A Harris interactive poll found that 42 percent of adults maintained some sort of personal or family records. But, only 13 % did so electronically.
The biggest concerns are privacy and accuracy and these issues are deterring adoption.
http://www.KeepSeniorsHealthy.com and http://www.PassportMD.com are two sites that we have created for FREE service so that people will begin to adopt personal health records. We emphasize security and protection. We do not ask for social security numbers and adhere to the strict guidelines of the BBB privacy Seal.
Other companies that offer similar services are http://www.medicalert.com and http://www.capmed.com .
Here is a list of findings from the Harris Interactive Poll..
Of the people that keep a record of their health:
68 % keep it in a drawer
15 % in a formal health record book
13 % in an electronic health record
the biggest concerns by patients' regarding personal health records are:
Privacy 68%
Security 66%
Errors in records 37%
Wont be accessible in times of emergency 37%
Cant keep it up to date 33 %
Info from doctors wont be accurate 29%
Inability to transfer records 26%
Inability to understand items 20%
other 5%
Other blogs that contain some great health information are:
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/
http://blog.thirdage.com/?p=613
http://www.highlandpdx.com/blog/?cat=12
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2005_02.html
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
what does it mean that my doctor doesnt have Electronic Medical Records? Is he behind the curve?
Most doctors do not have electronic medical records , called or referred to as EMR's. However, the trend is changing and doctors really should go electronic. It simply is better medicine. Today, only 15 % of doctors have EMR's in place. This is a very low number and represents a low adoption rate. I incorporated an EMR into my practice several years ago, and it has improved efficiencies and allowed all of our doctors to practice better medicine.
Doctors are reluctant to "go electronic" given the cost burdens and technology obstacles , so until this minimizes , adoption will be slow. However, it is a better way to practice medicine , it is better for the physician and better for the patient. Eventually all practices will go electronic, but this may still be a decade away. Doctors should be financially incentivized to adopt EMR's to minimize the barrier to adoption.
According to a recent article in http://www.healthleadersmedia.com there are several myths that doctors need to "debunk" before adopting EMR's.
1. All EMR's are alike. This simply is not true. Some systems are more template oriented, http://www.medinotes.com and some are more elegant document management solutions, so called hybrid systems, such as http://www.srssoft.com/ . Others are more comprehensive such as NextGen. A issue to consider is data compatibility and the recent EMR certification commission for Healthcare Information Technology. Certification should only figure in on a small level ..as there are many great companies, like medinotes and SRS that have not yet received the certification. Certification to many companies may be cost prohibitive so physicians should not let this totally sway them.
2. EMR's are a fad. Emr's are not going away so physicians will eventually need to come to grips with this.
3. The technology is the hard part. Actually the hard part is adapting work flows to the technology, rather than the technology itself. Bigger groups can retain a dedicated technology position to maintain their systems, this will need to be outsourced for smaller groups.
4. The software is the expensive part. This is not true. The big cost are maintanence, licenses, technology support and hardware.
5. Computers interfere with patient relationships. This is not true either my patients really appreciate that my practice has computers in each room. They embrace this rather than object to it. There is a sense of comfort for the patient knowing that their physician has taken the time and effort to continue to advance their medical practice.
Doctors are reluctant to "go electronic" given the cost burdens and technology obstacles , so until this minimizes , adoption will be slow. However, it is a better way to practice medicine , it is better for the physician and better for the patient. Eventually all practices will go electronic, but this may still be a decade away. Doctors should be financially incentivized to adopt EMR's to minimize the barrier to adoption.
According to a recent article in http://www.healthleadersmedia.com there are several myths that doctors need to "debunk" before adopting EMR's.
1. All EMR's are alike. This simply is not true. Some systems are more template oriented, http://www.medinotes.com and some are more elegant document management solutions, so called hybrid systems, such as http://www.srssoft.com/ . Others are more comprehensive such as NextGen. A issue to consider is data compatibility and the recent EMR certification commission for Healthcare Information Technology. Certification should only figure in on a small level ..as there are many great companies, like medinotes and SRS that have not yet received the certification. Certification to many companies may be cost prohibitive so physicians should not let this totally sway them.
2. EMR's are a fad. Emr's are not going away so physicians will eventually need to come to grips with this.
3. The technology is the hard part. Actually the hard part is adapting work flows to the technology, rather than the technology itself. Bigger groups can retain a dedicated technology position to maintain their systems, this will need to be outsourced for smaller groups.
4. The software is the expensive part. This is not true. The big cost are maintanence, licenses, technology support and hardware.
5. Computers interfere with patient relationships. This is not true either my patients really appreciate that my practice has computers in each room. They embrace this rather than object to it. There is a sense of comfort for the patient knowing that their physician has taken the time and effort to continue to advance their medical practice.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Would you want to speak to your doctor via email?
Would you rather get an email from your doctor or a phone call?
It might not matter what you want , currently doctors are slow to adopt email as a form of communication with patients.
For instance, in 2000-2001, 1 in 5 doctors were using email with their patients, today 6 years later that has only moved to 1 in 4 doctors.
There may be many reasons for this slow adoption
1. lack of reimbursement for their time to write or consult via email. (although docs really dont get anything for speaking with patients by phone).
2. Liability. I think a big hurdle is docs concern over putting what they think or advise in an email that, if incorrect advice, may come back to haunt them over a malpractice allegation. This is, in my opinion, the single biggest hurdle.
3. Difficulty with rendering a true opinion via email. Another reason may be that it is difficult for a doc to render an opinion without seeing or actually "hearing" their patient explain their problems. Email , currently, may be inadequate to provide enough of a picture for the doc to feel comfortable rendering advice or an opinion.
what are your thoughts ? Are you ready for an email consultation
It might not matter what you want , currently doctors are slow to adopt email as a form of communication with patients.
For instance, in 2000-2001, 1 in 5 doctors were using email with their patients, today 6 years later that has only moved to 1 in 4 doctors.
There may be many reasons for this slow adoption
1. lack of reimbursement for their time to write or consult via email. (although docs really dont get anything for speaking with patients by phone).
2. Liability. I think a big hurdle is docs concern over putting what they think or advise in an email that, if incorrect advice, may come back to haunt them over a malpractice allegation. This is, in my opinion, the single biggest hurdle.
3. Difficulty with rendering a true opinion via email. Another reason may be that it is difficult for a doc to render an opinion without seeing or actually "hearing" their patient explain their problems. Email , currently, may be inadequate to provide enough of a picture for the doc to feel comfortable rendering advice or an opinion.
what are your thoughts ? Are you ready for an email consultation
Are you really ready to retire? You may need more than you think
If you think you are ready to retire, make sure you have done the math...
According to a recent article in Medical Economics, there are many "risks" or "factors" that need to be considered carefully...
here is a list of them to double check:
1. Inflation. Inflation is at 3.8% but could go up to 5%. So, for example, if you plan to retire 10 years from now, $2 million dollars would only be worth 1.35 million or better said, the lifestyle that you have anticipated costing $120,000 would really cost $177, 000.
2. Taxes. The $120,000 you are planning to withdraw annually from tax deferred account will resul in $23,000 tax bill in todays tax scenario.
3. Timing. This is potentially the most devastating. If your retirement in in funds and stocks and the market drops when you retire, then your nest egg will drop too, for instances if the market loses 20% of it's value, your $2 million will drop to $1.6 million.
Here are some sites you can visit for more info:
http://personal.fidelity.com/retirement/retirement_frame.shtml.cvsr
http://www.aarp.org
3. Timing.
According to a recent article in Medical Economics, there are many "risks" or "factors" that need to be considered carefully...
here is a list of them to double check:
1. Inflation. Inflation is at 3.8% but could go up to 5%. So, for example, if you plan to retire 10 years from now, $2 million dollars would only be worth 1.35 million or better said, the lifestyle that you have anticipated costing $120,000 would really cost $177, 000.
2. Taxes. The $120,000 you are planning to withdraw annually from tax deferred account will resul in $23,000 tax bill in todays tax scenario.
3. Timing. This is potentially the most devastating. If your retirement in in funds and stocks and the market drops when you retire, then your nest egg will drop too, for instances if the market loses 20% of it's value, your $2 million will drop to $1.6 million.
Here are some sites you can visit for more info:
http://personal.fidelity.com/retirement/retirement_frame.shtml.cvsr
http://www.aarp.org
3. Timing.
Seniors be weary of "Free" Advice for placement in Assisted Living Centers
Children of aging parents often live a distance from their parents. As a result, either the children or the parents come to rely upon "Placement Services" as it relates to assisted living centers.
These placement services often receive a fee for each new resident that they recruit to a particular living facility. Thus, they are biased.
You can get objective and detailed guidance from the Assisted Living Federation of America http://www.alfa.org or the Nation Center for Assisted Living http://www.ncal.org
If you really need more help, think about hiring a geriatric care manager such as a nurse, social roker, or counselor. They may be expensive but worth it.
Geriatric Care Managers can be searched at http://www.caremanager.org
Other blogs that contain some great health info are:
http://blog.hcfama.org/?p=65
http://www.tabinc.org/blog/archives/2004/11/index.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2006/09/the_choice_a_lo.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/
http://blog.thirdage.com/?p=613
These placement services often receive a fee for each new resident that they recruit to a particular living facility. Thus, they are biased.
You can get objective and detailed guidance from the Assisted Living Federation of America http://www.alfa.org or the Nation Center for Assisted Living http://www.ncal.org
If you really need more help, think about hiring a geriatric care manager such as a nurse, social roker, or counselor. They may be expensive but worth it.
Geriatric Care Managers can be searched at http://www.caremanager.org
Other blogs that contain some great health info are:
http://blog.hcfama.org/?p=65
http://www.tabinc.org/blog/archives/2004/11/index.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2006/09/the_choice_a_lo.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/
http://blog.thirdage.com/?p=613
Lung Cancer, A Killer that doesnt give early warning
Lung cancer is a problem. Currently with a cure rate of less than 20% , we need to find early markers of the cancer. This is critical and continues to be a problem.
According to the http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp American Cancer Society here are some fast facts about lung cancer:
1. New cases - 174,470 each year
2. Deaths in US 162, 460
3.Men: 92,700 New cases, 90,330 deaths
4. Women 81,770 new cases, 72,130 deaths
5. 44.5 million American Adults smoke
go to : http://www.lungcancer.org/ to learn more about Lung Cancer.
What is on the horizon? According to Dr. Mark Block, a thoracic surgeon in Hollywood Florida, more advances are being made. In a recent article in Florida Trend Magazine, he cites the following promising advances:
1. Chantix http://www.chantix.com/ a new drug designed to help smokers quit cigarettes by blocking nicotines effects. The FDA fast tracked this drug's approval.
2. Vidao assisted thoracic surgery- minimally invasive surgery that allows docs to view inside of chest through small incisions, ideal for biopsies.
3. Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration- helps sample lymph nodes
4. Lung volume reduction surgery- helps patients that were previously unable to have lung cancer surgery due to diseased lungs with poor lung function.
5. CT scans- great screening test for lung cancer
6. New drugs such as Tarceva http://www.tarceva.com/tarceva/patient/index.jsp?hl=en&lr=&q=tarceva
if you have any other comments on lung cancer please post them here...
According to the http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp American Cancer Society here are some fast facts about lung cancer:
1. New cases - 174,470 each year
2. Deaths in US 162, 460
3.Men: 92,700 New cases, 90,330 deaths
4. Women 81,770 new cases, 72,130 deaths
5. 44.5 million American Adults smoke
go to : http://www.lungcancer.org/ to learn more about Lung Cancer.
What is on the horizon? According to Dr. Mark Block, a thoracic surgeon in Hollywood Florida, more advances are being made. In a recent article in Florida Trend Magazine, he cites the following promising advances:
1. Chantix http://www.chantix.com/ a new drug designed to help smokers quit cigarettes by blocking nicotines effects. The FDA fast tracked this drug's approval.
2. Vidao assisted thoracic surgery- minimally invasive surgery that allows docs to view inside of chest through small incisions, ideal for biopsies.
3. Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration- helps sample lymph nodes
4. Lung volume reduction surgery- helps patients that were previously unable to have lung cancer surgery due to diseased lungs with poor lung function.
5. CT scans- great screening test for lung cancer
6. New drugs such as Tarceva http://www.tarceva.com/tarceva/patient/index.jsp?hl=en&lr=&q=tarceva
if you have any other comments on lung cancer please post them here...
Monday, November 06, 2006
Chicken soup or Zinc, which fights colds better?
Who is right: Grandma or Science?
Well, according to a recent article in Health Magazine, Dr. Prasad at Wayne State University, has done research which shows that you will catch fewer colds by taking 45 milligrams of "elelmental zinc". He goes further to say that if you feel a cold coming, you can get over it in half the time by taking zinc acetate lozenges every 3 -4hours.
The website, http://www.coldcure.com/ talks about this even more...
Bad news for Chicken soup, but, good news is ..no one has looked at wonton or hot and spicy yet.
Well, according to a recent article in Health Magazine, Dr. Prasad at Wayne State University, has done research which shows that you will catch fewer colds by taking 45 milligrams of "elelmental zinc". He goes further to say that if you feel a cold coming, you can get over it in half the time by taking zinc acetate lozenges every 3 -4hours.
The website, http://www.coldcure.com/ talks about this even more...
Bad news for Chicken soup, but, good news is ..no one has looked at wonton or hot and spicy yet.
Foods thatTrigger heartburn
According to a recent article in Health Magazine, http://www.health.com/health/
here is a list of the top 9 foods that cause indigestion and heartburn:
1. Alcohol
2. Chocoloate
3. Coffee
4. Garlic
5.Citrus fruits and Juices
6. Peppermint
7. Tomatoes and tomato sauce
8. Peppers (all types)
9. Onions
So, no complaining when you order a late night munchie , large Domino's pizza ( http://www.dominos.com/ ) , with onions, peppers and sausage and pepperoni. (And dont think that because sausage and pepperoni is not listed above, that you will be okay with that)
here is a list of the top 9 foods that cause indigestion and heartburn:
1. Alcohol
2. Chocoloate
3. Coffee
4. Garlic
5.Citrus fruits and Juices
6. Peppermint
7. Tomatoes and tomato sauce
8. Peppers (all types)
9. Onions
So, no complaining when you order a late night munchie , large Domino's pizza ( http://www.dominos.com/ ) , with onions, peppers and sausage and pepperoni. (And dont think that because sausage and pepperoni is not listed above, that you will be okay with that)
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