◊

Trying to figure out health insurance? Get my book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.

The post Why You Should Choose One Doctor to Manage Your Health Care appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Last month was Health Literacy Month, but at MyHealthSpin, my goal is to spread health literacy all year long by giving you the information you need to make the best, most informed decisions when it comes to your health and healthcare. Here are a few ways you can improve your health literacy in order to play a more active role in your health.

Listen
Being at the doctor can be overwhelming, especially if you’re facing scary news about your health. But, make sure you listen to everything the doctor has to say. Bring a pen and a pad of paper to write down everything. Or have a family member come with you to serve as a second pair of ears. That way you can remember what your doctor said after you return home.

Do your research
This doesn’t mean research your symptoms and self-diagnose. This means to do your research once you have seen a licensed healthcare professional. For example, if your doctor tells you you have high blood pressure, research what you can do to maintain it. It’s important to know everything you can about your health. 

Ask questions
Be sure you ask your doctor questions. Doctors are busy but they can still answer your questions. The more you know the more proactive you will be able to be when it comes to your health. 

Teach
Teach others the things you learn about health and healthcare. Not only does it reinforce it but it helps others to gain knowledge. 

To learn more about healthcare pick up my ebooks in Easy Healthcare: Set 3. This set includes three books to help you navigate your health care: Before You Get Sick, Your Hospital Stay, and free bonus What You Need First.

The post How To Improve Your Health Literacy appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

A new study has found a correlation between exercise and the brain. According to this research, exercise is not only good for the heart but also good for the mind. This study reveals that those who run, swim, or participate in other moderately active exercises have brains that look, on average, 10 years younger.

• Exercise Keeps Your Brain Young, Study Finds.

After investigation, Medicare has been found to be paying hospices nearly four times more than it should be for certain patients. Sometimes, hospices were found to be billing Medicare for a more expensive level of care than some patients needed.

• Medicare Is Often Overbilled by Hospices, and Pays Twice for Some Drugs.
• Hospices Inappropriately Billed Medicare $268 Million.

As of lately, patients are becoming more responsible for the cost of their own health care. However, recent research shows that the conversation doctors have with their patients highly impacts their cost of care, out-of-pocket expenses and also preventive care and testing. This research suggests that doctors should begin to have more conversations with their patients about health costs.

• Patients Miss Out On Savings When Doctors Fail To Talk About Costs.

Vision-related issues during pregnancy are not often talked about, however, these changes and eye issues can occur during pregnancy. There are a few indicators of these vision-related issues that can detect for you and your doctor potential complications for child birth.

• What Every Pregnant Woman Needs To Know About Her Eyes.

For more healthcare tips for you and your family, check out my latest offering in dealing with unexpected healthcare: When Life Happens: What to do about unexpected health concerns. This is a bit different than my other books. When Life Happens is a workbook filled with information, tips, and tricks for getting through accidents, difficult diagnoses, rehabilitation, and what to do with the kids through it all. But it also has activities to guide you through your situation. You can find it here.

Follow us for more health care news and tips daily on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

The post Helpful Healthcare Links: April 7, 2016 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.