Clinical equipment covers a wide array of medical products that are used for medical procedures, diagnoses, and general patient care. Medical professionals must use proper examination equipment and procedure room equipment in order to ensure that proper patient care is observed. High-quality clinical furnishings are important pieces of medical equipment which enable health care facilities to provide the highest level of care possible.

All of the equipment within the category of clinical furnishings is widely used throughout health care facilities. During medical examinations, it is important for the clinical diagnostic equipment to be fully functional, easy to use, as well as sanitary since it is involved in such a large amount of procedures within the health care industry. Examination equipment is designed to help assist doctors and nurses by easily carrying out procedures in a simple and effective manner while causing the least discomfort or inconvenience to the patient it can.

Exam room furniture should be long-lasting and durable to ensure patient safety. It is especially vital that the clinical furnishings used as ER room equipment is up to standard due to the fact that ER patients are generally more vulnerable to injury if the equipment being used is not of high quality.

Only the finest clinical furniture should be acceptable to any health care facility. The use of reliable and quality procedure room equipment raises a facility's level of care immensely. Patients deserve first-rate treatment and the highest level of care is only achieved by medical professionals when top-notch clinical furnishings are chosen. Some examples of the wide array of products that fall under the category of clinical furnishings are examination tables, portable bassinets, scrub sinks, surgical utensils, hazardous waste receptacles, and high performance scales.

It is essential for hospitals and medical centers to use the highest quality clinical equipment. This is the equipment that professionals rely upon to deliver their patients the highest quality of care during the times they need it most.

How do you feel, is not it will be nice that you have a health assistant to give you a reminder about perhaps a blood sugar level test or any other health related test that you have to undergo within a month or a year. Isn't it will be nice if there is an alert emergency record about your personal health and you do not have to remember all the records and history of your health before visiting your doctor for the second check up. This help can be at your fingertips in the form of a computerized personal health record, where you can store all health care information in one place. Now while visiting a doctor you do not have to arrange your files and prescriptions and test history just with a few keystrokes, you can electronically send information to the provider or can take a copy with you.

It is very essential for a doctor to know what medicines a patient is in taking and what other health related problems he has before doing any emergency treatment to him. You will be stunned to know that over 1.5 million of patients each year are hurt by taking the wrong medicine or dosage. And it is believed now that many errors can be avoided if a proper information is provided. But do not ever confuse a personal health record with an electronic health record which are created and controlled by hospitals and doctors for their own use.

Just imagine your close one has met with an accident and he has been carried to the hospital unconscious and unaccompanied. The nurses have to look for a patient's wallet hoping to gather some information which will tell them about the patient's medications, health conditions or at least a phone number. Many patients have contact lenses and the doctors and nurses in lack of any proper information are totally unaware of the fact and many patients ended with scratched corneas. Even some patients have to loose their life in lack of any medical records. I still remember one of my friend who has an accident, has been given blood thinners in the ER. The doctors are totally unaware of the fact that the patient is taking Vitamin K which has a terrible interaction with blood thinners and he has to loose his life only in lack of a personal health record.

According to the American Health Information Management Association, keeping a personal health record is important even when you're not in an emergency situation. Most of the times while going to a doctor do not remember to tell him about every nook and corner of our health history. Store all your detailed health records, including all the information that you will need, is it for visiting a doctor or for an emergency. Keep a track of your health from now in your computer and keep a hard copy of it in your car also for emergency. Several organizations are now offering various ways to organize and store a personal health record Remember a simple piece of paper might bring a lot of difference between life and death.

Some 4.3 million people in the U.S. do not have insurance, due to the high cost of insurance premiums. Uninsured and the under insured are tired of the rising medical costs and the astronomical costs of insurance coverage in developed countries and are looking for alternatives. Medical tourism offers a viable alternative to the high cost procedures that would be impossible to pay otherwise.

Countries and corporations are realizing that in order to draw the medical tourist to their area, rather than another, it is essential to provide a state of the art facility. Many of the marketed medical tourism destinations are state of the art facilities that more resemble a five star resort than a hospital.

It is not enough to offer resort type accommodations in brand new buildings. Administrators recognize that in order to attract medical tourists, it is necessary to meet the strictest of standards and provide top quality service. The majority of marketed facilities that offer medical tourism are accredited by the IOS (International Organization of Standardization) and the JCI (Joint Commission International).

The IOS is an organization made up of members from countries all over the world, as is the JCI. Both organizations offer standards that have been drafted with the intent of providing a framework for operation and measurable outcomes. The JCI website is www.jointcommissioninternational.com and gives a complete listing of all international facilities that are accredited. Each listing gives the date of accreditation and the date of re-accreditation, if applicable. You can also review what some of the standards are, what the accreditation process is, and pending standards. Both organizations have developed the standards with the input of members that represent all world regions. (North America, Central and Latin America, Asia and the Pacific Rim, Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). A wise person would consult the accredited facilities listing, prior to determining which to have a procedure done at.

It is unfortunate that there are some facilities that are brand new and fully staffed, but are not adhering to sanitation guidelines. Phone and email conversations with former patrons of the facility will give you critical information concerning the cleanliness of the building and is well worth your time and effort. Bear in mind that each facility has its own set of policies and procedures and adhere to those, in addition to any put forth by the IOS and JCI. A wise consumer will ask for a copy of the policies and procedures and review them prior to making a final decision.

When trying to decide which are the best facilities, be sure to look beyond the nice building and paintings. You need to find out what equipment the facility has and how old it is. Because state of the art diagnostic equipment can be as costly as erecting a building, some are opting to purchase outdated and second hand equipment. Still others have equipment that looks good in the pictures, but is malfunctioning.

It should be pointed out that this is not the norm. Most new facilities are also equipped with the latest equipment such as heart mapping equipment, CT Scanners, Open MRI machines, heart catheterization labs, digital ultrasound and mammogram machines and more. Contact with the facility to inquire about their equipment, reference checks and using a medical tourism travel agent are some ways to safeguard against problems.

Most of the doctors who work in these medical tourism facilities have studied in the developed countries and then have returned to work in their home countries. If you are having a medical procedure done, rest assured that you will be cared for by highly qualified staff.

Anyone who has had a medical procedure done knows that the post-operative stage is as important, and sometimes more so, than the actual procedure. Checking the policies for recovery is important. Decisions should be made, in part, based on the type of care that is provided post-recovery. In developed countries, there are plenty of documented cases of being discharged from a hospital too soon after a procedure, and having complications develop. Medical tourists report the opposite, to a large degree. Most tourists report that they were allowed to stay for a full recovery period, and that staff were very attentive. Many facilities have translators standing by who are fluent in every language. Again, taking the time to check the specific practices and staffing of the facility you are considering will save potential problems later on.

It is true that all countries have good facilities and bad, all countries have highly skilled doctors as well as those who are poorly trained and running less than desirable operations. Purchase a well researched medical tourism guide and/or contact a medical travel agent to assist you with your decision. The information is already researched for you, and you would be wise to access those resources.

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Health care is out of reach for many people these days. When it comes to healthcare, Americans are probably the least insured in the world. The plans that are offered as a part of their job package are expensive so most people opt out of these. They rely on low cost clinics and emergency rooms if the condition is serious.

However, there are no discount dental plans available at the emergency room or most clinics. These types of clinics are often few and far between. Therefore, most people put their dental problems at the bottom of the list.

An alternative to the gloomy forecast of putting healthcare on the back burner is Ameriplan(R). They have been serving the public's needs since 1992 and have over one million members.

Discount Health - The Types

They offer discount health programs that are affordable. When it comes to your health you should not take chances. This is what Ameriplan(R) believes as well. They have two plans for medical care. A basic health program and a total health program.

Their basic health plan gives you access to many thousands of physicians from which to choose. This includes mental health care as well. They also give you access to a Nurse Line program to answer you health questions. If you need immediate care for a problem but are unsure of what to do or where to go, the Nurse Line program can help.

The total plan from Ameriplan(R) has all the same services of the basic plan however, they also include the Dental Plus program which not only has dental but vision, prescription, and chiropractic services as well. Discount dental plans are extremely important. The cost of going to the dentist is escalating and many people just cannot afford to go.

Discount Dental

Did you know in 2004, more than half of the children who had no health insurance had not been to a dentist in a year? More than one in five needed to go but could not because their families could not afford either the insurance or the cost of the visit. Since that time the price of everything has gone up, including dental insurance.

Ameriplan(R) Dental Plus has a solution to this problem. If you join today, you do not have to wait. You can make an appointment with a dentist without delay. By being a member of the Ameriplan(R) dental plans, you can receive discounts of up to 80% off your dental needs. The services they cover are not the basic low cost services either.

They cover braces for children and adults. The availability of specialists ranging from Periodontists to Oral surgeons to take care of your dental problems are covered. Even problems that you may have had for a period of time are covered unless the treatment for these problems has already been started by another dentist.

The Ameriplan(R) dental plan has many healthcare providers that are a part of their network To get an idea just how many options you will have for their medical providers look at the following information:

* Dental Providers - 30,000+
* Chiropractic Providers - 7,500+
* Pharmacies - 50,000+
* Optical Providers - 12,000+

These numbers are growing daily so the above mentioned numbers are subject to change at any time. The need for optical care is another problem that many people face when the insurance they have is just not enough or they cannot afford the insurance at all.

Discount Optical

When you join Ameriplan(R) discount health programs, the options are many. You will have access to national names such as Pearle Vision, Lens Crafters, and Sears. Percentages of savings vary from 10% to 60% depending on the service that you require. You can even save from 10% to 55% on lasik surgery.

The plus side of belonging to this health plan is the benefit of having all your medical needs under one plan. In addition to the medical, you also have the dental, vision, and chiropractic services. It is great to be able to have one company handling all your medical needs without having to contact a separate company for each issue. It also makes it easier to keep track of for all your family members.

Discount Chiropractic

Ameriplan(R) offers discount chiropractic as a part of their Dental Plus program. The savings are instant. Your chiropractor will discount fees up to 50% for your services. There are more than 7500 doctors in their network so there should be not problem finding a chiropractor in your area.. The first visit to determine your needs is free. With 50% on diagnostic, 50% on x-rays that are necessary, and 30% on treatments, the savings are affordable.

This may be the most important decision that you will make after deciding to add to your family. The doctor that you choose will be the one that you put the possibility of your future child in. Ask yourself this, what kind of doctor do you want to have? One that will answer your questions so you understand, take your calls, no matter the reason, tell you what is going on, and is ready and willing to take the steps needed to help you achieve pregnancy. Or a doctor that doesn't really answer your questions, has the nurse take and answer your calls, and then dances around what is going on by telling you to keep trying and stop worrying.

Yeah, I would take the first one too! So how do you find a great doctor? Easy! Interview them! As soon as you and your partner decide that you would like to add to your family, start interviewing. You and your spouse need to come up with a list of questions that are important to both of you that you can ask the prospective doctor.

You already have a doctor? Great!! Now ask yourself, are you satisfied with your doctor? Do you feel that your doctor is doing everything possible to assist you? Can you reach your doctor anytime?? If one of your employees acted and treated you the same way your doctor does, would you give them a raise or fire them? If you really, and I mean really, would give him a raise, then you have the best doctor you could possibly find. If, on the other hand, you would rather fire him, THEN DO IT!! Walk into his office and tell the staff that you need to see your doctor. Then tell him why you are unhappy. If your doctor is willing to do more for you, then give him another chance. If he tries to brush you off, tell him he is fired and you want all of your medical records NOW!! Do not leave the office without them in your hands, or without them having been transferred to your new doctor.

That was step one of how to choose a doctor. Step two is getting references from friends, family, and co-workers for an OB/GYN (or RE). Take five doctors that were given to you the most. Call their offices and let them know that you are interviewing for a new doctor. All good doctors are more then willing to sit down with prospective patients. Try to get as many lined up in one day as possible, and if you need to interview on more then one day, don't let it be more then two days apart. Make a list of questions, and enough copies for all the interviews. Leave enough space between each question for notes. Both you and your partner need to go to the interviews. Both of you need to be comfortable with and trust your doctor. This is the person that will be bringing your baby into the world and making sure that you both are healthy.

Step three is deciding on a doctor once the interviews are over. It may be obvious to some couples which doctor is the best choice. Others may not see it as an easy choice. For those couples the best thing to do is take the top three names, write them on pieces of paper and put the papers in a hat or another container that you can't see through. Draw out a name, and that will be your new doctor. Not happy with the choice? Then that was not the doctor that you really wanted to see. If you pull out a name and are happy, then that is the doctor for you.

Once the decision has been made, call your new doctor. If you didn't need to change doctors, call your doctor anyhow! Now is the time to make your appointment. This will be a preconception appointment and you need to tell them when you call to schedule.

This procedure for finding a doctor can also be used if you and your partner feel it is time to find a reproductive endocrinologist, or any other type of doctor. I wish you all good luck with finding the best doctor possible!

Medical tourism is simply the practice of going to another country to obtain medical services. This practice allows the patient to receive top quality medical services in a country of choice.

Traveling abroad for medical services is a new concept to many of us, yet the elite have been traveling to foreign countries for years. Medical tourism is not just for the rich and famous anymore, and Switzerland is not the only destination. About ten years ago, countries in Asia realized that the opportunity exists to fill the unmet needs of millions worldwide. Top quality medical care is available, at a fraction of the price, in a plethora of countries across the world. India and Thailand are currently competing as the forerunners in the medical tourism industry; however they are not the only destination options. Countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Poland and others are offering world class services at third world prices!

There are still many skeptics that wonder if it is same to consider medical services in a foreign country. There is expressed concern of safety, the knowledge and skill of the staff, and the quality of services that are offered. If a person would travel thousands of miles to vacation, why not travel that far to have a medical procedure done? If a person is willing to risk having a foreign doctor perform the procedure in the developed country (E.G. a cardiologist from India, working in Chicago) why does that person not trust going to the same caliber cardiologist in the country of India itself? If a person is willing to fully research the hospitals and credentials in their homeland, why not check the ones abroad and save money by choosing a facility abroad?

Because of the decreased costs and ready access of air travel, medical tourism is a viable option for ALL people now! A person can obtain timely and quality medical services in a vacation paradise, for a fraction of the cost of the same medical procedure in the home country.

How does a person begin the task of choosing a country to consider traveling to as a medical tourist? It is advisable to begin by researching which countries offer medical tourism services and which are safe to travel to. There are medical tourism travel agents that can aid you with your research, as well as well researched books that will give you the guidance that you need.

Regardless of the country that you choose to receive services in, including your homeland, you will need to search out and choose a facility and doctors that you are confident in. It is true that all countries have good facilities and bad, all countries have highly skilled doctors as well as those who are poorly trained and running less than desirable operations. Again, the information is already researched for you, and you would be wise to access those resources.

All that is left for you to decide is which continent you want to go to, and which country in that continent you have always wanted to visit. Once you have decided that, you will need to think about particular parts of the country you desire to see while there. The process that you need to use in determining the country of choice is similar to if you were planning a vacation. As stated earlier, medical tourism is simply the practice of combining vacation and medical procedures. Where is it that you have always wanted to visit? There are several medical travel agencies available that offer a full menu of choices of destinations, and procedures offered in each!

India has a mission of becoming the leading medical tourism country in the world. There are multitudes of hospitals, located all over the country, that are top quality and accredited by the international organizations. Their doctors are often U.S., Canadian or U.K trained and they are fluent in English. Their intent is to cater to tourists from the U.S., Canada, the U.K and Australia; in particular. If a prospective medical tourist has always desired to see the Taj Mahal, then Arga would become the destination of choice. Kerala is another choice destination, with the Western Ghats towering 500-2700m to the east and is the meeting of forty four rivers. If it is the hustle and bustle of the Indian city that a person wants, then New Delhi or dozens of others might be a better choice.

Although India has been highlighted, the other choices are equally as beautiful. The destination is really a matter of deciding where it is that you have always longed to visit, and then combining that with your vacation, to create a "health holiday". Thailand offers some of the most pristine beaches in the world. Brazil offers rain forests, Costa Rica offers jungles and beaches both, France offers beautiful countryside and the glitter of Paris, Italy offers romantic villas, and Switzerland (of course) offers the Swiss Alps! There are many more, unnamed that are options that a qualified medical travel agent can assist you with searching out.

All through the eighties little children were distressed when they used to get hurt while playing or doing mischievous activities. A lot of them used to find the aged looking hospital in their boring cotton surgical scrubs. You all must be aware of this fact as your grand parents must have told you. All the people were always trying green Cotton Surgical Scrubs.

According to "MASH" a T.V. show concerning armed forces doctors revealed that the people used to wear armed green cotton surgical scrubs. The show, though, was not now concerning the armed but regarding administering medication during an occasion of battle. The doctor's in the medicinal scenes were portraying wearing surgical olive scrubs. Such a vision of hospice surroundings back then is in huge contrast to a like scene nowadays.

Consider a current medical TV show like "Grey's Anatomy". The people that job at the hospice in "Grey's Anatomy" are often experientially wearing cotton surgical scrub in a diversity of diverse colors, styles & patterns. It appears that as the management of medication is highly developed, so include the uniform worn out by practitioners. Today, medicinal professional have more than a few diverse choices when selecting out their medicinal uniforms.

"Cotton Surgical Scrubs" are also accessible in a multihued of colors. "BARCO Metro Scrubs" exist in color such as lavender, brown, navy, yellow, pink, & black depending on the blueprint of the article. Additional types of inexpensive medical scrubs & "cheap nursing scrubs" are obtainable in colors such as fuchsia, mint green, peacock & electric blue. Such energetic colors not simply cheer up the vista, but are as well highly possible to cheer up the human being patient.

In totaling to color, "modern scrubs" are also accessible in diverse patterns. This pattern lets medicinal professional define themselves by the kind of medication that they carry out. For instance, those functioning in pediatrics may decide to sport scrubs with storks or clown in print on them. Such a setup might help a worried child feel extra calm in the hospice. Scrubs obtainable in diverse patterns as well let remedial staff express themselves. Patterns such as block, cherries, and circle blended with dissimilar colors help carry some living into a dull scrub.

Change is unavoidable. As machinery improves, the mode people accomplish their big business changes. Anywhere is this idea more factual than in the medicinal profession. Nowadays doctors perform medicine in a different way than did the doctor's of our grandfather's. Providentially for them, they do so in a lot improved looking "cotton scrubs".

Before we come to the practice of health care education, we must know the principles involved. Health care education brings together the art and science of medicine along with the principles and practice of general education. The link is to be found in the social and behavioral sciences which include sociology, psychology and social anthropology.

Health care education can not be 'given' to one person by another. It involves, among other things, the teaching, learning and inclusion of habits concerned with the objective of healthy living.

The definition adopted by World Health Organization in 1969 and the Alma Ata declaration adopted in 1978 provide a useful basis for formulating the aims and objectives of health care education that may be described as -

• To promote the proper use of healthcare service available to the general people.

• To encourage them to adopt and maintain health promoting lifestyle and practices.

• To develop interest, endow with newer knowledge, improve skills and change attitudes in making rational decisions to solve their own problems

• To stimulate the individual and community self-reliance and participation to achieve health development through individual and community involvement at every step from identifying problems to solving them.

The educational objectives are aimed to the group to be taught in the health care educational program. The objectives flow from the health needs which have been discovered or invented. They should be carefully and unambiguously defined in terms of knowledge to be acquired, behavior to be to be acquired or actions to be mastered. They must be pertinent if the program is to be appropriate and successful.

The focus of health education is on people and on action. Its goal is to make realistic improvements in the basic quality of life. Many health education programs hope, in some way, to influence behavior or attitudes. The implication of these newer concepts is that health care education is an integral part of the national health goals. The fact remains that effective health education has the potential for saving many lives than has any one research discovery in the foreseeable future.

We all know that 'Prevention is better than cure'. Health care education will bring us the knowledge how we can prevent the disease before it surfaces in any individual. In the US, more than 130 billion dollars are spent last year to treat the patients suffering from diseases. By paying one fifth of the amount, incidence of many fatal diseases can be prevented. The surplus amount can be spent to another developmental work for the society.

Healthcare educating will make the standard of living better. Therefore, the status of a particular society will be lifted up. Better habitation, living, education, trade will make us a better human being. This is particularly important for the developing countries where there is not enough money to spend treating diseases through modern approach. It is always better to spend some money to healthcare education in order to lift the level of health consciousness among the common people.

Media has been covering a lot of healthcare issues these days as many people are getting affected by health problems. This is perhaps due to the unaffordable healthcare. The expenses of new technologies, treatments, hospitality charges and prescription drugs are raising the costs of healthcare. The increasing costs of healthcare have a major impact on the people and pose a grave threat to the country's economy.

Providing affordable health care and dental care programs for Americans would not be possible in the next coming days due to the uncontrollable rising costs. These escalating costs raise a serious concern over the accessibility and affordability of health care to a common man. Degradation of overall health also poses a major threat to the country's economy. It is the Government that has to take initiatives in creating an effective framework for controlling medical costs and improving the health of all the citizens. This solves the problem to a large extent but as we all know there is no implementation of such policies which would benefit the people.

Media has been covering a lot of healthcare issues these days as many people are getting affected by health problems. This is perhaps due to the unaffordable healthcare. The expenses of new technologies, treatments, hospitality charges and prescription drugs are raising the costs of healthcare. The increasing costs of healthcare have a major impact on the people and pose a grave threat to the country's economy.

Providing affordable health care and dental care programs for Americans would not be possible in the next coming days due to the uncontrollable rising costs. These escalating costs raise a serious concern over the accessibility and affordability of health care to a common man. Degradation of overall health also poses a major threat to the country's economy. It is the Government that has to take initiatives in creating an effective framework for controlling medical costs and improving the health of all the citizens. This solves the problem to a large extent but as we all know there is no implementation of such policies which would benefit the people.