Healthcare Bill and Its Impact on Medicare

The Senate Health Bill has been grabbing headlines for months as members of the Senate continue to debate spending, bill allotments, and the merits of improved or universal healthcare coverage. The latest iteration of this bill in late November and included a price tag of 9 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. 0 billion alone would be set aside to help cover doctors' fees so that they would not suffer from a drastic cut back to reimbursement rates.

Much in keeping with the diversity of American opinion, this bill has come with more than its fair share of controversy, sparking heated debates on both sides of the political aisle.

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Bill controversy

Healthcare Bill and Its Impact on Medicare

Democrats and Republicans are sharply divided over the merits and allocations included in this healthcare bill. The final vote on the bill showcased this division; the voting results were nearly entirely along party lines. In the 243 to 183 win by the Democratic-controlled House, only 11 Democrats voted against the bill and only one Republican voted for the bill. That Republican is also an obstetrician - Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas.

Republicans called the 0 billion allocation to cover doctors' fees a political payoff and labeled it as the Democrats' way of thanking physicians for their support of President Obama's healthcare overhaul.

What's included in the bill and how will it affect Americans?

The new healthcare bill, which will go into effect in 2010, is said to provide coverage to 94 percent of Americans. The bill is also estimated to cut the federal deficit by 7 billion during its first ten years. In its second decade, the bill is estimated to cut the federal deficit by as much as 0 billion. Over a 20-year period, it is believed that the bill would cut the federal deficit by 7.

However, in order to cut this deficit, the bill will reduce payments for Medicare plans and cut spending in a wide variety of other areas. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that seniors on Medicare will have to pay billion in higher healthcare premiums over the next 10 years, passing along much of the healthcare expenses to Medicare beneficiaries.

Additionally, because of reduced payments and services covered by the bill, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that Americans will see a 5 billion price increase in doctors' fees for those doctors who treat Medicare patients. With only a percentage of those fees being covered by Medicare, patients themselves will have to make up the difference out of their pockets. TRICARE (the military healthcare program) beneficiaries would see an increase in fees by about billion for non-military physicians who see patients enrolled in the TRICARE program.

How can Americans protect themselves from these price increases?

While it may be impossible to predict exactly how this bill will impact Americans and their pocketbooks until the bill is fully approved and implemented, Americans would be wise to begin looking for alternative healthcare solutions. Many Americans on Medicare may want to investigate alternatives to Original Medicare plans, including Medicare Advantage Plans.

Also, as healthcare prices increase, so will the prices of prescription medications and other medical services. Therefore, many Medicare beneficiaries would benefit by enrolling in Medicare Supplement insurance plans to help cover the cost of price increases and of items that are not covered by Original Medicare plans.

Managing the national healthcare system has proved to be a challenge and a politically derisive topic - especially over the past year. While changes are inevitable and are sure to impact every American, Americans can help to protect their health and their pocketbooks by focusing on maintaining or improving their health in controllable ways. Enrolling in affordable healthcare programs, such as a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplemental insurance program, may also help to save Americans a significant amount of money at the doctor's office.

Healthcare Bill and Its Impact on Medicare

By Wiley Long - President, MedigapAdvisors.com - The nation's leading independent agency specializing in Medigap coverage. Our professional medigap advisors will help you choose the best Medigap plan for your needs.

Marketing To Healthcare Industry: Selling Pharma Products To Doctor

Marketing healthcare products to physicians requires tact and skill. Trust is very important, since physicians are always on the lookout for reliable sources of information on healthcare products. Marketing healthcare products also needs some basic knowledge of clinical evidence, as well as a good sales pitch.

Since many representatives of the pharmacy industry to endorse products approach doctors, you need to be able to convince them about the efficacy of your products. If the sales pitch is overdone, doctors may get annoyed and refuse to listen to you.

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Effective Tips for Marketing Healthcare Products:

Marketing To Healthcare Industry: Selling Pharma Products To Doctor

Here are some ways to convince doctors about the efficacy of your healthcare products.

1) Tone down the sales pitch and provide authentic information. Give as much scientific data and information on clinical trials as you can.

2) Apart from face to face interaction, offer information through the Internet, email, mobile phones, print media and television and radio broadcasts.

3) E-detailing is another method of selling healthcare products to physicians. It involves electronic communication between physicians and sales representatives.

4) Offering online information is another way to market to the healthcare industry. Many doctors use online resources to keep track of the latest developments in the field.

5) Some healthcare companies also organize "fairs" that let physicians meet patients. This is a good chance for the pharma industry to market itself.

6) The Epocrates mobile service provides doctors instant answers to their healthcare related queries. Alerts are sent to physicians when a response to the query is available.

How to Market Healthcare Industry Online:

Online marketing is the latest in the marketing strategies of the healthcare products related industry. Your website must provide the latest, authentic information when marketing to healthcare professionals. Here are some points to keep in mind when selling to physicians online.

1) Combine the sales pitch with facts when presenting your products online.

2) Team with vendors who are trusted by doctors.

3) Market your products on websites that are trusted by doctors.

4) The website should be well maintained and offer the latest information on clinical trials and anything else of interest to doctors.

Physicians are always on the lookout for credible information on the latest healthcare products. You should do your research well when presenting your products to doctors, since they are critical about overt sales pitch and little information. In order to market your products, you need to convince doctors about the quality of the products. Use the latest marketing tools like Internet, mobile devices and telephonic marketing in order to sell healthcare products to physicians. You can approach a business consultant for advice if you need to know more about marketing healthcare products to doctors, as well as to the public.

Marketing To Healthcare Industry: Selling Pharma Products To Doctor

Alexander Gordon is a writer for http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com - The Small Business Consulting Community. Sign-up for the free success steps newsletter and get our booklet valued at .95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.

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France Has the Best Healthcare System in the World

As the United States struggles toward a system of universal health care, many have looked at the Canadian health care system as a model. Only a few have looked toward France. That's a mistake for at least 2 reasons.

First, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), France has the best health care system in the world . It has been widely reported that the WHO found the French system to be number 1 while the Canadian system is number 30 and the U.S. number 37.

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It should be noted here that the WHO rankings actually contain multiple rankings and the numbers generally quoted are the ranking based on the measure that the WHO calls the OP ranking. OP is said to measure "overall performance" adjusted to reflect a country's performance based on how well it theoretically could have performed. When reporting the rankings of 1 for France, 30 for Canada and 37 for the United States, it is the OP ranking being used.

France Has the Best Healthcare System in the World

Why did the French system do so well in the WHO rankings? The French system excels in 4 areas:

• It provides universal coverage
• It has responsive health care providers
• Patients have freedom of choice
• The health and longevity of the population

Second, we should be looking more closely at the French system because it has more similarities with the U.S. system than either the Canadian or British system. Many Americans assume that the French system is like the system in Britain. Nothing could be further from the truth or more insulting to the French.

Exactly like the United States, the French system relies on both private insurance and government insurance. Also, just like in America, people generally get their insurance through their employer. What is different is that everyone in France has health insurance. Every legal resident of France has access to health care under the law of universal coverage called la Couverture maladie universelle.

Under the French system, health insurance is a branch of Social Security or the Sécurité Sociale. The system is funded primarily by taxing the salaries of workers. An employee in France will pay about 20% of their salary to fund the Sécurité Sociale. These taxes represent about 60% of the cost of the health insurance plan.

The balance of the funding comes from the self employed, who pay more than salaried workers, and by indirect taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Finally, additional taxes are levied against other income, both direct and indirect.

The French share the same distaste for restrictions on patient choice as American do. The French system relies on autonomous private practitioners rather than a British-style national health service. The French are very dismissive of the British system which they call "socialized medicine." Virtually all physicians in France participate in the nation's public health insurance, Sécurité Sociale.

Perhaps it's time for us to take a closer look at French ideas about health care reform.

France Has the Best Healthcare System in the World

Sheila Guilloton is the owner of Prestige Planners, a health specialty agency placing health and dental insurance for business and individuals. Licensed with all the major carriers, she counsels and advises clients on how to select the most appropriate coverage. Follow the series on health care systems around the world by visiting http://www.examiner.com/x-11804-Health-Care-Examiner

Quality Health Insurance - United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield

Two of the giants in the health care industry are United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield. For many years, the latter was the number one health insurance provider in the country. Today, however, other companies have surpassed it, although they are still considered to be a first rate carrier of group health insurance.

No Cut-Rates Here!

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In addition to group health policies, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) also offers individual based health coverage. You are not looking at HMO insurance or cut rate health insurance when you choose either United Healthcare Insurance or BCBS. Both of these carriers are considered to be tops when it comes to quality health plans.

Quality Health Insurance - United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield

Most of the time, the person who is enrolled in BCBS or United Healthcare does not make a choice when it comes to getting health care coverage as the insurance is provided to them by their employer. In other cases, a person who seeks out health policies can do so by looking for an agent who will sell them the insurance that they want.

Universal Acceptance with United Healthcare and BCBS

Both group health insurance plans that are being offered by United Healthcare and BCBS are top notch plans and are accepted at most health facilities across the nation as well as in some other countries. Most doctors will accept United Healthcare and BCBS, although they do have their limitations. There are some doctors who will not accept United Healthcare and Blue Cross, although they are few and far between. This is the case with all health care carriers.

Before you get health care insurance, it is always a good idea to make sure that your health care provider accepts the type of policy that you are obtaining so that you can be covered. For the most part, however, both of these prime insurance companies are accepted by most medical care providers.

Weighing the Pros and Cons between United Healthcare and BCBS

When it comes to cost, you may spend a bit less when you get BCBS. The amount that you pay for a premium depends upon the coverage that you get and how many people are in your group. BCBS is still considered to be the top insurance company for those who need to buy individual health packages and who are not covered by group insurance policies as it is reasonable and covers a great deal.

United Healthcare is also a very well known company that is accepted at most of the places where you will see Blue Cross. United Healthcare is a little bit tougher when it comes to pre-existing conditions, although the cost of premiums for those without any pre-existing conditions and who have had a physical in the past 5 years is less than the cost of premiums for those who opt for BCBS.

The choice you make when it comes to health insurance coverage between United Healthcare and BCBS depends on whether you have pre-existing conditions, how much you want to spend for a premium and what type of coverage that you want. Both these companies offer quality coverage that you can purchase on your own or as part of a business group insurance.

Quality Health Insurance - United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield

During these tough times, you need to find the health insurance provider that truly fits your needs. Go to HealthInsuranceReviewer.com and read up on user-provided United Healthcare reviews and Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance reviews to see if any of these providers answer your health care needs.

Fire Prevention in Healthcare Facilities

With a large amount of residents physically unable to move themselves, fires are a particular problem for the healthcare industry. Many facilities have been designed to be fireproof, however because burning materials often release toxic vapors fire prevention has and always will be a top priority. All employees can make a difference with fire prevention. With the proper training all healthcare facilities can become much safer institutions.

To help prevent fires employees need to know what starts them. All fires involve three elements: Heat, Fuel and Oxygen. Removing any of these elements will stop a fire. Fires are started with heat as the ignition and heat can be generated by anything that is hot - open flames, chemical reactions, Faulty electrical, overheated equipment and hot surfaces. Once a fire starts it will grow hotter and it will not stop until one of the three elements has been vanquished.

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Flames are created by vapors coming off of a flammable material. The temperature at which a material gives off flammable vapors is known as a flashpoint. The flashpoint can change depending on how much oxygen is in the air. For instance an ordinary cleanser that would have a high flashpoint in normal air might be flammable in an area where a patient is being given oxygen.

Fire Prevention in Healthcare Facilities

What fuels a fire determines what will be used to extinguish it. Anesthetic gases can be extinguished by shutting off the gas, however most fires are extinguished by applying a material that eliminates the oxygen or the fuel. Applying the wrong substance can be devastating though. For instance, using water can cause burning liquids to spread and water conducts electricity at electrical fires.

Fires are separated into four classes: A, B, C & D. Class A fires involve normal substances like wood, paper or cardboard. These fires can be extinguished with water. Class B fires are fueled by flammable liquids and gasses. Chemical foams are the best way to extinguish these types of fires. Class C Fires are electrical and involve electrical equipment. They are extinguished by non-conductive agents. Class D fires are fueled by combustible metals. These type of fires are extremely difficult to put out and must be left to professional to take extinguish.

When a fire starts healthcare workers need to act quickly. The best way to insure this is an emergency action plan. The plan will carefully define how to report a fire, who will fight the fire, who is responsible for patient safety, evacuation procedures and lastly care of patients during an emergency.

The R.A.C.E. acronym is an easy way to remember what to do.

The first thing you should do is RESCUE. If anyone is in immediate danger get them out of the room and shut the door. ALARM is next. Make sure the fire alarm is activated and 911 has been called. Thirdly CONFINE the fire. Make sure doors are shut and the flames or smoke won't spread to other parts of the facility. The last step is EXTINGUISH. If you have been trained to use a fire extinguisher this is the time to use it, but make sure you are not in danger first. Always, evaluate whether you will be safe during the extinguishing process. Never try to put out a fire if you are not trained, the fire has grown too large, or if you have to open the door to where the fire is.

In office and industrial settings all staff is advised to exit immediately during a fire situation, however in healthcare facilities this is not practical. All non-essential personal and visitors are advised to follow posted escape routes, but in most cases patients are "defended" from the fire and not moved. In many cases, moving patients is more dangerous than the fire. When evacuating make sure you NEVER use the elevator, make certain the all doors are cool to the touch and if smoke rises crawl on the floor if necessary.

The best way to fight a fire is to make sure it doesn't start in the first place. Cigarettes are by far the most common cause of fires in healthcare facilities. Laundry areas, kitchens, storage closets and nurses stations are some of the most common areas for fires to start. You need to be very careful around flammable liquids and in areas where oxygen is being administered.

In conclusion, everyone is an important part of your facilities fire prevention plan. Employee training on fire prevention is crucial and can save lives. Have an emergency plan with clear instructions and make sure all employees know their part in a fire emergency.

Fire Prevention in Healthcare Facilities

Charlie Bentson King is the VP of Creative Content for Workplace Safety Videos - a distributor of safety videos and safety DVDs including safety programs on fire prevention in healthcare facilities.

Capital Budgeting in the Healthcare Industry

Over the past few months, the proposed healthcare reform has been the subject of much discussion and the healthcare industry has come under intense scrutiny as a result of the administration's efforts to curtail the increasing cost of healthcare. As an offshoot of the increasing cost of healthcare now more than ever hospitals have been placed in a situation whereby capital budgeting has become a necessary tool; Not only for sustenance but mostly for survival. Absence of a sound capital budgeting policy might potentially spell disaster for hospitals because an increase in cost accompanied by a decrease in revenue negatively impacts the bottom line and when funds are limited, it is essential to have a game plan of how the funds are to be used otherwise the hospital might find itself in a precarious situation.

Capital budgeting refers to the analysis of investment alternatives involving cash flows received or paid over a certain period of time. More often than not, the best alternative is usually the one that yields the greatest cash flow over time. This point can be disputed because other hospitals might place much emphasis on non-monetary results. In such cases, the best alternative is usually the one that comes as close as possible to yielding results that catapults the hospital closer to its objectives. Capital budgeting is a complicated process in the sense that great care has to be taken in the selection process and competing forces makes it the more challenging. Where there is competition, the possibility of politics being a factor is heightened and politics often times has its drawbacks especially when the voice of the minority is drowned out by the majority or the louder voice.

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In order to better understand how capital budgeting works in the healthcare industry, we'll explore three different scenarios that do play out every once in a while in most hospitals throughout the country. For instance, Human Resources propose a day care facility for employees with children. Justification being: turnover rate of employees will be minimized and more nurses will potentially be attracted to the hospital because of the day care services offered. Turnover is costly to the hospital. Therefore, even though the project does not increase revenue, the project will get to benefit the hospital through reduced costs.

Capital Budgeting in the Healthcare Industry

The second scenario is the Imaging Services Department proposes the purchase of an additional CT scanner to ease the bottleneck and the backlog of work in the department. Purchase of a scanner is quite costly and therefore, if the present one is functional is there a need for a second one? One might argue that the high demand for usage creates tension between employees, wear and tear of the machine increases maintenance costs, overtime pay for the technicians' increases overhead costs and the hospital is left vulnerable in the event that the current scanner seizes to function. These are all valid considerations. However, one wonders; does the total benefit exceed the total cost?

The last scenario is a group of doctors working for the hospital propose the purchase of a special machine that eliminates the need for in house hospitalization of patients. With the new machine comes the benefit of reduced hospitalization. With reduced hospitalization of patients, the hospital might be better placed to reduce variable costs associated with the use of the facilities and safety might be enhanced because the possibility of the hospital exceeding capacity will be greatly reduced by having fewer patients in the facilities. The only drawback is the massive costs involved. The machine requires a large capital outlay upfront. Therefore, in as much as the purchase sounds good, the other alternatives sound equally as good if not better.

Faced with the three alternatives, a financial manager in the healthcare industry should determine the opportunity cost of capital. Opportunity cost of capital works on the fundamental law of finance that states that a dollar today is not the same as a dollar tomorrow. Therefore, when analyzing the three alternatives, the time value of money should not be ignored because one might come to a wrong conclusion if one doesn't consider the time value of money in the analysis. Future cash flows are discounted to the present value using a stated interest rate. Once the present value of all the alternatives is established, then the alternative that yields the highest present value is considered to be the best option. This method of analysis is known as the discounted cash flow method and from a personal standpoint; this method should be used widely in the healthcare industry because it is guided by the important law of finance stated above. I acknowledge the fact that each hospital is unique and estimating the future cash flow is difficult in other instances. In this case, other methods should be considered. However, discounted cash flow method though imperfect at times should be given first priority if all else is clear and all the variables are known.

Capital Budgeting in the Healthcare Industry

Muslim Exemption to Obamacare - Injurious Aspects of the Healthcare Reform Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the upcoming health insurance mandate (Obamacare) does not kick in until the year 2014 but it has already created controversy. One accusation in particular is that Muslims will be exempt from paying into the program. The act does not specifically exempt any particular religion from health insurance requirements. It does however include a general "religious conscious" clause which establishes a religious conscientious exemption. If your religion has an established history of spurning gambling then maybe you have a chance of skipping out of the tax. Let's just bypass for a moment the injustice of my government placing one group of Americans over another and examine the legalistic claim of gambling.

Is insurance really a form of gambling? Gambling involves a certain level of uncertainty but uncertainty does not equate to gambling. The purpose of insurance is to transfer risk elsewhere so that you are not burdened by catastrophic financial costs. In the event of property damage or loss for instance, the policy payout is not in the form of winnings but merely a "return of capital" to restore that asset to its pre-incident condition. In such an instance the settlement money received is not even taxed by the IRS. Contrast that with lottery and other gambling winnings which most certainly are taxed.

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Even religions that do not allow gambling allow exceptions for certain types of insurance which are required by law, such as automobile insurance, homeowner's insurance and social security. That's right; U.S. Muslims pay into the Social Security system and also accept Social Security payments.

Muslim Exemption to Obamacare - Injurious Aspects of the Healthcare Reform Act

OASDI, which stands for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, is a comprehensive federal benefits program that was established by Congress in 1935. The program includes retirement benefits, disability income, veteran's pension, public housing, and even the food stamp program. The Social Security tax is used to pay for the program. By law, the program is administered by the Social Security Administration. Today we just commonly refer to this blessed program as "Social Security."

It is an insurance program. The government is prohibited from ordering you to pay insurance premiums and so therefore they designate the payroll contributions as a tax and use the IRS to collect the funds to pay for the whole thing. OASDI (Social Security) is an insurance program and American Muslims are required to participate in this program.

We are not perfect but Americans collectively believe in fairness. If government health care is required to provide benefits then all able recipients should be required to pay. What if you can opt out of PPACA? If certain groups collectively decide not to participate in government health care are we then to deny them medical attention? Are hospitals to potentially turn away injured and dying Muslims and their children because they refused to pay into the health system? Of course not. If the benefits apply to everyone then so should the cost.

Let us take another tack as we reconnoiter this gambling charge. As I sit here writing this article my personal Social Security Statement shows that I have been paying Social Security and Medicare taxes since the age of 16. The minimum legal gambling age in most states is either 18 or 21. If insurance is a form of gambling, then governments and even private companies are breaking the law by collecting both Social Security and Medicare taxes from minors. Since there is documented proof that my government forced me into sinful debauchery at such a young and impressionable age then America is guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If insurance equates to gambling then I demand a full refund plus interest, or at the very least some free therapy.

Muslim Exemption to Obamacare - Injurious Aspects of the Healthcare Reform Act

Todd Lester's career has spanned across many years and numerous industries. He has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and licensed to sell investments and insurance, worked as a retail manager, turned wrenches as an automotive mechanic, served cubicle time as an office manager and even owned his own business for many years restoring car interiors. And that is just since graduating college with a Finance degree. During much of this time, he was also a citizen soldier, serving twenty one years in the Army National Guards of both Louisiana and Texas as an Army bandsman. He has even performed as a clown with the Shrine Circus.

The Importance of Healthcare Marketing

Modern healthcare services have improved a lot more than what they used to be just a few years back. Patients today are well educated and very much aware of every new development in the field of medicine, thanks to advanced technologies and the Internet.

In such a scenario, as a medical practitioner, it is important to market yourself and your practice in such a way that your patients feel positive about you. Only then can you ensure that your current patients will keep visiting and also attract newer ones. This is the reason why healthcare marketing is nowadays essential for all healthcare professionals.

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You need to identify the needs of your patients and the community in general to chalk out a marketing plan with a vision about what you want to achieve and what you need to do to accomplish those goals.

The Importance of Healthcare Marketing

Gone are the days when a patient would just go to the nearest doctor. The modern educated patients are willing to go that extra mile if the doctor is proven to be the expert in his field. They search and gather enough information and visit a physician only when they are convinced about his skills. And how do you let them know about your specialty and expertise? You need a proper healthcare marketing plan which uses strategic marketing tactics to achieve that.

Modern patients are not merely patients suffering from ailments who are in search of treatment options, but also consumers looking for good service related to their health and well being. And your practice is not just a practice; it is also a business which you need to market well to earn revenue and make profits.

Make the most of modern technology and use the internet and video conferencing facilities. Offer online consultations to expand your customer base. Build a website which your patients find useful and informative. Keep updating it with information about your latest additions, change in timings or add links to informative websites. Have your site customized to provide online scheduling of appointments, maintenance of patients' records or patients' testimonials.

In the present times, there are many organizations which work on all days of the week and even 24 hours a day. You also need to make sure that your care and service is available to your patients at all times, whenever they need it, without any compromise on quality. Good marketing will ensure that your patients know that your services are available at all times.

A good marketing plan will also assure your patients that it is their well being that you value the most. True, they bring you the much needed revenue, but their health is your priority and you have to make sure that they are informed about it.

Healthcare marketing is not just about money but also your reputation and goodwill which cannot be built overnight. There are a lot of intangible benefits which a patient gets from a physician and these are what will actually help you retain your patients. So you need an effective marketing plan which helps patients know the benefits of being associated with you. You will also be able to nurture your relationship with your patients, both existing and new.

The Importance of Healthcare Marketing

John White is a medical marketing expert who works full time with health care providers to increase their visibility on the web space to get people connected with the Medical Professionals.

The Future of Healthcare - The Impact of Technology

The advances in the technology and pharmaceutical products have resulted in a lot of innovations in the healthcare industry. New medicines are being developed in order to treat, manage and prevent many diseases and aging conditions of baby boomer population. Based on molecular and genetic tests new medical treatments and discoveries are being made. The future of healthcare seems to be bright as advances are being made in the health care technology and more individualized and targeted tests are being made, which reveal how people respond to different drugs.

Future of healthcare will also be impacted by the recently started electronic medical records. With the advancement of technology, the electronic medical records are sure to be affected and improved, thereby making the process of maintaining the patient related data in a more enhanced and sophisticated way. Eventually all the paper based patient related data will be converted to electronic medical records, thereby eliminating the need to maintain paper based records. At present thirty eight percent of the physicians have made a switch to the electronic medical record system and this percentage is expected to rise in the near future.

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Telemedicine is another interesting aspect that is bound to gain a lot of focus in the future of healthcare industry. Telemedicine is a process of connecting physicians and patients through modern day technology, such as the internet. Telemedicine allows the physicians to interact with the patients via internet in a real time situation, thereby eliminating the need of making an office visit. This not only saves a lot of time but also cuts down on the expenses. With the advancements in technology, telemedicine is sure to gain a lot of advantage. It is a growing trend that will maintain its progress even in the future.

The Future of Healthcare - The Impact of Technology

Robotic surgery is another important aspect of future of healthcare sector. In the recent years, more and more robots have been assisting the surgeons in the operation rooms and this is a trend that is bound to gain a lot of focus in the coming years. Be it a surgery related to a prostrate cancer or heart, robotic surgery is an efficient solution. Though highly expensive, the usage of a robot for a surgery results in a shorter recovery time, since the surgery procedure is less invasive. Another surgery that a robot can efficiently perform is the hysterectomy. The process of removing the uterus for a wide variety of reasons is known as hysterectomy and this is one of the surgeries that a robot can perform very efficiently. Since, most of the women do not like the scars, which surface after the surgery, robotic surgery is the solution for them. As the robots perform the surgery with very less invasion, there are very less scars and even the recovery time is very short.

The future of healthcare has a lot of potential in discovering alternative medicines, new treatments and prevention techniques, etc. The more common the technology becomes, the less expensive will it be.

The Future of Healthcare - The Impact of Technology

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Obamacare: Healthcare and Its Bill

It has now been just over 6 months since Obama's Healthcare Bill, also known as "Obamacare", passed Congress. The first of these Healthcare Bill benefits have just started. And Obama is spending his time reminding us to be grateful for his ingenious leadership.

But, especially as a senior citizen, what exactly are we supposed to be grateful for? Even if you're not a senior citizen now, you will be one someday (God willing), so in other words, every one, from every stage and walk of life should be asking themselves, and their Government, this question

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What he has been telling us about his Obamacare is this: insurance companies will not be allowed to compel yearly limits, lifetime restrictions on benefits, and all children will have the assurance of insurance (regardless of any pre-existing health conditions). And the President promises more of these good things in the future.

Obamacare: Healthcare and Its Bill

What is so odd about being grateful for these wonderful and good things, you ask? Nothing, absolutely nothing. But what is not a blessing, and the question our Leader refuses to answer is this: Who is going to be forced to pay for all these wonderful benefits? Even the extensive website that his administration has set up does not address who will bare the cost of this great bill. In fact, the wording lends more to the idea that no one will be responsible to pay, it will simply be "free".

One of the first things I remember hearing my father say is, "there's no such thing as a free lunch". You've heard that saying too. And it's still an accurate statement (and always will be), the money has to come from somewhere. And all this wonderful coverage The Healthcare Bill promises won't be cheap. While the individual beneficiary of Obamacare might not pay, someone, somewhere, sometime, will have to. And those persons, at that time, will pay dearly.

Our President has told us many times over that the rich and upper class should be shelling out more money, much more money, for their government than they already do. And in the case of Healthcare Reform, he says it's a great place for them to start. You know the people he's talking about - those who haven't been hit by the recession, those who have probably gained something from this economic hardship... the ones who had President Bush in their pockets.

According to a study done by Book and Capretts, that's not the correct answer. In actuality, those who will bare the brunt of the high cost of Healthcare Reform will be those with low-income, minorities; all the people who are currently struggling to pay their own medical bills will apparently, eventually, also be burdened with the bills for the rest of the country. And these are the people the President has promised the Healthcare Bill will help the most. Particularly since the current recession, those who are lower-income and elderly are struggling the most. The way to fix that isn't the Healthcare Bill.

Obamacare: Healthcare and Its Bill

For a better understand of what else is in President Obama's Healthcare Bill, visit [http://whatsinthehealthcarebill.com]

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Knowledge Management in Healthcare: Succeeding in Spite of Technology

Technology and healthcare always have had an uneasy relationship. On one hand, there is the promise of technology and the enhancements it offers healthcare. These include improved medical information access, streamlined reporting, automation, reduced errors and more efficient processes. On the other hand, technology has fallen short of its full potential in healthcare, as too many competing systems make integrated data difficult to obtain. Additionally, the burdens of data entry and analysis burdens overwhelm rather than streamline processes.

Healthcare faces these mistakes if it "applies" technology to organizational Knowledge Management (KM) without first identifying KM goals and understanding how a KM system will be used by administrators, physicians, managers, and staff. Technology facilitates knowledge exchange, but it is not the end-all to managing knowledge effectively. Technology designed to enhance the interaction among a community of similar-minded participants, such as healthcare employees, can greatly enhance the exchange of knowledge. But it is the process and culture of an organization rather than the level of applied technology that make a KM system a wealth or void of retrievable information.

Healthcare

An effective KM system is built on communication and education and thrives in organizations encouraging shared learning both within and outside of the hospital walls. These systems store historical knowledge and knowledge created during exchanges of information among people who are interested in learning. Knowledge management systems designed with goals in mind, versus just acquiring the most advanced technology, is what will support healthcare organizations in streamlining processes, reducing costs and improving care.

Knowledge Management in Healthcare: Succeeding in Spite of Technology

Why Knowledge Management in Healthcare?

Healthcare industry professionals are realizing that previous efforts, (e.g. searching for the elusive "best practice" and applying it as a commodity), bureaucratic and toothless performance improvement initiatives and poorly thought-out IT implementations, have not led to improved results and reduced costs. As a mindset, KM attaches importance to knowledge and identifies the value of knowledge at different levels. As a framework, KM facilitates knowledge access and transfer, which helps change behaviors and improve decisions. Knowledge management systems support healthcare workers in using available knowledge to develop organizational learning. This learning assists the employees in critiquing a compilation of practice ideas and successfully designing a customized "Best Practice" for the organization. A good KM system can help staff create and exploit new knowledge. It is capable of driving decisions, change and improvements to all levels of the organization. And, in this era of escalating costs and declining reimbursements, an effective KM system is virtually essential to a healthcare organization's process improvement and cost reduction strategies.

Hospitals can be isolated places, which make it tough to gather 'knowledge'. The clinical side has the measurable research and knows the outcomes, but the operational side of the hospital lacks this information. Consider this example. A hospital's operational staff may be well aware of the increased benefit to changing one of its products used for patient care management. Nevertheless, the staff struggles when it comes to demonstrating the cost/benefit to administration and to the physicians. A KM system offers a hospital staff access to strategies and contacts so they can learn how others have successfully carried out similar situations.

Can We Talk?

Hospital staff is willing to share their knowledge with others in the field, although it's often done informally, such as networking at a convention or conversations with internal and external peers. Effective KM systems capitalize on these opportunities.

How does a KM system change behaviors and improve decisions? One hospital department is concerned with retaining staff, especially in light of the current nursing shortage. Typically, the manager struggles with the staffing issues alone or relies on a few peers within the department. Yet, what if the manager could connect with a peer internally and solicit his or her advice, even though this employee works in an unrelated department? The insight and perspective from an "outsider" may be very useful. How about contacting peers at other facilities? An effective KM system would facilitate 'experience sharing' among people struggling with staffing issues. It also archives the solutions brainstormed from the interaction to use as a basis for growing the collective knowledge of the group. This information is then readily accessible the next time a hospital manager (within the hospital or from another facility) faces retention issues.

Another method hospitals typically use to gain knowledge is gathering ideas from a multitude of experts, as is done when attending a conference or a convention. Yet, how is that information disseminated throughout the hospital or healthcare organization if only two employees attended the convention? If it is difficult to share and build ideas within one department or even throughout one hospital, how can anyone expect cross-hospital exchanges to prove fruitful? Obviously, it is more difficult to share information when individuals are not physically together and even more complex when the individuals are employees of different healthcare organizations. The benefits of sharing such a huge reservoir of knowledge are colossal. Technology is a must in these cases.

Knowledge Management ≠ Information Technology

Effective KM cannot be thought of, nor treated, as simply another exercise in information technology. Unfortunately, due to the access and distribution enhancements technology provides, healthcare administrators often have a distorted view of a KM system as an information technology system or as a solution that needs to be applied. While technology enhances sharing and information exchange, even the most technologically advanced KM system will not solve every dilemma. The keys to a successful KM implementation are:

· Identify the knowledge to exchange and distribute

· Determine how knowledge will be managed

· Match technology and resources appropriately to the culture and needs of the organization

Another fallacy about KM is that "knowledge" can be reduced to documents and then warehoused in a computer database for people to access as needed. The improvement resulting from a KM system comes from personal interaction, the sharing of experiences, taking action and recording the results, growing collective knowledge of a group and building new knowledge from the experiences of others. Technology based solely on warehousing knowledge "documents" or best practices are not successful in driving change and improvement in the organization.

It takes resources beyond technology to manage knowledge effectively. Group interactions must be facilitated, results must be archived and reinvested in the knowledge pool and management actions and change must be supported by the organization. Effectively managing and leveraging knowledge in an organization cannot be abdicated to the IT system.

Apply Thoughtful Technology

Organizations have a habit of buying the latest, greatest KM system on the market, if for no other reason than because others have done the same. Yet, elaborate systems that aren't called for tend to breed reluctance. Does the hospital or healthcare organization really need the latest and greatest? When analyzing the implementation of a KM system, first determine what is really necessary to meet the hospital's needs. For instance, take the simple suggestion box. Are the employees making practical suggestions or snide comments? Is the suggestion box readily accessible? Does the hospital culture encourage suggestions and incorporate them into the organization's routines? If so, this is a working and useful KM system. This is when technology can really enhance the system by extending its reach and providing a historical warehouse of implementations. But, when the suggestion box isn't used appropriately, then having the latest, greatest, technologically advanced computer suggestion box won't improve anything. Once again, an organization requires a "learning" culture to value the collaborative learning obtained through KM systems.

Some organizations overcome these obstacles by using technology as a tool instead of as a solution. Technology can enhance knowledge exchange by providing multiple access models (interactive events and data warehouses) and widespread distribution of new and innovative ideas. Thoughtful abstracting and archiving of events and documents enable managers to actively apply lessons learned by others and applies knowledge to their daily work.

Managing Competing Expectations of Users and Administrators

Unless it fills some need and is easily accessible in one's daily routine, a KM system will probably be ignored. Healthcare runs at a hectic pace and staff needs to spend as little time as possible navigating a KM system to obtain useful information. Administrators will not support KM efforts unless they see demonstrated results. Consider the following criteria when weighing the pros and cons of a KM system:

· What is the organization's purpose for the KM system?

· Where is the existing knowledge?

· How is the knowledge transferred?

· Who will have access to the system?

· How will access privileges vary among staff members?

· How will each department use the system?

· How will ideas be exchanged, in-house exclusively or
with other organizations?

· What is the structure of the KM system? Will it just
create directories of experts or will it also create active learning communities (active learning)?

· What amount of support will be required at each level?

· How user-friendly is it?

It never serves an organization to design a system with all the fancy bells and whistles, just for the sake of having slick features. Create a KM system consistent with the way the hospital staff will use it. If the purpose is to inspire employees to think 'outside the box', systems can be designed to facilitate this. The best way to manage competing expectations is to understand it all upfront. The healthcare industry, especially, does not have the bankroll to pay for underutilized features.

Key Components for A Successful KM System:

1. Fulfills organizational goals. A KM system structured around an organization's goals will support the efforts of employees to reach these goals. John Ager, Team Coordinator of the Endoscopy Department for Sentara Healthcare Systems, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has participated in monthly teleconference calls with colleagues nationwide. "It is part of my hospital's goal to do benchmarking. This hospital is very strong on sharing information and the previous methods were not effective. Prior to the teleconference calls, we were doing phone communication, which was difficult at best. Now we have set scheduled times on a monthly basis and we just recently picked up using computer-based knowledge."

2. Addresses social networks. If employees feel like they belong to a particular group, then they are more likely to share successes and failures with that group. Sharing failures is especially beneficial to a knowledge management system since people tend to learn more effectively when they're told/shown what not to do. Develop knowledge communities or communities of practice (COP's) around functional and clinical topics. Orchestrate events where staff can share experiences (especially failures) without fear of censure.Collective history of a social network is important. The background information from all participants in a COP builds a shared, historical base, which solidifies commitment to the group process and increases exchanges. "I've really enjoyed the participation," says Ager. "It has really helped me get a better picture of the field I'm in because I'm actually having a one-on-one immediate interaction with somebody as opposed to the old process where you'd have a fixed set of questions you'd e-mail to them. Then, you'd try to call them to get answers or they would fax their answers back to you. It wasn't as clear and concise. This is ongoing and I like the immediate and personal response back," explains Ager.

3. Archives existing knowledge. Create historical records by categorizing and abstracting knowledge gleaned from interactions. Make it easy for users to locate relevant learning. Ager uses his KM system to share documentation prior to the actual teleconference with the other participants. They use spreadsheets and data management for references when talking on the telephone. "I've found this aspect beneficial because as we are talking, I'm able to look at the information firsthand and it spurs questions for me too," says Ager. Additionally, all participants receive e-mail summations of the teleconference (created by the KM system coordinator). Call topics are based on the suggestions and questions introduced in previous teleconferences. If one facility has a specific question, the coordinator will request examples related to this question from all participants, summarize the information and then forward it to all facilities.

4. Facilitates "new" knowledge. Knowledge comes from many sources including knowledge forums, conference calls, research articles, surveys, and opinion polls. Encourage participants to exchange ideas and share experiences, challenges and successes. Most people are not able to develop an action plan simply by reading or analyzing data. Rather, they are more inspired by talking and exchanging ideas. According to Ager, "Participating in the teleconference calls is one of the best ways of sharing information that I've been exposed to in the last nine years since I've been working for this facility. It's given me real time data and real people to talk to. Issues constantly change. At one point, staffing was a priority at several of the facilities and because we shared information, other facilities implemented the shared ideas when it was the right time for them. It's easier than looking at a piece of paper with raw data on it wondering what to do with it."

Moving Forward

The explosion of information technology and its instant accessibility have created powerful solutions for the healthcare business. Healthcare must invest its resources and technology wisely. A carefully considered and well-resourced KM implementation will enable organizations to leverage data, knowledge and experience to improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. Why 'reinvent these conversations' when they've already taken place countless times? KM systems designed to serve an organization's goals, and built to foster social interactions that encourage the exchange of knowledge, will assist organizations in revolutionizing healthcare.

Sidebar: Keys to Generating New Knowledge
Use these ideas when designing a KM system:

· Create Communities of Practice (COP)

· Moderate COP processes to extract learning

· Make continuous learning available

· Determine how successes are shared and how failures are communicated

· Analyze failure for future learning

· Generate, abstract and categorize historical knowledge records

· Provide multiple access paths for participants

Knowledge Management in Healthcare: Succeeding in Spite of Technology

Shelley Burns is director of knowledge management at The Healthcare Management Council Inc., a benchmarking and performance improvement firm in Needham, MA. For more information, call (781) 449-5287 or visit the company web site at http://www.HMC-benchmarks.com.

How the Healthcare Industry is Affected by the Economic Recession

The fact that people get sick and need care will not be changed whether there is an economic recession or not. Thus, it can be argued that the healthcare industry is recession proof. In addition to this, the population is currently aging, more obese and prone to unhealthy diets, and demand better healthcare. With this, it is predicted that the demand for healthcare services and healthcare workers in discount landau scrubs will increase exponentially in the next ten to twenty years. However, the issues may not be as easy and as simple as people would like to suppose.

Economic status

Healthcare

Despite a person's economic status, a person will always get sick at some point and need healthcare. However, the question is, with the coming recession and with people tightening their belts and budgets, can people afford healthcare especially since it has increasingly become expensive? During hard times, it is likely that people will put off healthcare as much as possible and prioritize spending for their living expenses and paying off their mortgage loans. Most likely, people will not seek the help of a medical professional unless it is absolutely essential. What this could entail is that while the number of patients who seek care will decrease in number, those who are seeking care will be more often sicker than usual.

How the Healthcare Industry is Affected by the Economic Recession

Health insurance

For those who have health insurance, the recession years bring in higher co-pays, higher out-of-pocket expenses, and higher deductibles, plus changes in the coverage of beneficiaries. These changes will significantly alter the way Americans seek healthcare and thus impact the healthcare providers. Because of the new stringent policies of health insurance companies, people will be more reluctant in seeking healthcare, prioritizing paying the mortgage and buying food over paying for medical bills.

Different reactions

At the beginning of the recession, many people rushed to have surgeries and replacement procedures done, in the possibility of getting laid off and losing their health insurance-taking advantage of it while they still had it. On the other hand, other people forgo going to the doctor or getting checked, in the fear of losing their jobs if they were absent or took the time off from work.

Economic outlook

Thus the economic climate for the healthcare industry is not as peachy as most people would like to declare, and is actually erratic and hard to predict. Some hospitals and clinics have faced financial losses in the economic crisis because of the mention factors. Because of these, some have lain off some staff and others instituted hiring freezes. Still, these downturns are temporary. Those who have cancer, heart disease, chronic diseases, and emergency medical situations will have to seek healthcare whether they can afford it or not and the aging population will also require it. The nursing shortage is still being felt despite the economic crisis. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that there will be a 23% increase of demand for more registered nurses between 2006 and 2016. The bad news is that before the economy recovers, an estimated 4.2 million Americans could lose their health insurance coverage.

How the Healthcare Industry is Affected by the Economic Recession

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Integrated Healthcare Systems

The world of healthcare is always changing.  When you think back to healthcare and health services back when our parents and grandparents were children and then compare things to healthcare today things are drastically different.  One thing that has changed and developed and also continues to change and develop as we speak is what is called the integrated healthcare systems.  Sometimes also referred to as multi-care providers or multi-care treatment, these systems intend on focusing on convenience for the client or patient and ease of working through the system.  Typically these systems cover a wide area of travel and are operated through multiple levels.  The systems also incorporate many different types of services including medical services and general health and wellness services as well.  The goal is the get you healthy and to keep you that way with this type of integrated system.

A system such as Manhattan Illinois healthcare has many different offices and services connected to it.  There is typically a large hospital that would be the main center and then many other clinics, offices, and even smaller hospitals that feed into and work off of or from the larger hospital.  Patients can visit a doctor in a medical center or office and expect to the same level of service if they visit a different doctor, hospital, or other provider that is within the same integrated healthcare systems.  There is also the benefit of having your medical records contained in the same system so that you don't have as much trouble trying to track down a get your medical records to all your different doctors.

Healthcare

Information is many times also maintained in the integrated healthcare systems information center so that if you visit Monee healthcare instead of another center then your information can be located because it is all consider the same provider.  In a way this is like an umbrella system that covers the patient.  There can be advantages for a patient and the goal of the integrated healthcare system is to make the experience better for both the patient and for the healthcare providers as well.

Integrated Healthcare Systems

This way of providing care for patients is drastically different than how the doctors and nurses may have provided care in the past but one could say that it is an attempt on a large scale to make patients feel similar.  A doctor from Manteno healthcare is not likely to come to your home to provide care but the hope would be that because you are in this network of healthcare and provided quality and uniform care that you may feel somewhat like your father or grandfather felt with the doctor at their home.

Integrated Healthcare Systems

A great website to check out if you are interested in an integrated healthcare system is Riverside Medical Center where you can get a good idea of how the system works and what they offer. You can visit the Manhattan Illinois healthcare [http://www.riversidehealthcare.org/locations/health-centers/health-center-info.html] center or the Monee healthcare [http://www.riversidehealthcare.org/locations/health-centers/health-center-info.html] location or the Manteno healthcare location to get an in person experience and some excellent healthcare as well.

Healthcare Consulting - Discover 4 Remarkable Methods to Become a Healthcare Consultant

If you are thinking about sinking your teeth into the healthcare consulting field, it is a must that you understand what this business is all about.

Healthcare consulting refers to the service that aims to assist hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers in the business side of what they are doing. You see, most of these people spend 8-10 years learning how to make a patient well. They know little about running their own clinics or their own hospital. Thus, they usually hire healthcare consultants who can help them in regards to hiring concerns, marketing issues, bookkeeping questions, strategic planning, tying up with other companies, information technology, operations management, governance, etc. Healthcare providers who ignore all these things can be assured that their business will suffer.

Healthcare

Now that you know the role of a healthcare consultant, here's what you need to do to become one:

Healthcare Consulting - Discover 4 Remarkable Methods to Become a Healthcare Consultant

1. Get a degree. You don't need to be a doctor or a nurse just to be a healthcare consultant. What you need is a degree in business in order to effectively help your clients. You may want to get a degree in business marketing, psychology, and business management.

2. Get experience. Most people will not hire you if you don't have relevant experience in this field. So, I recommend that you offer your services for free, at least for the mean time or until you're able to create an impressive portfolio. As you will not charge your clients, you can be assured that you'll easily be able to get these people to sign up. Make sure that you impress them all the way so they will recommend you to other people.

3. Get experience in the healthcare field. You'll become a more effective healthcare consultant if you have an experience in this field. You can apply as a volunteer or work as marketing staff for a physician or to a hospital. The more exposure you get, the better your chances of understanding this field.

4. Communication is the key. Once you were able to get your prospects to sign up, make sure that you get to know their unique needs and demands before you offer recommendations or your ideas. Sit with them and offer them all the time they need. Encourage them to discuss their goals or problems with you in details so you can get a clear picture. Take down all the important elements raised on your conversations and use them as reference later on.

Healthcare Consulting - Discover 4 Remarkable Methods to Become a Healthcare Consultant

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Baby-Boomers, Healthcare, the Economy and Network Marketing

As e-commerce and the internet moves ahead, consumers are moving in huge numbers to the world wide web for all their shopping needs. We are renting movies from our mail boxes, ordering groceries online to be delivered to our doors. All sorts of courses are being offered online and people are connecting together from all countries of the world. This is a wonderful trend and I believe that it is set to get even stronger because of the current recession.

This international trend is really great news for the network marketing industry. Savvy network marketers are scurrying to identify their marketplace and it seems they've found it. The Baby Boomers, the group that has made millionaires of the CEO's smart enough to be one step ahead of them, are getting old. They are looking for financial security and with the economy and fuel prices being as they are home business is looking very attractive indeed to a lot of people.

Healthcare

We have watched the baby boomers move like giants through the stages of their lives and as they approach their 5th generation an enormous opportunity is emerging. Prepared baby food, hula hoops, fast food, and fashion have given way to a generation that that has discovered a new appreciation for staying young and healthy and we are also looking to really live our lives more fully aligned with who we are.

Baby-Boomers, Healthcare, the Economy and Network Marketing

The Boomers want to look and feel younger, they want more energy, and high quality natural health care products. They want to feel good! They're a particular bunch and once they make up their minds, there's no stopping them. Network marketers have realized the same and are quickly responding to the demand.

A recent Google search for natural health care products returned over 3 million hits, a similar search for network marketing of natural health care products returned half that number. Those with the foresight to identify this trend and focus their marketing on this audience will very shortly reap the rewards.

In the United States alone, adults over the age of 50 are responsible for over 500 billion of the dollars being spent in direct health care spending. That number is expected to be well over a trillion dollars in the next two years. This same group represents over 40 million users of credit cards, almost half of the total number issued in the United States.

The health issues the Boomers are facing are chronic and if they have their way, they will be around for a long, long time. Baby Boomers are confident, optimistic and extremely liberated. To maintain their current lifestyles, they have to take care of their bodies, minds and spirits. They're independent, educated and financially stable.

They know what they want and are more than willing to go after it. The equation, Baby Boomers+ health care products+ network marketing = financial success. This generation has made a habit of being young and they will not disappear quietly. They want to continue to live healthy and active lives and are willing to spend money to do it.

Education for network marketing is the key to positioning ahead of this trend. You may say that you do not have time to learn how to be successful in this very lucrative industry with your very busy lifestyle and I will be posting many articles to help you to get much needed education in this area or you can take a look at my to gain more information or you can let me know if you have any questions.

Baby-Boomers, Healthcare, the Economy and Network Marketing

Warm regards,
Susan Hinds
Australia
Phone 61363344083
US Toll Free Number - 1-866-725-1170
Yahoo or Skype - susanhindsoz
http://thesuccessprinciples.ws

Healthcare Environmental Issues and Opportunities

The healthcare industry affects the lives of virtually everyone in the United States. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), healthcare expenditures will account for approximately 17% of the Gross Domestic Product this year. Many activities in the healthcare industry result in land, water or air pollution. Much of the waste is recyclable and consists of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metals. There are two other types of solid waste in healthcare: regulated medical waste and hazardous or chemical waste. Additionally, hospitals discharge large amounts of wastewater and release air emissions from their facility operations.

Oftentimes, hospital services are decentralized, departmentalized, or even managed by contracted services. There may be little or no centralization of efforts. There may be minimal regard, knowledge or control over minimizing waste or environmental impact. If healthcare organizations really want to decrease costs and reduce their carbon footprint, they must embrace sustainability with the full support of top management. They must pay close attention to what they purchase and what they discard.

Healthcare

There are many variables affecting healthcare waste minimization:

Healthcare Environmental Issues and Opportunities

* The types of products and materials purchased

* The types of waste segregation systems

* The degree to which wastes are identified

* The locations of the waste generation

Healthcare wastes can be categorized as:

* Municipal

* Recycling (Pennsylvania Act 101, for example)

* Regulated medical waste (Bio-hazardous or Red Bag Waste)

* Hazardous waste (listed and characteristic waste, commingled waste, pressurized containers and ignitable gas, and universal waste)

* Universal Waste (Batteries, Fluorescent Bulbs, Electronics, Mercury-containing Equipment)

* Waste water, Storm Water and Air Emissions

Municipal Waste:

The United States healthcare industry generates 6,670 tons of waste per day, most of which is solid or municipal waste. Of this solid waste, more than half is composed of paper and cardboard. Hospitals with excellent recycling programs recycle over 40 percent of their total municipal waste.

Recycling:

Many states mandate commercial and residential recycling of a wide range of materials. For example, Pennsylvania Act 101 mandates recycling in Pennsylvania's larger municipalities and requires counties to develop municipal waste management plans. The goals of the Act are to reduce Pennsylvania's municipal waste generation; recycle at least 25% of waste generated; procure and use recycled and recyclable materials in state governmental agencies; and educate the public as to the benefits of recycling and waste reduction.

Municipalities must collect at least 3 of the following materials: clear glass; colored glass; plastics; aluminum; steel and bimetallic cans; high grade office paper; corrugated paper and newsprint. Commercial, municipal and institutional establishments are required to recycle aluminum, high-grade office paper and corrugated paper in addition to other materials chosen by the municipality. Leaf and composting are required to be separated from municipal waste. Businesses, including hospitals, are encouraged to help reduce waste by purchasing products that are durable, repairable, recycled, recyclable and/or have minimal packaging, and to find other uses for surplus goods instead of throwing them away.

Regulated Medical Waste:

Industry best practices for red bag waste are between one and three pounds of red bag waste per patient day, yet many hospitals still treat 25 to 30% percent of their total waste stream as infectious. Bio-hazardous waste includes sharps, pathological waste, blood and blood products, blood-soaked items, and non-regulated chemotherapy waste. Most patients in medical-surgical rooms generate little, if any, infectious waste, however, there may still be reluctance on the part of hospitals to "source-separate" the bio-hazardous waste at the patient's bedside or at the place of treatment. Some healthcare organizations still consider all waste generated in a patient's room as red bag waste even when the waste contains no visible blood. Hospitals may fear that they will be cited with a violation should an item of trash be discarded improperly.

Progress in pharmaceutical technology has reduced the need for surgical interventions. Changes in healthcare reimbursements have decreased the length of stay in hospitals and increased home care and outpatient healthcare. Healthcare products are being packaged more efficiently and the use of plastics instead of glass has lessened the weight of many products. Despite all these advances, the widespread purchase and use of "disposables" in healthcare has created large amounts of waste that cannot easily be recycled. Many "single-use" medical devices can be safely sterilized and reprocessed and used many times. This can save healthcare organizations significant dollars by minimizing their need to purchase single use items.

Hazardous Chemical Waste:

The healthcare industry generates only small quantities of hazardous chemicals relative to the amount of municipal solid waste or bio-hazardous waste. Hospitals that own research laboratories generate greater volumes and more diverse types of hazardous chemicals. Healthcare laboratories that perform diagnostic testing often use a large volume of a few chemicals such as xylene, alcohol and formalin in their processes. Some labs recycle and reuse chemicals to avoid the cost associated with hazardous waste disposal and repurchase of new materials. Other labs are equipped with chemical analyzer systems with reagent reservoirs that reduce the total amounts of chemicals used and waste generated.

Wastewater Discharge:

Most healthcare facilities discharge wastewater to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Dischargers are classified as major based on an assessment of six characteristics: (1) toxic pollutant potential; (2) waste stream flow volume; (3) conventional pollutant loading; (4) public health impact; (5) water quality factors; and (6) proximity to nearby coastal waters.

Healthcare Wastewater Best Practices include:

* Limit the use of water discharged through conservation and reusing water wherever possible.

* Train employees to use water more efficiently.

* Post signs at all floor drains and sinks to discourage employees from using drains to dispose of oil, vehicle fluids, solvents, and paints.

* Use non-toxic floor cleaners or "Green Chemicals."

* Consider capping off unused floor drains.

* Prevent any spills and drips from reaching the drain.

* Know where your floor drains discharge.

* Set up a preventive maintenance program for inspecting and cleaning floor drains, traps and oil/water separators.

Air Emissions:

Hospitals may generate air emissions from boilers, emergency generators, sterilization chemicals (ethylene oxide), air conditioning and refrigeration, paint booths, and laboratory fume hoods.

Boilers: Many hospitals operate industrial boilers, which generate criteria pollutants (NOx, SO2, particulates, CO) as well as hazardous air pollutants. NOx emissions from boilers are the most serious criteria air pollutant generated by the healthcare industry. Click here for information regarding EPA's new HAP regulations for boilers.

Incinerator emissions: As a result of the Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators HMIWI rule, most facilities no longer have on site-incinerators.

Healthcare Sustainability:

Through training, education, source-separation, environmental purchasing, energy conservation, recycling initiatives and waste minimization, a green initiative will have a major impact on reducing waste and pollution. Healthcare facilities should organize a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and establish a sustainability program if they haven't already done so. A Green Team will reduce waste from healthcare operations while saving money. Paying attention to the little things pays big dividends. It is also an important component of any organization's public relations and marketing arsenal.

Healthcare Environmental Issues and Opportunities

How EES Can Help:

Environmental and Engineering Solutions, Inc. is the trusted source for environmental compliance for numerous hospitals. Our comprehensive services in sustainability, energy conservation and environmental, health and safety compliance make EES your best choice for sustainable development and cost savings. Call Tom Petersen at 215-881-9401 or email at tom@eesolutions.net for a complimentary site visit to review your current sustainability and compliance practices and to suggest areas for improvement.

Technology in Healthcare

The use of technology in healthcare has opened the way for improvements in a variety of areas. One proof of the advantages and benefits of technology is that more people are surviving diseases like cancer and heart disease due to the ability to diagnose them earlier than previously capable. With this capability comes the advantage of being able to use a protocol that may be less drastic than one needed as the disease progresses. With a disease like cancer, as it metastasizes, the ability to fight it and eliminate it gets harder and harder. Although, another use of technology in healthcare has brought us new drugs that can target more precisely the particular cancer cells along with being more targeted in other areas. It has also brought us new radiation equipment that can be far more accurate and not have to use the shotgun approach to get to the cancer. The beam can even be bent around key body parts like glands and arteries so as not to damage them when focusing in that area.

One interesting and futuristic advance is the use of robots. You can now have a robotic prostatectomy with an outcome that may be to the advantage of the patient. With the use of a robot in surgery there is a smaller incision or incisions which is less trauma for the patient, there is less blood loss, a greater chance of precise cuts around delicate nerves and tendons which may allow the patient a better chance of not having side effects from the surgery, and usually a shorter stay in the hospital and a shorter recovery time. The precision of the robot is far more accurate than a surgeon using his or her hands alone. One reason is the use of a microscope and lights in the area of the surgery. A doctor has access to this technology in an operating room but this is amazingly close and well lit in a very small area without having to cut the patient open. The accuracy of being able to see within a fraction of a millimeter is a great advantage for the doctor operating the robot.

Healthcare

Another area where robots are used is in robotic heart surgery. Again the accuracy and precision of the tools lead to a greater chance of a quicker recovery time and less trauma to the patient. The finer incisions and the likelihood of less blood loss are one advantage to using a robot in heart surgery. The da Vinci robot used in both heart and cancer surgeries and has the opportunity to be used in a variety of areas where precision and accuracy are paramount.

Technology in Healthcare

Technology in Healthcare

The use of technology in medicine has been instrumental in diagnosing diseases much quicker along with preventing diseases. One major milestone is the use of robots and the new robotic prostatectomy [http://www.riversidehealthcare.org/services/cancer-institute/robotic-cancer-surgery.html] for treating prostate cancer. Also, robotic heart surgery [http://www.riversidehealthcare.org/services/heart-center/robotic-heart-surgery.html] has been a major step in helping heart patients heal quicker. Needless to say, the da Vinci robot is taking surgery to a place it has never been before.

Leadership & Management For The Health Care Industry

The contemporary health care industry is making substantial efforts to deliver quality care and increasing credentials driven by competition among the organizations. The main objective is to deliver effective health care service proposes to build the management and leadership capacity of health care managers and practitioners. There are many criteria taken into consideration for managing health care organization, such as:

Legislative role: The political & social factors influence on the productivity & accessibility of the health services. Higher medical costs reduces the utilization of services. Private insurance companies restraints from providing more benefits,& also increase premium rates. Non-insurers find difficulty to meet the expenses, & would be deprived of tertiary health care services. Private stake -holders expect profits from their investments, find hard to pay salaries to doctors & nurses, & ultimately derogate to invest in health industry. In such situations, managers or hospital administrators organise for public awareness camps, free consultation programs, special discount offers on investigative procedures, etc to attract customers/ patients.

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Science & Technology: Involvement of technology & varied branches of science,such as, toxicology,bio-medical research bio-instrumentation, bio-materials, genetics, rehabilitation engineering, nutrition & diet, & others have accelerated the procedure of the diagnosis & treatment providing quality to life. Medical informatics provide services in various areas, such as, knowledge management, guidance on best practices, education of professionals, & the public,& the use of new communication & computer technologies. Electronic medical record services helps for easy creation, storage, retrieval & research of medical data. It proves remarkable advantage for telemedicine & medical tourism industry. Therefore analysis of outcome measures in comparison to knowledge & technology should prove cost-effective & efficient.

Leadership & Management For The Health Care Industry

Organization structure: Operating standard equipments, sanitation, hygiene, availability of emergency & safety measures are essential components of hospital. The emerging science of quality management, such as, registered national hospital accreditation certificate, & international accreditation certification (JCAHO, JCI) has occupied the place of pride in hospitals. Six sigma approach for improving methodology, reducing variability & waste, giving greater patient satisfaction rates are highlighted for success.

Managing organization: Hospital administrator have to manage the hospital staff with varied behavioural & educational status.The dangers outcomes of strikes, facing contradictions of union leaders are the major risks involved. Relationship (transformational) leadership motivates & inspires the staff members to see the importance & rate value to the task. Participative leadership works best in circumstances of disasters, outbreaks of epidemics, etc.

Internet & social media: The easy availability of information & knowledge from various intelligent resources has rationally mandated issues, in case of medical negligence, malpractices, illegal procedures,& given power to redress the grievances of our citizens. Therefore, customer feedback reports helps gain goodwill & increase credentials of an organization.

The challenging role of hospital administrator deliberately attempts to make strategies,that principally devotes benefits of health care service to everyone.

Leadership & Management For The Health Care Industry

Healthcare and Cultural Diversity

More than ever before healthcare professionals are subjected to dealing with a number of vast and various cultural diversities. As cultures within the U.S. continue to grow the understanding of how to deal with them must also grow. If cultural differences are not communicated appropriately it can cause uncomfortable and confusing situations for both the healthcare provider and patient. This can cause the patient to suffer due to loss of trust and respect causing the patient to be less likely to follow a treatment plan. Culturally competent healthcare is considered a human right, and increasing numbers of culturally inappropriate lawsuits filed in court are being won. Some cultures, such as Ethiopian, Islam and Chinese have very different laws, views and beliefs about healthcare. Because there are so many differences there are many legal implications that could possibly arise from cultural ignorance in healthcare.

Ethiopian traditional belief is that health results from equilibrium between the body and the outside world and that illness arises from disequilibrium. Ethiopian culture also believes in the use of herbs and spices for medicinal purposes which can sometimes have adverse interactions with western medicine. For example, large amounts of garlic and ginger are used for the common cold which can act as an anti-coagulant in high doses. Cinnamon is also used for the common cold which increases stomach acid and may inhibit tetracycline (an antibiotic used for many bacterial infections). Basil is used for headaches and insect repellent which acts as an anti-coagulant and has hypoglycemic agents due to the oil extract increasing blood clotting time and synergistic interactions with insulin. Most studies show people of different cultures do not tell their physician about their traditional medicine use out of fear of being judged. One legal implication that can arise while treating an Ethiopian may be a physician treating for a bacterial infection with tetracycline unknowing that he or she is taking large amounts of cinnamon for a suspected oncoming cold. If the cinnamon interacts with the tetracycline the bacterial infection can spread causing further harm even potentially fatal harm resulting in a legal dispute.

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The Islamic culture considers an illness as a punishment for their sins. Abortion and assisted suicide is not permitted. Pork and alcohol is forbidden and Muslim women can't be touched by men who are not immediate family members. Muslims also fast from dusk to dawn for one month a year. Some legal issues that can arise may be a result of a physician prescribing insulin or heparin which contains pork ingredients to a practicing Muslim, or a cough syrup containing alcohol. A Muslim may not be aware that our western medicine contains these products. In addition, if a Muslim is fasting at a time of illness causing weakness and dehydration this can be seen as the physician not providing proper care, all possibly resulting in a legal dispute.

Healthcare and Cultural Diversity

Some Chinese theories about health are based on the observed effects of Qi. They believe Qi defends the body from pathological factors, provides movement and supports growth and development. They believe things like poor diet, poor lifestyle or strenuous work can deplete one's Qi. Yin and Yang is probably the most significant theory followed, it is the balance between opposites like cold vs. hot or excess vs. deficiency. The Chinese believe some bodily organs contain more Yin and others posses more Yang and will relate this to hot and cold with health complaints. For example one may complain of a "weak kidney" and insist their kidneys be tested when in reality they may be having back or knee pain or diarrhea. A "hot liver" is a common complaint which can refer to itchiness, skin eruptions or emotional stress. Medicine is also considered to have hot and cold effects. This makes it common for Chinese people to take less medication then prescribed to "balance" out the effects, and many would not tell their physician because they believe they are in the best position to judge their own health needs. So there could be a possibility of legal disputes if a liver complaint is made and the physician orders diagnostic tests and possible medication for the liver if in fact the complaint was made only due to emotional stress or itchiness. There can also be a possible legal dispute if the physician did not explain the importance of taking all of a prescription and the patient started taking less to balance their Yin and Yang and the medical issue persists or gets worse.

In conclusion, as one can see there are many different healthcare beliefs in different cultures. Some of these differences can cause confusion and misunderstandings for both the physician and patient. And although most western physicians will try to address an ailment of someone from a different culture in their best interest, it may conflict with their beliefs. Healthcare and cultural ignorance amongst all physicians is a subject that needs to be addressed. Proper training in cross-cultural healthcare will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the patient's needs and complaints, more respect for the physician and better adherence to treatment causing less legal disputes and a pleasurable, successful experience for the patient.

Here is a short video pertaining to health care and cultural diversity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF8yZRgcSkg

Healthcare and Cultural Diversity

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Healthcare Crisis in America

Healthcare is one of the biggest problems in the country. Every day, millions of Americans are going without quality healthcare. This report will address the problem and show you a simple solution to get immediate savings on many of your medical and dental expenses, even if you are uninsured or underinsured.

If you watch TV, read the newspapers, or surf the internet, you've seen the topic of healthcare in the media. It seems there's something in the media every week about the topic of healthcare. The United States of America has one of the best healthcare systems in the world and yet so many people in this country go without quality healthcare.

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It's getting harder and harder to afford good healthcare

Healthcare Crisis in America

Recent studies show that there are 44 million Americans with no health insurance. In addition to this, there are 70 million people that are underinsured. The federal government is constantly working to solve this growing problem, but unfortunately, it increases year after year.

The federal healthcare plan never got off the ground

The best effort so far was an attempt to create national healthcare for all Americans. Congress refused to approve this proposal and the issue has been on the shelf for several years now. Maybe one day a national healthcare system may surface, but no time in the near future.

Then individual States tried to fix the healthcare system

After the federal government's attempt to regulate healthcare was placed on the back burner, more states created their own state-specific healthcare regulations. Today, there are hundreds of regulations nationwide for healthcare. The more regulations each state requires, the more the cost for health insurance goes up, making it harder for people to afford.

Over 1 million people filed bankruptcy in 1999... 40% of them were related to medical bills!

Just two years before, in 1997, only 28% of the bankruptcies were related to medical bills. What's happening here folks? Why the dramatic increase of bankruptcies due to medical bills? Why is this happening in a country that has one of the best healthcare systems in the world?

The uninsured vs. the underinsured

Harvard law professor, Elizabeth Warren, did a study about the rise in bankruptcies due to medical bills. The results of this study revealed that most of these medically related bankruptcies were filed by people who actually had health insurance.

She stated that underinsurance was a far bigger problem, as opposed to people who were not insured. No health insurance plan is designed to pay for everything. There are always limitations, exclusions and waiting periods that will leave you financially responsible for these out of pocket expenses. Unfortunately, many health insurance policyholders neglect to review these issues and are surprised at the time of their claims. As a result, they get whacked with an OOPS! - Out-Of-Pocket-Surprise! - which often means bankruptcy.

Healthcare Crisis in America

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