January 2008 - Health
If you’re 65 or older, memory screenings should be included in your routine physical examinations. That’s the advice from the Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Screening Discussion Group, a consortium of multi-disciplinary experts in AD and senior health.
In addition to the benefits of early treatment, the experts point out, diagnoses enable healthcare practitioners to refer psychosocial services to help patients and caregivers adjust to AD’s emotionally difficult prospect.
“There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s,” explains Dr. Richard Stefanacci, but “earlier intervention could minimize its psychological, social and economic impact on society.”
Stefanacci, founding executive director of the Health Policy Institute at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, is one of the six members of the AD Screening Discussion Group. Another member is a Philadelphian - Dr. Barry W. Rovner, director of Alzheimer’s research at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences and professor of psychiatry and neurology at Thomas Jefferson University.
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If you have high blood pressure and you’re over 60, you’re less likely than younger patients to receive the lifestyle modification advice you need.
This advice “should always be the doctor’s first step in treating a patient with high blood pressure,” says Dr. Anthony J. Viera, lead author of a University of North Carolina study published in The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, yet “healthcare providers may put aside or even abandon the notion of giving [such] advice to older patients, perhaps feeling their hypertension mandates the use of medication.”
Even if you are on medication, Viera cautions, lifestyle modification “can help reduce the need for higher doses [of it]… or multiple anti-hypertensive agents.” The lifestyle advice includes exercise, reducing salt and alcohol intake and changing eating habits.
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A program called Boomerang, designed to provide fitness training for older patrons, has been initiated by fusion: HEART. MUSCLE. MIND, a fitness studio at 105 S. 12th St.
It’s designed to provide low-impact exercise, including resistance and flexibility training in a group format that offers a social outlet while combating the natural decline of the body that occurs with inactivity. The idea arose out of a fitness class that Gavin McKay, owner of fusion, volunteers to run at TARP (Temple Association for Retired Persons) in Center City Philadelphia.
For more information: 215-733-0633 or www.fusioncrosstraining.com.
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More evidence has been uncovered that a diet rich in oily fish and vegetables can reduce the chances of dementia.
Studies published in the journal Neurology indicate that those who regularly ingest omega-3 oils, found in certain kinds of fish and cooking oils, and daily amounts of fruit and vegetables are less likely to develop dementia than those who don’t; and those taking beta-carotene supplements with anti-oxidant properties score higher in mental tests, particularly on “verbal memory.”
There is some debate over vitamin supplements, however. Susanne Sorensen, director of research for the Alzheimer’s Society, points out that you might reduce the risk by eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and fish.”
By Bob Bannar
The 43 million Americans enrolled in Medicare may know that a large portion of their healthcare costs are covered under the program, but many are not aware that Medicare also provides for certain preventive benefits.
Unfortunately, despite frequent visits to physicians, older persons are not receiving all the recommended preventive services they may need or be entitled to.
For example, Medicare began covering preventive services in 1981 with the pneumococcal vaccination. Yet despite this long history of coverage, pneumococcal vaccination rates are still less than optimal; only 59.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 38.5 percent of blacks and 30.2 percent of Hispanics report ever receiving it.
While reasons for this may vary, it highlights the need and opportunity to improve preventive care for the elderly. That’s why the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to promoting the appropriate use of Medicare preventive benefits.
Last spring and summer, for example, CMS launched a nationwide campaign — visiting 48 states and D.C. and 148 cities — distributing information on the preventative benefits available to beneficiaries, according to Jeff Nelligan, a CMS spokesman.
“Prevention is a key priority for CMS,” Nelligan said. “We are working to raise awareness among our beneficiaries of the preventive services covered by Medicare so that they can lead better, healthier lives.”
Knowing that prevention is the first step in staying healthy, Medicare covers a broad range of services to prevent and detect disease early — when it is most treatable and curable — and help patients manage diseases so that complications can be avoided.
What you’re entitled to
In addition to a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam, Medicare pays for many preventive screenings and services, such as:
• Cardiovascular screening
• Tests to screen for cancer, such as mammograms, PAP tests and pelvic, colonopscopies and prostate (PSA)
• Shots to prevent flu, pneumonia (pneumococcal) and hepatitis-B
• Bone mass measurements
• Diabetes screening (supplies and self-management training also available)
• Glaucoma testing
Information available
These are covered in “Your Guide to Medicare’s Preventive Services” (Booklet # CMS 11010).
CMS has initiated other public awareness campaigns and works with other agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote preventive services.
CMS also distributes information on preventative services available to assist beneficiaries with healthcare management on its website.
For more information: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or www.mymedicare.gov.
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