What exactly are NDEs? Some consider them simply hallucinations while others spiritual experiences. Is it Proof of life after death? Or are they simply chemical changes in the brain and sensory organs in the moments prior to death? Read More >>

Diabetes is a medical condition of elevated blood glucose or sugar levels. There are different ways for a person to develop diabetes. Read More >>

Arrhythmia is the term given to an irregular heartbeat. In healthy hearts, the electrical charge the causes the normal heartbeat, originates from a group of specialized cells referred to as a node. This “pacemaker” site is located in the left upper heart chamber called the left atrium. Read More >>

A stress test is the generic term for a test to determine if one has blocked coronary arteries. As the name implies, it is basically a treadmill walker, similar the ones at gyms, or perhaps even your home, that is gradually accelerated and elevated in 3 minute intervals for the effect of speeding up or ?stressing? your cardiovascular system, specifically the heart. Read More >>

What is cholesterol? What do you think it is or means and how do we get it? Well? “Cholesterol” is a component of the several kinds of fat in our blood. Frequently however, it is a generic term used to refer to all the fats in our blood. Read More >>

Exercise Guide for the Patient You must begin to incorporate some type of physical activity into your everyday life. You need to start getting used to exercising, as it is by far, the best medicine! Read More >>

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Study says patient-centered care tied to lower costs, better outcomes By Rebecca Vesely Posted: June 26, 2011 - 12:01 am ET Tags: Costs, Patient Care, Physicians, Research A good bedside manner not only puts patients at ease, but also it can help lower medical costs and reduce unnecessary medical interventions, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Physicians who engage in personalized discussions with patients and urge them to take a more active role in their own treatment—known as “patient-centered care”— produce better outcomes and fewer frivolous and costly tests and specialist referrals, researchers at the University of California at Davis said. The authors studied the interactions between physicians and 500 new adult patients over a year by videotaping sessions and analyzing the discussions. They found that the number of specialty-care visits, hospitalizations and diagnostic tests were lower among the patients who received patient-centered care. For instance, total median annual charges for patients with patient-centered visits was $948, compared to median annual charges of $1,435 for patients who received less patient-centered care, according to the study. Patient-centered care can result in patients and providers having more confidence that they reached the correct diagnosis and hit upon a good strategy for health improvement, the authors said. “Patient-centered care has been identified by the Institute of Medicine as one of the key actions for improving our nation's health,” said Dr. Klea Bertakis, principal investigator of the study and professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Family and Community Medicine, in a news release. “Our study shows that including patients in more of the treatment and care-planning discussion is not only the right thing to do, it is also cost-effective.” Read More >>