The Defy Aging Newsletter
Anti-aging psychology, holistic health, and wellness
a biweekly e-mail newsletter for helping you think, feel, look, and be more youthful and live with purpose.
August 20, 2009 Number 214
This issue:
Where Can Seniors Get First Class Healthcare on a Medicare Budget?
Action to take
Take heart, there are organizations providing high quality, cost effective medical services the way they should be provided.
Why
Imagine your primary care doctor spends over an hour with you on your first visit, half an hour on follow-up appointments and takes a very holistic approach to your health. Your doctor is not only pleased to be able to provide quality care, but appreciates being paid at a specialist salary instead of the usual (much lower) primary care doctor salaries.
But wait—there’s more. Your doctor keeps all your medical records in electronic form and can easily access and compare previous lab tests and other tests and events. In an emergency she could access your electronic files from her laptop computer and electronically send the information to the hospital, thereby giving the hospital a head start in working with you and avoiding duplicative or unnecessary tests and procedures. The next day your primary care doctor visits you at the hospital. And it all done on a Medicare budget.
It may sound too good to be true, but it has been happening for years at 19 Erickson Living® communities serving 23,000 residents. Erickson Living® has a carve out contract with Medicare to provide the services and is able to make a profit as well. Part of the reason is that their patients only spend half as many days as other Medicare patients do in hospitals. Always innovating, in August, 2009 Erickson Living® along with three Maryland hospital systems received a $10 million grant to perfect a statewide system for sharing electronic medical records. The result should be better quality services, cost savings, and a model other states can use.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Erickson Living®’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Matt Narrett on Ageless Lifestyles® LLC.You can hear the interview and learn more about state-of-the-art medical services on www.webtalkradio.net or www.AgelessLifestyles.com. (There is no coast for these podcasts.)
Dr. Narrett is a co-author of a just released book, Old is the New Young: Erickson's Secrets to Healthy Living. It gives comprehensive, holistic advice to seniors on staying fit mentally, physically, and financially, and developing a fulfilling lifestyle.
Quotes
According to a government survey reported in the New England Journal of Medicine last year, only 17% of American physicians are using computerized patient records.
Humor
Some people have physicians who are in an HMO or PPO. Mine are in a UFO: You want to believe they exist, but there is no evidence.
~Reno Goodale
My dad’s in the hospital, and he is critical. He’s okay. He just complains about the room; he can’t stand the nurses; he hates the food….
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"Dr. Michael Brickey, The Anti-Aging Psychologist, teaches people to think, feel, look and be more youthful. He is an inspiring keynote speaker and Oprah-featured author. His works include: Defy Aging, 52 baby steps to Grow Young, and Reverse Aging (anti-aging hypnosis CDs). Visit www.NotAging.com for a free report on anti-aging secrets and a free newsletter with practical anti-aging tips."
