What Should I Ask My Doctor During a Checkup?

From the National Institute on Aging:

Asking questions is key to good communication with your doctor. If you don't ask questions, he or she may assume you already know the answer or that you don't want more information.

Don't wait for the doctor to raise a specific question or subject; he or she may not know it's important to you. Be proactive. Ask questions when you don't know the meaning of a word (like aneurysm, hypertension, or infarct) or when instructions aren't clear (for example, does taking medicine with food mean before, during, or after a meal?).

Sometimes, doctors need to do blood tests, x-rays, or other procedures to find out what is wrong or to learn more about your medical condition. Some tests, such as Pap tests, mammograms, glaucoma tests, and screenings for prostate and colorectal cancer, are done regularly to check for hidden medical problems.

Before having a medical test, ask your doctor to explain why it is important, what it will show, and what it will cost. Ask what kind of things you need to do to prepare for the test. For example, you may need to have an empty stomach, or you may have to provide a urine sample. Ask how you will be notified of the test results and how long they will take to come in.

A librarian named Meagan Clark has staked her "career in helping empower people with stories and knowledge.",  She has put together a list of special needs resources for an upcoming library newsletter, and thought they might be of interest to you:

Low Vision Internet Gateway

Managing Sensory Processing Issues At Home

Cleaner Indoor Air & Chemical Sensitivities

Disabled Home Modification Checklists and Funding

Home Modifications and Selling Your Home

Special Needs Safety Around Construction Sites

Renters’ Rights for People with Disabilities

Moving for Seniors and People with Disabilities

Guide to Finding Credible Medical Advice

Also I found

HEALTHCARE REPORT 2018: BEST AND WORST STATES FOR HEALTHCARE

Income Inequality and Life Expectancy

There’s an interesting story in The Upshot section of The New York Times this week about income inequality and life expectancy. The story highlights a study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that looks at the relationship between having higher income inequality in a community and the life expectancy of the people who live there.

The researchers found that those who lived in communities with higher inequality were more likely to die before age 75 than those with lower inequality.

(Via AIER)


See also: The American people are clueless: Why income inequality is so much worse than we realize

World Statistics Pocketbook, 2013 edition

The World Statistics Pocketbook, 2013 edition is an annual compilation of key statistical indicators prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Over 50 indicators have been collected from more than 20 international statistical sources and are presented in one-page profiles for 216 countries or areas of the world. This issue covers various years from 2005 to 2012. For the economic indicators, in general, three years - 2005, 2010 and 2011 - are shown; for the indicators in the social and environmental categories, data for one year are presented.

The topics covered include: agriculture, balance of payments, education, energy, environment, food, gender, health, industrial production, information and communication, international finance, international tourism, international trade, labour, migration, national accounts, population and prices. The technical notes contain brief descriptions of the concepts and methodologies used in the compilation of the indicators as well as information on the statistical sources for the indicators. Reference to primary sources of the data is provided for readers interested in longer time-series data or more detailed descriptions of the concepts or methodologies.

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pocketbook/World_Statistics_Pocketbook_2013_edition.pdf Direct link to United Nations Statistics Division PDF document

Health stats: medical visits, heart disease, Rx, C-sections, more

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Dental Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010
Estimates of Health Care Expenditures for the 10 Largest States, 2010
Heart Disease Among Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
Heart Disease Among Near Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
MEPS HC-144B: 2011 Dental Visits
MEPS HC-144C: 2011 Other Medical Expenses
MEPS HC-144H: 2011 Home Health File
Origin of Adverse Drug Events in U.S. Hospitals, 2011
Overview of Children in the Emergency Department, 2010
Prescription Drug Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010


National Center for Health Statistics

Births: Final Data for 2011
Changes in Cesarean Delivery Rates by Gestational Age: United States, 1996–2011
Disability Questions Tests 2012 File

Access and Experiences Regarding Health Care

Access to and the quality of the health care received by Americans is an issue of public policy concern because the level of quality of health care impacts the capacity to deliver timely, accessible, and efficient medical care to the population in need of services. Estimates of quality are important in evaluating the costs and outcomes of health care delivery and to help identify potential areas where improvements can be made. A self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) is distributed to all adults age 18 and older within the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to collect information on health care utilization, access, health status, and the quality of health care received.

Access and Experiences Regarding Health Care

Also from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2013
National Healthcare Quality Report, 2012

America's Health Care Cost Crisis and What to Do About It

The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, after much deliberation and debate, has set the framework for how health care coverage is discussed in the United States. According to Rockefeller Institute Senior Fellow Richard Nathan, the real challenge, however, lies ahead as lawmakers attempt to implement the law in the face of many uncertainties. Nathan argues that, in the politicized and frenetic current budget process, expert opinion and deliberation are often lost.

Nathan advocates the creation of a new institutional mechanism to "monitor and react to changing conditions" and to provide valuable feedback to the president and Congress on what legislative changes are necessary to adapt the health care law to the unclear political and economic landscape. He proposes the creation of an entity ---- similar to the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission ---- to recommend gradual reform that is informed by expertise and research. The commission will not completely remove politics from the process, but will provide the government with valuable input on what course corrections are needed to meet the goals of the new law.

Nathan also examines five major players in the health care economy and the evolving role that intermediary organizations can play for consumers in counterbalancing the power of providers.

For a full copy of the report, visit www.rockinst.org.

Most Frequent Procedures Performed in U.S. Hospitals, 2010

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:

Most hospitalizations involve one or more procedures, which can range from simple vaccinations to complex surgical procedures. The principal procedure is the procedure that is performed for definitive treatment (e.g., an appendectomy), but procedures can also be performed to make a diagnosis (e.g., tissue samples or exploratory surgery). Hospitalizations usually involve more than one procedure, which together constitute the all-listed procedures performed during a hospital stay.

This Statistical Brief presents data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) on the most common all-listed procedures performed during hospital stays in the United States in 2010, overall and by patient age. Changes between 1997 and 2010 in the number of stays and the rate of hospitalization in the population are presented for hospital stays with the most common procedures performed in 2010.

U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

Here are recent health statistics:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Costs for Hospital Stays in the United States, 2010

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Emergency Department Visits and Hospital Inpatient Stays for Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 Influenza, 2008–2009

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 1999-2009 Cancer Incidence and Mortality Data

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - National Health Care Expenses in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010

National Academy of Sciences - U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

USA.gov Update: The Health Care Law and You

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. Do you have questions about what the Affordable Care Act means for you and your family? Learn about key features of the law, what will change, and when it will change at HealthCare.gov.

Fertility Rates, Costly Medical Conditions, and Obesity

National Center for Health Statistics - Recent Trends in Births and Fertility Rates Through June 2011 [PDF]
The provisional count of births in the United States for the 12-month period ending June 2011 was 3,978,000, which was 2 percent lower than the provisional count of 4,057,000 for the 12-month period ending June 2010. This continues the decline in the number of births from the all-time high of 4,316,233 in 2007; the rate of decline appears to have slowed from January 2011 to June 2011.
The provisional fertility rate in the United States for the 12-month period ending June 2011 declined as well, down 2 percent to 64.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44 from 65.5 for the 12-month period ending June 2010. This continues the decline in the fertility rate from the 17-year high of 69.5 in 2007, but again, the rate of decline appears to have slowed in the first 6 months of 2011.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - The Concentration of Health Care Expenditures and Related Expenses for Costly Medical Conditions, 2009 [PDF]
In 2009, health care expenses among the U.S. community population totaled $1.26 trillion. Medical care expenses, however, are highly concentrated among a relatively small proportion of individuals in the community population. As reported previously in 1996, the top 1 percent of the U.S. population accounted for 28 percent of the total health care expenditures and the top 5 percent for more than half. More recent data have revealed that over time there has been some decrease in the extent of this concentration at the upper tail of the expenditure distribution. Furthermore, medical expenditures have been concentrated for the treatment of certain types of highly prevalent conditions or for which treatment often entails the use of high-cost services

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Obesity Update 2012 [PDF]
The obesity epidemic slowed down in several OECD countries during the past three years. Rates grew less than previously projected, or did not grow at all, according to new data from ten OECD countries. Child obesity rates also stabilised in England, France, Korea and United States. However, rates remain high and social disparities in obesity are unabated. Many governments have stepped up efforts to tackle the root causes of obesity, embracing increasingly comprehensive strategies and involving
communities and key stakeholders. There has been a new interest in the use of taxes on foods rich in fat and sugar, with several governments (e.g. Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary) passing new legislation in 2011.

America's Health Rankings 2011

Health is a result of our behaviors, our individual genetic predisposition to disease, the environment and the community in which we live, the clinical care we receive and the policies and practices of our health care and prevention systems. Each of us — individually, as a community, and as a society — strives to optimize these health determinants, so that all of us can have a long, disease-free and robust life regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status.

This report looks at the four groups of health determinants that can be affected:

1. Behaviors include the everyday activities we do that affect our personal health. 
2. Community and environment reflects the reality that the daily conditions in which we live our lives have a great effect on achieving optimal individual health. 
3. Public and health policies are indicative of the availability of resources to encourage and maintain health and the extent that public and health programs reach into the general population.
4. Clinical care reflects the quality, appropriateness and cost of the care we receive at doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals.

Direct link to full report