CosmoMed

Safe Exercise Tips for the Hot Summer

Michelle Weiss — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:00:48 +0000

As the summer temperatures rise, many people may be discouraged to maintain their typical exercise regime outside in the heat. However, Cosmopolitan Medical has always encouraged our staff and employees to stay healthy with exercise and good food options. Whether you are a runner year-round, or are considering starting your exercise routine back up this summer, there is important health information you should familiarize yourself with before hitting the pavement.

According to the Mayo Clinic, from a health perspective, exercising in hot weather adds additional stress on your body. “Exercise itself, as well as the outside temperature can increase your core body temperature. To help cool itself, your body sends more blood to circulate through your skin. This leaves less blood for your muscles, which in turn increases your heart rate. If the humidity also is high, your body faces added stress because sweat doesn’t readily evaporate from your skin. That pushes your body temperature even higher.” By ignoring the warning signs such as increased thirst, headache, and heavy sweating, you risk heat-related illnesses including heat cramps, exhaustion and heatstroke.

With all this background knowledge on the dangers of summer exercise, here are some helpful tips from Active.com to consider when heading outside for a run:

The time of day is important. Unless you are training for an event that takes place in the daytime heat, avoid exercising from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s the hottest part of day. Generally, the early morning is the best time to work out, especially if it’s going to be scorcher that day.
Wear loose, light-colored clothes. The lighter color will help reflect heat, and cotton material will help the evaporation of sweat. You may also want to try specially designed, high tech running shirts and shorts. They are often made from material designed to keep you cool.
Sunscreen is a must. It’s important to protect your skin. You can get burned and suffer sun damage to your skin even on cloudy days.
Stay hydrated. Before you go out, drink a glass or two of water. Carry a bottle of water with you, or even a hydration pack such as the CamelBak. Take a drink every 15 minutes, even when you’re not thirsty. When you’re done with your workout, have a few more glasses of water.

For the complete list of tips, visit Active.com!

Prepare Your Practice For the Flood of Summer Illnesses

Michelle Weiss — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:28 +0000

As a medical practice, it’s a well-known fact that with summer comes seasonal illness and ailments, as well as children needing physicals and exams for summer programs and school. Some of the most common illnesses and ailments include strep throat, swimmer’s ear, viruses with high fevers, eczema and bumps/bruises. In Arizona where we are located, heat related illnesses are also common. To help avoid heat related illnesses, check out our blog post on how to stay hydrated!

Even with the anticipation of increased foot traffic and appointments, every medical practice can feel overwhelmed and additional stress during the summer season, so it’s important to be proactive and prepare your office!

Utilizing our automated appointment reminder service, “CosmoMinder”, will help significantly reduce your no-show rates, thus saving you valuable time and expenses. This system reminds your patients of their appointment time and date, clinic location, physician, and any other information which you would like to pass on to your patients. It also is capable of leaving messages on voicemail, accepting appointment confirmations, and will take demanding tasks off your employees’ plates so they can focus on customer service and serving the patients already in the office. The system will even transfer patients to a scheduling desk or clinic, ask patients questions, and store their responses for your retrieval.

Another way to prepare your practice for an increase in appointments and traffic due to summer illnesses is with our lab results service. Patients may be called automatically, or call in anytime of the day or night, to hear the results of their lab tests. As always, Cosmopolitan is fully HIPAA compliant and to ensure confidentiality, the system prompts patients for a PIN number or password. With this convenient automated lab reporting system, nurses, doctors, and other staff members have more time to deal one-on-one with patients, and patients themselves do not have to wait for a phone call back.

With every new season comes new ways your practice can fully prepare for increased traffic, appointments and illnesses. Contact us today if you are interested in setting up one of the above mentioned services, or are interested in other ways Cosmopolitan can assist your practice!

Stay Hydrated This Summer!

Michelle Weiss — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:06:36 +0000

Staying hydrated is always important, but it becomes especially important as time spent outdoors increases and temperatures begin to soar. At Cosmopolitan, we encourage Team Members to get outdoors and engage in physical exercise by participating in events such as the Mountain Park Health Center 5K, and with our Team Member founded Hike-A-Month Club. However, we know that it’s also important to provide our Team Members with solid information on how to maintain good health while pushing your body harder than normal and a large part of that is staying hydrated! Prevention Magazine provides some great information (and debunks some popular myths) on how to stay hydrated this summer:

Forget drinking eight glasses of water per day. This much water may be excessive for inactive people and far too little for those who exercise or work outdoors. Hydration needs can change daily and are highly individualized. A good way to gauge your hydration levels is to monitor the color of your urine. The darker your urine, the more likely you are dehydrated.
When temperature and humidity are both above 70, you enter the dehydration danger zone. Sip frequently from a water bottle, and drink before, during, and after vigorous activity.
Stay away from energy drinks! They contain large amounts of sugar and stimulants that can be counterproductive and dangerous. Any type of caffeinated or alcoholic beverage will actually dehydrate you more than hydrate you, so avoid them when temperatures are warm.

According to Livestrong.com, staying hydrated has several health benefits, such as improved body temperature regulation, improved weight maintenance, increased body lubrication and physical efficiency, and better overall health! Start the summer off right by monitoring your hydration levels, especially when spending time in the sun!

How to Monitor and Maintain Your Blood Pressure

Michelle Weiss — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:08 +0000

May is National Blood Pressure Month, and while awareness for other illnesses has become highly prevalent, blood pressure issues can be incredibly detrimental to your health and should not be ignored. In fact, high blood pressure is quite common. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one out of three Americans are diagnosed with high blood pressure. According to redorbit.com, “Hypertension is called ‘the silent killer’ because it doesn’t have any obvious symptoms but can cause damage to the brain, heart, and kidneys. Furthermore, many Americans don’t have hypertension correctly controlled. African Americans, in particular, are more at risk for developing hypertension and having it diagnosed at a younger age.”

Despite these daunting statistics, it can be very simple to monitor and maintain your blood pressure. Here are some great tips to prevent high blood pressure via WebMD.com:

Maintaining a healthy weight. Being overweight can make you two to six times more likely to develop high blood pressure than if you are at your desirable weight. Even small amounts of weight loss can make a big difference in helping to prevent and treat high blood pressure.
Getting regular exercise: People who are physically active have a lower risk of getting high blood pressure (20%-50% lower) than people who are not active. You don’t have to be a marathon runner to benefit from physical activity. Even light activities, if done daily, can help lower your risk.
Reducing salt intake: Often, when people with high blood pressure cut back on salt, their blood pressure falls. Cutting back on salt also prevents blood pressure from rising.
Drinking alcohol in moderation, if at all: Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. So to help prevent high blood pressure, if you drink alcohol, limit how much you drink to no more than two drinks a day. The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” recommend that for overall health, women should limit their alcohol to no more than one drink a day.
Reduce Stress: Stress can make blood pressure go up and over time may contribute to the cause of high blood pressure. There are many steps you can take to reduce your stress. The article on easing stress will get you started.

We hope these tips are helpful to you, and make sure to visit our Facebook page, and let us know what your tips are for maintaining your blood pressure.

How to Become HIPAA Compliant

Michelle Weiss — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:00:25 +0000

In a recent blog post, “What is HIPAA Compliance,” we discussed where the act originated and what it consists of. With medical practices and other facilities in the industry having access to confidential information, it’s also important to understand the steps that you must take in order to become HIPAA compliant. We here at Cosmopolitan Medical Communications stay up to date on requirements and all of our services are HIPAA compliant. Here are some great tips to consider if you’re unsure about your compliance:

· If you have been classified as a covered entity, you will need to assign a compliance officer to ensure that your policies are in compliance with those required by HIPAA.

· Proper training should be provided to all employees who will be accessing patient medical records and other confidential information.

· Make sure any training you implement includes all HIPAA policies and guidelines. Consider keeping employees up to date on new laws and requirements by providing refresher courses or newsletter updates.

· To ensure the safety of all patient information, it’s crucial to not only have firewalls and anti-virus programs on your computers, but strong password protection as well. Only approved employees should have access to the computers.

· Make sure you have a password protected backup of all patient records. For even better protection, consider encrypting the data.

· When destroying any patient documents, use a shredder to ensure that every paper is properly destroyed.

You will need to take sufficient precautions to ensure your practice is HIPAA compliant. This will guarantee that you avoid any applicable violations and consequences. Most employees who commit these violations do so inadvertently, so the violations will need to be corrected after they are reported to avoid any resulting penalties.

Make sure to comment on our Facebook page and let us know how we can help your practice become HIPAA compliant!

What is HIPAA Compliance?

Michelle Weiss — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:00:30 +0000

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or HIPAA for short, is a crucial staple for any medical practice, hospital or health care provider in the medical industry. While HIPAA is practically a household name, many people may not know the specific details about it and why it’s so important to be compliant in the first place.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA consists of both Privacy and Security rules, explaining that “HIPAA provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes. The Security Rule specifies a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information.”

Consumers’ health information is protected by both rules and covered entities are required to comply with them. These covered entities include health care providers, health plans, health plan clearninghouses and many others.

For the complete list of covered entities, visit the HHS website.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post featuring the next step after learning what HIPAA is, which is how to become HIPAA compliant.

How Cosmopolitan Manages Customer Information

Michelle Weiss — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:00:32 +0000

We recently discussed Records and Information Management Month in a blog post and showed how important it is to keep your patient information organized and confidential.

Here at Cosmo, we deal with numerous client accounts and all types of customer information, which is why we so greatly value confidentiality and securing customer information. We also know how important your patients are to you in your practice, which is why we ensure that our operators are knowledgeable and sincere, while providing the best customer service possible. Unlike some other overseas medical answering services, our operations are entirely based in the United States and are fully HIPAA-compliant. You can feel secure knowing that we are able to ensure the most comprehensive and confidential operations possible with our single-location and in-house staff.

As always, feel free to contact us and let us know how we can assist your practice in confidentially managing your patient information!

Why Records and Information Management is Important

Michelle Weiss — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:00:24 +0000

You may or may not know that April is Records and Information Management Month. First observed back in 1995, it was meant to bring attention to the cause of passing the renewal of the U.S. Paperwork Reduction Act. Of course many companies, including Cosmopolitan Medical, are striving to reduce their carbon footprint, along with reducing risk, by going completely paperless with their businesses.

The main goals of records and information management are classifying, storing, securing and destruction (or in some cases, archival preservation) of records. This can easily apply to your daily dealings with patient medical records, whether they are electronic or tangible. Properly managing your office and patient records is crucial in meeting HIPAA compliancy, as well as staying as updated and organized as possible. This will help ensure the health care professionals on staff can do the best job they can with the information given.

Here at Cosmo, we understand how important each and every one of your patients are to you, which is why we ensure that our operators are knowledgeable, sincere, and talented service providers. Our operations are entirely based in The United States and are fully HIPAA-compliant. Our single-location, in-house staff (no home agents) ensures the most complete and confidential operations available to the medical community.

Cosmopolitan’s Appointment Reminder Service – Fast Facts

Michelle Weiss — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:16 +0000

Did you catch our latest blog post, “Automated Appointment Reminders” ? We offer you 24-hour services to your business to alleviate any worry about no-show appointments! We also wrote a blog post last year covering “Minimizing Costly No-Show and Late Appointments”, which discussed the easy, three-step process in our Automated Appointment Reminder process. It’s a great read, click here to see!

This time around, we’re here to provide you with fast facts on why you should be using our Automated Appointment Reminder service!

Easy to use and cost effective solution that will immediately lower your no-show rates and increase your practice’s revenue
No special software required
Simply upload your .txt, .csv, .xls, or other database file to our secure website
CosmoMinder se habla Español
Options available to leave reminder messages on voicemail or call multiple times until answered by a live person
Choose from our reminder templates or build your own custom script
Provide pre-procedure instructions
Send reminders to schedule repeating visits such as vaccinations, women’s health visits, dental cleaning, etc.
Instead of simply cancelling, patients have the option to speak immediately to a live person at your office to reschedule with the press of a button.
Free up your staff to focus on other duties
Multiple office locations are not a challenge for CosmoMinder
Fully HIPAA compliant
CosmoMinder’s Caller ID will display your office number

“Our “no-show” rate dropped from 25% to only 10% in the first full month! I would recommend Cosmopolitan’s reminder service to any medical practice that is frustrated with the high number of patients that doesn’t show up for their scheduled appointment.” Dave Allen, Practice Manager-SJHMC-Medical Group

Let us help drop your no-show rates today! Contact us at 800-900-0101 to get started!

Automated Appointment Reminders

Michelle Weiss — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:00:33 +0000

According to the Medical Group Management Association, 15 to 22 percent of patients in the US do not show up for scheduled visits. Using an average patient charge of $50 per visit, if your practice has 10 no-shows a day, you are losing $500 per day, $10,000 per month, $120,000 per year! Here at Cosmopolitan, we don’t want your business worrying about no-shows and lost revenue. Let us help by extending our 24-hour services to you! We offer appointment scheduling, automated appointment reminders, and with our friendly and efficient customer service, your patients will always feel prepared, appreciated and comfortable.

Save Time and Money with “CosmoMinder”

Cosmopolitan Medical Communications offers your medical practice an abundance of services to help decrease the amount of no-shows. We offer everything from appointment reminders, preventative healthcare, and lab results to clinical studies, staff notifications, and much more! Our automated messaging reminds patients of appointments, which in turn significantly reduces your practice’s no-show rates. Here are three reasons why using Cosmopolitan would be an amazing asset to your business:

Flexibility – We understand that each business operates and functions differently. We will work with you to launch an automated messaging solution that will work for your unique business needs. Cosmopolitan will make it easy for you!
Custom Reporting – We know the importance of a good report that will quickly inform you of the status of the reminder call or lab result. We will design a report that is easy to read and easy to work with.
Save Time and Money – Reduce the need for increasing or reassigning staff to more important tasks. It only costs pennies per patient.

At Cosmopolitan Medical Communications, we understand that your time is valuable, and we have made it simple for that reason. Export your appointments from your appointment scheduling software, upload to our secure website, and we will take care of the rest. Call 602-331-1333 or 800-900-0101 for more details!