March 2015
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"Dr. Google. Paging Dr. Google"


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 What's New at
 Guardian Nurses
Betty Long on
Radio Times:
Discussed Healthcare Costs   
 
There is a growing movement afoot calling for greater cost transparency in health care.  Any one who has tried to figure out the cost of a procedure BEFORE the procedure happens knows how ridiculously complex it can be to get a straight answer.  As we often say, "Healthcare is not for the faint of heart." 

On February 27th, Betty Long was a guest of the popular Philadelphia-based NPR show, Radio Times. The topic?  Health care costs. 
 
Jeanne, Betty and host, Marty Moss-Coane in studio 

Check out the podcast of the show to enjoy a lively discussion between Betty and Jeanne Pinder, former NY Times reporter and now CEO of Clear Health Costs.   
Good for a Chuckle

 
The holy grail of healthcare is patient engagement. And lots of various healthcare entities are trying to figure out how their patients make their decisions.  Enter the phrase "how patients make medical decisions" into the Google search engine and you get 195,000,000 choices.  Seems like there is no end to how patients make decisions!

The truth is patients make decisions much like they make other decisions.  They ask friends and family, maybe even co-workers. Maybe they talk with their primary care provider about it. They watch television commercials or remember that ad on the back of that bus. And they're very likely to spend time researching information on the internet. 

But where on the internet should you go?  What sites provide accurate, up-to-date information where the information is unbiased and easy to understand?  Check out the content below.
     

Enjoy the Spring!

 Betty

  Betty Long, RN, MHA

 President/CEO  

         Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates


"Dr. Google.  Paging Dr. Google."

For most patients, researching their medical condition or symptoms on the internet can be overwhelming and very often, frightening.  When someone has received scary news, we often echo what their physicians say when they suggest, "stay off the internet," but more often than not, the damage is already done.

Whenever patients ask about which websites to look at, here are a few of our favorites:  

Information about Diseases and Treatments 

World-renowned integrated healthcare system based in Minnesota with branches in Arizona and Florida. Information available on their 3 main websites provides easy-to-understand information and tools for patients and families. 

Family Doctor

Easy to read site by the American Association of Family Physicians offering health information for the whole family. Offers tools like drug information, search by symptom, calculators and a dictionary.

Sponsored by the National Institute of Health, our country's medical research agency, the NCI website offers information on all things cancer - cancer topics, clinical trials, cancer statistics, research and funding and news.


Assistance with Prescription Drug Costs

Partnership for Prescription Assistance
This site offers a single point of access to more than 475 public and private programs, including nearly 200 offered by pharma companies.

Price Transparency/Costs 

A healthcare marketplace site where informed consumers can save money by choosing to get their care from thousands of Fair Price providers.

A site founded on the mission of bringing transparency to the health-care marketplace.  Individual consumers are encouraged to enter the prices that they've paid for procedures, treatments, visits.  Guroo 

The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit group launched this site that provides national, state & local cost information for common health conditions and services using claims from multiple insurers for more than 40 million insured individuals - numbers that no one else has. 


Information about Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Rehab Centers

Sponsored by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), this  site provides detailed information about the past performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.

Provides information on how well hospitals care for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures based on costs, quality of care and the number of patients treated. This will help you compare the quality of care that hospitals provide.

 

Though doing your own research can be empowering, please make sure you review any information with your healthcare provider. Just because you read about something on the internet doesn't make it true or applicable to your unique case. 

 


Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates
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