Lower rates of smoking, earlier diagnoses and better treatments have all resulted in a decline in death rates from cancer. A decline of 1.6 % for men from 1993-2003 and .8 % for women during this period.
Increases in breast cancer have leveled off. There was a jump, however, in thyroid cancer with rates increasing amongst women , year over year. This has been attributed to better diagnosis. Two thirds of poeple diagnosed with thyroid cancer are between 20 and 55 years of age. Thyroid cancer has a 97 percent five year survival.
For more information go to www.cancer.org or call 800-422-6237 for the American Cancer Society.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Keep Seniors Healthy- should I request records from my doctors?
Should you request your medical records from your doctor?
Most seniors are uncomfortable with this concept.. they trust their doctor implicitly... much like a "Marcus Welby, MD"...and they feel the doctor may resent their requests and read into this as a "doubt or questioning" of their ability or treatments... I think this is untrue..most doctors are not and should not be threatened by a patient's request for his records..Nowadays with electronic medical records and fax... it has become commonplace for doctors to receive requests for records... particularly by insurance companies that need this info to evaluate their applicants for their risks... this is very very common.
I think once a doctor understands why you are requesting his records..ie for your own recordkeeping purposes..ie creation of your own personal medical record through services like http://www.PassportMD.com or http://www.KeepSeniorsHealthy.com , then I believe they understand and appreciate their patients' desire and motivation to keep themselves proactive as it relates to their medical care. Doctors understand the value of good, legible, organized notes and historical information, as they request it daily so that they themselves can see it before initiating treatment. It is better medicine and it is better for you.. do you keep track of personal belongings, receipts, automative work, accounting, bills, finances, housing products, electronics, house maintanence?? If you do this... dont you think you should do the same for yourself, your health of your family, children, parents, and you depend on it.
Will doctors release your records when you request it?
They will and they have to ..Under HIPAA , doctors have 30 days to comply with your requests for records. Charges are limited to actual costs and states limit the maximum a doctor can charge per page. PassportMD facilitates this process for people requesting their records.
Most seniors are uncomfortable with this concept.. they trust their doctor implicitly... much like a "Marcus Welby, MD"...and they feel the doctor may resent their requests and read into this as a "doubt or questioning" of their ability or treatments... I think this is untrue..most doctors are not and should not be threatened by a patient's request for his records..Nowadays with electronic medical records and fax... it has become commonplace for doctors to receive requests for records... particularly by insurance companies that need this info to evaluate their applicants for their risks... this is very very common.
I think once a doctor understands why you are requesting his records..ie for your own recordkeeping purposes..ie creation of your own personal medical record through services like http://www.PassportMD.com or http://www.KeepSeniorsHealthy.com , then I believe they understand and appreciate their patients' desire and motivation to keep themselves proactive as it relates to their medical care. Doctors understand the value of good, legible, organized notes and historical information, as they request it daily so that they themselves can see it before initiating treatment. It is better medicine and it is better for you.. do you keep track of personal belongings, receipts, automative work, accounting, bills, finances, housing products, electronics, house maintanence?? If you do this... dont you think you should do the same for yourself, your health of your family, children, parents, and you depend on it.
Will doctors release your records when you request it?
They will and they have to ..Under HIPAA , doctors have 30 days to comply with your requests for records. Charges are limited to actual costs and states limit the maximum a doctor can charge per page. PassportMD facilitates this process for people requesting their records.
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