Smokers put their kids heart in danger

Do you smoke when your kids are around? It's time to change your habits as exposure to passive smoking can increase risks of heart attacks and strokes in your children at later ages, a study said.

The team of researchers from Tasmania, Australia and Finland found that exposure to smoking in childhood thickens arteries' walls which, in turn, ups the risks of heart attack and stroke.

"The study shows that exposure to passive smoke in childhood causes a direct and irreversible damage to the structure of the arteries," said Seana Gall, research fellow at the Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania, and University of Tasmania.

The 3,776 children who participated in the research were aged between three and 18 at the start of the studies.

The researchers asked questions about parents' smoking habits and they used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the children's artery walls once they had reached adulthood.

The researchers found that carotid intima-media thickness, a measurement of the thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall, in adulthood was 0.015 mm thicker in those exposed to both parents smoking than in those whose parents did not smoke.

The study published in the European Heart Journal, however, did not show an effect if only one parent smoked.

"We think that the effect was only apparent with both parents smoking because of the greater overall dose of smoke these children were exposed to," said Gall.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Smokers-put-their-kids-heart-in-danger/articleshow/31531455.cms

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A Career in Healthcare Management: What Does a Medical Manager Do?

A Career in Healthcare Management: What Does a Medical Manager Do?

As new technologies are emerged in healthcare field every day, healthcare is one of the most rapidly changing fields than any other industry. People consider many things such as who provide the best health care, what are the best health care services and where it is available etc. So, talented people are required for efficient health care management, as they can contribute significant developments to improve the health of the communities their organization serves.

Career of medical managers:

Medical managers, who are also known as health care administrators or heal care executives, ensure that the patients get essential health care services at right timeby overseeing and directing various functions at health care facilities. Nowadays, you can see medical managers in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, nursing homes, home health care agencies, private group practices, outpatient facilities and other health care facilities. Therefore, the people, who have strong business management skills and interest in the health care field, can choose a career as medical managers.

Duties of medical managers:

The responsibilities of a medical manager may vary according to the organization in which he/she works. While some medical managers work as general administrators directing the entire hospital or health care facility, others specialize in some special areas like therapy, surgery, nursing or medical records. The medical manager, who directs the entire health care facility, has the responsibilities like supervising staff, monitoring finances and overseeing facility admissions.

Even though medical management is a good paid job, people should be ready to work long hours, as most of the hospitals and nursing homes function 24 hours a day. Sometimes, they have to stay at the hospital after duty time, in emergency situations and are required to travel for various purposes.

Types of medical managers:

Usually medical managers can be categorized in two groups such as clinical medical managers and non-clinical medical managers. Clinical managers, along with developing departmental policies and goals as well as assessing work performances of employees and planning budgets, should also be trained in the particular field in which they specialize such as surgery, therapy etc. But, non-clinical medical managers are responsible for managing the overall functions of a health care facility which are directly not related to health care that include human resources, housekeeping and financial management. Medical managers, who are responsible for maintaining health information, should keep patient records and make sure that all essential security measures are taken.

Tips to develop a career in medical management

The common qualification required for a medical manager is bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration, health service administration or health science, while some hospitals and health care facilities demand a master’s degree. If, you want to start a career in medical management, you are advised to talk to someone who is already in a medical management role. As a first step, you can start with small roles, as it will help you to gain confidence and shift to more responsible career.

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Private hospitals to stop CGHS cashless scheme from March 7

BANGALORE: In a blow to government employees, including those who have retired, theCentral Government Health Service has announced withdrawal of cashless medical service in private hospitals empanelled with the CGHS scheme from March 7. Patients will henceforth have to cough up hospital charges and later claim the amount from the government, according to the new rule.

The move will affect 50 lakh serving employees and over 30 lakh pensioners, as well as their family members. At a conservative estimate, the total number of persons affected could well be over two crore.

The move was necessary, said the Association of Healthcare Providers India (or AHPI, the nodal body of private empanelled hospitals) for a number of reasons, the main ones being CGHS owes these hospitals around Rs 200 crore in unpaid services as well as "unreasonably low" CGHS tariffs that haven't been revised for the last four years. A doctor's consultation fee, for example, remains Rs 58.

Also, AHPI says CGHS makes "illegal" deductions of 10% on all payments leading to losses for member hospitals. AHPI claims the amount runs up to Rs 180 crore.

In Karnataka, 20 hospitals, all in Bangalore, are empanelled with AHPI. HCG, Apollo hospitals, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital andBangalore Baptist Hospital, among others, will not provide the cashless health scheme from March 7.

"When we were empanelled with the government, it was agreed upon that we will get 10% rebateon treatment charges if the government pays within seven days. But now, this deduction has been made applicable even when the amount is unpaid for years. That's illegal. This has led to huge losses for member hospitals amounting to over Rs 180 crore over the past three years," says Dr Alexander Thomas, CEO, Bangalore Baptist hospital, who represents AHPI in Bangalore.

Some hospitals have put up a public notice to this effect, reading, "CGHS tariffs are unreasonably low and not been revised for the last four years, threatening the very existence of the medicalservice providers."

Dr Naresh Shetty of AHPI said, "The empanelled hospitals have been providing services under most difficult circumstances. They had to deal with steep hikes in electricity and water tariff, consumables, wages, taxes. We've been requesting a revision since June 2013 but there's been no response."

What is the Job Description for a Healthcare Administrator?

Any Health Care Administration job description emphasizes managing the business of health care. The career education opportunities for this role focus on how to plan, coordinate and oversee the effective and efficient delivery of health care. Health care providers are interested in how to deliver care to patients to get them back into good health. The Health Care Administrator is interested in how that care can be delivered in a way that is healthy for the facility or department.

Health Care Administrators may be in charge of one or more specific groups or units, or they may oversee the entire facility. Most often, this role is employed in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices. Regardless of the size of the facility, the responsibilities of the Health Care Administrator are similar.

Health care is constantly changing. This role will be asked to maintain the quality of care being provided and do it as efficiently as possible. The Health Care Administrator needs to adapt to:

Ø the various ways care is delivered

Ø the technology deployed

Ø the regulations that must be followed

Ø the changing work environment

Ø the role of preventative care

This role might oversee a number of areas such as:

Ø nursing

Ø surgery

Ø internal medicine

Ø medical records

Ø information systems

Ø human resources

Ø finance

Ø facilities and material

Ø patient admissions

The level of responsibility differs depending on the size of the facility. The Health care Administrators at a senior care facility and a large teaching hospital both have similar budget responsibilities, but the scale is different.

There are specialists in Health care Administration called Clinical Managers. They are trained in their field of expertise, for example physical therapy or nursing, and then move into an administration role in that area. They manage the day-to-day operations and areas such as human resources and finance. However, Clinical Managers do report to a senior administrator in charge of the entire facility.

In large group practices, the administrator will work closely with the physicians or medical staff. One or more Health Care Administrators may be used to create policies, manage personnel, oversee billing and collections, develop budgets, do financial planning, and manage patient traffic. Even a small practice could have multiple administrators to provide coverage for all of the business areas.

What are the Jobs for Healthcare Administrators

   Healthcare administrators deal with the business side of healthcare delivery. The education for this role focuses on the planning, coordination and delivery of high-quality healthcare. The role of the healthcare provider is to assist patients in the recovery of good health. The healthcare administrator is concerned with how that can be done in a way that is not only healthy for the patient but healthy in a business sense for the facility or department.

   Healthcare administrators can be in charge of a specific unit, or they may be responsible for several departments. This role is often seen in hospitals, clinics, diagnostic and treatment centers, long-term care and assisted living facilities, and doctor’s offices. The responsibilities of the healthcare administrator in each of these settings is very similar.

   In spite of the constant changes that occur within the healthcare area, the administrator is expected to maintain high quality of care and to do so it in a way that is as efficient as possible. There many variables the healthcare administrator must adapt to including:

   the different ways healthcare is delivered  the various technologies being used to deliver the care the state and federal regulations that must be complied with the ever changing work environment the role of public health

   There are a number of areas within the healthcare facility that employee healthcare administrators. Some of these areas include:

   general surgery

   internal medicine

   general nursing

   human resources

   medical records

   information technology

   finance and accounting

   materials and facilities

   patient admissions

   The size of the healthcare facility usually determines the amount of responsibility that a administrator is given. The difference between administrators in a large teaching hospital versus a small assisted living facility is usually the scale but not types of responsibilities. They both have to deal with budgets, purchasing, and staffing.

   A special type of healthcare administrator, called a clinical manager, is someone who has been trained in a certain area of healthcare delivery, such as nursing or physical therapy, then moved into administration. Because of their expertise in a specific healthcare field, they tend to perform the administrative function within that specialty. They will have all of the responsibilities of any healthcare administrator, but will have a different perspective about the unit for which they are responsible.

     In group practices where there are multiple physicians and healthcare professionals, the administrator will work closely with the staff as they perform their role. In a large hospital setting, administrators may have several assistants to work with the various staff. There also may be multiple administrators reporting to a director. Each of these administrators is responsible for separate areas such as personnel management, billing and collections management, budget management and financial planning.