Posted on Monday, December 15, 2014

To Grandma’s House We Go: Getting Sick on the Road

As we celebrate the holidays, many of us are traveling to be with family and friends. With so many holiday activities, long care rides, and airplane trips, it’s easy to get tired, run down, and sick. Not to mention the fact that all those cousins and friends you don’t see very often can give the gift of germs as easily as they can fruit cake. So how should you handle getting sick on the road?

MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Before You Get Sick helps you figure out how to prepare prior to getting sick.

First, generally you don’t get sick in an instant. Most people are starting to feel sick prior to their travel date. BE PROACTIVE! Prior to leaving, assess how you are feeling and take action. Do you need to see your doctor? Do you need an antibiotic? Is your child getting an ear infection? Planning ahead is the best plan.

If you get sick on the road without warning, make sure you have your doctor’s contact information so you will be able to ask for help. Should you come home or go to a doctor in the city you are visiting? Make sure you don’t wait until Christmas Eve or New Year’s Day to call. Your doctor’s office won’t be open.

Of course, you should always have an established relationship with a primary care physician long before you travel. If you do not have a primary care physician – a family practitioner or internist – you should find one while you’re healthy. Preparation and planning can save you a lot of time and money. You may end up going to the local ER or urgent care simply because you had no other plan for getting sick while out of town. Getting sick can ruin your holiday so having a plan for handling most illnesses on the road can help.

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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!

Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Medical Life List: Part 2 VIDEO

We’ve talked about your Medical Life List and how that is a very important piece of all your medical healthcare information. You want to make sure you have that list with you at all times. You might also want to have a list for other members of your family or if you are caring for another person, like a senior. In this video, Lori-Ann talks about the reasons why we want to keep this information with us at all time.

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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!

Posted on Monday, December 1, 2014

BEWARE: Don’t Gift Away Your Health Privacy!

As the holidays approach, many people will consider buying their loved ones health trackers such as smart phone apps or devices such as Fitbits or Bodybuggs. While these items are wonderfully helpful in keeping track of your fitness progress, they may also be capturing your health information and selling it.

In MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Healthcare Privacy, we discuss what you can expect regarding how your medical information is managed. One of the subjects we talk about is that fact that health apps and devices don’t necessarily protect your health data.

Most health apps want your health information so they can sell it to advertisers. A recent study found that 10 health apps sold your health information to over 76 third party companies. This information often included your name, email, exercise habits, diagnosis searches, location, gender, etc. While sharing this information may not bother you, you want to make sure the information does not get used against you.

You may see privacy notices from these various companies that let you know that they are not selling your information now. This does not mean that they won’t sell it in the future. If you want your information to remain private, you should determine whether you can opt out of any sharing of your information in the future.

A bigger problem is how an insurance company might use this information. Insurance companies can buy the health data from these companies and use it to set your premiums for your health insurance. For example, if you are using a health app that assists you in stopping smoking, an insurance company may use the information collected in the health app to set your premium higher if you are struggling to quit smoking. Health insurance premiums for smokers can be 50 percent higher than non-smokers.

You should also be concerned if your health app captures a lot of personal information along with your location. Taking your health status and your location and selling it can cause a breach in your health privacy. Again, remember there are no HIPAA protections for you as a health app consumer.

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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. MyHealthSpin’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!