Helpful Health Care Links: January 8, 2015

Attractive young scientist pipetting.Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics — Measles making an appearance at Disneyland  and a court making a decision of whether a teen can deny medical treatment. We also include an article from The Washington Post about a new antibiotic discovered to potentially fight drug resistance. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

Mickey, Minnie And Measles For Nine Disneyland Tourists

Public health officials in California and Utah confirmed nine cases Wednesday, all of them visitors of either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim between December 15 and December 20.

New Class Of Antibiotic Found In Dirt Could Prove Resistant To Resistance

The new antibiotic could be used for decades against MRSA and some TB before they get wise.

Crittenton Hospital In Rochester To Be Sold

One of the area’s last independent hospitals, Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, could soon be sold to St. Louis-based Ascension Health.

Connecticut Teen With Curable Cancer Fights To Stop Chemo

A Connecticut court is set to weigh whether a 17-year-old girl with life-threatening cancer can refuse a treatment she views as “poison.”

Congressional Republicans Take Another Swing At ObamaCare

On Thursday, the House will debate, and likely pass, a bill that would make a change in Obamacare. It would raise the law’s definition of full-time work from 30 hours to 40 hours a week, reducing the number of workers to whom employers would have to offer health insurance.

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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.

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Are We Healthier With ObamaCare?

Happy group of friends, family with dog and cat jumping togetherMany people disagree over the positives and negatives of ObamaCare.

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.

HS-Book_Covers_OCaresmall

Available for download NOW!

You Own Your Medical Records: VIDEO

Did you know that you own your medical records? In this video, Lori-Ann explains what information you can get from your doctor and how to obtain access to your private medical chart.

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Healthcare has changed radically. Gone are the days when the only medical professional a patient saw was their trusted local doctor. HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Healthcare Privacy walks you through the practical steps you can take to safeguard your healthcare privacy as a patient.

Available for download NOW!