Healthcare 911


Book Description

America's healthcare crisis - Is there a solution? In this era of corporate takeovers, the age-old art of medicine is the first casualty. At least one physician commits suicide every day! Countless others experience stress, depression, burnout, and medical conditions, ranging from obesity to heart attacks. Healthcare 911 pulls back the curtain on the causes and consequences of this crisis, as well as the future of the American system of caring for the sick if it is not solved.




Health Care 911


Book Description

The author spent over forty years working in the health care industry, gaining fi rsthand knowledge about the interworkings of the various industries that represent the whole. After graduating from the University of Texas Pharmacy School in 1959, Fritz worked in retail pharmacies for about twenty years and as an owner for fi fteen of those years. During this time, valuable experience was gained while working with doctors, drug-company representatives, nursing homes, health insurance companies, and the consuming publichis customers. After selling his retail pharmacy, more experiences were gained selling pharmacy computer systems to retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, and institutional pharmacies. Additional experiences came from working as a business broker listing and selling retail pharmacies. Beginning about 1969, the whole health care industry evolved from a free enterprise environment to one controlled by health insurance companies, drug manufacturers, litigious lawyers, and government-entitlement programs. After many years of witnessing the demise of the health care industry and building frustration over the absence of truth emanating from the talking heads representing all forms of our news media and politicians, he wrote is fi rst book, Health Care: It Can Be Fixed. There is not a more qualifi ed spokesman, nor a better friend, to health care than Fritz. He is no longer active in the industry, so he is absolutely free to speak the truth and help people understand where better health comes from. In addition to writing about health care, he is also a public speaker and a consultant to businesses and corporations.




Mobile Integrated Healthcare


Book Description

The healthcare landscape in the United States is evolving rapidly but has largely ignored EMS, until recently. As the country focuses on cost containment and more appropriate methods to deliver services as a result of healthcare reform, EMS will need to undergo dramatic change to fill a new role in the healthcare system. The current traditional delivery method for EMS is financially unsustainable and will soon not be a viable option for care. EMS has a choice to make--adapt to the new environment or be left behind. A viable alternative to the current structure of EMS is Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH)--community-based health management that is fully integrated with the overall health system. Various programs like this have appeared across the United States, but a definitive resource that describes how to successfully implement such a program has not been available. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation fills this void by serving as a reference not only to the EMS community, but also to other medical professionals working toward implementation of a successful MIH program. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation provides a step-by-step approach for the identification of community needs, forming the appropriate partnerships, selection of staff, acquiring resources, patient identification, and overcoming hurdles to a successful program. Examples from successful programs across the country are included. The author team of Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation has developed and implemented a functioning, successful program. Their experiences with community partners and other healthcare specialists provide a broad-based view of the future of EMS in the healthcare industry. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation is written by leaders in the field of EMS who are committed to guiding the successful evolution of EMS. Their approach to integration should be considered by EMS management, hospital-based social workers, and community partners such as county health authorities, homeless coalitions, and psychiatric services. The type of care EMS providers give needs to evolve with the changing landscape of healthcare. This text describes how healthcare professionals and community partners can work together to facilitate that change and define a successful MIH program.




How to Survive 911 Medical Emergencies


Book Description

Calling 911 in an emergency may be the most important thing you ever do. However, it is only one tool to get you and yours through a medical emergency. This guide lays out a smarter process to improve the odds that you and your charge(s) have successful outcomes (i.e., survive) when going through a medical emergency. That means getting yourself, your family, your charges, your home, and your environment ready for a medical emergency. You need to make your home and environment "responder ready." You need to learn how to give critical aid that keeps your charge stable until professional help arrives. You need to know how to get responders to your charge quickly and be as helpful to them as you can while they are there. It's also important to know how to get prompt care at - and "work" - a hospital emergency department. Finally, you need to plan for and get through the recovery process with your charge and take care of yourself, too. That includes learning from the experience so you can improve what you know and better handle things the next time. It also includes assessing the emergency's impact on you, the caregiver, so that you can successfully recover yourself.




Crisis Standards of Care


Book Description

Catastrophic disasters occurring in 2011 in the United States and worldwide-from the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to the earthquake in New Zealand-have demonstrated that even prepared communities can be overwhelmed. In 2009, at the height of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a committee of experts to develop national guidance for use by state and local public health officials and health-sector agencies and institutions in establishing and implementing standards of care that should apply in disaster situations-both naturally occurring and man-made-under conditions of scarce resources. Building on the work of phase one (which is described in IOM's 2009 letter report, Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations), the committee developed detailed templates enumerating the functions and tasks of the key stakeholder groups involved in crisis standards of care (CSC) planning, implementation, and public engagement-state and local governments, emergency medical services (EMS), hospitals and acute care facilities, and out-of-hospital and alternate care systems. Crisis Standards of Care provides a framework for a systems approach to the development and implementation of CSC plans, and addresses the legal issues and the ethical, palliative care, and mental health issues that agencies and organizations at each level of a disaster response should address. Please note: this report is not intended to be a detailed guide to emergency preparedness or disaster response. What is described in this report is an extrapolation of existing incident management practices and principles. Crisis Standards of Care is a seven-volume set: Volume 1 provides an overview; Volume 2 pertains to state and local governments; Volume 3 pertains to emergency medical services; Volume 4 pertains to hospitals and acute care facilities; Volume 5 pertains to out-of-hospital care and alternate care systems; Volume 6 contains a public engagement toolkit; and Volume 7 contains appendixes with additional resources.




Aging Well


Book Description

This open access book outlines the challenges of supporting the health and wellbeing of older adults around the world and offers examples of solutions designed by stakeholders, healthcare providers, and public, private and nonprofit organizations in the United States. The solutions presented address challenges including: providing person-centered long-term care, making palliative care accessible in all healthcare settings and the home, enabling aging-in-place, financing long-term care, improving care coordination and access to care, delivering hospital-level and emergency care in the home and retirement community settings, merging health and social care, supporting people living with dementia and their caregivers, creating communities and employment opportunities that are accessible and welcoming to those of all ages and abilities, and combating the stigma of aging. The innovative programs of support and care in Aging Well serve as models of excellence that, when put into action, move health spending toward a sustainable path and greatly contribute to the well-being of older adults.




Strategies to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival


Book Description

Cardiac arrest can strike a seemingly healthy individual of any age, race, ethnicity, or gender at any time in any location, often without warning. Cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death in the United States, following cancer and heart disease. Four out of five cardiac arrests occur in the home, and more than 90 percent of individuals with cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital. First and foremost, cardiac arrest treatment is a community issue - local resources and personnel must provide appropriate, high-quality care to save the life of a community member. Time between onset of arrest and provision of care is fundamental, and shortening this time is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of death and disability from cardiac arrest. Specific actions can be implemented now to decrease this time, and recent advances in science could lead to new discoveries in the causes of, and treatments for, cardiac arrest. However, specific barriers must first be addressed. Strategies to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival examines the complete system of response to cardiac arrest in the United States and identifies opportunities within existing and new treatments, strategies, and research that promise to improve the survival and recovery of patients. The recommendations of Strategies to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival provide high-priority actions to advance the field as a whole. This report will help citizens, government agencies, and private industry to improve health outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest across the United States.




Emergency Medical Services


Book Description

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical component of our nation's emergency and trauma care system, providing response and medical transport to millions of sick and injured Americans each year. At its best, EMS is a crucial link to survival in the chain of care, but within the last several years, complex problems facing the emergency care system have emerged. Press coverage has highlighted instances of slow EMS response times, ambulance diversions, trauma center closures, and ground and air medical crashes. This heightened public awareness of problems that have been building over time has underscored the need for a review of the U.S. emergency care system. Emergency Medical Services provides the first comprehensive study on this topic. This new book examines the operational structure of EMS by presenting an in-depth analysis of the current organization, delivery, and financing of these types of services and systems. By addressing its strengths, limitations, and future challenges this book draws upon a range of concerns: • The evolving role of EMS as an integral component of the overall health care system. • EMS system planning, preparedness, and coordination at the federal, state, and local levels. • EMS funding and infrastructure investments. • EMS workforce trends and professional education. • EMS research priorities and funding. Emergency Medical Services is one of three books in the Future of Emergency Care series. This book will be of particular interest to emergency care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the deficiencies in emergency care systems.




Our Unsystematic Health Care System


Book Description

The aim of this book is to present the reader with a comprehensive overview of the U.S. health care delivery system. A central theme running through the book revolves around the fact that Americans have expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the country's health care arrangements for many years, yet have been unable to come up with reforms that would address the main point of dissatisfaction: the steadily rising cost of care. One of the primary objectives of the book is to provide a clear explanation of the health insurance arrangements operating in this country; both public, such as Medicare, and private, which is generally employment-based. The workings of structures that combine payment and provision of health care services, namely HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), are described in detail. The health care systems developed by other countries are examined to illustrate how this country's 'unsystematic system' differs from those in most other highly industrialized countries. Special attention is directed to hospital and health occupational trends. Statistics gathered by government agencies and researchers associated with various nonprofit organizations are used to illustrate points of discussion. The final chapters of the book address attempts to control costs and changes promoted by sponsors of the most recent reform plans.




9/11: Mental Health in the Wake of Terrorist Attacks


Book Description

Does terrorism have a unique and significant emotional and behavioral impact among adults and children? In what way does the impact of terrorism exceed the individual level and affect communities and specific professional groups, and test different leadership styles? How were professional communities of mental health clinicians, policy-makers and researchers mobilized to respond to the emerging needs post disaster? What are the lessons learned from the work conducted after 9/11, and the implications for future disaster mental health work and preparedness efforts? Yuval Neria and his team are uniquely placed to answer these questions having been involved in modifying ongoing trials and setting up new ones in New York to address these issues straight after the attacks. No psychiatrist, mental health professional or policy-maker should be without this book.