My health

A proposal by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to cut 300,000 people from the health care plan for the poor will likely "increase the misery index," a Prescott doctor said.

Dr. Joseph Goldberger, chief medical officer for the Yavapai Regional Medical Center and a rheumatologist with a private practice, said about 15 to 20 percent of the patients he sees at his rheumatology consulting practice are insured by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the Arizona equivalent of Medicaid. Already, AHCCCS fees to doctors have been frozen, he said.

"The untold story is patients with or without insurance continue to get the care," Goldberger said. "They get the most expensive care of all: ER care. Everybody else ends up paying for that through higher premiums. It has a significant impact."Many of his arthritis patients need "very expensive" medications and "without insurance, they can't afford them at all. The bigger problem is the access to medications." Read the rest of this entry »

What is Insomnia?

The average person spends approximately 1/3 of his or her life sleeping. Although we do not yet fully understand either the purpose or the mechanics of sleep, we do know that an insufficient amount can have far-reaching consequences: our work performance, our personal relationships, and our physical and mental health all depend on getting an appropriate amount of rest.

The inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep throughout the night is a condition known as insomnia, and it is among the most common of all medical complaints; approximately 1/3 of all people experience a period of insomnia at least once during their lifetime. Individuals with insomnia typically experience at least one of the following symptoms: Read the rest of this entry »