Tag: prevention

How the 2018 Flu Epidemic Can Prepare Your Practice for the 2019 Season

Posted on by VettersEnt

The 2018 flu epidemic caused a frenzy across practices, the internet and communities throughout the United States. While many flu seasons over the past few decades have been unremarkable, the 2018 flu epidemic was notable for the severity of the virus and the deaths that occurred as a result. As in any field, it’s important to learn from the past to improve the future. The 2018 flu epidemic has many lessons to offer the average practice.

Communicate Clearly with Patients

Communicating with patients and employees is critical for triaging potential flu patients before they ever come in for an appointment. Doctor’s office and emergency room visits are not necessary for the majority of people experienced mild flu-like symptoms. Your practice should educate patients early on what symptoms are cause for concern and what symptoms do not mean they need to head right into the office. This limits both unnecessary strains on your resources and prevents exposure in your waiting room. If you can, include the most worrying symptoms that should lead to medical care (trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, dizziness, etc.) in a brochure or email blast that you send out to patients.

Offer Protection Tools in Your Practice

When patients with flu-like symptoms arrive in your office, provide them with tissues and surgical masks. Always have hand sanitizer available for any visitor to your practice. If possible, keep patients with influenza symptoms away from other patients. If it isn’t possible to maintain more than one waiting room, mark off a specific area or prioritize patients with flu symptoms when filling exam rooms. This stops the spread of flu inside of your practice and makes patients visiting for unrelated reasons feel more comfortable coming in.

Educate About the Flu Vaccine

One of the key hallmarks of the 2018 flu epidemic was many patients ignoring the influenza vaccine because of perceived ineffectiveness or other concerns about vaccines. When visiting with patients, take time to explain why flu vaccines are important, even when the past year’s vaccine was perceived as a “failure” in some circles. Answer questions with respect, and understand that patients are often undereducated or misinformed on the subject of flu vaccinations. Start promoting the vaccine’s availability early in the year and reach out to patients who haven’t been vaccinated by the start of flu season to make it clear that it isn’t too late.

Flu Epidemic Guidance for Your Practice from Vetters Enterprises

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, private practice business support and revenue cycle optimization. We can perform in-depth assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.

2018 Trends in Healthcare

Posted on by VettersEnt

It’s easy to get bogged down in the bustle of managing your practice—attracting new patients, keeping up with the latest in medical research and working hard to keep your current patients healthy. However, it’s essential to remain on top of the latest trends in healthcare and stay ahead of the curve. Here are the 2018 trends in healthcare your practice needs to know about.

Tackling the Opioid Epidemic

The leading cause of death for adults under 50 in the United States is now opioid overdoses. This epidemic is far too large for a single party to solve it, so everyone involved in the healthcare industry including prescribers, payers and the pharmaceutical industry, needs to band together to reverse this alarming trend.

A Focus on the Patient Experience

You’re probably sick of hearing about the importance of improving the patient experience, but this trend in healthcare isn’t going anywhere any time soon. As the healthcare market becomes more crowded and competitive, the efforts to improve the efficiency of the entire healthcare experience will dramatically increase.

Medicare Advantage on the Rise

Experts are projecting that Medicare Advantage will expand to cover a whopping 21 million people over the course of 2018, which is a 5% increase over the previous year. Your practice might see more patients with Medicare Advantage plans as a result.

Don’t Leave Mental Health Behind

As the social stigma around mental healthcare starts to dissipate, more and more patients will start to seek assistance for mental health struggles. Your practice should make a serious effort to understand the link between behavioral and mental health and tailor exams, including physicals, to address more than just the basics of patient health. Questions addressing technology use and the associated anxiety and depression, for example, are good screening tools for addressing the overall health of patients.

Using Wearables to Get the Bigger Picture

The wearable devices that many patients use, like Fitbits and other activity trackers, will start to be utilized by healthcare providers. Studies have shown that the most frequent users of wearable devices are less healthy than average and more likely to be hospitalized for health issues. These wearables can provide doctors with important information on patients and give a bigger picture of a patient’s health.

Partner with Vetters Enterprises for Information About the Latest Trends in Healthcare

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, private practice business support and revenue cycle optimization. We can perform in-depth assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.

Stop Type 2 Diabetes in Its Tracks!

Posted on by VettersEnt

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most pressing diseases currently affecting Americans. While type 2 diabetes was traditionally most prevalent in older adults, it is now becoming very common among young adults and even children. Many people don’t realize the harmful effects of type 2 diabetes until it’s too late. How does type 2 diabetes affect life expectancies and how can you prevent yourself from getting it?

Type 2 Diabetes and Your Life

Diabetes is currently the 7th most common cause of death in the United States of America. While there isn’t currently an accurate average life expectancy for adults with type 2 diabetes, it is widely accepted that it dramatically decreases your lifespan. The more your type 2 diabetes is under control, the longer that you will live. If your type 2 diabetes goes undiagnosed or untreated for long stretches of time, it will definitely cut into your normal life expectancy. The most common killer of people with type 2 diabetes is heart disease. Over time, high blood sugar will damage your blood vessels and lead to cardiovascular disease.

Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Thankfully, there are many different ways to decrease your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

  • Reduce your portion sizes during meals and add more fruits and vegetables to your plate.
  • Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.
  • Move when you don’t need to! Try walking to the post office instead of driving, or walking to a coworker’s desk instead of sending an email.
  • Make healthy food choices at least 80% of the time.
  • Drink water instead of caffeinated beverages or sugary sodas.
  • Track the food and drinks you consume every day to spot patterns in your eating or binging.
  • Take your blood sugar regularly if you are concerned about your risk for type 2 diabetes.

Keep Your Patients and Your Practice Healthy

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, revenue cycle optimization, and private practice business support. We can perform detailed assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.

Preventing Sciatica with Chiropractic Care

Posted on by VettersEnt

While there are several different reasons that a patient could experience short-term or chronic lower back pain, a pinched sciatic nerve is a common culprit. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body, and when it is compressed or irritated it can result in severe pain. Keep reading to learn more about chiropractic treatments and methods for preventing sciatica.

 

 

 

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica refers to a leg pain caused by a pinched nerve that originates in the lower back but can radiate into the back or side of the legs. Pain can vary in intensity from dull, achy pains similar to a toothache, to pins and needles that are comparable to electric shocks. As you can imagine, this can be incredibly hindering and downright intolerable for patients. In most cases, the pain of sciatica dissipates within 6-weeks when a specialized treatment plan is in place.

Chiropractic Treatment and Other Methods for Preventing Sciatica

While many disorders can cause sciatica, a herniated disk is commonly to blame. Patients experiencing sciatica tend to respond well to a combination of treatments that are specific to their symptoms and cause of pain.  Effective sciatica treatment plans for long-term relief often include:

  • Chiropractic Manipulation – Spinal adjustments are a non-invasive and drug-free option for relief. They can help relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve by freeing restricted movement of the spine and minimizing the nerve irritability that causes inflammation, pain and muscle spasms.
  • Exercises – Extra weight and lack of movement can put pressure on the spine and weaken the muscles, increasing the risk of further strain. Physical therapy, deep stretches and exercises that promote core strength in the back and abdomen, such as yoga, are helpful for relief.
  • Posture Practice – Eliminate poor posture by aligning the ears over the shoulders, shoulders with the hips, tucking in the buttocks and engaging an active core. When sleeping, it is helpful to put a pillow under the knees and avoid sleeping on the stomach.
  • TENS Unit – Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units minimize muscle spasms and treat acute pain through variable intensities of electrical current control.
  • Anti-Inflammatory Medications – NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, can relieve pain by reducing inflammation.