A Veteran is a Veteran Every Day

Friday was November 11th, the day to say thanks to our Veterans. The thing is, a Veteran is a Veteran every day and most of them need help just as often. As people grow older, their dependencies on supplemental care grow too. At some point, many will need around the clock care. This is where Caregivers come into play. They provide that supplemental care that cannot otherwise be obtained.

A Caregiver is someone who cares for an aging or ill person. In order to perform their duties effectively, Caregivers will need to understand who they are caring for. Financial, medical and health histories are very important to collect and track. For most Caregivers, this will require a great amount of time and effort. Therefore, one of the best tools a Caregiver could have is a Personal Health Record that can be managed by a computer.

With a Personal Health Record that is manageable via computer, not only will pertinent medical and health history be listed in an easy to read/follow format, but everything else that may pertain to legal and medical documentation can be laid out and managed also. This is perfect for the trips between lawyers, banking institutions and medical facilities. Instead of carrying and flipping through possibly hundreds of files and folders, you will only need a credit-card sized USB Personal Health Record.

It's important that those who risked their lives so future generations may continue to live in a free society get the care that they deserve. Don't wait for Veterans Day to say thanks, say thanks every day. If you know of a Veteran who could use an extra hand, especially in preparing for the future, consider at least introducing the thoughts of Caregivers and Personal Health Records to them. This may be that extra bit of ease on their minds.

Visit The Smart Med Card for more information on our available Personal Health Record devices.

Good Looks and a New Pair of Shoes Isn't All Your Family Gave You

You know, life is funny. For some of us, there may have been multiple family members with a rough health history, a history that in theory should have been scratching at every new generation's door, but instead, remained dormant. Then there are those who've had family members with minimal health issues, just the occasional complications and somehow the new generations are a walking target for everything in the book. The big bullet point to catch from this is that your family gives you the information you need in order to determine who you are.

Today, I want to share with you a quick introduction as to how you may go about locating your family's history and why this is important. There's no excuse to not build a history of your parents and their parents. It's neither hard or terribly time consuming. In fact, your life may one day depend on their history. Don't take needless risks on losing the wonderful privilege of living. Go to ReporterNews.com and read all about it!

If you need a little motivation on getting started, how about you collect this history while making a family tree? Make it a family-time project. Read our earlier post What's Your Story?

The Traveler's Personal Health Record

If you're prepared to leave town for any extent of time, be sure you and your travel companions have prepared your Personal Health Records. There's no easier time to fall ill then when you are away from home.

There are unlimited reasons you could become ill during travel and every reason that is serious enough for you to end up in a hospital is going to require you to give an accurate (mind you) and detailed medical history. In fact, adequate treatment may be delayed until your medical history can be obtained. Do you really want to wait that out? Here are some of the concerns you should address before you leave and why you should start at least a contact and current medical history (including scheduled OTC medications) Personal Health Record.

• Vaccination Decline - People may not be keeping current due to fear, forgetfulness or the feeling of needlessness. Without a fully vaccinated population, preventable deaths due to widespread illness will be prevalent. Are you sure your destination will be healthy when you arrive?
• Flying - With every person on that plane, there will be at least one contagious illness that could be passed from each one of them. With circulating air, your chances of exposure are high.
• Limited Personal Hygiene - OK, don't get to this one and roll your eyes! Deep down you know I'm right. What germs will you ingest from your unwashed hands during meals and how many more will you give a free-ride to after visiting the restroom (washing your hands and then turning off the water with your freshly-washed hands instead of using that drying-towel you just threw out)!

There's no worse time to get sick than when you are traveling, but mind you it does happen. Don't take needless risks and make a bad situation worse by not having any pertinent medical facts on your person. There's a reason doctors suggest keeping detailed Personal Health Records and that reason is: your life may depend on it.

Visit The Smart Med Card to begin your Personal Health Record today.

The Athletic Personal Health Record

Although we've all been told that a physical lifestyle rich in athletic activities is beneficial to our health, there is also an inherit health risk. Your initiative to begin and maintain a Personal Health Record, even treating it as a journal of your daily routines, could be the deciding factor in your ability to return to your activities in the event of an emergency.

The Athlete's Personal Health Record
Athletes, especially ones involved in secondary/post-secondary education sports, will near require a complete Personal Health Record that is presentable to physicians during physicals and injury assessments. It's also becoming a greater practice for coaches to take a more active stance in ensuring that their players are healthy and remain so. Coaches need to know any medical problems in order to allow their players to maintain an active stance within their sport but still remain safe. Doctors and physicians must also know about all medical history of both the athlete and family in order to properly treat and release the downed athlete.


Personal Health Record Contents
Athletes tax their musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary systems continually. Therefore, any past history of surgery, injury, persistent aches and pains, difficulties in breathing and so on must be tracked constantly. Any signs of deterioration in any of these bodily systems could be serious and must be noted. Deterioration or defects of these systems can also be hereditary in nature, therefore, family history must be documented in detail. Any allergies, medications, tests and chronic conditions, even if seemingly unrelated must also be presented.

Please visit The Smart Med Card and start your Personal Health Record today!

Facebook, You're Not a Personal Health Record!

This morning, I came across a very interesting article where Facebook helped save a life. This person managed to post enough of their health and medical history to allow doctors to diagnose and treat the condition. If you could have only seen my jaw when I read that. Once I recollected myself, I got to thinking. Facebook is the biggest inhibitor to clear thought and proper judgement in younger generations since binge-drinking. Your private life should never ever be on a social network. In fact, no part of you should ever exist on such networks other than opinions, business information and some fun/not-so fun facts about your day.

If you look back to the original story, this person posted everything about their medications, feelings, worries...etc. What should have happened though, is that information should have been placed in a Personal Health Record (PHR) and carried on their person and updated during their Facebook Happy Hour. There is one clear picture that gets painted about PHR, though. They are easy to start and they are easy to maintain. That should be the only +1 you had gotten from that story. Sure, a life was saved, but what if that information that was posted got out? Let's list a few oh-no topics (found at reputation.com):

- Personal identity theft
- Banking information theft
- Burglaries
- Potential job opportunities
- Maintaining your business online reputation
- Credit card scams
- Potential college placements for yourself or a family member
- Safeguarding your insurance policy
- Protection from law suits or legal issues
- Medical benefit fraud

Does any part of that list look like something you would want to face? Oh, and don't start picking and choosing from the list of things that could happen. In the end, you're probably going to experience them all.

Friends, Personal Health Records are just that. Personal. Don't risk leaving your life or your family's life in shambles because your information got into the wrong hands. How much would you share about yourself in a room full of strangers? If you say nothing - does your Facebook page back that up? Lastly, please realize the importance of  writing, collecting and carrying any abnormalities you experience during the day within your PHR. Replace a few of your social posts with a post to your PHR, a place that matters.

All Hallows Even

On October 31st,  we find the celebration of Halloween (at one time All Hallows Even). On Halloween, people dress up in costume and go door to door asking for treats in lieu of them performing tricks! They carve faces into Jack O' Lanterns and light them using candles. With all of these customs that are celebrated on this night, have you ever stoped to ask yourself why we celebrate the way we do? Well, let me show you! Enjoy the show!

One Little Lie Forms One Large Consequence

When it comes to human nature, there is one glaring flaw that seems to become even the best of us. When we are in the presence of authority, we lie. For example, in a doctor/patient setting we may, in some twisted way, end up signing our death wish by not tracking and talking about our health and habits to our doctors because we fear judgement and feel ashamed. We give medical care providers either too little information or the wrong information and this can be deadly. Not knowing or withholding any medical history, eating and social habits and overall feeling of health could very well cut lifespan years shorter.

In 2004, there was a poll taken at WebMD collecting data about patient lies. The results were as follows:

 Of 1,500 responders to a 2004 online survey by WebMD, 45% admitted they hadn't always told it exactly like it was -- with 13% saying they had "lied," and 32% saying they had "stretched the truth."

Not included in those figures would be patients who "lie" without knowing they do so by withholding information because it slips their mind or they have no idea it could be useful. (Maybe Aunt Agnes would gladly tell about the time she snored so loud she woke the neighbors if she knew that a diagnosis of sleep apnea could depend on it.)[1]

One of the most notable, unquantified numbers in there: the 'lies' in which past medical history was forgotten or withheld. Chances are, the forgotten truth could be the most pertinent truth. This is why it is very important to spend the time backtracking medical history and collecting the data into a Personal Health Record. Even things such as slight color changes on features of the body, when ignored or not tracked for further developments could be fatal.

The truth be told, we as humans are complex and susceptable to breakdown in more ways than we can imagine. The practice of self-monitoring and reporting to medical care providers is one of the easiest and most proven ways to live a long happy life - even in spite of daily habits. Lastly, there's no need to fear judgement and persecution from care providers because if they did judge their patients, they would not be able to save the lives that they do.

A complete Personal Health Record could very well be your cheapest and safest route route through the healthcare system.Visit https://www.thesmartmedcard.com to begin tracking your health today.


Sources:
[1]"Do Patients Tell The Truth | Body of Lies: Patients Aren't 100% Honest with Doctors - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 08 June 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/08/health/he-lying8>.

It Will Just Take a Minute

A big part of the upcoming changes to healthcare is understanding and practicing preventative health measures; where we take a good look at ourselves and determine if we are destined to become a heavy user of the healthcare system based on lifestyle patterns. The problem at hand in implementing this, though, is that a majority of us are unwilling to take action because of A) I'm not unhealthy, how dare you judge me, and B)I can't afford the tests to determine if I have any problems. The truth is, if you have the Internet or access to a library - you have some of the greatest prevention tools at your disposal and you've already been paying for them. It's time to get using them! Here is a  small kick in the pants to get you researching what (potential) ailments you may be experiencing. This will all just take a minute!

One key component in self-analysis comes from how big you are via the amount of fat. This first component, Body Mass Index (BMI) can be calculated here: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ What did you come up with? Well, the higher the number the more likely you may be experiencing or will  experience: (from http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/health_risks.htm)

• type 2 diabetes
• coronary heart disease and stroke
• metabolic syndrome
• certain types of cancer
• sleep apnea
• osteoarthritis
• gallbladder disease
• fatty liver disease
• pregnancy complications

Cutting down on body fat alone can greatly reduce the chances of developing, while also 'curing' a number of very common and preventable issues; ones that are highly responsible for the constant increase in healthcare costs.

Secondly, we  must consider that if you do fall within a normal range, the worries haven't ended. You may be skinny but fat on the inside! The question is, how often do you tend to eat the 'fun food' that we Americans cherish? If it's even a few times a week, you may be heading down a slippery slope. So, that above list now gets dumped right into your lap. The prevention step towards you? It's easy, just like your larger counterpart, it's about diet! What everyone needs to know can be found at http://maddieruud.hubpages.com/hub/Healthy_Diet.

Now, what about exercise? Well, we should all be shooting for at least a half-hour to 45 minutes of cardio and some weight training a day, but in reality, the best body that is the epitome of health is built from diet first!

The key to a long, happy, pain-free life ultimately comes down to your initiative to make it happen. Now that you have an introduction and basic knowledge to start further research and self practice in prevention, what will you do with it?  

Be sure to visit The Smart Med Card to learn about tracking your health and the benefits of  doing so.

What If

Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of factors that dictate the direction of our day - the answers to our 'what ifs' - that we are in direct control over. How we form our 'what if' answers, though, are becoming increasingly biased from, as stated - popular belief. More and more of our culture is forgoing the power of self-knowledge and keen-awareness and putting in its place opinion and unstable facts - taken as truth.

One of the largest practices of answering our 'what ifs' using popular opinion rather than self-education is in healthcare. We follow popular opinion like children to the Pied Piper and (as macabre as it may sound) often end our story the same way; our healthcare 'what ifs', if answered incorrectly could be just as deadly as any other result. In order to introduce a new way of thinking, I bring to you

When Doing Nothing Is the Best Medicine

Be sure to visit The Smart Med Card and take the initiative to track your health and well-being!

Visit The Smart Med Card

Happy Monday everybody! Today, we would like you to visit us at The Smart Med Card for a few changes we've implemented.

Firstly, if you're not too sure about getting the full version of our USB emergency medical ID card and all of its amazing features just yet - how about you give us a try?

Go to https://www.thesmartmedcard.com/free-tri-fold-card.php and sign-up for your free Tri-Fold Wallet Card. Once you have successfully signed up, click on the link titled 'Self-Printing Access'  right above where you entered your username and password. You can also access the printing area from 'My Tri-Fold Wallet Card' at the top right of your screen in the member login area. Please read the instructions carefully and print your free Tri-Fold Card! The first time you use it, you will immediately see how powerful the full-featured USB devices will be!

For those who have received your Free Tri-Fold Wallet Card before October 20, 2011 you may print your Free Tri-Fold Card's data  using the 'My Tri-Fold Wallet Card' link at the top right of your screen in the members area. Follow the instructions carefully to get access to and print your data!

Lastly, take action and spread the word. The Smart Med Card is in the works of developing their newsletter! At The Smart Med Card's site, click the Mail icon at the top of the screen where the Facebook and the other social medial icons are at. All you need to do is enter your email!

Big things are coming, so don't miss out! See you all at The Smart Med Card!

War (What is it Good For?) Absolutely....One Thing

If you haven't heard the recent news, Obama has pledged to have the troops home for the years end. What a nine years it's been and boy are we not done yet - but that's another story. Instead, I want to share with you a contribution of war that we often take for granted every day; that if it were not for war, our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System could very well have been entirely different if even existent (it probably would have found its way eventually) if wars were never fought.

You see, to sum up the title, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System and the standard of care Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provide are all bi-products of war. In all honesty, there's no better place to research and develop emergency care techniques then in a setting where there is a large population of continuous wounded. To gain an understanding of how the battlefield gave us our system today, I present to you a brief history of the ambulance.

The history of the EMS is quite old. Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail; the scene were Eric Idol is yelling 'Bring out yer dead!' whilst pushing a cart full of dead bodies? Welcome to the 1400s version of the ambulance system! No more than a cart meant to take away incurable patients from the home and streets.

As time marches on, we find ourselves in more and more wars. The 1790s, during Napoleon's reign, comes the development of horse-drawn carriage (called 'Flying Ambulances') transferring fallen soldiers from the battlefield after receiving treatment on the spot! Replace horse with Copter and Jeep (Flying Ambulances!) and we've got the modern day war-zones.

When it comes to civilian pre-hospital care, the system we are familiar with on the home-front, we can grasp that development by understanding that the military cared for the sick, wounded and dead by transporting them to medical stations. Soon, we have the evolution of normal civilians taking any and all forms of vehicles that developed through time and sticking to those vehicles a basic motto of 'You call. We haul. That's all.' The operators of these ambulances did not provide medical care to the patients they were bringing to the hospital. As larger accidents with high casualties began occurring (on our home-front war-zone, the highway), the realization that these ambulances needed to provide care at the scene came to fruition. Lastly, thanks to President Kennedy and his attack on motor-vehicle deaths being one of the biggest diseases in America, the Department of Transportation (DOT) was charged with creating, maintaining and furthering the development of the EMS System.

How's that for a trip through time! Remember to stop by The Smart Med Card to check out our evolution! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter service too!

Slim Down With the Fat Tax

The new line of obesity-targeted health measures has been in effect for about 20 days in Denmark and the news is sweeping the world. It is called the fat tax. The fat tax places food items into particular tax-brackets based on the amount of fat that it takes to make that product. So, such items as butters, higher-fat milks, meats and so on will now see an increase in prices. The purpose of such large measures are to target the issue of the lower life-span in Denmark.

Now, it's not just the fat tax that is in effect and it's not just fat that's being taxed. There has been other itemized measures put in place to deter obesity related illnesses and preventable deaths. Denmark also has the sin tax, taxes on high-sugar delights. Other taxes such as the familiar tobacco/cigarette related taxes have been in effect for some time now. With the frontal attack on obesity and preventable death from poor diet and nutrition in full swing, we can only wait to see what country is the next to join the battle and what the trending results will say.

Lastly, what's with the roll-out of such heavy taxes? It's because we're addicted. From Radio New Zealand International[1]

Dr Kelly Brownell [Yale University] says there are two problems with unhealthy food.

“It tastes really good and it acts on the brain in such a way that it keeps us wanting more of it. Plus the foods are the ones most heavily marketed by the industry because these are foods that people over-consume. So something needs to be done to change that incentive structure and changing the price could be one thing that could do that.”

So, readers - for such a hard-headed nation as America, do you feel this could ever hold any water?

[1] http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=63839

Child Development 2.0

During my morning romp through the internet for preventative health news, topics about the effects of technology on child development popped up a few times and reminded me of a report I wrote a few years back. Today, I want to share that report with you to introduce studies of technology and its effect on the development of children's cognitive and social skills. Enjoy!

Child Development 2.0

A Social Checkup

To The Smart Med Card's friends and followers: we need you! We make it our best effort to keep you informed and entertained, but in order to do this effectively: it's ultimately up to you, the readers. Therefore, today's blog is a call to action - and it's very important to the directions we plan to take in the upcoming months.The topics we can talk about are numerous, so, with that subtle hint we politely but sternly request of you topics within:

• Healthcare Reform
• Politics and Healthcare
• Personal Care
• Diseases
• Medical Facts
• Social Issues
• What comes to your mind

The Smart Med Card wants everything we do to be about you and for you. When it comes to your health and well-being, everything is clearly affected by your environment; the fun, the sad, the bad and the WOOHOO! So, please tell us what articles and topics have caught your attention in our past presentations and how we can continue to catch your attention in the future.

No matter what your role is within The Smart Med Card's bubble, everyone's voice is invaluable - let us know how we can better serve you. Leave a comment below or send an email to: Jim@thesmartmedcard.com!

The World I Know

Whether we like it or not, pieces of our lives are out there for everyone to see. With the mass-uprising of Social Media and information-sharing, we see three very distinct social-influences of our world. For one, the lines separating generations is more clear then ever before. Every new generation that reaches what I call 'computer age', the age in which parents start trusting their children to use the computer, the lifetime-amount of random personal information (that probably should remain personal) that gets shared online rises compared to the life-time amount of the generation previous, as does the level of detail . The second aspect of our world influenced by Social Media is the fact that new generations' lives are greatly influenced by the information they share. Any types of noticeable libel, risky behaviors and 'boss-bashing' could affect their chances of receiving any qualifiable jobs in the future or even keeping their current jobs. On the flip-side, any and all greatness and success one may have achieved could also greatly shape their life for the better. Social Media in all reality is a standard in reputation management, building and decline. Finally, the third influence Social Media has gained on our lives - the ability to save it.

The strangest thing is happening in our society because of the popularity and strength of Social Media and its fist mentioned social-influence. Our acquired ability to release our privacy to the world has actually turned into an amazing diagnostic tool as well as an intervention instigator. The reason the online community is turning into a successful diagnostic tool comes from the fact that when we feel/are ill, our instinct is to now research AND inquire about our symptoms. Those of us who have chronic symptoms that seem to get pushed aside or 'seemingly misdiagnosed' by our doctors and care providers tend to post symptoms to various Social Media tools (Facebook, Ask.Yahoo, Forums..etc) asking if anyone can correlate said symptoms to a particular disease/condition, or at the very least, a manageable list. The amazing aspect of this process is, lives are actually being saved. Not only are people with similar conditions who have been diagnosed posting answers but so are doctors and other care providers. Now we have a highly knowledgeable (for the most part) community banding together for the better cause!

Finally, about the intervention instigator - tools (mainly Facebook and similar) which allow status updates and photos to be posted are creating a window into people's afflictions. Alcoholism, depression, anorexia to name a few of the big diseases are fairly easy to diagnose by trending (watching a person change over time). For instance, people who post often that they have a hangover could very well be heading down the path towards alcoholism. People posting stories and stats over weight loss who are already very small for the height and age and continue to show frustration may be heading towards anorexia. The power of Social Media and sharing is undeniably powerful.

For one last thought in today's blog post - for those we care about - don't be afraid or ashamed at reading into and questioning the daily antics you may see on Facebook (or any other Social Network). Whenever bad things happen to someone we know and care about we always say the same thing - they seemed fine; they seemed happy. Is that what you are seeing or is that what you wanted to see?

A SAMPLE of the Smart Med Card

Today, I thought it would be fun to teach you how The Smart Med Card works when an EMT is called to a medical patient's house. We'll keep things simple, as though the patient is coherent, breathing normally and complaining of nothing more than a stomach ache.
When the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System is activated for the medical patient with the upset stomach, the EMTs who arrive will generate, from the moment they first see the patient, a Primary Assessment in which they will make decisions of what kind of transport priority the patient is (immediate/non-immediate) and what kind of life-saving interventions (oxygen, bleeding control, airway corrections...etc) will be needed at this moment. Since the EMT was called out due to a stomach ache and no other outward signs point to any-other complications, the EMTs will then handle a focused exam. By remembering their mnemonic SAMPLE, the EMT will begin the assessment. Now would be the time to present the EMTs with The Smart Med Card. What SAMPLE relates to is:

• Signs and Symptoms
• Allergies
• Medications
• Past Patient Histroy
• Last Oral Intake
• Events Leading to Present Illness

From here, the EMT will handle vital-signs, reassess transport priority and continue an ongoing assessment. And that's a simple scenario of an EMS call!

By having this information handy you make the EMT's ability to handle the focused exam much easier and could perhaps, based on your past, present trends and possible related complications that could be more serious than just a stomach ache.

The Smart Med Card is an indispensable tool for both you and EMTs. Illnesses don't discriminate between age, sex and race. We are all susceptible to, at some-point in our lives, a reason to activate the EMS sytem. Be sure to have what you need - your life could depend on the ability of your care providers to properly connect the dots. That's what they're trained for!

Take a trip over to The Smart Med Card and start preparing your medical history today. Remember, if you take any medication - you do have a medical history!

There Really Is an App for That

If you think back to the title of my last post - The Smart Med Card - Inspiration University, Bob didn't invent something new; he made something better. I bet If you dug up all the innovations from the late 20th and 21st centuries thus far - I'd be hard-pressed to believe that a fair share of them were not also improvements rather than something full-blown new. Today, I want to show you, albeit briefly, how the world of medical diagnostics is taking some of the most irrelevant tools, your Smart Phones, and turning them into diagnostic tools that are just as effective as the actual devices the phones are mimicking

Smartphone Camera Detects Breathing Rate, Pulse and Blood Oxygen Saturation

by Wouter Stomp on Oct 11, 2011 • 10:39 am

Original Story

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Both the iPhone app store and the Android market have their fair share of heart rate monitors, which use either the microphone or in some cases the camera to detect your heart rate, with varying levels of accuracy. A researcher from Worcester Polytechnic Institute wanted to take this idea a little further and has developed a smartphone app that measures not only heart rate, but also heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation using the phone’s built-in video camera.
The app analyzes video clips recorded while the patient’s fingertip is pressed against the lens of the camera. Just like a standard clinical pulse oximeter, it then captures small changes in light reflected by the pulsing blood in the capillaries, and translates these changes to the actual vital signs by using some of the same algorithms employed in professional devices.
For testing purposes, the researchers used the app on a Motorola Droid phone with a group of volunteers and compared the readings with those from standard clinical monitoring devices. According to these tests, the smart phone monitor was as accurate as the traditional devices. If this app indeed works as well as advertised, this could become a powerful diagnostic tool which is readily available to both doctors and patients anywhere they are.
The next challenge the researchers are working on is accurate detection of atrial fibrillation from the heart rhythm signal. They are working on an app for that, and have started a preliminary clinical study. Details of the current app are described in a paper published online in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

How's that for innovation? Even though technology has nothing to do but evolve in every aspect of our lives, it's nice to see that some of us still have our heads in the 'now' and realize the power current technology possesses. What do you think about Smart Phone Diagnostic Tools?

The Smart Med Card - Inspiration University

Hey hey - it's Monday! Ha ha, just the words you wanted to hear, right? Well, in order to try and curb a more ravenous case of the Monday's, let's get a little inspired today. Be sure to check out the video at the end!

I do believe I will be making a factual statement when I say: There comes a time in everyone's life when we say - "I could have made that - what the hell...too much time on Facebook." For me, I can certainly attest that there are at least a minimum of two times a day I come across someone's ideas and concepts that make me question my education and experiences; how sometimes 'being smart' has nothing to do with education and knowledge - but rather 'being smart' has to do with the ability to think in the moment. It is about being constrained to an environment where the brain has to piece together a process or event that is often either solace or rushed and chaotic. Both types of events cause chemical changes in the brain that really get the neurons firing. The funny thing about these moments is that the new pathways that have been created in the brain (the memories of the event) somehow, in some of us, create this missing link between a suppressed, good idea and the inspiration, reasoning and algorithm needed to implement the idea. Let's take Bob Hammill's The Smart Med Card as an example.

The Smart Med Card is nothing too new - it's a USB storage unit for Personal Health Records (PHR). The back-end of the device is a HIPAA compliant and secure website on which your medical history is stored and maintained. How the device was born so-to-speak happened exactly as stated in the above paragraph - an event (Bob's wife's COPD) caused him to develop a storage unit to help monitor her health and present it coherently to healthcare providers. Where Bob made the important decision to stand out and create a far more superior device came from two really simple yet powerful changes: no software and easy-to-access PDF health profiles (from the event, COPD, comes a bridge to the suppressed idea - highly portable, easy-to-use and maintainable PHR for use within the healthcare setting - where the steps of implementation [the bridge] were built from the memories of emergency trips to the ER). In this specific case, the invention was a 'twist' on existing technology - to make things simpler.

There is a caveat to inspiration, though. Often, in times if inspiration we get 'good ideas'. I'm afraid I'm going to have to be the bearer of bad news, but these ideas are probably not at all good ideas. Like I said, the best ideas come from an event - an immersion into an environment that is either relaxing or utterly chaotic - times when we certainly aren't trying to invent anything.

What I want everyone to do today is reflect on your experiences; reflect on some of the best and worst moments and walk through them. Is there any part of those experiences that give you insight into how something could be made better or could benefit others in some way?

Finally, for those of us who are tinkerers and love the challenge of inventing for the sake of inventing - your probability of developing dementia-related illnesses will be highly mitigated due to continuous use and 'sharpening' of the brain. Preventative health at its finest!

Oh - for one last bit of inspiration...

(Not endorsed by The Smart Med Card)

What's Your Story?

Those of us who have been following The Smart Med Card since the beginning know that we are about preventative health and self-monitoring. The reason we push these practices onto you is because they are in fact a few of the biggest saving-graces of our healthcare system. These practices will reduce healthcare costs - they will allow the reallocation of resources and increase availability of financial help to those who can't get even the most basic care. These practices will also greatly reduce the costs onto you - no more duplicate and unnecessary tests (yes they are costly - no you do not want another one!). So, to further push our message to the public, I am going to show you a way to begin your Personal Health Record with The Smart Med Card while simultaneously beginning a Personal Health Record for each member of your family. So, readers - what better time then now to build your Family Tree? Welcome to A Family Tree for a Healthier Me!

Be Learned
One of the most rewarding and perhaps biggest mysteries to unravel is you. You may live a simple life now, but, could you imagine the life of your blood-line? Think of the major events in history the World over - could it have been your relatives at the forefront? Could it have been your family that helped shape the World we live in today? Certainly some of us will have to say yes to this - so see if it was you! It's like winning the lottery - only, instead of becoming Mr./Mrs. MoneyStacksAndStacks you rightly become rich in smugness and pride when you tell everyone your great, great grandaddy is the reason we do this, this and this! OK, let's get this part out there too - of course I have an ulterior motive to this project.

You see, when you research your family's past - you will, without a doubt uncover their health history. With each person you research, you will learn their lifestyle (even by looking only at the time-period they lived in) and you will learn their approximate time of death and the reason. These factors all have a hand in determining where you and your upcoming generations are heading. With each of these factors you uncover in research - there is a storage sector of The Smart Med Card just waiting to be written to with this new-found data! This information in a doctor's possession could very well be the dividing line between diagnosis and treatment or misdiagnosis and chronic complications.

Your Doc's Arsenal
Projects like the Family Tree are concepts that you should be familiar with already. Remember going to the doctor and being asked about your parents and their parents? It's for good reason. Who they were health wise - you are now a potent cock-tail of everything they were; with each member passing at least one overpowering factor that is nothing more than a time-bomb of 'something uh-oh this way comes'. By doing your own investigative work, uncovering patterns and learning about courses of action in prevention and treatment, you are doing, for the cost of time what modern medicine is doing for the costs of millions of $$. You are empowering yourself to live longer, happier lives without the intervention of modern medicine.

Motive: Moral
Finally, there is one more motive I have behind this project and that is: the stress of the day, hardships, jerky people and bossy bosses - they all contribute to our health (in a very, very adverse manner), but can be easily counteracted by a nice block of family time. Be with your spouse, kids, parents - whomever you may wish to see this project through with. Make this a team effort. Bring back laughter, memories and stories from your past as something to share and to cherish. Stop the consumption of precious time by material 'items' and enjoy the one thing in life we are guaranteed - a family.

It's never to late to practice preventative health measures. Visit The Smart Med Card and start your Personal Health Record today!

It's a Mutual Failure

Today, I will begin our blog bluntly (it's how we learn) - we're paranoid of lawsuits. Everywhere we go and everything we do we have to cover our hind-sides from someone looking to sue. Unfortunately, this mentality is creating a snow-ball effect in some of our critical industries - healthcare for starters.

We are low on doctors and because of the high-chances of a financial back-hand to the noggin during their job-duties, there is no stopping this shortage. Becoming a doctor is expensive, time-consuming and no longer contains the financial incentives that we believe a doctor to receive. But you know something? We contribute to the fault of a doctor's troubles and the fears of med-students. Perhaps we should consider suing ourselves, sometimes?

Here is what I am saying: If you don't track yourself well enough and then throughly and coherently present all information you can to a doctor during diagnosis - they will probably make mistakes. It's not entirely their fault, though; they don't live with us, track our medications or track complications; even if they only presented for a day or two and we chose to ignore them. Sure, doctors tend to run with a poor diagnosis because it looks like it's right or may even stereotype because of statistics with some medical complications, but, the bottom line is, we do our part to aid them in misdiagnosis. To give you a little something to chew on, here are a few numbers and facts from Reuters Health.

'Researchers found that about half of U.S. malpractice payments -- a proxy for medical errors -- from 2009 involved patients seen outside of the hospital.'[1]

More and more procedures that used to be kept solely to hospitals are now being performed in doctor's offices. The reasons for the malpractice suits are resultant from serious injury or death[1].

'In 2009, the last year of the study, there were 4,910 payments due to inpatient errors, 4,448 due to outpatient errors, and 966 involving both settings. Together, these payments were worth more than $3.3 billion.'[1]

If you think about it, over the years, that $3.3 billion (+/-) continually being spent in payments in which at least a substantial chunk could be mitigated is rather high. 4,448 outpatient errors (doctor's offices), a number that is basically the same as surgical error (inpatient) is astonishing. The lesson to learn - we need to communicate with our doctors. We need to take an active stance in our lives. Doctors can't do their part effectively unless we leave no door closed in patient-doctor communication. We all need to lite a little fire under our butts and hop to it!

So, next time you are with your doctor - consider starting your Personal Health Records with The Smart Med Card. Learn about yourself and create a personal profile that any doctor could use to make solid judgements in diagnoses and treatments. Your doctor would be more than happy to help you out, and in fact, most of them wish you would talk to them more, especially during the creation of a Personal Health Record. That is their job; to be there for you.

Learn more about The Smart Med Card and how you can take the initiative in starting your Personal Health Records today!

[1] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43401235/ns/health/t/malpractice-claims-common-outside-hospital/

Give a Gift That Makes a Difference

Those of us who are parents want nothing more than to raise happy, healthy and productive members of society that get out there and make a difference. Who couldn't want that? A big part of achieving said goal ultimately comes down to the morals, work ethics and habits you instill in them as they continue to grow and experience. What if one of those habits was self-analysis; a habit that may greatly effect morals and work-ethic?

We often consider age-appropriate tools and toys as great gifts for our children/grandchildren because of the joyful and often educational nature said toys may create. What I think we greatly ignore though are the tools that will allow them to continue to grow after an emergency. We highly suppress the potential darkness and dangers that may consume our children for our own selfish reasons - those thoughts are difficult to face. The truth is, as kids grow, accidents happen; the body may become ill. Bad things can and do happen. Think about all the times that your children will be out of your care - sports, outings, clubs, trips; a myriad of other reasons your children may be out of your watch and even more - out of your home-town. What if something goes wrong and you can't be reached - because no one knows a name or a number? Allergies, medications - what if your child's mental status decreases and is unable to tell anyone what's wrong - and they need their medication?

The point is, your children depend on you to make so many decisions and to meet so many of their needs, even when you are not physically with them. Luckily, you do have the ability to monitor your children away from home and it comes down to how you teach them to respond to the inevitable and the tools you give them to carry.  So, what if you decide to change one gift you get them; instead of that new toy, you buy them The Smart Med Card.  What a perfect gift for the new parent, right? You sit with them and explain to them how to monitor their health and what the card will tell the doctors about them. You teach them how to keep it with them safely; how to never share it with anyone but medical care providers. If you're the parent - use this card when you need to. Don't let it get out of date. Think of how easy continued maintenance is over starting fresh with a large medical file later in life. If you are not the parent, then explain to the receiving family the benefits and the power of the card. With all the money that gets spent on toys and clothes that will fade with time - what if you get them one item that can last a lifetime and very well be the only item ever purchased for them that gives them a second chance at a lifetime. Think about how your money is spent on your family. Perhaps it's time we use that money a little more wisely?

Visit The Smart Med Card to learn more about what you can do to help protect your loved ones.

Don't Take My Word

Happy Friday readers! Today, I want to present a new view on the importance of Personal Health Records (PHR). Tools like The Smart Med Card are indispensable and unequivocally important in tracking not only warning signs of potential diseases but also tracking and treating chronic conditions. If you, as well as your doctors, cannot gain a full profile of your fitness and health then the guarantee of adequate treatment and diagnoses is not a reality during emergencies and even routine check-ups. By using The Smart Med Card as the vehicle in creating a centralized medical and health history, you and your doctors can assess future and current complications. For those with chronic diseases, PHR could be the key in extending life as well as locating factors for creating a higher quality of life.

Like I said in the title, don't take my word. Look at a first-hand experience in how the power of PHR can create a whole new path in life when battling chronic and fatal diseases.

Be sure to visit http://www.thesmartmedcard.com and get your PHR storage device today! It's never too late to start and there's no better day then today!

Thirsty Thursday - Watered Down

Ha - like I could actually explain things in less than a thesis/dissertation! Today's Thirsty Thursday post is targeting one of my biggest pet-peeves as well as one of the least under-stood concepts during the start of a new diet - water weight misunderstandings.

If there was ever a market to break into for a quick-rich scheme, it would be diet analysis and development. Weight loss is a huge industry in our country and it is also one of the most dangerous and least understood concepts. If you don't understand how the human body works from a cellular level, you really shouldn't be starting a diet not provided by a nutritionist/dietician. But, since so many of us have that the initiative to start that diet then I will be right here providing the insight and the theory to diet and it's effect on the body - starting off with one of the most difficult parts of the diet - weight fluctuation due to water.

Your Body is Water
Along with a few other materials thrown in for good measure, but, as a general rule your body is 70% water. The body needs it to function and just like any other material it can't easily make on it's own, if it is deprived it will store. If you are dehydrated then your body will store water the best it can; and water contains weight! When you continue to eat carbs during the day - your body takes the produced water from the carbs and stores that too!

Daily Fluctuation
If you've ever looked at your weight on a scale multiple times during the day you probably noticed that your weight is increasing - for some of us, depending on how much our body is trying to keep water, could weigh up to 5-10lbs heavier by the end of the day. This is one of the biggest reasons diets fail - because it is believed that the dieter just can't lose weight - even though real weight could be decreasing like desired. If you don't supply the water needed your body will store every ounce it can.

Breaking Even
The ideal amount of water in your body will depend on one thing - how much it needs. Your body is a brilliant machine that constantly monitors its levels and makes adjustments to ensure optimal operation. So, the secret to giving your body the amount of water it needs to operate and to discontinue the storage is to supply yourself with as much water as you can. For most of us, this will actually be more than the recommended 8 glasses of water a day - perhaps up to one ounce of water for every pound of weight depending on your daily routine. If you drink coffee and continue with higher-carb diets then you also need to drink more to keep your body supplied and to keep excess water from carbs flushed out.

Dehydration Signs
Your body will tell you when you need to consider having a glass of water - often by supplying you with a headache, dry-mouth and sleepiness to name a few common symptoms. One of the biggest pit-falls to diets occurs here too - these same symptoms are easily confused with hunger and cause you to go for that snack - another big reason you gain weight in the first place. It is much more likely you are becoming dehydrated rather than becoming hungry. Here's a big secret that needs to be shared - if you experience these symptoms daily - by following the the guidelines under Breaking Even chances are all these symptoms will subside, your energy levels will increase and your clothes will more likely than not - fit better!

This is definitely just the bare minimum to this topic - I could actually start a whole new blog on this post alone! Please leave any comments or questions that we can address in order to better help you understand the human body and weight-loss!

The Great Disconnect

There's an old saying that is often told to those who are leaning a new skill/trade and that is - when you have a hammer - everything looks like a nail. The concept is simple - if you give a child a hammer suddenly, everything needs pounding. In the adult world - you give someone a trade and suddenly they relate their trade to everything they encounter. Today's topic extends to: when you create an M.D. everyone is a doctor. To get you in the proper mind-set - imagine you have a hardy illness and during your diagnosis and treatments your doctor remains highly efficient and highly capable, but, instead of treating you as a patient in need of help and answers, they relate you back to med school and act as though they are explaining their process to their professor - being blunt, fast-paced, abrasive, and ignoring the layman and treating you like a fellow colleague. Tough to handle, right?

There exists a basic synergy in this world between services and their consumers - where consumers expect service providers to complete their goals in such a way that their requirements are fully met while simultaneously ensuring that our expectations are met in a satisfying manner. Simply put - we want our service with a smile! It's this basic fact that is creating a dividing line within the healthcare system between who is an acceptable doctor compared to who is not.

The general trend within the late 20th and now 21st centuries is that competence, education, track record...etc are taking a back seat when recommendations come around for doctors from patients, as shown on websites such as Angie's List where trades from doctors to roofers and plumbers are graded on the same scales and for the same criteria. Panning through this data there is a trend that the highest rated doctors may not have had the best track record or the highest ranking in class, but they were comforting, caring and straight-forward; essentially they treated the patient with the realization that they (patients) had no idea what was going on and needed very simple but thorough explanations. The doctors that made the best emotional connections with a patient were the ones most likely to be continually recommended. Herein lies the great disconnect.

We often take emotions over efficiency, completeness and correctness. Humans have the need to feel cared about, but, we also expect perfect service. What most people fail to realize is that there are two types of people - ones we want and ones we need. Unfortunately, finding someone who fits both criteria is a rarity and for good reason. Look at those around you - in the media, in the academic system; those who are at the top of their field have the greatest disconnect from those who need them. They have become so encapsulated with what they do that they have trouble relating to the needs of those under them; they only relate to those who speak their language and as such speak their language to everyone.

So, when you are looking for doctors, specialists...so on - what ones will you consider - those with great bed-side manners or those who will cure you without the sunshine smiles? Is sacrificing best treatment worth a few hurt feelings?

Just to clarify, I am not saying great doctors don't exist with the brains, brawn and compassion, but what I want to bring to light as to trends and reasons within the healthcare system. What do you think about today's doctors? Are they meeting your needs to your expectation levels?

Oh - and one last thought - medical providers don't want to 'like' you. When you lost someone close to you - you took it pretty hard right? Imagine if a doctor got to know and like his patients and then had to watch them die - do you think they could continually handle that stress? Could you?

Cold Weather Blues

It's the weekend! Not only is it Saturday, but it is also the second day of Autumn. Hard to believe, huh? Today, I want to present a short but informative blurb about this time of year; the time where temperatures fall and sicknesses rise.

The Old Wive's Tale
Momma always says wear your hat and gloves when going out into the cold! Also, never leave the house on a chilly day with wet hair - you'll catch your death, pneumonia will become you! If you've grown up with this mentality from your parents too - your mom and my mom should meet - they'd get along great! All jokes aside, here is what you need to know about illnesses.

Bacteria and viruses (collectively called pathogens) cause illnesses and diseases.

In all of your days growing up - have you ever been told that cold weather is a bacteria or a virus? Hopefully the answer is no - because it's not. Cold weather does not directly cause illnesses, it will, however, initiate a cascading effect. 

Shiver Me Timbers

Cold weather lowers your body temperature - causing you to shiver. The shivering you feel is from the rapid tensing and relaxing of your muscles - like a mini-workout. In the same way you exert yourself during exercise and cause a rise in body temperature - your body, when shivering, has automatically initiated it's own workout-routine in order to cause a rise in internal temperature. It takes large amounts of energy for your body to do this and when you start shivering, much of your other bodily functions, such as the immune system, weaken in order to divert it's energy to the more pertinent problem. It's right there - that weakening of the immune system which causes the problem. Now that your immune system has weakened, any pathogens it has been fighting have an open window to flourish. Generally, within a few days after an extended stay in cold weather without proper clothing you can become ill due to the lost fight between your body and any pathogens it was suppressing. As a quick aside - athletes often become just as sick, in any weather due to the large amounts of energy required to fuel their body during their sport. Their sport causes a weakening of their immune system in order to keep up with energy demands just like shivering.

There you have it - the correlation between cold weather and well, colds (and pneumonia just in case you didn't fully catch the full correlation)! So, if you choose to run around without the proper cold-weather gear - that's up to you - just hope you haven't been exposed to and were fighting some nasty bug!

The Best Kids Are Made in the Kitchen

Alright there, mind out of the gutter - it's beneath you haha. What I mean by made in the kitchen is the fact that our body runs off of food - it is our fuel. Just like your car, the better grade of fuel you use, the better your car (you) will run. Unfortunately, with today's economy, just like the higher prices for higher grade gasoline for the car forces us to use the lowest grade, we practice the same ideas for food - we buy what we can afford - the 'cheap stuff'.

We Really Are Fat-Heads!
FunFact - our brains are composed of 60% fat (and 40% hot-air for some!). Our brain, from day one needs fat to maintain it's health, growth and optimality. The key factor to understand though, is that it requires a careful balance of particular fats - not just any fats. Perhaps you have heard of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids? These fats are required by your brain in order to run smoothly and continue to do so for the rest of your life. Not only will your brain run smoothly, but due to the sources of these fats, your body as a whole will age slower and function better as the years pass by.

Omega-3 and Omega-6
Our brain is composed of a 1:1 ratio of these fatty acids and require this balance to function. It doesn't take much to alter this ratio and when it does we often see the results physically. Our Western diet consists of high-levels of Omega-6 (from red-meats, dairy and vegetable oils and fast/junk-foods to name a few) and much lower amounts of Omega-3 (fish, nuts, fresh vegetables and whole-grains to name a few of these). The problem with our imbalance is that our body cannot make up for a deficiency in one or the other by making more - these fats are essential - meaning we need to supply them our body doesn't produce them. Omega-6 causes inflammation in the body and promotes blood-clots, quickens skin-aging and damages cells, while Omega-3 does the reverse. Now that we know the differences of the two let's see how they affect us physically. 

Life in the Off-Balance
When I refer to the effects of healthy, balanced diets I often use the story of Appleton Central Alternative School in Wisconsin. This school has partnered with Natural Ovens Bakery in Manitowoc, Wisconsin to provide their school with homemade, fresh foods and veggies, containing limited sugar and are non chemically processed. The result of using fresh foods is that the school's student's moods have greatly improved. They are now receiving foods that supply the best fuel for the body and the best ratio of Omega-3 and 6 to the brain. The results - they are less violent, more attentive, caring and have a much higher learning capacity. This greatly contradicts the current trend of Western Civilization which is more violent and often considered to be at high-risk of ADD type symptoms and diagnoses. Not only does our 'normal' diet consist of an imbalance of essential nutrients, but the high sugar and trans-fats (Omega-6 suppliers) are greatly increasing the number of heart-attacks, coronary diseases, as well as mental reductions in reaction and reasoning time leading to things such as higher vehicle accident rates - especially in teenagers and young-adults - all highly preventable. The introduction and continuation of a well-balanced home-made diet starting from pre-school age could very well be the cheapest and most effective preventative medicine at our disposal.
 
Life in the Balance
It's fact and has been told to us time and time again that we need to be mindful of what we eat and how much we eat. Unfortunately we essentially disregard our instructions, highly disrupt our body's chemistry (often to the point of irreversibility) and are forced to seek medical assistance. The plain-Jane truth on our likelihood of living long disease-free lives will start as a young child and will most likely be adopted as a life-long habit. Those of us who grow up on home-made meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and continue that trend will be the ones who live long and remain mentally sharp. Those of us who make time to cook for ourselves and our family rather than blaming long hours of work and equally long hours of TV and couch-time for our inability to cook will create a near perfect balance of our body's functions. Instilling these morals into our children will create a healthier population of adults. Like I said, the best kids are made in the kitchen.

Remember - our future to sustainable and available healthcare lies in our ability to practice prevention! It's never to late to start!

Understanding What We Eat Part 1 - Nutrients

 Good day readers. Today I want to start a little series inclined to introduce how our body functions and what we need to understand and do in order to live long, fulfilling and happy lives. Today's post details the building-blocks of our diet and what they do for you. Get ready to learn!



Nutrients
Nutrients are the substances that allow organisms to live and grow. Nutrients come in 6 general classes:

- Carbohydrates
- Water
- Proteins
- Fats
- Vitamins
- Minerals

Carbohydrates 

These are the main sources of calories in our diets (there are 4 calories/gram of carb). They are found in legumes, vegetables and fruits (to name a few natural productions of carbs). They are also found in breads, cereals, pastas and so on. Generally speaking, the latter group (comprised mainly of refined carbs like sugar and flours) are what we eat the most. The problem with these carbs we eat the most of is that they are simple carbs; ones that break down fast and cause rapid rises of glucose levels in the blood which can greatly alter our mood and will give us that great energy rush followed by that painful crash. Not only do we have a mood altering substance, but also a health and fitness issue. The liver stores glucose. When we overdo the sugar intake and the liver can not store any more, the glucose is released back into the blood as fatty acids.

Water 

We all know the importance of water. Being of a biological origin, we are around 60% water. With this nutrient, water-soluble products we put into our body will be absorbed, and passed as waste. Secondly, this nutrient aids in our ability to maintain temperature through evaporation (a.k.a. sweating).

Proteins 

This nutrient class is the second area we gain our daily calories from. This group also contains 4 calories/gram of protein. These are what provide the foundation of our cells, tissues and organs. We gain the needed protein in our diets from items such as meat, poultry, fish (contains the best fat we can take in also), eggs, nuts, seeds, and beans/legumes. When on a work-out plan, these are a must. Proteins, along with carbs will aid in the proper muscle regeneration after those intense workout sessions and provide us with the fuel we need to handle that next session.

Fats 

This class is also an energy provider. There are 9 calories/gram of fat. When tracking the fat it is important to realize what the body is capable of producing compared to what you need take in. The body itself is capable of synthesizing the saturated and mono-saturated fats, so we want to greatly limit these numbers as much as possible. The unsaturated fats are what we need to focus on. Items like sunflower oil, extra-virgin olive oils, flax and others are what to focus on, rather than butters and vegetable oils. Excess saturated leads to high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Vitamins 

This nutrient class is where we start to mention metabolism. This group is responsible for metabolic functioning and a maintaining a healthy, responsive immune system.

Minerals 

This last class is where we look at substances that are not made from living things. Here exist such substances as calcium, potassium, and sodium. These substances make up part of the electrolyte category. There also exists a category called traces. Such members include fluoride, iron, zinc, copper, and others.

There you have it folks! Let this stand as diet and health 101. Now that we know a little more about the foods that we eat, we will slowly focus on ways to apply this knowledge to gain a better understanding about fad-diets and preventable disease/death. Till next time!

Be sure to visit http://www.thesmartmedcard.com. Tracking your health is just as important as tracking your diet and together aid in guaranteed personal life-saving techniques!

We Are to Blame

It's the weekend everybody! Hopefully we all have some time set aside to enjoy family, friends and decompress from a busy week. Today I want to share a little potpourri of anecdotal and perhaps antidotel information as to how we are contributing to the high costs of our healthcare system (yes even I am a potential culprit, but I am trained to know when I most-likely should go, therefore, I know when I don't need to go).

Funfact: In our country we spend $700 billion a year in unnecessary medical treatment [1]. In a given year, $100 billion is spent on obesity related[1] - a highly, highly preventable problem that we won't address and we won't accept as preventable.

One of the reasons our healthcare system is on the up-and-up price wise relates to supply and demand (see High School Economics: Pay Attention or Pay the Price). Somehow our society has been conditioned to believe that every cough or sputter of some body fluid at an unwarranted time requires a trip to the ER. Folks, that is expensive - perhaps consideration on waiting for a doctor or nurse would have been much more beneficial and much more cost-reduced. This stems to why I believe we need to read more and watch less TV/Media. A basic understanding of the human body will greatly reduce the fear of sickness and therefore reduce the emergency trips.

I was a 300lb Teen 
Here's a personal look as to why we waste nearly $100 million in healthcare. As a society, we preach prevention but are incapable of practicing. How many of us have overweight doctors? Would you trust them giving you nutrition and diet information if they can't follow their own knowledge? Here's the fact -  At 18yrs of age I was 304lbs and walking around on a 5' 8" frame. That my friends is called holy-fat. Forget bariatrics - there's no room for Politically Correct when for no-good reason I was fat. In college I did two things - just two things that ANYONE can do - I ate clean and exercised - that's it. No pills, no as seen on TV gimmicks. I leaned basic sports nutrition and exercise science, learned how the human body functioned and then I walked, learned to jog and then learned to run. I am now around 200lbs, but my body fat is sub-20%, meaning I am muscular. That's it - it cost no extra money, I got my bottom out of the house rather than watching TV and made me the happiest I've been. The simple truth is that if you ever tell me that you will need surgery and that losing weight is too hard and I've tried so many things - I will come to your house, cut your cable-line, give you a biology book and tell you to read and walk for 1hr a day. I will clean out your junk-food and force you clean meals! That's the key to weight loss - it's so simple! $100 million is a lot of money to spend hiding from the truth.

Fact: Family Doesn't Always Know Best
During the first few of my EMT classes we had discussed the hazards of the job. Do you know what has made the list? Family. That's right. Because we spend so much time with certain family members we believe we know what they need medically and emotionally and how they need to be treated. If care givers don't do what we say - they are doing everything wrong! It's this mentality that family always knows best is another reason we waste so much money on emergency care and needless testing/procedures because we believe that the slightest ailment will do us in. If we feel ill, emergency care shouldn't make the top of the list of actions.

Prevention Cuts Cost
There is no magic fix to our skyrocketing healthcare costs and unaffordable insurance premiums. There is no group we can elect or hire. The only fix to our failing system is for us to assume responsibility for our health and prevent the need of accessing the medical system needlessly. Until we as a society assume responsibility and stop passing blame for our shortcomings there will be no solution to our healthcare system. They will continually raise the prices because we force them to. 

Let's have today's post serve as another eye-opener to the need for us to be more responsible in our lives - me included. Please visit http://www.thesmartmedcard.com and see the types of tools that the healthcare system will require for personal health maintenance, responsibility and cost reductions.

Sources [1] http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/10/700-billion---.html

Knock, Knock, It's the Paramedics

Now today's story makes me proud of the field that I'm going into! Right now, there is a pilot-program involving Eagle County, Colorado where a group of Paramedics are making house-calls. Now, usually Paramedics are concerned not with full/complete diagnoses of patients nor are they usually concerned with anything other than stabilization to get the patient to the hospital and transfer care, but, this group of Paramedics have increased their training and are using down-time, time waiting for calls, for the better. Here's how the program works.

Those in the EMT field work for a Medical Director - a Physician whose job it is to define what EMTs/Paramedics do, how they do it and what they are allowed to do. Anything outside of their scope of practice and they must consult with their Medical Director on the spot. Well, this group is taking things one step further. Rather than waiting for emergencies, the Paramedics, with a bit more training and a direct line to patient-referring Physicians, now go to patients' houses who are under-insured or not insured at all and are at risk of medical emergencies (the elderly and home-bound). Here they play the eyes and ears of a doctor. They take ECG readings, blood-samples, vitals - what you'd expect during a doctor visit. The Paramedics then relay this information back to their supervising Physicians who make the determination of whether or not this patient needs to come in.

The purpose of this program (although to some it may not seem that obvious) is to cut costs of the healthcare system. You see, what this program is doing is preventative care - saving someone from an unnecessary and costly trip to the emergency room, a cost that can be devastating for someone who is not insured. The lack of preventative care is one of the most costly parts of the healthcare system - using resources needlessly. In fact, this the same reason for the Smart Med Card. It's health-profile can always be kept up-to-date and the need of unnecessary testing and duplicate testing can be mitigated, saving the hospital, insurance and patients billions over the healthcare system.

Now, for those of you who are weary of Paramedics doing the job of a doctor, realize this. Paramedics down to EMTs operate as an extension of the Medical Director's practicing license. So, all that goes wrong goes wrong for the Medical Director - if the Medical Director did not feel their designated agents (the Paramedics and EMTs working under them) could handle the job - then they wouldn't be doing it. It's been said time and time again - preventative care will be the savior of the healthcare system and this is that push towards it.

Secondly, their time in the field does not interfere with medical emergencies and will, in the long-run, reduce the number of calls for medical incidents! The savings are everywhere!

Please consider doing your part and order your Smart Med Card at http://www.thesmartmedcard.com. Help lessen your cost of healthcare as well as the system as a whole!