Cash Only Health Care

Physicians are more strained than ever before to stay in business and are searching for new models to help them succeed. Physicians’ offices spend between up to $30 billion dollars a year in administrative overhead trying to get paid by insurance companies. Due to the increased burden of administrative overhead and cuts in payments for services, many physicians are weighing the benefits of cash-only practices — meaning they would stop accepting any form of insurance and leave patients to seek reimbursement from insurance companies themselves. Cash only is a type of payment where the patient’s own resources pay for the care. It is contract between the patient and the physician. Individuals pay for care with personal funds, health saving accounts, and other funds. Cash only is the basis upon which the healthcare financing system began. Patients paid physicians a fee-for-service. In its purest sense, the Cash Only model includes only the physician and patient in the exchange of compensation for medical care provided. Over the years as healthcare financing arrangements have changed, entities paying a fee-for-service includes all payers-public and private. Recently, the healthcare industry has referred to physician practices that do not accept health insurance as cash-only practices or Cash only offices. Cash only vastly reduces the traditional overhead expenses by not having to bill and abide by contractual requirements of third party payers. There are already millions of Americans who cannot afford private health insurance and have Medicaid coverage. Others self-insure due to their financial resources being such that they can pay out-of-pocket for their medical expenses.

Implant Checks

Patients should perform implant checks regularly for breast good health. Physicians recommend patients follow up with doctors for the life of the implant. Though generally safe, breast implants are medical devices and they can fail. If detected early enough, replacing a ruptured breast implant, particularly saline-filled breast implants, is similar to replacing a battery in a battery compartment. If detected late, ruptured silicone implants can cause thickening of scar tissue around the implant, which can lead to breast deformity and pain. Delayed replacement or removal of ruptured breast implants can be more complicated. Like all surgical procedures, breast enlargement exposes patients to potential mistakes and side effects. Breast implants are medical devices that can fail. A breast implant alters the size and shape of the breasts of a person. There are two primary types of breast implants: saline-filled and silicone-gel-filled. Saline implants have a silicone elastomer shell filled with sterile saline liquid.

Laser Acne Treatment

Laser surgery has been in use for some time and reduces the scars left behind by acne, but doctors have done little research on lasers treatments for the prevention of acne. Doctors use the laser to address the following: to burn away the follicle sac from which hair grows; to burn away the sebaceous gland that produces oil; to induce oxygen in the bacteria, thereby killing them. Since lasers and intense pulsed light sources cause thermal damage to the skin, there are concerns that laser or intense pulsed light treatments for acne will induce hyperpigmented macules (spots) or cause long-term dryness of the skin. In the United States, the FDA has approved several companies, such as Candela Corp., to use a cosmetic lasers for the treatment of acne. However, efficacy studies have used very small sample sizes (fewer than 100 subjects) for periods of six months or less, and have shown contradictory results. Because laser treatment are relatively new, protocols remain subject to experimentation and revision, and treatment can be quite expensive. In addition, the company that produces some Smoothbeam laser devices recalled their products due to coolant failure, which had resulted in painful burn injuries to patients.

Nail Bed

The nail bed is the skin beneath the nail plate. Like all skin, it has two types of tissues: the deeper dermis, the living tissue fixed to the bone, which contains capillaries and glands; and the superficial epidermis, the layer just beneath the nail plate, which moves forward with the plate. The epidermis attaches to the dermis by tiny longitudinal grooves as the matrix crests or crests of nail matrix. As we age, the plate grows thinner and these ridges become evident in the plate itself. A nail is a horn-like envelope covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanges of fingers and toes. The nail is made of a hard protein called keratin. Nails can dry out, just like skin. They can also peel, break, and become infected. The nail protects the ends of the fingers and toes from trauma and helps pick up small objects. Care of the fingernails and toenails is important. Poor nail care causes problems. Recommendations for maintaining nail health include: keeping nails clean and dry in order to keep bacteria and other infectious organisms from collecting under the nails; cutting nails straight across with only slight rounding at the tip; using a fine-textured file to keep nails shaped and free of snags; and avoiding nail-biting. Nail changes, swelling and pain can signal serious problems that may require a physician and medical nail care.