This document outlines objectives and content for a chapter on consumer health. It discusses key topics like the Affordable Care Act, personalized healthcare, finding reliable online health information, becoming a savvy healthcare consumer, medical rights and errors, elective treatments, health hoaxes, complementary and alternative medicine, and health insurance options for college students. The chapter aims to help students understand the US healthcare system and how to navigate it as an informed consumer.

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An Invitation to Health: Building Your Future, Brief Edition, 9e
Dianne Hales
Consumer Health
13

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After reading this chapter, the student
should be able to:
• Describe some ways the Affordable Care
Act is affecting access to health care
• Identify three elements of personalized
health care
• List some steps to becoming a better
health-care consumer
Objectives

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• Outline your rights as a health-care
consumer
• Discuss the pros and cons of elective
treatments to enhance health or
appearance
• Identify ways to recognize health hoaxes
and medical quackery
• Assess the value of complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM)
Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Review the components of the health-care
system, including types of practitioners
and health-care facilities
• Explain how a health care plan can affect
the health-care services a consumer
receives
• List some of the choices college students
have for health coverage
Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Affordable Care Act (ACA)
– Includes ban on insurance companies
terminating coverage for ill patients
• Bans denying coverage based on preexisting
condition
– Expansion of federally-funded coverage for
low income individuals
• Includes free preventive services
• Health literacy
– Ability to understand health information
A New Era in Consumer Health

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• Guidelines for evaluating online health
information
– Check the source
– Check the date the page was created
– Check the references and the author
– Look for possible bias
– Determine where researchers reported
findings
• Peer-reviewed professional journals are best
Finding Good Advice Online

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• Combining best research evidence with
patient’s personal values
• Doctors can develop practice guidelines
for evaluating and treating specific illness
• Outcomes research
– Examines the impact of a medication on the
patient’s condition, health, and quality of life
Evidence-Based Medicine

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• Personalized medicine
– Treatments tailored to individual patients
• Important step: mapping family medical
history
– DNA analysis may be used in the future
• Gender differences
– Women use health care more than men
– Men wait longer to seek treatment
Personalizing Your Health Care

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• Can provide immediate access to useful
information
– Cannot replace your physician
• Examples of services of free apps
– Provide location of emergency medical
centers
– Pharmacy prescription price comparison
– Symptom evaluation
– Track growth of skin moles by taking pictures
with a smart phone
Health-Related Apps

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• Self-maintenance
– Self-diagnosis and treatment for minor
ailments
– Taking vital signs
– Participating in self-help groups
• Online virtual support communities
• Poor oral health
– Links to a variety of health problems
Self-Care

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• Talking with your health care provider
– Ask questions
– Make sure you understand
– Ask about care options
– Find out exactly how to take prescribed
medications
• Establish a relationship with a primary
care physician
• Screening tests
Becoming a Savvy Health-Care
Consumer

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• Prescription drugs
– Know the name of the drug and what it should
look like
– Inform your doctor if you use herbal
supplements
– Avoid using a kitchen spoon to dispense liquid
medications
– Do not take medication with grapefruit juice
– Do not take another person’s medication
Preventing Medical Errors

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• Right to be treated with respect and dignity
• Right to information
– Patient must give consent for hospitalization,
surgery, and other major treatments
• Right to privacy
• Access to medical records
• Right to quality health care
– Most malpractice lawsuits based on physician
negligence
Your Medical Rights

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• Cosmetic surgery
– Botox
– Liposuction
– Breast augmentation
• Body art (tattoos)
– Ink can cause adverse reactions
– Increased risk of bacterial or viral infections
– Black henna contains PPD
• Banned by law from skin cosmetics
Elective Treatments

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• Unproven health products and services
– Result in loss of consumer’s money, wasted
time, additional pain, and disappointment
• Consumer should be suspicious of certain
advertising terms
– Scientific breakthrough, miraculous cure,
ancient remedy, or secret ingredient
• Ask for written explanation and evidence
supporting all claims
Health Hoaxes and Medical Quackery

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• Complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM)
– Various medical systems, practices, and
products
– Not part of conventional medicine
• Not sufficient proof of safety or effectiveness
• Holistic methods
– Focus on the whole person
• Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects
Nontraditional Health Care

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• Combines traditional medicine with
alternative therapies
– Gaining greater acceptance within the
medical community
• Acupuncture
– Ancient Chinese form of medicine
– Involves needles placed into the skin
Integrative Medicine

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• Homeopathy principles
– Like cures like
– Less is more
– Treatment must always be individualized
• Naturopathy
– Natural remedies best treatment for disease
– Example treatments: dietary changes, steam
baths, and exercise
Homeopathy and Naturopathy

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• Herbal medicine
• Chiropractic medicine
– Based on concept that human diseases result
from misalignment of the spine
• Energy therapies
– Electromagnetic fields or magnets
– Therapeutic touch
Other Types of CAM

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• Some types of health-care practitioners
– Physician
– Registered nurse (RN)
– Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
– Clinical psychologist
– Psychiatrist
– Optometrist
– Podiatrist
– Dentist
The Health Care System

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• College student choices for health
coverage
– School’s student health plan
– Parent’s health plan (under age 26)
– Catastrophic health plan (under age 30)
– www.healthcare.gov
• Know your coverage
– Prescriptions, doctor visits, and emergency
care
What You Need to Know About the
Affordable Care Act