Jumat, 16 Juli 2010

Acne Alternative Treatment - Tanning Booths Are Not Recommended

As teenagers, pimples and acne are high up on the list of things that cause great distress to them. Unfortunately, acne during puberty is something that some have to face - no thanks to the changing hormones in their developing body. Though there are others that are spared the headache of getting acne during puberty, the majority must go through this ordeal. Many teenagers try to deal with their acne problems by applying acne creams, while some go to the extreme by using tanning booths as a method of acne alternative treatment. The latter, however, is absolutely not recommended.

Trends come and go. While it was fashionable years ago to look pale, nowadays having a tan is the way to go for women. Tans have become increasingly popular in the last few decades and it helped trigger the mushrooming of tanning booths in the country. Some teenagers feel that they could hide their acne by getting a tan.

While this sounds silly, it does have some science backing. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, the melanin in the skin will trigger the color that resembles a tan. The production of melanin will temporary cancel out oil glands, which have been known to be the culprit behind acne. Also, blemishes and scars caused by acne would seem to disappear under a dark tan.

However, be warned that this treatment is not at all safe. Though having a tan might look fashionable, repeated usage of tanning booths and exposure to UV rays can result in greater problems than acne. Teenagers who are overexposed to tanning booths and UV rays will get more than just a tan - they could end up having orange complexion. This is a sign of damage to the epidermal layers of the skin. When you decide to have a tan to hide your acne, understand that you are not dealing with the core problem. The acne will still be there once the effect of the tan disappears.

Sometimes the acne problem would be so severe that no amount of tanning can hide it. Teenagers that are faced with this problem would usually end up with a lot of freckles and puffiness in the eye area. The multiple visits to the tanning booths could also increase the chance of getting skin cancer.

To conclude, understand that going to the tanning booths will not solve your acne problem -- as it may even cause far greater problems. Instead, consult with your dermatologist to get the best available treatment that is safe.

Helen Tanady has been writing articles, online and offline, for more than 4 years. This author often writes on health and fitness, dating, weight loss and fat loss related. Read her latest articles at hunter hepatech which explain and review about filtrete air filters.

Jumat, 09 Juli 2010

Electronic Medical Records - Hosted Vs SaaS

A very simple explanation of what an EMR is and what are the main 2 options of EMRs available.

1) Internally Hosted EMRs - like most famous EMRs, including VistA and OpenEMR

Here, the software is on a client server and is generally cut-off from the outside world. Some of these EMR packages also allow remote computers to log in into the software, thus adding 'web- enabled' feature.

2) Internet based/ Cloud Based EMRs - like Medscribbler

These EMRs reside in the cyberspace and access is via a website login. These services are typically priced based on number of doctors using it / number of patient entries / Periodic subscription fees.
               
Though the first type is considered more secure, it can be a pain to use. You would need a whole army of technicians to maintain a system like that in-house.The other option, of using a web based EMR provided as a service, would be my choice. It allows for easier to use interfaces (in my opinion), geographically free application (as it can be logged on to from clinic/hospital/home) and less expensive for small and mid sized practices.



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Kamis, 08 Juli 2010

Multi-platform Medical Simulation App Built on Flash Platform

Innovation Mecom developed a simulation for training and marketing of Carina, a medical device. The application is built on top of the Flash Platform using ActionScript3.0 and simulates all the functions of the actual device.

The same application can run in the browser, as a standalone application and on multiple devices. Check out this video for a demonstration of the app running on a variety of devices.


Open Source + iPad in Surgery



Discovering new innovative uses of iPad in Health care everyday!

This one comes via @Berci

A wonderful match of Open source DICOM viewer coupled with use of touch screen functions of an iPad.

DICOM viewer OsiriX ( an open source imaging software ) helps surgeons to understand the patient's anatomy and cancerous lesion by pinching to zoom, rotating, and changing window level of the DICOM volume data on an iPad through latex gloves.



To Know more, Read

Selasa, 06 Juli 2010

Medical Error Rates Reduce Seven Fold with Electronic Prescribing !



There is a growing consensus that the implementation of health information technology should lead to more efficient, safer, and higher quality of care. The ever increasing burden of record keeping, to comply with the numerous regulations, makes shifting to Electronic prescribing a very attractive option. 

The benefits of shifting to EMRs and CPOEs are enormous.
  • Less Paperwork
  • Better Evidence based care
  • Better Data collection
  • and of course LESS ERRORS.
An average of 195,000 people in the USA died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a study of 37 million patient records by HealthGrades
"For e-prescribing adopters, error rates decreased nearly sevenfold, from 42.5 per 100 prescriptions at baseline to 6.6 per 100 prescriptions one year after adoption. For non-adopters, error rates remained high at 37 per 100 prescriptions at baseline and 38 per 100 prescriptions at one year.


Illegibility errors were very high at baseline, and not surprisingly, were completely eliminated by e-prescribing (87.6 per 100 prescriptions at baseline for e-prescribing adopters, 0 at one year). Prescribing errors may occur much more frequently in community-based practices than previously reported. This study findings suggest that stand-alone e-prescribing with clinical decision support may significantly improve ambulatory medication safety.
 References:

Also read-

Senin, 05 Juli 2010

Will HealthCare.gov change HealthCare Practice in the United States ?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled an innovative new on-line tool to help consumers take control of their healthcare. It very neatly co-incidents with the changing political/public view on healthcare. A very handy tool, it paves an easy way to access maximum information about health care regulations as applicable to most people.
Called for by the Affordable Care Act, HealthCare.gov is the first website to provide consumers with both public and private health coverage options tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool.


HealthCare.gov  is the first central database of health coverage options, combining information about public programs, from Medicare to the new Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan, with information from more than 1,000 private insurance plans.  Consumers can receive information about options specific to their life situation and local community.

Another point of interest - This is the FIRST health care related twitter account i ever found with about 1200 followers within 3 tweets!

Thumbs up !!!
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