Health Care Costs Increasing

Health care costs are increasing according to an article by Tom Murphy of the Associated Press.  The article cites a survey of insurers by Aon Consulting Worldwide, which states that health care costs are expected to rise by more than 10 percent into next year.

Reducing Health Care Costs Through Disease Management

The article focuses on reducing health care costs through home health care and disease management.  Having lab tests performed by HealthCheckUSA will assist you in both of these areas.  We would recommend starting with a health risk assessment, which is a comprehensive report that empowers you to improve your personal health through testing, knowledge and prevention.

The health risk assessment provides confidential reporting on your potential risk in the areas of diabetes, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular problems, and other various risk areas.  Knowing in advance of your risk can help you and your physician determine the best prevention route, thus decreasing your future health care costs.

Corporation are also beginning to use these employee wellness programs in order to help reduce heath care costs.

Health Care Costs Kept Low

The next step in reducing your health care costs is to receive lab tests from HealthCheckUSA prior to going to your doctor’s appointment.  This way you have results ready to discuss with your physician, which will save you an extra trip to the doctor’s office.  We recommend receiving lab tests on any area that you have some health concerns.

Contact one of our health care representatives, order your appropriate tests, and start reducing your health care costs.

Home Health Tests Reviewed

Home health tests, according to an article that appeared in the Star-Telegram, are helping people take control over their health.  The article discusses the accuracy and safety of home health tests.

Home Health Tests Accurate When Administered Properly

According to the article that appeared on August 4th, home health tests that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration are generally pretty accurate.  However, the article warns that the accuracy of home health tests does depend on how the sample was collected.  The article states that if a home health test comes up negative, most of the time they are.  Although, there are times that false positives do show up and you should consider receiving a lab test from your physician to be sure of the results.

Home Health Tests vs. Lab Tests

When you consider that most home health tests are for pretty life-altering medical events, such as pregnancy, HIV, hepatitis C, cholesterol levels and prostate cancer; wouldn’t you rather leave that up to a more accurate lab test?

HealthCheckUSA provides you with the same convenience as a home health test, i.e. you don’t have to go to a physician; yet HealthCheckUSA provides you with the same accuracy and confidence in the results as going to your physician to receive tests.

Home Health Tests:  Wise Choice?

HealthCheckUSA offers physician-interpreted tests in all major health areas, such as prostate and ovarian cancer, pregnancy tests, HIV, diabetes, cardiovascular, and even complete health risk assessments based on several predictor tests.  Unlike home health tests, the samples are collected by medical professionals in a sterile environment and an accredited Medical Reference Laboratory analyzes all of the test results.

HealthCheckUSA is also priced comparably to most home health tests, making HealthCheckUSA lab tests an even better decision when it comes to taking control of your health.

Discount Health Tests Reduce Medical Costs

Discount health tests can help keep medical costs down.  This is according to Dr. Greg Jackson, a physician at San Antonio’s Interceptive Health.  Dr. Jackson is also writing a book on preventative health care.

Discount Health Tests Assist in Prevention

Discount health tests are part of the plan Dr. Jackson uses with his patients to help keep their costs down.  Patients of Dr. Greg Jackson are taught to focus on prevention or catching health issues early.  The main part of Dr. Jackson’s plan is to have his healthy patients only come in for physicals every 15 to 18 months vs. every 12 months.  This way the patient might be able to “straddle” two calendar years and thus only have to pay one deductible payout.

Discount Health Tests with Quality Results

The discount health tests come into play right before a patient’s physical.  Dr. Jackson likes to have his patients come in with their lab results in hand in order to avoid the time and cost of having a follow-up visit to review the lab test results.  Dr. Jackson stated that he sends his patients to us, HealthCheckUSA, as we offer up a discount of up to 50 percent than most other labs.

Not only can Dr. Jackson’s patients receive their annual blood work; they can also receive a series of other lab tests in areas, such as cardiovascular or diabetes, that might be of concern to Dr. Jackson or his patients.

Discount Health Tests for Cost-Conscious

Dr. Jackson reminds his patients and every person receiving healthcare that if health costs are a concern have a discussion with your physician.  Dr. Jackson states that many physicians will work with their patients to make healthcare more affordable.  HealthCheckUSA will also work with you and your physician to provide quality lab tests and timely results that won’t break the bank.

Health Risk Assessments Determine Disease Risk

Health Risk Assessments are imperative for anyone that doesn’t already have heart disease or diabetes.  A health risk assessment takes into considerations several different risk factors, typically ones that you can control, to determine your potential for disease.

Health Risk Assessment Measures Risk Factors

The risk factors that are measured by a health risk assessment and used to determine your risk of heart disease or diabetes are as follows:

• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Being overweight or obese
• Physical inactivity
• Nutrition
• Alcohol use
• Health history
• Biometric measures

Health Risk Assessments Can Help You Live Longer

A health risk assessment will take all of the above factors and determine your risk of having a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease within the next 10 years.  A health risk assessment can also gauge whether you have metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors that greatly increase your chance of developing cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes.

Health Risk Assessments Suggest Lifestyle Changes

You should have a health risk assessment by the time that you are 40 and then should assess your risk at least every few years, or if you think that your risk has changed.  However, if there is a history of heart disease or diabetes in your family, you should know your risks as early as 20 years of age.  Knowing your risk factors and working towards eliminating them as soon as possible is one of the best ways to prevent disease.  Having a periodic health risk assessment allows your physician to help determine the best wellness program for you.

Health Risk Assessment Reports are provided by HealthCheckUSA and contain the results of your comprehensive health risk assessment and biometric tests in 29 easy-to-read and understand pages.   Call one of our customer service representatives to schedule your health risk assessment and start preventing heart disease and diabetes today.

Nutrition is the Foundation of Good Health

Nutrition has many more important factors to your health than just your weight. Although maintaining a healthy weight or losing those extra pounds are also important for good health; proper nutrition leads to less illness, stronger immune systems and overall better health. Nutrition is very important as a foundation to health; and, in many cases, medical conditions can be treated simply by eating better.

Total Nutrition Panel

HealthCheckUSA has a nutrition panel that will allow you to work with your doctor to build a nutrition and diet plan that is just right for you. The nutritional panel consists of three different parts: CHEM-26, Vitamin B12 with Folic Acid, and TIBC.

Nutrition Panel: CHEM-26

CHEM-26 is the part of the Nutrition panel known as the “Super Chemistry” test. This lab test will check your kidney, heart, and liver functions. CHEM-26 checks your cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as your glucose, calcium, uric acid, electrolyte and iron levels. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels may indicate a need for dietary changes and possibly medications. High glucose levels could indicate diabetes, and high levels of iron could indicate a serious genetic disorder.

Nutrition Panel: Vitamin B12 with Folic Acid

The Vitamin B12 with Folic Acid gives you a thorough analysis of your body’s metabolic functions. B12 levels can help physicians determine if your body is generating enough energy to power all the organs. Low levels of B12 can be an indication of a high-risk of organ damage. This part of the nutritional panel also determines how much folic acid your body is getting. A lack of folic acid can impair protein synthesis and cell division.

Nutrition Panel: TIBC

Finally, the last lab test in the nutritional panel is the TIBC or the total iron binding capacity. Elevated levels of TIBC can indicate that you have an iron deficiency, which means that you need to incorporate more green vegetables and possibly red meat in your diet. TIBC measures how efficiently your blood transports iron through the rest of your body.

Make sure that you are eating properly and getting the right nutrition, call and order a nutrition panel test today.

Cardiovascular Disease is Deadly

Cardiovascular Disease, according to the American Heart Association, is the single leading cause of death in America today.  Maintaining good heart health, and thus avoiding cardiovascular disease, is hands down one of the best things a person can do for themselves.

Cardiovascular Disease Testing

HealthCheckUSA’s Heart Check Profile is essential for anyone that is concerned about their cardiovascular health, or for anyone who would like a solid baseline in an effort to maintain their heart health.

The Heart Check Profile is one of the most comprehensive lab tests that you can do to assess your risk for cardiovascular disease.  The Heart Check Profile is a combination of many cardiovascular tests; including the homocysteine test, the highly sensitive C-reactive protein test, the Chem-26 test, and the VAP (Vertical Auto Profile) cholesterol profile.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment

As mentioned above, the Heart Check Profile by HealthCheckUSA is made up of several different and important cardiovascular health lab tests. They are, in more detail, as follows:

• Chem-26 (Master Chemistry) – screens your kidney, liver and heart functions, as well as potassium, calcium, uric acid, electrolytes and iron levels.
• Homocysteine – an amino acid in the bloodstream.  Approximately 20% of people with heart disease have high homocysteine levels.
• Cardio C-Reactive Protein (CRP) – this lab test measures inflammation and helps estimate your risk of having a sudden heart attack.
• VAP (Vertical Auto Profile) – this revolutionary test identifies more than 90% of people at risk for cardiovascular disease.  This cholesterol screen identifies hidden heart disease risks, including hereditary factors.

Cardiovascular Disease:  Start Preventing Today

Go to the Heart Check Profile page on HealthCheckUSA.com, select your preferred location, input information into your client profile, and then make your payment.  In a few days, you will receive a personal requisition form that you take to your selected location where you will have your blood drawn.

In about 10 business days, you will get your results and can start taking the appropriate steps to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Disease prevention Baselines

Disease prevention is more than getting a shot here and there and practicing good hygiene.  It is about screening your health and establishing baselines.  It’s about discussing results of your health screens and health risk assessments with your physician and establishing a wellness plan in order to maintain health and to keep disease away.

First Step to Disease Prevention

One of the first steps of disease prevention is making sure that you are currently disease free and to set up a baseline of your current health.  These checks can be done through various lab tests that check your cardiovascular health, the health of your liver, your sexual health, your thyroid, as well as your risks of acquiring cancer and diabetes.

Disease Prevention Assessment

One way to get a complete picture on what you need to do to prevent diseases is through a health risk assessment.  A health-risk assessment is a complete work-up involving a series of lab tests and health history questions in order to determine your predisposition to disease, as well as your overall general health.

You can then take the health risk assessment to your physician for review.  Your physician will then have all the necessary information to get you on track to better health.

Physicians and Disease Prevention

If you would prefer to have a better understanding of the results of your lab tests and health screens before you go to see your physician, or if you don’t currently have a physician, HealthCheckUSA offers a physician interpretation service.   A board-certified physician, who is affiliated with HealthCheck, can interpret your results for you.  Their interpretation will be provided with 72 hours of the test completion and will be confidential.

You must choose the physician interpretation option before completing your online order.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of our friendly customer service representatives.

Syphilis Testing More Important Than Ever

Syphilis testing is more important than ever. Over the past few years, the number of reported cases of Syphilis has increased 11.8 percent and continues to go up. 64% of the reported cases of Syphilis occurred in sexually active homosexual men. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that occurs mostly in adult men and women ages 20 to 39 years of age.

In the medical community, Syphilis has often been called “the great intimidator” because the signs and symptoms are very much similar to those of other diseases.

Contracting Syphilis

Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct intimate contact with a syphilis sore. Syphilis cannot be transmitted through contact with doorknobs, toilet seats, swimming pools, by trying on clothes or by using eating utensils at a restaurant. Pregnant women, however, can spread the disease to their unborn child, which is just one more reason why syphilis testing is so important.

Syphilis and Pregnancy

Depending up on how long a pregnant woman has had the disease, syphilis can cause the baby to be stillborn or develop serious problems within a few weeks from birth. These serious problems can lead to developmental delays, seizures or even death. It is very important if a woman is considering pregnancy, to be tested for Syphilis, as well as other tested for other sexually transmitted diseases.

The Dangers of Syphilis

If syphilis goes undetected or untreated, it can move into the late and latent stages. In this stage, the syphilis infection will continue even though the infected person is showing no signs or symptoms. At this stage, syphilis can damage your internal organs. If signs and symptoms of late stage Syphilis do show up, they include the following: difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia.

Testing for Syphilis

Testing for Syphilis in sexually active people who think they may have been exposed to the disease is imperative. A simple blood test will detect whether or not you have the disease. Syphilis can be treated with a course of antibiotics from your physician.

To prevent the spread of Syphilis, please practice safe sexual relations, as well as refrain from sex if you have Syphilis until you have cleared it with your physician.

If you have any questions regarding the Syphilis test, or any other lab tests available at HealthcheckUSA.com, please contact one of our customer service representatives.

Hepatitis B: What Is It?

Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are three types of the Hepatitis B: acute, chronic and perinatal. Acute Hepatitis B usually last for less than six months and your body is able to recover completely from it. Chronic Hepatitis B means that your body can’t rid itself of the virus and it may last for a lifetime and potentially leads to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Perinatal Hepatitis B is when the virus is passed from an infected mother to her newborn child.

Symptoms of Hepatitis B may never appear, and if they do it is usually within 12 weeks of acquiring the disease. These symptoms include the following: Symptoms of Hepatitis A include jaundice (yellow eyes and skin), abdominal pain, dark urine, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and fatigue.

Hepatitis B: How to Prevent It

Hepatitis B can be prevented with a series of vaccinations which can protect against the virus for at least 23 years. Other ways to prevent the disease is know the status of any sexual partners, practice safe sex, use sterile needles, vaccinate before traveling to regions there is a high-risk, and be cautious before accepting transfusions in foreign countries. Also, if you are pregnant, get tested just in case.

Hepatitis B Test: How to Test for It

Hepatitis B can be detected through a very simple blood test. Health Check USA offers a Hepatitis panel test that will detect Hepatitis A, B and C. To ensure accuracy of the panel, HealthCheckUSA.com recommends a ten-hour fast prior to having your blood drawn. However, water and black coffee are permitted during this time. If you have any questions regarding this lab test, please contact one of our representatives.

Hepatitis B: How to Treat It

Once you have realized that you have come into contact for the disease, notify your doctor immediately to receive an injection of Hepatitis B Immune Globulin within 24 hours of contact. Once you have developed Chronic Hepatitis B, there really are limited treatment options. Your doctor may monitor vs. treat. If the doctor decides to treat, there are several antiviral medications you can receive. However, if there is sever liver damage, a liver transplant may be necessary.

Hepatitis A: What Is It?

Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis A virus. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prvention, there are no long-term chronic effects to this illness; and once you have had it, you are immune to it. Hepatitis A virus is found in the stool of people that have the virus; coming into contact with anything that has touched the contaminated stool can cause the illness.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A include jaundice (yellow eyes and skin), abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, and fatigue. Lots of times, Hepatits A can easily be diagnosed as something else.

Hepatitis A: How to Prevent It

Hepatitis A can be prevented through proper personal hygiene, washing of hands before cooking and after using the restroom, and being cautious when traveling to places such as Mexico, Africa, the Caribbean and South America. A vaccination is also available for the Hepatitis A virus, ask your physician about this.

Hepatitis A: How to Test for It

Hepatitis A can be detected through a very simple blood test. Health Check USA offers a Hepatitis panel test that will detect Hepatitis A, B and C. To ensure accuracy of the panel, HealthCheckUSA.com recommends a ten-hour fast prior to having your blood drawn. However, water and black coffee are permitted during this time. If you have any questions regarding this lab test, please contact one of our representatives.

Hepatitis A: How to Treat It

There is no treatment for Hepatitis A, except for rest and proper nutrition. Hepatitis A is a virus and you will just have to let it run its course. Please be advised, though, that a relapse of symptoms can occur for over a six to nine month period. If you do have Hepatitis A and you are experience diarrhea and/or vomiting, please make sure to get plenty of fluids in order to avoid dehydration.