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Turner Publishing Company - David Nganele

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181 pages

English

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A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

You can afford the care you need.

If you're one of the millions who suffer from medical conditions such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, you know that these illnesses can, over time, cause extreme financial hardship. In this timely, thorough resource, Dr. David Nganele helps you identify the drugs, programs, hospitals, and strategies that will significantly reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. You'll discover how you can better afford your healthcare without losing out on quality of care. This reassuring guide provides hope and relief from one of the most stressful aspects of dealing with a serious illness. Whether you have health insurance or not, if you have to deal with medical costs, this book will become a significant source of financial relief.
Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

PART ONE: WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE SHOULD BE.

1. Healthcare Costs: Where They Come From and Who Pays for Them.

2. How Not to Get Sick: Primary Prevention.

PART TWO: PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

3. Prescription Drugs and Healthcare Cost.

4. Saving on Prescription Drugs When You Have Drug Coverage.

5. Prescription Drugs at No Cost or Low Cost: With or Without Insurance.

PART THREE: OTHER AREAS OF HEALTHCARE COST.

6. Physician Services.

7. Institutional Care: Hospitals and Nursing Home.

8. Employment and Family Issues.

PART FOUR: MANAGING THE COST OF COMMON CHRONIC DISEASES.

9. Alzheimer's Disease.

10. Arthritis.

11. Asthma.

12. Cancer.

13. Depression and Anxiety.

14. Diabetes.

15. Heart Disease.

16. HIV and AIDS.

17. Osteoporosis.

APPENDICES.

Appendix A: Directory of State Health and Insurance Agencies.

Appendix B: Directory of Drug Companies' Patient Assistance Programs.

Appendix C: Directory of Some Internet Pharmacies.

Appendix D: Directory of Some Discount Pharmacy Programs.

Index.

Sujets

Health Care Issues

Health

Fitness

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	08 mars 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780470653197
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0850€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The Best Healthcare for Less
Save Money on Chronic Medical Conditions and Prescription Drugs
D AVID N GANELE, P H.D.
Copyright 2003 by David Nganele. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, email: permcoordinator@wiley.com.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Nganele, David, date.
The best healthcare for less : save money on chronic medical conditions and prescription drugs / David Nganele.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-21849-9 (paper)
1. Medical care, Cost of-United States. 2. Medicine, Popular. 3. Medicine, Preventive. [DNLM: 1. Health Care Costs. 2. Prescriptions, Drug-economics. 3. Health
Expenditures. QV 736 N576b 2003] I. Title: Save money on chronic medical conditions and prescription drugs. II. Title.
RA410.53 N54 2003
338.4'33621'0973-dc21 2002153263
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART ONE Where We Are and Where We Should Be
1 Healthcare Costs: Where They Come From and Who Pays for Them
2 How Not to Get Sick: Primary Prevention
PART TWO Prescription Drugs
3 Prescription Drugs and Healthcare Cost
4 Saving on Prescription Drugs When You Have Drug Coverage
5 Prescription Drugs at No Cost or Low Cost:With or Without Insurance
PART THREE Other Areas of Healthcare Cost
6 Physician Services
7 Institutional Care: Hospitals and Nursing Homes
8 Employment and Family Issues
PART FOUR Managing the Cost of Common Chronic Diseases
9 Alzheimer s Disease
10 Arthritis
11 Asthma
12 Cancer
13 Depression and Anxiety
14 Diabetes
15 Heart Disease
16 HIV and AIDS
17 Osteoporosis
Appendixes
A PPENDIX A Directory of State Health and Insurance Agencies
A PPENDIX B Directory of Drug Companies Patient Assistance Programs
A PPENDIX C Directory of Some Internet Pharmacies
A PPENDIX D Directory of Some Discount Pharmacy Programs
Index
Foreword
The medical establishment has devoted a great deal of time to discussing healthcare disparities. There is a significant disparity between the insured, who have full comprehensive health coverage, and the underinsured, such as the elderly, who often have no pharmacy benefits. One could say the underinsured have enough insurance to die on but not enough insurance to live on. A lot of individuals with health insurance still have considerable out-of-pocket medical expenses for such things as copays and deductibles. As a society, we must find ways to close these healthcare gaps through political action and, more important, by educating the population at large on the best ways to negotiate the healthcare maze.
The real issue now comes down to this question: Where do we look for answers to the problem of obtaining better healthcare? Fortunately, my friend and collaborator, David Nganele, Ph.D., has given us hope in his book The Best Healthcare for Less . This is a wonderful guide for any patient or healthcare provider who needs to survive the high cost of healthcare. The timing of this publication is such that those who work in the healthcare industry must take notice. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that physicians feel that health maintenance organizations and the managed care industry have decreased the quality of healthcare in the United States. The author is very astute in starting his book with a description of healthcare costs and where they come from. He uses a healthcare cost pyramid to illustrate the proportion of money spent at the different levels of healthcare. The healthcare cost pyramid shows how the present healthcare system often expends a small portion of its resources on prevention and huge amounts on what is at least partially preventable expensive hospital and nursing home care. Dr. Nganele then goes on to write about the most cost-effective care of all, preventative care.
One of the real strengths of the book lies in chapters 3, 4, and 5, which include a user-friendly flowchart for saving on prescription drugs. The author has a wealth of firsthand experience in the pharmaceutical industry, which makes his work in these chapters unparalleled. His use of case illustrations makes it easy for readers to apply the information to their own particular situations. But the greatest strength of these chapters may be that they provide information on cost savings for all consumers whether they are insured or not. The reader who desires more information will find a vast array of web sites, telephone numbers, and addresses to use as resources. The recent explosion of direct consumer advertising will cause the section on generic versus brand-name medication to be especially useful for the reader.
Because knowledge is power, the sections on the other areas of healthcare costs in chapters 6, 7, and 8 should give both patients and healthcare providers a good understanding of where one can effectively direct cost-cutting initiatives in healthcare without reducing services or quality. Importantly, the author also provides vital information on choosing a hospital, a physician, or a nursing home. In chapter 8, Dr. Nganele addresses employment and family issues, which are significantly affected by chronic illness. The literature shows that the great majority of the healthcare dollars spent on individuals are in the last years of life. We must all become familiar with the section on living wills and durable power of attorney, otherwise our elderly population will often receive procedures they don t need or will be denied services they should have access to, because of our ignorance about these issues.
In part four of his work, the author devotes entire chapters to individual diseases: Alzheimer s disease, arthritis, asthma, cancers, depression and anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, HIV and AIDs, and osteoporosis. The recent dramatic increase in the proportion of Americans over 65 years of age makes the chapter on Alzheimer s disease mandatory reading for everyone. Since I have a special interest in hypertension, I can highly recommend Dr. Nganele s chapter on heart disease, which gives a comprehensive yet concise explanation of how to work with your doctor to lower your blood pressure and decrease your risk of heart disease.
As a person who has seen the dramatic effect that mental illness can have on an entire family firsthand, I know that the chapter on depression and anxiety will be an invaluable resource for families who have previously known only frustration and despair. The high cost of managing HIV and AIDS now can easily exceed $20,000 per year. The author reveals that 20 percent of infected patients are not covered by health insurance. This book provides a solid overview of a very complex disease while offering a good reference list for those who want to obtain more information.
The appendixes found at the end of the book actually provide a state-specific list of pharmacy assistance programs and other health associations, which can be used to obtain assistance on prescription drugs and other resources. The tables are well organized and should bring clarity to an often-confusing process. The Internet addresses should also allow the consumer convenient online shopping. Lastly, it is important to note that the author does not neglect complementary and alternative medicine in this publication.
The U.S. healthcare system has been a leader in developing revolutionary and innovative technology, which often provides high-quality healthcare to a more elite few but does not address the needs of many others. One can only hope that the true value of primary prevention will be realized before our healthcare crisis becomes a healthcare catastrophe. This book is a positive step in helping to deal with the healthcare cost crisis.

Wallace Johnson, M.D. Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Medicine University of Maryland Scho