Monday, December 15, 2014

Happy PATIENT’S Bill of Rights Day!


Okay there is really no official document or law called the Patient’s Bill of Rights and there is no special day celebrating its existence.  However, today is Bill of Rights Day 2014, which is officially recognized by the United States government.  December 15th marks the day in 1791 when the first ten amendments to the US Constitution were ratified.  Although these rights did not say they applied to health care and patients, it is because of the rights established in that document that we have rights as patients today. 

Although there is no one document that spells out the rights patients have regarding health care, it is through government programs and regulations that some of the basic rights we have as citizens extend to the health care services we receive.  This is particularly clear when we receive our health care services from or paid for by the federal government. 

In 1998 President Bill Clinton directed various federal agencies to use their authority to bring health care programs in line with a basic Patient’s Bill of Rights.

According the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Archives, “The Patients' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities has three goals: to strengthen consumer confidence that the health care system is fair and responsive to consumer needs; to reaffirm the importance of a strong relationship between patients and their health care providers; and to reaffirm the critical role consumers play in safeguarding their own health.”

The Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities set out the right to:

·         Informed Choice
·         Access Emergency Services
·         Full Partnership in Health Care Decisions
o   When cannot do for self; right to be represented by others.
·         Care Without Discrimination
·         Privacy 
·         Speedy Complaint Resolution


By looking at the above, can you make connections with the Bill of Rights or other aspects of the U.S. Constitution or other laws? 

Monday, July 21, 2014

Medicaid (OHP) Advisory Committee Meeting Wednesday, 7/23/2014


Federal law requires the state of Oregon to have a Medicaid Advisory Committee (MAC).  This committee is there to make recommendations about the state's Medicaid system, which is the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).  Most Medicaid or OHP beneficiaries in our community get their health care services through the local Coordinated Care Organization (CCO), Umpqua Health Alliance (UHA).  

As a state committee, the meeting is covered by the Oregon Public Meetings law (ORS 192) so members of the public may attend the meeting in person.  Luckily the MAC also makes their meetings available here, as well.  Although you cannot give public testimony, like you could if you were there in person, you can listen in to what is going on.  It is a good way to start getting familiar with what is going on in health care transformation in the state.  

Here is the notice sent by the state.  You can sign up to get notices of all meetings of the Medicaid Advisory Committee, as well as other medical related public committees in the state.  




PUBLIC NOTICE 

MEETING PLACE: General Services Building
    Mt. Mazama Room
                            Salem, OR  97301
MEETING DATE:   Wednesday, July 23, 2014
MEETING TIME:   9:00am - 12:00pm

The Committee will receive an update from the Oregon Health Authority on the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and Coordinated Care Organizations. OHA staff will present on the agency’s Integrative Medicine Advisory Group established in the fall of 2013. Sarah Bartelmann with OHA will present on Oregon’s Health System Transformation 2013 Performance Report. The committee will finalize its set of policy recommendations to reduce churn and mitigate its effects for individuals enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan and commercial coverage available through qualified health plans (QHP). The committee will adopt its’ full “churn” report to be submitted to the Oregon Health Policy Board for their consideration in August.
Public listen-in only conference line: 888.398.2342   Participant: 3732275
     Webinar: Webinar registration link
Please visit the Committee’s website at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OHPR/MAC/Pages/index.aspx
for webinar information, meeting minutes, reports and updates.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Please JOIN Us


Patient Rights:  You CAN’T Live Without Them!

  •  The critical state of PAIN misMANAGEMENT (or,                       the War on Pain Patients!)
  •  Update on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
  •  Coordinated Care Organization - Accountability
  •  What we do and what’s in it for YOU!

 Come to our public meeting:
Monday, July 7 from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Douglas County Courthouse Room 310
 (1036 SE Douglas Avenue)

Contact us for more information
Oregon Patient Rights Association (OPRA)  
(541) 236-3083  .  .  .  .  eMail:  opra4dc@gmail.com

Subscribe via eMail to our blog:   opra4dc.blogspot.com

 “Like” us on FaceBook:  Oregon Patients Rights Association

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Off Label: Dangerous Drugs

Free Speech TV and Ring of Fire premiere Off Label tonight on Free Speech TV.  Off Label exposes the dangers of psychotropic drugs that are combined with other medications or used for unapproved or untested purposes. 

You can watch Free Speech TV on DISH ch 9415, DIRECTV ch 348, today, March 11th at 7:30 pm (mountain time) or at www.FreeSpeech.org where you can stream it live. 



 Off Label




*psychotropic or psychoactive or psychopharmaceutical drugs are chemical substances that alter mood by crossing the blood-brain barrier acting on the central nervous system.  They affect brain function and are used for a variety of reasons including mental health issues, ADHD and pain. 


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

UHA CAC Meeting Tonight in Roseburg

The Community Advisory Council of the Umpqua Health Alliance (UHA), will be holding the first of two public meetings to discuss what should be in our community health improvement plan.  

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cow Creek Office building on NE Stephens in Roseburg. 


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Medford News Story: Medical middle ground between marijuana and pain pills | MailTribune.com


 Although the title calls the position of the doctors in this story as taking the middle ground between marijuana and pain pills, this is not the case.  These doctors are not educating themselves about what the middle ground is; they are just deciding it is one or the other. 

This story illustrates why people should be filing complaints against the licenses of any medical professional who does not follow science and the law regarding patients' right to choice. 

Medical middle ground between marijuana and pain pills | MailTribune.com

Monday, February 3, 2014

Housing Is a Health Care Issue!




Dateline NBC January 6, 2014 clearly shows the connection between being healthy and the condition of your housing.  

You can view Breathless starting with the following link:

The first part shows the harm of asthma: the five remaining segments show the direct link between substandard housing and the disease.   

Although we are lucky here in Douglas County, Oregon because there are no problems in this regard with our local Public Housing Authority (PHA), HADCO, we do have such substandard rental housing throughout the county, which are usually owned by private investors.  However mold in significant in our rural Oregon community and it is not just old drafty slum housing.  The problem can actually be caused in new construction when it is not done properly.  

I personally know about one unit, owned by a local non-profit, where the local contractor who built the homes failed to provide the right ventilation for the units.  This caused too much humidity in the units leading to an on-going problem with mold growth.  After watching this program, I am more concerned that the units may have led to the development of asthma in the children living there, at least one of whom I personally know.  

Since housing is clearly a health care issue, shouldn’t our local Coordinated Care Organization, Umpqua Health Alliance (UHA) pay for housing people so they do not have to live in mice, cockroach and mold infested units because that is all the family can afford?   If they give a woman an air-conditioner to keep her out of the hospital, should they not do the same regarding healthy housing?