Would you leave the hospital before your doctor says you are ready?
It’s not something that I’d do.
But according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, it’s becoming a common occurence as more and more people check out against medical advice.
In fact, in 2007 368,000 patients walked out on their doctor.
So why did they leave?
Turns out that the majority of those who left were uninsured or on Medicaid.
 
They were also more likely to be…

Male: Men left hospital against advice at a rate of 1.5 per 1,000 population, compared with 0.9 for 1,000 women. In contrast, women were more likely to …read more

Emergency Rooms account for nearly half of all hospital admissions so it’s not surprising that it turns into a waiting game for most patients.
A new report released today by Press Ganey Associates has found that there has been a 27 minute increase in waiting time in ER nationwide since 2002.
The report, ”2009 Emergency Department Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care”, which analysed the experiences of almost 1.4 million patients who were treated in 1,725 Emergency Departments during 2008.

Interesting facts from the report include…
South Dakota has the lowest total time spent in the emergency department (3 hours, 52 minutes) …read more

What do you do when someone you love is in need of a heart and healthcare red tape is getting in the way? Well, if you are former CNN reporter Veronica De La Cruz,  you use Twitter and other social media networks to get the word out.
Veronica’s brother Eric is suffering from severe cardiomyopathy (a disease that enlarges the heart and makes it incapable of pumping blood effectively) and  desperately needs a heart transplant. But because he registered for Medicaid in a state (Nevada) that has no transplant center, authorities will not put him on a list for a heart …read more

Everyone’s more at risk of catching meningitis in the wintertime, so now would be a good time to refresh your knowledge about meningitis – what it is, signs and symptoms, and what to do about it – with these two quizzes and an interactive puzzle created Meningitis UK.

Meningitis UK, Test Your Knowledge of Meningitis Quiz

I thought I knew quite a lot about the disease but only scored 5 out of 9 on the first quiz and 6 out of 8 on the second. But because it’s an interactive site, I quickly get to find out where I was wrong and …read more

 
 
 
It’s Healthbolt Carnival Time again. So grab a coffee and start clicking…

Madeleine Begun Kane from Mad Kane’s Humor Blog entertains us with Multi-Task Madness.

Orna Ross suggests people should F-R-E-E-Write Your Way to Wellness?.

To help you learn more about the Vegan lifestyle, Piotr Stepien from we overstep provides a list of Inspiring Vegan Links.

C. Myers from Mind Mart suggests several natural remedies for Boils in Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble.

Tami Blodgett from Online Wellness: A Safe Haven offers a review of the book FAMILY MATTERS the Soul of a Family.

Dan Abshear from Informaproject reports on The Power Of Bacteria.

myln from ManageYourLifeNow.com …read more

It’s something that we all know is possible. It’s also something that we all think won’t happen to us. So here’s a cautionary tale from a University of Alabama student to remind us that although developing a blood clot is a rare side effect of taking birth control, it is one that can occur.
Birth Control Has Side Effects: I Should Know
by
Caitlin from the University of Alabama
As college students, we pretty much think of ourselves as invincible, I know I certainly have. Until recently that is. I’ve been in car accidents, including one where my car hydroplaned off a cliff. I’ve drank …read more

Check out this new slim, sleek, rechargeable sonic toothbrush from Oral-B. 
It’s just the type of present my dentist would like to see everyone get for  Christmas.
The fact sheet states that the lightweight Oral B Pulsonic toothbrush offers maximum maneuverability while providing more than 27,000 gentle sonic vibrations per minute. That’s a whole lot of teeth cleaning with minimum effort. And you don’t even have to think about how long you’ve been brushing for – there’s a timer that activates when the recommended two minute brushing time has been reached. Plus there’s an additional professional timer signals at 30-second intervals …read more

With the Democratic National Convention this week and the Republican National Convention next week, it’s almost impossible to avoid all the political talk, comments, and advertisements.
So I’ve decided if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them.
In the spirit of providing fair and balanced (isn’t that what all the news channels are claiming they are doing) coverage, here’s Healthbolt’s list of healthcare election resources…
WebMD claims that they have cut through the clutter with their Health Matters in the 2008 Election. It’s a comprehensive report on both Obama’s and McCain’s Health Platforms, a side-by-side comparison chart of the where the …read more

If your medicine cabinet is like most people’s, it’s harboring all kinds of unused or outdated meds like antibiotics and pain-killers.
Instead of dumping them in the trash or toilet, consider donating them to Flying Doctors or Aid for AIDS, where volunteer medical teams headed to Mexico or Central America will be able to make good use of them.
While the meds may not be 100% potent or effective, the mere presence of any kind of medical intervention for those who have no other options may just save a life. A pretty great alternative to wasting, no?
Thanks in advance for your …read more

Most of us know the importance of being familiar with our family’s health history. In fact, there is nary a doctor’s office visit where we’re not grilled on the diseases/afflictions that run through our gene pool.
But sometimes it’s hard to remember it all, and sometimes we just don’t know all there is to know about Gram and Gramps, right?
Well now there may be a viable solution: MyFamilyHealth.com.
From the company, here are some of the benefits:

MyFamilyHealth.com is the most advanced online family health history tracking tool and compliant with the latest recommendations from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The …read more