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Welcome to The Avidity Medical Design Blog
Avidity Medical Design Consultants, LLC specializes in all areas of healthcare instructional design. We develop courses in health information management, allied health, Just-In-Time training, and job aids for performance optimization.
Avidity Medical Design Academy offers courses in a variety of healthcare subjects including:
“How to Make Money in Healthcare Working from Home (Full Time!)”
“How to Protect Your Own Medical Identity (in 8 EASY Steps!)”
“How to Prevent Medical Conditions Caused By TOXIC People in Your Life (and Be Healthier!”
“How to Learn Basic Medical Terminology (in 5 EASY Steps!) (and USE IT in EVERYDAY Living!)”
“How to Learn in the Healthcare Classroom (and ANY Classroom) (in 10 EASY Steps!)”
and much much more…
Visit the Avidity Medical Design Academy website for more information on current healthcare courses, course discounts (50% off), and future healthcare courses currently being developed.
“Maintaining Professionalism in Healthcare” Video
“How Healthcare is Changing to Meet the Needs of Patients” Video
How Healthcare is Changing to Meet the Needs of Patients
Healthcare management is on the move and the changes are both exciting and important. Patients are no longer dependents. They are consumers who require better service and better value, and healthcare today is evolving to meet these demands now and in the future.
Access to Care
The long held belief that a patient should follow the lead and direction of their healthcare provider has gone by the wayside, and the trend toward Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) is being encouraged and established as the new best practice. In the PCMH, the patient is the boss, and clinics and offices have extended their services to meet as many patient needs as possible under one umbrella, offering patients less wait time, and a greater opportunity to direct their own healthcare.
Mega-Mergers
Hospitals, outside laboratories, and doctor’s offices are merging into larger conglomerate healthcare companies. While it is true that there are fewer companies to choose from because of the mergers, these mega companies are creating all-in-one-visit healthcare opportunities. They offer more services and a more affordable cost than small private organizations. By reducing advertising and supply costs, as well as building expenses, these savings get passed on to customers.
Care Advocacy
Nurse care management and case management has become the norm for patients with chronic and acute illnesses. Nurses are assigned to patients who may benefit from having their own healthcare advocate and team available to them. These care managers help patients get the medical equipment they need, understand their insurance benefits, manage their medications, keep track of their medical appointments, and gain access to other outside services. They also offer healthcare education to reduce or prevent emergency room and hospital visits.
Many insurance and private sector healthcare companies offer nurse triage call centers with 24/7 access to a registered nurse to discuss urgent health-related questions and symptoms. These call centers help customers manage their health during times of illness, make decisions about doctors office visits, and help patients decide when they need to make a trip to the emergency room.
The healthcare trends for 2019 reflect the understanding that patients are educated consumers. Not only are patients able to make informed decisions about the care and services they receive, they are demanding the choice.
For more informative articles, visit the Avidity Medical Design blog.
“5 Foods to Increase Energy and Productivity” Video
The 5 Best Foods for Homemakers to Increase Their Energy and Productivity
Being a stay-at-home parent—or even a work-at-home parent—is tough work. Kids are pulling you in different directions and your to-do list is overwhelming. It’s easy to get tired when you are being pulled in ten different directions. Unfortunately, when your energy is low, it reduces your productivity, which in turn, increases the amount that you have to do and increases the stress you’re facing. Over time, this problem can compound itself, making it harder and harder to get things done. That’s why it’s important to combat fatigue and keep your energy level high.
One important factor in keeping your energy level high is the food you put in your body. Food is the fuel for your body. Eating the right food fuels your body in all the right ways. Eating the wrong foods can leave you feeling sluggish and apathetic. If you’re trying to increase your energy and improve your productivity this week, try incorporating any of these 5 superfoods into your diet.
Oat Bran
Many of us associate bran—like bran muffins—with our grandparents, but there’s a reason the older generations relied heavily on oat bran, especially at breakfast time. Oat bran is a complex carbohydrate, which means that it takes your body longer to process than other carbohydrates. Additionally, it’s packed full of protein, which can help you feel satisfied throughout the day, and fiber, which can jumpstart your digestive system and help you absorb the nutrients you need as the day goes on. Oat bran can be cooked like oatmeal, or it can be baked into muffins, cookies, and even pancakes.
Spirulina Powder
Although spirulina powder is newly making headway as a healthy superfood, it’s been used for centuries in some cultures. It comes from blue-green algae that can be found all over the world, and as little as one tablespoon of this powder each day can improve your health. Spirulina powder is a complete protein, which means it has all of the amino acids you need to live a healthier life. It’s packed with nutrients, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, E, and K, to help you feel healthier and more energetic throughout the day. To easily incorporate this powerful powder into your diet, try mixing a tablespoon into your morning smoothie.
Bananas
Bananas are a great source of potassium and vitamin K, and they have just enough sugar to give you a quick energy boost if you need it without leading to a sugar crash later on. They’re great on their own, mixed with a little peanut butter, or made into overnight oats.
Eggs
Eggs, cooked any way you like them, are a powerful source of protein that don’t spike your blood sugar when you eat them. This can help you maintain a steady source of energy throughout the day, rather than having the highs and lows of energy that often come from more sugar-laden foods. Eggs are also filled with the amino acid leucine, which stimulates energy production in the cells. Try hard-boiling your eggs at night for an easy-to-grab snack during the day.
Avocados
Avocados are an excellent source of healthy fat and fiber, which can help maintain your energy level throughout the day. They’re also rich in B vitamins, which help with cellular function, ensuring you feel better as the day goes on. Avocados are great on their own or mashed on a piece of toast. You can even incorporate them into your sandwich at lunchtime.
These are only a few of the superfoods that can help your body function at peak condition. To learn more about how eating the right foods can fuel your body, increase your energy and maintain your productivity, while lowering your risk of getting certain illnesses and diseases, check out our course entitled, “How to Prevent Disease In Your Body (By Eating Fruits and Vegetables).”
“Overcoming the Common Signs of Stress” Video
“Is There a Doctor in the House?” Healthcare Trends for 2019 Video
The Top 5 Signs That Stress Is Killing You And How To Overcome It
There are so many elements of modern life that can slowly cause damage to your health. However, have you considered the pressure that pure, constant stress can put on your body? There are many activities—not to mention, people—that can cause you stress. Whether it’s long hours spent at work, arguments with family, a lack of sleep, or frustrations with money, these things can pile up over time and make you just feel weak and tired. Here’s how to tell if you’re stressed out, and some things you can do to keep from getting stressed out.
1. It’s affecting your relationships.
When you start to get stressed out, you start to get emotional. This can lead to arguments with loved ones and family members over things that, in hindsight, were never that important. This can spread your stress to others, making them feel tired and stressed out, too. If you find that your emotions are out of control due to stress—at home, at work, or with money, for example—then consider scheduling yoga and meditation into your week.
2. You’re developing pain in your stomach.
Stomach pain can be caused by stress. You may find yourself feeling sick to your stomach or having constipation, diarrhea, cramps, and just feeling like you have a knot in your stomach. This can lead to a condition called leaky gut, which can cause sensitivities to certain foods and autoimmune disease. If pain in your stomach is a persistent issue, then talk to your doctor.
3. You’re not in “the mood” when with your loved one.
You may find that, come evening, you’re just not interested in intimacy with your partner. You’re tired, you feel overworked and pleasure is the last thing on your mind. Consistent stress can affect your sex hormones and increase the amount of cortisol in your body. In summary, more cortisol equals fewer sex hormones.
4. More physical pain.
You may find that your body, in general, is feeling worn out and you’re experiencing literal physical pain. Stress takes a toll on your muscles and bones, to the extent that you can develop lower bone density.
5. Weight gain.
Stress can also lead to weight gain, as some people use eating as a sort of coping mechanism for stress or pain. If you find that you’re eating a significantly larger amount of food than usual, then consider changing your eating habits or speaking with a dietician.
For more information on how you can put an end to stress once and for all, especially if the people in your life are stressing you out, check out the course entitled, “How to Prevent Medical Conditions Caused By TOXIC People in Your Life (and Be Healthier!)“
Is There a Doctor in the House? – Healthcare Trends for 2019
In-home nursing care has been available for decades to those unable to make the journey to their doctor’s office or clinic for daily or weekly care. Medication prepackaging, dressing changes, or follow-up visits after surgery, to help doctors manage chronic or acute illness, and end-of-life care are all services available to homebound patients by a registered nurse. A house call from your doctor was common before the 1950s but had become increasingly rare since that time. This is changing as more and more house calls are made by doctors and other advanced healthcare practitioners. These visits are expected to continue to expand into 2019 and beyond.
Value-Based Care
Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance companies have increased their reimbursement to include home visits by healthcare practitioners offering financial incentives, and in some cases requiring these real-time assessments before homecare companies are paid for the care delivered. Face-to-face doctor, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner visits for assessments and re-certification of needs, help at-home patients manage their care when they are unable to travel to and from the office.
Best Practices
For years, doctors relied on the visiting nurse to be their eyes and ears when it came to assessing homebound patients. The nurse gathered information and made their own determination about patients needs, and physical or emotional wellness, and conveyed the patient’s needs to the doctor as objectively as possible. The doctor or healthcare practitioner made decisions for the patient based on the information presented. But nurses aren’t doctors. Best practice means that the most effective and most practical treatment options are ordered based on a real-time evaluation of the patient.
Putting Patient Needs First
There are many business and personal rewards for healthcare practitioners who put the patient’s needs first.
- Saving patients and their families the pain, exhaustion, and expense of specialized travel just for a checkup or medication refill builds strong bonds between the patient and the caregiver.
- Ensuring that the standards for best practices are met, by seeing the patient in person to evaluate their care needs, builds trust between patients, doctors, and families.
- Home visits reduce in-office care costs and offer financial incentives for doctors and other healthcare practitioners to see the patient at home.
- Patients receive timely care, reducing the number of visits to the emergency room or hospital, and in turn, increasing the pay rates for doctors and other healthcare practitioners who choose to visit the patient at home.
As patient-centered healthcare continues to evolve in 2019, we will all reap the benefits of individualized care tailored to our specific needs. Building trustworthy, cost-effective, and readily available healthcare that meets the standards of best practice means that you benefit, your family benefits, and your doctor benefits. Watch for a future article on healthcare best practices, so that you will know what to expect from your doctor, as well as other healthcare practitioners, in terms of your short-term and long-term medical care.
To learn more about healthcare today, visit Avidity Medical Design Academy .
To read more informative articles on healthcare, visit the Avidity Medical Design blog .