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According to the World Health Organization, obesity throughout the world has more than doubled from 2008 to 2011. Obesity is measured by the body mass index (BMI), which is the individual's kilogram weight divided by the square of his height in meters. A BMI of 30 and above is considered obese, and 40 or higher is extremely obese. When extremely obese individuals are hospitalized, they are referred to as bariatric patients.
Due to their brand-new immune systems, newborns are susceptible to numerous health risks and illnesses. Being aware of four common health risks that newborns are most likely to face will give you an idea of how best to react when symptoms do arise.
Kerosene heaters use kerosene as a fuel. Two types of those in operation include convective and radiant. Convective heaters are circular in shape and circulate warm air upward and outward in all directions. In contrast, radiant heaters, rectangular in shape, have a reflector that directs heat toward people or objects. These appliances present a number of dangers to the health and safety of people. In fact, they are illegal in some areas. Following the manufacturer's instructions and handling the kerosene with care can reduce the risks involved in using these heaters.
Risk management for health care practitioners includes any steps that reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit, complaint or misunderstanding with a patient. By minimizing risk, you lessen the chances of having to pay out of pocket or through insurance for malpractice claims that likely could have been avoided.
Falls happen for many different reasons, and elderly adults have the highest risk of falls. Chronic medical conditions, poor eyesight, and being on multiple medications place elderly adults at risk for falling. According to the Journal of Gerontology, one-half of nursing home residents and one-third of community-living adults over the age of 65 fall every year. And this does not include seniors living alone at home. Falls have devastating effects on the elderly, resulting in fractures, serious injuries and death. It is important to identify a patient's risk for falls in order to prevent injury and maintain a level of…
There are many types of snakes in the U.S., but only two are poisonous. These are the pit viper, a variety which includes rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths and the coral snake, a variety of cobra. According to the site Health Lessons Online, around 45,000 Americans are bitten by snakes every year and 9,000 experience snake poisoning (although only 15 cases a year are fatal). If you are bitten by a snake, it can be a very scary experience and you must seek medical help immediately. However, there are several things you can do in the interim to assist paramedics and…
Fires in health care facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, pose a serious threat that can cause loss of lives unless fire safety plans are detailed, in place and known by employees, according to the City of Seattle, Washington's Fire Department. Having good fire emergency plans is essential to ensure patient safety.
Health care risk management training is usually a postgraduate specialty for nurses, physicians or others already in the profession. It involves little direct patient care and focuses mostly on the legal, technical, safety and public relations aspects of health care.
Medical malpractice suits rank among the top concerns for health care risk management professionals. Strategies developed at all levels of hospital functioning, limit the potential for these lawsuits to occur. This includes hiring only the finest medical staff to establishing safety protocols in the emergency room. While no system can be perfect, hospital risk managers create plans to mitigate medical errors and limit them as much as possible.
Risk management issues pervade the health care industry. To ensure that a health care organization, its patients and its workforce are protected from the many types of hazards, it is invaluable to institute a risk management plan.
Coenzyme Q10, or ubiquinone, supports other complex enzymes in the body's production of energy. Plentiful in youth, CoQ 10 is a cofactor in three or more complex mitochondrial enzymes. Originally marketed as a heart drug in Japan, CoQ 10 was reclassified as a food in 2001 and is considered safe according to most medical research around the world. According to the National Cancer Institute, CoQ 10 is a safe supplement under a doctor's care.
The walk from a patient's bedside to the storage container for disposal of needles is a short but potentially deadly walk. Although the containers for disposing of sharps (materials that can pierce the skin) are located only a few feet from the patient's bedside, thousands of health-care providers suffer needle stick injuries before they complete the distance. The consequences of accidental needle pricks range from minor annoyance to deadly infection. Policymakers noting the hazard of needle stick injuries, have developed safety devices to reduce the risk.
The purpose of risk management, in general, is to enhance patients' safety, prevent accidents, ensure compliance with law, and avoid legal exposure, which could lead to loss or litigation. Health care institutions include hospitals---acute-care, long-term, specialty, rehabilitation, and veterans---nursing homes, outpatient clinics, outpatient surgical facilities, and laboratories. Institutions must address the physical facility, equipment, staff, patients and visitors, which include not only families of patients, but also, for hospitals and nursing homes, attending physicians in private practice, whose patients are being treated.
In any industry, risk management addresses liability, both proactively and reactively. Risk management in health care considers patient safety, quality assurance and patients’ rights. The potential for risk permeates all aspects of health care, including medical mistakes, electronic record keeping, provider organizations and facility management.
Medicine has expanded in its ability to provide care that treats injury and cures disease. But the price paid for these advances is a vastly more complex system that includes professions that did not exist mere decades ago. One of these professions is Health Care Risk Management. Like other highly technical fields, this one requires a license.
Risk assessment is an active part of many modern industries designed to reduce overall operating costs and help improve worker safety. In health care, risk assessment becomes all the more important because the risk assessments involve the public health and the governing systems that care for a patient's overall well being.
Lecithin granules are often made from soy and contain phosphatidylcholine. Lecithin is naturally occurring in meat products and egg yolks. Lecithin suppliers claim that lecithin can be used to treat a wide variety of ailments and improve body functions, such as cell development. Prior to taking any supplement, discuss the benefits and risks with a health care provider.
Radiation therapy may be used in conjunction with chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. A person may undergo external or internal radiation. External radiation is applied to the affected areas on a schedule while internal radiation involves the implantation of radioactive materials into a person. Safety measures need to be taken when a patient has radioactive implants.
Facilities providing health care have an inherent amount of risk involved. Risk management services programs provide protection for the assets of the facility and protect the individual healthcare providers from costly malpractice suits from patients or employees. Organizations providing risk management consider all aspects of management, including financial and ethical issues. Risk services provide strategic planning for risk control and management.
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 follow when administering intravenous therapy to a patient. The guidelines are mandatory for all health care providers, regardless of whether they work in a hospital, a home or any other setting.
This year's flu season could end up as one of the most severe and widespread; the World Health Organization declared an H1N1 pandemic for 2009, the first pandemic in more than 40 years. The attention placed on this particular strain of influenza is overwhelming. It is important to get the facts and know the signs of the flu--H1N1 or the seasonal virus--particularly for those most at risk, such as young children. Here is what you need to know in case your toddler develops flu-like symptoms.
Risk management is vital to ensuring the long-term success of any industry. Health care is no different; health care deals with life and death situations, leading to astronomical risk factors. Health care risk management helps doctors and nurses better limit the risks associated with their jobs.
Health care is a booming business filled with various jobs that require different skill levels. However, health care providers are at an increased risk for harm or injury while on the job. As a result, the risk for some of these health care professionals has caused a decline in the number of entries into the field. Being aware of these risks is very important for those considering a career in any of the following health care fields.
As you get older, it is not possible for you to feel that your bones are becoming thinner and more fragile, but most likely they are. In most cases, people do not realize how delicate their bones are until they fall and break a hip. At best, such a break can keep a person from participating in his usual activities. At worst, a fracture can result in going to a nursing home, or even pneumonia and dying. It is therefore critical for people to know if they do have osteoporosis or a high risk of a bone fracture. This way,…
