|
|
| Medicine Information |
|
|
When Your John Doe Is Homeless
The patient, known only as John Doe, was difficult to see under the hodgepodge of tubing, the quiet clicking of the ventilator the room's only sound. From all appearances he was homeless, but in the opinion of his nurse, who has had vast experience in dealing with patients just like him, everyone has a mother or a father, a son or a daughter, and homeless or not, it's a nurse's responsibility to do what he can to help find them. Usually it's just a matter of taking that extra few minutes to connect the dots. "Homeless people are very savvy and self-sufficient when it comes to survival skills," he explains. "They write important phone numbers on the insides of a hat, put them in their shoes, or sew numbers inside the seams of their coats. I go through every stitch of clothing." If that doesn't turn up any emergency contact numbers or personal information, he examines the patient's body for needle tracks, scars or tattoos and if necessary, sends fingerprints to the police for a background check. Sometimes the police's theory is that the homeless person had a desire to be a loner, and they see no need to reconnect them with their family after they are injured or dead. But the nurse is quick to disagree. "Things change, [and] these people are still human beings. I believe that every homeless person is still a father or mother, [or a] son or daughter to somebody out there. These people may have done things they are not proud of, they may have mental illness, but their family has a right to know what happened to them." From a hospital's perspective, a patient without an identity is a patient without funding. But once a nurse or a social worker positively IDs a patient as a US citizen, the hospital can help the patient apply for Medicaid and then get reimbursement for the bill. "Identifying people is a reasonable endeavor. It is part of a holistic approach. When you locate family, you find a surrogate to speak on behalf of the patient, to be an advocate. The family should decide on the patient's follow-up and if the patient has died, the family should decide where they are buried." For tools you and your staff can use to identify John Does download a free copy of the Seven Steps to Successful Notification System, in PDF format, at the Next of Kin Education Project web site. Along with the Information Kit, you'll find patient chart pages and notification worksheets using the Seven Steps, that you can purchase and customize to use as part of your own charting system. You'll find them on the NOKEP web site along with reminder products like mouse pads, posters and coffee mugs, to keep the Seven Steps at your staff's fingertips. Laura Greenwald, CEO/The Next of Kin Education Project nokepinfokit@juno.com The Seven Steps Information Kit can be downloaded free of charge at http://clik.to/7steps The Reminder Products can be purchased at our NOKEP store http://www.cafeshops.com/7steps
Medicine - Google News |
|
|
|
Alternative Medicine How To Save Money On Prescription Medications If you are a regular user of prescription medications, you know that these drugs can be costly to purchase. Cutting back on drugs can be dangerous to your health, but if you are on a fixed income your choices can seem limited. Let's look at some cost effective ways for you to slash your prescription costs. The Trouble with Tranqs There's a whole group of drugs out there called benzodiazepines.They are tranquillisers, or sedatives. They include such well-known names as Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), Tranxene (clorazepate), Paxipam (halazepam), Centrax or Verstran (prazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Dalmane (flurazepam), Serax (oxazepam), Restoril (temazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), and Halcion (triazolam). Drugs like Librium and Valium have been around for a while, others such as Xanax are relative newcomers. Interestingly, whenever it appears, the newcomer is always hailed as a wonder drug as it becomes available for prescrption, until, 10 or 20 years later, the problems start to appear with those who were the first to be 'saved' from their pain by this miracle of pharmacological engineering. Online Pharmacies Are Becoming Increasingly Popular Due To Their Convenience And Discreetness Leading online pharmacy companies are providing consumer with a secure, safe, convenient, and discreet way to acquire prescriptions. Chinese Medicine Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion (moxibustion - using material made up of "moxa-wool," in a form of a cone or stick; moxibustion is used to treat and prevent disease by applying heat to pints or certain locations of the human body), herbal medicine, acupressure, cupping, therapeutic exercise and nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine is notated by its principle of internal balance and harmony, or "chi," (life force) regulation through energy channels. Implant Dentistry The Convenient and Safe Alternative to Dentures If you are missing a tooth or a group of teeth, you may find that you are afraid to smile, you don't like to speak because you think you sound funny, or you may not be able to eat certain foods that you enjoy. Until recently, your only option was to replace these missing teeth with dentures. Patients often complained that dentures were uncomfortable and inconvenient. UltraCET: The Dynamic Duo Of Prescription Pain Control Medications Remember the last time you stubbed your toe? OUCH! It's painful. But a stubbed toe usually doesn't send us running to the medicine cabinet, since we know that the pain will pass within a few minutes. Are You Sometimes Confused by Written Medical Instructions? Now, imagine what it would be like if you were sick, scared and had only third grade reading skills. Your doctor tells you, "You've got to follow these instructions exactly, or you could die." Five Secrets of High Blood Pressure Treatment Thirty percent of human population has a high blood pressure and everyone has a 90% risk to acquire it during the rest of the life. As a result, half of all human deaths are due to the major complications of high blood pressure, mainly stroke and heart attack. Curing Lou Gehrigs Disease ALS is the disease that took the life of the famed baseball player. The disease benched Lou Gehrig from the game that he loved and later took his life. Now, ALS is referred to as the Lou Gehrig's disease. Today more than fifty years later there still is no cure for ALS. ALS is a motor neuron disease. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The disease attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It attacks a persons muscles one at a time. Not unlike being tortured. Sadly there is no cure and no viable treatment. Medical Testing: Health By The Numbers Doesnt Work Perhaps one of the most insidious dangers in modern technology is medical testing. Although it would be nice to be able to visit our doctor and get all hooked up with electrodes, inflatable cuffs, probes, needles and catheters and have a read-out telling us exactly how we are working and where there is a problem, that is a myth, not the reality. Zyprexa Side Effects are Deadly: Effects Include NMS Zyprexa is a prescription drug that treats schizophrenia, acute mania and bipolar disorder. It is a psychotropic drug that treats the psychotic disorders of the mind but unlike other drugs for psychotic disorders, Zyprexa is an atypical antipsychotic. Eli Lily, the manufacturer of the drug Zyprexa, has been accused of promoting off-label prescriptions of Zyprexa, many to children, knowing that the FDA would force them to include risk information on the label and that the FDA has not approved the drug for use with children. Risks and side effects of Zyprexa include diabetes, hyperglycemia, pancreatitis, weight gain, tardive dyskinesia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome. The FDA has stated the Zyprexa should not be used if a patient is a child or has ADD, depression, addictions, treating aggressive behavior, or mood elevation, but it continues to be given to these people. Stop Taking Blood Pressure Medications with Your Doctors Approval I have been swallowing three varieties of blood pressure pills for 10 years. In another month, I expect to be off of them entirely. And that's with my doctor's approval. The Power of Ice Using ice to treat injuries is one of the oldest methods of pain control. Proven to be safe and effective at reducing swelling, relieving pain and decreasing muscle spasms, ice therapy is an easy self-care technique that anyone can administer. Every mother knows to put ice on a bruised knee after a soccer game or on a teething toddler's tender gums. But do you really know how ice works? Generic Medicines Generic Drugs Anxiety Management With Prescription BuSpar: Don't Worry, Be Happy We've all had one of those weeks: the washing machine overflows, the dog forgets his housetraining and the toddler her toilet training, the boss is going through a divorce and making everyone miserable. And you feel like you just don't know how to handle it all. Doc, My Tummy Aches and My Joints Hurt! Is there a connection? Inflammatory disease of the bowel- regional enteritis (Crohn's disease) and ulcerative colitis- are often associated with arthritis. This occurs because inflammation in the bowel and the joints may share a common immunological abnormality. Onychomycosis - One Of The Many Nail Fungus Out There Many natural changes in fingers and toenails come with age. Fine ridges, for example, may start developing from the cuticle of the nail tip. This and other similar changes are common, but they are not signs of poor health. The Last Line of Defense Against Medication Errors: What You Need to Know to Keep your Family Safe This is a true story. Residential Drug Treatment Centers Chemical dependency recovery provides with positive changes in reactions and behaviors. Residential Treatment Centers can be accommodate those suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, and more. Treating both men and women together, or separately, they can offer the assistance that you need . Some residential treatment centers can even provide an atmosphere for specific cultural groups. Chronic Head, Facial, Or Neck Pain That Won't Go Away - Could It Be TMJ? I stumbled across TMJ when I needed treat a literal pain in the neck that would not go away. It seemed that the pain in my neck came from my jaws. "TMJ" refers to disorders of the jaw muscles and of the temporomandibular joint, the hinge at the side of the head that joins the lower jaw, mandible, to the temporal bone of the skull. TMJ expert John Taddey, D.D.S. states that one the most common symptoms of TMJ is a dull, aching pain around the ears which can radiate to the neck, shoulders, and back of the head. These symptoms may be coupled with tenderness of the jaw muscles and a headache.
|
| home | site map | |
© 2006 www.elearn-university.org |
