The good news is that all over the country there are programs in place to encourage high school students to consider a career in health.   Once such program to encourage students is at the North Louisiana Area Health Education Center where students are able to get hands on experience with a health occupation in exchange for high school credit.

“Students get a feel for each occupation,” North Louisiana AHEC youth program coordinator Ashley Frazier said. “The goal of AHEC of a Summer is to help high school students gain a greater understanding of health careers that will assist them in making informed decisions concerning their professional goals.”

“Rather than going to college and spending their money and time at school, they can do this 15-day program and narrow down their options,” Frazier said. “(During the program), almost half of the students always change their mind about what they want to do.”

Source: The Ruston Daily Leader

This group of the population is increasingly at risk for being uninsured as the policy stands now. Insurance costs are soaring and with minimal incomes, people in this segment of the population are making the choice to go without health coverage, leaving them open to health and financial risk.

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) is an organization built of state legislators from across the country whose main focus is insurance policy and legislation. At their spring meeting the group will vote on approving the recommendation that all insurance companies should be held responsible for providing insurance for children of insured up to the age of 23. State legislators around the country look to the NCOIL for counsel on which policies should be adopted into practice.

Opponents of the plan believe the excess cost to cover the additional insured would ultimately fall to the business’ who are providing healthcare to their employees. Insurance companies would be unable to provide the additional coverage without passing on the additional cost to those companies who are providing the insurance. Healthcare costs are already sinking many companies, some worry that the additional cost would prompt more companies to limit or drop available insurance plans all together.

Another concern is that of pre-existing conditions. Generally, younger people have better health; however, health issues do arise. If a health condition is established while they are covered under their parents’ policy, getting their own insurance policy to cover that pre-existing condition may prove impossible once they reach an age of ineligibility for their parents’ policy. Getting out and getting a policy of their own as early as possible would help insure them of coverage irregardless of health conditions.

Obviously, our ailing health care system is in need of desperate reform. Mandating insurance companies to increase the net of those they cover without certainty on who will pay for the increase in cost of that coverage is irresponsible at best. Certainly the problem of the uninsured and underinsured should be on the forefront of our national plan for the future, significant discussion needs, and is, to take place on how to fund, provide and distribute adequate healthcare while providing choice and option for that health care. We need universal healthcare, we also need to be responsible about the cost of that healthcare.

A homeless woman named Carol Ann Reyes was admitted to Kaiser Permanente Bellflower hospital because of a nasty fall she took. She stayed for three days, at which point Kaiser called her a cab, and instructed the cab driver to dump her in the Los Angeles area known as Skid Row. Reyes was wearing only a thin hospital gown, because, as the hospital later admitted, her clothing had been lost. Carol was confused and suffering from dementia, but Kaiser put her on the streety anyway, and was only caught because of a videocamera running outside of a homeless shelter.

Source

2. Hannah Devane’s Insurance Company Won’t Pay For The One Thing She Can Eat

Hannah Devane has a horrible disease of the esophagus that makes it impossible for her to eat normal foods. Hannah literally needs a special formula called Elecare to survive, if she didn’t drink the Elecare she wouldn’t get enough food to live. Naturally her health insurance company refuses to cover Elecare, calling it a “nutritional supplement.” The thing that she needs to live is a supplement to the insurance company. Her only source of nutrition.

Hannah’s father, a police officer, is now working two jobs so that he can afford the formula for Hannah.

Source

3. 9/11 Workers Denied Health Care

A large portion of the 40,000 people who worked at Ground Zero in the days following 9/11 have come down with life changing respiratory illnesses. The dust in the aftermath of the terrorist attack was filled with asbestos and tiny bits of glass.

This is a terrible fact, but one would assume that these people would have nothing to worry about. Surely the government wouldn’t forget about the people who sacrificed their personal well being on that day. Forty percent of 9/11 responders are without health care, either because they never had it, or because they have lost their jobs since becoming ill. The government pledged a paltry $52 million to cover their health care costs, a figure that was deemed “inadequate” by the federal 9/11 health coordinator. It has gotten so bad for 9/11 workers that they recently have been forced to sued the World Trade Center insurance fund so that their health care needs could be met.

Source

4. Emanuel Wilson Denied Chemotherapy In Wake Of Hurricane Katrina

Emanuel was a school bus driver in Louisiana before losing his job in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The government met some of his needs after he was displaced – he received money and food stamps – but what he really needed was chemotherapy.

Wilson had intestinal cancer, and had been getting monthly chemo before the hurricane hit.

The government helped people with health care after Katrina, but only if they were completely destitute. If you had health care and a job before the Hurricane, you were out of luck after if you lost that job and health care. So essentially Wilson was punished for playing by the rules. He was covered. Until natural disaster.

Source

5. Shirley Loewe Denied Medicaid Coverage For Breast Cancer Because Of Loophole Law

Shirley Loewe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. At the time of diagnosis she was uninsured and her $15,000 a year income as a hairdresser was too high for her to qualify for Medicaid in Texas.

However, there is a federal law that allows women diagnosed with breast cancer to receive Medicaid treatment even if they don’t meet all of the normal criteria.

Loewe was denied again anyway. At the time Texas was one of 20 states that only applied that law if a woman was diagnosed at a clinic that received federal funding. Loewe was not diagnosed at such a clinic. She was diagnosed at a medical center half a mile away from a qualifying clinic. Loewe ended up cutting back her work hours so that she could qualify for charity care.

Loewe died in June of 2007, after four years of stress dealing with money and bureaucracy.

Source

6. Tonya Gullino Has Miscarriage, Blue Cross Deems It “Elective Abortion”

Tonya suffered a miscarriage last August, and understandably had to make an emergency room visit. About three weeks later Blue Cross & Blue Shield sent a statement denying the claim related to the miscarriage. Tonya called to find out why and was told “We do not cover ELECTIVE abortions. If you chose to terminate your pregnancy for non-health threatening reasons, BCBS will not cover it.”

Despite the emergency room visit occuring near midnight (who gets an abortion at that time of night?), Blue Cross still asked Tonya to fax over her records stating that she did not have an elective abortion.

Source

7. Jim Dawson Hit With $1.2 Million Hospital Bill, Despite Having Health Insurance

Jim Dawson found himself in the hospital at the age of 61 fighting an infection. It proved to be a lengthy battle, with Jim spending five months in the hospital, but it had a happy ending. At the end of the five months he was pronounced healthy, and was able to go home to his wife Loretta.

That’s when the phone calls from California Pacific Medical Center started, reminding him that he still owed $1.2 million in medical bills.

This happened despite Jim having health insurance, because his insurance caps lifetime benefits at $1.5 million, a cap Dawson hit two and a half months into his stay. He also has debts totalling into five figures to scores of doctors who were involved with his case.

Tough luck you might be thinking, caps are there to protect health insurance companies from massive payments far beyond what you could reasonably expect right? Sure, maybe, but Jim would have never hit his insurance cap if his hospital wasn’t doing things like charging him $791 for stockings (to improve blood circulation) that can be found online for $12. Or the $2,225 to $6,675 a night for an oxygen mask to help him sleep.

He also wouldn’t have hit his cap if doctors had correctly diagnosed his staph infection early enough to be easily cured. Various doctors made the wrong call however, leaving Dawson with a medical bill he can’t hope to ever pay.

Finally, when a reporter from the Wall Street Journal began investigating the story, California Pacific decided to write off his entire bill. Strange how that works.

Source

8. Aetna Takes Eric Simpson’s Prosthetic Arm

Eric Simpson lost his arm after being brutally attacked by a masked gunman who shot him seven times, all in the arm.

Luckily, he had insurance (for which he paid $530 a month), and Aetna said he was fully covered to obtain a prosthetic arm. Good thing because the prosthetic cost a whopping $37,000.

Eric got the arm, and spent a week learning to use it when he took a call from his insurer telling him they were sending someone to collect his new arm. They told him he should have known he only had $2,000 in coverage for artificial limbs. Despite the earlier pre-approval.

Aetna followed through, and repo’d the arm, before realizing (a week later) they had made a mistake. Eric had full coverage for prosthetics after all, and eventually got his arm back, but not before going through an incredibly stressful experience at an already unbelievably stressful time in his life.

Source

9. Natalee Sarkisyan Dies Because Cigna Drags Their Feet

Natalee Sarkisyan was a 17 year old girl from Glendale, California. She suffered from recurrent leukemia, but was lucky in that her brother was a marrow match. She received a bone marrow transplant from her brother in November of 2007, but the transplant led to multiple organ failure that affected her kidney and liver.

Natalee needed a liver transplant, and was covered through her parents health insurer, Cigna HealthCare. Cigna denied the liver transplent. Her family organized widespread protests and attracted a great deal of media coverage, causing Cigna to reverse their decision. But it was too late, and Natalee died just a few hours after Cigna approved the procedure.

Source

In 1874 a physician grew wary of the treatments rendered and lack of success with most medications. Dr. Andrew Taylor Still founded a school that paralleled the teachings of medicine and added the concept of holistic health. He determined nutrition played a large part in the maintenance of well being; the body has the potential for healing itself, and the musculoskeletal system plays a role in good health. The best way, perhaps, to put the differences succinctly, is to say medicine tends to treat the individual ailments while osteopathy treats the entire being.

Perhaps the biggest difference though, is the osteopath’s use of Osteo Manipulative Treatment (OMT). It is literally using the physician’s hands to move muscle and joint by stretching, pressure, and resistance to relieve pain, increase mobility, and promote healing. The American Osteopathic Association credits this modality with relief of:

• asthma
• sinus disorder
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• migraines
• menstrual pain
• other

Although there are a considerable number of osteopaths that become board certified surgeons, more than 65% of osteopaths practice general or family medicine. Osteopathic patients are said to have reduced need for surgery (due to the benefits of OMT). It is a rapidly growing profession, given the recent surge of interest in natural remedies and holistic health.

The findings of OMT, by the way, are not to be disdained as self-promotion. The highly respected New England Journal has published results demonstrating the efficacy of OMT in several conditions.

And how does this differ from the chiropractor? The osteopath goes through four years of undergraduate, the same number of years for medical school, and three to six years in a post-graduate residency program, with a strong medical education. Chiropractors need take similar undergraduate courses in biology and the sciences, often completing a degree program, attend a four or five year program of chiropractics that specialize in spinal manipulation. They are known for their attention to ailments of the neck and spine, but address most skeletal injuries and illness that do not require surgery. Chiropractic care is similar to some forms of OMT and physical therapy.

Which is best between the three professions? From a patient perspective it depends on their needs and beliefs. Actually, the same holds true for those exploring the professions as a career. All are equally as difficult to obtain acceptance in American schools. Course curriculums are no easier in any of the three. All professions require state licensure and national certification exams. Allopathic and osteopathic physicians receive similar insurance reimbursements; chiropractics are less so. As a bit of trivia, it was not until the sixties that chiropractics were accepted as a licensed profession in all the states. Their educational requirements and training have come a long way since the days Dr. Palmer started his school in Davenport, Iowa. There are still naysayers regarding spinal manipulation as a valid treatment. However, there are critics of medicine and osteopathic as well.

Make up your mind by exploring the national associations that represent the professions. Read the negatives, as well as positives: no profession is perfect or pure. It will always be a matter of opinion.

Osteopathics

Chiropractics

While Mr. Mayhall is certain the bill will not pass into law, he along with the bill’s co-writers, Bobby Shows, a businessman and John Read, a pharmacist, believe the situation concerning obesity in Mississippi to be dire. Their intention is to call attention to the increasing epidemic of obesity and the cost to the Medicare system.

Mississippi continually ranks as one of the fattest states in the country by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The state boasted a 31.4 average BMI rate for the year 2006, garnering them the top spot with Alabama in second at 30.5. Mississippi also holds the highest rate of death from cardiovascular disease; a disease with a major risk factor of obesity. See where your state ranks here.

While a BMI of 30 is considered obese, keep in mind that the index does not take into account skeletal frame, musculature or fitness – all factors in determining your overall health with concern to your weight.

Obesity has ranked among top concerns for health professionals and lawmakers alike over the past ten years. We have reached a staggering milestone, six of every ten adults are considered obese in this country. According to the Surgeon General, in 1999 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years were facing weight issues. Approximately 14% of adolescent’s ages 12 to 19 were overweight that same year – a number nearly tripled over the past two decades. The obesity epidemic is not new.

As health care providers we are seeing drastic increases in diseases and conditions strongly linked to obesity. Diabetes is on a sharp rise, primarily in children. Insulin-dependent diabetes is now being seen in obese children, a disease that was solely found in adults a short time ago. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in our country. Obesity ranks as a top cause of CV disease.

Finding a solution to the problem of obesity in America is proving difficult because the etiology is not fully understood and what can change obesity largely depends on an individual’s choices and choices that families are making together. Education of patients and their families regarding positive health habits should be a primary concern for health care providers regardless of alleged prior knowledge or perceived existence of weight issues. Teaching our patients and their families how to better care for their bodies is of utmost importance and of greater value than judgment and ridicule that proposals like Bill 282 risk perpetuating.

Financial influences in your decision should include housing costs, utility bills, urban versus rural living, and whether you want to ski or play golf. Of course you could do both in a place like New Mexico for most of the year; but the cost will be a lower wage: but living expenses will be lower.  If you live in New York City, you may only be able to afford a one-room walk-up.The training required for those choosing cardiovascular, is two to four years. Technicians and Technologist take similar courses in the first year, then go on to specialized areas. Technologists can qualify to take the national certification exam and generally earn a bachelor’s degree.That being said, it’s time to discuss the breadth of occupations within the healthcare industry.

We can start with the cardiovascular technician. These professionals are often involved with performing electro cardiograms, assist at catheterizations, manage lung capacity tests, pulmonary functions, and other tasks. Nationwide there is expected to be a 33% increase in need for trained technicians over the next 10 years.

Audiologists are employed in a variety of settings: schools, hospitals, private practice. They diagnose, prevent and treat auditory ailments of all ages: infants through geriatrics. This is not only for hearing deficits, but also balance impairments, industrial programs, rehabilitation and research. The mean salary is $57,100. Know exactly what goes on in the profession by visiting the American Academy of Audiologists website .

Dental Hygienists clean and examine teeth, educate on oral health care, make impressions from casts, charts findings, use technology, x-rays, and computers. Education is specialized and requires a four year degree. Salaries are in the area of $62,800. To learn more about the profession see the site of the American Dental Hygienist Association

Medical Sonographers receive a mean national wage of $57,200. They have diverse opportunities to specialize, and are currently in great demand. The technicians utilize sonography to visualize organs, generally eliminating the need for exploratory surgery, in conjunction with other diagnostic tools. Sonographers are usually part of the larger radiology department and are seen as playing a vital role in patient diagnosis. Training is two years in length with schools sometimes located within or associated with hospitals. For information see the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Emergency Medical Technicians have come a long way from the days when training consisted of having a first aid card and driver’s license. The mean salary of $27,100 does not include the advanced training of paramedics. EMT is required to advance to paramedic. Also of interest is the growth expected in the occupation. The mean rate is 27%; meaning there are areas of significantly higher expectations. EMTs are first responders to illness and accidents, trained to provide assistance at critical times. The job is highly stressful but great for adrenalin rushes. A downside of the job can be burn-out, depending on the town or city where located. Training takes less than one year. To learn more about educational and training opportunities, go to the NAEMT site

The 8th annual MEDMARX data report was released Tuesday by U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) revealing a list of 1,400 commonly used drugs that were given in error due to their sound-alike or look-alike names. The findings report that 1.4% of the errors were associated with patient harm – seven of those may have been involved in the death of the patient.

USP (www.usp.org) a private, independent research-based public health organization tasked with setting public-standards for all prescription and over-the-counter meds and dietary supplements as well as other health care products distributed in the United States. Their standards of practice are utilized in 130 countries world wide. In response to increasing med errors USP developed MEDMARX in 1998. MEDMARX provides an anonymous avenue for health care providers to report medication errors. MEDMARX analyzes and tracks those errors, processing 1.2 million drug errors from over 870 health care agencies across the United States since its birth.

Upon release of the findings USP has urged an “indication for use” (such as nausea, heart burn, blood pressure) label for all medications. Such a label would provide another level of confidence that the wrong drug would not be administered on confusion of name or packaging. The MEDMARX report has established a list of 3,170 pairs of names that look-alike or sound-alike, including the 1,470 drugs that were involved in some sort of medication error.

The chance of eradicating medication administration errors is slim. Health care givers are human, and mistakes will be made. Still, it’s important to be sure that our system has the safest process for administering medications to patients. Keep your practice safe by following this inconclusive list of guidelines.

• Every drug administered should be checked no less than three times. The medication record should be cross checked with the doctor’s orders on every shift. Doses of narcotics and insulin should always be checked by an additional qualified drug administrator. Hospitals are working short staffed often, leaving health care workers frenzied and overworked. Never allow that fact to be a reason to take short cuts on drug administration.

• Alert your pharmacy if you notice a potential for errors, such as two labels that are similar and could be easily mistaken for each other. When new or unfamiliar drugs land on your floor, investigate them. Learn how they are packaged, side effects, actions and interactions. Know your drugs.

• Be familiar with MEDMARX and read new information as it is released pertaining to safe administration of medication. Always be aware.

• Encourage your patients to always ask for clarification on what drugs they are taking. My sister, a breast cancer survivor, was nearly given the wrong chemotherapy cocktail. She was saved by asking what medication the nurse was giving and cross-referencing it to what she had personally recorded as her correct medication. Teach them to be aware of what medications they are on and why. Have them ask questions and clarify information when they’re unsure. Encourage astute patients and care givers.
Learn more about medication errors at www.fda.org

One person dies every 16 minutes in the US while waiting for an organ transplant. Although health experts can’t directly increase the number of organ donations available, a network of local organ transplant organizations can find ways to make sure that more people who need an organ get one – and one that fits.

The field of organ transplantation is technologically fascinating and professionally diverse. In the 1940s, organ transplantation was virtually non-existent. Only in the past several decades has the technology caught up to allow patients a high chance of survival when undergoing transplantation. Now, the medical community faces a new problem: a lack of available organs.

In some ways, finding suitable organs for patients is more important than the actual surgery, simply because of the severe shortage of organs. Only about 7% of individuals on the waiting list will receive an organ within one year. While doctors and nurses can usually perform a successful surgery, it’s somebody else’s job to line up the body parts: specifically, an organ coordinator.

All organ transplants in the US are coordinated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), an independent nonprofit organization that operates under the US Department of Health and Human Services. Any individual in need of an organ transplant must be registered in a nationwide organ distribution system called the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is operated by UNOS.

Across the country, there are nearly 100 local “organ procurement organizations” (OPOs) that are responsible for the organization of donations, as well as the retrieval, preservation, and transportation of newly available organs. Most organ donors are brain-dead individuals on life support, and their organs must be recovered quickly in order to achieve a successful transplantation. In addition, OPOs educate the public and medical staff about organ donation, and work with donor families during the entire donation procedure.

OPOs hire a diverse staff, including organ procurement coordinators, donor family advocates, and technicians that perform the actual organ and tissue recoveries. Still other staff members are involved in community outreach, teaching educational classes and encouraging individuals to volunteer to donate their organs. The education and background of many OPO staff may include RN, surgical, or paramedical certification, bachelor’s degrees in life sciences, and higher education in the medical field.

When an organ becomes available in the local area, the OPO staff members must work quickly to gather all the personal information about the donor to compare with a waiting list of individuals in need. UNOS has established a system that generates a ranked list of potential recipients based on several factors, such as the physical compatibility between donor and recipient, and waiting time.

Once the OPO determines the best candidate and prepares the organ for delivery, the rest is up to the recipient’s surgical team. While transplantation is successful about 95% of the time, patients often must take immunosuppressant drugs for their remainder of their lives to stop the new organ from being rejected by their own immune systems. Researchers are investigating new technologies that will reduce this foreign tissue rejection response. Some scientists are even investigating “xenotransplantation” – transplanting organs from animals into humans.

Until scientists find a new way to find organs for people in need, the work of non-profit organ procurement organizations will play a large role in finding and distributing body parts throughout the country.

The health industry is a wide ranging industry with a number of different options for those who are interested in pursuing a health related career. Just selecting a career in this industry can be overwhelming. Besides a number of different types of doctors, other careers in the health industry include nurses, technicians, laboratory employees, dietitians, nutritionists and even personal trainers. This is just a short list of the types of careers available in the health industry. However, before you even begin to narrow down your research to the type of career you wish to pursue and the educational process involved in embarking on this type of career, it is important to determine whether or not you are well suited for a career in the health industry. This article will discuss some of the important considerations you should think about before pursing a health career.

Your motivation for pursing a career in the health industry should be carefully examined. Wanting to help others is certainly a noble cause and a great reason for pursing this type of career but it is not the only worthwhile reason for pursing a career in this industry. If you are motivated by a love of math and science or even if you are drawn to the financial appeal of some careers in the health industry these can also be excellent reasons to investigate these careers. Basically, as long as you have the skills to excel in the career you choose and a dedication to succeed, any logical motivation is acceptable.

Next it is very important to consider the aspect of the health industry in which you would most like to work. This is important because there are a wide number of options available. Consider factors such as whether you want to work with children or adults, whether you want to work in emergency situations, whether you want to work in a preventative capacity, whether you want to assist people in making health related decisions or whether you want to work in a hospital setting. Considering all of these factors may help you to greatly narrow down your options. You may even want to consult with a professional who can help you to determine which careers are best for you based on your preferences and your aptitude.

Once you narrow down your options for careers in the health industry, you should investigate the educational process involved in starting a career in this capacity. During this research process you will learn how long it takes to prepare yourself for this career, the cost of obtaining any necessary degrees or certificates, when and where you can take classes and any pre-requisites for taking the necessary classes. Realistically evaluating whether or not you have the skills, time and money available to complete the education process will help you determine if this career is right for you.

Finally, it is important to also consider how a health career will impact your family and personal life. Many careers in the health care industry, especially those based in a hospital setting, require working odd hours for extended periods of time. This can be disruptive to your family life. Understanding the types of hours involved in the health career of your choice and considering how these hours will impact you and your family will help to prevent your career from negatively impacting you and your family.