April 16th, 2009 by eDocAmerica in Better Health Network
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Stroke is a major cause of disability and death in the U.S. and worldwide. Modern medicines like statins (and old ones like aspirin) are helpful in preventing both initial and secondary stroke in patients at risk. But, are there simple things you can do to lower risk?
Yes, you say! Well, indeed, you are correct. Twenty thousand men and women (age range, 40–79) without histories of stroke or heart attack were recently analysed in the U.K. for the effect of 4 simple behaviors: not smoking, regular physical activity, moderate alcohol intake (1–14 drinks weekly), and high fruit and vegetable intake .
Patients engaging in 3 or 4 of the activities were significantly less likely (2 times!) to suffer a stroke over the next decade. Patients who slipped up a bit and only did 1 or 2 of the activities did have significant stroke risk, though not quite as much as those who sat on the sideline and engaged none of the behaviors.
So, grab the baton and step up to prevent stroke. As always, questions and comments are welcome.
*This blog post was originally published by Jerome Ecker, MD at the eDocAmerica blog.*
April 5th, 2009 by eDocAmerica in Better Health Network
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“Internet 2.0” emphasizes social networking over simply downloading and reading “content”. The world of Twitter, blogging, facebook, e mail, and text messaging is revolutioning our society and rapidly becoming a major force in the way we work and play. It remains to be seen, however, how it will impact health care. There are many, many issues that are no where near resolution.
Although, at eDoc, we have been involved in online health for over a decade, we still run up against innumerable barriers and resistance factors that prevent this modality from truly becoming mainstream.
In order for this to occur, I believe the following needs to happen:
1. The team providing the service must be of high quality. This is difficult to determine in the best of circumstances and almost impossible in the often murky, even sleazy, world of internet
2.0. Until there is a better system for this, the user must be careful to scrutinize the credentials of the professionals involved and understand the business model behind the product. Check to make sure that the physicians are board certified. Beware of industry supported sites that are, essentially, using their web site to sell another product and “giving away” medical content or advice. If possible, find someone else who has used the service and ask whether the service is reputable. If you decide to try the service, dip your foot in the water and assess the quality of what you get back. If you like what you get, try again. If not, run in the other direction!
2. There has to be a widely available method for professional reimbursement. At eDoc, we developed a business model in which sponsoring corporations purchase the service on behalf of their employees or members. Most insurance companies do not cover on line visits with a physician but this is likely to be the case in the future; and, until that occurs, most docs won’t or can’t afford to, get on line to provide feedback or information to their patients.
3. Better tools are needeed. Although there are a lot of good web sites with good medical content, web tools are just starting to be designed to take advantage of the Web 2.0 world. Good, user-friendly, secure patient and provider portals will need to be connected to eprescribing hubs, will need to readily switch to search for internet sites to attach, will need to accept and view video footage, will need capability to connect through digital cameras for real time viewing and communication, and need easy to use, menu driven drop downs that guide the patient and provider through an online encounter.
For now, eDoc has a high quality team that uses a free form communication model and offers medical, dental, pharmaceutical and mental health professional advice. We are watching with eager anticipation to see what the future brings and, hopefully, we can stay ahead of the curve and continue to offer the highest quality online heath professional experience.
Your comments and dissenting opinions are welcome…
**This blog post was originally published by Dr. Charlie Smith at eDocAmerica’s blog**
March 23rd, 2009 by eDocAmerica in Better Health Network
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A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that all diets that reduce calories work equally well. Of course that is true. Reduce calories, lose weight. The article suggested that it does not really matter whether you choose to lower your carbohydrates, your fat or whatever, just so you reduce your calories consistently over time. Like most large studies of weight loss, the overall results are disappointing in that most people do not stay with weight loss diets and the average weight loss is modest. That is because the people not staying with their diets dilute out those who lose a lot of weight.
What these studies miss is what your experience is with different diet approaches. How do thay affect your overall health? In my previous Blogs here, I have emphasized the importance of reducing simple carbohydrates, like sodas and sweets, since they drive hunger. It is very hard, probably impossible, to stay on a diet program if you are always hungry. Good protein sources, whether from dairy, lean meats, fish, nuts and vegetables, suppress hunger by causing your blood sugar to rise more slowly and remain more steady throughout the day. The rise and fall in blood sugar impacts your hunger. Finally, saturated fats are not good for your health and should be avoided in any healthy diet.
So, what you eat does matter. Your choice of foods will impact your hunger and affect how many calories you are likely to eat in a day. Your food choices affect more than your weight, but also your cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease. When choosing a diet program for weight loss, make a healthy choice and choose a program that you can stay on for life. Afterall, weight control is a lifelong pursuit. You can vary your protein sources depending on your food preferences, and focus on healthy fats like vegetable oils and avoid the unhealthy satureated fats from things like hamburgers and french fries. Choose a diet program that works for you throughout the day and results in your not eating any more calories than you want to either to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
And remember, be physically active to burn those calories so you are more likely to lose unwanted weight.
**This blog post was published originally by Dr. Joe Scherger at eDocAmerica Blog.**
