Medicare's "BLUE BUTTON" Can Help You Track Care (VIDEO)

Spinal Posture Indicator for Nursing Home Admission So Sit Up Straight!

The shape of an individual’s spinal column may predict his or her risk for nursing home admission or need of home assistance in old age, according to a new article published online in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

A team of researchers based in Japan discovered that the trunk angle of inclination — the angle between the true vertical and a straight line from the first thoracic vertebra to the first sacral vertebra (view image) — is associated with becoming dependent on help for activities of daily living (ADL). These activities include such basic self-care tasks as bathing, feeding, toileting, maintaining continence, dressing, and transferring in or out of a bed or chair.

“Spinal posture changes with age, but accumulated evidence shows that good spinal posture is important in allowed the aged to maintain independent lives,” the authors state. 

The research team’s data were sourced from 804 participants in the Kurabuchi Study, a community-based prospective cohort study of residents aged 65 years or older in Kurabuchi Town, approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) north of Tokyo.

The test subjects’ spinal posture was measured with a spinal mouse, which is a computer-assisted noninvasive device for measuring spinal shape. The device is guided along the midline of the spine, starting at the spinous process and finishing at the top of the anal crease.

Of the four spinal measurements taken by the device, only trunk angle of inclination was associated with future dependence in ADL — defined by the researchers as either admission to a nursing home or need of home assistance after a 4.5 year follow-up period. At that time, 15.7 percent became dependent in ADL, 7.6 percent died, and 0.7 percent moved out of the town. The group was 58 percent female.

The subjects in the highest quartiles, who had the greatest angle of spinal inclination, were 3.47 times more likely to become dependent in ADL than those in the lowest quartiles (the group with the least spinal inclination), even after adjusting covariates such as age, sex, back pain, and stiffness.

Spine-Health offers these tips:

The main factors affecting posture and ergonomics are completely within one’s ability to control and are not difficult to change. The following guidelines suggest several ways to improve posture and ergonomics, especially for people who work sitting in an office chair for most of the day.

1. Know the warning signs of back pain caused by poor ergonomics and posture.
2. Get up and move.

3. Keep the body in alignment while sitting in an office chair and while standing.
4. Use posture-friendly props and ergonomic office chairs when sitting.
5. Increase awareness of posture and ergonomics in everyday settings.
6. Use exercise to help prevent injury and promote good posture.
7. Wear supportive footwear when standing.
8. Remember good posture and ergonomics when in motion.
9. Create ergonomic physical environments and workspaces, such as for sitting in an office chair at a computer.
10. Avoid overprotecting posture. 

Read the detail at the link above.

Medicare's "BLUE BUTTON" Can Help You Track Care

Medicare's Blue Button provides you an easy way to download your personal health information to a file. You can download the file of your personal data and save the file on your own personal computer. After you have saved it, you can import that same file into other computer-based personal health management tools. The Blue Button is safe, secure, reliable, and easy to use.

How to download & save your health information:

• Select the Blue Button to create a downloadable file with your MyMedicare.gov information.
• Select the information you wish to download, and select submit.
• Save the file as either a PDF or a TXT file to your computer.
• Upload or import this Excel data file into a personal health record application that can accept it.

Downloading your information gives you control over your health information and makes it easy to share with your doctors, caregivers, or anyone else you choose.

Since you control access to your downloaded health information, it's your responsibility to protect it. You should treat your personal and health information just like you would your banking or other confidential information. Here are some important things to remember:

• Download your data to a secure location. You may want to download your information to a CD or flash drive. Consider purchasing an encrypted flash drive for your information. You may also encrypt or require a password to access a CD.
• If you want to send your information via email, you should encrypt the message.
• Keep paper copies in a safe and secure place that you can control.
• If you think your information may have been downloaded by someone else, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Nursing Home Costs Top $84,000 a Year (VIDEO)

Nursing Home Costs Top $84,000 a Year

The Genworth 2013 Cost of Care Survey shows that the cost of receiving care in a setting such as an assisted living facility or nursing home is dramatically increasing, while the cost to receive care at home through homemaker services or a home health aide is rising at a much more gradual pace.  

Said Pat Foley, president of distribution and marketing for Genworth: "If you look at national private nursing home costs over the past 10 years that we've done this study, the median annual costs have gone up from $65,200 to $83,950, increasing at more than four percent a year."

• Nationally, the 2013 median hourly cost of homemaker services and home health aide services is $18 and $19 respectively.
   
• Homemaker costs have risen just 1.4 percent since 2012 and 0.8 annually over the past five years.
   
• Home health aide services have risen 2.3 percent since 2012 and 1.0 percent annually over the past five years. 
   
• The median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility is $41,400. This represents an increase of 4.6 percent since 2012 and a 4.3 percent annual increase over the past five years.
   
• The comparable cost for a private nursing home room rose 3.6 percent from 2012 to 2013, to $83,950, or 4.5 percent annualized over the past five years.

Additional Resources

• Consumers can find out what the cost of care is in 437 regions across all 50 states by visiting Genworth's Cost of Care website.
• Genworth's Let's Talk website offers tips for initiating conversations about long term care and financial planning with loved ones.
• On Genworth Celebrates Caregivers Facebook page, caregivers can have their questions about caregiving challenges answered by a professional care advocate.
• Genworth's Caregiver Support Resource helps families make informed choices about long term care.

Genworth offers these tips.

The more a person knows about the cost and impact of long term care choices, the more apparent it will become to start planning today. 

Second, Build a Team.  Just as a football head coach surrounds himself with savvy coordinators who are tasked with specific coaching duties, consumers should bring in outside professionals to fill in the long term care gaps. 

Third, Put It In Writing. It isn't just identifying where the money is coming from. The plan should include a hardcopy and an electronic version of who your team is, their roles and contact information." 

NCOA Announces New Online Portal for Older Adults Seeking Employment (VIDEO)

Sobering Report for Health of 40+

A MetLife Report on the Health Status of the 40+ Population paints a sobering picture. It focuses on three areas.

Obesity

Obesity carries with it an increased risk for many chronic conditions, such as hypertension, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and even loss of sight, among others. 

Unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles that impact our health such as poor eating habits, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, excess alcohol, and stress affect our quality of life, longevity, and ultimately increase our healthcare costs. These numbers tell the story:

• More than a quarter(27.1%) of adultsaged 50-64 are sedentary,defined as not doing any physical activity outside of work for 30 days.
  
• 27.8% of U.S. adults 18 years and older—66 million people—are obese, defined as being roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight.
  
• 9.5% of U.S. adults have diabetes.
  
• 30.8% of U.S. adults have high blood pressure,or hypertension,which is a primary risk for cardiovascular disease.
  

It is estimated that obesity increases the cost of Medicare expenditures, per person, by $1,723 per year. The annual medical burden of obesity is nearly 8.5% of total annual Medicare expenditures.

Greater Prevalence of Chronic Disease

• Data from the National Health Interview Survey found that between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of adults ages 45–64 with two or more of nine selected chronic conditions increased for men and women, all racial and ethnic groups examined, and most income groups.
   
• The percentage of these chronically-ill adults who did not receive or delayed medical care due to cost increased from 17% to 23%, and the percentage who did not receive needed prescription drugs due to cost increased from 14% to 22%

Growth in chronic conditions during the 10-year period reported is due to the prevalence of hypertension increase from 35% to 41%, diabetes from 10% to 15%, and cancer from 9% to 11%, among those aged 45 and over. 

Disability Decreases for Older Population, Increases for Younger

The 65+ Medicare population has actually decreased in disabilities. Several researchers have found that disability is increasing in the under-65 population. Several researchers
have attributed at least 50% of the decline in recent disability to change in the education composition of the population. Increases in education and health literacy have been

a major force for improvement in health over time, primarily in the area of disability.

Technology and In-Home Care
Both technology and in-home care have the potential to make very positive impacts on overall health status and associated costs, especially as people age and are faced with more incidents of chronic disease and potential accidents. 

Recently back from the World Health Congress,  I can report that tele-health is the wave of the future. Get ready for more care at room designed to keep you out of the emergency department, the hospital and even your physician's office.