Author: Dominick Flarey

Healthcare Case Management: What Provisions are Missing from Your Healthcare Future?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

What Provisions are Missing from Your Healthcare Future?

There will be several changes in the medical industry coming soon. The Affordable Care Act is impacting doctors, nurses, and patients with it’s new laws and rules. Many nurses are working fewer hours as a result, and providing quality medical care is becoming a challenge for some. Fortunately, hospitals and clinics will always need nurses and there are many improvements coming along with these changes. Patients should be concerned about their health care plans and what is included in them. A quality health care plan will have the following provisions.

Home Health Care Worker

Many people receive health care services outside of a medical setting, especially as they get older. Home health care workers provide services to people who are temporarily and permanently disabled. A home health care nurse can assist patients with their daily tasks and can also give the patient’s family detailed care instructions. It is always a good idea to include provisions for a home nurse or assistant. Check out programs like United Energy Workers Healthcare for more information on what you may qualify for.

Mental Health Care Services

Some people need mental health care services in their healthcare plan. Before you purchase a health care plan, you should make sure the plan offers coverage for certain mental health care services if this is an issue for you. The plan should offer coverage for inpatient and outpatient treatment centers. Some insurance policies have a separate deductible for mental health care services as well. You should choose a plan that has an affordable deductible for mental health care services.

Chiropractic and Acupuncture Coverage

Some insurance plans do not cover chiropractic and acupuncture services. If you deal with chronic pain, make sure you have services on hand or that are provided for in some way. Some people think that these benefits are not a necessity, but if you ever have a serious injury, you may need chiropractic or acupuncture services and they can be covered.

Pre-existing Conditions Coverage

All medical plans should cover pre-existing conditions. In the past, insurance companies would not insure people who had a pre-existing medical condition. The affordable care act does not allow discrimination based on a person’s current health status. You should make sure that the insurance policy does not permit exclusions based on pre-existing medical conditions.

Preventative Health Care Services

Your plan should offer affordable preventative health care services. Most doctors want to treat a serious medical condition in the early stages of the disease. If your plan has reasonably priced preventative health care services, you can visit your primary care doctor whenever you have a medical problem.

New changes are becoming effective every year, and the changes are impacting individuals and large companies. Your insurance policy is an important purchase. If you have any questions about your policy, you should contact the company for clarification.

 

Please also review our healthcare case management program

Restless Nights: How Your Sleep Apnea Affects Your Overall Health

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

There are many things that can impact your sleep from your position throughout the night to whether you sleep a full 8 hours. Sleep apnea has an impact on more than sleep patterns, though. It actually can have a very negative affect on your health. The following ways are just a few examples of that.

High Blood Pressure

Sleep apnea causes a person to wake continuously throughout the night, which results in less restorative sleep. Due to this, the body can become stressed and that causes blood pressure levels to become elevated. When you can’t breathe, the level of oxygen in the blood can drop, which is also a serious problem that impacts blood pressure.

Depression

Lack of sleep can create irritability, frustration and crankiness that can turn into depression in the long term. When a person never gets a good night’s sleep, it takes a toll on their mental health. They’re always fatigued and sleepy. This leads to a sense of unhappiness and an impact on their sense of well-being.

Heart Disease

The stress of not getting a full night’s sleep combined with low oxygen levels throughout the night can make it hard for the heart to work properly. It impacts how the blood flows through the arteries as well as the brain and heart. This sleeping disorder can put undue pressure on the circulatory system of the body as well as other problems with the heart and brain.

Dental Health

Part of sleep apnea can involve teeth grinding throughout the night. This can have a serious impact on a person’s dental health. It can lead to broken teeth, clenched jaw pain and pain when chewing. Mitcham Dental Clinic and other dentistry services can treat the results of sleep apnea as it impacts your dental health. You might even be able to get a night guard to help decrease the impact of grinding on your teeth.

Greater Risk of Sickness

A person with sleep apnea has a greater risk of becoming sick. This is because they’re not getting enough sleep, which causes the body to become tired and unable to effectively fight off germs. This leads to many colds as well as an overall sense of fatigue. Sleep is a restorative process, but when it’s not complete, it can lead to greater problems.

Sleep apnea may be a sleeping disorder, but it has a profound impact on every aspect of a person’s life as well as their overall health. People with sleep apnea are prone to more colds, circulatory issues, high blood pressure, diabetes and weight issues. It can have a serious impact on their dental health as well, which can often be surprising to sleep apnea sufferers. Seeing a doctor as well as a dentist is recommended.

 

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She graduated from the University of California-Sacramento with a degree in Journalism.

 

 

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Case Management Education: Medical Audits: What You Need To Know To Survive One

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

 

Introduction to medical audits and why they exist

Medical audits can help a medical practice objectively review its employees’ practices of diagnosis, billing, consumption of materials, and time usage. These are all components of quality medical care and profitable operations, and must be balanced for the good of the practice. It is possible to discover weaknesses in a medical practices procedures and care before that weakness is able to be discerned by actual patients or their care through the findings of a diligent medical audit.

Why medical audits are needed

To ensure profitability of a medical practice, the business must find a method of measuring performance of personnel, justifying monetary and time expenditures, and quantifying adherence to accepted standards of care to patients. An efficient way of keeping track of these dissimilar matters is by accurate charting procedures by all staff. That chart record establishes a course of treatment for each patient and forms a traceable medical record of a patient’s treatment history. EHR migration is becoming more popular in the medical field, and requires strict attention to detail. Moving records online makes it easier to store and access data for further treatment or audits. Being able to audit a medical office’s activities can provide a detailed history of the care given to a specific patient and the cost of that care. Those are vital facts for anyone coordinating the operations of a medical office.

 

What is covered; how to prepare, and how to benefit from an audit

Prior to beginning a medical audit, a medical office beginning such an audit should start with a vision of what is to be looked at, looked for, and what the results should represent. It is always important to be able to identify that a practice can migrate properly within the established standard for those records. It is also important to ascertain the level of quality to be achieved and how to reach that level if it is not reached at the time of the audit.

 

It is important to have a quality standard to aspire to when beginning an audit. That way, future goals can be set using the results of your medical audit to improve your operations and elevate your standard of care. By using the audit as record of how the medical practice is performing and serving its patients as well as its own business interests, a medical audit can serve as a quality control study to highlight the state of the practice. Future operations and practice decisions can result from studying the outcome of a medical audit and determining what the medical practice needs.

 

In conclusion, medical audits are something that can help your practice and the medical industry. Audits help you ensure that all physicians are following proper procedures for charting etc. With the digitization of most records, it’s not surprising that the medical industry is also following that trend. This can be good news as far as audits go, and storing medical records securely online can make them easier to organize and access for the future. Before beginning your audit, remember to have a vision of what you want your company to be like. Encourage employees that this is a great learning opportunity to help everyone become better and more efficient.

Emma is a freelance writing currently living in Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. To see more from Emma, say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2

 

 

Please also review our Case Management Education program to learn more

 

HEALTHCARE CERTIFICATIONS ARTICLE ON BIG DATA AND HEALTHCARE

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Good article about big date and healthcare.

The article, “Strong Opportunities for Big Data in Healthcare – Population Health Management, Clinical Decision Support and Real-World Data”, by Frost & Sullivan states,

“The healthcare industry is steadily realizing the value offered by Big Data solutions, particularly in “-omics” research and medical record mining. However, current investments are focused on serving immediate needs of the investing stakeholders, which often makes them siloed and incrementally beneficial, as opposed to a strategic organizational redesign of the data strategy that provides exponential returns on investment.”

To read the entire article, please click here

If you would like to learn more about AIHCP’s healthcare certifications then please review our programs

Bereavement Counseling Training Program Article on Grief and Introverts

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Great article on grief and introverts.  In helping people deal with grief it is helpful to know what type of person they are.  This will tell us a great deal about who they are and how they may react to grief.  Introverts have special needs.  Certified grief counselors need to know how to help them.

The article, “Introverts And Grief” by Mark Liebenow states,

“I am really screwed now. My wife Evelyn has just died, and she was the one person I would trust to help me with grief. I’m not likely to share my emotions with anyone else, yet I know that if I don’t, I am going to be in big trouble.”

To review the entire article, please click here

Please also review our bereavement counseling training program

Pet Loss Grief Counseling and Vet Help Article

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Good article how vets can help relieve the pain and sting of losing a beloved pet.  Pet loss grief counseling can help others overcome grief as well but its important to start with the vet and the initial loss.

The article, “Veterinarians can help ease the pain of losing a pet, says researcher”, by  Kate Bueckert states,

“Anyone who has had to put down a pet knows it can be a gut-wrenching experience.

Many veterinarian officers offer a support system to their clients – they work to give the grieving pet owner as much help as needed.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our pet loss grief counseling program to learn more and to see if the program matches your professional needs.

Certified Case Manager Article and Rising Health Care Prices

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Healthcare costs are out of control.  This article below looks at why the US cannot control these rising prices.

The article, “The truth about why the U.S. can’t control healthcare costs” by Ryan Gamlin states,

“A graphic making the rounds on social media has people talking—plots health spending per capita against the average life expectancy for two dozen countries. The chart has renewed the important conversation around why the United States’ experience is such an outlier, spending more than any other country by a wide margin, effectively proving the adage that “more is not better.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Case Management Program.  If you wish to become a certified Case Manager, then please review

What’s the Latest in Molecular Technology and Health Today?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Molecular scientists are making great strides in the medical industry. Just within the 20th century, researchers made several medical breakthroughs. We are still in the early years of the 21st century, but scientists have already made several important discoveries in molecular science here as well. Scientists are building applications that can detect chronic medical conditions, and their work has led to many new innovations in the health care industry. The improvements in pharmaceutical technology are benefiting millions of people already.

Molecular Tags and MRI Signals
A new class of molecular tags has recently been discovered. The tags can enhance MRI signals, and can create a detectable signal that lasts longer than an hour. Scientists hyperpolarized important molecules which then appeared brighter and had a stronger signal. This technology can be used on small molecules and amino acids. Researchers are still perfecting the technology and are planning to use the new concept as a general imaging tag.

Computer Models and Human Lung Tissue
Researchers are developing computer models that can observe human lung tissue and are trying to develop a drug that can fight tuberculosis. The computer models will be able to show researchers how a medication can move to the infection site. The new technology will also show scientists how drugs interact with different types of harmful pathogens. When the computer models are fully operational, scientists will have a better understanding of tuberculosis drug therapies.

Quantum Engineering and Teleportation Technology
Quantum engineering is being used in molecular science and scientists are improving the futuristic ideas of teleportation technology. Currently, researchers are working on quantum simulators and are aiming to make highly sensitive sensors. This way they can build a framework that can design and test quantum simulators. The technology will improve medical imaging at the cellular level.

Creating Nanoparticles and Improving Vaccines
For nearly a century, vaccines have curbed many serious illnesses. Scientists are always improving vaccines and a team of medical researchers are developing nanoparticle vaccines. The vaccines have surface molecules and can influence the immune system’s response to tumors. In the future, vaccines may be able to kill tumors with T-cells. When nanotechnology and molecular engineering are combined, the information can give scientists a better understanding of the lymphatic system. The new information will help scientists treat chronic medical conditions.

Bioanalytics and Living Cells
Currently, bioanalytic researchers are working on identifying the molecules that are present in all living cells. They are striving to break down the lipids, proteins, and the metabolites that regulate all bodily functions. The new information has already played an important role in ASEA supplements. The new technology characterizes and quantifies important molecules. What is ASEA? Products like these work with the body on a molecular level to improve cell production throughout all systems.

Foodborne Illnesses and Medical Technology
Foodborne illnesses are a serious concern and a widespread illness like these can devastate a population. Scientists have developed technology that can detect E. coli strains. The technology is less expensive than the current testing methods. A portion of meat is placed in a small box and the device makes several copies of the genes in the meat. When the researchers press a button, the results are available within one hour.

In the last few years, molecular science has paved the way for several new medical technologies. Molecular science will continue to be an important part of the healthcare and technology industries. New technologies will benefit people everywhere. The new pharmaceutical technologies will make medications more affordable and the technology will increase the shelf-life of drugs. Targeted drug therapy will deliver the medication to its destination with minimal adverse side effects. These are just a few examples of how molecular science is adapting and changing our lives for the better.

Please also review our healthcare certifications for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

 

Grief Counseling Program Article about Words to the Bereaved

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Sometimes the best words can hurt deeply when trying to help others.  This is why certified Grief Counselors need to know what to say to the bereaved.

Please also read the article, “3 Common Grief Sayings That Can Bring More Pain Than Comfort” by Rhone O’Neill states,

“If you have lost someone you love, you know that there are no guidelines or instructions on how to get through your grief.  You also know that people who try to support you will offer well known platitudes in an attempt to comfort you, but many of these comments do nothing more than confuse and hurt you.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Program to learn more.

Healthcare Case Management Article on Healthcare Issues

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

We talk so much about health care that we sometimes forget the most important thing, health itself.  This article goes into this issue deeper and explains somethings about healthcare and health.

The article, “The One Important Thing Missing From the Health Care Debate” by Jeffrey Pfeffer states,

“You may have seen the big news on health care: Aetna is going to stop offering individual health insurance policies on the health exchanges in 11 of the 15 states where it operates. Aetna AET -0.31% follows the lead of another large health insurer, United Health UNH -0.47% , which announced in April that it was withdrawing from almost all of the health insurance marketplaces where it operated.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our healthcare programs.  We offer a comprehensive healthcare case management program for qualified professionals.