|
 According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a large proportion of seniors will eventually be unable to make their own healthcare decisions and might want to consider creating an advance directive to ensure that they receive care consistent with their wishes.
The study's authors, based at the University of Michigan, reviewed the records of 3,746 seniors (aged 60 or older) who died between 2000 and 2006. Of those subjects, 42.5 percent needed healthcare decisions made. Of that 42.5 percent, 70.3 percent lacked the capacity to make decisions for themselves. Of the 70.3 percent, 67.6 percent had advance directives. The seniors who prepared advance directives were more likely to want limited care or comfort care than aggressive life-prolonging care.
The authors found that patients who prepared advance directives received care that was strongly associated with their preferences, supporting the continued use of advance directives.
To view the study's abstract, click here. To view the original blog entry, click here.
|
 |
 |
The following is an excerpted article from the debut issue of Embrace. Want to read more? Simply subscribe to Embrace! Subscriptions are free and signing up is a snap – just visit embracethemagazine.com and click on the "Subscribe" link.
|
A True Entrepreneurial Story:
How Professional Medical Has Been Growing in Health Care Since 1968
|
Professional Medical's name and the values it was founded on remain unchanged 42 years after the company was established. In 1966, Terry Barnes was working as an inhalation therapist at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Illinois when John Spalding, a staff therapist, approached him with an idea. They began discussing the difficulty that patients were having getting the medical supplies they needed at a reasonable cost. "That's where we thought there was a need - giving patients what therapists and physicians wanted them to have," said Terry.
In the '60s, patients looking for improved home care products recommended to them by their doctors and therapists had only one place to turn - drugstores. Problem was, drugstores didn't stock the specific items that were recommended. Many times, they only carried off-brand products, leaving patients confused or with products that didn't work as well as the ones their caregivers wanted for them. What Terry and his therapist friend, John, proposed was partnering to create a new kind of specialized equipment and medical supply business - one that could deliver the brands caregivers wanted while simultaneously providing exceptional service tailored to each customer's individual needs. John and another partner, the director of the Physical Therapy Department at Silver Cross, would be silent investors while Terry would be challenged on a day-to-day basis with building the business. In January of 1968, their dream took flight and Professional Medical Surgical Supply, Inc. was born.
|
| |
|
|
|
