Maintain Care Information Flow

Let's talk about coordination of care. In the last post, I mentioned how your primary care physician (PCP) is the one who serves as the central point of coordination for your care. He/she should have any information from specialist visits and from any testing that may have been ordered by another doctor. You have a role in maintaining this flow of information. One opportunity for this occurs when you have a test such as a CT scan or a x-ray ordered by another physician. The ordering physician is the one who will receive the report findings of the test. At the time you are providing your history and giving consent for the ordered procedure, there will be a place on the forms asking if the test results should be sent to any other physicians. This is your opportunity and responsibility to facilitate the flow of information to your PCP. Always add your PCP to this list of recipients assuring that not only the specialist will get the results but also to your central point of coordination. By doing this consistently, your doctor has the ability and information to adequately identify any patterns that may need to be addressed.

Your consciousness of this is more important now than ever in the past. Most insurance plans today do not require a referral from a PCP for a specialist visit. All you need to do is make an appointment. If the specialist does not include your PCP with the findings of the examination and any tests, your PCP may never know of the specialist visit. There will be a gap in information and potentially in care. Ask the specialist to send a copy of the assessment and findings to your PCP. You may want to ask for a copy also. The days of the patient not being knowledgeable of the doctor's records are gone. You can then make sure your PCP does indeed have copies of your information.

Another area that needs your action to assure information flow is with your preventive care tests. An example is a mammogram. There is often no need for a physician referral for a yearly screening mammogram. If you do not identify the physicians to receive a report, your PCP may never know you had it done. Consider this aspect of your coordination of care any time you have a health care experience. You can always check with alice@ezhealthcareonline.com if you need assistance with any aspect of care flow.

Increased Incidence of Two Cancer Types

Hi Guys!

I want to make everyone aware of some new statistics. It is not the most pleasant topic, but it is necessary. Cancer. The other day I discovered these statistics by the Americal Cancer Society. As we have all been shown many times before, the leading cancer for women is Breast Cancer and for men is Prostate cancer. Due to early detection and improved treatment, the incidence is decreasing. In other words, new cases of these cancers have decreased. However, for both men and women a leading type of cancer is colorectal cancer. I think it is very important to note various prevention and early detection procedures. An example of this is regular self-breast exam and yearly mammogram. In men it is a PSA blood test and rectal exam to check the prostate. These methods have decreased the incidence and mortality rate due to early detection. For early detection of colorectal cancer are checks for blood in the stool and a periodic colonoscopy.


A main point was made with both these charts is the fact that:

About 33% of the 559,650 estimated cancer deaths for 2007 are related to

• being over weight or obese
• physical inactivity or
• poor nutritian

Now, please look at the charts I have provided through this link to my web site. Obviously, preventive care is of ultimate importance.


http://www.ezhealthcareonline.com-a.googlepages.com/cancerstatistics

Thank you for visiting and I hope to see you again.
Alice

Staph Infections (MRSA): What You Do to Prevent Them

Hi All!

I saw another article regarding this topic so I thought I might as well weigh in on it. There is a lot of talk about MRSA infections or antibiotic resistant staph infection. This is sometimes referred to as a Super Bug. There are only a couple of antibiotics that will kill it and those are pretty powerful drugs. So, how did it get to this point? You know that the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus is present on our bodies and many times in our nose. In fact, one source says that the nose is the most common for it to hide and the place we really need to watch out for. It is a mutation of this Staph Aureus bacteria that becomes antibiotic resistant. Over the years, when we were sick, we would most likely be prescribed an antibiotic. The bug gradually became resistant to them. Additionally, as people have illnesses that lower the immune response (for example HIV, chemotherapy, etc.) the bugs spread and gradually became resistant.

Still, the hospital is the most common place this appears...close contact, multiple other illness, etc. I have always heard the phrase: "The hospital is no place for sick people". Meaning that there is a mixture of everything and someone with a lowered immune system predispose you to infection. If you do not NEED to be in the hospital, try to get your care at home. Now, I am not trying to say that hospitals are dirty or anything as such but there is too much of it floating around.

If you are in the hospital, there are a few things you can do to minimize your risk of infection:

• There should always be a dispenser of antibacterial solution, usually mounted on the wall. Any time you are up, to the bathroom or touching things, blow your nose, cough into your hand, etc. you should use the solution on your hands.
• Make sure that every care giver (nurses, physicians, therapists, transport, etc.) use the solution prior to touching you. Sometimes the physicians are not cleaning their hands, but if you think about it they go from room to room and could easily spread an infection.
• Also watch the instruments that care givers use...are blood pressure cuffs moved from room to room? Asked that it be cleaned prior to your use.

Becoming more and more common is the Community Acquired MRSA. Contributors are rampant use of antibiotics. This bug as said previously is in your nose, on your skin and in the dirt. Other common places are the gym, hot tub, crowded living areas, contact with other people such as in prisons, the gym. Poor hygiene contributes to the infection. Below are some steps you can take to help prevent contamination:

• Bathe regularly-the bacteria is on your skin, but can be washed away with good hygiene. Be sure to wash the areas that are usually warm and moist - under arms, groin area
• Wash your hands frequently
• Don't pick your nose! After blowing, always wash your hands.
• If you have a cut or scrape, cover it with a bandage until healed.
• If you are given antibiotics for anything, always take all that is prescribed. Being careless with antibiotics has led to several resistant strains of bacteria. More often now we are seeing a change in ordering antibiotics unless really needed. Infected cuts/scrapes are usually treated conservatively without antibiotics and if it starts getting worse then they will break out the drugs.
• Don't share towels, clean gym bag and don't put dirty clothes and towels in gym bag--the warm moist environment is a feeding ground for germs.

I hope this has helped give you some practical knowledge you can use anywhere. Stay clean and don't pick your nose, until next time.

Alice