Identity theft is something we all need to be aware of. Often, identity theft occurs when someone steals our social security number or gains access to our credit card and bank account information. By the time you realize that someone has stolen your identity, you could be hundreds or thousands of dollars in debt and have no knowledge of when it began. What is even worse, you can end up being unable to take out a personal loan until it is cleared up, which can take years. You also run the risk of having your medical records sold on the black web, and then being used against you.
The Threat of Medical Record Fraud
Your medical record contains a lot of information. Most medical records contain not only your overall health information, but what medications you are on, your social security number, family member names, your address and phone number, and much more. Your health insurance provider will also be listed, along with your policy number. With all this information consolidated in one area; thieves will be able to learn even more about you. This information is harder to “cancel” than a credit card. You can’t simply change a number and keep thieves from accessing your medical information. It can take years for you to realize there is a problem.
What Can Be Done With Your Medical Records?
Your medical records contain your past medical history, a list of your medications, your lab and x-ray results, as well as much more information pertaining to your medical treatment. Your medical records contain everything about you. You may think that a thief cannot use your social security number without raising red flags, and that knowing your healthcare provider or insurance information is not going to do them much good either. This is how identity thieves hope you will continue to think about it. The truth is, a thief can do a lot of things with your medical records. Some people might use your medical information to get prescription pain medications to satisfy their opioid addiction. Then, when the investigation starts, it leads back to you. You may be denied pain medication because your medical records may show that you have an addiction.
Protect Yourself From Medical Identity Fraud
Medical record identity theft is becoming more common. Protecting your medical identity is just as important as protecting your credit card information.
Do you know how to read your medical records and make sense of them? If not, consider taking our course entitled, “ How to Protect Your Own Medical Identity (in 8 EASY Steps!) ” This course is the ideal solution to protect yourself and to keep from becoming the next victim of medical identity theft.
In the healthcare industry, maintaining a professional demeanor is critical. Not only do you want to be sure that you’ll be recognized for the time and effort you’ve put into your studies, you want to be sure that patients have a sense of confidence in you. You’re responsible for dealing with sensitive and private information, providing advice and treatment, and reassuring patients. With a calm, professional demeanor, you’ll be better able to control your patient interactions and put yourself in a better position to increase patient confidence.
Step One: Be Positive
No, you don’t need to go skipping down the halls, singing about all the wonderful opportunities that are open to you. Rather, you should maintain a positive attitude whenever you interact with your patients or coworkers. An attitude of doom and gloom or constant complaints–especially complaints relating to your job or coworkers–can quickly destroy patient confidence and convince them that they can’t trust you to adequately handle their case, which can, over time, erode your odds of promotion or even destroy your career. Instead, try to be upbeat. Remember why you chose to do what you do and why you enjoy it. When a coworker, from a nurse to a doctor, asks you to accomplish a task, do it cheerfully and calmly. This simple step inspires a great deal more confidence in your patients than seeing you come in complaining before you’ve even had a chance to get to know them. A dose of positive can go a long way toward improving your professional appearance.
Step Two: Avoid Drama
“You know, we were just back in the nurse’s station talking about Deborah’s husband and…” “I don’t want to cause trouble, but you’ve dealt with Dr. Brown, and I haven’t been impressed with his diagnoses in the past.” Whether you’re talking directly to a patient or chatting at the nurse’s station, one of the fastest ways to decrease patient confidence and drop that professional demeanor is to get involved in drama. Your personal life doesn’t belong at work, especially when you’re dealing with patients. Instead, keep it professional while you’re on the clock! Avoid conflict with coworkers, and try not to get sucked into drama–even if a patient is the one to initiate the complaint.
Step Three: Get Organized
There’s something reassuring about a medical professional who walks into a room and already knows exactly where everything is. Whether it’s a routine exam or an emergency, they don’t have to scramble for the proper materials; rather, they’re able to easily access exactly what they need. In many medical settings, it can be hard to keep up with simple organization tasks, but it’s a step that’s well worth it! Create a system that works for you, whether you’re pushing medical carts down the halls of a hospital or organizing an exam room in an office. Organize your personal supplies so that you know exactly where everything is. This can create a big difference in the way you appear to both patients and colleagues.
Step Four: Listen
One of the most effective ways to create an aura of professionalism is to simply listen to those around you–both other workers and patients. As a doctor, for example, if a nurse tells you something, there’s a good chance that it’s important, whether they’ve observed odd patient behavior or noted a symptom you need to pay attention to. It also pays to listen to patients. Sometimes, they’re babbling just to talk or to calm their nerves, but other times, they may have something to say that genuinely relates to their care. Simply listening to them and giving genuine, considered responses can help increase their confidence in you and put you in a better position to provide high-quality care.
Step Five: Be Honest
It’s often tempting to blur the truth a little in a work environment, especially when you’re dealing with difficult patients. “Of course I remembered to tell the patient X.” “It wasn’t my turn to complete X task.” If you want to create a more professional attitude, however, be honest–both with your colleagues and with your patients. Own up to your mistakes and do what’s necessary to make it right. If things are way behind in the office, don’t tell patients that they’ll be seen in just a few minutes–give them an accurate assessment of what your schedule looks like, then offer them the ability to choose for themselves how they want to handle it. Honesty truly is the best policy–and it creates a more professional demeanor and appearance for your entire office.
Step Six: Check the Small Stuff
As a medical professional, you know that there’s really no “small stuff” when it comes to dealing with patients. Inevitably, it’s the test you forgot to run or the gauge you forgot to check that turns out to be the most important to your patient. If you want to maintain a more professional demeanor, take the time to check the small stuff. Not only does this increase your quality of patient care, it shows your patients that you genuinely care about them and are willing to work hard to get to the bottom of whatever problem they’re having.
Step Seven: Check Your Appearance
As nice as it would be if appearances didn’t matter, your appearance can go a long way toward establishing your professionalism in the eyes of your patients and your colleagues. Do a quick appearance check each day to make sure that you look as professional as possible. Check your scrubs to be sure that they’re clean and unstained. If they’re starting to look too worn, it may be time for a replacement. Keep your hair up and away from your face. For women, makeup should be professional and clean, rather than obvious or overdone. Take a quick look in the mirror: do you look like a medical professional that you’d want to treat you? If not, clean up your appearance for the benefit of everyone around you.
Taking the leap to become more professional can go a long way toward advancing your medical career and improving the confidence that patients have in you. With these seven steps, you can transform your demeanor so that patients will be able to more easily see just how capable you are. Want more information? Check out our course entitled, “How to Learn Professionalism in Healthcare (with Real-World Examples!),” offered by Avidity Medical Design Academy, which offers strategies to increase your professionalism and give you a winning attitude for success.
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.
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).”
Shot of a young businessman experiencing stress during late night at work
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.
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