United States

Universal Healthcare The Pros And Cons

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Universal Healthcare is being strongly considered in the United States. Universal Healthcare basically means that every citizen will be eligible for health coverage, regardless of their ability to pay for it. There are pros and cons of such a system.

First of all, let’s take a look at the pros of Universal Healthcare (also known as Socialized Medicine). The benefits are fairly obvious. If we cover each and every citizen with affordable or free health insurance, they will be able to maintain their health regardless of their income.

One major advantage of such as system is that it can literally save lives. People die in our country each day because they cannot afford healthcare. And that includes working Americans. That is a travesty! It’s heartbreaking that there are millions of people who are contributing tax dollars to our national economy who are not in turn given their most basic need: maintenance of their health.

It almost seems obvious that it’s time to take the cue from Canada and implement Universal Healthcare. Their citizens seem to be fairly happy with the system, and it has been saving lives there on a daily basis.

However, as is true with any system (no matter how good a system it is), no healthcare solution is without fault. There are some notable disadvantages to Universal Healthcare which are worth acknowledging.

One negative side effect to providing universal healthcare is that spreading something too thin causes it to lose its inherent value. If we try to spread out our healthcare, it is possible that the quality of care will go down. Why? Because the hospitals and doctors offices will have more patients to deal with!

Naturally, no doctor would deliberately decrease his or her quality of care. Unfortunately, however, if your patient count multiplies, it can be hard to keep up. This could be overcome by the increased funding from the government under a socialized system, since that could cover a boost in medical staffing.

The other disadvantage that could result from Universal Healthcare is a lack of availability of care, causing a decrease in access to healthcare for everyone, including those who could afford to pay for it. There could be waiting lists that could prevent people from getting the care they need.

At the end of the day, we have to decide if the few drawbacks are worth it, in order to help out our fellow Americans who cannot afford to have any care whatsoever.

Healthcare Compliance Understanding Hipaahitech Regulatory Controls

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Security is a major cause of concern in today”s techno savvy global corporate environment. With organizations and healthcare facilities going towards a paperless environment, most of the information transfer and storage is in digital formats. Organizations, healthcare institutions and hospitals are faced with security challenges of their records and personnel. The need to protect the privacy of employees or patients involves a critical issue of the access to the electronic information.

Through a forward looking approach with view to address the current problems of IT compliance and security requirements of the healthcare industry and corporate sectors, various regulatory controls were put in place. This includes healthcare compliance in the form of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, signed as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Act, besides adding requirements for security breaches, has also laid down security standards for maintaining electronic health records. This Act also expands the privacy provisions beyond the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act.

Tthe HIPAA act was enacted in 1996 in the United States among other things to protect the health insurance coverage for employees and their next of kin in case of change of workplace or retrenchment. With the widespread use of electronic data exchange, HIPAA also made provisions for health care providers, insurance companies and employers to confirm to national standards in electronic health care transactions, so as to maintain high level of security. However, since the integrity of data is at risk by technological enhancements, the HIPAA healthcare act has transaction and code rules besides a number of standards and guidelines for the organizations to maintain the privacy and security of sensitive health information.

Though considered a boon to the security of healthcare information, these regulatory systems offer the entities a number of challenges too. The use of compliance management software developed by experts in the field will help organizations streamline and automate compliance initiatives. Further organizations have also made use of smart cards to identify access to the electronic documents. Such holistic enterprise-wide approach is needed for effective controls

Conformance to HIPPA/HITECH regulatory controls ensure Information security and healthcare regulatory compliance. These Acts address the security and privacy issues in healthcare industry. HITECH applies to the business associates too. Under such provisions, the business associates are also accountable for any data breaches and face penalties for non-compliance.

How Telemedicine Has Revolutionized Healthcare

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Preventing the Causes of Diabetes

Infection of the pancreas, stress, weight, in activeness, history in family, age, gender, blood pressure, race, and poor diet, are some of the many reasons people have diabetes. There are some people that come close to developing diabetes but their blood sugar level is not high enough for it to be seen as diabetes. If it is not caught it could turn into type 2 diabetes.es.

At time diabetes is caused by an infection of the pancreas. In this case the pancreas doesn’t create enough insulin, this makes glucose build up in the bloodstream. Then the sugar will not carry over to the cells.

Health professionals have determined that if your waist is bigger than thirty five inches, you have slight risks of developing diabetes. Inactive people are at a high risk more so the in people that exercise two to three times a week. Going to the gym every day is not need but just a good quick walk for 30 minutes can help.

Risk of contracting diabetes grows as you get older. Studies have just been done that have proved that 80% of people get diabetes are forty five or older.

Another factor for diabetes is your family history has a lot to do with if you are going to get it or not. If your parents have diabetes or any close relative you are at risk. You share the same genes and it could be reversed if there is some sort of preventive measure.

Many reasons are behind contracting diabetes. So many people getting diagnosed in the world with diabetes it could be avoided in some cases; People have to start doing something about it. In trying to avoid diabetes there are so many options that can be taken. The worldwide web is a great way to find out about diabetes.

Too many diabetics in the United States today without major medical insurance. If they can’t get insurance from thier job, they are left having to pay for everything out-of-pocket, and without a good job, who can afford that? Being without insurance is financially dangerous, especially for diabetics. Diabetics need daily supplies of insulin and testing equipment and showing up to the emergency room without insurance can result in medical bills that can take decades to pay off. The good news is that there are many discount medical plans in the United States that can help diabetics with the out-of-pocket expenses for medication and supplies they need on a daily basis.

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Healthcare Law Means Changes for Nurse Management Jobs

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Would it surprise you to know that President Obama’s health care law goes well beyond simply providing insurance to those who don’t have it? Indeed, the Affordable Care Act (affectionately known as ObamaCare) contains an entire litany of new regulations that will affect everything from who receives care to how services are bought and paid for.

A good example of the burdensome regulations applies directly to nurse management jobs. There is a provision in the law requiring medical facilities to allow breaks for employees who are also nursing mothers, in order to allow them time to express milk. For a nurse manager this presents a whole new set of problems.

For instance, the law states breaks must be “reasonable” in terms of length. But who decides what “reasonable” is? If one nursing mother can express her milk in 15 minutes while another takes 30, there will be questions about fairness and equal time. Then there’s the question of workers who have babies brought to the workplace to nurse rather than expressing milk and putting it in the refrigerator.

Just this one little regulation is already causing a lot of headaches for nurse managers. It provides further evidence that the health care overhaul is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Nurse Management Jobs Still Worthwhile

Despite the changes in the healthcare regulations, don’t be discouraged if you want to get into the healthcare field. Nurse management jobs are still very attractive for a variety of reasons. They offer excellent pay, a good working environment, and room for professional advancement.

Furthermore, working as a nurse manager brings with it a measure of personal satisfaction by being able to help make the lives of patients better. By your willingness to put your best foot forward your nursing staff will be encouraged to do the same and your patients will benefit.

You and Your Staff

To excel as a nurse manager requires a way of thinking that’s slightly different from what you did as an active floor nurse. In other words, before moving into management your primary focus was your patients. As a nurse manager you’re still focused on patient care, but you’re more focused on your staff as the vehicle to provide that care.

Nurse management jobs are therefore more about encouraging the success of your staff. When you’re nurses are doing well, so will your patients. When your nurses are not performing up to standards patient care will suffer.

Nurse Managers also have the added responsibility of representing their staff before upper management and other members of the healthcare team. This requires a certain amount advocacy which some nurse managers find difficult. Nonetheless, it’s part of building a solid team.

In the United States there is currently a significant shortage of nurses and nurse managers. There are nurse management jobs available in big cities, small towns, and through temporary staffing agencies. If you’re qualified and want to work, it’s out there for the taking.