beauty and health

Archive for the ‘health’ Category

Chair Lifts for Stairs ? What are the Best Stair Lifts

One kind of aerial lifts for more mobility are chair lifts for stairs. Chair lifts for stairs may have many aspects and purposes depending on the user. These devices are normally used by people who find difficulties moving up and down flights of stairs.

Primarily stair chair lifts are designed for home use but they can be adapted for office or other facilities. It is previously called a stairway lift, stairway elevator, stair glide, chair lift, and stair chair. With these many given names, the name “chair lift” is the most popular.

The installation of chair lifts for stairs is a very expensive proposition for any household. The equivalent costs of the installation can be compared to the cost of moving to a new house of single story.

In most cases only rich people can afford such installation but there are other options to take into consideration. Nowadays, there are four different kinds of stair lifts that are made available in the market.

These four kinds are the cable, chain, screw or worm, and pinion or rack dives. The pinion or rack dives are commonly seen in most households. In some models of chair lifts for stairs, the gear rack is clearly seen and located on the center of the track.

However, there are some models for chair lifts for stairs where the gear rack is not visible. Most of the manufacturers or retailers would prefer their chair lifts for stairs to be made of aluminum while some prefer the combination of steel and aluminum materials.

If you are in the market for chair lifts for stairs always do your in depth homework and examine the different competing brands, services and prices available at your disposal. Never purchase a previously owned chair since it can often wind up needing repairs which can cost just as much as purchasing a new chair lift.

The Gift of Mobility - Free Power Wheelchairs

There are many organizations that offer free power wheelchairs and assistive devices such as hospital beds, lift chairs, walkers and other medical equipment. Here are a few:

MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) accepts wheelchair donations, which they refurbish and offer at no cost to persons in need.

Orphaned Wheelchairs and The Wheelchair Foundation
The Wheelchair Foundation has partnered with Orphaned Wheelchairs to deliver wheelchairs to people in the United States. Orphaned Wheelchairs takes donations of new and used wheelchair equipment, identifies recipients in the USA, and distributes the wheelchair equipment to those in need. Included are free power wheelchairs

Special Kids Fund
Special Kids Fund is an alliance of schools, hospitals, and social service organizations that provide for the special needs of children with disabilities and at-risk youth. Through the Special Kids Fund Vehicles for the Disabled Program, donated wheelchair vans and vehicles are given to physically disabled persons who are not able to afford them. This includes traditional and powered wheelchairs.

The Senior Wheels USA Program
This program makes available power (electric) wheelchairs to seniors (age 65 and up) and the permanently disabled at no cost to the recipient, if they qualify. Power wheelchairs are provided to those who cannot walk and cannot self-propel a manual wheelchair, and who meet the additional guidelines of the program.

The Wheelchair Project
The site offers an inventory list of all available wheelchairs - both manual and powered. They do not put a price on the chairs, only ask that you either pick up or arrange for delivery.

If you plan on getting a power wheelchair through Medicare or your own private insurance, it is important to note that Medicare and most private insurers will cover between 50% and 80% of the allowable price for power chairs for those who are eligible. The amount that your insurance company pays will depend in part on the type of mobility chair you require and the state in which you live. Be sure to do your homework, and beware of anyone who knocks on your door or approaches you on the street and offers to take you to a physician to get a free power wheelchair or scooter. Legitimate providers do not do that. Instead, they prefer to work with your existing physician. Avoid anyone who will not allow you to use your own physician and insists that you go to theirs.

It is possible to find free power wheelchairs if you are realistic about what is available. Regaining your mobility and independence is definitely worth the research!

Physical Therapy is Like Penicilin

It seems to me that sometimes, in physical therapy, people decide to stop scheduling their appointments before I’m quite ready for that to happen. I’m sure this happens to practitioners like chiropractors as well. For us, here in Spokane, physical therapy needs are based on many factors. Only one of those is the patient’s pain level. There are other reasons why people need physical therapy after a rotator cuff repair, ACL repair or car accident. When you first meet with your therapist you will probably remember that he tested lots of things about your injury, not just asked you about your pain. Why is this important you ask?

Physical therapy is like an antibiotic. Do you remember your doctor always telling you to take the whole course of the antibiotic even if your symptoms go away before you are done? The reason you need to do that is that the infection is not totally gone from your system until the antibiotic course is over. If you leave 5 or 6 pills in the bottle the infection will most likely make reappearance.

The same is true for physical therapy. When you therapist does your evaluation he finds lots of issues with your injury and only one of those is your pain. You may also have issues with range of motion, strength, endurance and function. At the end of your course of physical therapy, hopefully all of those issues will have been resolved. If you stop coming to your appointments because your pain is gone it is likely that all of your other issues have not yet been resolved. You didn’t finish your “course of antibiotics”. Most likely what that means is that with in a few weeks or if you’re lucky a few months your original pain will return. The good news is that your therapist knows not only how to decrease your pain but how to treat all of those other issues so that your pain doesn’t come back. If you commit to continuing your course of therapy until all your issues are resolved, not just your pain going away, it is much more likely your therapy will be successful for the long term. If your Spokane physical therapist completes your course of PT you will even be provided with strategies to deal with your issues in the future to help prevent their return. So when in doubt, talk to your therapist and if you still have issues with stability, strength or range of motion, continue your treatment until those are resolved and you will be much more successful.

After your physical therapy course has finished, and your physical therapist has discharged you from treatment, you will likely be given a home exercise program. Your PT should be able to give you some sort of timeline of how long you should perform your home exercise program. For some people this may mean for the rest of your life, but more commonly it will be for the next couple of months. Remember, pain is one of the worst indicators of biomechanical dysfunction.

Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Centers in New York City

Physical therapy rehabilitation centers in New York City provide a comprehensive range of therapeutic treatment for ailments relating to the musculoskeletal system. Some of the renowned hospitals, healthcare centers and clinics employ only licensed practitioners with high levels of experience. Their ‘hands-on’ techniques are proven to provide relief to patients who complain about pain in various parts of their body.

Conditioning Exercises and Pain Relieving Modalities

Physiotherapists here help patients with limited range of motion undergo conditioning exercises that help to mobilize the joints, strengthen the body and enhance endurance. Myofascial release ensures relief from pain arising from contracted muscles, increases blood circulation and stimulates the stretch reflex of muscles. Some of the most modern modalities for stress and pain relief are used today that would restore the smooth functioning of the body. Some of them are transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), ultrasound, traction, electrotherapy and more.

Complex medical conditions such as arthritis; amputation; hip, knee, ankle and shoulder dysfunction; sports or work-related injuries; spinal disorders or neuromuscular conditions are now treated with advanced physical therapy techniques. Conventional form of treatment is still in practice for mild pain, soreness, muscle spasm, swelling and inflammation as it is found to provide considerable relief.

The treatment provided is for all ages that require short term as well as long term treatment protocol. Specialists not only focus on treating injuries and restoring health but also look into preventive aspects. They would undertake a counseling session with patients that would educate them on how to prevent relapses and ways to live a proper, healthy and active lifestyle.

A Systematic and Complete Evaluation

Patients who seek effective treatment at physical therapy rehabilitation centers in New York City undergo a systematic and complete evaluation. This helps the doctors to attain a clear picture of the patient’s physical status such as the level of mobility and reflex, strength and sensation, extent of pain and factors resulting in the condition. Physiotherapists then formulate a treatment plan that is aimed at providing fast relief and speedy recovery. The treatment is always provided in a safe and comfortable environment ensuring individualized attention.

Simple e-prescribing methods for medical practice e-prescription ,Choose simple stand alone e-prescription software

Recent survey report shows 90% physicians prefer adopting new technology to reduce medical Error, But 75% of them are not happy with complex web-based e-prescription system which are interconnected to certain pharmacy network .Recently Desktopindia.com Announced the introduction of Doctors Desktop an easy medical practice solution for clinical doctors which adds up to the list of simple stand alone e-prescription software

It is time Medical professional focus into simple stand alone E-prescription and Computerized Medical practice. Marketing analysis shows that Medical professional’s world wide are not satisfied with web based e-prescription solution and networked application currently available in the market. In many case medicos believe that e-prescription is possible only when pharmacy Distribution network is connected to prescribers system and E-prescription application should send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy dispenser, not allowing patients to carry prescriptions.

According to zeetech soft solutions director tajdink “ incorporating e-prescription application to pharmacy network may be possible in usa , but in many other countries it is not possible to follow web-based e-prescription application for e-prescription implementations . We know that e-prescription reduce medical errors, but I do not understand why everybody talks about a system that is very difficult for implementation . Why is it not possible print out e-prescriptions can be carried by patients to the pharmacy? ” .

Medicos prefer all over the world prefer hand writing in medical prescription.”I do not think Software and computer can prescribe much faster than hand. I admit that my handwritten prescription will not meet the standard quality of printed prescription. But how can I attend a patient in less time by using computer? “One of busy Doctors in India asked to marketing manager.

Medicos always think that Hand prescription is the best method to provide instant prescription in less time. By choosing the right e-prescription software medical practice can be made faster than manual prescription. Time can be saved for not repeating prescription for regular patients, Common diseases and symptoms. By using simple standalone E-prescription application it is easy to copy previous prescription to the new prescription table. If regular medicines (favorite medicine) are pre set with dosages, Qty, Days, remarks, etc, it saves the time for rewriting the clarifications in prescriptions. According to Zeetech soft , there e are four fast prescription method available in doctors desktop .Previous prescription, Regular medication, favorite medicines which are pre set .this gives more flexibility for choosing the drug data to prescription table and it gives better result in fast prescription printing. Some print formats click here

Patient registration was a burden for busy doctors in other e-prescription and Medical practice software. Doctor’s desktop makes registration simple and flexible for both Lengthy and short registration. Other main features include the facility to print e-prescription with procedures including price. (Ex: ECG, Dental procedures etc).Automatic drug to drug interaction check, auto allergy check makes the prescription more safe and standard. Features like Drug database management and simple EMR solution makes Doctors desktop the best software in the market.

Inability to adapt to deferent clinical environment is the main reason most of the software currently in the markets is rejected in industry .Doctors desktop is versatile, flexible software for EMR, e-prescription, Medicine database management, hospital management and is the best solution for fast prescription printing.

Doctors desktops can be tried free for one week with full functional features and can be downloaded directly from Download here Zeetech soft solution’s marketing manager Dr.Rajesh says “Most of prescription software available in the market lacks efficiency to meet the minimum demand medicos looking for, fast prescription printing. Doctors desktop Gives 80% priority for instant prescription. But it does not mean we ignore the capabilities and efficiency of technology. Taking full advantages of technology we provide medical professional easy e-prescription and fast e-medical records with full fledged database support”

Managing director advises to Doctors “Acquire maximum benefits from technology, choose Simple e-prescription stand alone software and let patient carry the prescription and choose their pharmacy dispenser”

How to Introduce a New Workers’ Comp Program to Your Third-Party Administrator

As you probably already know, the first step in reducing your workers’ compensation costs is implementing a well-thought-out program, one including:

1. Specific duties within your company
2. A regulated injury-response system
3. A systematic post-injury follow up
4. Accurate and thorough documentation throughout the process.

If you are a large company, you may choose to use a third-party administrator (TPA) to handle some of the nitty-gritties, so to speak. But, your TPA must be aware of your new program.

The Workers Comp Kit suggests informing the TPA of your new program is something can be done through email. Many communiqué should be on paper, or at least printable documents, but simply informing the TPA can be more causal. A copy should go to the TPA’s supervisor.

We suggest explaining the following:

1. First, your new program’s goal is to reduce workers’ compensation costs, which implies returning employees to work as soon as possible.
2. Next, note you have added a part-time medical director to enhance the quality of the treatment your employees receive. This is not to reduce medical provider fees, but to expedite return to the workforce.
3. Be polite. Inform your TPA you are looking forward to a close relationship.
4. Inform them the first phase of the program involves developing a team of qualified individuals and you want them on your team.
5. The team meets weekly. Include the time, date and method (likely a conference call) for these meetings. (workersxzcompxzkit).
6. Ask them to respond quickly to be sure they are on board.
7. Close, again, with your company and contact information.

THE Housing Solution

Well the numbers are in and it looks like home foreclosures are up a whopping 15% in the first half of 2009, affecting more than 1.5 million households. This problem does not appear to be getting any better as unemployment is nearing 10% and could go even higher, if you believe like me that government forecasts are about as accurate as throwing darts in the dark.

So the most recent “shot in the dark” from the Obama administration appears to be this disaster: a rental option for those facing foreclosure. This will “help” people stay in their homes and will transfer their equity, if they have any, to the bank and allow them to rent from banks, who apparently are now to become landlords. This is flawed on so many levels I don’t know where to begin.

Perhaps they need to look no further than one of their own agencies, Sallie Mae, for a real solution to what’s becoming the #1 problem with our economy and our country. Let’s have a look.

When I was an 18-year old and about to start college, I knew it would be necessary to take out a loan to pay for some of the costs of attending a private university. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was basically signing my life away, and that this debt would follow me wherever I went through life, the only way to get out of it being either death or permanent disability. And while I had always intended upon paying the money back and since have; had I understood those ramifications at the time I signed on, I may have thought differently about it.

Fast forward to today, the average college student graduates with over ,000 in debt, and they haven’t even entered the workforce yet

So why are we letting homeowners (or those who took out mortgages) walk away from their obligations with not so much as a dent to their credit? Unfortunately, the mentality that got us into this mess is the same mentality that will continue to kick this problem down the road in the name of populism. But I say: it’s time to get tough!

Here’s how to combat this problem in a sensible way without harming those who were responsible citizens (any more than they already have been) and at the same time holding all of the “bad actors” responsible.

If you receive a foreclosure notice, you have 2 options: to either walk away (as is what is currently being done) or opt in to a new program which will be outlined below. Both options will have benefits AND consequences.

If you choose option 1, the consequences are: immediate removal from the property in question. An automatic 400 point hit to your credit and you are BANNED for 10 years from buying another property unless you pay back the loss the bank incurs in full. It becomes a criminal offense to damage a house on the way out with automatic jail time.

If you choose option 2, the new plan will be structured as follows: you are given a timetable by which you need to vacate the premises. The house is auctioned off immediately and whatever the market brings is final. The loss that is incurred is split 3 ways, 1/3 to the bank, 1/3 to borrower, and 1/3 to the government.

However, the loss incurred by the borrower is given an immediate forbearance and it now becomes a Sallie Mae-type loan.

For example: if a homebuyer paid 500K for a home he can no longer afford, the home gets auctioned off immediately. Say it brings in 350K. The 150K loss gets split 3 ways and each party is responsible for 50K.

But now the home-buyer does not have the “scarlet letter credit smear” on their report and can apply for a new mortgage at a time that they are ready to get back in the market. This means no more LIAR or NINJA loans.

So now some time goes by and that original homebuyer is able to get back to work and maybe save up a little cash for a down-payment. He can come back into the market and buy the amount of a house he qualifies for LESS the amount of the money he owes on his first failed attempt. So if he qualifies for a 250K mortgage, he can only buy a home worth 200K.

He pays a tax increase of 2% over the next 20 years to repay the government so that responsible citizens do not have to carry the load in full.

What does this accomplish? First, it allows the homebuyer an escape route AND still be responsible for their role in the mess and not be totally ruined. Secondly, it allows the banks to move the house quickly which will help housing prices bottom out more quickly which will bring in new buyers. It allows responsible homebuyers to upgrade if they choose, while at the same time forcing the less responsible to downgrade. The inevitable loss that a responsible homebuyer faces is off-set by the new lower price of his home, and you give him a tax credit for the loss which they can take over say 5 years.

While this is just one proposal, I really hope the government adds an element of personal responsibility back into any program that they choose to try to combat the housing problem. But trying to artificially prop up home prices and rewarding those who acted badly all on the tax-payers dime is a travesty.

After all, there are 22 year olds walking around with 25K in unforgivable debt and they haven’t even been given the opportunity to act irresponsibly yet.

Medical Billing Outsourcing - Lower Your Monthly Overhead Costs

Medical billing outsourcing is a very vital and cost-effective service, which helps healthcare entities reduce the load of processing a large amount of medical bills. Medical billing outsourcing has become popular because it lowers your monthly overhead costs. In order to get maximum reimbursement, preparation and submission of medical claims must be correct. Medical billing services are available for all medical specialties including pain management, neurology, orthopedics, family practice, psychiatry, and internal medicine.

Need for Medical Billing Outsourcing

By outsourcing medical billing, you can reduce the time your staff spends on processing claims. You can fully concentrate on your core business activities. Thus the number of staff can be cut down, which in turn would reduce the expenditure incurred in maintaining them. Highly experienced staff and most modern billing technology assure increased account receivables. Advanced software such as Medic, Medisoft, Misys, IDX, and NextGen are commonly used. Medical billing procedures are HIPAA compliant to ensure privacy and confidentiality of the patient’s data. It also encourages electronic processing and data transfer through multiplexer, router or modem.

The various medical billing services include patient enrollment, insurance enrollment, scheduling, rescheduling, insurance verification and authorization, billing and reconciling of accounts, coding, and AR collections. Billing is performed by skilled and certified professionals.

Go for the Services of a Leading Outsourcing Firm

A top outsourcing firm offers an extensive range of medical billing services that will meet your specific requirements. Such a firm delivers results of high accuracy, mostly at affordable rates. Medical billing outsourcing not only lowers your monthly overhead costs but also ensures other benefits.

Reform could mean end to state health care pool

Lynn Gruber is monitoring the health care debate in Washington more closely than most people. If Congress passes legislation this year or early in 2010, it could mean the end of organizations like the one she heads.

And that could be a good thing.

Gruber is president of the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association (MCHA). It’s a health insurance plan created by the Legislature in 1976 for people who’ve been rejected by private insurers because they have cancer, diabetes, heart disease or other costly conditions.

With 27,000 members, it’s one of the oldest and largest of 35 high-risk pools in the country, all set up over the years by states to provide a safety net for those who are medically “uninsurable.”

The proposed federal legislation would stop health insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions — one of the industry’s most controversial practices — while also requiring everybody to buy health insurance. If insurers can no longer reject applicants, then organizations such as MCHA would become obsolete. Health reform could offer people with pre-existing conditions more plan choices, although there remain many questions about the timing and cost of the new options, Gruber said.

“Our goal is to have 27,000 members transitioned into the new world of federal health reform as it happens,” she said.

The change could be timely because MCHA — and the health insurance market itself — are beset by cost trends that may be unsustainable.

Insurer of last resort

For more than three decades, MCHA has been the insurer of last resort for people such as Kerry Koestler of Mankato.

After Koestler left his job at an imprinting company in 2002, he looked for an individual policy.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota wouldn’t cover him because of his diabetes — a pre-existing condition.

“I knew I’d be denied,” Koestler said. “To me, it was a formality.” With the denial letter, he could then apply to MCHA.
Koestler is now self-employed as a claims adjuster. His family of four pays ,980 a year for coverage.

Yet MCHA has never been a perfect solution.

For one thing, premiums are about 20 percent higher than for a comparable policy in the individual market — unaffordable for some. But those who sign up often have no choice. Many are self-employed or work for employers who don’t offer group insurance. Because they often have high medical costs, it would be worse to be uninsured altogether.

“For those who get their insurance through us, for sure it is lifesaving,” Gruber said. However, “not everybody can afford our premiums or they struggle to pay them.”

A second challenge is that MCHA premiums cover only about half the cost of care for this group of individuals — and that cost is rising.

In 2008, MCHA spent 6.5 million more paying for medical care and administrative costs than it collected in premiums and other revenue. In 2009, those losses are projected at 0 million.

To cover the shortfall, insurance companies pay an assessment, which they pass on in higher premiums — by 2 to 3 percent — to those with individual and small-group policies.

Out of whack

Over the years, MCHA has provided an inverse barometer to how well the private insurance market is working.

When the economy is good and people have access to other coverage, MCHA’s membership goes down. In a bad economy, as more people lose their jobs and group coverage, membership goes up.

After hitting an all-time high of 35,000 in 1993, membership fell because of a good economy and insurance industry reform. It rose again between 1998 and 2003 during an economic downturn.

Since then, the picture has been a little more mixed.

Membership has been falling steadily from 33,705 in 2003 to about 27,000 today, in part because those who used to buy Medicare supplement plans through MCHA have switched to new products introduced in recent Medicare reforms.
But while a wave of layoffs in the recent recession has thrown a lot more people off group coverage, overall MCHA membership didn’t rise between 2008 and 2009, making this recession something of an anomaly.

Between January and October 2009, more than 5,000 members left MCHA. About the same number of new members joined during that period. A significant proportion of those who left — 11 percent — said it was because they couldn’t afford the MCHA plan anymore.

“Not good news,” said Gruber. “Enrollment is decreasing and losses are increasing.”

Gruber would like to broaden the sources of funding for MCHA, an issue she may try to take to the Legislature next year. Meanwhile, she’s keeping one eye on Congress.

WASHINGTON-Cardinal Francis George is urging Catholics in the United States to tell the Obama Administration to retain Health and Human Services regulations governing conscience protections for health care workers.

Savaria Concord B.07 Straight Stair Chair

B.07 Straight Stair Chair is a straight stairway lift manufactured by Savaria Concord. This stair lift is designed for both residential and commercial use. The Savaria Concord B.07 Straight Stair Chair can be employed for indoor and outdoor purposes. This lift is of high utility value for physically disabled people because it facilitates easier mobility for them in homes and offices. This stairlift can be installed on either side of the staircase and can be made to run on electric current or on battery power. The option of battery operation is ideal because the lift can be operated even during power failures. Let us have a look at the various features incorporated in the B.07 Straight Stair Chair.

The rated load capacity of Savaria Concord B.07 Straight Stair chair is 300lbs, which can be upgraded up to 400 lbs. This stairlift can travel a maximum distance of 32 ft with an approximate speed of 18 fpm. This equipment has a motor with ½ hp and 110 VDC specifications. The angle of inclination of this lift is 25º to 45º. Aluminium extrusion is used in the rail of these stairlifts.

Safety features provided in Savaria Concord B.07 straight stair chair include:

• Obstruction sensors
• Safety brake on carriage
• Safety switches
• Seat belt

Obstruction sensors are used to detect obstructions on the path of the lift and thereby help to avoid injury to the user and damage to the equipment. The safety brake on the carriage prevents the carriage from going down in the case of chain rupture. Safety switches can stop the carriage when it reaches the top or bottom end of the stairways. The seat belt is another safety feature which holds the user in place when the lift is on the move.

Folding facility with regard to the seat, arms and footrest ensures enough space on the stairway. This enables others to use the stairways conveniently. Vinyl seat upholstery is an optional feature of this stair lift. The B.07 Straight Stair Chair can be installed quickly and easily.

Savaria Concord provides 30 months limited warranty for its B.07 Straight Stair lift. Customers who plan to purchase B.07 Straight Stair lifts can contact the local dealer of Savaria Concord in their region. These dealers can help you with installation, repairs and warranty claims.