Thanks for visiting the Health o meter® Professional blog! This blog is intended to be an educational resource for the healthcare community and to help create meaningful conversations about the multitude of changes occurring in the medical industry. We encourage you to share blog posts with other healthcare professionals.
The concept of “fat but bit” has long been debated, but a recent study from the University of Birmingham in the UK suggests that no amount of extra weight is good for your heart. Previous studies suggested that individuals with an overweight or obese BMI but were otherwise “metabolically healthy” were not at increased risk of heart disease.
The CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) states that “Before an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) can share in any savings generated, it must demonstrate that it met the quality performance standard for that year.”* One of the quality measures within those performance standards is “ACO-3 CAHPS: Patients’ Rating of Provider”.
The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari has said although the nation has made great strides in healthcare IT, technology is not the only element that helps meet the goals of better patient care, improving Americans’ health and lowering healthcare costs. He says “Patients need to care for themselves and become partners in their care.”
An estimated 70% of the US population is overweight, and the US health system is inundated with patients who suffer from cardiac disease, diabetes and other medical issues caused or impacted by obesity. But physicians face the challenge of sensitively and effectively addressing obesity with their overweight patients.
Medical facilities utilize a multitude of diagnostic devices such as blood pressure cuffs, scales and thermometers. Traditionally, when a patient’s vital signs are taken, the data is written in their chart. But as more facilities are implementing Electronic Medical Records, practitioners are seeing the value of EMR connected medical devices.