For people living from paycheck to paycheck without health insurance, it would take a hefty cash advance or personal loan just to step inside a doctor’s office. And for people who have health insurance or extra cash stashed away for medical expenses, more than half of every dollar spent on medical care is a waste. According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute (HRI), approximately $1.2 trillion of the $2.2 trillion spent on medical care annually in the United States is the result of wasteful health-care practices.

The HRI report describes three general areas of waste:

• Behavioral where individual behaviors are shown to lead to health problems, and have potential opportunities for earlier, non-medical interventions.
• Clinical where medical care itself is considered inappropriate, entailing overuse, misuse or under-use of particular interventions, missed opportunities for earlier interventions, and overt errors leading to quality problems for the patient, plus cost and rework.
• Operational where administrative or other business processes appear to add costs without creating value.

Before you light up or take another bite . . .

Big may be beautiful, but it's an enormous waste of health-care resources.

The report concludes that the impact of obesity, alcohol abuse, smoking, and non-adherence to medical advice and prescriptions are exponential factors affecting all three categories. Every year, these risky choices and behaviors result in an avoidable $493 billion waste.

Some of the specific contributors to the $1.2 trillion leak are:

1. Over-testing: $210 billion
2. Processing claims: up to $210 billion
3. Ignoring doctor orders: $100 billion
4. Ineffective use of technology: up to $88 billion
5. Hospital re-admissions: $25 billion
6. Medical staffing turnover: $21 billion
7. Medical errors: $17 billion
8. Unnecessary emergency room visits: $14 billion
9. Prescriptions written on paper: $4 billion
10. Hospital-acquired infections: $3 billion
11. Over-prescribing of antibiotics: $1 billion

Too many tests

Defensive medicine – the ordering of tests or procedures based on concern for liability or to pad income — is the single biggest waste of health care dollars. In a recent CNN report, Dr. Arthur Garson, provost of the University of Virginia and former dean of its medical school said, “Sometimes the motivation is to avoid malpractice suits, or to make more money because they are compensated more for doing more. Many are also convinced that doing more tests is the right thing to do. But any money that is spent on a patient that doesn’t improve the outcome is a waste.”

Those annoying claim forms

Inefficient claims processing is the second-biggest area of wasteful expenditure. Doctors spend enormous amounts of time and money trying to get paid by insurers. They also spend a lot of time and money getting advance approval from insurers for higher-priced or non-routine procedures. Those necessary efforts significantly increase the cost of medical care

Using the emergency room as a clinic

Because emergency rooms are legally obligated to treat all patients, more insured and uninsured patients are getting their primary care in emergency rooms. An emergency room visit for a routine condition can cost 10 times what the same medical care would cost at an urgent care clinic. Not only are unnecessary emergency room visits a waste of medical resources, many uninsured patients cannot or do not pay their emergency room bills, and medical providers ultimately find ways to pass on the costs to insured patients and uninsured patients who do pay out-of-pocket.

Going back to the hospital

Frequently – to the tune of $25 billion a year — patients don’t follow care instructions after being discharged from the hospital and wind up being readmitted for complications that could have been avoided. Preventable re-admissions are also common among elderly patients who are discharged prematurely because of insurance shortages or hospital bed unavailability.

Spreading it around

Infection control is ever-evasive in a building full of sick people. Patients sometimes come in with infections which then spread in the hospital. The problem is one of enormous proportions, and the ironic fact is that the hospital is a very dangerous place to be when you’re vulnerable to infection. Something as simple as hand-washing often can reduce the problem, but the risk of infection is enormous and so is the $3 billion annual bill for hospital-acquired infections.

This continues the tale of synsepalum dulcificum, like a cash advance to the human race from nature. CLICK HERE if you missed the beginning of the article.

Dr. Cusnir has filed for an investigative new drug application with the FDA, who had labeled the berries a food additive back in 1974. For the necessary study, he will need at least 40 cancer patients. If results help patients maintain healthy body weight and appetite, bigger studies will be undertaken over there will be bigger studies over the next several years.

Outside of cancer patients, synsepalum dulcificum has more uses. Carmen Duporte of Fort Lauderdale, Florida “integrated the miracle fruit into her routine drinks of aloe vera juice,” writes Park. Duporte drinks this to cleanse her digestive system. The aloe alone is thick and bitter, definitely an acquired taste. “When I drink it with the fruit, there’s no taste in my mouth,” says Duporte.

Even more health benefits?

In the 1970s, researchers like Linda Bartoshuk of U.S. Navy and Army labs (and now the University of Florida’s Center for Smell) studies the miracle fruit. It contains miraculin, a natural protein which binds sugar molecules to the tongue rather than allowing it to dissolve and disappear. When acidic substances enter the mouth, the sugar molecules press on the sweet spots of the tongue.

This process could be used to help people with conditions ranging from diabetes to obesity. It can help to combat cravings for sweet and regulate excess consumption. And unlike sugar itself, synsepalum dulcificum berries have few calories. Unlike artificial sweeteners, the berries are all-natural.

Bartoshuk tells Park that claims of health benefits are now premature. “Any real claims for health benefits are going to have to be supported by good research,” says the researcher.

A cash crop

Yet farmers like Fort Lauderdale’s Curtis Mozie know people are interested. He raises the berries and ships them to online customers. He still wonders why the berry isn’t more well-known. “Why was it kept hush-hush? I wanted people to enjoy the fruit and enjoy the experience and any edible item that doesn’t taste good with the help of the miracle fruit.”

Richard Campbell of Fairchild Tropical Fruit Garden wishes he’d been more forward thinking about the berries. “No offense meant to people who want to pay money to eat miracle fruit and weird things. We used to do that every Friday. We grew up with miracle fruit. People came over, ate miracle fruit and sat around eating limes. I feel stupid I didn’t think of charging anyone.”

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Juicy Burgers contributes to the childhood obesity epidemic in America

Fast food is cheap, easy, and unhealthy, but quick payday loans can help you pay for real groceries. Unfortunately, nutrition comes at a cost. America’s alternative to nutrition is fast food. The world’s alternative to nutrition is no food at all. Fortunately for Americans, this is the land of the free, and one of our financial freedoms is the access to all kinds of loans. If you want to feed your family nutritious, healthy food, it’s comforting to know that grocery stores boast aisles of wholesome foods and quick payday loans are available as a short term financial solution for paying the grocery bill. The rest of the world isn’t so fortunate.

Obesity Epidemic and World Hunger

While American children are getting fatter, children around the world are starving. An obesity epidemic and world hunger? It seems like a sick contradiction, but the numbers don’t lie. Obesity in American children ages 6-11 has more than tripled in the last twenty years. Nearly 20% of American children are overweight or obese, and almost one-third of American children eat fast food every day. Fast food consumption accumulates to about six extra pounds each year for every child. Elsewhere in the world, one child dies every six seconds from starvation. The World Food Programme has calculated that hunger now kills more people on an annual basis than tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS collectively.

Unequal Distribution

The unequal distribution has been one of the biggest contributors of world hunger. This year, more food has been produced worldwide than in all of history, which means that there should be more food per person. However, the way food is distributed denies those dying of hunger the right to eat. Other reasons for increasing world hunger include high transport costs, more droughts, and the depletion of natural resources like water, farmable land, and oil.

Limited Resources

Like oil, food is a limited resource, but Americans eat and consume as though food is a never-ending commodity. Americans take food for granted, and our meat-eating habits are taking a toll on the world. It takes about seven pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. So every time you roll through the drive-thru to order juicy burgers for your children, not only are you contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic in America, you are also contributing to world hunger. Imagine how much further seven pounds of grain could go than one pound of beef.

Smart Food, Smart Money

It’s easy to understand that eating fast food is more convenient for you and your family. Although both are pricey, getting fresh produce and other healthy foods at the grocery store can definitely be more expensive than your favorite fast food restaurant. It’s even easier to understand that cheap food is appealing right now because of how the economy is going. Your budget is tight, and the more money you can save, the better. However, in this case, even though the nutritious foods are more expensive, it will be worth it in the long run. By feeding your family healthy foods and skipping those greasy burgers, you’ll be making the world a healthier, better-fed place. In case you’re running low on cash until your next payday, don’t give into the convenience and low price of fast food. Opt for quick payday loans to pay for those wholesome foods.