and to the public at large. This intention can be witnessed by viewing at the product line of these healthcare companies lined up for offer. Medical care plans offered by these companies start as low as $19.95 to not more than $200 that line up to suit varying needs of the members.

The focus is mainly put on the customer service and in delivering customized medical care service as per members' requirements. Importance is also given to the relevancy factor since it stands as the deciding factor between the success for a newly launched product and it's falling apart. Sensibility lies in grabbing this opportunity and let us hope that Americans are no different in using the opportunity thrown at them.

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