Warning Read this book at your own risk. Upon reading it, some readers may be afraid to visit doctors or hospitals for the rest of their lives. However, other readers might die laughing as they indulge themselves to the variety of the many interesting and scaring subjects that they will read about. If you're planning to visit a doctor or hospital, you should read this book before taking that major step that will probably change your life. If your decision is to go ahead with that visit, let us hope that you don't run into some of the bad doctors and hospitals mentioned in this story. If you ever had any kind of bad experience as a result of visiting a doctor or hospital, or if you ever heard of anyone else who had a bad experience, you should definitely read this book. This story, although fictional, has been comically exaggerated. However, there is a great deal of reality, and some readers will find it very convincing, especially if they had similar experiences as the ones stated in this book. The story deals with the daily occurrences in certain doctors' offices, as well as certain hospitals in a major metropolitan city in the Northeast of The United States. You will see the worst treatments performed by the worst doctors. However, later on in the story, you will also see the best treatments offered by the best doctors. The story contains a generous amount of extremely grim occurrences, but it also contains a great deal of generosity and compassion. You will see that there are some people in this story who went out of their way to do the right thing. You will also see that there are numerous people who kept the promises that they made to others when they were in need. If this storychanges the life of only one person for the better, even for a brief moment, then it was worth writing this book. The names used in this story have been chosen by the author as a description of each person or place involved. Actual names were not used in order to protect the innocent - and the guilty. It may take some readers a little time to accept the names, but after they have accepted them, they will find the story extremely enjoyable and very interesting. Some readers may find it to be a very valuable and educational account of situations that they should avoid.

Our health care system is broken and messy. It is serving neither the patient nor the doctor well. It behooves us, the physicians, to take the lead and diligently try to fix it. --from THE SENSE OF DIRECTION The "invisible hand" will start healing and Adam Smith's "what is good for me" will still be vehemently pursued but not at the expense of others. With a restored sense of direction, it will be easy to not only fix the health care mess but tackle other problems also. --from THE SENSE OF DIRECTION

Human Resources in Healthcare, Health Informatics and Healthcare Systems addresses two major problems that threaten the health of the human race. The first of which is the lack of human resources in healthcare. We need to ensure that we have an adequate number of healthcare professionals who are highly motivated and properly trained. Furthermore, we need to ensure that they have the latest health technology at their disposal, which is the second major issue facing the world today. The world's most respected scholars and practitioners describe their experiences and propose possible theoretical and practical solutions in this relevant and timely handbook.

Managing and living a normal and healthy life after renal (kidney) failure.
Contents of the book:
Preface.
Acknowledgements.
1. Events leading to my kidney failure.
2. The author as a renal patient.
3. The Kidneys. Definition of kidney failure and kidney disease. Types of renal failure: Acute, chronic, and end stage.
4. Causes, symptoms, and detecting renal failure.
5. Dialysis.
6. Kidney transplants.
7. Problems associated with renal failure.
8. Treatment of renal failure.
9. Diet.
10. Medication.
11. Living a normal, healthy life after renal failure.
12. Attitudes and beliefs.
13. Lifestyle.
14. Organ donor shortage.
15. Research into stem cell technology for kidney failure.
16. Conclusion. 17. About the author. Glossary. References. Lists of books and jornals.

An inside look into how hospitals, nurses, and patients are faring under the Affordable Care Act More and more not-for-profit hospitals are becoming financially unstable and being acquired by large hospital systems. The effects range from not having necessary life-saving equipment to losing the most experienced nurses to better jobs at other hospitals. In Health Care in Crisis, Theresa Morris takes an in-depth look at how this unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act plays out in a non-profit hospital's obstetrical ward. Based on ethnographic observations of and in-depth interviews with obstetrical nurses and hospital administrators at a community, not-for-profit hospital in New England, Health Care in Crisis examines how nurses' care of patients changed over the three-year period in which the Affordable Care Act was implemented, state Medicaid funds to hospitals were slashed, and hospitals were being acquired by a for-profit hospital system. Morris explains how the tumultuous political-economic changes have challenged obstetrical nurses, who are at the front lines of providing care for women during labor and birth. In the context of a new environment where hospital reimbursements are tied to performance, nursing has come under much scrutiny as documentation of births-already laboriously high-has reached even greater levels. Providing patient-centered care is an organizational challenge that nurses struggle to master in this context. Some nurses become bogged down by new processes and bureaucratic procedures, while others focus on buffering patients from the effects of these changes with little success. Morris maintains that what is most important in delivering quality care to patients is the amount of interaction time spent with patients, yet finding that time is a real challenge in this new environment. As questions and policies regarding health care are changing rapidly, Health Care in Crisis tells an important story of how these changes affect nurses' ability to care for their patients.

Millions of people each year decide to participate in clinical trials--medical research studies involving an innovative treatment for a medical problem. For the patient, such participation can sometimes be a life-saving choice. But it can also be just the opposite. Our country years ago adopted rules designed to assure that people are making informed choices about participation. This book explains the reality behind those rules: that our current system of clinical trials hides much of the information patients need to make the right choices.
Witness the following scenarios:
-Hundreds of patients with colon cancer undergo a new form of keyhole surgery at leading cancer centers--never being told that 85% of colorectal surgeons, worried that it increases the risk of the cancer returning, would not themselves undergo that procedure.
-Tens of thousands of women at high risk of developing breast cancer are asked to participate in a major research study. They are told about the option of having both breasts surgically removed--but not told about the option of taking a standard osteoporosis pill that might cut the risk of getting breast cancer by one-half or more.
What The Doctor Didn't Say, principally written by a nationally prominent expert, is the first book to reveal many heretofore hidden aspects about the true nature of participation in clinical trials. It shows why options not commonly known--including getting a new treatment outside of a research study--can often be the best choice. It explains how patients can make good decisions even if there is only limited information about a treatment's effect. And it does this through the eye-opening stories of what is happeningdaily to thousands of people.
This book ends up confronting the fundamental dilemma of medical research: Participation in clinical trials plays a vital role in advancing knowledge, and many experts fear that if the information provided herein became widely known, fewer people would participate. But the authors demonstrate that there is no need to deceive people into participating in research. We can have a system that promotes participation while still providing truthful information to participants.

Within the last years a variety of new healthcare concepts for supporting and assisting users in technology-enhanced home environments emerged. These so-called smart healthcare technologies are characterized by a combined use of information and communication technologies and health monitoring devices in the home domain. Smart Healthcare Applications and Services: Developments and Practices provides an in-depth introduction into medical, social, psychological, and technical aspects of smart healthcare applications as well as their consequences for the design, use and acceptance of future systems. The knowledge and insights provided in this book will help students as well as systems designers understand the fundamental social and technical requirements smart healthcare technologies have to meet.

In 1997, Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) therapy (Cyberonics, Houston, Texas) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of epilepsy refractory to antiepileptic medications. In 2005, VNS received FDA approval for treatment-resistant depression refractory to antidepressants, and Cyberonics recently received FDA approval for the clinical study of VNS for rapid cycling bipolar depression. Many researchers continue to investigate the anxiolytic effects of VNS in human and non-human animal models. The author presents a study of VNS effects on anxiety and the capacity of atropine methyl nitrate to attenuate these effects. The results indicate that VNS decreases anxiety in the laboratory animals tested. These findings provide evidence to support the testing and subsequent use of VNS therapy for the treatment of clinical anxiety in humans. Because many therapies that are effective in the treatment of depression effectively treat anxiety, VNS therapy should be effective and approvable for clinical anxiety. This book can serve as a research tool, training mechanism, or surgical guide to the implantation of the vagus nerve stimulating electrode in the laboratory rat. Hopefully, this resource provides information that facilitates FDA approval of VNS for treatment-resistant anxiety, a chronic, devastating and often debilitating illness.

This is the first reference book to provide a detailed assessment of the Affordable Care Act, explaining the realities and myths surrounding one of the most divisive political struggles in recent U.S. history. The Affordable Care Act—also known as Obamacare—is one of the most controversial and politicized topics in the United States today. This timely book examines prominent claims about the legislation's drafting, debate, passage, and implementation, and discerns what is true and false about the law. Each of the text's eight chapters delves into the common beliefs, misinterpretations, and myths surrounding the act, tracing the history of the assertion and supporting or challenging its veracity through nonpartisan research and analyses. Chapters begin with an objective look at the claim's origins—with a brief focus on the person or group that conceived it and why—then set about clarifying or debunking it using evidence from research studies and reports from authoritative sources. Entries feature primary documents, a further reading section, and tables and graphs. Topics include the impact on health care costs for families, states, and the federal government; the effect of the Affordable Care Act on employer-sponsored insurance; and the role of health status on coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Human, Social, and Organizational Aspects of Health Information Systems offers an evidence-based management approach to issues associated with the human and social aspects of designing, developing, implementing, and maintaining health information systems across a healthcare organization - specific to an individual, team, organizational, system, and international perspective. Integrating knowledge from multiple levels, this book will benefit scholars and practitioners from the medical information, health service management, information technology arenas.

The health services environment differs from other industries, as it deals with the wellbeing and lives of people. It is therefore imperative to understand: The importance of ethical codes; The correct way of dealing with labour-related issues. This work provides a practical and up-to-date guide for health services managers who deal with personnel and who wish to create a working environment that facilitates bilateral cooperation and avoid industrial action as far as possible. It sets out current legislation that affects both employers and employees, and informs them of their rights and obligations in very clear terms, supplemented by ample practical examples and specimen documentation.