Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Insurance Can Save You Money

You’ve probably heard of Flexible Spending Accounts.  You can put money aside for certain kinds of expenses, like child care, or, yes, healthcare.  The big problem, and the hitch in figuring out whether to use them, is the fact that at the end of the year, if you have not spent the money you have saved, then you ... More...

Problem Thinking, Not Problem Care

Sometimes we think we aren’t getting the healthcare we deserve, when the real problem is in our own heads!  Here are two examples of what I mean. While initially they seem unrelated, they may instead influence how you view your own health ca... More...

Celebrities Prescribing Drugs – Look Behind the Scenes

I’ve always been a fan of Sally Field. I’ve admired Robert Dole, Bruce Jenner, Brooke Shields and many other celebrities, athletes and even a few other politicians, too.  When it comes to the work they do – acting, swimming, modeling, legislating – whatever it is – I have a great deal of admiration.More...

Learn from Other Patients

When you get sick, and are diagnosed with a difficult medical condition, who do you consider to be the best source for information about your problem?

Most of us would respond that our doctors have the most knowledge.  And that may be true.  But doctors rarely share what they know beyond the basics.  There just is not time during an appointment for us to learn everything ... More...

Keep Yourself Safe in the ER

All it took was a good sneeze!

A long-lasting and messy nosebleed was the result, and set the stage for plenty of observation and lessons learned. An hour after it began, my nose had not stopped bleeding. My husband was out of town, so I dialed 9-1-1 and a speedy ambulance ride later, I soon found myself in the Emergency Room.

Four hours later, the bleeding finally stopped... More...

End of Life Decisions and Advance Directives

You’ve probably heard the term "advance directives."  Advance directives are legal documents which spell out your wishes for your end of life care.

Most of us don’t want to think about these kinds of decisions!  But they are important to make at any stage of life because we never know w... More...

Got a Problem with Your Doctor? Speak Up!

Over time, I’ve heard dozens of complaints about doctors from patients.  Here are some examples:

One, a women in her 70s, doesn't like being called by her first name when her doctor insists on being called “Dr. Smith.” ... More...

Defensive Medicine Gets In Your Way

Have you ever gotten sick or hurt, visited your doctor, particularly a specialist, or even landed in the emergency room, then undergone a series of medical tests, and more medical tests, without really understanding what they were all for?

CT scans, MRIs, EKGs, PET scans… blood work and biopsies… these are names we hear for tests we may be unfamiliar... More...

Three Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Do you feel rushed when you see your doctor?  The truth is, many doctors are in such a hurry, they just aren’t doing enough to help us patients understand our medical conditions, nor are they helping us make the right decisions for ourselves. The results are patients who, due to lack of understanding, just don’t heal or get well the way they ... More...

Put Your Cell Phone on ICE

More than cooling your liquid refreshment, ICE may save your life.

I’m not talking about wrapping those cold water cubes into a towel to apply to a sprain or sore muscle.  No, I’m actually talking about a phone number.

Whose phone number?  Your emergency contact’s phone number. This ICE refers to In Case of Emergency.

Protecting Ourselves from Healthcare-Related Infections

I’ll confess – it’s true.  When I contracted mononucleosis, the "kissing disease," while in college, I expect I really did get it from kissing!

But it turns out that mono spreads in many ways, from sharing a drinking glass, to shaking hands, to simply touching someone who carries the germ. So it&rs... More...

Be Alert for Prescription Drug Mistakes

If your stomach is upset over a period of time, your doctor might prescribe Zantac for you. It’s a drug that helps reduce stomach acid, and may even help heal a stomach ulcer.

Suppose, instead, you have allergy-like symptoms. Your eyes itch, your nose is runny, and your chest is congested. Your doctor might prescribe Zyrtec, an ... More...

Laid Off? Maybe Pharma Will Give You a Hand

Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, makers of prescription drugs like Lipitor, Lyrica, Zoloft, Norvasc and dozens of others has announced that it has established a new assistance program for people who have lost their jobs due to the recession.<... More...

Integrative Medicine – The Best of Both Worlds

Have you ever taken vitamins or herbal supplements, visited a chiropractor or acupuncturist, taken a yoga class, had a massage, or learned to meditate? If so, you are among the 62 percent of Americans who have invested some of their healthcare choices in alternative or complementary therapies.

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Tap Into the Knowledge of the Professionals in Your Doctor's Office

I wish I had a nickel for all the patients who complain to me about how little time their doctors spend with them, too often leaving them with unanswered questions. They feel rushed and frustrated.

Reports tell us that actual face time with your doctor may last as little as eight minutes. If you are on Medicare, you might get more lik... More...

Think Like a Consumer to Stay Healthy

This is the tale of two gentlemen who had treatment decisions to make, and found they needed to think not just as patients, but as consumers, too.

Jack was told he needed surgery to treat his prostate cancer. Jack knew his neighbor had a similar diagnosis last year, and had opted instead for radioactive seed implants, a less-invasive ... More...

The Medical Information Bureau – Health Insurance’s Dirty Little Secret

Have you ever applied for health insurance, only to be turned down for reasons you didn’t understand?  Any form of health-related insurance, including life insurance, disability insurance, even long-term care insurance?

Maybe you were laid off and needed to make a new application, or you’ve decided to start your own busin... More...

Need Health Insurance? 10 Questions and Answers to Help You Make a Choice

More and more Americans are finding themselves without health insurance.  For some, getting laid off and the reality of the high cost of COBRA means its time to go in search of alternatives.  Others who may have been uninsured for a long time now realize that healthcare has become a necessity.  Th... More...

New Drugs, Evidence and the Choices You Make

A few years ago, a wonderful new drug came on the market which put smiles on the faces of cardiologists everywhere.  Called Vytorin, it was a drug developed to help control two kinds of cholesterol problems, both the cholesterol build up in our arteries that develops when we eat foods with bad fats, and the cholesterol problems some people inherit from their ... More...

When Is a Specialist the Wrong Specialist for You?

When your stomach is upset and that upset just won’t go away, you make a visit to your primary care doctor.  Your primary care doctor, believing the cause may be more than just simple upset, refers you to a gastroenterologist.  Gastroenterologists take care of problems related to our digestive systems, so seeing a gastroenterologi... More...

Second Opinions Should Not Be Optional

In 2001, Nancy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  The tremors in her right hand were bothersome, but not debilitating.  The doctor gave her some meds to control the tremors.  Within a few months she began having headaches, so she was given yet another medication.  Over time she began suffe... More...

Informed Consent – Don’t Sign Until You Understand

Last month, my friend Anna needed minor out-patient surgery and asked me to accompany her.

When we arrived for the appointment, she was handed a stack of papers, told to fill them out, sign them, and return them to the receptionist.

There were insurance papers, health forms, privacy agreements, ... More...

Deciphering Your Prescription

A prescription is an order provided by a doctor so that someone else, usually a pharmacist, can provide us with a drug or device to improve our health.

But note – that someone else isn’t us patients!  Prescriptions, whether they are handwritten or printed from a computer (called e-prescribing) are full of shorthand and ac... More...

An Alphabet Soup of Healthcare Professionals

Have you ever noticed all those letters after a doctor or other medical provider’s name? MD, DO, DC, RN, PA, NP…. There are dozens, and when put together, they can spell confusion. Even when we know the words they stand for, we don’t always know what those words mean for our improving our health.

Those letters are ... More...

Are You a Cyberchondriac?

See if this sounds familiar:

You experience some strange symptoms, so you go online to see if you can figure out what’s wrong with you.  What you find is somewhat alarming, so you make an appointment to see your doctor.

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Free Antibiotics – And A Warning, Too

Several supermarkets and pharmacies across the country have announced they will be offering their customers free antibiotics with a doctor’s prescription.  Sounds like a great idea!

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Start the New Year with Patient Empowerment Resolutions

As we round the calendar corner to a new year, it’s a great time to begin stepping up to make yourself a smarter and healthier patient.  Here are some resolutions you might consider to get yourself started:

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