Do you ask for the cost of a repair or an item prior to buying it? Then why don’t many of us ask about the cost of our health care?

“According to a recent survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center, only 31 percent of Americans have tried to negotiate the price of their medical bills” but, research shows that your effort to do so can be successful. Here are 5 ways to lower your medical bills:

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No. 1 – Acai – Nature’s Energy Fruit

“Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, acai tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that make it nature’s perfect energy fruit. Acai is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.”

No. 2 – The Alliom Family – Onions, Garlic, Leeks Shallots and Scallions

This family of foods contains flavonoids that “stimulate the production glutathione (the tripeptide that is the liver’s most potent antioxidant)”. This substance enhances the elimination of carcinogens and toxins, and this this family of foods at the top of the list to help prevent cancer.

No. 3 – Barley

This is an ancient grain which tends to be overlooked today. It has great health benefits, a delightful flavor, and can be used in just so many ways. Try it in soups, stews, and as a rice substitute. Barley is a low-glycemic grain which is high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. This promotes a health digestive tract.

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ATLANTA (September 1, 2009) – MedsFile.com is pleased to announce the addition of Jeffrey. J. Albert, MD, to its growing staff. As the company’s medical director, Dr. Albert will bring a unique, physician-oriented perspective to the Personal Health Record (PHR) system.

“We are so happy to have Dr. Albert as a member of our team,” said MedsFile.com’s President M. Alester Spears. “His knowledge and professional expertise will be invaluable to us as we build out our consumer PHR and create our Provider Portal.”

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Why Celery Will Shrink Your Waistline and How to Make this Veggie Tasty

Cream cheese, butter or peanut butter…. Is this what you put on your celery? Hopefully not as these products are not ideal for anyone hoping to lose weight. However, there are plenty of non-fatty spreads you can try… such as fat free cottage cheese, or fat-free bean dip.

Try these for a week’s worth of noshing: celery with salsa, celery dipped in fat free Italian salad dressing, celery sprinkled with cayenne pepper or paprika, celery with hummus, or celery with chopped tomatoes and basil. “Congratulations, you’ve just enjoyed a full week of fat busting, metabolism boosting celery snacks.”

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/58028/celery_the_ultimate_weight_loss_snack_pg2.html?cat=51

“A new study suggests that patients are open to having electronic medical records play a more central role in their care.

A research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston led the study to determine how patients feel about converting to EMRs. Key findings suggest patients want full access to all of their medical records, are willing to make some privacy concessions in the interest of making them transparent and fully expect that computers will play a major role in their medical care, even substituting for face-to-face care.”

People know that information technology will change their everyday lives. The introduction of technology such as iPhone, Facebook and Google Maps has only served to heighten the publics’ awareness that healthcare will become the next industry to experience change. Attitudes towards electronic personal health records and other emerging health technologies will play a central role in their card. Patients was customized medical information to help doctors manage their healthcare.

Patients expect technology to “watch over them,” monitor their health and give them “real-time feedback.” They also expect computers to act as “personal coaches, and to foster self-care.”

Source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/study-reveals-patients-attitudes-toward-emr-conversion

“A five-year ongoing study involving 10 large physician practices across the country has so far shown improved quality of care for chronic disease patients from the use of health information technology.”

The Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration study was launched by CMS to allow doctors to demonstrate that coordinated and proactive care can help patients and save revenue.

The Geisinger clinic and the University of Michigan Family Practice Group were two practices that showed improvements in at least 29 or the 32 quality measures which were followed in the third year of the study.

Electronic health records were use to enhance care consistency and reliability, as they especially related to diabetes and coronary care. Congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease both carry a very high risk of emergency hospitalization and other high-cost care if not carefully managed. Costs were managed by focusing on hw patients transition between car settings and by proactively reach out to ensure that that understand the information provided and the next steps which could make a substantial impact on their lives.

Source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/demo-shows-it-critical-improving-care-patients-chronic-diseases

“EHR adoption and finances remain the top challenges facing medical practices, according to a new survey from the Medical Group Management Association.”

Medical Professionals voiced their opinions via surveys bout several challenges they face while trying to keep their practices financially profitable.

The professionals say that the top 3 challenges are:

• 1. Operating costs rising more quickly that revenues
• 2. Maintaining their income in light of diminished reimbursements
• 3. Choosing and using electronic health records.

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MedsFile.com Announces New Provider Solutions

ATLANTA (August 15, 2009) – MedsFile.com announced today the development of a revolutionary new Provider Portal which will serve as an addition to its already existing Provider Solutions. In the past, MedsFile.com has only provided a state-of-the-art consumer-level online Personal Health Record. MedsFile.com is today announcing that it will take the technology that powers its consumer-level solution and use it to develop a state-of-the-art provider solutions suite.

The new provider solutions suite will feature five main components: “e-Prescribe” for providers to refill their patients’ prescriptions with one click, “e-Messenging” to securely message their colleagues, “Provider Portal” for physicians to view their patients’ MedsFile.com accounts from their current EMR, “Kiosk” for providers to increase revenue by utilizing our electronic check-in solution, and “Grand Rounds” to view grand rounds from anywhere.

“These solutions are built for today’s fast paced physicians in an electronic world,” said M. Alester Spears, President. “For so long physicians have praised our consumer-oriented solution, and have asked us when a provider-level solution would be on its way. We are proud to announce today is that day, and we are excited to guide medical data into the hands of those that need it most.”
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According to the staff at LiveScience, a high-fat diet may make you stupid and lazy.

A new study on rats finds that 10 days of eating a high-fat diet caused short-term memory loss and made exercise difficult. While the finding may not seem a big surprise, the researcher say it might suggest that high-fat diets make humans lazy and stupid. Western diets are typically high in fat and are associated with long-term complications, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart failure, yet the short-term consequences of such diets have been given relatively little attention, said Andrew Murray, co-author of the study and currently at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. We hope that the findings of our study will help people to think seriously about reducing the fat content of their daily food intake to the immediate benefit of their general health, well-being, and alertness.

These results were published in the FASEB Journal.

Rodents were used in research as their results can mirror the results of humans. Because rats lives are shorter than humans, study effects take much less time. When rats were fed high-fat diets, their muscles used oxygen less efficiently causing their hearts to work harder. Through trials involving a maze, these rate took longer to reach the end, and make more mistakes in the process.

Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of journal said “It’s nothing short of a high-fat hangover” After several days of eating hotdogs, French Fries and pizza, “our muscles and brains [go] out to lunch.”

John Moore of Chillmark Research responds to a broader blog post by Scott Shreve about Google Health being irrelevant. John writes, “that Google Health has been nothing more than a distraction to the broader market.”

Scott writes, “I guess my point is that I love the innovation machine that is Google. I am just profoundly disappointed at what appears to be a lack of commitment by the organization to truly invest and innovate in the health care space. Is it a strategy question? An opportunity cost situation? Why the paralysis?”

This pretty much confirms what my friend said Google had slowed down on the health piece. Seems they are more hype than substance.