Category: Healthcare Tips

Occasional acid reflux is common, and we do not have anything to be concerned about. However, when stomach acid keeps flowing back into your esophagus, you may want to sit and think about what is causing it. 

If you experience frequent acid reflux, you may have a chronic condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. While the symptoms may appear harmless initially, the disease can lead to long-term damage and even develop cancerous conditions. If your acid refluxes do not go away with medications or lifestyle changes or they keep coming back frequently, contact a gastroenterologist in Lima today for a consultation. 

Common triggers for acid reflux 

Laying down after eating a large meal.

While taking a nap sounds great after a large meal, it can cause acid reflux. Large meals take more time to digest. Therefore, when you lie down immediately after your meal, the food still present in your stomach may flow back up into your esophagus. If you need to lie down, lay on your left side or elevate your head using a higher pillow. 

Smoking

While smoking does not directly cause acid reflux, it can surely exacerbate the following symptoms. 

• Damaging mucus membrane 
• Increasing acid secretion in your stomach
• Impairing muscle reflexes in the throat
• Reduces salivation required for neutralizing the effects of stomach acid

Medications 

Various medications, if taken regularly, can cause frequent acid refluxes as a side effect. Aspirins or NSAIDs are not supposed to give you heartburn; however, regularly taking them can irritate the esophagus. Some blood pressure and heart disease medicines are also known for causing acid reflux. You can avoid these triggers by asking your doctor to prescribe medicines that are less likely to trigger heartburn. 

Trigger foods

Some foods can trigger acid reflux in your body more quickly than others. These may include spicy foods, fatty or fried foods, chocolate, foods containing tomato, garlic, onions, and citrus fruits. Beverages such as alcohol, tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks also cause acid reflux. 

Exercising 

Some types of exercise will increase your chances of acid reflux, and many of them will worsen your condition. Crunches and ab work can trigger acid reflux in your body. Any workout position that involves putting pressure on your abdomen will cause the stomach acids to thrust back into your esophagus. However, you do not need to quit the gym due to this reason. Instead, it is better to wait for a couple of hours after eating before you work out. 

Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, it is normal to experience heartburn or acid reflux more often than before. During your pregnancy, the esophagus pushes the food slowly into the stomach. Thus, the food in your stomach takes longer to digest. The condition goes away after the delivery. 

When somebody is sick and is admitted to the hospital, it is the responsibility of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to take care of and cure the patient. Therefore, besides considering the patient’s health condition, every healthcare organization should also focus on financial policies and development. This is where healthcare revenue cycle management comes to aid.

What is healthcare revenue cycle management?

When a patient is admitted to the hospital, somebody is keeping a watch on the financial aspect. Now, almost every hospital has a study medical billing software to generate the regular billing amount efficiently. This software helps the hospital staff to handle a lot of monetary work efficiently within less time. Also, this software creates the facility of taking care of the health insurance of patients.

All these financial dealings together are known as healthcare revenue cycle management. Belonging to the category of health information management, healthcare revenue cycle management also takes care of electronic health records and follows methodologies that maintain patients’ privacy. To operate a healthcare unit professionally and successfully, one has to ensure that the billing process is handled accurately and correctly.

Benefits of healthcare revenue cycle management

Want to know the reasons behind engaging in and practicing healthcare revenue cycle management? Here they are:

1. Complete optimization of workflow to generate more cash

Optimizing the whole process means enhancing the efficiency of the system. This implies that payments can be made mode simply by using the revenue cycle management. Other benefits include reduced errors and improvement in cash flow. To state an example here, if a healthcare organization uses an electronic health record system, the task can be simplified and improved by promoting better scheduling, billing, coding, and carrying out error-free payment processes.

2. Helps to reduce the workload

If a machine is oiled well, it is sure to run smoothly without getting stuck anywhere. The same rule applies to the healthcare units. With the revenue cycle management, one can be sure of gathering collections at ease. It makes the organization financially stable and reduces the burden from the people associated with the administrative level of the organization. Everything is made possible with the revenue cycle management, from coordinating communications with the hospital professionals and the patient party to maintaining important documents and dispatching payments at the right time.

3. Better patient experience

Having a skilled and efficient revenue cycle management will yield an error-free coding process and effective billing. The whole process is simplified and made better so that the patients do not feel any hindrance or difficulty in their entire journey. Suppose a healthcare organization wants to deliver the utmost satisfaction to the patients. In that case, it has to keep the patients away from unnecessary problems that can induce stress in them.

4. Handles payment denials efficiently

Payment denials emerge from errors in the bills or the payment claims. A customized and optimized healthcare revenue cycle management means generating accuracy in the system and controlling the number of mistakes that could have been made otherwise. Therefore, it is essential to get the coding right at the first chance to save time and bring in faster payments.

5. Improved revenue collection process

Combining automation tools with the right software means all those tasks that would otherwise take a lot of time to complete will now be accomplished with less time. Furthermore, if the entire process is executed in a stepwise manner, there will be no problem while expediting.

Steps involved in healthcare revenue cycle management

The healthcare revenue cycle management is a seven-step process as discussed below:

Step 1: Preregistration

The medical practitioner has to gather demographic information, eligibility, and insurance details in the first step. Next, the insurance agent gets the patient’s information and discusses the insurance coverage with the medical professional. In this preregistration stage, the practitioner can understand the patient’s financial expectations from the insurance. He can also get clear the doubts of the patient regarding payment.

Step 2: Registration

In the registration process, the information gathered about the patient is 100% true and accurate. Therefore, while conducting the registration process of a patient, the professional has to ensure that the correct name, address, phone number, date of birth, and valid proofs are provided. In addition, during this registration process, the professional has to gather the co-payments or referrals with authorization for further patient treatment.

Step 3: Charge capture

The charge capture can be carried out in multiple ways. If the process is automated, all the information will be automatically carried forward to the billing section. On the other hand, the charge capture can also be done manually. If there are loopholes in this process, they will be detected by a revenue cycle auditor. So, it is vital to make sure that charges are being captured correctly.

Step 4: Claim submission

After the charges are entered, they have to be forwarded to the insurance agent. The people responsible for the revenue cycle management will have to pay attention to the expenses, diagnosis, and CPT codes. It has to be ensured that the claims are clean being handled correctly.

Step 5: Remittance processing

After the claim has been passed, the medical professional will get back remittances. It is during this step of the healthcare revenue cycle management that the allowance are determined. Here, the provider and the insurance agent will decide to negotiate and determine the amount they want to pay.

Step 6: Insurance follow-up

This is a routine follow-up process where the professional medical provider checks out those paid and those still left to be paid.

Step 7: Patient collections

It is suggested that the front desk professionals take the money from the patient when they are served. To avoid any commotion, ensure that the provider has adequate documents to prove that the charges have been rightly taken.

Conclusion

After knowing the benefits of revenue cycle management, it can be said that revenue cycle management for the healthcare industry is an apt solution to generate more cash flow. Furthermore, for better services, one can hire revenue cycle management professionals.

Mental and emotional health complications are common, affecting over 40 million Americans annually. Unfortunately, research shows that as many as 60 % of these individuals do not seek help. Many people do not realize the need to seek medical attention, even for minor mental issues. But support is readily available to ensure that you live in optimal health, including your mental and emotional wellbeing. The team of psychiatrists at the 2nd Chance Treatment Center offers psychiatry in Glendale, AZ, to help people with mental health conditions. Here are several ways you can benefit from seeking mental health care:

You Explore Ideas in a Safe Space

Deciding to seek psychotherapy is not easy. But it gives you an opportunity and safe place to explore the issues in your life. One general rule to understand is that anything you say remains confidential. Therefore, you can express anything honestly without the fear of offending anyone. You will also have an opportunity to process emotions about a particular event or person, allowing your provider to understand your condition. You can expect your provider to ask you about your past or present disturbing experiences, medical illnesses, mental health, difficulties with everyday life, or the death of a loved one depending on the situation at hand.

Get a New Perspective

When you are bothered about something, and you are not speaking it out, you can only see things from one side. This can make it hard to process the reality of the matter, particularly when depression and anxiety misrepresent things or you feel you have been wronged. However, psychotherapy brings out a new, unbiased representation of the situation as your provider is unique to the experience and can identify the things you left out.

It Helps with the Future

Sometimes you can suffer mentally and emotionally due to anxiety and uncertainties of things to come. But working on your preset will positively impact your future. Psychotherapy can help you mentally and emotionally prepare for future events, particularly when the circumstances are perceived to be excessively stressful and emotional. Your provider will work with you to design a plan appropriate to help you overcome your fears.

Your Voice Will Be Heard

Often, you might not find your loved ones understanding what you are going through. This may worsen your condition as you might choose to keep it to yourself. But with a psychiatrist, the talking points pertain only to you focusing on your wellbeing. You will not worry about being judged or treated differently later. This helps you achieve a certain level of transparency that may not develop naturally with your loved ones.

Get Unbiased Guidance

You might be close with your loved ones who you can say anything about but still suffer mentally and emotionally. This is because it may be hard for them to fail to consider themselves depending on their current state. Sometimes their advice may be influenced by how you are related but not facts. On the other hand, a psychiatrist will not have any stake in your life and will apply the trained medical expertise to guide you.

Whatever situation or mental issue you are dealing with, understand that it is worth seeking medical help. Reach out to the 2nd Chance Treatment Center today to get expert psychotherapy that will help you live a positive, happy life. Your provider will evaluate your condition and guide you accordingly.

You have probably experienced pain due to a cut, surgery, sports, car injury, or even kidney stones at some point or other in your life. For such cases, the actual cause of pain is known as acute pain. The primary function of acute pain is to warn your body of an injury or problem. In some cases, you could develop chronic pain, which is often quite disabling and can prevent you from enjoying life. Such pain calls for pain management in Falls Church.

 What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is commonly defined as any pain that persists for more than 12 weeks. Whereas acute pain is the normal sensation that alerts your body of an illness or injury, chronic pain serves no real purpose. It can be caused by a nervous system dysfunction, chronic disease, muscle, joint, or bones injury, and autoimmune disorders like arthritis.

Chronic Back Pain

According to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, approximately 84 percent of adults in the US experience chronic back pains at some point in their lives. The pain could be due to arthritis, osteoporosis, or normal wear and tear. Some other common back pain causes include:

• Spinal fractures.
• Spinal stenosis.
• Compression fractures.
• Soft-tissue fractures.
• Slipped or bulging discs.
• Structural deformities such as scoliosis.

Chronic Joint Pain

Joint pain is a major cause of disability among adults in the United States. A report from the US Bone and Joint Initiative shows that this condition is often a result of infection, injury, or advancing age. Besides this, it can also be caused by conditions like:

• Tendinitis.
• Bursitis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Osteoarthritis.
• Repetitive motion injury.

Chronic Headaches

A chronic headache is one that occurs for a minimum of 15 days monthly within three consecutive months. Research shows that approximately 50 percent of the American adult population will report headaches during the course of a year. If your headache is persistent or does not go away, it could be one of the following types of chronic headaches:

• Migraine.
• Eye strain headache.
• Tension headaches are caused by stress, fatigue, or sleeping in the wrong positions.
• Cluster headaches as a result of the enlargement of blood vessels in the head.

Chronic Nerve Pain

According to a recent study by the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, chronic nerve pain affects ten percent of Americans. The common causes of chronic nerve pain are continuous exposure to drugs that damage the protective exterior coating of a nerve, excessive nerve compression, or damage caused by injury or trauma. Nerve pain can be extremely debilitating – enough to keep you away from work.

Common Pain Management Procedures

When the cause of chronic pain cannot be treated, your doctor will recommend a pain management procedure depending on your condition and the level of pain. Common options include:

• Diagnostic and therapeutic selective nerve root blocks.
• Diagnostic and therapeutic intra-articular SI joint and hip joint injections.
• Medial branch blocks.
• Radiofrequency ablation.
• Epidural steroid injections.

 Conclusion

Chronic pain can be significantly frustrating and disabling, which is why the skilled neurologists at Integrated Neurology Services are dedicated to providing the most effective pain management procedures. They use an approach that directly addresses the root cause of your pain to bring you wholesome relief. For more information about their services, book an appointment online or contact their nearest offices today. 

Back pain can paralyze your everyday activity as it involves an extremely delicate part of the body. It demands immediate attention to be sure that the problem isn’t a condition that will halt your normal way of life. Shrewsbury back pain and other burdening illnesses are best relieved by experts who have the experience related to the spine. They have state of the art technology and highly experienced doctors to get your back in full and painless function again. Some of the services they offer are as below.

1.  Back pain diagnosis and treatment

Back pain could be a result of normal conditions like muscle strains or pinched nerves. However, it could also be brought about by more severe conditions like spinal stenosis, disc problems, osteoarthritis, scoliosis, vertebral compression fractures, kyphosis and many others. The Center for the Functional Restoration of the Spine has back pain specialists with years of experience in the field who are ready to handle your illness, however simple or complex it may be. The specialists perform a complete diagnosis of your body and examine your medical history before recommending any form of treatment. Treatment may include conservative measures like physical therapy or medicinal approaches like epidural steroid injections. If the condition is worse, the specialists may recommend surgery.

2.  Spine surgery

The Center for the Functional Restoration of the Spine has the best spine surgeons in the region. They offer a variety of surgical procedures for you, depending on the severity of your illness. These procedures include minimally invasive surgery, robotic spine surgery, or revision spine surgery. Some of the surgical treatments you may receive include dekompressor discectomy, microdiscectomy, endoscopic decompression, laminotomy, artificial disc replacement, extreme lateral interbody fusion, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, or even spinal tumor removal. No matter what the procedure entails, the institution is well-equipped and experienced to ensure you go through a successful treatment.

3.  Degenerative disc treatment

As you get older, you may experience a common condition of degenerative disc disease. It’s a common wear and tear problem that makes you vulnerable to other spine problems like bone spurs, pinched nerves, spinal stenosis, or herniated discs. The condition may not present any symptoms until it has led to nerve irritation. Some of the symptoms you may have include neck pain that radiates to the arms, back pains that radiate to the legs, persistent stiffness of back inflexibility that is accompanied by chronic pains. The specialists first work with you using non-invasive approaches like spinal cord stimulation, percutaneous disc nucleoplasty, intradiscal electrothermal, or epidural steroid injection. If such methods do not work, they present you with surgical alternatives.

4.  Spinal Stenosis

The area inside your spinal canal may narrow with time, causing a condition called spinal stenosis. This condition is mostly brought about by degenerative conditions like herniated disc, slipped vertebrae, thickened spinal ligaments, facet joint arthritis, or vertebral bone spurs. Spinal stenosis may affect any part of the spine, causing pains on the upper or lower back that radiates to the arms and legs, numbness, weakness or tiredness, and difficulty walking. Treatment starts with non-invasive approaches like therapy and may get to surgical approaches depending on how the body reacts to the procedures.

All around, the Center for the Functional Restoration of the Spine proves to have the capability and high level experience in treatment of spine conditions. They give comprehensive yet personalized care to all their patients, no matter the condition. Make that wise decision of visiting them today before your back problem becomes too big for you to carry. 

Atrial fibrillation or Afib is a medical condition that leads to blood clots in the heart and causes a rapid heartbeat. If neglected this condition can lead to serious heart-related issues or stroke. Here in this guide, we are going to talk about Upper East Side Atrial Fibrillation to help you gain more knowledge on the same.

What Is Atrial Fibrillation?

The frequent abnormal heart pulse that begins in the atria is atrial fibrillation. Rather than the SA node controlling the electrical rhythm, numerous distinct impulses fire at the same time in the atria, resulting in a highly fast, chaotic beat. Due to this, the atria cannot function properly. 

In atrial fibrillation, the upper chamber of the heart beats very fast and irregularly. It has been discovered that many times there are no symptoms of atrial fibrillation in individuals. This medical condition is not life-threatening but if overlooked can lead to serious health issues.

Causes of Atrial Fibrillation

There are various causes of atrial fibrillation, some of them are:

• Prior heart surgery
• High blood pressure
• Heart attack
• Sleep apnea
• Viral infections
• Coronary artery disease
• Physical stress

These conditions can lead to atrial fibrillation, however, it can happen in people with no period-related heart conditions.

Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation

The common symptoms of atrial fibrillations are:

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Chest pain
• Lightheadedness
• Shortness of breath

Many times this medical condition occurs in episodes but doesn’t stay for long; if it stays for a while and the heartbeat doesn’t go back to normal on its own then you might have persistent atrial fibrillation. In permanent atrial fibrillation, medication is required to restore the normal heartbeat.

Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation

There are various specialists that can provide the proper care for atrial fibrillation in the upper east side. If you notice any kind of symptoms then it is best to reach out to a specialist. The health practitioner might do some diagnostic tests to verify the condition. Electrocardiograms, portable event monitors, transtelephonic monitors, etc. are used by specialists to diagnose the condition. 

The main purpose or aim of the health practitioner is to restore the normal heartbeat and prevent other serious heart conditions. The doctor might suggest some lifestyle changes and healthy habits to prevent the condition. In the early stages, doctors only suggest medications, however, if medications don’t seem to work then he might suggest surgical procedures.

Infertility is the inability to conceive a child after at least one year of unprotected intercourse. Infertility can affect you mentally. Understanding the causes of your infertility and receiving the proper treatment can be highly beneficial. Richard Strathmann OBGYN is a specialist on whom you can rely for treating infertility.

What are the major causes? 

Unfortunately, there is no single cause that fits all cases. Several causes of infertility are:

1. Age: The most common cause of infertility in women is age. As a woman passes the age of 30, she begins to lose her ability to conceive a child. It has been reported that after the age of 35, a female loses 20% chances to conceive. 

2. Cervical Mucus Patterns: Cervical mucus patterns can also affect fertility rates. In general, if there is no mucus present after ovulation, conception cannot occur during the period indicated by the cervical mucus, and pregnancy cannot occur unless other factors intervene.

3. Obesity: having excess weight can negatively affect the ability to have a baby. 

4. Environmental Factors: Environmental factors such as drug abuse, environmental toxins, and radiation can also affect fertility rates. In addition, factors such as diet, stress level, and habits can affect achieving pregnancy.

5. Physical Traumatic Events: Traumatic events such as a fall or a direct blow to the abdomen can affect the reproductive system and negatively impact fertility rates.

6. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: Another condition that affects a woman’s ability to conceive is pelvic inflammatory disease(PID). 

7. Medical condition: diabetes or sexually transmitted diseases can decrease the chances to conceive. STDs can lead to permanent damages to the uterus and lead to permanent infertility. 

Are there any infertility treatments? 

Some treatments can increase fertility rates in some cases. Such as:

1. Intrauterine insemination (IUI): In this method, semen (fluid containing sperm and nutrients required for the sperm) is collected from a male and injected into the uterus or the female’s fallopian tube. Here the sperm can fertilize the egg.

2. Fertility drugs: The use of fertility drugs may increase fertility rates if they are taken at the right time and are used at appropriate doses according to what is stated on the packaging. 

3. Ovulation induction drugs: These drugs induce ovulation and increase the chances of fertilization. 

4. Fertility reversal medications are used for this purpose and will cause the regression of specific conditions that may prevent or delay fertility rates. 

5. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

If you face infertility or wonder why you have not become pregnant after a year of unprotected intercourse, ask your doctor for tests to determine if there is a problem causing your fertility.

When you are dealing with minor health issues like cold, flu, or an unexpected pain in your joints and you call an ER, there are possibilities that you have to wait in a long queue. To save your time and to provide proper treatment for you and your family, it is essential to have a family doctor by your side.

The city of South Charleston has a humid climate almost throughout the year. With a climate like this, you might face problems like hype in allergies and sleeping issues.

However, to take adequate care of you and your family, Dr. Leela Patel in South Charleston is an MD who will provide you with proper treatment whenever you need it. Additionally, they also specialize in gynecology and are board-certified family medicine practitioners.

There are various benefits of having a family doctor, the top 6 of which are as follows-

They manage trivial issues efficiently:

When you feel like you will catch the common flu, your family doctor will help you provide proper medicine by a quick checkup and giving antibacterial medicines. They also help with stress and anxiety management and provide nutritional counseling whenever necessary.

They know your family history:

With time, the family doctor will understand your family history accurately to monitor your health problems. Later on, they know about your personal lives and can easily predict the reasons behind your concerns and give you the appropriate treatment.

They diagnose early symptoms:

A family doctor will follow your life cycle and take notes as soon as he gets a symptom or finds out that anything is misleading in your body. He will immediately take the next step and give you preventive measures according to it.

They will find you the right specialist on time: 

When you have severe heart disease or diabetes, your family doctor will find you the right specialist that will meet your needs and someone who will fit your budget and individuality. He will consult the right specialist to discuss your issues within themselves and take corrective actions together.

They save you money:

If you have a minor symptom and go to an ideal hospital, you will have to pay more bills than pay a family doctor. Your family doctor will know about your issues that are repeated, such as allergies or sinus issues. On the other hand, a new doctor will have no clue and give you extra medicines that may not be useful and charge you more money. 

They regulate lifelong illness:

If you or anyone in your family has a chronic illness like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, they are appropriately handled by a family doctor. They provide you with appropriate supervision even when you are going through a critical stage in your life and make sure that you do all your tests on time, determine the next steps in your treatment, and do a proper assessment of the same.

Guide created by e3 Diagnostics