Summary: Falls are a serious health concern for millions of Americans. Some risk factors for falls include mobility difficulties, depression, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and hearing loss. Tips for avoiding falls include getting annual physical exams, consuming diets with adequate amounts of calcium and Vitamin D, not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, exercise, keeping homes safe from hazards, and wearing shoes with no-skid soles.

Comment: Every year more than 11 million Americans fall and injure themselves, resulting in 368,000 hip fractures last year. Seniors and those at risk for falls should follow the tips and guidelines issued to prevent falls. Making small changes in lifestyle can protect those with Parkinson's disease from falls and injuries.

Summary: A healthy lifestyle is the key to treating, preventing, or lessening the effects of almost every disease and condition. These ten tips are designed to help build a healthier body and lifestyle.

Comment: Tips include: walking 20 to 30 minutes a day, for weight loss, eating "black" foods, such as black mushrooms or licorice, to prevent cancer, heart disease, and slow aging, and preventing dimensia by treating hypertension.

Summary: When the economy goes into a recession money for prescription drugs can be cut. This is dangerous for your health, so tips are provided to spend less on your prescriptions. The tips include choosing generics, checking online, using a discount program, mail-order medications, and shopping around.

Comment: Parkinson's disease medications can be expensive, yet they are very important to your health. Using half of the prescribed amount, or skipping doses, can be very dangerous and even ineffective towards treating the condition. Taking dangerous steps to save money, such as sharing a prescription, can be avoided if the patients follow the tips and are smart about their prescriptions.

Summary: The American Heart Association and American College of Sports Medicine have established guidelines recommending 30 minutes of moderate daily activity for adults. Among older adults, experts have found that leisure activities that keep people engaged and physically active help to promote a healthier life and help prevent many diseases linked to aging. Ballroom dancing, for example, develops movement and balance, keeps the mind active, and requires participants to be emotionally engaged. Other suggested forms of movement are gardening, yoga, water aerobics, and tai chi.

Comment: The most beneficial leisure activities are those are intellectual, physical, spiritual, social, and purposeful. In fact, any purposeful movement, even as simple as playing the Nintendo Wii, provide significant benefits to elderly people over more sedentary activities.

Summary: According to a series of studies, optimists enjoy better health than pessimists. But people who are healthy are likely to have a brighter outlook than people who are ill. So scientists adjusted their analyses to account for pre-existing medical conditions and found that existing illnesses do not tarnish the benefits of optimism.

Comment: One explanation may be that optimists lead healthier lifestyles. Or it could be that optimism has biological benefits.

Summary: The April 2008 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch explains how to understand medical advice that seems to change from day to day: 1) Know the differences between types of research. 2) Focus on results published in respected medical journals. 3) Don't get frustrated by contradicting research. 4) Fit each piece of information into the larger puzzle.

Comment: Given the variety of sources for medical information and the amount of research data released every data, it can be overwhelming to try to understand what the latest news really means. The practical philosophy suggested by Harvard medical staffers may be conservative, but it is also the safest and most reliable approach to adopting new medical ideas.

Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just awarded $38.1 million to develop systems to exchange patient data between healthcare providers and payers, including the government. A recent statement from the Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC) condemned this as a violation of a patient's Fourth Amendment privacy rights, accusing the government of "surreptitiously conducting research and 'sentinel surveillance'" amounting to what CCHC president Twila Brase calls "unreasonable search and seizure."

Comment: Ms. Brase's concerns about patient privacy are reasonable, but her accusations inflate and skew the real value and intent of exchanging patient records. Regional health information exchanges have been proposed in many states for the purpose of improving the quality and efficiency of health care, making it possible for healthcare providers to make more accurate treatment decisions and deliver more affordable services. The benefits to patients include better-coordinated treatments among diverse healthcare providers, including less wait time. The second and third links below describe such an initiative underway in Maine.

Summary: A recent story on National Public Radio notes the attraction of blogs written by healthcare workers, including physicians. These blogs allow readers to find out about the latest medical gadgets, read physicians' views on health care issues, and view insider photos of surgery and scans. These blogs have also raised concerns about patient trust, confidentiality, and legal consequences, since there is some possibility that personal medical information could be traced to or discovered by a patient.

Comment: Blogs can give patients useful insight into health conditions and treatments. And, they can provide a supportive forum as a patient endures on-going treatment. However, no patient should have to worry about coming across their own personal information in someone else's blog. To find out about how to discuss privacy concerns with your doctor and safeguard your patient privacy, see the Patient Privacy Toolkit at PatientPrivacyRights.org. (You do not have to become a member to access the links listed in the toolkit.)

Summary: A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is worrisome enough in consideration of the prognosis and complications. Now there is one more thing to worry about--the rising cost of prescription medications. Two recent news stories detail how the extraordinary inflation of prescription drugs makes effective treatment more expensive for some and unavailable to others.

Comment: The separate news stories are based on data from the AARP and the Harvard School of Public Health. They offer two perspectives on what has been called an "unreasonable" increase in the prices of prescriptions medications and its effect on patients who cannot afford them. See the stories at the links below.

Summary: Many agencies and companies involved in health care have versions of a patient's "bill of rights" that articulate what type of care patients should expect and receive. In "The Patient Care Partnership," the American Hospital Association explains what patients should expect during a hospital stay, in particular their right to health care and responsibilities as a consumer.

Comment: In this election year, health care is a distinguishing issue among presidential candidates. This brochure provides an industry perspective on the current state of health care as it directly affects patients, taxpayers, and consumers. It does not necessarily represent how hospital care should operate ideally, but how the current system operates most efficiently. As such it serves as a fair comparison to the alternative solutions proposed by many political candidates.