Emergency - My Husband Can't Get His Ring Off His Finger!

Active people or people who have physically stressful jobs should remove jewelry during these activities. Many people have been seriously injured and had to have the jewelry cut from them to provide medical care.

Rings can be a very dicey situation if your finger is injured. The best thing to do is lubricate the area around the ring and remove it before the swelling starts. If already swelled try ice and elevation, then lubricate and try removing again. The next step is having a medical professional remove it with a saw.

It is a myth that Titanium rings can not be cut from the finger if necessary. This has stalled some sales to jewelers who sell titanium rings, but it is nothing more that a rumor. The saws used by hospitals remove titanium rings regularly, and with no more trouble than a traditional silver or gold ring.

I have been successful in cutting through all grades of titanium using a Dremel tool using a cut-off disc. For Safety Professionals, ring cutters can be purchased from emergency medical suppliers. If you are prepared with the right tool, proper action can be critical to the injury. Seek professional help as soon as possible.

Jewelers have been known to cut rings off of peoples fingers in the past. This is usually due to a finger outgrowing the ring. It is extremely rare though because jewelers have many secret ways of getting tight rings off of fingers. If they do have to cut it off they can with the standard equipment that they use daily. Yes even titanium.

Never use bolt cutters as it may crimp the ring and lacerate your finger. This information is not intended to take the place of professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of a professional medical adviser in the event of an emergency.

If you have been looking for mens jewelry rings don't be scared to buy titanium. Titanium is a great and trendy choice for rings of all kinds. Titanium is becoming the metal of choice for mens wedding bands and other jewelry. Don't let the many stories scare you away from a stunningly resilient and beautiful metal.

Medical Expense Insurance

If you recall, we explained that there are two broad categories of health insurance policies: disability and medical expense. Thus far we have covered disability. Now we'll take a look at basic medical expense insurance.

Basic medical expense policies provide for medical expenses that result from accidents and sickness. This is a loose term that refers to various medical, hospital and surgical benefits.

The broad category of medical expense coverage provides a wide range of benefits for hospital, surgical and medical care. Other benefits may apply as well, such as private nurses, convalescent care, and more.

Policies may be written as such that they may be limited to only one or two types of coverage like hospital or miscellaneous medical costs or surgical expenses. These are known as basic plans.

Other, more broadly written, policies may cover all expenses resulting from accident or illness using some specific exceptions.

Medical plans include fee-for-service wherein doctors and other providers receive a payment that does not exceed their billed charge for service provided.

Prepaid plans provide medical or hospital benefits in the form of service rather than dollars. Many things need to be considered when selecting a medical expense plan such as:

Specified coverage versus comprehensive care. In other words does the plan feature only specific benefits or is the coverage comprehensive?

Any provider versus a limited number of providers. Are you required to choose from a specific list of providers?

National versus regional operation. Is the plan limited to a specific geographical region or operate nationwide?

Insured versus subscribers. Are participants considered insureds (the person who receives the benefit) or subscribers (the person who is paying the premium)?

We are going to take a look at the limited coverage for hospital, medical and surgical expenses. Discussing this separately first, will help you to understand how the components are combined in major medical and comprehensive policies.

The broad definition of basic medical expense insurance in most states includes hospital, medical and surgical expenses. The purpose of this type of insurance is to cover a broad range of medical, hospital and surgical expenses as well as separate categories of medical expenses.

Let's explore individual versus group coverage.

No matter how a policy is written, narrowly or broadly, medical expense insurance is designed to reimburse for the cost of care whether it results from injury or illness.

Both individual and group policies are available to consumers. Normally individual policies are more costly along with having limited benefits but generally speaking, both types cover the same medical services.

Hospital expense benefits provide for expenses incurred during

hospitalization. Indemnities usually fall under two broad groups:

* Room and board - including nursing care and special dietary requirements

* Miscellaneous medical expenses - including x-rays, lab work, medications, medical supplies and operating and special treatment rooms

In some cases, benefits might be included for certain surgeries and related costs like pain killers given during a hospital stay.

Room and board benefits may be paid based on indemnity or reimbursement depending upon the particular policy. When paid on an indemnity basis, the insurer pays a specified rate per day that has been pre-determined and is laid out in a schedule within the policy.

The schedule will spell out the details of the benefit coverage as it pertains to length of stay. Once the length of stay has been exhausted, no more benefits are available. These are sometimes called dollar amount plans and typically the number of days is from 90 up to 365.

More commonly used is a reimbursement basis, also known as an expenses-incurred basis. With this type of coverage the policy will pay in one of two ways - the actual charges for a semi-private room or a percentage of the actual charges. There are no specific dollar amounts but a maximum number of days will still be specified.

About the author: Alice Lestari is a free writer for Insurance Guide, she is work in insurance company. To learn more about Health Insurance Guide, please visit her site at http://great-healthinsurance.blogspot.com

Purchasing Medical Products & Equipment Online

Ordering medical products online is quick, discreet, and very often more affordable than buying supplies through traditional retailers. Elderly patients who live at home depend upon certain supplies and equipment to help them get through their day. It is these supplies that often allow them to continue living at home without having to resort to nursing home care.

For patients that are confined to a bed, the need arises for such things as adult undergarments for incontinence, lightweight wheelchairs, and patient lifts. These medical products can be expensive, which makes them difficult for those on a fixed budget to afford. If medical insurance won't pay for all or some of these supplies, patients often have to do without, or have to settle for poor quality products.

The good news is that you can purchase medical supplies online, without paying retail prices. There is no need to pay for a membership to a wholesale club and endure the hassle of having to fill out lengthy paperwork. When you surf the Net for wholesale medical products, you will come across some medical suppliers that sell top-quality products at very reasonable prices.

Online retailers who sell medical products tend to carry a host of different supplies for incontinence, including pads, pull-ups, and protective underwear. These undergarments control odor, pull moisture away from the skin, and are not detectable through clothing, so wearers don't have to feel self-conscious. When these undergarments are worn in conjunction with an emollient skin care cream, which acts as a barrier between urine and the skin, the likelihood of a rash or other irritation developing is rare.

While incontinence products are big sellers, they are not the only medical products you can buy online. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you can purchase blood pressure kits via the Web. These kits range in style and price, and which one you choose depends on personal preference and your budget. When you purchase medical products online, you can save money, which may allow you to purchase a higher quality product than you would normally be able to afford.

In addition to being able to afford better quality products, you can rest assured that your privacy will be respected. You don't have to feel embarrassed about ordering certain products when you shop online, which is truly a relief too many people who feel self-conscious walking into a pharmacy to buy incontinence undergarments. Take some time to browse through various medical supply sites to familiarize you with the products available to the public.

ECG Electrodes and Cardiac Care Supplies

If you are looking for a really simple, quick and cheap way to buy ECG electrodes and other ECG products - look online! Said it before and I'll continue to say it -- the online merchandisers can ready up just about any product you could or would ever need or want. The suppliers literally can and will meet all your demands. You just have to do a little looking around and find the rest source. But once you do, you are golden! These sites will have a multitude of medical supplies available for you depending on what you are looking for.

Some stores really will just specialize in ECG electrodes and other ECG products like holders, pads, gels, kits, etc. Other stores will have other products as well - such as a variety store of sorts. All medical supplies all the time. Some of the products that can be found on these sites have been listed below just so you can get a small idea of what's available:

Stable Base Lead-Lok wet gel electrode - The Stable Base Lead-Lok wet gel electrode utilizes our proprietary non-irritating Potassium Chloride gel. For more than 20 years, the Stable Base Lead-Lok electrode set the standards for Holter recordings. Latex Free.

Stress Testing / EECP/ECP / Cardiac Rehab Electrode - Designed for Stress, Cardiac Rehab, EECP/ECP and other diagnostic procedures. Ag/AgC1, high 10% chloride, wet gel electrodes hydrate the skin and provide fast, clean, crisp ECG tracings. Latest technology in aggressive adhesive helps to eliminate base line shift, artifact or noise.

OxyTip Finger Sensors - This OxyTip product line offers the only universal sensor that is compatible with Datex, Ohmeda and future Datex-Ohmeda products.

Telemetry Pouch - The most economical telemetry pouch. It is large enough to accommodate most telemetry transmitters. It is made of white non-woven fabric. It features a soft white neck strap for patient comfort (which can also be used over the shoulder) and a Velcro closure. This telemetry pouch is latex free.

Obviously that is just a small taste of what is yet to come. Again, it depends on what the site sells that you are on and what you need to buy. Just know that whatever suppliers you do need they are available online. Some of these sites even have sample options which will allow you to receive a "kit" of sorts with one of a few products available on their websites. This is helpful for the buyers because you can get a good idea of the materials, cost, and quality of their products. Its like a try it before you buy it option!

Medicare RAC Audits - What Are They and What Do They Mean to Your Practice?

In section 306 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to conduct a 3-year demonstration program using Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) to detect and correct improper payments in the Medicare FFS program.

The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration program was designed to determine whether the use of RACs will be a cost-effective means of adding resources to ensure correct payments are being made to providers and suppliers and, therefore, protect the Medicare Trust Fund. The demonstration operated in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina and California and ended on March 27, 2008.

RACs succeeded in correcting more than $1.03 billion of Medicare improper payments Approximately 96% of these were overpayments collected from providers, while the remaining 4 percent were underpayments repaid to providers.

Section 302 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 makes the RAC Program permanent and requires the Secretary to expand the program to all 50 states by no later than 2010.

According to CMS, the RAC demonstration program has proven to be successful in returning dollars to the Medicare Trust Funds and identifying monies that need to be returned to providers. It has provided CMS with a new mechanism for detecting improper payments made in the past, and has also given CMS a valuable new tool for preventing future payments.

The goal of the recovery audit program is to identify improper payments made on claims of health care services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Improper payments may be overpayments or underpayments. Overpayments can occur when health care providers submit claims that do not meet Medicare's coding or medical necessity policies. Underpayments can occur when health care providers submit claims for a simple procedure but the medical record reveals that a more complicated procedure was actually performed. Health care providers that might be reviewed include hospitals, physician practices, nursing homes, home health agencies, durable medical equipment suppliers and any other provider or supplier that bills Medicare Parts A and B.

It is now more critical than ever that you review your current billing and compliance policies to ensure that you are in line with the regulations required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services so that you can take corrective action immediately if inconsistencies are identified.

Dallas L Alford IV, CPA is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina and owner of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive medical billing services, practice management consulting, coding audits, Medicare compliance, and other general medical practice consulting services.

Are You Getting the Long-Term Care Training You Need?

Long-term care training is crucial now more than ever before. With the OIG and CMS zeroing in on long-term care facilities, you and your staff need to take extra care in getting the training that can mean avoiding fraud, abuse and Stark law problems.

Long-term care training -- specifically in how to prepare for an OIG or CMS compliance audit -- should be your top priority right now. CMS and the OIG are getting generous funding to enhance their Medicare and Medicaid enforcement efforts, with a main focus on long-term care facilities.

Watch Your Quality of Care, Medication Policies
Among the most common long-term care targets are quality-of-care issues, deals with medical directors and suppliers, and medication policies. The OIG and CMS are directing a critical eye toward Stark law violations in long-term care settings. Your long-term care training should focus on these issues, plus the crucial step of creating and properly using a compliance committee.

Of special concern for federal investigators is any deals or contracts you might have with medical directors, doctors and suppliers. You'll need make aggressive efforts to unwind or modify these problematic deals -- before they send up red flags.

What FY 2010 Has in Store for SNF PPS
Your long-term care training should also encompass coding, billing and related compliance issues. Medicare's final rule on the Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) has a plethora of changes in store for your coding and billing.

When planning your long-term care training on these coding, billing and compliance issues, keep in mind these major changes to the SNF PPS:

• The RUG IV system will replace the current RUG III system;
• FY 2010 payment rates will include a 2.1-percent market basket increase, but the adjustments will result in a negative rate update worth hundreds of millions of dollars;
• MDS 3.0 will be implemented; and
• The ADL scoring range will change to 0 to 16 instead of 4 to 18.

Incorporate these major issues with your fraud, abuse and Stark law education in your long-term care training to keep your facility out of trouble and running smoothly.

Audioeducator offers coding and billing conferences and advanced Learning Opportunities for Healthcare Executives, for long-term care training, impact of healthcare customer choice through all types of exceptional series of training CD's, DVD's & Tapes.

Lifesaving Miniature Emergency Alert For Elderly

According to The New England Journal of Medicine: "One out of every 3 people over the age of 65 will fall this year. 28% of these individuals die due to help not arriving quick enough. Only 38% of those who do survive the trauma return to living independently." According to the National Safety Council, most falls occur while performing everyday tasks and activities of daily living, with 54% of all falls happening in their own home. Both the National Institute of Health (NIS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) comment on the use of medical alert systems as a solution for older seniors prone to falls. The key for anyone living home alone is the ability to get help quickly. Freedom Alert's emergency pendant ensures communication with loved ones and emergency services with no monthly fees.

The new Freedom Alert has two features that make it stand out as truly innovative in the market place. First, is that it's the world's smallest two-way voice communicator; and second is that it requires no monthly fees.

Another unique feature of Freedom Alert's technology was the introduction of the two-way speakerphone pendant. While other devices on the market require a person to shout across the house to a speakerphone box to communicate to the monitoring station, the new technology put the speakerphone right in the miniature pendant. You can be anywhere in or around your home and communicate effortlessly.

On July 1st, 2009 Freedom Alert will be available for online purchasing. The user has no monthly fees to pay, and the user talks directly through the miniature speakerphone pendant. The true innovation of this device is that the user can program up to four numbers into the base unit. When the pendant panic button is pushed - the first number is dialed. If no one answers - the second number is automatically dialed, etc. Should no one answer after all the programmed numbers have been attempted - then Freedom Alert will dial 911 to guarantee a response. Once someone is reached, communication occurs right through the speakerphone pendant. No shouting across the house to the speakerphone box.

Use these four programmable numbers to contact family and friends. With the Freedom Alert, these contacts are just a push button away when the person is anywhere in their home or even in their yard. The pendant can operate up to 600 ft away from the base station. The base station plugs into any standard phone jack in the home. The pendant can be worn on a neck lanyard, on the included belt clip or the included wrist-strap.

Freedom Alert's has a one time purchase of only $299. This means affordable care for anyone living alone is finally available. For more information on Freedom Alert Personal Emergency Response System or other Medical Supplies or medical equipment, visit SHOPMASH online store.

Dale Sprayberry is a Director of eCommerce at MASH, Inc - a privately-owned company. It is one of the largest and most technologically advanced independently owned suppliers of medical supplies, medical accessories and medical equipment for caregivers, patients, seniors and healthcare professional. Visit shopmash.com for more details.

Cardiology and Surgical Equipment

U.S. surgical & cardiology suppliers manufacture medical equipment such as electrocardiographs, dialysis machines, ultrasonic therapeutic appliances and pacemakers for hospitals.

The market for surgical and cardiology equipment is growing

The total market size of imported cardiology and surgical equipment in 2001 was $89 million, $60 million in cardiology equipment and $29 million in surgical equipment. Cardiology special procedures equipment represents the largest and fastest growing product segment, according to "The U.S. Market for Diagnostic Radiology Equipment."

Local production, which consists of equipment parts and accessories, was valued at $3 million, two-thirds of which were exported to various parts of the world. Imports accounted for 99% of total cardiology and surgical equipment, while local production is an insignificant 1%. Annual growth in the next three years will be from 5 to 10 percent. Factors that influence demand are hospital expansion and upgrading, Department of Health projects, and population growth.

American medical product suppliers are strong in this sector, and U.S. products enjoy a good reputation with Filipino doctors who prefer U.S. medical equipment and supplies. Any U.S. supplier interested in the local market should appoint a local distributor. Products that present high sales potential for U.S. suppliers are high-value, low-volume, and high-tech products like electrocardiographs, dialysis machines, ultrasonic therapeutic appliances and pacemakers.

What are the causes of the growing market?

One reason for the growth in cardiology special procedures equipment is the dramatic increase in preventative procedures, such as angioplasty, and the resulting increase in angiography procedures, the report said. More cardiologists also have become skilled in performing intervention procedures.

Looking to find a rewarding employment opportunity in the health care field? Find information about medical billing careers, general surgery residency openings, medical office staffing, hospital internship and volunteer opportunities & nursing job vacancies - New York Hospital Staffing is your source for health care career opportunities in New York

Supply Chain Management - The Backbone of Service Economy

The percentage of output from service economy indicates whether a country is a developed country or a developing one. Developed countries often posses healthy and strong service industry. The backbone of many service operations are Supply Chain Management or SCM. If you frequent Wal-Mart and wonder how they can offer quality products at low price, you’ll eventually lead to a term “supply chain management”. In simpler terms, supply chain management generally makes a business run smoother by cooperation across different functional departments in an extended enterprise environment that includes the company, it‘s suppliers and distributors. Wal-Mart has been a pioneer in supply chain management.

A supply chain system consists of supply chain management software, hardware to run the systems, planning, execution and o processes etc.. The implementation of supply chain is a major undertaken, however the success execution of supply chain management has the ability to create a sustainable competitive advantage over the competitors. The implementation of supply chain involves with the strategic planning, system analysis, supply chain implementation and supply chain coordination. Generally, SCM software contains features that allow companies to manage inventory, plan production, track sales, handle payments, and see where their shipments are. All of this information also can be used to communicate with other partners. The core of SCM software is inventory or demand forecast developed from the inventory management practice.

The advantages of SCM are enormous - increased coordination between suppliers, distributors and partners, enhanced customer relationship, and reduced cost of operation.

For a company in medical services that distributes medical and surgical supplies to medical practitioners and home health care industry, a supply chain management system will coordinate with the manufacturers of the medical suppliers, the retailers, the logistical department of major hospitals. By keeping tracking of the usage patterns, the supply chain management system will be able to forecast the demand of medical/surgical products by seasons, by regions and by customer types. This will save the inventory cost for the medical service company and major hospitals that order the medical supplies.

For a large retailer like Wal-Mart, it has many regional distribution centers, a supply chain management system will effective coordinate between suppliers of clothes, paper products and Wal-Mart’s retail stores to reduce the inventory cost. Wal-Mart is able to pass the saving of inventory cost to customers so it can offer lower prices for many everyday products. The backbone of many service operations are Supply Chain Management or SCM.

Natalie Aranda writes on business and information technology. The backbone of many service operations are Supply Chain Management or SCM. The advantages of SCM are enormous - increased coordination between suppliers, distributors and partners, enhanced customer relationship, and reduced cost of operation. For a company in medical services that distributes medical and surgical supplies to medical practitioners and home health care industry, a supply chain management system will coordinate with the manufacturers of the medical suppliers, the retailers, the logistical department of major hospitals. By keeping tracking of the usage patterns, the supply chain management software will be able to forecast the demand of medical/surgical products by seasons, by regions and by customer types.

Medical Office Supplies

Most healthcare organizations will agree--the responsibility for ordering medical supplies has grown more complex and time-intensive than ever before. Doctors and professionals that bill insurance, HMO’s or Medicare & Medicaid know how the payment cycle of the industry works. Basically, hurry up and wait, is the call of the day. It is not uncommon for a medical professional to send a bill to an insurance company and has to wait 30, 90 or even 120 days before they get paid. In the meantime, the office needs to pay employees and suppliers.

When you hear the term "office supplies," you usually think of products such as pens, paper, paperclips, and staples. Everyone always forgets that the office & cleaning supplies used in offices are also considered part of the Medical supply category. The cleaning supplies used in the office can include dusters, vacuum cleaners, rags, and cleaning solvents for desks and computer monitors. These products are a necessary part of a business. Even with their high level of importance, these products are usually under appreciated, as well as often forgotten.

The reason these products are generally forgotten is because cleaning is usually seen as a lower form of work. People who work in an office are generally all highly educated and have a certain status symbol. People who work in the cleaning industry are usually seen as simple laborers who do not have a high level of education. When people think of office workers, they usually think of the person wearing a suit working in cubicle using the computer. People generally will not even think about those who come in and keep the office clean.

For starters, there is the furniture we use for our work. There are more kinds of furniture for work purposes than we probably need. But then again, maybe we do. Take your standard desk. Well, maybe not so standard. There are many kinds of desks. Desks with drawers, desks without drawers, which are primarily made simply to keep stuff on. What kind of stuff? All kinds. Printers, computers, fax machines, telephones, and the list go on and on.

Of course desks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are rectangular desks, square desks; oval or circular desks which are used mostly for those company meetings. There are big desks that can span half a room and small desks that can fit in the corner. Then of course your have your L shaped desks so that you and a co worker can work together without getting in each other's way. The variety of medical office supplies available is endless. A proper fit for every customer is available.

Looking to find a rewarding employment opportunity in the health care field? Find information about medical billing careers, general surgery residency openings, medical office staffing, hospital internship and volunteer opportunities & nursing job vacancies - New York Hospital Staffing is your source for health care career opportunities in New York