Concierge Care Delivers Better Results For Prostate Patients
Prostate cancer risks increase with age for all men. There is a new study that reveals those diagnosed with prostate cancer that have concierge or personalized health plans fare better than those who leave their health in the hands of Medicare or Medicaid.
According to researchers in the journal Cancer, it was found that more than 61,000 men who had their prostates removed to treat cancer, those with private insurance had fewer complications from surgery and were less likely to die in the hospital.
Conversely, those with Medicare or Medicaid had an overall risk of surgical complications that were higher and needed a blood transfusion to treat blood loss: almost eight percent and 11 percent, respectively. Only five percent of men with private insurance needed this.
It was also discovered that many in those government health care plans were over-treated for less aggressive cancers, which led to a host of complications that should have never happened.
The report in the journal also revealed that after surgery, 13 percent of Medicare patients had heart or breathing problems or incontinence. That compared with fewer than 10 percent of men with concierge care or private insurance.
Medicaid patients fared the worst. Over 13 percent had some type of post-surgery complication. Few men in the study died, but the risk was higher for those on Medicaid, 0.3 percent of whom died in the hospital, according to the journal.
The reasons for the findings were not specified, but it was determined that private insurance prostate cancer patients had fewer complications overall.
The researchers who conducted this new study factored in all the variables such as age, race, the men’s overall health and quality of hospitals and how often prostate cancer surgery was performed at each medical venue.
The cancer journal study findings were based on a government database that collects information from hospitals in 40 states in the U.S. The researchers looked at data from 61,167 men who had their prostates removed to treat cancers confined to the prostate gland.
What is known is that prostate cancer is a slow growing cancer. There are excellent diagnostics tests which are available and are used by SignatureMD doctors to determine how their patients are with regards to this potential cancer during annual executive physical exams and wellness checks.
Concierge care creates a safety net for patients who can monitor their blood test results and be reminded when milestone checkups and tests need to happen, such as baseline mammograms, colonoscopy, and blood tests for ovarian and prostate cancers.
SignatureMD doctors can make sure that all patients’ family members are on track and keeping tabs on vital numbers and tests that monitor wellness at every age.
The National Cancer Institute reports that half of the more than 190,000 U.S. men diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009 fell into the “low-risk” category. Because there’s no way to predict for sure, those men may end up receiving treatment they do not necessarily need. If you’re wanting to try and keep your prostate as healthy as possible, you might want to have a look into a site like this https://www.vigrx.com/products/vigrx-prostate-support/.
About SignatureMD
SignatureMD is one of the nation’s largest firms providing initial conversion and ongoing support services to concierge medicine physicians. SignatureMD currently partners with over 200 affiliated primary care physicians and specialists across 35 states, and its network is rapidly expanding.