health

Study: Health Providers Often Rewarded for Volume Over Value

Posted on 03/26/2013 by | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Russ Mitchell for Kaiser Health News. This story was produced in collaboration with USA Today For decades, reformers have sought to change how doctors and hospitals are paid to reward quality and efficiency — efforts that accelerated as a result of the health care overhaul. But surprisingly little progress has been made to date, a consortium of large employers reported today. Only 10.9 percent of health care spending last year by employer-sponsored plans was based on “value,” as opposed to …

Molecular Time Machine: Turning Back Brain Age

Posted on 03/22/2013 by | Fat to Fit | Comments

Personal Health Warning: This article should not be read by anyone with a brain that is under the age of 50. You don’t need to be around adolescents very long before you realize that their brains work differently from those of adults, especially senior adults. What the youthful brain lacks in judgment and stability, however, is compensated for by its speed of learning and memory recall. But what if, through a simple flip of a molecular switch, we seniors could have it …

Colonoscopies and Seniors: What to Do?

Posted on 03/22/2013 by | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | Your LifeFollowing up my last post — Learning to Say No to Doctors — I was interested to read results of a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association that reported up to 38 percent of colonoscopies performed on those between 76 to 85 years old (and almost 25 percent of those over 86) were potentially inappropriate under existing guidelines. I take a personal interest in this procedure because colon cancer played a significant role in my …

Out in the Field

Posted on 03/20/2013 by | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringThis is a guest post by Philip L. Graitcer and the third in a five-part series about a group of dedicated Rotary volunteers helping to eradicate polio in Kaduna, Nigeria.   After a day of practice, everyone’s ready to get going. We’re prepared, and we’re dressed for long, hot days in the sun. One team member, Al Bonney, 63, from Traverse City, Michigan, particularly stands out. He looks like a fisherman without any water to fish in. He’s wearing a fishing vest, a fishing …

Saving One Baby at a Time

Posted on 03/13/2013 by | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringThis is a guest post by Philip L. Graitcer and the second in a five-part series about a group of dedicated Rotary volunteers helping to eradicate polio in Kaduna, Nigeria.   Fomwan Maternity Hospital, Kaduna For most of the team, this is a new experience. They’ve never been in a developing country or given polio immunizations. Now, on our second day in Kaduna, they’re getting their sea legs — learning how to give polio immunizations in a maternity clinic, where 40 crying infants, held by their …

Learning to Say No to Doctors

Posted on 03/8/2013 by | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | Your LifeThrough a post on the New York Times’ New Old Age blog, I learned of a great initiative by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation to help patients understand they’re allowed to just say “no.” The effort is called “Choosing Wisely,” and it’s bringing together many medical specialties to help patients and doctors understand when specific tests and treatments do — and don’t — make sense. (AARP also has covered the program). If you’ve spent any time helping …

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