Foot and Public Healthcare - Medical Healthcare

Foot care practitioners

Care and treatment for the foot, ankle, and lower leg may be delivered by podiatrists, pedorthists, foot health practitioners, podiatric medical assistants, podiatric nurse and others.

Podiatry or podiatric medicine is a branch  devoted to the study of, diagnosis, and medical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower extremity.  A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), is a specialist qualified by their education and training to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and structures of the leg. Podiatric physicians have extensive background knowledge in human anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, sociological and psychological perspectives, general medicine, surgery and pharmacology. Specialist podiatric physicians are podiatrists who are qualified by additional postgraduate training or fellowship training and experience in the specialized field.

Pedorthist is the title of a healthcare professional who specializes in the use of footwear and supportive devices to address conditions which affect the feet and lower limbs. They are trained in the assessment of lower limb anatomy and bio mechanics  and the appropriate use of corrective footwear – including shoes, shoe modifications, foot orthoses and other pedorthic devises. “Certified Pedorthist” is a title used by both the College of Pedorthics of Canada as well as the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics . However, in many jurisdictions the practice of pedorthists is self-regulated; professional certification is voluntary.


Public Healthcare practitioners

A public health practitioner focuses on improving health among individuals, families and communities through the prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries,  and promotion of healthy behaviors. This category includes community and preventive medicine specialists, public health nurses, dietitians, environmental health officers, paramedics, epidemiologists, health inspectors, and others.


Dietitians are experts in food and nutrition. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal. Dietitians work in various different capacities in the field of healthcare, food service, corporate setting, and educational arenas.

Environmental Health Officers (also known as Public Health Inspectors) are responsible for carrying out measures for protecting public health, including administering and enforcing legislation related to environmental health and providing support to minimize health and safety hazards. They are involved in a variety of activities, for example inspecting food facilities, investigating public health nuisances, and implementing disease control. Environmental health officers are focused on prevention, consultation, investigation, and education of the community regarding health risks and maintaining a safe environment.

Environmental health is a graduate career in most countries. The minimum requirements in most countries include an approved university degree program, field training and professional certification & registration.

For more information about other healthcare providers please read page Healthcare Providers.

Medical Healthcare - Dental Care

Dental care practitioners

A dental care practitioner is a health worker who provides care and treatment to promote and restore oral health. These include dentists and dental surgeons, dental assistants, dental auxiliaries, dental hygienists, dental nurses, dental technicians, dental therapists, and related professional titles.

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, the maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures, and their impact on the human body. Dentistry tends to be perceived as being focused primarily on human teeth, though it is not limited strictly to this. Dentistry is widely considered necessary for complete overall health. Doctors who practice dentistry are known as dentists. The dentist's supporting team – which includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and dental therapists – aids in providing oral health services.

Lets take an example of Maxillofacial.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the surgical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck.
Consultant specialists working in this area are variously termed oral surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons or oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

So this may come under dental care practitioners and can come under surgical also. This type of treatment are included in most of healthcare insurance policies and plan .

Dentist also encourage prevention of oral disease through proper and regular brushing of teeth and regular checkups. Many studies have proved that gum disease is one of the main factor in increased risk of diabetes , heart disease etc.

About the specialties of dentist different part of world have different opinions. Lets take about world's leading Healthcare Insurance country America (US Healthcare). They recognize nine dental specialties .
Public health dentistry
Endodontics
Oral and Maxillofacial pathology
Oral and Maxillofacial radiology
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
Orthodontics
Pediatric dentistry
Periodontics
Prosthodontics
General dentistry

Understanding Rehabilitation care in Medical Healthcare

Rehabilitation care practitioners

A rehabilitation care practitioner is a health worker who provides care and treatment which aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. These include physiotherapists, prosthetic ,  occupational therapists, recreational therapists, audiologists, speech and language pathologists, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation counselors  physiotherapy technicians, prosthetic technicians, personal care assistants, and others.

A physical disability is any impairment which limits the physical function of one or more limbs or fine or gross motor ability. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders and epilepsy.

Types of physical disabilities

Mobility impairment is a category of disability that includes people with varying types of physical disabilities. This type of disability includes upper limb disability, manual dexterity and disability in co-ordination with different organs of the body. Disability in mobility can either be a congenital or acquired with age problem. This problem could also be the consequence of some disease. People who have a broken skeletal structure also fall into this category of disability.

Visual impairment is another type of physical impairment. There are hundreds of thousands of people that greatly suffer from minor to various serious vision injuries or impairments. These types of injuries can also result into some severe problems or diseases like blindness and ocular trauma, to name a few. Some of the common types of vision impairments include scratched cornea, scratches on the sclera, diabetes-related eye conditions, dry eyes and corneal graft.

Hearing impairment is the category of physical impairment that includes people that are completely or partially deaf. People who are only partly deaf can sometimes make use of hearing-aids to improve their hearing ability.


There are certain rules and regulation in this section under healthcare insurance benefits , which are predefined and are mentioned in their policy notes . Every individual must read these carefully and if in any case they have doubt over any note they may call to their Healthcare insurance providers and let them explain you . Normally there are certain limitations under this section like some dollar amount is payable or in a year up to  some dollar amount is fixed or in a year only one visit or one service is covered . There may be some other limitations or exceptions can be there depending upon policy or plan individual or group had chosen. 

Understanding Surgical Practitioners -Medical Healthcare Insurance

Surgical Practitioners

A surgical practitioner is that health worker who is specialized in planning and delivery of a patient's preoperative care, including during the anesthetic , surgical and also recovery stages. They many include general and specialist surgeons , anesthesiologist , nurse anesthetists , surgical nurse , clinical officers , anesthetic technicians , surgical technologist and others.

Surgery  is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.
An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply surgery.  The patient or subject on which the surgery is performed can be a person or an animal. A surgeon is a person who practices surgery. Persons described as surgeons are commonly physicians, but the term is also applied to podiatrists, dentists (known as oral surgeons) and veterinarians. A surgery can last from minutes to hours, but is typically not an ongoing or periodic type of treatment. The term surgery can also refer to the place where surgery is performed, or simply the office of a physician, dentist, or veterinarian.

As a general rule, a procedure is considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound. Other procedures that do not necessarily fall under this , such as angioplasty or endoscopy, may be considered surgery if they involve "common" surgical procedure or settings, such as use of a sterile environment, anesthesia, antiseptic conditions, typical surgical instruments, and suturing or stapling. All forms of surgery are considered invasive procedures; so-called "noninvasive surgery" usually refers to an excision that does not penetrate the structure being excised  or to a radiosurgical procedure .

Types of surgery

Surgical procedures are commonly categorized by urgency, type of procedure, body system involved, degree of invasiveness, and special instrumentation.

Based on timing: Elective surgery is done to correct a non-life-threatening condition, and is carried out at the patient's request, subject to the surgeon's and the surgical
facility's availability. Emergency surgery is surgery which must be done promptly to save life, limb, or functional capacity. A semi-elective surgery is one that must be done to avoid permanent disability or death, but can be postponed for a short time.

Based on purpose: Exploratory surgery is performed to aid or confirm a diagnosis. Therapeutic surgery treats a previously diagnosed condition.

By type of procedure: Amputation involves cutting off a body part, usually a limb or digit; castration is also an example. Re plantation involves reattaching a severed body part. Reconstructive surgery involves reconstruction of an injured, mutilated, or deformed part of the body. Cosmetic surgery is done to improve the appearance of an otherwise normal structure. Excision is the cutting out or removal of an organ, tissue, or other body part from the patient. Transplant surgery is the replacement of an organ or body part by insertion of another from different human (or animal) into the patient. Removing an organ or body part from a live human or animal for use in transplant is also a type of surgery.

By body part: When surgery is performed on one organ system or structure, it may be classed by the organ, organ system or tissue involved. Examples include cardiac surgery (performed on the heart), gastrointestinal surgery (performed within the digestive tract and its accessory organs), and orthopedic surgery (performed on bones and/or muscles).

By degree of invasiveness: Minimally invasive surgery involves smaller outer incision  to insert miniaturized instruments within a body cavity or structure, as in laproscopic surgery or angioplasty. By contrast, an open surgical procedure or laparotomy requires a large incision to access the area of interest.

By equipment used: Laser surgery involves use of a laser for cutting tissue instead of a scalpel or similar surgical instruments. Microsurgery involves the use of an operating microscope for the surgeon to see small structures. Robotic surgery makes use of a surgical robot, to control the instrumentation under the direction of the surgeon.

Geriatric care under Medical Healthcare

One of the important section under Medical Healthcare is Geriatric care . Why this is important because in a family elder and disabled persons play important role . These people in a family require lot more care then another person . Medical Healthcare Insurance plans have their benefits. Once plan was taken under any medical healthcare insurance these plans are beneficiary to every family because these persons in family require some kind of treatment or care almost every month . If a person had to visit consultant or hospital every month we can think about burden in our pocket. So if this burden can be reduced in any way then this will bring bright smile in one's face . This can be done by taking Medical Healthcare Insurance plan.


Geriatric care practitioners

A geriatric care practitioner plans and coordinates the care of the elderly and/or disabled to promote their health, improve their quality of life, and maintain their independence for as long as possible. They include geriatricians, Geriatric clinical pharmacists, geriatric nurses, geriatric care managers, geriatric aides, and others who focus on the health and psychological care needs of older adults.

Geriatrics or geriatric medicine is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician or geriatric physician, a physician who specializes in the care of elderly people. Rather, this decision is determined by the individual patient's needs, and the availability of a specialist.
Geriatrics, the care of aged people, differs from gerontology, which is the study of the aging process itself.  However, geriatrics is sometimes called medical

Differences between adult and geriatric medicine

Geriatrics differs from standard adult medicine because it focuses on the unique needs of the elderly person. The aged body is different physiologically from the younger adult body, and during old age, the decline of various organ systems becomes manifest. Previous health issues and lifestyle choices produce a different constellation of diseases and symptoms in different people. The appearance of symptoms depends on the remaining healthy reserves in the organs. Smokers, for example, consume their respiratory system reserve early and rapidly.[citation needed]
Geriatricians distinguish between diseases and the effects of normal aging. For example, renal impairment may be a part of aging, but renal failure and urinary incontinence are not. Geriatricians aim to treat any diseases that are present and to decrease the effects of aging on the body.


Sub-specialties and related services

Some diseases commonly seen in elderly are rare in adults, e.g., dementia, delirium, falls. As societies aged, many specialized geriatric- and geriatrics-related services emerged including:

Medical
cardiogeriatrics (focus on cardiac diseases of elderly)
geriatric dentistry (focus on dental disorders of elderly)
geriatric dermatology (focus on skin disorders in elderly)
geriatric diagnostic imaging
geriatric emergency medicine
geriatric nephrology (focus on kidney diseases of elderly)
geriatric neurology (focus on neurologic disorders in elderly)
geriatric oncology (focus on tumors in elderly)
geriatric pharmacotherapy
geriatric physical examination of interest especially to physicians & physician assistants.
geriatric psychiatry or psychogeriatrics (focus on dementia, delirium, depression and other psychiatric disorders)
geriatric public health or preventive geriatrics (focuses on geriatrics public health issues including disease prevention and health promotion in the elderly)
geriatric rehabilitation (focus on physical therapy in elderly)
geriatric rheumatology (focus on joints and soft tissue disorders in elderly)
geriatric sexology (focus on sexuality in aged people)
geriatric subspeciality medical clinics (such as geriatric anticoagulation clinic, geriatric assessment clinic, falls and balance clinic, continence clinic, palliative care clinic, elderly pain clinic, cognition and memory disorders clinic)

Surgical
Orthogeriatrics (close cooperation with orthopedic surgery and a focus on osteoporosis and rehabilitation).
Geriatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Geriatric urology
Geriatric otolaryngology
Geriatric General Surgery
Geriatric trauma
Geriatric gynecology
Geriatric ophthalmology

Other geriatrics sub-specialties
Geriatric anesthesia (focuses on anesthesia & preoperative care of elderly)
Geriatric intensive-care unit: (a special type of intensive care unit dedicated to critically ill elderly)
Geriatric nursing (focuses on nursing of elderly patients and the aged).
Geriatric nutrition
Geriatric Occupational Therapy (part of Geriatric Rehabilitation)
Geriatric Pain Management
Geriatric Physical Therapy
Geriatric podiatry
Geriatric psychology
Geriatric Mental Health Counselor/Specialist (focuses on treatment more so than assessment)

To know more Medical Healthcare Insurance providers visit page Medical Healthcare Insurance - Healthcare Providers