Our helpful health care links

‘Uber for Nurses’: Chicago Startup Sends Healthcare to Your Home

The popularity of Uber is striking a rise in startup companies looking to provide on-demand services to a variety of fields. One such startup is Chicago-based Go2Nurse, an app that provides people in need with a healthcare professional on-demand.

The Extra Cost Of Extra Weight For Older Adults

Obese people are far more likely to become disabled as they age, and researchers say this burgeoning demographic will strain hospitals and nursing homes.

We hope we have helped you SPIN YOUR HEALTHCARE YOUR WAY!

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How do you make the right decision about moving yourself or a loved one into an Assisted Living Facility without being overwhelmed? How do you even begin talking about it? HealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to make the right choice.

Available for download, NOW!

The post Helpful Health Care Links: March 6, 2015 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Our helpful health care links

Healthcare Is Headed Down A New Road With New Rules In 2015

Here is the trend of the top ten trends shaping healthcare for 2015.

Government Health Care Website Quietly Sharing Personal Data

The government’s health insurance website is quietly sending consumers’ personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing.

House Approves Two Obamacare Tweaks Intended To Help Small Businesses

The House of Representatives has already approving two bills that would revise some of the legislation’s most controversial rules for business owners.

Michigan Health Insurance Sign-Ups Near 300,000

Nearly 300,000 Michiganians have signed up for health insurance through the federal government with just over three weeks remaining to enroll.

Hospitals’ Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties

What Medicare gives with one hand, it’s taking away with another. Most government quality bonuses to hospitals this year are being wiped out by penalties issued for other shortcomings.

The post Helpful Health Care Links: January 23, 2015 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

But it is important to know some basic facts:

We are healthier under ObamaCare.  

“Hospitals prevented nearly 15,000 deaths and 560,000 injuries by reducing additional illnesses and infections acquired in the hospital, preliminary data from the Health and Human Services. That would mean upward of $4 billion in overall health-spending savings between 2010 and 2012.

This decrease is partly due to the government’s program which penalizes hospitals for readmissions within 30 days of a hospital stay for the same problem.  The decrease is also due to the increase in reimbursement to hospitals for better quality under ObamaCare.  2,225 hospitals were hit with penalties for readmissions in 2013.  Article.

This data shows that if healthcare providers are rewarded for making  patients healthy – patients get healthier.

In the past, payment for health services was based on “fee for service.”  Thus, each time a patient gets a service, the healthcare provider gets paid.  There is no incentive to get the patient healthy.

The new model for payment rewards hospitals for making patients better and they will get paid more.  This doesn’t always work, but we are making progress.

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Are you looking to cut through all the noise and find out what ObamaCare really is, what it does, and, most importantly, what it means to you? HealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare” ebook guide leaves the politics behind and gives you a straightforward, timely rundown of the changes the law made and whether or not they impact YOU.

Available for download NOW!

The post Are We Healthier With ObamaCare? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

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How do you make the right decision about moving yourself or a loved one into an Assisted Living Facility without being overwhelmed? How do you even begin talking about it? MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to make the right choice.

Available for download NOW!

The post What Should You Consider When Choosing An Assisted Living? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

If you’re a high risk patient, your doctor needs to know as much as possible about your health…if  you’re a diabetic, what your insulin levels are throughout the day or if you’re a heart patient, when your blood pressure rise and by how much.  But short of following you around with a clipboard, your doctor can’t know in real time when and how your health changes.

That is until now.

Doctors are currently testing personal data trackers for high-risk patients.  For example, an electrocardiogram is placed in the patient’s smartphone to monitor the patient’s heart as he or she goes about his or her day. That real-time data is then downloaded by the doctor who can then use it to determine the best treatment for the patient.

Information is a doctor’s best friend and these emerging technologies maximize the amount of information a doctor has to make the right decisions about your care  Right now, mobile apps, scales, and activity trackers gather all kinds of data that you can use to live a healthy life.  The next generation of devices will allow healthcare providers to to take that to the next level.

As with all new technology, a few hurdles will have to be overcome before these devices become commonplace:

1)  Patient Ability:  These next-generation devices will have to be “patient friendly.”  If it’s overly complicated or requires too much time or work on the part of the patient, the device won’t be successful.

2)  No FDA Approval:  Many of these new technologies are not approved by the FDA, which  monitors medical devices.

3)  Privacy:  There is always a concern that any device that utilizes the internet may not be secure and meet the necessary privacy standards.

These concerns among others are being addressed as the various technologies are being developed.  What’s more, you may soon be able to automatically download your health-monitoring data directly into your medical record at your doctor’s office.

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Want to avoid unnecessary grief and expense when you get sick? Then you need this essential guide to the business behind your healthcare decisions. MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Before You Get Sick” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to take charge of your healthcare options!

Available for download NOW!

The post Managing Your Health Remotely appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

A Warning on Nutmeg

During the holiday season, nutmeg is one of the most well-loved spices, but it has quite the twisted history. Toxicologists warn: measure your nutmeg carefully.

Illegal Immigrants Could Receive Social Security, Medicare Under Obama Action

Under President Obama’s new program to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, many of those affected will be eligible to receive Social Security, Medicare, and a wide array of other federal benefits.

FDA Menu Labels May Freak Restaurants into Swapping Fries for Fruit

The Food and Drug Administration unveiled long-awaited rules requiring restaurants, grocery deli counters, convenience stores, and other outlets with more than 20 locations to post calories counts on their menus.

Turning 21? Here’s How to Avoid a Big Hike in Health Insurance Premiums

For those insured through the federal health insurance marketplace that operates in about three dozen states, turning 21 could mean a whopping 58 percent jump in health insurance premiums in 2015 if you don’t take the steps outlined in this article.

Detroit Neurosurgeon Aria Sabit Arrested for Alleged Insurance Fraud

A Detroit-area neurosurgeon was arrested for allegedly defrauding federal and private health-insurance programs by billing for spine surgeries that he either didn’t perform or that were medically unnecessary.

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Although we’d all like to avoid it, it’s likely that most of us will at some point be admitted to the hospital. Whether you are staying in a hospital for a happy event, such as the birth of a child, or are being admitted due to an emergency or serious illness, you should understand how a hospital works. MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay reveals the easy and practical answers that only an insider knows.

Available for download NOW!

The post Helpful Health Care Links: November 29, 2014 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

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Are you looking to cut through all the noise and find out what ObamaCare really is, what it does, and, most importantly, what it means to you? MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare” ebook guide leaves the politics behind and gives you a straightforward, timely rundown of the changes the law made and whether or not they impact YOU.

Available for download NOW!

The post How Do You Gain Access To Your Loved One’s Medical Information?: VIDEO appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Many people are now using urgent care facilities instead of a primary care doctor.  If you’re one of them, think again.

Urgent care facilities seem to be popping up on every corner, and they can look like the perfect solution to a healthcare problem.  Urgent care centers are open after hours and on weekends.  For some, it could be cheaper and faster to go to an urgent care rather than an emergency room.  And people with high insurance deductibles believe it’s less expensive to go to an urgent care.  So, why not take advantage of these conveniences?

First, none of the healthcare providers at the urgent care facility will know you or your loved one.  The urgent care facility will not have your health history nor your family history.  The purpose of urgent care is to treat a problem quickly and get you “in and out.”  It is similar to a drive-thru fast food restaurant.  When you want great, healthy food prepared by a talented chef, do you go to the drive-thru for something that was made in 3 minutes?  No.  Isn’t your healthcare more important than picking up a quick burger to eat on the run?

When handling your healthcare, you need a physician who knows you and your family’s health history.  A new doctor can always ask you questions and write down the answers;  however, if they are unlikely to ever see you again, are they going to take the time necessary to really assess what’s going on?  Your healthcare needs are often complex.  For example, you need to be careful about drug interactions so just getting a quick prescription isn’t always a good answer.  An urgent care center is set up for the quick fix, not complex problems.

Moonlighting staff. Additionally, many urgent care facilities are staffed by doctors who are moonlighting from their day jobs.  They might be very qualified; however, working at the urgent care is rarely their primary job.  Many times after a visit to urgent care, you don’t get better or you have questions the next day.  It’s very unlikely that you will be able to call the urgent care facility and talk to the doctor who saw you since he or she has returned to their day job.

Most people want great healthcare.  When you are sick is not the time to start with a doctor who does not know you.  Take charge of your healthcare:

1. Find a primary care doctor.
2. Know when your doctor’s office is open.   Don’t wait until 7 p.m. on Friday evening to decide you need to see a doctor.
3. Know when your doctor’s office has Saturday or late night hours.
4. Ask your doctor if he or she is affiliated with an “after hours” clinic that will have access to your or your loved ones’ medical records, if you must go to the doctor when your primary doctor’s office is closed.
5. Plan ahead when possible.  If you are feeling badly on Monday, call the doctor’s office before the office is closed for the weekend.

And most of all, establish a good relationship with a primary care doctor. It’s the best place to start to take charge of your healthcare.

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Want to avoid unnecessary grief and expense when you get sick? Then you need this essential guide to the business behind your healthcare decisions. MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Before You Get Sick” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to take charge of your healthcare options!

Available for download NOW!

The post Going to an Urgent Care Facility – Think Again! appeared first on MyHealthSpin.