Health Information Center

The 2008 election has brought the topic of “affordable health care” and “affordable health insurance” to the forefront and, along with it, a slew of misconceptions. So, what is true and what is false? The purpose of the following article is to dispel some of these myths and misconceptions and provide information to make a muddy topic a bit clearer.

1. The first misconception is that, for some reason, Americans equate affordable health care to be “socialized medicine.”

This is not the case at all. According to Wiktionary, socialized medicine is “an umbrella term for any system of government-run health care.” Many people balk at the idea of socialized medicine because the citizens inevitably pick up the costs through higher taxes. Affordable health care, on the other hand, is as simple as the phrase states – it is health care with costs low enough for everyone to afford. The government does not necessarily oversee it and individuals are free to go to physicians of their choice. It is not discriminatory to those with lower incomes and services are equal whether one is poor or financially privileged.

Continue reading ‘Misconceptions About Affordable Health Care’ »

The quality and the cost of medical care depend more on you than on your doctor.
To become a wise medical consumer, start with three basic principles:

* Work in partnership with your doctor and health care team.
* Share in every medical decision.
* Become skilled at obtaining medical care.

By following these three principles, you will gain more control over the quality and cost of your health care than you have ever had before.

Work in Partnership With Your Doctor

Good partnerships are based on a common goal, shared effort, and good communication. If you and your doctor can make these things happen, you will both gain from the partnership. You will get better care and your doctor will practice good medicine.

Five Ways to Be a Good Partner

1. Take good care of yourself. Both you and your doctor would prefer that you don’t get sick in the first place. And if problems arise, you both want a return to good health as soon as possible.

2. At the first sign of a health problem, observe and record your symptoms. Your record of symptoms will help both you and your doctor make an accurate diagnosis. And the better job you do recording early symptoms, the better you and your doctor can manage the problem later.

- Keep written notes on the symptoms. Record when, how long, how painful, etc., for each symptom.

- Note anything unusual that might be related to the problem.

- Measure and record vital signs.

- Add regular updates and watch your progress. Are your symptoms getting better or worse? Continue reading ‘The Wise Medical Consumer: Work in Partnership With Your Doctor’ »

Health care is one of the most promising industries in the health and hospitability sector today. Health care relates to the prevention as well as to the treatment of illness. It also implies the overall mental and physical well being of individuals. A health care system refers to the organized functions which are involved in promoting the overall health of the country. The United Kingdom is the only industrialized country that does not offer health care universally. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom deals only with healthcare in the UK.

Overview of The Rising Health Care Sector

The health care industry is an industry that is considered to be one of the most budding among all other recent upcoming industries. Health care deals with delivering quality service towards improving the health of the people residing in a country. In recent years, the health care sector has been witnessing an upward surge. In a developed country, the health care industry contributes to 10% of the country’s gross national product. The professionally trained people serving the health care system ensure that all processes run smoothly.

Continue reading ‘Health Care: an Emerging Industry’ »

Though the recent campaign for presidency brought affordable health care into the limelight, many small business owners and their employees felt this struggle long before it gained public attention. One of President Obama’s campaign calling cards is his plan for affordable health care. Intertwined within the general theme of affordable health insurance was the more specific aid to assist small businesses in providing health care for their employees.

If California is any indication of the lack of affordable health care in small businesses created in the rest of the United States, there is a major problem. According to Small Businesses for Affordable Healthcare, out of all the businesses in California, more than three million employees are uninsured. Those who do have the luxury of health insurance provided by their small business employers have faced a rise in premium costs at over fifty percent. These grim numbers have made small businesses in California less than an ideal place to work.

Continue reading ‘Can Small Businesses Afford to Offer Their Employees Affordable Health Care?’ »

Funny thing pain, if you’ve never had a severe pain then the suggestion of taking simple analgesia and resting the affected area all seems quite reasonable. I was reminded of this when I read recently of a doctor’s advice to someone who was suffering from sciatica. Having personally experienced sciatica, it’s a condition I would not recommend to anyone who wishes to walk, sit, laugh, sleep, or to just simply pull up your trousers. It’s a bit like a dentist drilling your teeth without an anaesthetic, but it affects your whole leg. In other words the pain is consuming, exhausting and without respite. Clinical studies do show that in the majority of cases the pain will eventually subside and surgery may not be necessary, but in the meantime the patient has to deal with the pain or deal with the medication required to dull the pain. Remember, pain-killers are not selective to the area affected. They affect the whole of the nervous system and elsewhere so there may be significant side-effects from these medications.

Continue reading ‘Cooperating In Our Health Care’ »

There have been many modern advances in the world of health care, and research has unlocked many mysteries when it comes to medicine. One of the areas that has seen some advances is the treatment of substance abuse, where professionals are learning how best to treat individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol. But still today, the number of lives affected by drug abuse and alcoholism is increasing, and many people have turned to prescription opiate such as hydrocodone or oxycodone, and it really hasn’t gotten much easier to help those people get sober. It is still a long, hard process that often lasts a lifetime.

Drug detox, and particularly opiate detox, can be a very scary and difficult thing. The reality is that no matter what method they choose, drug addicts still have to go through it if they are going to be sober. A few modern techniques have been designed to make the process easier, however.

Continue reading ‘Modern Approaches to Opioid Detox’ »

Home health care helps seniors live independently for as long as possible, given the limits of their medical condition. It covers a wide range of services and can often delay the need for long-term nursing home care.

More specifically, home health care may include occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and even skilled nursing. It may involve helping the elderly with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Or it may include assistance with cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping jobs, and monitoring one’s daily regimen of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

At this point, it is important to understand the difference between home health care and home care services. Although they sound the same (and home health care may include some home care services), home health care is more medically oriented. While home care typically includes chore and housecleaning services, home health care usually involves helping seniors recover from an illness or injury. That is why the people who provide home health care are often licensed practical nurses, therapists, or home health aides. Most work for home health agencies, hospitals, or public health departments that are licensed by the state.

How Do I Make Sure That Home Health Care Is Quality Care?
As with any important purchase, it is always a good idea to talk with friends, neighbors, and your local area agency on aging to learn more about the home health care agencies in your community. Continue reading ‘Fact Sheets Home Health Care’ »

So what is the cancer industry worth? A study funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, estimated that the global cancer industry is worth $305 billion in 2009, with an estimated 12.9 million new cases of cancer. That’s equivalent to all the exports of Russia in 2009. It is estimated that the industry could be worth $638 billion by 2030.

There is a collusion that centers around the lobbying industry. Lobbying is the process by which representatives of corporations approach the policy makers in Washington to enact or change legislation to benefit their corporate profits. In return the government policy makers receive various forms of payments – either legal donations , promises of future benefits or illegal bribes (as has been shown by previous congressional scandals).

Former corporate health care executives, are often hired by the U.S. government as health care advisors to create national health care policies and after a few years they are rehired back by the same corporations to only repeat the cycle years later. Liz Fowler, of the Wellpoint health care corporation, is one such person that has rotated through two cycles, and each time she helps to formulate national health care policies that are beneficial to Wellpoint profits. Continue reading ‘Asbestos Mesothelioma – The Cancer Industry Is A Money Printing Machine. Do You Trust It?’ »

When a member of the family is beset by a critical illness, most of the people resort to home health care. When a loved one was hospitalized and had undergone intensive treatment, the patient may well choose to get better at home health care. Staying in the hospital for an extensive period of time has various benefits. The patient can be cautiously monitored by doctors and nurses, and in the event that an emergency will take place, these doctors and nurses most of the times are at bay. But ultimately, a prolonged stay in the hospital can be depressing not only for the patient but for the concerning people too.

After all, the hospital is a gloomy place to be measured a home; everywhere, patients are lying ill, several of them in grave circumstances with death just lingering by. The hospital is also an ominous place to recurrent as bacteria and viruses are lurking in every corner. So when a lingering illness befalls a family member, home health care is forever a better alternative. When the patient has eventually recovered from an illness, he or she may decide to stay at home to recuperate and be necessitated with home health care. Home health care programs are provided by numerous companies now as it is becoming an indispensable and lucrative sector of the health care industry. Continue reading ‘Tips on Home Health Care’ »

Health care is one of the most important components in your life. Disease or illness can really mean a down turn in your life. The biggest asset we can have in life therefore is health. Health care is normally defined as the management or treatment of any health problem through the services that might be offered by medical, nursing, dental or any other related service. When you talk about the care of health, you are talking of all goods and services that are produced to improve on your health. They may be curative, preventative or even palliative solutions. A system of health care is one that is organized to give health services to a population or a group of people.

Health care can be for an individual or for a large group of people depending on how the systems are organized. Importance of health care cannot be overemphasized. In society, people are worried about the kinds of systems there are, to deal with issues of health. In developed countries, their systems are designed to cater for all people; whether poor or rich. However, the systems are lacking in regard to flaws. In developing countries, people usually take care of health as an individual thing and, if you do not have enough money, you might not get access to quality care. There are so many disparities and, some systems in certain countries are becoming worse; not able to deal with demand of health. Health is not a cheap affair, you have to have a good system if you want it to work for you. Governments have the responsibility to create or formulate policies that will favor people in this regard. Good systems of health can be erected by the top most leadership of a state.

Continue reading ‘Importance of Good Health Care’ »