Health Briefs TV Examines How to Choose the Best Hospital

Hospitals are graded on several categories and by several different organizations. Health Briefs TV reviews how to find the best one.

The hospitals people choose has much to do about where their surgeon or specialist practices than the grades they get. If the best doctor for the medical need is affiliated with a specific medical center then that is where one will usually go. There have been more than 100 mergers and acquisitions in the medical care field since 2012. How does this affect the rating the hospital gets?

Basically, the patient or someone in their family might want to ask others they know about the facility and its services. Patients can ask the doctor if there is any other medical center they are affiliated with since some medical professionals are affiliated with more than one. One can also go online and search for reviews for the hospital. Often, this is best place for the most honest information about rooms, nursing care, food and services for the medical facility someone is about be admitted to. The Health Briefs TV show also knows that there are a few organizations which grade hospitals. But until they all agree on a standardized format, the inquiring patient may find different scores.  Patients with questions about specific health care institutions should address to them their medical care professionals. 

Health Briefs TV Examines Reusable Medical Equipment Guidelines

Reusable medical devices called duodenoscopes are the culprits in the recent rash of hospital patients diagnosed with medical experts call the “Superbug”. Health Briefs TV examines what they are and reviews guidelines for their usage.

Duodenoscopes are the flexible tubes fitted with tiny lights and advanced cameras used to diagnose or treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Roughly 500,000 procedures a year in the United States alone take place using this piece of medical equipment.  The scopes are inserted down a patient’s throat so the physician can get perfect view.  When done, the scopes are put in a device which sterilizes them.  This is the health industry standard for ensuring reusable medical equipment is clean and sterile.

There have been several cases from hospitals in the country which reported that the standard way to sterilize equipment is not doing the job. Medical professionals have suggested, and some are using alternative methods of ensuring equipment is safe to reuse. These methods utilize ethylene-oxide sterilization and swabbing the equipment after each use to collect any pathogens left on them. They expensive ways to clean the equipment, but have reduced the number of patients infected with pathogens and bacteria from “almost clean” devices.

The Health Briefs TV show notes that patient health and safety should come before expense. When patients become very ill after reusable medical equipment is employed again, the cost of treating one patient can be quite hefty.  Prevention is always the best way to work and more so in a health care setting.

Health Briefs TV with Lyme Disease Information

Lyme disease is a growing health concern in the United States. It can cost the country up to $1.3 billion dollars a year to treat.  Health Briefs TV explains some common facts about Lyme disease.

Someone can get Lyme disease from a tick bite. Ticks can come from pets that haven’t been treated for them. Ticks bites can also come from being outdoors.

To protect yourself from ticks, swear latex gloves when treating pets and use tweezers instead of fingernails to remove from pets and human skin.

If the signature target shaped rash appears, please visit a physician as soon as possible. There are treatments for it and there are certain doctors who know more about it than others. Lyme disease symptoms can reoccur. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome of PTLDS. Patients can feel fatigued, have nerve pain. Join pain, memory and thinking problems. And they are more than 5 times as likely to be diagnosed with extreme fatigue.  The Health Briefs TV show learns that there are an estimated 240,000 to 440,000 new cases of Lyme disease diagnosed every year.

Lyme disease can make a normal, active and lively person feel lethargic, despondent and hopeless. But there are treatments for it. Finding the best doctor to help you or someone you know with Lyme disease is imperative. Research local doctors online or through health care plans with experience in working with people diagnosed with Lyme disease.

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Health Briefs Explores Ways to Pay a Medical Bill

Medical bills can be very high and very hard to pay.  But there are innovative ways to pay them when money is tight. 

Health Briefs has found some good suggestions to help readers manage hefty bills for medical procedures.

Keep in mind that these kinds of bills are negotiable. While it may not be reasonable to think that almost half the bill can be dickered away, one can get some of the charges removed.

It is reported that almost half of all medical bills have errors. The more extensive the treatment or procedure, the more likely there will be mistakes on the bill. Take time to review each line item. If there is charge for something suspicious, highlight it and call the doctor’s billing manager about it.

Go online and look up the cost of a medical procedure to be sure that an overcharge was not made. If the line item on the bill is more than what is found online, mark down the difference to discuss with the billing manager.

Health Briefs TV suggests reviewing the explanation of benefits from the health insurance company and comparing it to the bill. Call and ask the medical professional’s billing person for an appointment to go over all the charges. Be prepared before going in with the above items in hand. Keep in mind that persistence can pay off. Keep at it respectfully and perhaps the bill will be reduced.

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Health Briefs TV Offers Tips for Back Pain Sufferers

Back pain affects one in four adults. It is second complaint after the common cold on why adults visit the doctor. Back pain is also one of the most stubborn medical concerns to manage. Health Briefs TV offers some tips for readers with back pain.

Back strain and sprains can be pretty simple to handle at home. But longer-lasting back pain is not. Factor in spinal and nerve problems and soon the pain becomes unbearable.  There are some at-home treatments to try before making an appointment with a healthcare professional.

Heat therapy often helps ease back pain. A hot bath, warm towels, heating pads, wraps and gels all work well on a sore back. Add in ice bags or reusable cold packs throughout the day.

Try an OTC. Over the counter drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen cab relieve pain and relax muscles a bit. Give these a try before calling the doctor.

If the above at-home treatments do not work over a period of several weeks, or if the pain is too intense, Health Briefs TV believes it’s time to call the doctor. Pain that shoots past the knees, any numbness below the knee, fever, nausea or abdominal pain should be signs it is time to get an appointment today. Take care of the back. It helps hold you up.

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Health Briefs TV Explains Fevers and Its Origins

Digital thermometers work great for taking a temp

A fever can signify many health conditions from the flu to heat stroke. Health Briefs TV explains fevers and its origins.

A normal temperature starts at 98.6 and can go up to 100.2 degrees. Healthcare professionals consider an elevated temperature to be 100.4. There are a variety of reasons as to why a healthy person’s temperature could rise above 100.4:

• Women experiencing menstruation will have a fluctuating temperature depending on where they are in their monthly cycle.
• Heat stoke can cause a body temperature to rise above 104.
• People who are coming down with flu will have an elevated temperature.
• Viral and bacterial infections can cause a fever.
• Some medications can cause a fever.

Health Briefs TV encourages readers who travel internationally to be aware that airports screening passengers for fevers with handheld devices may believe the traveler could have been exposed to Ebola.  Know what can cause a body’s temperature to rise and counter misinformation with facts. Fevers can originate from a variety of sources. Shouldn’t the people scanning travelers for fevers know the facts before making erroneous decisions that affect people’s lives in adverse ways? And shouldn’t U.S. state governments know them too? Ignorance and lack of information cause hysteria and hysteria harbors irrational fears. This helps no one.

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Health Briefs TV on the Unknown Effects of Obesity

Most people know that obesity can cause heart trouble and diabetes. But it can also bring trouble for some of our other body organs too. Health Briefs TV offers information.

An overweight or obese person will often complain about knee pain. Extra weight on knees, hips and feet is common and can be avoided by participating in a weight loss program or consulting with a doctor about weight loss surgery. Overweight people can also suffer from migraines more than those who are not. In a recent study, people who were obese complained of having 14 migraines per month compared to those with a healthy weight. A cancer diagnosis can also be a negative outcome from being obese. Kidney, gallbladder, liver, colon and uterine cancer diagnoses were found with those who are overweight than those who were not. Ten percent were attributed to being overweight in a study conducted by The Lancet.

The Health Briefs TV show learns that obesity affects fertility. Women who are obese had a harder time becoming pregnant. They can also experience premature delivery of infants. Sleep disorders also affect people who are overweight and obese. When extra weight rests on the heart or lungs it affects the organs’ ability to function properly and can cause sleep troubles. Extra fat around the neck affects the soft tissues of the nose and can cause apnea. Along with all of these effects there are also the social effects of being obese which can range from family shame to being mistreated in a healthcare professional’s office which can cause depression. The best options for overweight and obese people are to seek the advice of a trusted doctor to find the best weight loss program. Because the unknown effects of obesity are just as harmful as the known ones.

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Health Briefs TV Reviews Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Factors

People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS are exceptionally tired no matter how much sleep they get and for more than six months. It is often not diagnosed and sometimes dismissed by healthcare workers. Health Briefs TV wishes to review the factors of this debilitating medical concern.

When a patient visiting a family doctor complains of being exhausted all the time and for a prolonged period of time, the physician may not know what to do. There is no blood test for CFS nor is there brain scan which can identify the condition. A recent study conducted on 15 patients with CFS and 15 without it – all the same age and gender – found less white matter in the brains of those with CFS. The white matter contains the brain’s communication material which allows parts of the brain to communicate with each other. Other tests conducted in the research included looking at the right hemisphere of the brain of each participant group. Researchers noticed that the patients with chronic fatigue syndrome had thicker connection points than those of the healthy patients. The study was small but shows us that if the doctor is willing to prescribe the brain scan and the patient is willing to pay for it, it may be helpful in determining what’s wrong with someone who is constantly overly tired. Health Briefs TV learns this may be a useful tool for patients whose complaints are often met with accusations of being a hypochondriac or just ignored.

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Health Briefs – Who Is Taking Care of Elderly Parents

A recent study from Princeton University found that daughters do as much as they can for their elderly parents, while sons do very little. Health Briefs provides more information.

The research project found that daughters offer an average of 12.3 hours of elderly parent care per month, on average, compared to the 5.6 hours of care a son provides. The daughters spend twice as much time with parents than the sons. Care giving time is often associated with the constraints daughters face such as child care or employment. A son’s care giving time is associated with whether or not there is a presence or absence of other helpers like siblings or the other parent.  Health Briefs learns that when a daughter is present, the sons reduce their care-giving efforts and the daughters increase their care-giving efforts. Gender is definitely a strong point when it comes to the care of elderly parents. Perhaps the maternal instinct of daughters is one reason why females are usually the ones who step in and take care of older parents. Sons are more likely to provide financial assistance as they are most often raised to be the breadwinner. Whether it is a daughter or son doing the care-taking, all siblings need the support of each other when elderly parents call for help. No one child can do it alone. Eventually, the caretaker will need a break and siblings should step in and assist.

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Health Briefs on How to Be an Empowered Patient

When we have to put on that little white robe and sit on a cold examining table, we tend to feel intimidated. Health Briefs shares suggestions about how to become an empowered patient. It is your body after all, and no one knows it better.

• Gather as much information as possible before a doctor or specialist’s appointment and write down any questions.
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• Seek the advice of others with the same medical problem.
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• Explore every option available and discuss them with the medical professional.
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• Never be afraid to seek a second opinion if the first one does not sound agreeable. A doctor that won’t go online with referring a patient for a second opinion is a good reason to get the other opinion.
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• Get an itemized bill if hospitalized and don’t leave the building until all the charges have been explained.
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• Work with health care providers as a team. Because when the team works together, better health outcomes are expected.
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• State what you want, can afford and are willing to incorporate into your lifestyle upfront.
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• Expect medical professionals from the reception desk to the lab workers to treat you with courtesy and respect.
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The Health Briefs TV show also encourages readers to be their own health care advocate. Say no if something does not sound right or you feel is not the best treatment option.

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