Have a terrific Summer!

Dear Readers,

The CareTALK.com website is currently under construction and, as a result, our blog will cease for the Summer.

For the past year, it has been a pleasure sharing the CareTALK voice with you every day. We will resume serving you September 1, 2007 -- and we hope you all have a terrific Summer.

- The CareTALK Gals

Red Tape

Don't you hate it when you have to wade through a bunch of red tape? Now imagine having to do this knowing your child's life is on the line.

This is what parents have to deal with all throughout the nation when trying to enroll their children in public health care insurance --- and the state with one of the biggest paperwork burden...Texas, where one out of 5 children are uninsured.

What is the point of all the bureaucracy and red tape?

According to the following article "Health Insurance Crisis for Children," this could be intentional...the more difficult the paperwork, the more likely parents will give up trying to obtain health insurance for their children. As a result, less children will enroll in public health insurance and, thus, the state spends less.

This really is despicable and needs to be addressed --- at the federal level.

Google's health project

We have all read the rumors about Google entering the healthcare arena which have been circulating online, but this posting by Roni Zeiger, M.D., is the clearest official message from the Googlers.

In the posting Is there a doctor in the family?, Roni writes:

In addition to my medical training, I studied medical informatics before coming to Google. I learned about computer systems that are designed to remind doctors about tests and treatments that their patients should have. I can say from personal experience that it is difficult to remember everything I should be doing for my patients, or to read every new article on the latest test or drug. These systems help doctors get the information they need to deliver quality care.

I believe patients should also have access to these kinds of systems so that they can help make sure they are getting the best care. If you search online to learn more about diabetes, it should be easy to find out what the generally recommended treatments and tests are.

Now I'm part of the team here working on health and we're trying to do something about this problem. Adam Bosworth, who is leading our team, has alluded to this in previous posts such as this one as well as in some speeches he has made at healthcare conferences.

We have been talking to many medical experts to understand what the best guidelines are, and how we can determine which ones apply in different circumstances. If such guidelines were more available to patients, they might be able to, by inputting information such as age, gender or medications, learn about recommended screening tests and other preventive measures, or about harmful drug interactions. (The problem of drug interactions is reason enough to work on this: in the U.S. alone, it is estimated that over 770,000 people are injured or die each year in hospitals from adverse drug events. Many of these medical errors could be prevented if patients or doctors checked for drug interactions.)

As we work on this project, we are of course paying very close attention to privacy.

We can't wait to see Google's health project!

Ever heard of "you get what you pay for"?

Sure! Everyone has. But we also expect the reverse is true (at least normally)... the item/service which is more expensive is of better quality than that which is less expensive.

However, according to a just-released hospital study, there is "stark evidence that high medical payments do not necessarily buy high-quality patient care." (New York Times)

If this is true, then why are health care costs so much?

Because "the fact that there is no connection between quality and cost is one of the dirty secrets of medicine" according to the chief executive of the Pacific Business Group on Health, a California group of employers that provide health care coverage for workers.

Even though there are many reasons for the disparity, "the far greater disparity [between hospital payments and patient outcomes] involved commercial insurers, which must negotiate their rates hospital by hospital."

So, just because you are paying more, it does not mean you are getting the best quality healthcare.

Watch out for these symptoms!

Have you had any of the following symptoms daily (or almost daily) for past 2-3 weeks?:

• bloating
• pelvic or abdominal pain,
• difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate.

If so, it is extremely important to see your gynecologist. These are symptoms cancer experts have identified as early symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Does having these symptoms mean you have ovarian cancer?

Not necessarily. However, if found early, your chances of survival increase. "The disease is among the deadlier types of cancer, because most cases are diagnosed late, after the cancer has begun to spread. If the cancer is found and surgically removed early, before it spreads outside the ovary, 93 percent of patients are still alive five years later. Only 19 percent of cases are found that early, and 45 percent of all women with the disease survive at least five years after the diagnosis. By contrast, among women with breast cancer, 89 percent survive five years or more." (New York Times)

"With ovarian cancer, even a few months' delay in making the diagnosis may make a difference in survival, because the tumors can grow and spread quickly through the abdomen to the intestines, liver, diaphragm and other organs."

So what are you waiting for? If you have these symptoms, make an appointment to see your gynecologist. If it turns out to be nothing at all or just something minor (such as irritable bowel syndrome), great!

It's better to be safe than sorry.