All Physical Exams are Not Created Equal

Amen Dr. Dino.

notdeaddinosaur's avatarMusings of a Dinosaur

Once again, I am in receipt of a letter from a specialist (a surgical subspecialty, of course) that has me alternately shaking my head in disbelief and trembling with fury.

The letter was clearly crafted with electronic medical record software to support billing as high a level office visit as possible. In addition to a complete specialty-specific organ system examination, a “Multi-System Physical Examination” was also documented:

  • Constitutional: well-nourished, no physical deformities, normally developed, good grooming
  • Neck: neck symmetrical, not swollen, normal tracheal position
  • Respiratory: no labored breathing, no use of accessory muscles
  • Cardiovascular: normal temperature, normal extremity pulses, no swelling, no varicosities
  • Lymphatic: no enlargement of neck, axillae, groin
  • Skin: no paleness, no jaundice, no cyanosis, no lesion, no ulcer, no rash
  • Neurologic/Psychiatric: oriented to time, oriented to place, oriented to person, no depression, no anxiety, no agitation
  • Gastrointestinal: no mass, no tenderness, no rigidity, non-obese abdomen
  • Eyes: Normal…

View original post 201 more words

USGS: OK Fracking Has Increased Chance Of ‘Damaging Quake’

USGS: Okla. Fracking Has Increased Chance Of ‘Damaging Quake’ : The Two-Way : NPR.

The USGS and Oklahoma Geological Survey issued a joint statement on Friday, citing a dramatic spike in magnitude 3.0 temblors, especially since October 2013.

The agencies said “183 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater occurred in Okla. from October 2013 through April 14, 2014. This compares with a long-term average from 1978 to 2008 of only two magnitude 3.0 or larger earthquakes per year. As a result of the increased number of small and moderate shocks, the likelihood of future, damaging earthquakes has increased for central and north-central Oklahoma.”

 

And the Guthrie wildfire was approximately 12 miles from my house.

I’m trapped…

 

“We’re a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people.”

Please watch and share.

Lauren K. Gray's avatarIntentional Progressive: LKG

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 12.40.26 PM I’ve been sitting here in shock and reflection for about five minutes from this video by Gary Turk called Look Up. I’ve never wanted as many people to watch a video as I’ve wanted everyone I know to watch this one.

We can all relate to this and we are ALL guilty of walking around, looking at our phones, sitting at home watching a screen and missing every day opportunities and sights.

“When you’re too busy looking down, you don’t see the chances you miss
So look up from your phones, shut down those displays
We have a finite existence, a set number of days
Don’t waste your life getting caught in the net
because when the end comes, nothing’s worse than regret”

Watch and listen:

I never actually did that TIME study of how much time I’ve wasted on Facebook, because I don’t want to know. I’m sure the…

View original post 1,062 more words

Remote Life Insurance Underwriters Jobs – Ketterling Group – Charlotte, NC | Indeed.com

There seem to be more life underwriting positions opening up around the industry.  But as I suspected, there are some disturbing trends entering our business and profession.  The ad below is pulled from Indeed.com.  The bold highlights are mine.  These positions are part-time positions.  Compensation is fee based.

To say this disturbs me would be an understatement.

Remote Life Insurance Underwriters job – Ketterling Group –Charlotte, NC | Indeed.com.

Remote Life Insurance Underwriters
Ketterling Group – Charlotte, NC
  • Position is eligible for remote work.

Our client is the market leader in medical information services that help our clients make informed decisions and improve the lives of those they serve.

About the opportunity: Our client’s Underwriting Department is seeking experienced Life and LTC Underwriters to do medical summarizations, as well as provide full underwriting, quick quotes and support other lines of underwriting business. This is a part-time (fee based) 30 – 35 hour a week position Monday – Friday. Plus, weekends and overtime as business needs demand. There is opportunity for growth into salaried positions.

Professional Abilities:
Proven track record of critical thinking capabilities
Commitment to excellence while maintaining required productivity levels
Ability to think ‘outside the box’ and determine areas of process improvements
Focused on continued education and professional growth
Team player and detail oriented

5+ years of life underwriting in a home office environment
Proven ability to work in a virtual office setting
Must be able to work independently and efficiently
Knowledgeable in Microsoft Office products
Well versed in internet applications
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Strong computer skills, including the ability to work with multiple systems
Experience
Undergraduate degree and/or equivalent professional work experience
Completion of insurance related coursework and/or accreditations 
CareerBuilder – 1 day ago

Higher Doses of Antidepressants Linked to Suicidal Behavior in Young Patients

Higher Doses of Antidepressants Linked to Suicidal Behavior in Young Patients: Study – WebMD.

For the research, the study authors pulled information from a large prescription claims database. The study included more than 162,000 patients aged 10 to 64 with a diagnosis of depression who started taking an SSRI medication between 1998 and 2010.

Researchers restricted their analysis to three of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, CelexaZoloft and Prozac. And they separated users into those who started at the recommended dosages of those medications, or those who were prescribed higher-than-recommended doses of the drugs.

The normal doses were 20 milligrams per day for Celexa, 50 milligrams per day for Zoloft and 20 milligrams per day for Prozac. Patients who were initially prescribed more than one drug were excluded from the study.

Nearly 18 percent of patients in the study were started on doses that were higher than those, in conflict with current medical guidelines.

Then researchers checked patients’ medical records to see how many had committed acts of deliberate self-harm within a year of starting their medications.

Among those younger than 24, patients on higher doses harmed themselves at roughly twice the rate of those on lower doses. During the study period, there were 32 incidents of self-harm for every 1,000 young patients taking high doses while there were only 15 such incidents per 1,000 patients taking recommended doses.

Life Insurance Underwriters Jobs – New York, NY | Indeed.com

I have shameless copied this job posting from Indeed.com because my website gets a lot of visitors looking for work.  If you’re looking for work I wish you much success in finding what you are looking for.  I have personally been home office based for nearly 8 years.  Not a bad way to make a living.  I miss the corporate politics and meetings but not much else.

Life Insurance Underwriters job – New York, NY | Indeed.com.

Life Insurance Underwriters, 15 insurance underwriters needed immediately by well-known national insurance company. You may work at home!These are full time positions working Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm from the comfort of your home. You will earn $20 to $35 an hour or more, depending on you experience and abilities. 

You will be responsible for:

  • Assessing medical and financial risk to protect the mortality results of the organization while also supporting sales.
  • Emailing customers and occasionally speaking with them regarding their insurance.
  • Underwriting complex formal applications and informal quote applications with the ability to evaluate and take final action in an independent manner within approval authority guidelines.
  • Analyzing complex information and interpreting same to reach comprehensive medical and financial assessments based on company guidelines and policy.
  • Effectively managing change, defusing conflict and negotiate positive results.


In order to be considered, you must have at least 8+ years of life underwriting experience with demonstrated competence handling large face amount cases. In addition, you need:

  • Experience with brokerage distribution marketplace.
  • Approval authority minimum of $2,000,000 experience.
  • FLMI, FALU and/or CLU designations preferred.


If you have superior technical underwriting skills, are able to manage a large caseload, and seek a position where you may work from the comfort of your home, then please send your resume now, in complete confidentiality to:
boston@iosstaffing.com 

Salary Range 
$20.00 to $35.00 

Schedule 
9am – 5 pm 

Interested in this position? For more details, contact boston@iosstaffing.com
Corporate Resource Services is an equal opportunity employer
CRS Co. – 18 days ago – save job – original job – block

Binge Drinking Boosts Mortality Risk in Older Adults

Binge Drinking Boosts Mortality Risk in Older Adults.

They examined the association between episodic heavy drinking and total mortality among 446 regular moderate drinkers aged 55 to 65 years at baseline. Moderate drinking was defined as up to 1 standard drink per day for women and 2 for men.

Of the 446 adults, 74 engaged in episodic heavy drinking, defined as 4 or more drinks on 1 occasion for women and 5 for men.

During the course of 20 years, the death rate was higher in the moderate drinkers who binged (61%, 45 deaths) than in moderate drinkers who did not binge (37%, 137 deaths).

Although more men than women died during the 20-year period, the distribution of deaths across alcohol consumption groups was similar for women and men (P = .76).

In multiple logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for all covariates as well as overall alcohol consumption, moderate drinkers who engaged in episodic heavy drinking had more than 2 times higher odds of 20-year mortality in comparison with regular moderate drinkers (odds ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.14 – 3.97; P< .05).

And from the CDC –

CDC Online Newsroom – Press Release: January 10, 2012.

Binge drinking statistics from the CDC estimate more than 38 million US adults binge drink an average of 4 times a month and the most drinks they consume on average is 8. The report found that binge drinking is more common among households with incomes ≥$75,000, but the largest number of drinks consumed per occasion is highest among households with incomes of <$25,000