General Healthcare Industry

Agar plates are used by doctors and scientists of many different disciplines for culturing bacteria and diagnosing illness. Once the agar medium is prepared, pouring the plates becomes a...

Every time a non-disposable piece of medical equipment is used, it needs to be properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized to prevent infection in future patients. According to ems.org, most...

The use of computers has influenced every area of society including medicine. Medical practices depend on computers as much or more than any other business. Medical practices use computers for...

Orthopedic doctors treat problems of the musculoskeletal system--bones, joints, ligaments and tendons--after years of specialized training. Rating orthopedic doctors is a simple process, once you...

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain. The most common form of fentanyl is a patch. The patch is stuck to the skin and the drug is slowly administered transdermally....

Due to the nature of their roles and responsibilities, pharmaceutical representatives are very easy to identify. They can often be found in the waiting rooms of physician offices, hospitals, and...

Medical treatments can be expensive, and insurance often will not cover the bill. But there is no shame in being a thrifty consumer when it comes to purchasing prescription drugs, so do'nt feel...

A lift chair can greatly improve the quality of life of a person who has difficulty rising from a sitting position, allowing them to lead a more independent life and preventing them from sitting...

Headaches are a common medical complaint for men, women and children. Headaches and dizziness can be difficult for medical personnel, such as first responders, EMTs and nurses, to assess when...

As technologies become more realistic, the role of simulation in nursing education is becoming more prevalent. While simulation cannot replace human patient interaction, it does offer benefits to...

A Mayo stand is the metal stand on which a physician or dentist lays out the instruments needed for a procedure. This wheeled stand consists of a tubular frame. It is traditional for a medical or...

Medical procedures can range from examining a sick child for a certain disease to performing a knee replacement in the operating room. Each procedure costs a certain amount of money and some cost...

Dentistry remains an elective health care option for the majority of Americans. In a bad economy, while people will still opt for heart surgery, dental care suffers and visits to the dentist...

There are many different state Blue Cross health plans. Below are the general procedures for becoming a Blue Cross provider. There may be some differences in requirements from state to state. By...

When you transfer a patient, never assume that the patient is physically able to handle the move. You should check the patient's overall health and vital signs before you attempt the transfer to...

A scalpel is a metal precision cutting instrument that has a sharp blade attached to a handle. Modern scalpels are made out of stainless steel, but primitive scalpels were made out of rock, bone...

There are a few different organizations that provide accreditation for nursing schools. They range from organizations that focus on degree programs to groups that accredit sponsors of continuing...

Kidney specialists are doctors that manage the care of patients with kidney disorders. These physicians evaluate patients, develop treatment goals and monitor patients during treatment. Special...

Spine doctors--also called orthopedic surgeons--are specialists who treat back problems. They undergo advanced training and certification for treatment of spine conditions, and they are members of...

Proper storage of home oxygen is important to avoid fueling a fire. Oxygen tanks are under high pressure. Damage to a tank caused by a simple accident---like knocking the tank over---can trigger...

Attending a health fair is like sampling a huge buffet. You can fill your tote bag with giveaways, get a free chair massage or have a chiropractor evaluate your back health. Health fairs provide a...

Medical records are vital to a patient's health history and treatment. Used by doctors, hospitals and health care facilities, it is important to know what is contained in your medical records....

Medical costs are a major problem for Americans. A study published in 2009 in the American Journal of Medicine, in fact, found that 62 percent of bankruptcies filed in 2007 related to medical...

Several U.S. colleges require students to demonstrate proof of health insurance. Students without insurance are unable to enroll in classes. The main insurance companies in the United States...

Millions of people suffer from chronic medical conditions. MedicAlert was the first organization of its kind to offer services designed to protect those in this group during emergency situations.

Home health aides care for disabled and/or elderly people in their homes, helping them with feeding, toileting, dressing, bathing and other activities of daily living. Many families hire home...

Many individuals with or without health insurance coverage do not seek care even when they see a need. Identifying barriers to health care is important because of the negative effects of...

Coding guidelines are used in the medical profession to accurately identify disease and treatment in a hospital facility. Used in medical documentation, codes record all activities related to...

Determining the heart rate on an EKG is a rather simple process. Understanding what the lines represent will allow you to quickly and correctly identify the heart rate. In addition, an EKG...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as HIPAA, was enacted in recognition of the increasing use of electronic record keeping, which can make personal and...

When your doctor prescribes you medicine, there are a number of ways in which you can purchase it. You can buy prescription drugs at some doctor's offices, hospitals, drugstores and even online....

Oxygen is a crucial element of emergency medical care and sustained care for individuals with certain conditions. Checking the pressure of oxygen tanks is a crucial part of maintaining an oxygen...

Intravenous therapy can cause serious infections when done incorrectly, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established national guidelines which health care providers must...

Debridement is the process of cleaning foreign material and damaged tissue from a wound so that healthy new tissue can grow. Debridement methods vary and, ideally, include prescription products...

The problem of identity theft can affect someone who has health insurance or other medical coverage. According to the website of the law offices of Schwabe, Williamson and Watt, health-care...

Ambulatory health care centers provide a wide range of health services. These include services for individuals who are not admitted to a hospital. The range of services can include those provided...

"According to the Infection Control Committee, Department of Health, every outpatient clinic should have an Infection Control Supervisor, who oversees infection control. (See References 1)" This...

Our short term memory shelves information for a limited time. An appropriate analogy of short term memory is a like a flash drive for a computer that stores information for a minute then self...

Staphylococcus "staph" bacteria are normally found on the skin and in the nose. Most of the time, they cause no symptoms. In the 1960s, scientists identified a new form of staph called...

A homemade wheelchair could come in very handy in places where a more expensive, store-bought chair might take too much abuse. Places such as parks, hiking trails or places with rougher terrain...

Using metaphors in nursing education is a newly emerging idea. The paradigm of nursing is changing, and a new emphasis is being placed on considering not just the physical elements of a patient...

When physicians want to perform cardiac testing or procedures that require electronic monitoring of the heart, the most common choice is an EP (Electrophysiology) catheter.

Paperwork constitutes up to 40 percent of medical costs, according to the Medical Systems Development Corp. Implementing an EMR system in the U.S. health care industry could cut health care costs...

The Internal Revenue Service allows people to establish Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in which they can put money tax free to pay for health care bills. It is actually a trust account, run by a...

A transfer from a bed to a chair is performed independently or with caregiver assistance depending on if the person has a low or high level of mobility. This technique requires some practice, but...

Various types of hemostats are currently in use. Although a hemostat-like pliers is used by fishermen and workers in a number of occupations, hemostats are primarily used in surgery. Surgeons use...

HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The HIPAA privacy act prevents medical facilities from distributing patient information for anything except medical purposes....

All states in the U.S. require that nurses complete a certain amount of continuing education in order to maintain their licenses; however, each state has a different policy regarding how to submit...

Nursing protocols are detailed plans that describe a care plan for nurses for a particular condition or disease. Writing nursing protocols might seem like a daunting task, but the format is...

Gaining knowledge and displaying that knowledge in a examination will move you closer to becoming certified as a medicine aide. This certification is also known as a certified medical assistant,...