Women who were new patients waited an average of nearly 24 days to be seen by an ob/gyn, according to research by Athenahealth. In contrast, the new-patient wait to see for an orthopedist was 13 days. Waits for first appointments with primary care physicians, pediatricians, and cardiologists fell in between those two extremes.
The CNN story once again puts controversy about prior authorization into the spotlight. But is it necessary to review the entire medical record?
Women are a key focus segment for health care organizations both because of the medical services they utilize as individuals and the influence they have on the health care of others. In one survey, 59% of women and 94% of working moms reported making or heavily influencing health care decisions for their entire families.
Baby boomers and millennials are the hardest hit by the heroin and opioid epidemic. Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, top the list, having 27% greater chance of dying from prescription opioids than people born in 1977 and 1979, the baseline group. They also have a 33% chance of dying from a heroin overdose.
Cut an inch-long incision into someone’s scalp. Then drill a hole into the skull that’s no bigger than a dime. Insert an electrode directly into the brain that targets the reward center, the nucleus accumbens. Then thread a wire beneath the skin to a pacemaker implanted in the patient’s chest. That’s deep brain stimulation.
It’s a must because there is a cost to keeping the underserved that way whether that means funding integrated primary care to help people live healthier lives or footing the bill when people get care in the emergency department.
Two men are the same age and they’ve both been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. One was diagnosed 10 years before the other, though. The man with the earlier onset of type 2 diabetes has about a 30% to 60% greater risk of dying from any cause.
Some of the greatest people who’ve ever lived not only overcame pain and suffering, but achieved their greatness because—rather than in spite—of those conditions. That includes behavioral health as well.
