6 Ways Your Next Hospital Visit May Bring Technology Changes

 

The continuing advances in technology serve to improve patient care and alleviate the work load of hospital workers. While some of these devices are in current use, others are in trial periods in facilities across the country.

 

Bloodless Medicine

Though regulations make transfusions relatively safe, patients may opt out of receiving blood products because of religious beliefs or concerns about safety. The innovation of bloodless medicine implements medication and technology that salvages, cleanses and extends blood volume without the need for supplementation with blood. The various techniques used in the process include minimally invasive surgery, coagulating lasers or electro-cautery instrumentation and volume extenders.

 

Remote Monitoring

In a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 10 percent of the Intensive Care Unit beds in the country now have advanced systems that provide continual monitoring of critically ill patients. The systems consist of two-way television monitors and video cameras maintained at an operations center via computer, which enables nurses and physicians to monitor and interact with patients, families and other staff members.

 

Paperless Hospitals

Medical facilities are continually moving closer to becoming paperless environments. Advancements in technology include hospital automation consisting of computerized systems that create electronic forms. The systems have the capability of handling a multitude of information that extends from administration through patient care. Department and file filters ensure limited access to qualified personnel and printing options easily create hard copy replications of any file.

 

SafeStep Testing

The cost and prevalence of hospital acquired infections prompted manufacturer Getinge to create the SafeStep testing unit. The portable, hand held device is about the size of a phone and detects the presence of adenosine triphosphate, commonly called ATP. When present, the enzyme indicates living organisms. Staff members swab the areas requiring testing and insert the swab into the unit. Within 15 seconds, the device displays the results.

 

Infection Fighting Robots

Patients hospitalized at the Loyola University Health System may see three-foot tall, cylinder shaped robots rolling up and down the corridors. Equipped to emit ultraviolet light rays, the medical center uses the robots in unoccupied patient rooms and surgical suites to eliminate MRSA and other possible pathogens.

 

Closed Hospital Gowns

A hospital in Detroit recently began supplying patients with new gowns that completely close in the back and consist of a thicker material that provides added warmth. The gowns have snaps in the front that make the garment adjustable in size. Easily put on or removed, the gowns also allow for IV lines and medical equipment accessibility when needed.

 

Every year, engineers create technology that serves medical needs. The technology utilized in today’s hospitals was once only the product of minds that created science fiction.

 

Categories: bloodless medicine, changes, hospital, Medical, nbsp, patient care, Patients, safestep testing, staff members, technology, visit

How To Provide Better Care To Your Patients And Enjoy Your Job More

 

 

People are getting more interested in the professional healthcare field because of decent pay, flexibility and traveling opportunities. However, it’s important that as a healthcare worker, you are taking extra steps to make your patients feel more comfortable. When patients are satisfied with their care, you can enjoy your job more.

 

Preferences of the patient

The majority of health care workers honestly believe they are doing what’s best for the patient while working. However, there is a distinction between assuming you know what is right for the patient and what the patient wants and feels is best. Patient-centered care progresses beyond good intentions to incorporate the patient’s preferences. Sometimes, there are many ways to approach a health concern, and in that case, it’s important to ask the patient how they would like to proceed. Other times, patients may prefer to try natural methods to treat a condition first. As long as it doesn’t put them in danger, it’s important to let the patient be involved in major decisions.

 

Asking questions

The best way to know what the patient’s preferences are is to ask. Ask the patient what you could do for them to make their experience better. Ask plenty of questions about his or her concerns. Healthcare workers may find it enjoyable to ask about their patient’s childhood and other exciting life experiences. Because patients may not always know how to best describe their concerns, your questions can help you understand what they need.

 

Become a great listener

It’ also greatly important to be an active listener. Your listening skills has a huge impact on your job effectiveness, and on the value of your relationships with others. Make a mindful effort to hear not only the words your patient is saying but, more importantly, try to comprehend the complete message being sent. Often times, patients don’t know how to correctly articulate the exact pains and problems they may be experiencing. Be mindful of subtle clues they may be giving you through talking about their daily routine.

 

Providing personal care

Providing good patient care includes their personal care. Ensuring they are bathed or showered daily will keep their personal hygiene in order. This may be a difficult task for some patients, who do not feel comfortable exposing their bodies to a health care worker. Just ensure the patient that you are a trained professional. This is something that many healthcare workers will experience in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. For other healthcare workers, psychological care may be what is needed, and referrals to other professionals or clinics may be what is needed to make sure their needs are met.

 

TouchCare technology

The office visit is only one part of helping your patients. TouchCare allows healthcare workers to stay connected with their patients via new technology. Since many people have smart phones, tablets and computers to stay connected, you too can be a part of their mobile life to provide better care.

 

Involvement in activities

A few of the best ways to provide better care to your patients is to get them involved in activities. Board games, bingo, bird watching, dancing, painting and walking are all good options to keep your patient active. You can assist them in joining a local recreation center. There are many fun activities available for people of all ages and capabilities, and staying active can greatly help most of your patients.

 

There are many ways to enjoy your job while offering your patient the professional care and support they need. Have fun with them and make them smile. It’s important to let them know that you care.

 

Categories: Better Care, job, Patients

System Support: How Health Clinics Need to Think About Training

 

Health clinics serve a cross-section of the local population and staff members of baby clinics, dental or even vision clinics need to be effectively trained for dealing with the public. While many clinic employees interact productively with their clients, added training will benefit both the clinic, and its patients. Take the time to offer more to your employees, and give them a leg up in their job.

 

Obtain a Consultant’s Evaluation

To better understand the type of training that can enhance a clinic’s work, it can be very helpful to have a professional consulting firm make a site visit and provide a comprehensive report with recommendations for training improvements. For example, Progressive Dental Marketing could provide useful feedback to a dental clinic to help with branding and dental office staff training.

 

Collect Patient Feedback

Patient comments help to reveal strengths and weaknesses within the clinic’s operations. Collection can be done in several ways. One is for clinic staff to informally ask questions while registering and examining patients and then record the feedback, anonymously if possible, for consideration. For example, if seven of fifteen patients seen in a day mention the examination rooms are chilly, that is something that can be checked and probably addressed with the aid of a space heater or air system update.

Another way to get patients’ opinions is through a survey that can be handed to the patient during checkout, or mailed a few days after a visit to the clinic. Ten questions or less would be optimal to avoid taxing the patient’s schedule and attention. Close-ended questions such as yes or no, or multiple choice, are easiest to answer. A blank area for comments is helpful, too. Providing a stamped, self-addressed envelope for returning the survey will facilitate patients’ compliance. Offering an incentive, if possible, often leads to more returned surveys. The incentive can be a discount on products or services at the next visit, for example. Feedback about issues like staff members’ friendliness, ability to answer questions, or explain procedures, and waiting time can all be useful for future training sessions.

 

Check out Other Clinics

This can be done online, or on-site with other clinics’ permission. Observing similar health clinics often leads to good ideas or innovations that can improve procedures or enhance a patient’s experience. Evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses against their and find ways to improve patients and employees experiences.

 

Browse Training Resources

Articles, books, and videos at medical supply shops may offer tips as simple as smiling frequently to relax patients, or decorating the clinic in certain psychologically-tested colors to heighten everyone’s mood. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and choose a path that will lead to a better experiences and a more effective clinic.

 

Training is critical for any health clinic’s success. Exploration and innovation can make big improvements in patient success and satisfaction. Don’t get stuck in a rut and find new ways to offer improvements to your own place.

 

Categories: clinic, feedback, Patients, Support, system, training

How To Help Patients Feel More Comfortable Talking About Serious Health Concerns

 

When you are in a caregiver position, it is important to facilitate clear communication with your patients. Whether you are discussing long-term care options, hospice care, or treatment plans, everyone must be open and honest. However, health issues are notoriously hard to deal with, and many patients find themselves struggling. How can you smooth things over and ensure good communication?

 

Be Honest

When you are in the care giving position, you are seen as someone with authority. It is important that you are upfront and honest. Be clear about what you know and don’t know, and let them know when they can expect answer. While there are good ways to communicate bad news, it’s important not to sugarcoat serious health problems or make it seem like it isn’t a big deal when it reality it is.

 

Do Not Overwhelm

Remember that people do not always need the most scientific names or the most technical descriptions. Sometimes, the best explanation is the simplest one. Be ready to explain what is going on in the most plain terms possible. This helps you stay on track with treatments.

 

Repeat As Necessary

Sometimes, patients dealing with serious health issues have lots of questions, and some of those questions are going to be the same ones over and over and over again. Be patient with them. They are scared, and sometimes they really do not understand. If they did not understand after you explained one way, try explaining again in a different way.

 

Explain Why It Is Important to Be Clear

So many people spend their lives dodging around the obvious and refusing to think about darker matters. When it comes to serious health concerns, they no longer have a choice. Be firm, but be very plain about what is going on and what the risks are. It is believed that informed patients will always do the best, no matter what their issues are.

 

Tell Them It Is Okay Not to Know

Sometimes, patients don’t know what is going in their own heads. They do not know why they are upset or afraid, they may be concerned that they do not know what is happening or what their treatment entails, and this in turn will make them very upset. It is okay for them not to know.

 

Remind Them That This Is Normal

While you should never state that someone has it worse, remind them that what they are going through is normal. Other people have gone through what they are going through. Suggest support groups that can help. Feeling as if they are not alone can be very helpful.

 

When you are providing care for people who are having serious issues, help them talk about what they are going through, and how they can move forward. Join a network with other health professionals to better benefit patients. Informational credit to Nueterra.

 

Categories: comfortable, Help, Patients, serious health concerns

Healthcare at Home: What Hospice Care Offers Patients

 

For people with an incurable, terminal disease and who are expected to have a life expectancy of six months or less, there is a compassionate treatment option known as hospice care. This type of treatment can take place in an out-of-home facility staffed with a team of medical professionals. It can also take place in the home, where the patient’s care is supervised by a medical team and sometimes performed by family members and friends. Hospice compassionate care focuses not on a cure, but on making a person’s final days as comfortable and bearable as possible. It also focuses on helping family and friends to deal with a loved one’s coming death.

 

The Medical Team

Anyone who is considering home hospice care should consult with the medical personnel or social workers in the area to set up a hospice team. This will generally include doctors, nurses, and various home health aides and therapists. These professionals not only care for the patient’s medical needs, but they become a source of support for family members going through a difficult time.

 

How Hospice Care Works

A hospice medical team will work with caregivers and patients to set up a plan that will care for the patient’s medical and comfort needs as well as the practical and emotional needs of family caregivers. Family members will be shown how to manage day-to-day care of the patient, such as feeding, bathing, and medications.

 

Costs of Hospice Care

Hospice care is often considered when cancer treatments no longer work and the patient is facing death from the disease. A doctor’s statement that the patient will live six months or less is required for this type of care to begin. It will continue, however, if the patient lives longer than expected. For those aged 65 and over who are covered by Medicare, an accepted Medicare-approved hospice program will cover the costs of this service. Costs include doctor and nursing visits, medications, homemaker services, and counseling for the family members.

 

For those who wish to spend the most time possible in the presence of friends and family–and in the comfort of home–hospice care may be just what they’re looking for. A specialist from Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care advises those considering hospice care to consult with a trusted medical professional about whether or not at-home care would be right for them. Certain conditions may require hospitalization, but for those able to stay at home with proper care, hospice services can be a great option.

 

Categories: healthcare, Home, Hospice, Patients

Shocking Treatment of Child Mental Health Patients

A shocking new report in the news this week has indicated that the mental wellness and wellbeing of child patients is being put at extreme risk due to lack of appropriate facilities. The report shows that an ever-increasing number of children under the age of 18 who are suffering from mental health problems are being sent for treatment in adult psychiatric wards.

 

For this to take place, many children are having to travel away from family and friends to units hundreds of miles across the country.

 

This problem has been highlighted before, and the Department of Health had previously promised that the practice would be stopped by 2010. It is well-known that young people should not be treated in adult psychiatric wards apart from in exceptional circumstances.

 

It is shocking, then, to find that the report this week states that the number of children under the age of 18 who are currently being treated in adult units runs into hundreds, and that the number is actually on the increase.

 

So far in the 2013 – 2014 period, data shows that 350 under 18s have been admitted to adult mental health wards. This compares starkly with 242 – the number of children who were treated in adult facilities just two years previously.

 

Narrowing down the group to under 16s, it was found that 12 children of this age were admitted to adult psychiatric wards in the past year, as opposed to just three in this age group a couple of years ago.

 

The health authorities contacted for the study also confirmed that children are being sent a long way for treatment. The data confirmed that 10 children were sent over 150 miles away to receive care. The furthest distance that a child was sent was from Sussex to Greater Manchester, a distance of 275 miles, as there were no beds available in facilities closer to home.

Categories: Adult, adult psychiatric, Child, Children, health, mental, Mental Health, nbsp, number, Patients, psychiatric wards

How Far Have We Come: The History of Depression Treatment

Even though depression has been affecting our wellbeing since prehistoric times, treatment for this mental health issue has, until fairly recently, been fairly basic and, well, rubbish. These days, with better diagnoses and less social stigma, more people than ever are taking care of their emotional wellness and seeking treatment. However, even this isn’t the rosy, sunshiney age for depression sufferers that we’ve been waiting for, as studies show that only 10% of depression patients are getting adequate treatment.

 

Hippocrates, the father of Western Medicine, was the first to describe depression (which he called melancholia). His 5^th century BC definition, which deemed depression to be a condition ‘in which sadness, anxiety, moral dejection, tendency to suicide, aversion to food, despondency, sleeplessness, irritability and listlessness is accompanied by prolonged fear,’ is pretty much the same definition that ended up in psychiatric manuals in the 1950s. Sure, Hippocrates attributed the condition to a build-up of black bile in the spleen, but other than that he was pretty much bang on the money.

 

However, Hippocrates wasn’t alone in his misdiagnosis of depression. During the Dark Ages, for example, wellness experts at the time believed that depression was a sign of God’s disfavour of you, and so, if you were depressed, you were labelled as a heretic or even a witch. This meant you were either imprisoned – which, I find, really does wonders for lifting the spirits – or you were executed. Apparently the Middle Age-definition of preventative medicine is killing someone before you kill yourself.

 

When the depression began to be recognised as a clinical condition during the Enlightenment, it paved the way for more humane treatments than, you know, imprisonment or death. Popular cures included ‘the bath of surprise,’ – in which you were submerged in scalding-hot or freezing-cold water to shock their mind ‘back into a normal state’ – and Dutch physician Dr. Hermann Boerhaave’s “gyrating chair” which was designed to achieve a similar effect, but really only served to knock some patients unconscious while causing others to ‘bleed from the mouth, ears and nose.’

 

It wasn’t until the 1780s that we put the “care” into depression care, when French physician Philippe Pinel took over the Bicêtre insane asylum and forbade the shackling of depressed patients in dungeons – what a guy. Many of Pinel’s patients got better under his regime of sunny rooms and exercise. 15 years later, German doctor Johann Reil first coined the term “psychiatry” and added “psychic” treatments such as massage, opium and flogging to his repertoire existing treatments, which included his own “cannon-fire” edition of the bath of surprise. Still, to get to the “talking cures” that we know today, you have to jump forward to the early 20th century, pioneered by Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and others.

 

However, crazy treatments didn’t stop with the 1900s; in 1938, a Portuguese doctor named Antonia Egas Moniz believed he could stop the recurrent thought patterns involved in certain psychoses by surgically separating the nerve fibres that connect your frontal and prefrontal cortex to the thalamus deep in your brain. This lobotomy was championed by American doctor Walter Freeman, the eventual co-founder and president of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology – and performer over 3,500 lobotomies – despite admitting that he was ‘uninterested in understanding what was happening in the brain.’ I think I’d rather have a bath of surprise!

 

Lobotomies went out of fashion with the increasing popularity of drugs in the 1950s, although certain chemicals have been used in the treatment of depression since the late 19th century. The 50s drugs were more than a tool to sedate patients; they were actually created to overcome mental illnesses. However, it wasn’t until 1987 that fluoxetine, better known as Prozac, became the first selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it remains one of the most widely prescribed drugs ever devised. Still, today many researchers are rethinking their entire approach to depression, and going back in time to agree with Philippe Pinel’s prescription: exercise and sunshine – at least it’s better than lobotomies and an execution.

Categories: depression, History of depression, modern day, nbsp, Patients, philippe pinel, treatment, Treatments

Botox or Faux-tox: 84% Don’t Know the What They’re Injecting

If you’re injecting chemicals into your face, you’d think that knowing exactly what those chemicals are would be high on your list of priorities. However, according to a new study, the majority of youth-seekers are now furrowing their brows – which can’t be good for wrinkles – as 84% of patients have no idea whether their line smoothing treatment is Botox or Faux-tox.

 

While 67% of those surveyed by Transform Cosmetic Surgery researchers claimed that they were aware of wrinkle-smoorthing toxin treatments, 84% had no idea which one had been administered to them. In fact, when this same group of individuals were asked which products they knew of, they were only able to name Botox. However, this isn’t even the most worrying outcome of the investigation, as the research also revealed that more than a third of practitioners failed to tell patients which brand they were receiving. Even the ones that did aren’t shining examples of anti-ageing wellness, as just 20% explained the differences between the products and gave patients sufficient knowledge to choose the right product for them.

 

The research – which is part of a Transform campaign to raise awareness about the specifics of such treatments – also showed, perhaps somewhat sadly, that 67% of people would think having treatment showed that their partner cared about their looks. And it’s not just women who want to turn back the clock; now 90% think line smoothing treatments are no longer just for the girls. In a similar vein, what other people think was a big factor involved in choosing a practitioner, with, worryingly, more than half of those who undergo line-smoothing treatments doing so based on a friend’s or colleague’s recommendation.

 

On the face of it – no pun intended – this seems like a good idea as you know exactly what you’re getting. However, this may end up perpetuating the cycle of ignorance. After all, if the provider misinformed or didn’t advise your friend, you were probably given the same (lack of) information. And if practitioners are indeed not giving the advice they should, it’s really no wonder that 40% of patients are being given this prescription-only medicine in a non-clinical environment, while 4% are buying toxins over the internet!

 

According to Patricia Dunion, Managing Director at Transform, ‘As part of our CLEAR Patient Charter and in support of current reviews into the regulation of cosmetic surgery, we were keen to raise awareness of misconceptions around line & wrinkle treatments. Patients need to be better educated and armed with information they need to make the choices that are right for them. The findings, while worrying, haven’t come as a surprise to us as we have long suspected a lack of understanding and knowledge; perhaps exacerbated by less than forthcoming information from some practitioners. We hope that in highlighting this, consumers who wish to undergo non-surgical treatment for lines and wrinkles will ask better questions of their practitioner, and themselves if they are seeing a great “deal”, or a lower than usual price. At Transform, treatment may cost a little more, but it’s always conducted in a clinical environment, by medical staff using household named products.’

 

Dr Hilary Jones, an independent member of Transform’s Clear Panel, commented, ‘Informed consent is vital for any medical procedure and cosmetic interventions such as anti-wrinkle injections are no exception. It is essential that each patient understands exactly which product is being injected into their body and whether the brand of botulinum toxin used meets stringent standards of quality efficacy and above all safety, and has an enduring and proven track record. If someone is offered Botox specifically for example that is exactly what they should be given and nothing else.’

Categories: botox, clinical environment, cosmetic surgery, faux tox, Injecting, line smoothing, nbsp, Patients, raise awareness, smoothing treatments, transform

Does Plastic Surgery Actually Make You More Attractive?

Is anti-ageing wellness the same as looking attractive? Not according to a new study, as researchers have found that even though facial plastic surgery may turn back the hands of time, it may not, alas, also boost your attractiveness.

 

For the study, which only involved 50 participants, the researchers showed the volunteers photos of 49 patients either before or after facial plastic surgery. The participants were asked to guess the age of each patient, as well as subjectively ranking their attractiveness. The results of the study revealed that while surgical intervention did indeed manage to shave a few years off the patients’ perceived ages, it did nothing to boost anyone’s overall level of attractiveness. According to study lead author Dr. Joshua Zimm, an attending surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Institute of North Shore-LIJ Health System in New York City, the issue here is that patients’ expectations don’t match up with how the surgery will actually affect their wellbeing.

 

‘When we’re doing this kind of surgery I’m telling patients that they’ll look fresher, more energetic and less tired, and we have some data in the literature that indicates you will look younger, as we found,’ Zimm notes. ‘But clearly I cannot say that they will look more attractive.’ However, Zimm is quick to point out that the findings are based on the work of just one surgeon – maybe the 49 patients should have gone to someone else! – and there are also limitations to the design of the study. ‘This is not the final word on the subject,’ Zimm assures. ‘But certainly I think you can take away from this that if you’re looking to have aesthetic facial surgery to look younger, we’ve shown that you will. Beyond that … it is not clear that everyone will definitely look more attractive.’

 

For the study, which was published in the online edition of the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, the team of researchers focused on certain clients at a Toronto private-practice facility. Between 2006 and 2010, all of the clients had either had a face lift, neck lift, upper or lower eyelid lift, or brow-lift, and they were all between the ages of 42 and 73 years old. The researchers took facial photos – in which makeup and jewellery were forbidden – both before and six-months after the surgery. The patients were also banned from having additional cosmetic procedures (such as Botox injections or laser skin resurfacing) between the before-and-after photo sessions. The raters only ever saw a pre-surgery or a post-surgery photo of a particular patient – never both.

 

Zimm asserts that the findings do not accurately portray how your friends and relatives might react to any surgery you might have, as they will have a very clear frame of reference for assessing both age and beauty. He adds that the researchers may have created a ‘kind of subconscious attractiveness bias’ by asking the raters to assess age and attractiveness at the same time. However, he comments, ‘At the end of the day the goal is to make people happy, so we have to know what’s possible in order to determine if any particular patient is someone I can help.’

 

However, Dr. Laurie Casas, a senior clinician educator at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, argues, ‘Certainly when I see a new patient I have to decide if what the patient is after is achievable or even realistic. And it’s a very complex process because the perception of beauty has to be evaluated by both the surgeon and the patient. The end game is that they want to look more attractive, but this study doesn’t get me anywhere with that process because it’s impossible to make any sense out of the data. It’s totally subjective, so the results have no meaning.’

Categories: Attractiveness, facial plastic, patient, Patients, plastic surgery, Research, study, surgery

Can Acupuncture Relieve Your Dysphasia? Study Says No

When your wellbeing is affected by head and neck cancer (HNC), dysphasia is a common adverse effect of chemoradiation therapy. Previous reports suggest that complementary wellness techniques, such as acupuncture, may help to provide some relief from dysphasia, but a new study has found this is not the case. The research, which was presented at the 10th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), found that active acupuncture provides no more of an improvement to your wellness than sham acupuncture, or a placebo.

 

The study was presented by lead author Weidong Lu, MB, PhD, MPH, an instructor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a staff acupuncturist at the Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston. Lu commented that while some improvements were shown, there wasn’t enough of an improvement for the results to be statistically significant. ‘Acupuncture is a safe intervention, and it is feasible for head and neck cancer patients,’ he said. ‘Improvements were observed in both arms of the study, and more studies are needed to establish the clinical benefit of acupuncture in head and neck cancer.’

 

The cohort involved 42 patients diagnosed with stage III or IV HNC who had no evidence of distant metastasis and who were receiving curative-intent chemoradiation. For the study, the patients were given 12 sessions of active or sham acupuncture. The sessions were undergone once a fortnight, starting, during and continuing until 20 weeks after chemoradiation. A total of 35 patients (83%) received at least eight sessions of acupuncture, and 28 (67%) received all 12. Lu noted that HNC patients might require more frequent or a longer duration of treatment in order for researchers to more thoroughly investigate the efficacy of acupuncture in this setting. He explained that the biweekly nature of the sessions ‘is among the weaknesses of the study,’ but the researchers needed to make this modification during the recruitment phase of the study because prospective participants ‘did not like needles.’ The researchers changed the timing so that participants would sign up for the study, but Lu asserted that ‘in the next phase, it should be once a week in order to get better results.’

 

According to Richard Lee, MD, assistant professor of general oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, even though the results of the study were negative, that is not to say that there wasn’t a benefit with acupuncture. Lee explained, ‘It may be the style of acupuncture — manual or electrostimulation — or the point selection. These different factors could modify response. It’s the same with medicines, even within one category; you can have different response rates with different medicines. With acupuncture, everyone is using different points and different techniques, so that can account for the differences that are seen in studies. It may very well be that for dysphasia, there is not a specific effect, but it requires more research to determine whether that really is the case.’

 

In randomised trials, sham acupuncture is used as a placebo, meaning that the researchers either insert the needles superficially or else they do not penetrate the skin. In theory, this means that the sham acupuncture should not achieve the same impact as active acupuncture, and so the wellness experts are speculating as to why patients who received sham acupuncture showed similar improvement. Lee surmised, ‘With acupuncture, there are “non-specific effects” or placebo effects. I suspect that part of that placebo response is related to the care and attention from the practitioner. That is why you get some response with sham acupuncture.’

Categories: active acupuncture, acupuncture, cancer, Dysphasia, neck cancer, Patients, Research, sham, sham acupuncture, study

What"s the Price Tag on Your Smile? Ways to Improve Your Teeth

There are plenty of reasons to fear a trip to the dentist. Most of these fears are irrational, but one of them is completely logical. That is the fear of over paying for good dental care. No one likes to spend money to sit in an uncomfortable chair and be prodded by a dentist, especially with the outrageous costs of treatment. However, there are ways to be frugal, even when it comes to medical aid.

 

Cash Discount

Some dentists offer cash discounts. Not everyone has the cash upfront to cover a dental bill, but if you do, you can probably save yourself some money in the long run. Credit card payments take time to fully process, and they can sometimes cause problems for the dental office. Because of this, many dentists appreciate cash payments and sometimes offer rewards for them. You can always talk to your dentist to see if he or she would be willing to practice such a method, if they do not already.

Strategic Appointments

It is possible to separate a major dental appointment into two smaller visits that land on the end of one coverage year and the beginning of another. This way you can avoid exceeding your coverage limit by only adding half of the cost of a major appointment to your current year. Many dentists are willing to work with patients in this way. However, most patients are unaware of this option.

Clinical Studies

Many clinics often ask patients to participate in studies, allowing them to get dental work done for free. If you need to get your wisdom teeth removed, but can’t foot the bill, you might try looking into one of these studies—you could get this procedure done for free! A Salt Lake City wisdom teeth research clinic has been able to offer patients in Utah free wisdom teeth removal—making it possible for them to have this necessary procedure done without breaking the bank.

Revolving Payment Plan

One way to deal with massive dental bills is to break them down into smaller payments that can be dealt with over time. Many dental offices are willing to set up a revolving payment plan that allows patients to pay a portion of the bill every week or month. There are usually no interest fees, and most dentists will be lenient with long time patients.

Preventative Care

The best way to save money on dental care is to avoid it altogether. This does not mean that you should let your teeth rot out of your head. Instead, try to take home dental care more seriously. Brushing twice a day is great, but flossing is the best preventative dental care there is. Most dental problems are related to gum health, so be sure to floss twice a day to keep your gums strong and healthy. This will save you money by preventing gum disease and other health problems.

 

Medical bills are one of the largest expenses nation wide. There is no harm in trying to find new and innovative ways to save money on your dental bill. The best way to do this is to simply talk with your dentist. If they care about their patients, then they will be willing to offer advise on how to best handle your medical bills.

Categories: appointments, care, cash, Dental, dental care, medical bills, money, Patients, revolving payment, save money, Smile, wisdom teeth

Warning: Stem Cell Transplants Could Damage Your Sex Life

A new study has shown that receiving bone marrow or blood stem cell transplants can damage the sexual wellness and wellbeing of cancer patients. This type of transplant is on the increase, as it is becoming a more and more effective way to treat patients who are suffering from various types of blood cancer such as lymphoma, myeloma and leukaemia. Researchers say that whilst this used to be a really risky procedure, the survival rates for those who undergo stem cell transplants are on the increase. There is now enough of a survival rate for people to start to look at what the quality of life is like for those who have undergone the treatment, and their sexual health is part of this.

 

Up until now, transplant teams will not have had to have a conversation with a potential patient about how the treatment could have an impact on their sexual wellness, even after they have recovered, but the recent research shows that this is very much a conversation that should be had. Doctors and patients will now have to talk about the realities of sexual dysfunction, and put patients in touch with specialists who may be able to help them deal with the problems that may occur.

 

The study looked at a group that included 152 men and 125 women who were an average of 48 years old, all of whom underwent stem cell transplant surgery between 2001 and 2005. The group was followed for a period of three years. Before the surgery, the men were asked if they were sexually active, and the percentage fell from 64 percent to 54 percent after the surgery. Interestingly, the women who were asked the same question revealed and increase in sexual activity, with the sexually active participants rising from 37 percent to 52 percent.

Categories: cell, cell transplants, Patients, percent, Sex, sexual, Sexual Wellness, sexually active, stem, Stem Cell

Could Brain Stents Support Stroke Patients?

A new study suggests that certain stroke patients could benefit from angioplasty and the placement of brain stents to open the arteries.The finding of this most recent study has a focus on ischemic strokes, which are attacks that occur when the blood flow to the brain is blocked, usually by a fatty deposit, leading to blood flow stopping in that area. In brain angioplasty, a balloon-tipped catheter is guided to the area of the blockage and then the balloon is inflated to re-open the blocked vessel. A stent, a mesh tube, is then inserted so that the vessel remains open and the balloon is deflated. In the study, 131 ischemic stroke patients in the Czech Republic were analysed, with an average age of 66. 75 percent of the patients were given a clot-busting drug whereas the rest were not eligible and were given nothing. Because of these limitations, many ischemic stroke patients had no treatments at all.

However, of the patients who received the clot-busting drug, 35 percent of them had a positive outcome within three months after their stroke. Among those patients in which the drug failed to re-open the artery, less than half underwent the brain angioplasty and stent replacement. The rest had no treatment at all. Among the patients who didn’t receive the drug, 31 went on to have an angioplasty and stenting, and 25 had no further treatment. There were favourable outcomes in 45 percent of those who had the stenting and angioplasty.

For patients with this type of blockage, who can’t receive the drug that could benefit them, re-opening the vessel with stents is considered far more beneficial than having no further therapy, according to researchers. Two experts in the US say that the usefuleness of this approach is still being debated, but it offers hope for those undergoing these problems. DR Keith Siller is the medical director for the Comprehensive Stroke Care Centre in NYU Langone Medical Centre, in New York City. He has claimed that although the Czech study clearly found a real benefit to patients who had an ischemic stroke, another trial which is referred to by the acronym SAMMPRIS concluded that patients with a recent stroke from long-standing blockages in the brain arteries had a worse outcome from angioplasty and stenting than those using normal medications, such as aspirin and statin when combined with aggressive risk-factor modification, such as diet and exercise.

 

However, Siller stated that the Czech trial used similar stents but focused on a different and less easily managed subset of patients, who were already kown to have the worst outcomes if their arteries remained blocked. He believes that these patients the angioplasty and stenting led to a far better clinical outcome and less hemorrhagic complications with results that were far superior to the patients in SAMMPRIS. Siller claims that the benefits for angioplasty and stenting could play an important role for worst-case patients, but there is still little proof in less urgent cases where the goal is simply to limit it happening again. Based on this study, the stenting process in the acute stroke setting could well be an option for patients who have contraindications for clot-busting drugs, according to DR Rafael Ortiz who is the director for the Centre fro Stroke and Neuro-Endovascular Surgery and Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Further studies and more in-depth information needs to take place in order to make final recommendations about the safety of the therapy in other patients.

Categories: blood flow, Brain, brain angioplasty, brain stents, busting drug, clot busting, ischemic stroke, new study, Patients, stroke, stroke patients, york city

The Rhythm of Life: New App Gives Bipolar Patients Balance

Researchers at Cornell have been awarded the prestigious $100,000 Heritage Open mHealth Challenge for their smartphone app designed to assist people whose mental health has been affected by bipolar disorder. Known as “MoodRhythm”, the app has been developed for iPhone and Android phones by a team led by Tanzeem Choudhury, associate professor of computing and information science, and postdoctoral fellow Mark Matthews. But what makes it so worthy of such an illustrious prize?

 

When your wellness is affected by bipolar disorder or manic depression, your mood can swing from extreme happiness and hyperactivity to complete depression. This takes its toll on your emotional well-being, and is associated with poor functional and clinical outcomes, high suicide rates and huge societal costs. This is where MoodRhythm comes in; giving you advice on how you can maintain a regular daily rhythm, and helping your doctor to monitor your progress, based on your personalised information.

 

The app uses the microphone, light sensors and accelerometer in your phone to monitor your sleep and social patterns, and also gives you the option of reporting your daily activities, food routines and mood. The combination of all this information enables your phone to determine the situations which have positive or negative outcomes. Although the phone listens to your conversations, you don’t need to worry about your privacy as it does not listen in on the content of speech. Rather, the technology notes variations in pitch, volume, speaking rate and other characteristics which indicate different emotional states.

 

Traditionally, patients have used paper diaries which are difficult to maintain, and so Choudhury collaborated with patients and clinicians to develop a more usable app. According to Choudhury, ‘It is one of the greatest challenges in health care to develop cutting-edge technology that not only meets clinical needs but that can be incorporated with ease into patients’ lives.’ So why choose rhythms?  ‘Rhythms guide our lives,’ Choudhury explains. ‘Our biological clocks tell us when we need to sleep, eat and wake. When these rhythms are interrupted or obstructed, it can be difficult for our bodies to get what they need to stay healthy and balanced.’

Categories: app, bipolar disorder, choudhury, Information, MoodRhythm, Patients, rhythms

Should All Patients Have To Pay For Routine Appointments?

Doctors now want patients to start paying a fee of up to £25 every time they want an appointment. The NHS is designed to protect the wellness and wellbeing of all UK residents but now doctors are keen that a fee should be charged for each appointment to discourage patients from making unnecessary appointments and wasting their time.

 

A new survey has indicated that a large percentage of doctors would support this move, although they would like to see exemptions for certain groups such as the elderly and those who are unemployed. This would bring Britain in line with other health care systems such as those in Scandinavia, Germany and France.

 

Ministers reacted to the study by insisting that the NHS would always be kept free to use, and that the government would not accept any move to introduce a fee system for GP appointments.

 

The survey was carried out of 440 GPs and published in Pulse trade magazine. It found that 51 percent of those surveyed would support the idea of charging some kind of small fee for each appointment, and just 36 percent of those surveyed actively opposed the idea.

 

A similar poll was conducted a while ago and this one found that just 34 percent supported the idea of introducing fees, which shows that doctors are becoming increasingly concerned about the amount of unnecessary appointments that are being made.

 

This increase could be due to the fact that doctors feel their workload has recently increased significantly due to the fact that they are now responsible for commissioning local health services as well as their usual treating of patients.

 

The introduction of the 111 phone line has caused major ructions in many areas of the NHS. Due to the extra burden that this has placed on doctors, they suggest that a small fee per appointment would help to prioritise the most urgent cases.

Categories: appointment, appointments, Doctors, nbsp, Patients, small fee, unnecessary appointments

Could Phone Apps Help to Improve Asthma Education and Care?

Apps are a good way to remind patients to get vaccines, and educate them on ways to self-manage their chronic asthma and allergies. This is according to researchers at the National Association of Paediatric Nurse Practitioners 2013 Annual Meeting, who believe that smartphone apps are becoming an increasingly viable solution to overcome gaps in traditional patient reminder systems, and a useful patient education tool.

The problem with traditional vaccine outreach reminder methods, such as telephone calls, mailed paper reminders, and in-person home visits, is that they are dependent on the reliability of your patient contact information. According to Jessica L. Peck, DNP, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, of Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, ‘Providers have expressed a need for alternative recall methods that are not so time, labour and financially intensive. With 194 US smart phone users projected by the year 2015, the opportunity to harness technology for this purpose is present.’

Kathy Chojnacki RN, MSN, CPNP-AC, and Jodi Shroba RN, MSN, CPNP, both of Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, cited another wellness benefit that apps provide; improving health literacy among patients with chronic asthma and allergies. They wrote in a poster session, ‘Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are become more cost effective and more readily available forms of electronic communication. The healthcare system is primed and ready to utilize these devices in clinical practice.’

For their poster, Chojnacki and Shroba assessed the overall benefits and limitations of several apps for allergy, asthma and rhinitis, as well as exploring opportunities for integrating mobile technology into clinical practice. The AshtmaMD app revealed several benefits to asthmatic wellness, providing methods that patients can use to reduce symptomatic days, asthma-related ER visits, rescue therapy use and need for inhaler use to provide symptom relief.

However, some of the apps used inaccurate or incomplete medical information from online sources, had a lack of wireless internet capabilities, reduced face-to-face interactions between providers and patients and were deemed to be too costly to implement in institution-wide systems. Yet, in spite of these concerns, the authors concluded ‘the increased use of smart phones and mobile devices provide the perfect climate for integration of applications into patient care.’

Could Phone Apps Help to Improve Asthma Education and Care?

Categories: Apps, Asthma, chronic asthma, clinical practice, Education, mobile devices, msn cpnp, patient, Patients, Reminders, rn msn

Can Dietary Changes Reduce Your Seasonal Allergies?

The onset of allergy symptoms during Spring can have you desperate to find a way to relieve symptoms, and guard your wellbeing against them. Seasonal allergies, also known as allergic rhinitis, have an extensive list of natural treatments, but how do you know if they work?

According to Dr Sezelle Gereau-Haddon, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Beth Israel Medical Centre’s Continuum Centre for Health and Healing in the Integrative Medicine Department, ‘Sometimes patients come in with wacky things — they get all kinds of things from the internet. But if they feel better, who knows if it’s the placebo versus a real cure? If the things that they’re on are things that aren’t potentially harmful to their liver or their kidneys or their stomach, I usually tolerate it.’

Dr Gereau-Haddon continues, ‘For example, patients routinely want to eliminate dairy. There’s not any clear evidence that eliminating dairy does anything for allergies or sinusitis complaints. But, empirically, when I see patients do it, some patients feel better. If a patient wants to try it, I certainly encourage them to try it.’ She adds, ‘Even patients who don’t have a known celiac disease or sensitivity to wheat specifically or a wheat allergy, sometimes if they eliminate gluten, you’ll see them land in a better place.’

Dr Roberta Lee, Integrative health practitioner at Beth Israel Medical Centre’s Continuum Centre for Health and Healing, comments that foods can definitely impact your response to an allergen, noting that you may have a harder time fighting off allergies ‘If you have saturated fats in your diet, if you’re a steak eater, if you’re a junk food eater, if you’re a fried food eater, if you’re a high cheese eater.’ This is because your body isn’t getting the vitamins it needs to stay healthy and allergy free, and junk foods also cause inflammation in your nose and throat.

If you want a natural remedy to eliminate your allergy symptoms, Richard Mandelbaum, clinical herbalist of the ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism, recommends taking stinging nettles, whether in capsule form, as a tincture or in its completely unprocessed form. ‘Nettles have some natural antihistamine activity and can be very helpful in reducing the severity of the symptoms that one is experiencing,’ he says.

Can Dietary Changes Reduce Your Seasonal Allergies?

Categories: Allergy Symptoms, beth israel, continuum centre, Diet Changes, food eater, gereau haddon, israel medical, medical centre, Natural Methods, Nettles, Patients, seasonal allergies

Fashion Student Designs Bag for Parkinson’s Patients

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a disorder of the central nervous system that seriously affects your motor movement wellness. After seeing her father battle with the disease for years, 21-year-old Vidhi Bhargav, a final year student of fashion communication at Symbiosis Institute of Design, didn’t think twice when it came to her subject for her final year project; a user-friendly bag for those whose wellbeing is affected by PD.

Vidhi deliberated for days and met neurologists and social workers, besides building on her own life’s experiences with her father, before creating a ‘miniature sling bag’ designed specially for Parkinson’s patients. She presented her bag, called the ‘Nazaria’ collection, last week to 80 patients at a special event organised by Parkinson’s Mitra Mandal at Kesari Wada in the city.

According to Vidhi, ‘The design, though simple, is very effective for Parkinson’s patients. PD is a problem when a person’s movements get affected. Their movements are slow and gait awkward. They may suddenly become stiff and need medicine to normalise. The bag I designed is a sling bag since PD patients require their hands to be free to hold on for support as they might stumble due to their gait.’

The material of the bag is extremely light and does not add burden or affect posture. Vidhi added, ‘The bag has compartments to hold a mobile, medicine and a bottle of water. In this miniature size, bags with these specially designed compartments are not available. But a patient may suddenly require medicine and water, which is important to have at all times. Also the bag has no buttons, but a velcro as once a patient gets stiff, he may have difficulty in dealing with buttons.’

Neurologist Dr Rajas Deshpande commented, ‘I was initially wondering what kind of ‘fashion’ product could help Parkinson’s patients, but this idea is fantastic and a much-needed product. The attention to details is good.’ Vidhi attributes the bag’s success to her father, whose resilience and grit in fighting PD was an inspiration. ‘I wanted this collection to be a tribute to my father, my hero and inspiration through the lessons I learnt from his life. I hope this small design input can help make lives a little easier for other patients,’ she said.

Fashion Student Designs Bag for Parkinson’s Patients

Categories: Bag, fashion, father, final year, parkinson, Parkinsons, Patients, sling bag, vidhi, year

Fashion Student Designs Bag for Parkinson’s Patients

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a disorder of the central nervous system that seriously affects your motor movement wellness. After seeing her father battle with the disease for years, 21-year-old Vidhi Bhargav, a final year student of fashion communication at Symbiosis Institute of Design, didn’t think twice when it came to her subject for her final year project; a user-friendly bag for those whose wellbeing is affected by PD.

Vidhi deliberated for days and met neurologists and social workers, besides building on her own life’s experiences with her father, before creating a ‘miniature sling bag’ designed specially for Parkinson’s patients. She presented her bag, called the ‘Nazaria’ collection, last week to 80 patients at a special event organised by Parkinson’s Mitra Mandal at Kesari Wada in the city.

According to Vidhi, ‘The design, though simple, is very effective for Parkinson’s patients. PD is a problem when a person’s movements get affected. Their movements are slow and gait awkward. They may suddenly become stiff and need medicine to normalise. The bag I designed is a sling bag since PD patients require their hands to be free to hold on for support as they might stumble due to their gait.’

The material of the bag is extremely light and does not add burden or affect posture. Vidhi added, ‘The bag has compartments to hold a mobile, medicine and a bottle of water. In this miniature size, bags with these specially designed compartments are not available. But a patient may suddenly require medicine and water, which is important to have at all times. Also the bag has no buttons, but a velcro as once a patient gets stiff, he may have difficulty in dealing with buttons.’

Neurologist Dr Rajas Deshpande commented, ‘I was initially wondering what kind of ‘fashion’ product could help Parkinson’s patients, but this idea is fantastic and a much-needed product. The attention to details is good.’ Vidhi attributes the bag’s success to her father, whose resilience and grit in fighting PD was an inspiration. ‘I wanted this collection to be a tribute to my father, my hero and inspiration through the lessons I learnt from his life. I hope this small design input can help make lives a little easier for other patients,’ she said.

Fashion Student Designs Bag for Parkinson’s Patients

Categories: Bag, fashion, father, final year, parkinson, Parkinsons, Patients, sling bag, vidhi, year

Why are Cancer Drugs Being Denied to Patients?

Beating cancer/">Bowel Cancer , which is a charity which provides support for people suffering with cancer/">bowel cancer, has written to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, warning him that patients who have terminal cancer/">bowel cancer will lose their life-enhancing drugs when the Cancer Drugs Fund comes to an end in 2014. The estimate from the charity points suggests that around 6,500 patients will be affected.

The question on everyone’s lips is: what happens to those who are already on the drug when the Fund comes to an end or indeed any of the other patients currently suffering with cancer on drugs currently being funded in this way? Worrying as it sounds, will there not be a cut-off day and then everyone is left without vital medication?

A combination of the end of the Cancer Drugs Fund and NICE’s worrying decisions will be adding to what is already a huge stress of living with cancer. On 21st March 2013, NICE published a draft guidance which stated that it would not be recommending the drug Everolimus for patients who have advanced cancer-female/">breast cancer.

Once again it seems that there are drugs which have been trialled and tested by patients but now those same patients will not have access to the medication.

NICE made this decision despite that fact that Professor Stephen Johnson from The Royal Marsden Hospital in London said in September 2012:

“The impact of the drug is so large that it is changing the natural history of the disease. Everolimus is, potentially, the most significant breakthrough for advanced breast cancer since the discovery of drugs that lower oestrogen level and has the potential to redefine the way this common form of advanced cancer-female/">breast cancer is treated”

Why are Cancer Drugs Being Denied to Patients?

Categories: advanced breast, Bowel Cancer, breast cancer, cancer, cancer drugs, drugs, drugs fund, fund, Patients