The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

A collaborative web-based approach for the future - Wouldn't it be great if all of your healthcare providers had access to all of your health information at all times? Wouldn't you like to know how your health information benefits others?

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Legibility of physician handwriting is an issue in every hospital. Nearly every medical record I have ever reviewed—more than 100,000 in my lifetime—has had at least one illegible note. Some have been completely illegible. Many of the accrediting and government agencies have created sanctions or fines for hospitals with illegible medical records. In the meantime, what can you do if you obtain your medical record and cannot read it?

A recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that do to poor primary care Americans faced as many as 4.4 million preventable hospitalizations totaling nearly 29 billion dollars in 2004.

To maintain a healthy perspective, you may find it useful to use the PPOFF acronym, which stands for:

P = Positive
P = Proactive
O = Organized
F = Flexible
F = Focused

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

Your medical record, A communication tool for your healthcare professionals - If you are admitted to the hospital or if you have more than one physician caring for you, ever wonder how they all communicate about you? They use your medical record….each one in potentially a different manner….let’s take a look at some of the different doctors and clinicians who document in your record and read your record to make sure they know as much as possible about you and your conditions.

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A blind second opinion requires the second physician to see you under the same circumstances as the first physician. In other words, the second physician does not have access to the notes and records of the first physician. This process ensures that the first physician’s findings and recommendations do not influence the second physician.

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

Your medical record: Evidence that care was provided to you - Dr Russo discusses how your medical record can be used as legal evidence. Your medical record is a legal document. It is kept in the "normal course of business" and is a "business record" and, therefore, can be used as evidence in any legal inquiry.

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Dr Russo discusses how your medical record can be used as legal evidence. Your medical record is a legal document. It is kept in the "normal course of business" and is a "business record" and, therefore, can be used as evidence in any legal inquiry.

Physician fees, prescriptions, and other non-covered costs can be significant if you have a catastrophic illness. Depending on your situation, you may want to purchase a secondary health insurance policy. Commercial insurance companies offer secondary insurance for anyone with a specific type of disease or healthcare need.

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

How your medical records are used - How your medical records are used by insurance companies medical record to verify that their payment was justified and researchers use medical records to research conditions.

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How your medical records are used - How your medical records are used by insurance companies medical record to verify that their payment was justified and researchers use medical records to research conditions.

The Gates Foundation headed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and his wife Melinda announced that they will be issuing 100 million dollars worth of grants for healthcare research under a new project called Grand Challenges Explorations. Under this program researchers will “focus on rapidly evaluating a large number of innovative ideas that could lead to new vaccines, diagnostics, drugs, and other technologies targeting diseases that claim millions of lives every year.” The full announcement is available from www.gcgh.org

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

Your privacy rights in your health information - A basic overview of your privacy rights under HIPAA for your medical records and health information.

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A basic overview of your privacy rights under HIPAA for your medical records and health information.

The 2007 Quality Report from HealthGrades.com was released yesterday and among other issues demonstrates the varying level of care provided at hospitals throughout the country. The study found that on average there is a 71% lower chance of a patient dying at the top-rated hospitals as compared to the lowest rated hospitals for comparable patient stays on a risk adjusted basis. This study highlights the need for the individual healthcare consumer to assess the quality of the health providers available to them in order to get the best possible healthcare.

Cardiology is a subspecialty of internal medicine. A cardiologist is an internist who specializes in diseases of the heart and blood vessels and manages complex cardiac conditions, such as heart attacks and life-threatening, abnormal heart rhythms. Other conditions that cardiologists treat include heart failure, angina, and chest pain. One procedure a cardiologist performs is cardiac catheterization, which is performed to diagnose problems with the heart vessels. Heart blockages are being treated more and more with less invasive or non-surgical techniques. Cardiologists perform these procedures, including the placement of stents or balloon angioplasties, to open the coronary arteries. They may also place pacemakers or defibrillators to control heart rhythms.
Cardiology training after residency is usually three to four years of fellowship.

Gastroenterologists diagnose and treat diseases of the digestive organs, including the stomach, bowels, liver, and gallbladder. This specialist treats conditions such as abdominal pain, ulcers, diarrhea, cancer, and jaundice, and performs complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using endoscopes to visualize internal organs for procedures like colonoscopies.
Training beyond residency is usually three years of fellowship. Board certification is available through the American Board of Internal Medicine.

A neurologist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of disease or impaired function of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, and autonomic nervous system, as well as the blood vessels that relate to these structures. Neurologists treat conditions such as epilepsy, strokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, migraines, and brain tumors.
Training beyond residency is generally one to two years of fellowship. Certification is through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

If you are interested in learning what to do if your medical record is illegible or incorrect, you have come to the right place. Legibility of physician handwriting is an issue in every hospital. Nearly every medical record I have ever reviewed—more than 100,000 in my lifetime—has had at least one illegible note. Some have been completely illegible. Many of the accrediting and government agencies have created sanctions or fines for hospitals with illegible medical records. In the meantime, what can you do if you obtain your medical record and cannot read it?

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

What to do if Your Medical Record is Illegible or Incorrect - Legibility of physician handwriting is an issue in every hospital. Nearly every medical record I have ever reviewed—more than 100,000 in my lifetime—has had at least one illegible note. Some have been completely illegible. Many of the accrediting and government agencies have created sanctions or fines for hospitals with illegible medical records. In the meantime, what can you do if you obtain your medical record and cannot read it?

• Download / Listen in web browser
• RSS Feed http://happytimesinhealthcare.com/podcast/index.xml

The emergency physician treats a diversified population of adult and pediatric patients who are acutely ill or injured. Common conditions that an emergency physician may treat include fractures, head trauma, chest pain, heart failure, asthma attacks, and seizures.

Dr Russo discusses ownership rights in your medical records and that patients do own their health information, but it is a generally accepted understanding in the healthcare industry that the healthcare provider who collected the information owns the medium on which it is stored.

The Happy Times in Healthcare Podcast is here to help healthcare consumers become better educated in order to receive the best possible healthcare available to them. This new podcast series covers a wide variety of topics including paying for healthcare - when you are insured and when you are not insured, selecting a new physician , using healthcare quality rating tools, and understanding your medical record. In this episode:

Ownership Rights of Your Medical Records - Dr Russo discusses ownership rights in your medical records and that patients do own their health information, but it is a generally accepted understanding in the healthcare industry that the healthcare provider who collected the information owns the medium on which it is stored.

• Download / Listen in web browser
• RSS Feed http://happytimesinhealthcare.com/podcast/index.xml

A psychiatrist specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance-related disorders, sexual- and gender-identity disorders, and adjustment disorders. Training beyond residency is generally one to three years of fellowship.

Medical terminology may seem like confusing to many consumers however understanding the lingo of medicine can be valuable in your health care. Here are two quality sites that provide medical terminology training.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recently updated it’s Quality Check website at www.qualitycheck.org to include both accredited and non-accredited providers. Prior to this change consumers could only view quality information if a provider had been awarded JCAHO’s Gold Seal, which indicated that it had been accredited .

“The addition of organizations that are not accredited by The Joint Commission provides health care consumers with more information and highlights the value of accreditation. The enhanced Quality Check® website is now the most comprehensive national directory of health care facilities available.”

Full announcement from JCAHO

An overview of how to obtain copies of your medical records from your hospital's health information department or your doctor's office manager.