New Online Tool: iGuard

iGuard is a no-fee online healthcare service that helps you monitor the safety of your medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, nutritional supplements and herbal extracts. It is the easiest and most user-friendly interface we have come across for creating a personalized medication list. All you need to do is create an account, which only takes a few moments, and then enter in all the drugs and supplements you take.

iGuard.org is especially helpful for those that manage information from multiple doctors or fill prescriptions at different pharmacies since contraindications are more difficult to flag in these situations. The program helps you stay safer by:

1. Routinely checking the safety of your medications, screening for interactions between prescription drugs and also any diseases or conditions you may have and the drugs you take
2. Alerting you, and if you prefer your doctor also, to new important safety information regarding your medications
3. Providing chat boards, categorized by diseases and conditions, so that you can connect with other individuals with similar health conditions and learn about their satisfaction (or lack thereof) with specific drugs and side effects they experienced

http://www.iguard.org

Improving Oral Health Amongst the Elderly

The interrelationship between oral health and general health is particularly pronounced among older people.

The WHO Oral Health Programme intends to develop strategies for improved oral health of older people. Based on experiences from demonstration programmes in countries, national oral health planners are encouraged to integrate systematic oral health activities towards improved quality of life. Read the following for an overview of the WHO's approach to improving oral health for the elderly.
http://www.who.int/oral_health/publications/orh_cdoe05_vol33.pdf

Nursing Home Ranking

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced its launch of a ground-breaking "five-star" ranking system of America's nursing homes.

This tool presents detailed information about every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country. The ratings are posted on the agency's Nursing Home Compare Web site.

Integrated Care Program Evaluation

From the Center for Health Care Strategies, this document reports on its Integrated Care Program (ICP), a two-year initiative that supported five states'-Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Washington-efforts to integrate the administration, delivery, and financing of services for dual eligible beneficiaries.

This evaluation provides a comprehensive view of the progress states have made in exploring models for integration as well as the challenges that remain. It describes the five states' experiences and progress in developing integrated care models, and outlines key considerations for states interested in pursuing integration for dual eligibles.

http://www.chcs.org/publications3960/publications_show.htm?doc_id=714908

Wallet Sized Medication List

From the St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri, this wallet sized medication list is given to patients at discharge, and nurses are encouraged to explain the importance of keeping the list up-to-date and sharing the information with all of the patient's health care providers.

The form is made available in both the admitting and emergency departments and it's printed in black and white to reduce costs. The form is also accessible on the hospital's intranet and public website.

In order to download the file, you must register at the IHI.org community. Registration is free and available to all.

https://www.ihi.org/users/login.aspx?returnURL=/IHI/Topics/PatientSafety/MedicationSystems/Tools/WalletSizedMedList.htm

Still Alice: A Novel by Lisa Genova

Written by Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association, this novel portrays a younger woman's descent into Alzheimer's disease.

Alice Howland, whose life closely resembles Genova's, is a middle-aged psychology professor at Harvard  living with her husband in Cambridge when the symptoms of Alzheimer's become to emerge: she becomes increasingly forgetful, disoriented, and eventually cannot recognize her own children.

This book has won several awards and praise for its fictionalized, but compassionate and honest view of the experience of early onset Alzheimer's.

For more information about this book go to http://stillalice.com/

For Lisa Genova's blog at the Alzheimer's Association:  http://www.actionalz.blogspot.com/



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Hypothermia

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has some advice to help older people avoid hypothermia.

Hypothermia occurs when a person's body temperature drops below normal and stays low for a prolonged period of time.

With advancing age, the body's ability to endure long periods of exposure to cold is lowered.

Older people also are at risk for hypothermia because their body's response to cold can be diminished by certain illnesses such as diabetes and some medicines, including over-the-counter cold remedies. In addition, older adults may be less active and generate less body heat.

The NIA has information to help you prevent hypothermia. To order the fact sheet, Hypothermia: A Cold Weather Hazard, or the brochure, Stay Safe in Cold Weather, call toll free 1-800-222-2225. Hipotermia: El Peligro de las Bajas Temperaturas is also available.

These and other free publications on healthy aging can be downloaded from the NIA Web site at www.nia.nih.gov.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Health Care and Social Assistance

Medicaid continued to be the largest source of funding for nursing and residential care facilities in 2007 at $59 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

These calculations are from the 2007 Service Annual Survey: Health Care and Social Assistance, which focuses on health care and social assistance providers for individuals, and gives estimates and sources of revenue for businesses with paid employees.

To see the Survey, go to: http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/services/sas/sas_data/sas62.htm

The effects of small-scale, homelike facilities for older people with dementia on residents, family caregivers and staff: design of a longitudinal, quasi-experimental study

This article from BMC Geriatrics looks at the emergence of small-scale and homelike facilities for older people with dementia. In these facilities, a small number of residents live together and form a household with staff. Normal, daily life and social participation are emphasized. It is expected that these facilities improve residents' quality of life. Moreover, it may have a positive influence on staff's job satisfaction and families' involvement and satisfaction with care. However, effects of these small-scale and homelike facilities have hardly been investigated. 

 

This paper presents the design of a study investigating effects of small-scale living facilities in the Netherlands on residents, family caregivers and nursing staff.

 

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/9/3

 

 

Healthy Aging: Lessons from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has a new booklet: - Healthy Aging: Lessons from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

The first half of the publication provides a lively overview of the 50-year-old Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and how its findings have transformed what we know about aging.

The second half offers practical suggestions for things you can do to age well, based on the BLSA and other NIA-supported research.

The free booklet can be ordered or downloaded online at:
www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/BLSA/
or call the NIA Information Center toll-free at:
800-222-2225 or 800-222-4225 (TTY).

Bulk quantities (25 or more) may be ordered by visiting http://niapublications.org/bulkorder1.asp

Geriatric Mental Health Foundation

The Geriatric Mental Health Foundation (GMHF) was 'established by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry to raise awareness of psychiatric and mental health disorders affecting the elderly, eliminate the stigma of mental illness and treatment, promote healthy aging strategies, and increase access to quality mental health care for the elderly'.

The website provides consumer/health information aimed at older adults and their families on a variety of topics including alcohol abuse, caregiving, depression, sleep, a search facility to find a geriatric psychiatrist, news, and links to other related resources.

http://www.gmhfonline.org/gmhf/

The Golden Road: Today's Senior Drivers

As America ages, the challenges facing individuals and society are
changing.

One of these is the issue of elderly drivers and how to maintain
mobility for seniors without compromising safety.

The Golden Road: Today's Senior Drivers takes an unblinking look at this controversial
topic, with special attention given to the role of friends and family
members.

Whether you are a senior who is interested in keeping yourself
and others safe, or you have a loved one dealing with a driving problem,
To order this video see: http://www.kqed.org/w/goldenroad/about.html

After the Forgetting, "I Love You": a podcast

Listen to a NPR podcast of the radio show After The Forgetting, 'I Love You'. Produced by Erica Heilman, this is the story of how a Vermont family changes as the mother's dementia
progresses.

Listen at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98450439&sc=ema
f

Men as Caregivers

This recent article in the New York Times discusses the issues men face when they are caregivers to elderly parents.
rhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/us/29sons.html?_r=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

For more insights into these issues:


Men doing "women's work:" elderly men caregivers and the gendered construction of care work. The Journal of Men's Studies, January, 2007. This article is available online at:
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-30305143_ITM

The definitive texts on men and caregiving include:

Men as caregivers : theory, research, and service implications / Betty J. Kramer, Edward H. Thompson, editors.
Published: New York : Springer Pub., c2002.


Title: Men as caregivers to the elderly : understanding and aiding unrecognized family support / by Lenard W. Kaye and Jeffrey S. Applegate. --
Published: Lexington, Mass. : Lexington Books, c1990.

Compression Stockings

This evidence-based clinical guidance on the use of compression stockings is produced by PRODIGY and made available by the National Health Service funded resource, Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS).

The guidance is aimed at healthcare professionals working within the National Health Service in England and it covers background information, management issues and references. The guidance is available in full, or as a concise summary. A quick reference guide and patient information are provided.

You may freely access this information, however you must first register at the following link:

http://cks.library.nhs.uk/access?catalog=login&returnurl=http%3a%2f%2fcks.library.nhs.uk%2fcompression_stockings

Guidelines on Fall Prevention

The Guideline for the Prevention of Falls in Older Persons, a joint endeavor of the American Geriatrics Society, the British Geriatrics Society, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, was published in May, 2001. (JAGS 2001)

The aim of the guideline was to assist health care professionals in their assessment of fall risk and in their management of older adults who have fallen or are at risk of falling.

The present publication offers an update to the earlier guideline by evaluating evidence and analyses that have become available since 2001 and by providing revised recommendations based on these evaluations.

http://sud.editme.com/