feature and story ideas

Doctor/Patient communication is critical

Patients share decision-making responsibilities for their care with their physicians. The bluehealer® diary enables patients to become an advocate in their own health care, which will lead to better care and more informed decision-making.

It is estimated that more than 95% of chronic illness care is given by the person who has the illness.¹ Therefore, good communication is essential to healing and managing chronic illness. According to Science Daily, “A systematic review of studies published over the past four decades has confirmed that good doctor-patient communication makes a difference not only in patient satisfaction but in patient outcomes including resolution of chronic headaches, changes in emotional states, lower blood sugar values in diabetics, improved blood pressure readings in hypertensives, and other important health indicators.” The key difference in successfully managing a disease versus one that is not managed is the patient’s level of involvement and accountability for his or her condition.

By using the bluehealer® diary, you will no longer have to struggle to recall several months worth of symptoms during a doctor’s visit. From tracking migraines to diabetes, hypertension to asthma, and much more, the possibilities with the bluehealer® diary are endless. Now you can carry the bluehealer® diary to medical appointments, allowing your physician to review it and connect symptoms with factors such as stress and other environmental causes.

1 Wagner, EH, Austin BT, Von Koroff M. Improving outcomes in chronic illness. Managed Care Quarterly. 1996;4(2):12-25.

Healthcare costs for some of America’s top medical conditions

• Diabetes costs the U.S. $132 billion a year. More than 20.8 million children and adults in
the U.S. have diabetes.¹

• In 2005, an estimated $42 billion was spent on hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In addition, AHRQ estimates that more than $76 billion was spent on heard conditions in 2005.²

• The leading cause of death, illness and disability in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), accounted for $53 billion in health expenditures in 2005 when combined with costs for asthma.³

• According to WebMD, “The National Headache Foundation estimates that 28 million Americans suffer from migraines. More women than men get migraines and a quarter of all women with migraines suffer four or more attacks a month.” ⁴

1 Matria Healthcare

2 Van Dusen, Allison (February 6, 2008). America’s Most Expensive Medical Conditions. Retrieved October 13, 2008 from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/06/health-diseases-expensive-forbeslife-cx_avd_0206health.html.

3 Van Dusen, Allison (February 6, 2008). America’s Most Expensive Medical Conditions. Retrieved October 13, 2008 from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/06/health-diseases-expensive-forbeslife-cx_avd_0206health.html.

4 WebMd. Migraines and Headaches: Migraines. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from: http://women.webmd.com/guide/migraines-headaches-migraines.

Stress has an affect on health

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 80% of our medical expenditures are stress-related. (Fast Company Magazine, 2/03, p. 88).

• Stress management programs, products and services totaled $9.4 billion in 1995,
with an estimated 22 percent annual growth. (Research Alert)

• According to NMHA, 1997, more than 75-90% of all visits to physicians are stress-related.

• Job stress is estimated to cost U.S. industry between $200-$300 billion annually.
(Data Communications, 2/98).