Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2014

What Should You Consider When Choosing An Assisted Living?

There are many things to think about when choosing an assisted living facility. Your loved one has many needs that must be considered during this transition. In this video, Lori-Ann discusses the importance of starting the process by talking with your loved one to keep them involved. This will not only help make the move easier for them, but your other family members as well.

♦◊♦

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!

Posted on Monday, December 22, 2014

Talking Family Healthcare at the Holidays

The holidays are filled with friends, shopping, and being together with family you only get to see this time of year. And while your visit with parents and siblings should be about catching up, it’s also a good time to check in with your family about important healthcare topics. These conversations are often difficult but necessary.

Do all the members of your family have a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare? MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay provides easy and specific steps to complete before being admitted to a hospital.

A durable power of attorney for healthcare or patient advocate designation, is a legal document in which you name the person who will make medical decisions for you if you can’t yourself. This document is often included in your will or trust. That person, called a patient advocate, will only be able to make decisions for you in the event that you can’t communicate yourself. Your patient advocate can only make medical decisions. He or she won’t be able to make decisions about your finances unless you also give them that power in your will or trust. You can also give your patient advocate the power to donate your organs or your entire body upon your death.

Often, people do not like to talk about how they will handle their healthcare if they get sick or age. But finalizing these issues BEFORE you need to is the key. The holidays are a good time to discuss these issues since it is one of the rare times that many family members are together. Even if it’s only to get them on the family radar.

Do you know where Dad keeps his will or trust? Do you know what your Mom and Dad want done when they die? These are important topics to discuss with your family so there will be no surprises. Communication and preparation can avoid conflicts in the family and unnecessary expenses that arise when your family’s wishes are not known when they get sick or die.

So enjoy the holidays but also find some time to have the important discussions that are necessary to be prepared prior to an illness.

♦◊♦

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!

Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2014

Managing Your Health Remotely

Is your smartphone doubling as a health monitoring device? If it isn’t now, it will be in the future.

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.

♦◊♦

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!