Preventive Maintenance

In a time when so many people are uninsured, partially insured and tightening our budget belts, it is more difficult for many to justify spending money for a physician visit when you are not ill. The problem with this issue is many serious health conditions can be festering inside our bodies only to erupt at a later time. When they do eventually begin to manifest in an outward way, the conditions could already have done damage that may not be reversible. Of course, there will be additional expenses to deal with these abnormalities.

Current patterns of health care utilization indicate a trend of people not using the healthcare system due to the state of financial uncertainty as well as other potential reasons. What are the consequences of this behavior? For the remainder of this discussion, we are going to assume that the previous frequency of health care utilization was for needed services and not just using the system because it was there, someone else was paying or you had a little more confidence in your individual financial situation. This is a rather large assumption and it is just that…an assumption.

What are the potential consequences of not changing the oil in your car or not maintaining the integrity of the roof on your house? The answer is pretty obvious…more serious problems that must be addressed or you may not have a car to drive or a roof over your head. And of course, it will be much more expensive than if you had just had the oil changed. I am talking about simple and inexpensive monitoring of your vital functioning. You can probably obtain the necessary care at no cost or a nominal fee.

The following items should be monitored on a regular basis and if one or more of them starts to change in an unfavorable direction, implement measures to correct or control. You have the power to control your baseline health. At a minimum, you should be monitoring and performing preventive maintenance of the following:
· Blood Pressure
· Cholesterol
· Blood Sugar
· Heart rate
· Breathing patterns
· Skin integrity

Your response in an effort to balance the above measures is an entire discussion for each one. There is a wealth of information at your finger tips to assist you in your effort.

How do you obtain the necessary monitoring and care?
1. If you have health insurance, check your policy for provision of “Preventive Health”. Many policies will cover these services with very little or no out of pocket expenses.
2. If you can’t afford these services, here are some options:
a. Check your blood pressure at the local grocery store or discount department store. Many of these businesses have machines available with no charge for the use. Look for them in the area of the pharmacy section. Check it at regular intervals and keep track of it in a log so you can see if a pattern develops.
b. Seek out community services. Most communities, employers or senior organizations will sponsor a “Health Fair”. Most of the time you can even obtain your cholesterol levels at no or little cost. Check your local newspaper, churches, hospitals, AARP or notices posted at your pharmacy or department store to locate these Health Fairs.
c. Often times in communities, free clinics may be offered. These often are sponsored by a healthcare organization (hospital, physician practice) or church. These clinics usually have physicians, nurses and sometimes dentists available. Search the same sources as mentioned previously.

So, you see there are options where you thought there were none. You might need to put a little effort into a search for these offerings, but it is well worth it. Maintain your physical systems like the well oiled machine that it is.

If anyone knows of additional sources or options, please comment so all the readers can benefit from your information. After all, that is what it is all about. Until next time…stay tuned.

Some are Stopping Their Medications Due to the Economic DownTurn

A NY Times Headline reads: “Some Cut Back on Prescription Drugs in Sour Economy”. In the US, we have become a society of treating any ailment with a drug. A drug will fix anything. Consequently, the US is highest in the world on prescription drug spending which last year was estimated at nearly $286.5 billion. Now, for the first time in quite some time, people are trying to reduce the amount of prescription drugs utilized. The economic downturn has caused more people to choose between gasoline, food and medications.

I believe it is reasonable that expenses could be lowered by cutting out some medications…I don’t believe it should be undertaken lightly and certainly not without a joint plan with your physician. People are apparently stopping medications for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. It seems to be primarily the drugs that do not produce a noticable affect such as that of pain pills. If you stop your pain pills you will feel bad therefore those will not likely be on your list to cut. If you stop your cholesterol medication, you probably don’t really notice a difference (at first).

Let’s talk about the consequences. Which is more cost effective: paying for the pill to keep your blood pressure under control or having a stroke, putting you in the hospital probably paralyzed, needing rehab and thus not being able to provide for your family or yourself. Sorry, but this is the harsh reality. If people stop taking the medications that are having a long-term benefit for your health, it will ultimately result in more severe illness and even higher medical expenses.

Below are my suggestions for approaching this dilemma:

1. Refer back to my previous post of ways to reduce the cost of your medications

2. Talk to your doctor about weaning from some of your medications

3. Many of the conditions being treated with pills can be controlled with diet and exercise. Examples are hypertension, diabetes (Type II) and high cholesterol.

4. DO NOT CHANGE YOUR PILLS WITHOUT TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR!!!

5. Do not spread them out over a longer period or break them in half to take only half the prescribed treatment.

Please consider the longer term effects of your medications on yourself and your family. You do have options, please try them. Until next time, stay happy and healthy. alice@EZHealthCareOnline.com www.EZHealthCareOnline.com