The Rise in Prescription Drug Addictions

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Prescription drug abuse and addiction has drastically increased over the past decade. Whether children are getting into their parent’s supply and taking them without their knowledge, or elderly individuals are becoming too dependent on painkillers; this seemingly growing epidemic is becoming more prevalent. There are a number of different reasons that prescription drug abuse is on the rise, below is a list of some of the more obvious and important factors pertaining to this problem.

Doctors Over Prescribing Medication

One of the largest issues regarding the rise in prescription drug abuse is the fact that doctors are seemingly over prescribing these medications, particularly painkillers. Individuals go in complaining about pain, and due to the fact it is a subjective feeling that the doctor cannot deny that the patient is feeling, they are prescribed something to help neutralize the pain; whether it exists or not.

Easy to Obtain

Another factor pertaining to the heavy use and abuse of prescription drugs is the fact they are so easy to come by. An addict can easily log online to locate an overseas resource that sells specific prescription drugs they might be looking for. Additionally, more times than not, elderly individuals have a prescription for painkillers in one form or another, and can easily provide them to family members who appear to need them but are really feeding an addiction.

Bad Economic Factors

Last but not least, economic factors play a heavy role in the increase of prescription drug abuse. This concept revolves more so around individuals with prescription drug access, actually dealing their supply to make a little money on the side.

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Healthcare Careers on the Rise

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A British nurse in 2006.

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With the extreme economic difficulties rocking the United States, there are many careers and industries that have lost many job opportunities and a decrease in growth over the years. Industries such as the automotive industry and general manufacturing positions have dropped drastically due to the fact that companies are opting to save money in these tough times by outsourcing overseas.

However, the healthcare industry has remained strong, and has even experienced growth. In annual studies pertaining to projected job growth for specific industries, healthcare ranks at the top along with various specialized information technology careers. There are a number of different reasons as to why healthcare continues to grow. Below are a couple of factors that help set healthcare apart.

People Will Always Need Healthcare

One of the most obvious factors pertaining to why healthcare careers are seemingly unaffected by the turbulent economy is due to the fact that regardless of financial problems, individuals will always need healthcare. People do not neglect going to the emergency room or hospital solely because the economy is bad. As such, hospitals and other facilities are always operational and always filled to the brim with patients, providing a consistently thriving need for staff and a safe job outlook for employees.

A Peak in Interest

In addition to the job security revolving around healthcare positions, there has also been a great deal of emphasis placed towards the demand for healthcare jobs. This has shed positive light on careers such as nursing, and has resulted in a great deal of individuals entering training programs, shedding a positive outlook on job growth over the next few years.

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Saving Money On Health Insurance

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

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Health insurance rates are higher than ever and you have to do what you can to pay as little as possible. Insurance companies cite higher costs as a reason to raise rates and premiums and pass the costs on to you. It doesn’t all seem to even out however. CEOs and other top executives are getting higher salaries and bigger bonuses at large healthcare companies while middle income families feel the pinch. Here are a couple ideas to save you money on healthcare costs going forward.

1.) Avoid the emergency room if at all possible- There are just not very many plans that cover emergency room visits anymore. Indeed, if you visit an emergency room you are probably looking at $150 out of pocket. By all means if you break your arm or are in some form of excruciating pain, you should go to the emergency room. But if you are going for an injury that could be checked out in a day or two, you are much better off making an appointment with your primary care doctor and just paying the $20 co-pay.

2.) Get your employer to pay as much as possible. Often times in a marriage the wife will jump on the husbands health insurance and not think twice. However, if a wife works for a school system or has a government job, it’s highly likely that she could have the better insurance. The key is to look over both insurance plans carefully and see which family member has the best insurance.

Shopping for insurance is tedious but necessary for the best interests of your wallet and your health.

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A Summary of the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Health care practitioners are busy people. The most recent USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans clocks in at about 100 pages, which not all clinicians may have the time to absorb. Though they only differ slightly from prior guidelines, here is a shorter rundown of the document, which is important to know about as the Guidelines do influence how dieticians and classroom teachers will present nutrition information to the public for the next 5 years.

  • Limit the calories you take in each day and be sure to get regular physical activity: More Americans are obese than ever, which is leading to concerns that cases of diabetes and other malnutrition-related chronic diseases are overloading our health care system and lowering the quality of life for a large number of people. All of the guidelines relate to more specific information related to these two points.
    • Cut back on added sugars: Refined sugars (as opposed to fruit sugars) are a major source of extra calories in the American diet. Take less soda, energy drinks, fruit drinks, and desserts for a better-balanced diet.
    • Cut sources of saturated fat: Eat less red meat and choose leaner options such as poultry and fish. Choose reduced-fat dairy products when you consume yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and milk.
    • Reduce your sodium intake. Most dietary sodium in the American diet comes from processed foods and restaurant meals, so eat fresh foods and prepare your own meals the majority of the time, especially if you have high blood pressure.
    • The food environment influences weight, such as the availability of fresh produce and places to exercise. Advocacy efforts are needed to change places where healthy habits are harder to practice.
    • For more, see each chapter’s Key Recommendations.
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Nursing Homes are a Tough Choice

November 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Christian Nursing Home
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There are many patients who fight the idea of nursing homes as an option for continued care. These patients do not want to admit that they need the help and should not be on their own any longer. Many family members have difficulty agreeing that their parent or other family member should start living at a nursing home. While the decision is a difficult one, it is one that must be made for many people. This option relieves some of the pressure from the other family members who would otherwise need to care for the day to day needs of the elderly family member.

Choosing to move a family member into a nursing home is not something that should be done without great thought and some research. There are many facilities to choose from and picking the right one from the start will avoid individual issues later in the game. While researching, create a list of possible facilities. It is a good idea to visit a few of the top nursing homes on the list and see how things are done. This will provide a good idea of what can be expected for their loved ones. It will also let the prospective nursing home patient get a feel for the facility before the move.

A nursing home is often the best choice for individuals needing continued care. The facility is equipped to give the individual round-the-clock care. This means that if anything should happen in the middle of the night the patient will not be waiting for paramedics to come and rush them to the hospital. Staff will be readily available to deal with any emergency that may occur and the equipment they need to do so will be easily available to them. This could be the difference in saving a patient’s life and missing an opportunity.

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Financial Assistance From Hospitals

November 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If you have a medical emergency, the last thing you will probably be thinking about is finances. Hospital visits can be extremely expensive, whether you have insurance or not. A visit that does not result in long procedures, medications, or other issues, can end up with over $600 in bills. If you end up having to have some sort of procedure, extra exams, or more, this price can skyrocket into the thousands, quickly. Unfortunately, many people decide not to go to the hospital when they should, simply because of the financial problems that they may face.

If finances are a concern for you, but you need medical attention, go to the hospital. They will generally work with you on payments for your visit. Most hospitals in the United States also have programs to help low income families defer some of the cost of the visit. If you do have insurance, you will generally only need to worry about the copay, and even that can be taken care of later in most cases. No matter your financial situation, make sure that you are taken care of correctly.

When you get to the hospital and are checking in, you will be asked about your insurance. If you do not have insurance, you may be asked if you feel you will need financial assistance. Do not feel embarrassed if you do; hospital visits are expensive, and those working in hospitals understand this. You may receive paperwork at that time, or later after your visit, to fill out showing that you need the assistance. You will also generally be able to set up payment plans after your visit by calling the hospital’s business office or financial office.

No matter what your financial situation is like, everyone needs medical attention. Do not neglect your own health, or that of a family member, because you are afraid you will not be able to meet the financial obligations associated. Hospitals are here to help!

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Facts About Heart Attacks

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Heart attacks are very common in the United States. Nearly one million people in the US have a heart attack each year. Approximately one fourth of them die due to the heart attack. So, what exactly is considered a heart attack? A heart attack is when a blood clot blocks one of the coronary arteries, resulting in the death of some of the heart muscle. This results in severe chest pain and pressure. Irreversible death of that muscle happens within about half an hour of the initial blockage. The heart attack is generally “completed” at about six to eight hours. During those hours, if the blockage is not taken care of, muscle will continue to die.

Many people understand that chest pain and pressure can be a sign of a heart attack, though there are many other symptoms that can happen as well. These include shortness of breath, tooth or jaw pain, sweating, and heartburn. In about one quarter of all heart attacks, there are actually no symptoms at all. This is most common in patients who have diabetes.

High blood pressure, family history of heart disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes are all medical issues that can be risk factors for heart attacks. Smoking and other tobacco use can increase the risk as well. It has also been shown that men have a higher risk of heart attack than women, though this difference is lessened as age increases.

If you have a family history of heart disease or heart attacks, a personal history, or the risk factors mentioned above, making sure that you have regular check ups with your doctor is extremely important. Keeping your diet healthy, and exercising on a regular basis can help keep the risk lowered, as well. Making strides to keep yourself healthy is important, no matter what your are currently at risk for.

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A New Era for Medical Personnel

October 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hospital personnel are stepping into a new era reflecting their diverse patient base and new technologies. Many hospitals are starting to go further than hiring language interpreters and translated paperwork to accommodate emigrants. New York’s Elmhurst Hospital is one of many across the nation that are choosing to implement practices meant to improve care for the wide range of patients flooding emergency rooms. Healthcare personnel are conversing with religious leaders, traveling to other countries, and sojourning to cultural centers to gain perspective on their diverse patients. The need for cultural understanding exists not only in immigrant-saturated areas like New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and California, where over 70 percent of the Hispanic population resides, but extends to even rural areas. In Storm Lake, Iowa, the area’s meatpacking facilities have brought Hispanics in by the droves searching for employment.

Hispanics are one of the most predominant immigrant populations in America. The United States holds fifth place ranking among larger Spanish-speaking countries. Earlier surges of Hispanic immigrants jumped the population to an estimated 35 million as indicated by the 2000 census and that was 10 years ago. Figuring a 55 percent jump that reflects the growth between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population could currently number over 54 million. Most Hispanics that immigrate to the United States previously lived in Latin American countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other Central and South American countries.

Another new position found at hospitals: scribes. Doctors are slowly making the arduous transition from paper charts to computerized records and scribes are helping them along. Computerized records will hopefully make doctors better at their jobs and help provide superior care to patients. Congress backed electronic records and has promised billions of dollars over the next decade to encourage doctors to use such records. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will be reduced by five percent for physicians who don’t use computerized records making a scribe’s job a valuable one.

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Americans Choosing the Emergency Room Instead of Primary Care

October 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Emergency rooms across the nation are jam packed with people. Why? The answer lies within the nation’s behavior during previous years. Patients seem to be flocking to the emergency room, rather than visiting their primary care physicians. Only 159 million out of 354 million acute care appointments are made with primary care physicians. Instead, patients are going directly to emergency rooms, specialists’ offices, or outpatient care facilities for new issues and incidents or flare-ups of chronic illnesses like asthma or diabetes. Basically, Americans are disregarding their primary care physicians and are treating emergency rooms like primary care more and more these days.

New evidence indicates that more than 25 percent of acute care visits in America are made at emergency rooms. Since America’s emergency facilities are seriously short-staffed and overwhelmed, this isn’t the greatest news, according to a recent article in Health Affairs. Less than five percent of physicians are emergency doctors, but they are handling nearly 30 percent of all acute care across the country. Over half of acute care visits involving uninsured and underinsured patients are managed by emergency docs.

Steven Pitts, MD, Emory School of Medicine’s associate professor of medicine and an Emory University Hospital physician stated that immediate access to care is critical, especially so for patients who are acutely ill. Over recent decades, the spotlight of primary care has shifted because of a rapidly growing elderly populace, chronic disease increase, and patients needing care from numerous physicians. Dropping reimbursement rates have pressured doctors to cram in as many patients as possible in 15-minute intervals resulting in limited time for acute care patients.
This evidence was gathered between 2001 through 2004, showing over one billion outpatient visits were made each year to physicians. Only 321 visits per 1,000 patients occurred each month. Over 350 million instances each year were for new issues or flare-ups from chronic conditions. Of all acute care visits 10 percent were handled by internists, 22 percent by primary care physicians, 13 percent by pediatricians, and 20 percent by specialists. The remaining 28 percent of visits were tended to in emergency rooms.

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Urgent Care and Retail Clinics Better for Minor Illnesses and Injuries

October 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
An estimated 14 percent of emergency room visits could have been treated elsewhere according to a recent study conducted by RAND Corporation, a non-profit research organization. Instead of running to the emergency room, minor health issues can be treated at retail medical clinics and urgent care centers. Choosing the latter would save nearly $4.5 billion each year. September’s Health Affairs contains findings concerning unnecessary emergency room visits for minor infections, cuts, fractures, and strains.

Robin Weinick, RAND’s senior social scientist, led the study that produced these findings. Emergency room traffic has increased dramatically and a large number of those patients could have been seen in different facilities. Weinick believes that urging patients to choose retail clinics and urgent care centers will result in less waiting time and smaller bills, as well as, decreased traffic in emergency rooms. Many Americans are using emergency rooms rather than their primary care physicians due to unavailable and timely appointments or because their physician offers little to no after-hours care. Solid evidence indicates that treating non-emergency health issues in the emergency room is much more costly to patients than visiting other treatment centers.

Retail medical clinics and urgent care centers have grown in number since 2000. Retail clinics are often located in pharmacies or other retail establishments. Patients are treated by nurse practitioners that can address conditions like strep throat or a bladder infection. Urgent care facilities have physicians on staff and offer extended hours and diagnostic tools such as x-rays and lab capabilities. Urgent care centers can treat more serious conditions like larger lacerations and minor fractures. Urgent care and retail clinics are open odd hours, can handle walk-in appointments, and are significantly less expensive than any emergency visit. Of the nearly 14 percent of emergency room cases that could have been treated in alternative centers, eight percent of cases occurred at times these types of centers are not open.

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