Consumer Health

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Consumer Health

• Introduction and Consumer Health Issues

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Healthy People in Healthy Communities

• Educate and empower individuals and families to
  adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles
• Educate consumers to make informed health and
  health care decisions, and
• Build community capacity to improve health.

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Issues

• Misleading Information
• Quackery and Health Fraud
• Problems with Products
• Problems with Services
• Problems with Costs
• The Need for Consumer Protection
• Intelligent Consumer Behavior

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Issue1Misleading Information

• High volume and complex
• Media influence
• Radio TV
• Magazines newspapers
• Functions
• Entertain, inform, carry advertisements and make
  money

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Issue 2Quackery and Health Fraud

• Definitions
• How its done
• Slogans buzzwords
• Make people feel they are in control
• Characteristics of Victims

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Issue 3Problems with Products

• Supplements
• Herbs
• Mail Order products
• Devices, audio video tapes
• Exercise equipment

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Issue 4Problems with Services

• Clinical care
• Over prescribe
• Unnecessary surgery
• Work too fast
• Nutritionists weight loss counselors Idaho law
  
• There is no legal definition for "nutritionist" -
  could be someone who works in a health-food
  store- important to look for the LD (Licensed
  Dietitian) - (s)he must be a Registered Dietitian
  - RD status is under the Commission on Dietetic
  Registration (CDR) of the American Dietetic
  Association, (Dr. Elaine Long, 9-8-04)
• Alternative practitioners
• Health facility services

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Issue 5Problems with Costs

• Cost of health care
• Waste
• Controlling Costs
• Insurance
• Prevention vs Health Care
• Effectiveness

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Issue 6Problems with Costs
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Issue 7Need for Consumer Protection

• Let the buyer beware
• Protective Forces
• Federal, state
• Accreditation
• Insurance
• Hospitals
• Professional organizations

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Issue 7Intelligent Consumer Behavior

• Seek reliable sources of information
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Select practitioners with care
• Assess own health
• Active health illness management
• Use scientifically substantiated health products
  and services
• Understand costs of health and illness
• Report fraud

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Summary

• All aspects of the marketplace
• Health information
• The well-informed consumer