The quality and the cost of medical care depend more on you than on your doctor.
To become a wise medical consumer, start with three basic principles:

* Work in partnership with your doctor and health care team.
* Share in every medical decision.
* Become skilled at obtaining medical care.

By following these three principles, you will gain more control over the quality and cost of your health care than you have ever had before.

Work in Partnership With Your Doctor

Good partnerships are based on a common goal, shared effort, and good communication. If you and your doctor can make these things happen, you will both gain from the partnership. You will get better care and your doctor will practice good medicine.

Five Ways to Be a Good Partner

1. Take good care of yourself. Both you and your doctor would prefer that you don’t get sick in the first place. And if problems arise, you both want a return to good health as soon as possible. (more…)

The 2008 election has brought the topic of “affordable health care” and “affordable health insurance” to the forefront and, along with it, a slew of misconceptions. So, what is true and what is false? The purpose of the following article is to dispel some of these myths and misconceptions and provide information to make a muddy topic a bit clearer.

1. The first misconception is that, for some reason, Americans equate affordable health care to be “socialized medicine.”

This is not the case at all. According to Wiktionary, socialized medicine is “an umbrella term for any system of government-run health care.” Many people balk at the idea of socialized medicine because the citizens inevitably pick up the costs through higher taxes. Affordable health care, on the other hand, is as simple as the phrase states – it is health care with costs low enough for everyone to afford. The government does not necessarily oversee it and individuals are free to go to physicians of their choice. It is not discriminatory to those with lower incomes and services are equal whether one is poor or financially privileged.

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There have been many modern advances in the world of health care, and research has unlocked many mysteries when it comes to medicine. One of the areas that has seen some advances is the treatment of substance abuse, where professionals are learning how best to treat individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol. But still today, the number of lives affected by drug abuse and alcoholism is increasing, and many people have turned to prescription opiate such as hydrocodone or oxycodone, and it really hasn’t gotten much easier to help those people get sober. It is still a long, hard process that often lasts a lifetime.

Drug detox, and particularly opiate detox, can be a very scary and difficult thing. The reality is that no matter what method they choose, drug addicts still have to go through it if they are going to be sober. A few modern techniques have been designed to make the process easier, however.

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The quality and the cost of medical care depend more on you than on your doctor.
To become a wise medical consumer, start with three basic principles:

* Work in partnership with your doctor and health care team.
* Share in every medical decision.
* Become skilled at obtaining medical care.

By following these three principles, you will gain more control over the quality and cost of your health care than you have ever had before.

Work in Partnership With Your Doctor

Good partnerships are based on a common goal, shared effort, and good communication. If you and your doctor can make these things happen, you will both gain from the partnership. You will get better care and your doctor will practice good medicine.

Five Ways to Be a Good Partner

1. Take good care of yourself. Both you and your doctor would prefer that you don’t get sick in the first place. And if problems arise, you both want a return to good health as soon as possible.

2. At the first sign of a health problem, observe and record your symptoms. Your record of symptoms will help both you and your doctor make an accurate diagnosis. And the better job you do recording early symptoms, the better you and your doctor can manage the problem later.

- Keep written notes on the symptoms. Record when, how long, how painful, etc., for each symptom.

- Note anything unusual that might be related to the problem.

- Measure and record vital signs.

- Add regular updates and watch your progress. Are your symptoms getting better or worse? (more…)

You and your family can save a lot of pain, worry, and money by avoiding health problems in the first place. If you can’t prevent a problem altogether, the next best thing is to discover it early, when it is easy to treat. Here are Ten ways you should do to stay healthy.

1. Immunize. Immunizations are the best bargain in health care. When you immunize, you prevent illness for your family and help prevent epidemics in your community. Follow this link for Immunization recomendations
2. Keep Moving. Any way you define it, fitness is essential to good health. Even moderate exercise makes a huge difference both in how you feel and what illnesses you get.
3. Eat Right. Eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet of wholesome foods will keep you energetic and free of many illnesses. Consider breast-feeding your baby to help keep him or her in the best health.
4. Control stress. Even with a hectic and hurried lifestyle, you can prevent stress from undermining your health.
5. Be smoke-free. Smokers who quit gain tremendous health benefits. So do people who avoid secondhand smoke.
6. Avoid drugs and excess alcohol. When you say “no” to drugs and limit what you drink, you prevent accidents and illnesses and avoid a lot of problems for yourself and your family.
7. Put safety first. Safety at home, at work, and at play; safe driving; firearm safety; and safe sex will all help keep you healthy.
8. Pursue healthy pleasures. Take naps, relax during meals, play with kids, care for a pet – they all can add to your health.
9. Think well of yourself. A good self-image is the foundation of good health.
10. Promote peace. Peace on earth begins at home. Seek nonviolent ways of resolving conflicts at home, at school , at work, and in your community.