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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Repression - The Luxury of Not Remembering

Repression is a term invented by Sigmund Freud to describe the situation when someone is unable to remember an event because it was too painful. Typically, we see examples of repression after a war or similar catastrophe and it is one of the ways that the mind uses to lighten the burden of painful memories.

It takes place to protect the conscious part of the mind, and is a deliberate act carried out by the unconscious part of the mind. Everyone is potentially subject to repression. It has nothing to do with being strong or weak, male or female.

The human mind is divided into two parts; the conscious part and the unconscious part. The conscious mind we are all familiar with; it is the part that we think is really us. The unconscious part is where we delegate all our routine tasks such as tying shoelaces, driving a car or riding a bicycle.

The unconscious mind therefore does lots of things that are designed to help us. In doing so, it often makes decisions on our behalf and even puts them into practice without our knowledge.

One of the things that it does automatically is to look at our memories and experiences and decide if they are traumatic. If they are too traumatic, the unconscious mind will not allow us to remember them. It is like having the Board of Film Censors in the mind, giving a certificate to each memory. If the memory has an "X" certificate, the person will not be allowed to watch it.

What we must take into account is that this censoring may have taken place when we were at a very young age, and what we think was traumatic at five, may seem very tame when we are twenty five. Nevertheless, the unconscious mind will still not allow us to remember. Once it has given a certificate to the memory, it will not (or is very reluctant) to change it.

The unconscious mind does not carry out repression just for the sake of it. It does so in order that the conscious mind can have some peace. If lots of unpleasant or traumatic memories were constantly available to the conscious mind, the results may be unbearable. The unconscious mind does it to help, and protect the conscious mind.

The problem is that even though the conscious mind is not aware of these memories, the unconscious mind is always aware. These traumas result in changes in behaviour to try to compensate or further protect the person, and the changes in behaviour can sometimes appear to be irrational.

It would not be unusual to have strange, apparently unconnected thoughts due to repression. In addition, there may be compulsions, obsessions, phobias or even anxiety. The person is left confused because there appears to be no reason for these feelings.

An example of repression in action could be the following. A boy at the age of three, experiences a difficult flight whilst going on holiday. His unconscious mind represses the experience but he gradually develops a fear of flying over the next few years.

Another example might be the following. When a girl was two years old, her mother had to go into hospital for three months. The need for the hospital stay was not explained to her (because she was only two years old) and as a result, she believed that her mother had abandoned her. In trying to work out why her mother abandoned her, the unconscious mind reasoned that it was because she was not a nice person. For the rest of her life she feels low self esteem, fears rejection and has feelings of inadequacy. She cannot remember the events because they are repressed but the effects live with her every day.

In many cases the question must be asked, "Why bother dragging up old memories?" The simple answer is that if the person does not have unwanted behaviour or has peace of mind at present, then there is little to be gained. If, however, the person does not have peace of mind, digging into the mind to find the cause is very worthwhile.

Often, uncovering regressed memories requires professional assistance (always check the professional qualifications) but this is not always the case. In some cases all that is needed is to adopt a state of mind which demonstrates to the unconscious mind that the person is now strong enough and wants to know about past events. This will encourage the unconscious mind to release them. It will release a little at a time, and see if the conscious mind "freaks out". If it does it will remove the memories to a safe place again. If the person receives them without a problem, it will release more and more until all of the memories are fully available.

Releasing memories should not be a frightening or painful experience. Usually the memories are far less frightening than expected. Things that were traumatic to a five year old are rarely traumatic to a mature and sensible adult. The peace of mind, the clarity of thinking and the rational behaviour that results from a "clean out" make it well worth the effort.

For more information visit the website http://www.san-luis-clinic.co.uk.

Repression - The Luxury of Not Remembering

Why Investing In Silver Is The Way To Go

Silver prices have started to level off over the last couple of mounts. So does that mean the potential in silver is exhausted? The answer is no, there still is a lot of steam left in silver or for in that matter all precious metals. Silver is easily found and has a diversified use and relatively lower price than gold. Ever think of silver in terms of how it is used in the industrial field? Silver is a very strong, ductile and can endure high temperatures making it a great fit for the use in electronic and medical tools.

With the increase of technology and the booming medical and electronics fields over the past century, the use of silver has doubled in its usage in these industries. Its demand is outpacing the supply and has led to large gaps in silver supply, which is one of the reasons why silver prices are going shy high. Another reason why silver is on the rise is because of the global economic uncertainty we face. With the nation dept out of control and the American dollar being worth less everyday has caused a major shift in how we look at precious metals today. Central banks around the globe have already stopped selling their silver reserves in the world market place, which has made silver a scarce and valuable.

During global turmoil, central bankers devalue their currency and the best way to escape this is to stick with gold and silver. Silver is a precious metal and an industrial metal, and both sectors are dynamic and volatile in nature. Investing in gold for financial survival has become a necessity as the entire world now is on a fiat monetary system. Making matters worse, the United States is in the midst of a spectacle of deficit spending like the world has never seen. Although investing in gold is not yet mainstream, investing in gold has become the safe haven for many investors who fear that the creation of fiat dollars will not stop until the dollar is worthless. In 1913 the American dollar was worth a dollar and in 2012 the value of a dollar has decreased by 97 percent.

If you want to invest in the white metal there are many options and ways to invest in silver. The most common would be buying coins and bars. There is also the option to invest from your IRA or 401k.

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TotalMD - The Advantages Of Using This Affordable Practice Management Software

I have been a medical biller and software trainer for 20 years. My clients want value for their money, so I am always on the lookout for better medical billing software with great features and a low price tag. We use several practice management systems in our billing service including Medisoft, AdvancedMD, and TotalMD. These are all great systems, but that hasn't stopped me from my quest for that perfect software. TotalMD has the same great price and ease of use as Medisoft does, however, it has some other advantages that are not as obvious.

Let's review the features that everyone wants:

Ease Of Use

Time is a precious commodity in a medical office or billing service and easy to use, intuitive software saves time. I like software features that do not require you to walk around the block to get next door. TotalMD foots the bill in this regard. It has all the features you need and is simple to use and requires very little training.

Great Price

TotalMD is very reasonably priced and does not require upgrades in order to obtain support. And just as important, the training and support fees are very reasonable.

Now, let's take a look at some other features that not all software users think of:

Great Technical Support

Everyone needs technical support once in a while and no one wants to spend a lot of time on the phone, on hold, waiting to resolve a problem. TotalMD is very responsive and really delivers in this area.

Remote Access

TotalMD is a desktop solution but it also offers an ASP model. Medical billing services will appreciate this flexibility because many of their clients want to share the data from any location.

Connectivity To Other Software

This is an important requirement that doesn't receive enough consideration and it is where TotalMD excels. The software provides integration on several levels which offers more choices to a practice or billing service.

Electronic Health Records

The connectivity to EHR (electronic health records) systems is really important. Unfortunately, some practices only discover this as a potential problem after they have already made a software purchase. TotalMD has free, built-in HL7 capability that allows it to integrate with or "talk to" popular EHR software like SpringCharts, Praxis, Amazing Charts, and others. What is HL7? It's a function that passes data elements from the practice management system to the EHR system. This important feature offers providers more choices in electronic health records software.

A medical office may like their practice management software, however, it may not integrate or link with the EHR of their choice, in which case, a third party HL7 (linking) software may be needed. Things can get complicated when two to three vendors are involved in coordinating installations and technical support. This may result in added expense and can be time consuming for the user.

Medical Coding Software & Other Add-Ons

TotalMD also intergrates seamlessly with several other well known products. You can look up CPT and diagnosis codes using Encoder Pro medical coding software. There is also credit card processing available by Intuit or X-Charge at very affordable rates. This service is a time saver because it works seamlessly with the software.

Electronic Processing

With TotalMD, electronic billing can be handled using any clearinghouse. The user is not limited in this respect. My favorite is the electronic remittance posting feature. You can download your 835 ERA files from ANY clearinghouse and post them with ease in TotalMD. Insurance verification is also a very valuable feature that can be integrated into the patient scheduler using either Gateway or Apex clearinghouses.

Document Manager

This is another well integrated product. If your electronic records requirements are minimal, TotalMD also has a very reasonably priced document manager. This easy-to-use software allows your office to organize, capture and store:

(1) patient insurance cards, driver's licenses and ID cards (2) patient signatures on your own financial, privacy and patient release forms (3) all printed documents (4) mail merge templates for letters and forms.

TotalMD is an all around great product and the vendor is a pleasure to work with. Affordability and ease of use are critical, however, technical support and product integration are also really high on my priority list, and TotalMD delivers.

Cover Up the Excesses Through Medicare Supplement Insurance

The high cost of availing medical treatment can be effectively tackled with the benefits provided by medical insurance. But in most of the cases even after 80% coverage of medical expenses, people find it hard to pay off the remaining 20% owing to financial difficulties. In scenarios like these it is important to avail Medicare supplements insurance that can cover the gap that has been created by the medical insurance plans. Medicare supplement or Medigap as it is rightly called is a service that can deliver the right kind of benefits to the people while availing medical treatments.

Medicare supplements have a total of 12 insurance plans that take care of the specific needs of each medical condition. These 12 insurance plans are in addition to the Medicare type A and type B plans that cover the hospital and other after care expenses. Owing to Co-payments and deductibles, people have no other option but to pay the expenses which can leave a large dent in their savings.

Medical supplements insurance can bring the desired financial assistance for the people who seek the services of hospitals in order to restore their health condition back on track. The services of skilled nurses are also taken care through the support of these medical insurance schemes. Medical supplements covered in the plans from C to J can help in overseeing the nursing charges. In cases of foreign travel for medical treatments, insurance companies can oversee the costs so as to assure high quality medical assistance.

The medical supplements can come in handy to cover the expenses that fall under preventive care that is crucial in many serious ailments like cancer, heart diseases and renal failures. The charges for treatment can be covered by signing up for supplement insurance that can provide the necessary cost benefits to the patients.

With several plans that are available under medical supplement insurance schemes, patients can be covered for a large number of situations like home care, emergency ambulance services, deductions on medical services like regular tests and scans that need to be performed on the individual.

There are large numbers of people who still cannot afford the insurance policies and end up without having any basic access to the insurance schemes. Supplement insurance policies are very affordable and can be availed at the cheapest of the rates in order to help the needy to avail the best medical facilities.

Of all the basic services, insurance is surely one of the most desirable benefits that each and every individual should avail. In order to get the cheapest quotes on supplement insurance, individuals can sign up online and get the maximum support to meet the financial expenses incurred on medical treatments.

In the wake of growing significance of availing quality medical treatments, it is important to consider supplement insurance to stay hassle free and avoid financial burden that arises during the process. In order to make the most of the services, it is important to find out the best dealer who can provide the best rates.

Hospital Plans Vs Medical Aid

When choosing between an entry-level hospital plan and a more comprehensive form of medical aid, cost is likely to be at the forefront of your mind. In an ideal world you wouldn't have to worry about the price of your medical aid, so that you could choose to have the best and most comprehensive plan available. The reality, though, is that you have a set income and other bills to pay, and if you have a family it can be even tougher to stretch your finances to pay for your medical aid coverage. Thus, you have to look into each type of plan and work out what you can afford.

A basic hospital plan will cover most day-to-day expenses incurred while you're in hospital. However, you could find that the plan doesn't cover certain aspects of your hospital stay. You may have to spend extra on receiving rehabilitative care or psychiatric treatment and the trouble is that when you're sick you are not always in a position to choose what kind of care you receive. Consequently, you could find yourself receiving treatment that you will end up having to pay out of your savings. Unfortunately, if you have no savings you could easily end up in debt.

A more comprehensive medical aid plan ensures that all sorts of services, treatments and facilities are open to you without you having to pay extra. Once you have a comprehensive medical aid plan you pay into it and can then claim back any money related to your hospital treatment. Depending on the type of plan you opt for, you could also have other medical expenses paid for that are not necessarily related to a hospital stay, such as trips to see your doctor or dentist and for medication that you have been prescribed.

Thus, the main benefit of choosing a comprehensive medical aid plan is that you don't have to worry about the future of your health, since it will be well taken care of if you were ever to develop a serious health problem, such as cancer, or injure yourself by breaking your leg, for instance, you won't have to worry about the financial side of your treatment. You won't have to rely on state healthcare facilities and you won't be left with mountains of debt after you leave hospital. The only trouble is that you have to pay more in terms of your monthly contributions.

If you have a large family and you want your spouse and children to be covered, as well as yourself, a significant proportion of your salary could end up going towards your healthcare provision. There is a great deal of uncertainty about the future and you never know what is going to happen. For all you know, you and your whole family could remain in perfect health, leading you to question whether a medical aid plan is really worth it. However, there is also a chance that someone could require emergency treatment, in which case it is important to have that protection there.

Ultimately, the chances are that whether you choose a basic hospital plan or a more comprehensive form of medical aid will depend on your financial situation, because if money isn't an issue you may decide to go with the plan that covers everything.

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Medical Coding Education - General Job Description

A medical coding specialist is someone who works in a hospital, clinic or office. They provide support and submit medical claims to insurance companies to make sure the hospital or doctor are paid for the services they provided to patients. This article will give you a breakdown of the overall responsibilities of a medical coder.

As a professional in the healthcare industry, it is important that you do everything in your power to learn as much about the medical insurance field. By taking courses and getting a medical coding education, you should have no problem grasping the basic knowledge of the field. Medical coding and billing is a pretty straight-forward job and once you learn the basics, the rest will come naturally. This is a field that will have very little change over the years, especially with most of the work now being done by advanced medical billing software.

Medical coders deal directly with private insurance companies and various government agencies who pay medical claims such as Medicare for example. The medical coding department is solely responsible for the collection of co-payments from patients directly by calling them and offering billing options. Responsibilities will also include,administrative duties, verifying signatures, keeping up to date on insurance policies and the latest information. A major benefit of being a medical coder is that you have the ability to work from home or at the very least work on different shifts. This can be very beneficial if you have a family or need to be flexible. However, to work from home, you will have to prove to the company that your are up to par and able to manage yourself. It is easier said than done in most cases. Another skill you may require to do is bookkeeping. Sometimes, especially in offices and private practices, you will have to wear different hats as you are working in a smaller outfit. This line of work is not very different from the medical coding itself but it really helps to know as it makes you more valuable.

Becoming a medical coder is a great career choice and provides you with job stability in a rapidly expanding industry. As mentioned above the salary range can only go higher as the healthcare industry is growing faster as the baby boomers retire. If you are good on the phone and have solid "attention-to-detail" skills, this field is one to consider.