Technology is the key to improving rural health care.
Rural hospital hinging future on federal incentive
More information on Rural Health Care - Talking Technology with Leroy Jones, Jr.:
RURAL TELEHEALTH
DOWN HOME TECHNOLGY
What is Wellness?
Definition: A dynamic state of physical, mental, and social well-being; a way of life which equips the individual to realize the full potential of his/her capabilities and to overcome and compensate for weaknesses; a lifestyle which recognizes the importance of nutrition, physical fitness, stress reduction, and self-responsibility.
Wellness has been viewed as the result of four key factors over which an individual has varying degrees of control: human biology, environment, health care organization and lifestyle. Preventive medicine associated with lifestyle and preventive care that can reduce health- care utilization and costs.
"Wellness" programs became popular with the advent of managed care in the 1980s, with the philosophy and business idea that health plans needed to emphasize keeping their beneficiaries well.
However, there has been a drop off in these programs in the 1990s as health plans recognize the difficulty in assessing efficacy and they found that subscribers tend to change plans regularly, thus reducing benefit of keeping one population "well".
What is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)?
Definition: The automated exchange of data and documents in a standardized format. In health care, some common uses of this technology include claims submission and payment, eligibility, and referral authorization. Refers to the exchange of routine business transactions from one computer to another in a standard format, using standard communications protocols.
What is Medicaid?
Definition: A joint Federal and State program that helps with medical costs for some people with low incomes and limited resources. Medicaid programs vary from state to state, but most health care costs are covered if you qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.
