Archive for category Preventive Medicine
Preventive Medicine for Your Health
Posted by admin in Preventive Medicine, Private Health on January 19, 2012
The new Health Care Reform law adopted by Congress requires insurance companies to provide complete coverage for preventive medicine. This means that your insurer has to pay for annual check-ups and cancer screenings and cannot charge you a copay or deductible. The purpose is to try and discover health problems early which will make the treatment more effective and save money in the long run.
There is a long list of screening procedures which will be completely covered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. They include screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer and colon cancer. A mammogram can reveal the early stages of breast cancer and alert doctors before the disease spreads to other parts of the body making treatment much more difficult. A colonoscopy is performed to try and detect cancer of the colon. The procedure is very effective at finding pre-cancerous polyps that can be removed before they become cancerous. A colonoscopy is recommended for everyone over 50.
The new law also requires complete coverage for tests that will determine cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar. Heart disease and stroke are two of the top killers in the United States and identifying people who might be at risk for developing these problems will help them get treatment to avoid a heart attack. In addition to those procedures, the law also states that insurers must cover examinations for things like depression, alcohol abuse and obesity. Read the rest of this entry »
Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture – The Best Form of Preventive Medicine
Posted by admin in Acupuncture, Preventive Medicine on January 19, 2012
Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture are first and foremost a preventive type of medicine. But in our Western culture we don’t go to see our doctor until we are sick. I am yet to meet anyone that says to me, “I don’t feel well, I am going to see my acupuncturist”. What we usually get at our clinic are people that have tried everything else and nothing has helped. And now they are willing to try anything, even Acupuncture. I am not complaining, I get to prove how well Acupuncture and Chinese medicine work when I treat someone with a complicated condition, that even Western medicine has not been able to help. But a common comment I hear from my patients is, ” I wish I had known that Acupuncture and Chinese medicine could have helped my condition, before it got so bad….”
It is lack of information that makes people wait until it is to late to prevent disease. We are not in tune with our own bodies, and we pay dearly for it. I believe that the way Chinese medicine looks at health can help give us a better hold on the prevention aspects of Medicine.
In Chinese Medicine health is described as the free, harmonious movement of Qi (pronounced Chee). This system of describing health is one of the first things a Chinese Doctor learns. And it can help you determine if there is a need for medical treatment with acupuncture, herbs, massage or conventional medicine. Read the rest of this entry »