Using Patient Education Materials

Patient information extends your office visit beyond the few minutes you can spend face-to-face. You can increase compliance and cooperation even further by using patient education materials in ways that help patients learn and remember more of your advice.

Staff Ed: Understanding the Health Belief Model

How can you improve patient compliance? Clinical outcome data supports the 3 theories below as predictive models for behavior. The self-efficacy, health beliefs, and stages of change models can all be helpful in determining a patient’s readiness to change.

When You Have an Abnormal Pap Test

The Pap test is a screening test that checks for cell changes in the cervix, the opening of the uterus. In some cases, it checks for a virus that can cause cervical cancer. If your Pap results were abnormal, you may be worried. But there is no reason to panic. An abnormal Pap test result can mean many things.

Treating Eating Disorders

Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. All involve eating patterns that can harm your health and can greatly disrupt your life. For most people, treatment can help.

Spinal Fusion: Understanding Bone Graft

To fuse the spine, very small pieces of extra bone are needed. Called bone graft, this bone acts as the “cement” that fuses the vertebrae together. There are many different types of bone grafts. The fusion eliminates motion between the two fused vertebrae with a slight loss in flexibility. This surgery can help treat many different back conditions.

Kidney Stones- Your Evaluation

Learn about the tests that can help your health care provider find out if you have a kidney stone, why it formed, and advise treatment.

Your Child’s Teeth

A child's first teeth are called baby (primary) teeth. They start to come in between 4 and 18 months old. In most children, all baby teeth are in place by age 3. At age 6 or 7, baby teeth begin to fall out.

How Smoking Affects Pregnancy

While you are pregnant, smoking affects your unborn child. It reduces oxygen and blood flow to your baby. This may cause bleeding problems that can put your pregnancy at risk, or even cause miscarriage or stillbirth.