14: Health Care Choices
- Page ID
- 11783
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- 14.1: Understanding your Health Care Choices
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines health literacy as "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions." In a recent report by the HHS, improved consumer health literacy was determined to be an important component of health communication, medical product safety, and oral health.
- 14.2: How to Read Health News
- If you’ve just read a health-related headline that has caused you to spit out your morning coffee, ), it’s always best to follow the Blitz slogan: “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The most important rule to remember is: don’t automatically believe the headline. It is there to draw you into buying the paper and reading the story.
- 14.3: Health Care Choices - The Affordable Health Care Act (ACA)
- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) represents large-scale federal reform of the United States’ health care system. It expands eligibility to programs like Medicaid and CHIP, helps guarantee insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and establishes regulations to make sure that the premium funds collected by insurers and care providers go directly to medical care.
- 14.4: Health Insurance - Key Terms
- Part of health literacy is understanding key health insurance terms. This will allow for educated decisions when choosing a health insurance plan. Below are some basic key terms that are helpful to understand when researching health insurance plans:
- 14.5: Choices in Medical Care
- Choosing the right medical professional can be difficult and will vary depending on your day-to-day health status.
- 14.6: Alternative Medical Practices
- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the term for medical products and practices that are not part of standard care. Standard care is what medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy and allied health professionals, such as registered nurses and physical therapists, practice. Alternative medicine means treatments that you use instead of standard ones. Complementary medicine means nonstandard treatments used along with standard ones. Examples are acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicin
- 14.7: Health Disparity
- Some groups of people are affected by HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STI’s, and TB, more than other groups of people. Differences may occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education, income, disability, geographic location and sexual orientation among others. Social determinants of health like poverty, unequal access to health care, lack of education, stigma, and racism are linked to health disparities.
Thumbnail: Doctor Talking with a Patient. (Public Domain; National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health).