Dan Frith

Everyone should be concerned about their heart. Most of us have family members or friends who have suffered from a heart attack or more minor heart problem. The consequences of these “cardiac events”can be devastating so do your homework before choosing a cardiologist or being admitted to your local hospital.The…

Not one week goes by in our office without a caller telling us that their doctor or hospital or nursing home will not provide them with a complete copy of their medical records. Our response is always the same….UPON REQUEST YOU MUST BE GIVEN ALL OF YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS!! No…

A recently released study reveals that costs for nursing homes and assisted living facilities have increased for a fifth consecutive year. The survey by Genworth Financial Inc., comes as baby boomers are approaching retirement and worry that they haven’t saved enough to cover day-to-day expenses as well as long-term medical…

By now every parent should know about the danger lead paint poses to young children. Lead is a soft metal that has been used for years in manufacturing glassware and plumbing fixtures, and in the past it was contained in gasoline and paint. Children may swallow harmful amounts if they…

Healthgrades a leading hospital rating organization, recently released its fifth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals study. If your kids brought home these grades you would not be very happy!It finds from 2004 through 2006 there were 238,337 preventable deaths among Medicare patients. That cost the program and ultimately taxpayers…

Beth Macy wrote an eye-opening article in yesterday’s Roanoke Times newspaper. Her findings: Virginia ranks 47th in the nation in Medicaid funding of home care. Unlike states that have tried to shift funding toward home care and away from nursing homes, Virginia spends just 27 percent of its Medicaid budget…

For most people, home is a haven and a refuge from the rest of the world. However, your home can also be the most dangerous place you go. I’m talking about lead, mostly lead dust, from the paint on your pre-1978 house’s walls and windows. Lead-based paint was banned in…