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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 602 blog entries.

Finding Your Balance Could Lower Your Risk of Death

2024-03-28T20:58:01-04:00July 5th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Physical Health, Staying Healthy|

A new study out of Brazil shows that being able to stand on one leg for at least 10 seconds is linked to having a lower risk of death over the next seven years. Researchers have found that people who were middle-aged or older who could not perform the 10-second standing test were almost four times as likely to die of any cause in the coming years. While it has been known that falls are a major cause of injury and death worldwide, this new study has shed light on falls not being the only problem of having poor balance. Improving [...]

Just how accurate are rapid antigen tests? Two testing experts explain the latest data

2024-03-28T20:58:02-04:00July 1st, 2022|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Staying Healthy, Uncategorized|Tags: |

Once in short supply, rapid antigen tests are now available throughout the U.S. Nathaniel Hafer, UMass Chan Medical School and Apurv Soni, UMass Chan Medical School As of May 2022, the U.S. is experiencing another uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases. High rates of infection in Europe and Asia, along with the continued emergence of new sub-variants, such as omicron BA.4 and BA.5, raise concerns that another surge could be on the way. Even though demand for COVID-19 tests greatly overwhelmed supply earlier in the pandemic, rapid home tests are more available today. While home tests provide a quick, [...]

Value-Based Health Care & Medicare – Weighing the Pros and Cons

2024-03-28T20:58:03-04:00June 14th, 2022|Categories: Costs for Treatment, eNews, Medication, Treatment|

Value-based care has become a hot topic in the health care industry. The model of paying providers bonuses for better patient health outcomes and penalizing them for poor outcomes may seem like a great idea and one that would encourage a more holistic approach to patient care. Some health care experts have concerns about what this means for people on Medicare Advantage (MA), though; specifically, there may be more focus on costs and less focus on quality. Janice Horowitz, author of Health Your Self, has three primary concerns when it comes to value-based care in MA plans: Restrictions on where you [...]

Medicare Surprise: Drug Plan Prices Touted During Open Enrollment Can Rise Within a Month

2024-03-28T20:58:04-04:00June 6th, 2022|Categories: Costs for Treatment, eNews, Medication|

By Susan Jaffe May 3, 2022 Something strange happened between the time Linda Griffith signed up for a new Medicare prescription drug plan during last fall’s enrollment period and when she tried to fill her first prescription in January. She picked a Humana drug plan for its low prices, with help from her longtime insurance agent and Medicare’s Plan Finder, an online pricing tool for comparing a dizzying array of options. But instead of the $70.09 she expected to pay for her dextroamphetamine, used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, her pharmacist told her she owed $275.90. “I didn’t pick it up because [...]

Blood Sugar Testing to Manage Type 2 Diabetes in Patients Who Don’t Need Insulin

2024-03-28T20:58:05-04:00June 1st, 2022|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

Checking your blood sugar daily may not help you manage your type 2 diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, it’s important to keep the amount of glucose, or sugar, in your blood at a healthy level. Many patients check their blood sugar at home each day. Patients place a drop of blood from their fingertip onto a test strip; then they insert the strip into a home glucose meter. This test measures your blood sugar level at that moment. People who use insulin check their blood sugar often so that they know how much insulin to take. But if [...]

Advocate for Your Health!

2024-03-28T20:58:06-04:00May 27th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Treatment|

Written by Orlando A. Torres, a DPC Patient Ambassador from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Last year, I participated in my first Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) virtual Fly-In. DPC is an advocacy organization that represents all kidney patients in our community. The Fly-In was a virtual event where kidney patients, along with DPC staff, and other advocates, engaged in conversations with Congress members and their staffers in relation to new legislation to benefit renal patients. We discussed the concept of the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act that extended Medicare coverage of life saving immunosuppressive medications for the [...]

Telehealth with a Mental Health Professional: What to Know Before You Start

2024-03-28T20:58:07-04:00May 5th, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stress Management|

By Kirsten Weir If you or a family member are managing chronic kidney disease, you’re probably thinking a lot about physical health—the health of the kidney and the rest of the body. Caring for your mental health is just as important. And with telehealth options that let you see a mental health professional from your home, it’s more convenient than ever. “The increased availability and acceptance of telehealth might be one of the few positive changes to come out of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” says Amy Walters, PhD, a clinical health psychologist and the director of Behavioral Health Services for St. Luke's [...]

Exercise for Both Physical and Mental Health

2024-03-28T20:58:08-04:00May 2nd, 2022|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Physical Health|

It is well known that exercise is important to maintain physical health, but new studies have shown that the benefits of exercise extend to mental health as well. Researchers looked at 15 existing studies that contain data on exercise and depression and have found a correlation between depression risk and physical activity. Even when someone wasn’t exercising as intensely or as often as advised by the US Department of Health and Human Services, there were still significant mental health benefits. The 15 studies used, which included over 191,000 participants total, found that people who did half the recommended amount of physical [...]

DPC’s State Advocacy Efforts Flourish with Elevated Voice of DPC Patient Ambassadors

2024-03-28T20:58:09-04:00April 25th, 2022|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Kidney Transplant, The Kidney Citizen, Uncategorized|

Image: Medigap champion Kentucky State Rep. Tom Burch and Elizabeth Lively, DPC Eastern Region Advocacy Director By Kelly Goss, J.D., LL.M., Western Region Advocacy Director and Elizabeth Lively, Eastern Region Advocacy Director, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) It’s been a busy start in 2022 for DPC’s state advocacy efforts. Many states are holding shorter legislative sessions due to the upcoming primary elections, and several bills impacting dialysis patients have been introduced and are moving quickly through the legislative process. Legislation to expand Medigap access has been introduced in Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Improving access [...]

Falling by the Wayside? Falls Prevention in Dialysis

2024-03-28T20:58:10-04:00April 25th, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, Fact Sheet, Physical Health, The Kidney Citizen|

By Laura Plantinga, PhD, Bernard Jaar, MD, MPH, and C. Barrett Bowling, MD, MSPH Why are dialysis patients at particular risk for falls? Studies show that approximately one-quarter of dialysis patients fall every year, meaning that they are about three times more likely to fall in any given year, compared to the general population. While older age certainly plays a role, there are several other factors that put dialysis patients — regardless of age — at higher risk for falls. In fact, most falls probably result from a combination of factors, usually a combination of long-term “predisposing” risk factors [...]

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