Patient Direct Payment

In evaluating the medical practice management strategies, need to take into consideration the difficulties may be facing in collecting money from the private-pay patients. With out of pocket costs increasing and higher unemployment, people still need care – and to succeed, need to be able to manage their need for care versus the need to make a living. Educate the patients about what they will be responsible for up front. Don’t let the patients be surprised by a bill in the mail have the staff let them know before they see what their insurance will and won’t pay and what they are going to owe. Then give them an opportunity to pay or set up a payment plan immediately. Set up payment plans so the patients can manage their health care costs as a regular part of their budgets. Working with patients can increase the amount thee paid as patients realize there doing the best for them. If have someone who chronically misses payments or doesn’t pay, consider requiring that patient to pay the practice up front before receiving treatment. Once set up a payment plan between the patient and the practice, give the patient a coupon book rather than sending statements. This will decrease the operating costs and provide the patient with a physical reminder of their debt. Collect fees up front as much as possibly can, including known co-pays and fees for elective visits. Create a Web site that has a shopping cart feature that patients can use to pay the practice online. Consider instituting an online debiting system using patient’s credit cards or bank accounts. Set up a subscription plan with patients that allow them to pre-pay for services. Guarantee a discounted price on select services for patients who join the plan. Accept cash only from patients who have bounced a check with the practice or included their debt to the practice in a bankruptcy. Most physicians don’t like having to think about the possibility that they won’t be able to treat any patients just because they lack the means to pay. But need to have good medical practice management strategies around payment to keep the practice in business. With potentially shrinking reimbursements from the government and private insurers, the practice may become increasingly dependent on private pay dollars. Work with the patients and educate them up front, collecting that money won’t be such a difficult accomplishment. Some physicians have had such an easy time managing private-pay patients that they’ve gone to a cash-only model and shut out private and public insurers alike. This management practice certainly cuts overhead costs while giving the doctor more autonomy in treating patients. Choose to manage the private pay patients, need to institute good medical practice management strategies now to avoid losses and frustrations later.

Fake v. Real

The question of the difference between real vs. fake breasts has become common in celebrity media. The quality of the surgery results in much of the difference between real looking and fake looking breasts. A poor boob job can introduce an unnatural looks. Breast implants are silicone rubber sacs filled with either saline solution or silicone, which increase the size of the breasts. Saline implants are the most commonly used form of implants in the United States. Implants come in different sizes, shapes and textures and a surgeon may place them under or over the chest muscles. Breast implants often sit higher on the chest than real breasts, and they appear fuller and rounder on top than real breasts. Breast implants often have a noticeable gap between the breasts, while real breasts tend to be closer together. Real breasts also fill out more at the bottom and not at the top. When in motion, breast implants often do not move much and will appear to keep their round shape, whereas real breasts will jiggle, bounce or shift depending on movement. There is mostly fat in real breast tissues and is therefore soft, whereas breast implants are more firm and less pliable. Silicone breast implants are generally softer than saline implants because they are made of a thick, gel-like substance that feels similar to fat. Saline implants feel more like muscle instead of fat. When women with breast implants do not wear bras, their breasts tend to stay firm and round. Natural breasts will hang lower and will not jut out much without a bra. Real breasts are mostly fat, which gives them a jiggle quality, if breasts look more like solid muscle, they may fake. One often can identify if breasts are fake by comparing them to the rest of the body. Although there is the rare woman who has a hot body and unusually large natural breasts, more than a few women make the mistake of going too large and getting very big fake breasts. Fortunately, these women are easy to spot: if she has the body of a dancer and breasts like a porn star. Check breast shape and alignment with her movement. Fake breast do not follow body movements as well. Many people associate breast implants with a large cup size, such as a D or DD. However, many women who opt for breast implants choose more natural-looking sizes such as a C or B cup. It can be harder to determine whether a woman has natural or implants at these sizes. In addition, padded bras create a similar effect to breast implants by lifting the breasts and making them appear larger. It can be hard to tell the difference between real breasts and implants when a woman wears a bra.

Melanoma

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, which present in skin but also in the bowel and the eyes. It is one of the more rare types of skin cancer, but causes the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. Malignant melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer. Uncontrolled growth of pigment cells, called melanocytes cause cancer. Despite many years of intensive laboratory and clinical research, the sole effective cure for melanoma is surgical resection of the primary tumor before it achieves a Breslow thickness greater than 1mm. Each year doctors diagnose around 160,000 new cases of melanoma and it presents more frequently in males and Caucasians. It is more common in Caucasian populations living in sunny climates than other groups. According to a WHO report, about 48,000 melanoma-related deaths occur worldwide per annum.

Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. Its size (about 20 square feet on an average sized adult) and external location make it susceptible to a wide variety of diseases, disorders, discolorations and growths, as well as to damage from the environment and the aging process. The skin is one of the most vulnerable organs of the body. Though seldom life threatening, skin disorders can be uncomfortable and may cause chronic disabilities. In addition, because the skin is so visible, skin disorders can lead to psychological stress.