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Family First Health

A community health care center

Talk to your doctor about your colon

March is  Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month so we’re going to be dropping knowledge like …

Jokes aside, colon cancer is often treatable if caught early. Many more lives could be saved by understanding risks, increasing screening rates and small lifestyle changes.

The American Cancer Society released some information about screenings to help healthcare providers identify who they need to reach out to — and the results are very interesting.

Rates

  • The rate of colon cancer in the U.S. is down 30 percent over the last decade. YAY.
  • More and more people are getting screened — 56 percent of people were screened in 2002, 65 percent in 2010. Another YAY.
  • And more people have insurance coverage for colon cancer screenings — making cost less of an issue. Hooray!
  • BUT it’s not enough. The American Cancer Society wants to get the screening rate to 80 percent by 2018. If they can do so, that’s 203,000 lives that will be saved by 2030.

So who’s not listening?

Research has identified those who aren’t getting screened and they are:

  • The newly insured
  • The financially challenged
  • Insured procrastinators/rationalizers
  • Hispanics
  • African Americans

And most of those who need screenings are between 50 and 64 years of age. Additional numbers break it down even further to say that two-thirds of those needing to be screened can fit into these categories — 50-59 years of age, uninsured, earn under $40,000 a year, Hispanic, and having less than a 4 year degree.

To reach the 80 percent goal, Pennsylvania needs to screen 1,020,300 people by 2018.

So why aren’t they listening?

Studies took a look at why some people might be ignoring the call to get screened. The answers are pretty easy to understand.

  • People think they are taking care of their own health.
  • They have a fear of the unknown — or the unknown prep and procedure
  • They are focused on more immediate health concerns
  • They’re procrastinators
  • They rationalize reasons for not getting screened
  • They have an “I know best” attitude.

What are the barriers to care?

We talk a lot about what is “wrong” and what the barriers are keeping people from taking charge of their own health. The Cancer Society has identified these factors — and really calls on doctors to recommend screenings to those at risk. They also push for more information about the fact that there are different options and not all people need a colonoscopy. An at-home test is something many people might be more willing to do.

  • Rationalized avoidance
  • Lack of affordability
  • No symptoms or family history
  • Negative connotations — especially to tests like colonoscopies
  • No doctor recommendation
  • No personal connection to cancer
  • Low levels of healthy behavior.

So please, talk to your doctor to see if you’re at risk and should get screened!

Dr. Go gets HIV expert credentials

goOur very own Dr. Asceline Go recently passed the 2015 AAHIVM HIV Pharmacist / HIV Specialist, and HIV Expert Credentialing examination.

What’s that? Well, according to the American Academy of HIV Medicine website: The Academy’s program is the only widely recognized, statistically sound and defensible measurement program available in HIV-focused medical care.  On average, about 2,000 providers are actively maintaining an AAHIVM credential, a majority of which principally identify as an HIV provider. In 2015, most US HIV-positive patients are now under the care of an Academy-certified provider.

Many providers may already serve patients with HIV. So why go through the extensive testing process? Dr. Donna Sweet writes about it on the website:

We live in an increasingly complex health care environment that demands that we keep up with its rapid evolution. Treating HIV is not the same as it was 25 years ago, as many HIV care veterans know. Breakthroughs in treatment and care that combat HIV and extend life are often followed by perplexing trends, drug interactions and trends in new toxicities and drug interactions.  Social and cultural responses to HIV have a direct impact on both our HIV-positive and negative patients. This in turn affects how we provide — and how our patients receive — HIV care and treatment, as well as our messages of wellness, risk reduction and prevention. Increased life expectancy for people living with HIV has presented a growing list of issues that includes: treatment adherence, hepatitis B/C co-infection, cardiovascular disease, and more. The definition of quality HIV care, then, must necessarily evolve as people live longer with the disease. It also must integrate the complexities of HIV with health risk factors typically associated with the normal aging process.

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Becoming an Academy-credentialed HIV Specialist™ is a way to remain current, demonstrate frontline experience, and evolve with changes in HIV technology, with discoveries of new treatments and with shifts in the nation’s health care system. The AAHIVM HIV Specialist™ credential demonstrates to patients, colleagues, employers and third party payers a care provider’s commitment to maintaining continuing competency through ongoing learning, experience and self-assessment.

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Becoming credentialed through a process like the Academy’s program demonstrates to the medical community-at-large that we as HIV care providers voluntarily seek to establish for ourselves a rigorous, uniform national standard for the knowledge and experience base expected of all practitioners serving on HIV care teams. Developing a universal assessment tool of HIV knowledge for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists also helps reduce barriers to entry into this specialized area of care. The AAHIVM HIV Specialist™ designation is available to health care professionals from diverse health care settings, educational backgrounds and front line care experience. Credentialing improves our professional development, benefits our patients’ care, and provides a foundation for the creation of better treatment and care access opportunities.