Month: August 2008

Healthcare Consumer Empowerment

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Consumer empowerment, a growing method of healthcare management for employers and healthcare organizations, involves empowering yourselves by learning how to become wiser healthcare consumers. The following are 10 ways to achieve healthcare consumer empowerment. 1. Establish a relationship with a primary physician — before you need one. Discuss your health and family with your doctor. If you don’t have a primary physician find one. 2. Ask questions. In fact, I think it is a great idea to bring questions with you on a piece of paper, so you do not forget to ask them. 3. Learn about your illness. Research and ask your physician questions. There is a lot of information available to you. 4. Learn how to practice self-care. In times of emergency or injury remember to follow RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) 5. Review bills carefully. Sometimes errors … Read more

National Health Service (NHS) Dentistry Shakeup

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A new report suggests that the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain is having it’s fair share of problems. Dentists are simply removing teeth rather than taking on complicated treatments because they have become uneconomical to provide. The number of tooth extractions has increased. In the two years following the introduction of a new contract to NHS dentists in April 2006, 900,000 fewer people saw an NHS dentist than in the last two years of the previous system. This could also be an understatement. Why the sudden decline? It seems as if now dentists in the National Health Service are no longer paid on a per patient basis based on the procedure or treatment done. Instead they receive a fee for the year while agreeing to perform a certain number of services. To read the entire article go here.

Swimming Causes More Dentist Trips?

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With the recent Michael Phelps frenzy in the 2008 Summer Olympics a lot of people may have a renewed interest in the sport of swimming. I personally have been actively swimming regularily for the past few years. I recently went on to the American Dental Association (ADA’s website) and took a look at some of their dental minute videos. One such video discusses how swimming more than 6 hours a week can cause your teeth to become brown. Thus swimming chemicals can stain your teeth. This can be managed though with regular dental exams. To view the video by practicing dentist Dr. Maria Lopez Howell go to the following link http://www.ada.org/public/media/videos/minute/additional_swimmingpoolchemicals_broadband.wmv (you will have to download it)

Real Self

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RealSelf.com is a health and beauty community for patients to engage in conversation about personal beauty, skin care, and wellness. Their title tag line is “answers, tips, and treatment reviews for skin care, cosmetic plastic surgery, spa services, and anti-aging.” Their  goal is to provide a safe place to get the opinion of peers and professionals about what products, treatments or procedures are worth it. Of course they have a commitment to keeping it real. On their website it states, “the prime reason we chose our company name is that we believe consumers want realistic opinions and real answers when it comes to investing in their self. At RealSelf.com we stay ‘real’ by not accepting paid placements, fake reviews, or commercial considerations that compromise the integrity of community generated reviews, ratings and postings.” The inspiration behind RealSelf comes from the … Read more

Dentists Reviewing Literature

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I think this is somewhat of joke; however, dentists are soon going to be getting their hands dirty reviewing dental literature. The American Dental Association (ADA) is starting to practice evidence based dentistry (EDA) as opposed to biased dentistry. They should have been doing this decades ago! The recent ADA’s Evidence Reviewers workshop in late June of 2008 taught clinicians and researchers how to critically assess scientific literature and how and why critical summaries should be written. “I was able to come away from the EBD reviewer workshop training with a dramatically new and refreshing perspective on evidence in dentistry,” said Dr. Joseph Hagenbruch of Harvard, Ill., a general dentist and incoming chair of the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs. “More importantly, I was able to learn skills and techniques for use when reviewing dental literature for determination of … Read more