Don’t Give Up on Haiti

These are trying times - wars overseas and terrorist threats at home, a miserable economy, a health care system in crisis and Washington politicians behaving with more pettiness and self-interest than squabbling two year olds – well, it’s just plain disheartening.

This week a patient of mine lumped Haiti’s problems in along with all those others I just mentioned but I begged to differ. Haiti is neither a governmental nor political problem – it is a humanitarian one. It is not our governments’ problem to solve, it is our own as individuals. We can save Haiti by not giving up on her. Read this post to see how.

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Help Haiti and Help Yourself – Make a Long Term Commitment

The devastating natural disaster in Haiti has gripped our hearts and minds. Many are suffering without water and food while suffering injuries and the loss of family, loved ones and shelter from the elements. Those people’s circumstances are utterly unimaginable. Please donate money NOW and plan to keep on giving in the future.

Recovery will not be quick. Read this post to help you think through how this disaster can help you help others and help you help yourself.

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Top Ten Holiday Gifts for Good Health

Here are Maverick Health’s top ten holiday gifts for good health. Too often the holidays end up in a tailspin of bad health choices. We overeat and gain 5 lbs that we never seem to lose, we feel stressed and we spend more than we planned on gifts that aren’t always appreciated or good for those to whom we give them. But this year things can be different. I’ve looked for some healthy gift ideas for your friends and loved ones that say “I care about you and your health”. Check them out.

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How to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

I have an idea about how to lower prescription drug costs and save millions (if not billions) of wasted dollars.

I know how to decrease confusion and eliminate much of the unnecessary anxiety related to prescription drugs. And I know how to decrease the cost of prescription drugs for individuals. How?

Pass a law to make it illegal for drug companies to advertise directly to consumers. Read on see why this is good idea.

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Texting While Driving is a Serious Health Risk - Duh!

I know, it’s not you - it’s the other guy. I want to talk about a serous health risk that more than 80 % of us admit to engaging in – texting while driving or talking on a cell phone while driving.

How much faith to you have in yourself as a driver? And how much faith do you have in other drivers? I’m betting you believe you are more competent than most of the drivers with whom you share the road. Be honest, am I right? I think its human nature to find ourselves more competent than everyone else on the road, but when I scrutinize that belief it’s just doesn’t hold up.

Please read this post and get real for a minute about the dangers of texting while driving an automobile or using a cell phone when you are behind the wheel.

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NP World News: How NPs Can Reform Health (Care)

NP World News is the official news publication of nurse practitioners. Its contributors and columnists are thought leaders in the NP profession.

This is the third of 5 columns I will write for NPWN this year on subject of NP practice, health and health care reform.

Click “Read Full Post” if you would like to leave a comment.

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Will More Doctors Solve the Health Care Crisis?

On May 15, 2009, after President Obama’s “stakeholder” meeting at the White House I wrote a post called Consumers are the Ultimate Stakeholder in Health Care Reform. But consumers were not invited to the White House – neither were nurse practitioners.

Shortly after that White House meeting pundits from the Innosight Institute who are also authors of a book The Innovator’s Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care published a commentary piece on CNN Politics.com titled We Don’t Need More Doctors. These scholars have some great ideas that might work - but some need a little fine tuning. Overall their perspective is very refreshing!

Read this post for my take on their commentary.

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NP World News: Why NPs Need Full Practice and Prescriptive Authority

NP World News is the official news publication of nurse practitioners. Its contributors and columnists are thought leaders in the NP profession.

This is the second of 5 columns I will write for NPWN this year on subject of NP practice, health and health care reform.

Click “Read Full Post” if you would like to leave a comment.

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Consumers are the Ultimate Stakeholder in Health Care Reform

This week President Obama invited “stakeholders” in the health care system to the White House to seek their input about the best ways to reform health care. Representatives from hospitals, the insurance industry, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, labor and physicians came to discuss ways to lower health care costs across the board. Neither consumers nor nurse practitioners were among the invited stakeholders.

Also this month the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (a subsidiary of the international consulting company Deloitte and Touche) published their analysis of a survey they did of 4,001 American adult health care consumers. The survey (administered either in English or Spanish) sought information about the behaviors and attitudes of consumers regarding health care.

Read this post to learn what we as consumers - the ultimate stakeholders in health care reform - say we want.

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I’m Down with the Flu - Some Tips for You

It got me. I am down - SO down - with the flu.

I followed all my own advice (which I posted here before flu season). But as a Nurse Practitioner, 6 to 8 of the patients I see every day are sick this time of year. Catching the flu is just an occupational hazard in my line of work.

Read this for tips on how to take care of yourself if you get sick, too. It will tell you when you need to see a health professional and give you some tips on how to keep yourself out of the hospital.

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