Medical Alert Systems and In Home Care Can Combat Rising Healthcare Costs

A medical alert system can bring children of aging parents the peace of mind of knowing that their parents, who may live alone, can reach help if they experience a fall or other accident. The most common reason for purchasing a medical alert is wanting to make sure that an elderly loved one who is generally able to live independently is able to reach help when they need it. But can this tool for independent living also be a weapon in the fight against rising healthcare costs in the United States?

The population of the United States includes 39 million individuals over the age of 65 as of 2008, and by the year 2030, this number is expected to skyrocket to 72 million, as “Baby Boomers” reach the age of 65.

So, the aging population is growing. The individuals of the “baby boom” generation are reaching senior age, causing the senior population to increase dramatically. Not only that, but healthcare advances have allowed people to live longer; there are many more people reaching their 80s, 90s and even past 100. Those who reach these ages are, on average, suffering a large number of physical ailments and as a consequence, they consistently incur high medical expenses.

More seniors, fighting more physical ailments means a higher healthcare cost amongst our increasingly senior population. In fact, by the year 2030, health care for seniors is predicted to account for 25% of all the nations health care expenditures.

This is where a medical alert system can help. The price of equipment rental and monitoring can be less than $1 per day; a long hospital stay costs much more than that. The longer a senior waits to receive help after a fall, the more complications they will experience.

If a senior citizen falls, and is unable to summon help within the first hour, they are extremely likely to lose their independence, and most in this situation are ultimately placed in nursing homes.

With a medical alert system, an individual can get quick help, which often eliminates the need for a lengthy hospital stay, and prevents seniors from experiencing complications from their fall that land them permanently in a nursing home or care facility.

In conjunction with in-home care provided either by a professional service or a member of the seniors family, a medical alert system can keep an elderly individual out of a hospital, out of a nursing home, and can extend the amount of time in which he or she can live at home safely.

The average cost of nursing homes can top an average pricetag of $83,585/year, or $229/day. A medical alert system rental and monthly monitoring service costs less than $1/day.

While the rapidly rising population of seniors in the United States as well as recent changes to Medicare almost certainly guarantee a drastic spike in healthcare costs, this increase can be slowed. Preventative measures are the key to lowering healthcare costs in the United States, as it decreases the amount of costly emergency care and the many expenditures that come when an individual is no longer able to live in their homes.

Medical Identity Theft – One of the Fastest Growing Crimes

From keeping up with the latest technologies to providing top-notch patient care, there’s no doubt that healthcare industry professionals have a lot on their plate these days. But, would you imagine that one of their major concerns has nothing to do directly with patient care? Healthcare practices are spending large amounts of time and money keeping their practices compliant with the latest HIPAA regulations, and working hard to prevent a new trend in crime – medical identity theft. While it may not be making mainstream headlines, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, fraud resulting from exposure of health data has increased 112% year over year, from 3% in 2008 to 7% in 2009. To put this stat in perspective, medical identity theft is regarded as the fastest growing form of identity theft in America today and it is estimated that each year 250,000 to 500,000 people become victims of medical identity theft. Just like identity theft, medical identity theft is the act of stealing medical records or medical information of a patient. Both the medical facility and the patient suffer great losses once they are victimized by this type of crime. Imagine this scenario – when you check your mail one day, you find a giant bill from a hospital emergency room, yet you haven’t been to the doctor for anything other than a routine visit in years. So where did this five-figure bill with your name on it come from? The answer -someone stole your information and used it to obtain medical treatment and/or prescription drugs. Unfortunately, medical theft is a growing epidemic and is largely attributable to the large volume of paperwork medical providers are required to keep, in order to maintain 100% HIPAA compliance. Instances of medical identity theft are commonly reported when:

* Patients’ records are accidentally faxed or mailed to the wrong person * Medical records are stolen and misused after being disposed of improperly * Laptops containing confidential information or medical records are lost or stolen * Medical files left unattended in file rooms, on staff desks and in door folders; or unrestricted physical access to sensitive medical files.

While these security breaches might sound relatively innocuous, they are a huge concern. Not only does the medical facility face damage to their reputation and restitution fees, but also HIPAA has enacted legislation over the last year that makes such breaches very expensive – and on a punitive scale. Even worse, the victim may not realize the crime has occurred immediately due to lags in billing cycles so the theft is larger and potentially more costly. As if these scenarios aren’t nightmarish enough, add the fact that someone’s medical records could be tampered with, leading to improper medical care or misdiagnosis. With these costs to both victims and facilities in mind, preventing medical identity theft must be a high priority for medical facilities. It’s especially critical for smaller practices to take precautionary measures because they may have fewer internal protocols to protect patients…and shallower pockets to weather such an event. Ways to reduce medical identity theft include:

Biometrics Medical Writing

Biometrics Medical Writing forms a quintessential part of companies providing biometric solutions & services to pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies. Some of the key Biometric Medical writing services are regulatory and clinical writing, medical writing consultancy, scientific communications, creating survey reports, clinical study reports. Biometrics Statistical Analyses helps companies in supporting the statistical needs right from the clinical development planning phase, clinical trials to the final approval stages. These services facilitate scientists, trainees, trainers, experienced professionals on a broad range of topics like experimental designs, statistical models around biometric applications and experiments, statistical methodology, data monitoring, findings interpretation and also support in regulatory and advisory meeting discussions / orientations.

Biometrics medical writers work closely with statistical and clinical counterparts to write protocols, clinical study report, white papers and publications. An important aspect that the companies providing these services keep in mind is stringent quality checks and proofreading procedures to ensure highest level of quality is maintained and also ensure error free client review. For the projects undertaken, each project is generally assigned with a dedicated team of biometrics medical writers and statisticians who are responsible for managing the writing processes. Typical phases to follow are communicating the plans and approvals from the respective sponsors. It is also ensured that the team has the required documentation and therapeutic expertise to satisfy the client needs. It is also essential that these writers and statisticians must be able to grasp deep level of understanding to allow them to have meaningful discussions with industry experts and subject matter experts.

Biometrics medical writing also plays an important role in documenting the adverse events narratives, consent forms, escalations review which from a pharmaceutical/ biotech or medical equipment companies standpoint is a very critical and sensitive topic to be handled and with the essential expertise that these biomedical medical writers provide, it becomes a job done easy for these clients. Biometrics Statistical Analyses also requires intensive training for the statisticians which includes industry information and policies such as 21 CFR, Good Clinical Practices, ICH standards, programming skills, statistical methodologies etc.

Major challenges in biometrics medical writing are in understanding various countries policies, acknowledging the fact that every country and site are different and adapting to regulatory frameworks designed. The industry demands high quality data management, expert writing services and superior statistical results. In a nutshell the biometrics medical writing services demands right people with the right skills in the right parts of the world.

Medical Negligence Why You May Need Legal Representation

Some of the stories about medical malpractice are so bizarre that it seems that these occurrences could never happen to you or a loved one. The most peculiar cases in recent history involve:

A doctor using a screwdriver to support a mans spine in place of medical grade titanium rods.
A surgeon removing the wrong leg of a patient in a botched amputation procedure.
A patient having a healthy lung removed due to a misdiagnosis of lung cancer.
A patient left on an IV so long that it damaged nerve cells in her ears and made her deaf.

However rare these circumstances may seem, medical malpractice is unfortunately becoming an epidemic in the United States and has been found to cause up to 98,000 deaths per year. The most common of these medical mistakes are medication errors. These drug-related injuries occur in the hundreds of thousands each year and they can result in extra medical costs, loss of wages, permanent disability, emotional trauma and even loss of life.

How do you make sure that an error or negligence does not happen to you? Firstly, the single most important thing is to be actively involved in your own care. Make sure you tell your doctor all your symptoms. Also, ask questions about treatment and testing that may be administered. Telling the doctor about your medical history is beneficial as well, since some hospitals or clinics may not have access to your personal file. When you visit a hospital you may be in a state of illness or debilitation so staying active in your health care may be difficult for you. If that is the case, make sure to bring an advocate who can articulate your needs and scrutinize the path of your care. Coordination and communication between you and your health care team is critical to preventing the avoidable mistakes and to combating negligence.

However, even after precautions, the standards of care may not be upheld or an error may be made. This could cost you or your loved ones dearly. If this happens, negative physical, emotional and financial effects can be compensated in select cases. To determine if a claim is appropriate the patient should contact an attorney with specialized experience in this part of the law. There are local Fort Worth injury lawyers and Fort Worth wrongful death attorneys available to examine your case and determine the next course of action. You can find them through Hart Laws Texas board certified advocates.

Bringing Back Medical House Calls

House Call Physician services provide extremely useful resource to residents who need house call doctor visits in their homes. Medical House Call patients will have the luxury of being seen at anytime of the day or night, in the comfort of their own home, office, or hotel. House Call Doctor Staff is comprised of well qualified board-certified house call physicians that will be happy to deliver expedient and effective care in a courteous and compassionate manner through virtue of a modern day medical house call in your home, office or hotel.

Patients can expect to receive excellent House call physician care in an unhurried atmosphere. Receive your evaluations with attention to detail, courteous and respectful attitudes. Develop a trustworthy relationship with your House call physician. These are all important aspects of the doctor-patient relationship that we value, and it is an important philosophy to deliver these qualities to patients when providing Medical House Call services.

In bringing Medical House Call service to patients, essentially the hands of time are turned back. We remember how medicine used to be practiced, before busy doctor’s offices, complicated insurance policies, long lines at clinics, rushed office visits, and crowded emergency rooms. We’ve noticed that somewhere along these channels of frustration, doctors began to lose sight of what mattered most… their patients. Remember when the doctor and patient were able to develop trustworthy relationships through Medical House Calls and had all the time necessary to discuss, examine, diagnose, and treat their condition?

The idea behind developing this type of practice model was to minimize the understandable frustrations that both patients and physicians have grown accustomed to in busy modern day medical practices. Medical House Call makes a doctor visit comfortable and relaxed in your own surroundings.

Medical House Call Staff are equipped with the clinical skills and medical supplies needed to care for you in the comfort of your own home or office. Medical House Call is able to treat any acute or chronic medical issues that you would normally see your primary care doctor for with a House call physician.