Shipping the Problem Elsewhere
I was reading a recent survey that said if given the choice, most people would rather get increased healthcare coverage than a pay raise. We in the industry know it's a mess and that many people delay getting treatment for fear of depleting their savings. The current state of healthcare in America can literally be deadly.
Which is why I wasn't surprised to read an article that stated many patients are now going overseas for their healthcare. Get a load of this:
"Carl Garrett of Leicester, N.C., will fly to a state-of-the-art New Delhi hospital in September for surgeries to remove gallstones and to fix an overworn rotator cuff. His employer, Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. of Canton, N.C., will pay for it all, including airfare for Garrett and his fiancee. The company also will give Garrett a share of the expected savings, up to $10,000, when he returns. "
That's right! We're not only shipping jobs overseas, we're now shipping patients there, too! Of course, if this trend continues, we will essentially be sending jobs for medical professionals overseas by default.
I don't know about you, but this embarrasses me deeply. I didn't get into healthcare management to only help treat the people who were lucky enough to have coverage or could afford it. Ill health doesn't discriminate, it potentially affects us all, and the longer we let the situation get out of hand, the more bizarre and defeating solutions will be found by companies and individuals who are fed up with the status quo.
I got a good response to a previous article about people going overseas for medical procedures because it costs less. If you don't mind, I'd like to respond to some of the comments.
The first commenter said:
"...like you, (I) entered healthcare management (twenty years in hospital administration, consulting and eight managing medical practices)to help based on my non clinical skills. I worked largely in innercity hospitals and then transitioned to medical practice management. There I became more jaundiced with the attitudes of specialty physicians. Behind the scenes the focus of a surprising number of doctors was on paying patients, although periodically altrusim did shine through. I had to look carefully for the quiet ones who took care of patients and did not bluster at the closed door business meetings. When things got tough they would speak up, but only when really pushed. Rhetorically, I wonder why organized medicine, and our lofty management societies and associations don't focus more on the caring side, the professional side, the hippocratic side."
Here again, someone says it better than I can. Another reader makes a good point based on experience:
"Why would H/care be exempt from the global marketplace? Health care services are a product that is consumed by consumers (patients). Accordingly, patients will shop for services. Consumerism in health care has been a long time coming. For instance, my family went to Colombia to get dental work done for a fraction of what it would cost here, and we managed to add in a vacation. Now the one thing to consider, is what if there are complications, is the company going to fly the employee back to resolve the complication? (Probably not)."
Actually, I don't blame the patients for taking advantage of better deals in other countries. Your trip to Colombia sounds like a marvelous combination of business and pleasure, although I wonder if your vacation wasn't affected by the dental work! Still, you ask a great question at the end, and while I'd suppose it depends on the company and the agreement worked out in advance, another reader makes this excellent point:
"You got it right when you said 'COMPLICATIONS'. Try suing the doctor overseas and see how far you get. The malpractice piece is a large part of our health care dollar."
Then there was this comment by Lifeline Medical Associates President/CEO Jack Feltz that eloquently summed up the frustrations he experiences heading the largest provider of women's healthcare in New Jersey:
"One of the biggest wastes of resources is practicing defensive medicine because of the medical liability crisis and lack of meaningful tort reform in New Jersey and elsewhere. Physicians, I believe tend to order more and more tests because they are frightened not to. If there is a bad outcome you can bet there will be an attorney and expert to say they should have ordered every test imaginable. This is tragic, making health care unaffordable. I would rather see these wasted dollars go towards cures for breast cancer, immunizing poor children, improving care and keeping healthcare in the hands of expert doctors and nurses in the U.S.A."
I think you make an excellent point, Jack (may I call you "Jack?"). If only more CEO's had your sense of compassion. I often forget the legal part of the equation because I am so frequently enmeshed in battles with insurance carriers. Or to again quote yet another reader who says it better than I can:
"Insurance carriers are problematic, and don't pay or delay paying claims, and then don't pay them according to the appropriate fee schedule. This means patients get billed eventually for services that should have been covered. Unhappy patients complain to employers about coverage. Employers decide to go elsewhere. This doesn't reflect on American physicians, it reflects on American insurance carriers. "
Exactly. Personally, I think the solution to our healthcare crisis will have to combine tort reform with insurance reform. Outsourcing illness is a symptom of a diseased system. In the end, our political representatives will have to summon the will to play doctor and cure this problem. As I noted in my previous post, their inaction on this issue is deadly.

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5 Healthy Reasons To Exercise
Most people know that exercise is important for their health. But why are there so many people on the globe having problems with their weight and are still reluctant to exercise?
The main reason is because of the lack of motivation and the understanding of the real benefits of exercise.
Here are 5 healthy reasons why exercise is so beneficial to your body.
1) Sweating.
Sweating is very important to your health because it helps to get rid of the dirty stuff within your body. It helps to clean your blood, your skin and many other parts of yourself.
What better way to sweat then to go for a quick jog around your neighborhood or playing an enjoyable game of basketball with your friends?
2) Healthy Heart
Exercise makes your heart pump faster and naturally, your heart will grow stronger each day and cleans away the clogging vessel. This also means that it will promote a better blood circulation. How important is this? Just ask yourself what happens if your heart stops pumping or if your blood stops flowing. Yeap, that¡¯s just how important it is to exercise your heart.
3) Burns the fat off
Exercise helps to increase your metabolism rate and also burns off the extra fat on your body. If you wish to eat more, then exercise more. If you love food then isn¡¯t it time for you to do something for the thing you love? Yes give the food a great body to digest them easily and effectively.
4) Reduce the stress.
A lot of people tell themselves that they smoke or drink to suppress the stress within them. It is one of the silliest excuses that they could think of. If you want to stop stress, and you smoke or drink, then what you really are doing is suicide. Instead exercise is one for the proven ways to reduce stress and at the same time promotes your health. Go for sports if you really want to reduce stress.
5) Socializing
Exercise can definitely improve your social life. If you take up football, basketball or any other team game, you¡¯ll get to meet more friends. If you do couple¡¯s yoga, you¡¯ll improve your relationship with your spouse. If you bring your family to a park for a jog, you¡¯ll improve the relationship with your family. Exercise and watch your social life glow.
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Posture back support saves you from a painful ride
A backache can cripple your life like slow poison that creeps in unknowingly and before you realize it you are stuck with a painful back for the rest of your life. Little do we realize that a backache and lifestyle diseases that are results of our neglected body posture and can be easily avoided with a little attention paid to the way we carry ourselves during the entire day. A good sitting posture can go a long way in ensuring a trouble free spine and back that lets us perform our regular activities painlessly. A posture back support can be one of the options that can help us attain that perfect sitting pose which not only prevents or eases an already existing backache bur also does wonders for our personality. It is not a new fact that a man standing erect looks much more pleasing than a man with slouching shoulders. Similarly an upright posture while sitting can enhance the way we look to others.
Posture back support is ergonomically designed to suit the shape of our spinal chord thereby providing full support to our back while we sit comfortably in our chairs or car seat. In today’s world most of us spend our time sitting in our work stations slogging away in front of our modern computers. Over a passage of time it becomes easy to let out shoulders slouch and we gradually slide into our chairs as the day progresses. Long working hours and hectic schedules make it difficult to get away from our work desks to stretch our tired muscles. Physical exercise on a regular basis is near to impossible for people who are running against time. As a result of this body aches and pains become a regular occurrence in our lives. As the days pass we grow accustomed to the discomfort and take medicines for the pain and soon a bad body posture and resulting aches are a part of our life. A firm posture back support can be the ideal solution in such circumstances.
Posture back support attached to the seat of your car or your office chair could act like a miracle in getting rid of your pain with prolonged usage. A posture back support is also a preventive measure to be taken by individuals who spend a long time on the road or at work in a sitting posture. A little caution and dedicated effort to ensure some amount of physical exertion or movement in our regular routine ca go a long way in ensuring a problem free back with the spinal chord maintaining the natural shape that we once had. A regular visit to a trained physiotherapist for any kind of back problems or body pains and aches is also strongly recommended for attaining quick relief from a painful existence. Medical supervision, regular exercise as prescribed by our doctor and a posture back support can give us the necessary weapons to fight against this growing menace which has attained alarming proportions in recent times.
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