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6A Daily News – Monday, July 11, 2011 Vitality & health Sheila Keng, a licensed acupuncturist, expanded her 30-year business to include Corning starting July 6. Keng will be opening an office at 145 Solano St. in the same building as Trinity Healthcare Associ- ates. Stephen Holland- Chang, a Corning resi- dent, will be assisting her. “We are excited to have Sheila join us,” said San- dra Bagwell, family nurse practitioner. “She does great work. Many of our clients are looking for- ward to her arrival.” “Chinese physicians have been administering acupuncture for thousands of years,” Keng said. “Many patients experi- ence relief from things like allergies, migraine headaches, high blood pressure, knee pain and paralysis or numbness as well as many other dis- comforts.” People often ask about the safety of the proce- Acupuncture comes to Corning treatment very relaxing with little or no discom- fort. Benefits are usually apparent after the first few treatments. People with chronic diseases that do not respond well to ortho- dox medicine may find acupuncture an effective alternative. “Acupuncture relieved me of some of my pain from fibromyalgia,” said Guadalupe Green. “I high- ly recommend fellow suf- fers try it.” Courtesy photo Acupuncture Specialist Sheila Keng and her assistant Stephen Holland-Chung. dure. One of the benefits of acupuncture is the lack of side effects. Though the process incorporates the use of disposable needles, most patients find the A course of treatment usually takes 10 sessions. For health maintenance, in acute cases, weekly or bi- weekly visits are recom- mended. Acupuncture is appropriate for many physical illnesses includ- ing arthritis and joint problems, back pain, blad- der and kidney problems, childhood illnesses, dizzi- ness, fatigue and a wide variety of physical issues. For more information or to schedule a visit call 528-2688. nesses. Before writing "Through My Eyes," Shirley Anne Clay- ton, of Anderson, spent 24 hours a day for five years car- ing for Alzheimer and dementia patients. Clayton shares the experiences and knowledge she gained in her new book. Written from the view- point of a homecare provider, Clayton explains how one- on-one care is very successful as she recounts her years of experience and the ways she dealt with many different cir- cumstances with the patients in her care. When working with Alzheimer’s or dementia patients, Clayton says that approaching the patient slowly and having one-on-one time with him or her was essential in making the patient feel comfortable and establishing a relationship. She would often follow the patient’s lead in a conversation until she knew what decade or time period was that patient’s reality at that moment, making the patient comfortable and easing stress. The book is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels. Nutrition Quiz: Doctors' use of e-prescriptions soars Blueberries (MCT) Everybody knows that blueberries are antioxidant superheroes, fending off those evil oxygen-derived free radicals that can take possession of every body. A new study now touts blueberries as a bone-builder, too. Take our quiz on this versatile fruit. 1. In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agri- culture, Arkansas researchers found that what chemical compound found in blueberries might help promote bone mass and prevent osteoporosis in laboratory rats? a) polyphenol acids b) polyesteric acids c) polyamoric acids 2. What is most noticeable about polyphenols in blueberries? a) gives the berry its rounded shape b) gives the berry its tangy flavor c) gives the berry its dark coloring 3. How many calories are in one cup of blueberries? a) 43 b) 66 c) 84 4. How many of those calories come from fat? a) 0 b) 4 c) 7.3 5. Those seeking a higher-fiber diet should eat blue- berries. One cup provides what percent of the recom- mended daily value for fiber? a) 77 b) 24 c) 92 .ANSWERS: 1: a; 2: c; 3: c; 4: a; 5: b Sources: www.ars.usda.gov; www.nutrition-and- you.com. HACKENSACK, N.J. (MCT) — Fifteen-month- old Mendel Grossbaum squirmed in his mother's arms as Dr. Darren Saks examined his ears and throat, then concluded the checkup with a prescription for vitamins — without ever touching paper. Saks is among the 20 percent of New Jersey physicians who use elec- tronic prescribing systems to send prescriptions straight to a patient's phar- macy. It is a timesaver for doctors and patients, and research shows it reduces medication errors. From a small laptop in an examining room in Paramus, Saks sent the pre- scription for the toddler to the Grossbaums' pharmacy. It saved Zeesy Grossbaum, the mother of Mendel and five other children, a wait at the drugstore on a beautiful summer day. Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson Wed., July 13, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 1-800-488-9906 Appointments CALL Limited Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed Performed for proper amplification selection only. "It's such a pleasure," Grossbaum said. "When I go to other doctors who don't have this it's like, why aren't you doing this?" Nationally, the number of electronic prescriptions has grown dramatically to 326 million in 2009, up from 190 million in 2007 — a surge that is expected to continue as federal health care reform creates more incentives for physi- cians to convert to electron- ic medical records and pre- scribing. In New Jersey, 10 per- cent of prescriptions were filed electronically in 2009, up from 3 percent in 2007, according to Surescripts, whose online network han- dles the bulk of the elec- tronic prescriptions. By 2014 it's estimated that half of doctors will write pre- scriptions electronically. "Electronic prescribing is now well on its way to becoming mainstream practice," said Harry Toto- nis, president and CEO of Surescripts. The biggest drawbacks to e-prescriptions are the cost — practices have to spend about $20,000 to $30,000 per physician, and that doesn't include training or upkeep — and the com- plexity of converting to an electronic medical records system. Physicians report sever- al benefits to e-prescribing. They can check for harmful drug interactions when writing a prescription. Those come up as a red flag in the patient's medical history. The Institute of Medi- cine estimates that 7,000 deaths occur each year nationally due to medica- tion errors, and many of these are caused by illegi- ble handwriting and human error. Doctors can confirm prescription benefits with the system. They also know they won't hear from the pharmacy questioning illegible writing. ARE YOU AT RISK? ....FIND OUT! Affordable Ultrasound Health Screenings • Safe non-invasive testing Immediate written results Friendly professional staff • 25 years of non-profit service with over 100,000 tests provided! By Appointment 1.800.770.0240 Call Today • FREE Blood Pressure, Pulse and Blood Oxygen Saturation Test Included ABDOMINAL PACKAGE: - Liver Screening - Kidney Screening - Gallbladder Screening - Pancreas Screening - Spleen Screening - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening $150 CARDIOVASCULAR PACKAGE: - Heart Ultrasound - Atrial Fibrillation - Stroke Screen (Carotid Arteries) - Thyroid Ultrasound Screening - CardioVision Arterial Stiffness Index $150 Both Packages $200 a SAVINGS of $100 Friday, July 15, 2011 Mt. Olive Luthern Church 341 E. Solano St., Corning Dr. Anthony J. Bar- ravecchio, a Wayne, N.J., physician who specializes in family and geriatric care, estimates the system saves him 30 minutes or more a day. Just last week, he treated a couple in their 80s, each of whom needed refills on several medica- tions they take daily. "I hit a button and it's done," he said. Barravecchio said he also enjoys the color-coded tiered system that lets a physician know the cheap- est of the effective medica- tions selected — red means a non-preferred tier, which can be pricey, he said. "If I see two scripts with the same benefits and one is red and one is green, I'll go with the green," he said. Barravecchio also fills mail-order prescriptions for patients with the e-pre- scribing system. The prescriptions are transmitted through a secure Internet network to the pharmacy of the patient's choice through computers or a hand-held device. In many cases, physicians are also using electronic health records, which contain complete medical histories, lab reports and other docu- ments vital to a patient's history. On Saks' screen, it noted that Mendel Grossbaum had been treated for anemia and that he needed another vaccination. A click of a tab revealed the toddler's weight and height on a cor- responding growth chart, which Saks shared with Zeesy Grossbaum. If there's anything Saks has an objection to, it's holding a computer while he talks to parents. "It feels a little impersonal," he said. But the tradeoff is the time advantage and having so much vital information at his fingertips. Multiply those advantages through- out the Tenafly Pediatrics practice — with 20 pedia- tricians in six offices writ- ing a combined 2,000 pre- scriptions a week — and fitness Working with Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are devastating ill- the savings in efficiency are even more remarkable, Saks said. Additionally, Saks said the e-prescribing has helped alert him to errors he might have made in detecting allergies to cer- tain medications. "The system has caught me a few times," he said. A study published last year in the Journal of Gen- eral Internal Medicine revealed a nearly 85 per- cent decrease in medication errors when physicians switched from paper to e- prescribing. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Col- lege in New York found that physicians who switched to e-prescribing reduced prescription errors from 42.5 percent at the start of the study to 6.6 per- cent after a year. Researchers looked at the number and severity of prescribing errors in more than 7,500 prescriptions, such as ordering medica- tion but omitting the quan- tity, prescribing a drug to a patient with a known aller- gy, paperwork issues and injuries obtained from the medication. In many states, e-pre- scribing is far more com- mon — in Massachusetts, one out of every three pre- scribers files medication orders electronically. The cost can be prohibi- tive for some practices. It can be more than $30,000 per physician in some spe- cialties. Many physicians also question if they will realize a return on their invest- ment, Campagnolo said. "Family physicians will embrace this more heavily than others because of the volume of prescriptions they write every day," she said. The systems aren't per- fect — there are still some delays in processing orders, and patient plans that require a mail-order system for prescriptions some- times require a fax as well as an e-prescription, Cam- pagnolo said.