Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors

Medical errors are one of the nation’s leading causes of death and injury. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. Government agencies, purchasers...

Understanding Your Medical Bills

After your doctor’s appointment, your doctor’s office submits a bill (also called a claim) to your insurance company. A claim lists the services your doctor provided to you. The insurance company uses the information in the claim to pay the doctor for those services....

Should You Go to the Emergency Room?

According to the CDC, “one in five Americans report visiting the emergency room at least once in the past year.” But are all of those visits necessary – and if not, how do you tell when an emergency is truly an emergency that requires after-hours treatment or if it...

Simple Techniques for Managing Stress

1. Positive Self-TalkSelf-talk is one way to deal with stress. We all talk to ourselves; sometimes we talk out loud but usually we keep self-talk in our heads. Self-talk can be positive (“I can do this” or “Things will work out”) or negative...

Constipation

Constipation means that you have a hard time passing stools (bowel movements). People pass stools from 3 times a day to once every 3 days. What is normal for you may be different. Constipation may occur with pain in the rectum and cramping. The pain may get worse when...

Abnormal Moles

Skin cancer happens when normal cells in the skin change into abnormal cells. The three most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.  The first two are slow growing and can usually be easily treated.  But if not...