health education | wellness

Author: Amy

Medication Reconciliation: Tips For Improvement
There are literally thousands of different medicines on the market being prescribed every day. It is no wonder, then, that unwanted and adverse drug interactions have the potential to be one of the most dangerous areas of modern health care delivery.

Did you know that just being a patient within the health care system in the United States subjects you to one of the leading causes of death in the nation, ranked right up there near cancer and heart disease? That’s right – being hospitalized, for example, can immediately raise a person’s risk of death, and drug interaction is one of the reasons for that shocking statistic.

For that reason, it is critical that you take special precautions to ensure the best practices of medication reconciliation.

How to Improve Medication Reconciliation
- Always request an up-to-date and complete list of each patient’s current medications and specific dosages.
- The list should not just include prescribed drugs but also over-the-counter medications and supplements like vitamins, supplements, and herbs.
- Also obtain records regarding any allergies or sensitivities to medicines that they may have.
When recommending or prescribing any medications make sure that you reconcile those against these patient lists, and take care to be alert to any potential there may be for a mixture of medications to create an adverse chemical reaction. If those overseeing the patient’s care change or the patient is transferred to another health care provider, make sure that the new caregivers receive full documentation.

Upon discharge, provide the patient with a newly revised list of their medications. If they have other caregivers – for example, if they are a child whose parents will administer the medications – be sure that you communicate to those authorized parties as well to ensure a seamless and healthy transition. Be sure to ask if the patient or legal caregiver has any questions about how often they need to take their medications, the dosages, and any other guidance (such as the need to take meds with meals) so that there is a risk-controlled and well-informed continuum of care.
July 2, 2015
Improving Patient Experience: Can We Learn from Disney?

Disney World, despite being an enormous facility that receives vast numbers of visitors every hour of the day, somehow manages to earn praise for superior customer service. About 70% of Disney customers are so pleased, in fact, that they return to the theme park for future vacations. When thinking about improving patient experience, providers can learn by observing how Disney handles its customers.

Here are four of the top ideas that can guide healthcare professionals toward increased goodwill and better customer service evaluations.

Frontline Resources

Disney supports those who interact directly with customers with sufficient tools and technologies to solve problems and answer questions quickly and decisively. There is also direct access to managers and decision makers, so that if a frontline employee cannot resolve a problem or answer a question, they can find someone who can without unnecessary and frustrating delays.

Courtesy

All employees are trained to make courtesy a priority, regardless of how difficult a situation may be, in order to put customers at ease and ensure that they feel respected, listened to, and appreciated. Employees are also offered special customer service training, including role playing of various scenarios, so that they fully understand how to execute their responsibilities in a professional manner.

Scripted Responses

Everyone at Disney is on the same page, so that the brand message and image projected is reliably constant and consistent. Part of the reason that kind of continuity and teamwork is so effective is that employees have scripts they can follow when greeting customers, answering questions, resolving problems, or responding to emergency situations. Rather than feeling unprepared, they are already knowledgeable about what to say and how to respond, and they can then focus their energy and attention in a calm and poised way to ensure that the customer’s needs are met.

Exit Success

Disney also makes sure that exiting its facility is a smooth transition, even creating systems to help keep track of where people parked so that they don’t have trouble locating their cars. You may not need to help patients find their vehicles, of course, but the idea or philosophy represented by that story is that when customers have a good exit experience they leave with a good feeling. When improving patient experience, healthcare facilities should make the communication of final instructions, answering of questions, and filling out of exit paperwork as efficient and easy as possible.

June 30, 2015
Healthy Diet Can Create A Healthier Gut Microbiome

There are colonies of bacteria or microbiome inside our digestive tract that can aid in good digestion and better overall health. In fact, there are more bacteria living in our intestines that our own human cells! The so-called “good bacteria” can also be cultivated by making better dietary choices and create a healthier gut microbiome.

Microbiome responds to diet

In 2014, Scientific American published an article describing research that showed that the gut microbiome can respond within just a matter of days to changes in your diet. Researchers at the University of Chicago specializing in gastroenterology, discovered that the body is highly sensitive to dietary changes, and they reiterated that the connection to diet and health is critical. By paying closer attention to what we eat, we can avoid many common ailments and help to minimize problems such as indigestion, inflamed bowels, and even obesity and anxiety.

Dietary fiber is thought to promote this healthy microbiome, and some researchers say that by following a diet that contains too little fiber, it may be possible to starve that bacteria. With nothing else to subsist upon, the bacteria may attack the lining of the intestines. That can cause discomfort, irritation, and illness. But when the microbiome is healthy, it contributes to the digestive process and helps us make the most from our nutrition. Some of the best fiber comes from vegetables, so extra servings of fresh vegetables as a daily habit is recommended for most people.

A healthier gut microbiome with probiotics

Eating fermented foods is an an easy way to introduce healthy probiotics to the diet. A few examples of fermented foods include naturally-made yogurt (without added sugars or artificial ingredients), miso soup, kimchi, and sauerkraut. Some evidence indicates that probiotics have a positive effect on the composition of our gut microbiome, which is why many health providers recommend probiotics supplements or fermented foods after taking a course of antibiotics.

While antibiotics are important for certain infections, they may also wipe out colonies of good bacteria in the process, and restoring the balance of our microbiome is an essential step in the healing and restorative process.

When it comes to creating healthy digestion and a healthier gut microbiome, everyone’s body is unique, and we all have individual dietary needs that should be thoughtfully addressed in order to ensure our health and well being.

June 28, 2015
How to Better Educate Patients About Diabetes

A recent study found that half of all Americans are pre-diabetic or already have full-blown diabetes. Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, thanks to increases in the number of people who are overweight or obese and the ongoing decline in healthy, nutritious diets. Fortunately, diabetes can be prevented through lifestyle. To educate patients about diabetes is a crucial step in helping curb the epidemic.

Educate Patients about Diabetes and Diet

Many people are not aware of how unhealthy their regular diet happens to be, for example, and many consumers don’t even know how to properly read the mandatory food labels included on all packaged food. So one good place to start is with education about diabetes that is based on teaching patients more about diet, nutrition, and how to be a more informed consumer at grocery stores and restaurants.

Free Resources for Diabetes Education

You can also take full advantage of the free resources provided by organizations and agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, which operates the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP). At the NDEP website, for example, you’ll find many helpful and educational resources, including a variety of different publications. There is even information for health care professionals to show you more effective strategies and tips for health care delivery to patients who have diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is another great resource where you can advocate toolkits, printed materials, and find out about local outreach programs that your patient can take advantage of to learn more. The ADA offers free information about managing diabetes, food and fitness, the symptoms and warnings of diabetes, and it also provides a community of others living with diabetes that patients can connect with for more learning and support.

Diabetes Education is Diabetes Prevention

As with many diseases, education can be the best form of prevention, so make information available to all of your patients and make diabetes education a cornerstone of your health care practice. Once people have a better understanding of the risk of diabetes and the connection to daily habits like eating, drinking, and exercising it becomes much easier for them to make smart choices.

June 28, 2015
Reverse Obesity in 5 Simple Steps

Obesity is a serious problem and a primary contributor to risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Because so many young people are too obese to join the military, top-ranked generals at the Pentagon even consider the obesity epidemic a threat to America’s national security. The CDC also reports that more than one out of every three people in the USA are obese. Follow these steps to reverse obesity now.

Stay Active to Reverse Obesity

Not only does being physically active help burn calories to ensure that you can do a better job of managing your weight, but it has other benefits as well. Cardio exercise can be a natural mood enhancer and help you sleep better at night.

Avoid Processed Foods

Dieting is hard enough when you know what you are eating. But if you buy prepared packaged foods you may have no idea what was used in the recipe. In many cases, processed foods include exorbitant amounts of sodium that is bad for your health and increases unwanted weight gain. So cut down on processed foods to help reverse obesity.

Satisfy Your Hunger

Many people who are obese eat all the time but still have hunger pangs, because they are simply not getting enough nutrition. You can eat tons of junk food and still be hungry, whereas eating a healthy, balanced diet of nutrition-rich foods curbs your diet by giving your body genuine nourishment and real sustainable energy.

Educate Your Children

One of the main contributors to epidemic obesity is that people are not knowledgeable about proper food choices or healthy habits like daily exercise. So share your knowledge of those things with children so that they will grow up healthier, smarter, and less susceptible to obesity.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

While it may sound counter intuitive, sleeping at least eight hours a night can help you control your weight reverse obesity. That’s because a lack of proper sleep disrupts the body’s metabolism and interferes with proper digestion. So get enough sleep and that will actually help you fight unwanted weight gain.

June 28, 2015