The envelope says its from Medicare. The card inside looks very official. It’s got your name on it, and a bunch of numbers and letters that don’t look at all familiar.
But – can you trust it? Is this new Medicare card for real? Can you use it with your doctor and other medical needs?
Why on earth, after all these years, would they just send you a new Medicare card for no apparent reason?
The answers are yes, yes, yes…. and for ...
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This often comes as a major surprise for patients: that when a prescription drug is known to be effective, and is approved by the FDA for some patients, that doesn’t mean it’s effective and safe for all patients.
It’s true that some people may be allergic, or the drug might have been prescribed to treat the wrong diagnosis, or the patient may not take the drug properly and over (or under) dose….
…But those situations are not what I’m addressing in this ...
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Years ago I watched a movie called Serendipity. It starred Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. It was a “romcom” – and adorable – and it occurs to me that it sets the stage for today’s post.
The story was about two young people who met in Bloomingdales while shopping, and through a series of events, they were attracted to each other, but never exchanged names. They then lost track of each other. Over the years they continued to ...
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‘Tis the season of making health insurance choices, and the nexus of money and healthcare is on our minds. We’re focused on making sure we find a policy that covers us, but doesn’t over-cover us so we pay too much. It’s about those things that can be planned (the drugs we take, the regular medical appointments we keep). Plus an extra accounting for those things we may not plan for, but may have to deal with, like accidents, or grave ...
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In my previous life as a speaker and writer on patient empowerment issues, I received email, even postal mail (meaning, yes, someone paid for a stamp!) from patients who were being challenged in some way by the healthcare system. Sometimes I would hear from 8 or 10 people in a week, 25, 30 or more a month.
Their stories were often sickening and terrifying. At the least they were frustrating to read (even more so to live through, I’m sure) and ...
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Maybe you had surgery, or some sort of exploratory procedure. You might have been battling an infection, or maybe you were just there while they ran an assortment of tests. There are many reasons you might have been hospitalized.
And now it’s time to go home from the hospital.
Now what?
The thing is – during your stay in the hospital, there were people around to take care of you. Your nurses stopped by a few times each day, and would even arrive ...
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There are many names now being used to describe those of the baby-boomer generation who are aging and alone. “Elder Orphans” or “Solo Seniors” are two of them; describing the concept of someone who is older and has no family or younger friends to help them in time of medical crisis (or any other life-assisting event like moving, or shifting financial needs.)
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I’m not sure how it happened, but over the years, my medical appointments and tests all seem to have ended up as summer scheduled dates.
You know – all those annual or periodic things: bloodwork, mammogram, bone density, dentist, optometrist…. I also check in with the dermatologist once a year (because I was that fair-skinned, freckled kid who, as a teenager, slathered on the baby oil at the pool – remember those days?) And this year was, oh joy of joys ...
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As millions of youngsters head off to school, it reminds us that some of the lessons we learned in kindergarten can serve us well as we consider our healthcare throughout our lifetimes.
Here are some of those lessons:
1. Be respectful of your medical providers, and command their respect in return.
Early on, we learned to be polite and to stick up for ourselves. The same holds true for working with our healthcare providers.
It’s important ...
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Summer vacation this year was comprised of two weeks on a road trip with my husband as we left our (new) home in Florida, drove north to Upstate New York, then home again, visiting family and friends along the way. It was one of those vacations that you thoroughly enjoy, but then, can’t wait to be home again!
This year I had an extra reason to want to be home. About halfway into the trip, my knee began to hurt, then ...
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