I ran across an article on the CNN Money site this morning about health clinics at Wal Mart. Here in Canada we have a nationalized health care system that does not allow any kind of a third party in the market instead of using doctors offices but now more and more doctors are opeing up storefronts that allow people to go to the clinic and it just works as a doctors office that allows walk in patients.

This has become crucial to delivering health care in Alberta anyway, as the emergency rooms in hospitals have not been able to keep up and many people are forced to wait 10 hours or more just to get treated.

I have not had much opportunity to go to the hospital emergency room as we usually take our kids to one of these clinics or else our family doctor. Anyway her are some of the points that are being made in the CNN article.

Americans, frustrated by endless waits at the doctor’s office, are sidestepping their family physician and taking their rashes, strep throat and pink eye to stores such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens instead.

As this trend gains more traction, experts say it could define the market for primary care. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: Alberta, Canada, chairwoman, CNN, Columbia, Columbia University's School of Public Health, family physician, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Jonathan Weiner, professor of health policy, professor of health policy and management, retail clinics, Sherry Glied, United States, Wal-Mart

With so many scams hitting us via media ads and spam email every day, it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of weight loss scams on the market today. Here are some tips to help you separate what is real from fiction when it comes to claims that a product will help you lose weight.

The first thing to keep in mind is that if it sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is exactly that. There is no such thing as a miracle weight loss treatment. You will not be able to pop a couple of pills and wake up in the morning with an overnight weight loss. Claims of instant or significant weight loss in a very short time is an obvious sign of a product that is making some mighty big leaps in order to make a spectacular statement. Don’t pay attention to the parade of curvy females and six pack abs on the men that are presented along with the claims. There is much more here than meets the eye. Pass on any of these types of products and move on to something that is more realistic.

Another approach that is often taken is to get the endorsement of a physician of some sort for the product. Before you take the endorsement at face value, ask yourself a question. If this product is so good, then why does it not have the support of any national medical association? You would think that if there were anything to the claims that at least one organization would step up to the plate and put their seal of approval on the use of this particular weight loss supplement. The recommendation of one doctor that you have never heard from before is not enough. Look for products that present some tangible evidence rather than a single questionable endorsement.

One very good rule of thumb is to discuss any and all products that purport to aid in the process of weight loss with your family physician. There are several good reasons for this. First of all, if there is any verifiable evidence to the claims made by the product, your doctor will either know about them or know where to check for them. You will get much better information from your doctor than from an email or an infomercial. Second, your doctor knows your current health situation and can recommend vitamins and other supplements that will give you what you need while you make changes in your eating habits and beef up your exercise program. Losing weight is something that needs to be done with an eye to your overall health, and with the right kind of nutrient support. You can get that from your doctor, but not from a faceless company with money for an impressive publicity campaign. Let your doctor have the final word on any weight loss supplement you take, and your chances for success are greatly improved.

Tags: family physician, media ads, physician

Acne cures are something that many medications promise but few deliver. The shelves of your local pharmacy or supermarket are stocked with skin treatments that claim to get rid of zits once and for all. If you have been troubled by this common but painful condition, you have probably carted home special creams, concealers, soaps, and vitamins in the hope that your skin will be zit-free in the few short days advertised on the labels.

If over-the-counter products have been ineffective however, it is time for you to make an appointment with your family physician or dermatologist. Your doctor can prescribe topical treatments that are stronger and more effective than the ones available without a prescription.

Your specialist may begin with simple external applications such as benzoil peroxide. Formulations containing benzoil peroxide work by killing bacteria that are trapped in your pores by excess oil. Unfortunately, superficial skin medications do not address deep infections that cannot be reached from the skin’s surface.

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Deeper body surface infections may respond to management with an antibiotic. Two of the most common antibiotics used for curing body surface infections are tetracycline and erythromycin. These medications eliminate the bacteria causing infection in the deepest layers of the skin.

Your physician may prescribe a chemical peel as well as medication. A chemical such as glycolic acid is used to cause the uppermost layer of your skin to peel off. Other, less extreme ways of removing the top layer of your skin comprise scrubbing your face with slightly abrasive pads or employing skin washes that contain beads or microscopic particles.

It has long been recognized that exposure to sunshine can be used as a body surface treatment. Special lighting is now available that can reduce the number of inflamed skin lesions by about 70% or so within about a month. One advantage of this technique is that it has no known side effects, although it is not as efficacious if the infection is severe.

Birth control pills are sometimes prescribed to manage body surface breakout, but the pill has arguably serious side effects. The Diane-35, which was specifically developed to treat severe cases of zits (and not for birth control), has been linked to a small but elevated risk of blood clots compared to other birth control pills. You should also know that if you are taking tetracycline, it negates the contraceptive effectiveness of the pill.

Finding a cure for the breakout is the objective, but the approach should be chosen based on the severity of your skin breakout and the risks linked with potential treatments. Whether the treatments you choose are topical or internal, your doctor can explain what you need to take into consideration prior to making a decision. Body surface medications may be more effective than topical treatments, but they have potentially more serious side effects. You need professional advice and realistic expectations for any method of curing acne you try.

Tags: acne, Acne Treatment, acne_cures, acne_treatments, antibiotics, birth control, causing infection, chemical peel, deep infections, email marketing software, excess oil, external applications, family physician, get_rid_of_acne, over-the-counter products, physician, skin_treatments, surface infections, topical_treatments, zits