Health Savings Accounts: Are Lawmakers Being Target-ed or Amazon-ed?
By NIRAN AL AGBA, MD
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow individuals to use pre-tax dollars to pay for high deductibles and other uncovered medical expenses. Currently, individuals are ineligible for tax-advantaged HSA contributions if they have “other” coverage in addition to a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP.) Expanding HSAs to fund out-of-pocket expenses for routine healthcare places control directly in the hands of patients, a move that could bring down health expenditures. Large corporations are wrestling for control to direct where patients spend their hard-earned money.
A group of lawmakers recently introduce...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 26, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
A Pre-death Rally or True Health Improvement: It ’s Difficult to Know
Dear Carol: My mom has had Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for 30 years and is nearing the end of her life. She lives in a nursing home and I visit daily. Mom’s been struggling to swallow and has been sick with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Sometimes she's even thought that my dad, who died two years ago, is with her. She was eating and drinking little and was anxious. Two days ago, the staff told me that this could be the beginning of the end, and the time for comfort care may be coming, but they wanted to try a different antibiotic, a sedative to calm her, and a small amount of morphine for pain before mak...
Source: Minding Our Elders - March 25, 2018 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Is Radiology Having Its #MeToo Moment?
In 2014, Katia Kaplan-List, MD, was doing her pediatric radiology rotation at Strong Memorial Hospital under the supervision of Johan Blickman, MD, then the vice chair of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) ’s Department of Imaging Sciences and a professor in pediatrics. That same year, Dr. Kaplan-List allegedly found herself in the trappings of a controlling and abusive situation with Dr. Blickman. Today, they’re both in midst of a high-profile lawsuit, in which Dr. Kaplan-List claims she was invi ted to Dr. Blickman’s house to work on a research project where she was later drugged and raped.Dr. Kaplan...
Source: radRounds - March 22, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
That Darned Foreskin
I was a practicing pediatrician before I did a residency in emergency medicine. One of the most common and sometimes most stressful decisions parents had to make in the neonatal nursery was whether to circumcise their newborn son. I have to admit that the hullabaloo about the foreskin has always intrigued me. The American Academy of Pediatrics has gone back and forth over the years on the topic of circumcision and its benefits, but the current evidence clearly establishes a benefit from this procedure (Pediatrics 2012;130[3]:e756) that is performed approximately 1.4 million times each year in the United States. (May...
Source: M2E Too! Mellick's Multimedia EduBlog - February 28, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
How to Cope With Your Emotions When Your Loved One Has Hallucinations
A hallucination occurs when a person sees, hears, feels, tastes, or smells something that isn ’t there.by Marie MarleyAlzheimer's Reading Room“Marie,” my life partner, Ed, shouted by phone from his memory care facility.“I was beaten by six aides today.”I gasped as though someone had just hit me in the solar plexus.He continued, his voice breaking,“They beat me and kicked me repeatedly.”How to Adapt the Caregiver Brain to Alzheimer's and DementiaIn a moment of sheer terror, I wondered if maybe someone had hit him. TV news stories of nursing home abuse flashed before my eyes and I felt nauseous.Subscribe to the...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 23, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers care alzheimers connect care of dementia patients coping with alzheimers dementia care emotion hallucinations Source Type: blogs
Study finds alcohol use the biggest risk factor for dementia
This study looked specifically at the effect of alcohol use disorders, and included people who had been diagnosed with mental and behavioural disorders or chronic diseases that were attributable to chronic harmful use of alcohol.Of the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia (before the age of 65), the majority (57%) were related to chronic heavy drinking.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading - This is a Free Service - Join NowLargest study of its kind finds alcohol use biggest risk factor for dementiaOf the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia (before the age of 65), t...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 23, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alcohol dementia alcohol disorder Alzheimers Dementia chocoholic abuse chronic alcohol abuse dementia care dementia risk early onset dementia Source Type: blogs
Three Pillars of Clinical Process Improvement and Control
The following is a guest blog post by Brita Hansen, MD, Chief Medical Officer at LogicStream Health.
In a value-based care environment, achieving quality and safety measures is a priority. Health systems must have the capabilities to measure a process following its initial implementation. The reality, however, is that traditional improvement methods are often plagued with lagging indicators that provide little (if any) insight into areas requiring corrective actions. Health systems have an opportunity to make a significant impact on patient care by focusing on three pillars of clinical process improvement and control: qual...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 21, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: Care Management System Health Care Healthcare Analytics Healthcare CIO HealthCare IT Brita Hansen LogicStream Health Source Type: blogs
Dr. Google: The top 10 health searches in 2017
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
Ever wonder what other people are wondering about? I know I do.
So, here are the top 10 health searches in Google for 2017. And just so you don’t have to look each one up, I’ve provided a brief answer. You’re welcome.
1. What causes hiccups?
I was surprised this one made it to the top 10 list of health searches. Maybe this search is common because hiccups are as mysterious as they are universal. I’ve written about hiccups before, but let’s just say the cause in any individual person is rarely known or knowable. Then again, the reason hiccups stop is also unknown.
Some triggers...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 21, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Source Type: blogs
CAREGIVER ALERT: The Connection Between Gum Disease and Alzheimer ’s Disease
A recent research study showed that the presence of gum disease was associated with a six-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline in dementia patients.By Rita Jablonski and Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer ’s Reading RoomBottom line: gum disease can hasten memory loss and hasten the progression of Alzheimer's disease.Most people know that keeping teeth and dentures clean makes the person with dementia feel good,but mouth care goes beyond “feeling” good.Healthy teeth and gums can keep the rest of the body healthy.About the Alzheimer's Reading RoomSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading - This is a Free Service - Join NowInade...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's and dental health alzheimer's and dentures alzheimers gum disease flossing and dementia oral hygiene and dementia Source Type: blogs
CAREGIVER ALERT: The Connection Between Gum Disease and Alzheimer's Disease
A recent research study showed that the presence of gum disease was associated with a six-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline in dementia patients.By Rita Jablonski and Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer ’s Reading RoomBottom line: gum disease can hasten memory loss and hasten the progression of Alzheimer's disease.Most people know that keeping teeth and dentures clean makes the person with dementia feel good,but mouth care goes beyond “feeling” good.Healthy teeth and gums can keep the rest of the body healthy.About the Alzheimer's Reading RoomSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading - This is a Free Service - Join NowInade...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's and dental health alzheimer's and dentures alzheimers gum disease flossing and dementia oral hygiene and dementia Source Type: blogs
Be ketotic . . . but only sometime
Achieving ketosis by engaging in a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat lifestyle is an effective means of losing weight, breaking insulin and leptin resistance, reversing type 2 diabetes and fatty liver, reducing blood pressure, reversing the inflammation of visceral fat, and may even cause partial or total remission of selected cancers.
So what’s the problem?
The problem comes when people remain ketotic for extended periods. We know with confidence that long-term ketosis poses substantial risk for health complications because thousands of children have followed ketogenic diets over the years as a means of suppressing in...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - February 2, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Undoctored Wheat Belly Lifestyle Source Type: blogs
Medgadget ’s Best Medical Technologies of 2017
We reported a surge in the use of augmented reality in healthcare at the end of 2016, with the trend continuing in 2017. Notably, Microsoft’s HoloLens was successfully used for spinal surgery applications by a surgical navigation company named Scopis. There are several advantages to this system including reduced radiation exposure of patients, improved screw placement accuracy, and decreased surgery times.
It has been an exciting year for healthcare with many advances in how diseases are diagnosed, treated, and cured. Medical devices are constantly becoming smaller, smarter, cheaper, more precise and user friendly...
Source: Medgadget - December 26, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Exclusive Source Type: blogs
How An Undetected Urinary Tract Infection Can Kill an Alzheimer's Patient
Urinary tract infections can be the "bane" of our existence as caregivers of people living with dementia.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomUTIs are a cause of great distress. This happens to caregivers becauseurinary tract infection often go undetected even by doctors and physician assistants.Urinary tract infections in dementia patients don't always come with signs and symptoms.In dementia patients the signs and symptoms of a UTI are oftensilent.Persons living with dementia rarely tell us they have a UTI. Why? Because they don't know it.UTIs often cause dementia patients to become mean.Article -Death by Complications ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - December 18, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: care of dementia patients care of dementia patients at home dementia care elderly dementia care health help alzheimer's help with dementia care how to care urinary tract infection UTI Source Type: blogs
Bed Wetting, What Can I Do, The Answer
I sometimes hit pay dirt with this one, I might spare myself having to change the contour sheet and the underlying mattress pad.Alzheimer's Reading RoomOur reader Dacron20 asked under the article,Taking Care of Snootzie.Was wondering if anybody is having problems with their parent wetting the bed at night.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaOur Mom is urinating more frequently at night. We have had pull ups on her at night for awhile, but for the past 2 weeks she is urinating out of the pull ups and wetting the bed. Thanks.Read on for one of the best solutions to this problem I have ever read.Subscrib...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - December 7, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer bed wetting alzheimers health life news Urinary Incontinence UTI Source Type: blogs
Practicing Medicine While Black (Part II)
By KIP SULLIVAN
Managed care advocates see quality problems everywhere and resource shortages nowhere. If the Leapfrog Group, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or some other managed care advocate were in charge of explaining why a high school football team lost to the New England Patriots, their explanation would be “poor quality.”
If a man armed with a knife lost a fight to a man with a gun, ditto: “Poor quality.” And their solution would be more measurement of the “quality,” followed by punishment of the losers for getting low grades on the “quality” report card and rewards for the winners. The ob...
Source: The Health Care Blog - November 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized CMS Kip Sullivan value-based care Source Type: blogs
