PageA 7
îlf< ^ J o rtla n b (Observer
luly 22. 2 0 0 9
H
ealth matters
Digital Records Improve Health Care
(A P )-- Baby Riley M atthews
w heezed noisily on the exam
table. "H e's belly-breathing,"
th e e m e rg e n c y -ro o m d o c to r
said worriedly — Riley's little
abdom en was markedly rising
and falling with each breath, a
sign o f respiratory distress.
In m ost em ergency room s,
the d o cto r w ould grill M om :
H as he e v e r been X -ra y e d ?
D o y o u r e m e m b e r w h a t it
sh o w ed? B ut in the new all-
d ig ital C h ild ren 's H ospital o f
P itts b u r g h , d o c t o r s j u s t
clicked on a C O W — a "co m
p u ter on w heels" th at ro lls to
e a c h p a t i e n t 's s id e . U p
p o p ped every te st and X -ray
the 6-m onth-old has ever had.
T his is the eerily paperless
hospital o f the future, what the
"electronic medical record" that
President Barack O bam a insists
will transform what health care
looks like.
N o c h a rt fu ll o f d o c to rs '
scribbles hanging on the bed.
No hauling around envelopes
full of X-rays. No discharge with
a p rescription slip. E ven the
c la s s ic E R p a tie n t lis t h a s
changed from the w hite-board
o f TV -dram a fam e to a giant
Dr. Max Rohrbaugh examines 6-month-old Riley Matthews
as his mother watches at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.
It can take days for the results of diagnostic tests to wind
up in a hospital's paper chart, while only hours later,
Riley's test results and long note from a lung specialist
popped up in his digital chart. (AP photo)
com puter screen.
By the best count, only 1.5
percent of the nation's roughly
6,0(X) hospitals use a com pre
hensive electronic record.
Even that statistic belies how
hard it will be for health care to
jettison its 19th-century filing
sy stem by 2 014, the federal
governm ent's goal — despite
the $ 19 billion that the economic
stim ulus package is providing
to help doctors start.
It took Children's seven hard
years and more than $ 10 million
to evolve a system that lets its
doctors check on patients with
a few mouse clicks from any
where and use speedily up-to-
date records in directing their
care.
S tu d ie s sh o w e le c tro n ic
medical records can greatly im
prove the quality o f patient care
and reduce errors. But hospi
tals w on't necessarily recoup
their investment, because a pa
tient w ho goes hom e sooner
m eans lost revenue.
So C ongress added a stick to
th e c a r ro t o f th e s tim u lu s
money: H ealth providers that
aren't digital enough by 2015
will start losing M edicare dol-
Study: Contraceptives Less Effective on Obese
A new study p u b lish ed in
the jo u rn al C o n tracep tio n has
found that oral contracep tiv es
m ay be less effec tiv e at p re
v en tin g p re g n a n c y in o b ese
w om en.
T he stu d y s u g g e ste d th a t
it takes tw ice as long for c o n
tracep tiv es to reach the e ffe c
tiv e b lo o d c o n c e n tra tio n in
o b e s e w o m e n , w h ic h m a y
leave them open to b eco m in g
p re g n a n t.
A bout 30 p ercent o f w om en
in the U .S. are obese. F o r O r
egon, that nu m b er is ab o u t 23
percent.
T h e stu d y su g g e ste d th a t
th e b asic p ro b le m w as th a t
o r a l c o n t r a c e p t i v e s w e re
te s te d o n p e o p le w ith a
h ea lth ier body w eight, w hich
has left a b lin d spot fo r d o c
to rs w ho m ay n o t be aw are o f
h o w th e d ru g a f f e c ts v ery
o v e rw e ig h t p e o p le . In fact,
som e d o cto rs m ay p rescrib e
a lo w er d o sag e fo r o bese p a
tie n ts, fe a rin g th a t a h ig h e r
dose w ill p ut them at g reater
risk o f d ev elo p in g blood clots
that can lead to stroke of heart
attack .
H ow ever, th e stu d y noted
th a t it d id n ’t h a v e e n o u g h
data to m ake a rec o m m en d a
tion for how ph y sician s m ight
ch an g e th eir clin ical p ractice
fo r the use o f oral co n tra c e p
tiv es w ho are obese.
O bese w om en w ho use oral
c o n tra c e p tiv e s sh o u ld c o n
su lt w ith th eir doctor, rec o m
m ended the story.
Finding your ‘Sole Mate’ this Summer
Just because w e ’ve en tered
the h o tte st d ays o f the su m
m er d o e s n 't m ean you should
h id e in an a ir - c o n d itio n e d
room w hile your body steadily
accu m u lates fat. You can get
som e sun and stay h ealthy by
taking m orning or late evening
w alks.
T he A m erican H eart A sso
ciation has released a sum m er
w alking guide, w hich can be
found at s ta rtp d x .o rg . It in
cludes stretch in g tech n iq u es,
tips on w hat to wear, w hen and
w here to w alk, and w hat to eat
b efo re and after w alking.
It’s best to estab lish a reg u
lar tim e th a t you can stick to
all su m m er long, p referab ly a
tim e o th e r th a n a f te rn o o n
Daily Activity for Health
Providence health experts are
reminding folks that adding just
a little activity to your day can
m ake a big difference in your
fitness level.
Clim bing stairs, weeding the
garden, raking leaves, vacuum
ing, doing dishes and m ow ing
(
the lawn can all help add up to
a m ore active lifestyle.
In a d d itio n to h o u s e h o ld
chores, try including activities
that are m ore recreational and
involve your kids as well.
Tossing a ball around, play
ing ca tc h w ith b e a n b a g s or
w hen the sun is hottest.
T he A m erican H eart A sso
ciatio n reco m m en d s w alking
at least 30 m in u tes a day. It
co m b ats o b esity , w hich can
ca u se a h o st o f o th e r p ro b
lems.
w orking on your Frisbee flings
can all provide great motivation
for adding fun activity.
You can also try taking a 10-
m inute w alk around the block
as a family. Your fitness level
will increase - and so will your
family fun.
" Portland
Observer
Call 5(|3-288-(W33
ads (<? port I in d o b serkcr.com
1
*
C hanging F rom the Inside ( h it - Get to the
root of your weight problem by identifying
thoughts and feelings diat^iffcct your eat
ing and activity patterns. In a group set
ting, y ou'll leam new skills to overcom e
em otional eating patterns. The class, o f
fered by Providence, lasts 10 weeks and
begins Sept. 8. Fee $ 195. Call 503-216-5641
fo r more information.
C o nfidentC yclingforC om m uters - Leam
to com m ute on a bike with more confidence
in this free presentation.
M a ste rin g W eight M a n ag e m en t - An 8-
week program beginning Aug. 13 that inte
grates a nondieting approach to healthy
living and eating. Leam to take control of
your food choices and activities and begin
to feel better. Registration is required. Call
503-286-6816. Fee is $ 120 for Kaiser mem
bers and $ 150 for nonm em bers.
H elping K ids G et H ealthy and Fit - Provi
dence is accepting registration for its fall
2009 Healthy n' Fit class, a pediatric weight
m anagem ent program targeting children 8
to 15 years old. The 10-week program is led
by a certified dietitian and exercise special-
ist. Fee $250. To register, call 503-215-2233.
M am m ography Screening - Early detec
tion is a key factor in the prevention of breast
cancer. Call 503-251-6137 to schedule your
high-tech, soft-touch mammogram.
Bereav em ent S u p p o rt G ro u p s --Free, safe
confidential group m eetings for those who
m edication, and then m atch the
bar-coded dose to the prescrip
tion.
In the in ten siv e care unit,
co m p u ter "dashboards" au to
m atically graph patients' vital
signs and other readings from
m onitors and lab tests — let
ting nurses spot at a glance a
drop or spike that signals a pa
tient about to get in trouble, in
stead o f rifling pages o f a paper
chart to tell.
Can you “burn ”?
The Miracles Club
4069 NE MLK.JR. Blvd
W elcom es you to our "C ookout C o o k -o ff’
Show o ff your best “ribs” (burgers & steaks)
Saturday A ugust 1.2009
$50 entry fee: 1 s t , 2nd , & 3rd prizes
Come and bring the family and your appetite!
Fun fo r all.
Call 503-249-8559
Philadelphia CMB Church
Pastor
Roy E. Clay Sr.
& Co-Pastor
Lottie M. Clay
liie s d a y : Women &
Men M eeting 7PM
Wednesday:
Bible Study 7PM
S unday S ch ool 10A
S u n d ay M orn in g S ervices 11 :30 AM
238 NE Mason ST
For more information contact Pastor Clay
at 503-309-6320
Northwest Voice For Christ Ministries
“A Community Church”
Bishop H. L. Hodge, PhD
Pastor/Teacher/Revivalist
Advertise with dive sity in
"The Voice Speaks”
Worship Service: Sundays- 8:00 A.M.
Seminars: Bible Themes- Wednesdays- 6:00 P.M.
“God, The Father"; “God, Die Son"; and “God, The Holy Spirit"
Bishop Hodge and Congregation invite you to join
us at our appointment with Jesus.
We Reach, Teach, & Preach in Jesus’ name!!!
______________________
H ealth W atch
lars.
Children's m oved from a de
ca d es-o ld b u ild in g to a new
hospital in May, a final step in
its digital journey. One wing is
inpatient, the other houses o f
fices for specialists' outpatient
c a r e , a ll lin k e d by th e
"eRecord."
Some 4,(XX) computers line the
halls. N urses sw ipe patients'
w ristbands with bar-code scan
ners to see when it's tim e for
have experienced the death o f a loved one
offered on various nights and locations.
For inform ation and registration, call 503-
215-4622.
S en io r A e r o b ic s-- A low -im pact workout
P aren tin g C lasse s-N e w b o rn s do n 't come
with instruction m anuals but parents and
parents-to-be can leam about a variety of
to p ic s fro m p ain a n d c h ild b ir th to
breastfeeding to infant CPR and much
more. For a schedule of events, call 503-
574-6595 or visit: providence.org/classes.
bone density screening with personalized
education; fee $30. To schedule an ap
pointment, call 503-261-661 1.
P ow erful T ools F o r C a re g iv e rs - 6 -week
educational series designed to help family
caregivers take care o f them selves while
caring for relatives or friends with chronic
illness. Class size is lim ited, and registra
tion is required. Call 503-41.3-8018.
Is it A D H D ? - Kaiser Permanent offers a
medical evaluation process that can help
determi ne i f your chi Id’s behavior problems
are due to attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. The Aug. 5 forum includes re
sources and support. Registration is re
quired by calling5O3-286-6816. Feeis$20for
Kaiser couples and $25 for nonmember
couples.
B e tte r B re a th e rs — An asthm a educa
tional support group m eets on the 1st
Tuesday o f the month from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45
p.m. at Adventist M edical Center. For in
formation, call 503-251 -6830.
S tro k e A lert S creen in g - Check your
carotid arteries with a painless ultrasound
to assess your risk. Fee $40. T o schedule
a screening, call 503-251-6137.
geared specifically tow ard seniors. Call
503-449-0783 forcurrent schedule.
O steo p o ro sis S creen in g — An ultrasound
C a rd ia c-R eh a b E x ercises - A medically
supervised exercise program for people
dealing with heart conditions. For inform a
tion, call 503-251-6260.
Location: 4800 NE 30th Ave.
Portland, Oregon
To inquire about our Church or Ministry
call 503 863-6545 or email hodgehspks@msn.com
Platinum Fade
S A L O N
R ed C ro ss C o n tin u in g E d u cation - The
Oregon Trail Chapter Red Cross now of
fers credits to helps professionals m ain
tain licensing or certification. F o racu m u -
lative list, visit pdxinfo.net.
C an cer R esou rce C en ter - Providence St.
Vincent M edical Center and the American
Red Cross have joined forces to create the
first in-hospital resource center providing
books, printed material, com puter access
and more for individuals and families deal
ing with cancer. The center is open M on
day through Thursday, 9 a m. to 4 p.m.
C hronic Pain S u p p ort ( iro u p - Meets the
first W ednesday at 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and
the third W ednesday o f each month, from
7 p.m. to8:30p.m. For more information, call
503-256-4000.
M aternity W ater W orkout - Helping new
moms regain muscle tone, strength, and
flexibility, all in the support and freedom of
the water. Call 503-256-4000for more infor
mation.
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Sat
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