Archive for the ‘Public health’ Category
August 17th, 2011 | 
Author: The State of Florida licenses Public Adjusters to represent individuals in claims against insurance companies. Typically, a Public Adjuster works in areas of property losses, such as a home damaged by fire. The PA investigates and evaluates a claim and works to maximize the recovery of the homeowner.
A relatively unknown area of licensing in FL is the Health Public Adjuster. This job involves maximizing the recovery of health insurance benefits by a claimant. The HPA works to negotiate coverage, when coverage is limited or denied. Like other Public Adjusters, the HPA is paid a contingency fee which is a percentage of the recovery. While Public Adjusters are required to serve a 1 year apprenticeship, complete the Accredited Claims Adjuster Designation and pass the state test, these requirements do not apply to the Health Public Adjuster (3-40).
Florida Insurance University, a partner with the University of Central Florida in Orlando, is introducing a the Public Health Adjuster Designation. This designation will prepare the new HPA for the job challenges ahead with Health Care Reform. It is predicted that once health care reform is implemented, there will be an enormous volume of clients who will need assistance in getting bills for medical treatment paid.
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In June 2009, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, invoked powers granted it in 1980 for the first time, and declared a public health emergency. The cause: asbestos and the diseases it’s caused in two northwest Montana towns. In Libby and Troy Montana, more than 500 people are sick from asbestos related diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by inhalation of fibers.
The two towns’ populations total about 3900 people, many of who worked in the vermiculite mine in Libby. Vermiculite is a very lightweight mineral used in insulation, and it contains asbestos. In the course of mining and processing it, the tiny fibers become airborne, and workers and town residents inhaled them. Contaminated dust and fibers deposited on workers’ clothes, and was carried to their cars, homes, and anywhere else they went.
About 50 more cases of serious asbestos related disease are diagnosed every year in Libby and Troy. Asbestosis causes serious impairment of lung function, and lung cancer and mesothelioma are fatal diseases. Mesothelioma is a very slow-growing cancer, whose symptoms may not be diagnosed for 30 or 40 years after exposure. By the time it is diagnosed, the victim’s life expectancy may be measured in months. Because of the long delay between exposure and diagnosis, it’s likely that many more cases of mesothelioma will emerge in the coming years.
Recent research has established that exposure to airborne fibers for as little as one or two months can lead to the development of mesothelioma 30-40 years later. The vermiculite mine in Libby, run by W R Grace Co. was closed in 1990, but long-time residents and workers had been exposed for years, some for their entire lives. Read the rest of this entry »
If you enjoy assisting others with their healthcare concerns and being a teacher at the same time public health nursing may be for you. Public health nurses specialize in treating and preventing ailments. Many work for local clinics and community health centers. They also spend a great amount of time traveling and educating individuals on health care issues. Many also travel to make home visits to seniors who are unable to leave their homes to go to doctor’s appointments or to visit new mothers to ensure that their newborn babies are developing properly. Being a public health nurse will allow you to use a variety of skills in a variety of different settings.
One of the main responsibilities and goals of a public health nurse is the focus on prevention. In clinical settings such as hospitals the goal is to treat a condition and cure the condition if possible. Public health nurses do treat ailments, but their main objective is to prevent diseases and complications from occurring. Many work in organizations such as Planned Parenthood to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections through community outreach programs directed towards schools and high-risk populations. Some also participate on councils and assist in research projects to offer data and suggestions on improving access to healthcare for specific populations and communities with the goal of increasing awareness and improving the health and lifestyles of individuals in order to prevent the onset of disease and conditions.
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The concept of public health
Today, the concept of public health groups all the concepts and uses different disciplines (ie individual and collective, social sciences, biomedical sciences)
Brief History
The emerg[....] Read more
The concept of health
1.1. What is health?
It is not easy to define health. The definitions differ depending on the look that is adopted.
Health is the “state of someone whose body is functioning normally”[....] Read more
Public health
Public health can be defined in various ways. It can indeed be presented as “the study, on the one hand, determinants physical, psychosocial and cultural health of the population and other actions to improve the health of th[....] Read more