Don’t stop protecting your skin, even if summer is coming to an end

Summer is coming to an end, but the risk for skin cancer is still present. Medical professionals suggest wearing a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher every day and covering exposed skin, even in the fall months.

Skin cancer prevention is becoming increasingly important; rates of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, have increased by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men in the U.S. in the last 40 years, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

“Skin cancer doesn’t only affect older people,” said Dr. Richard Vienne, vice president and chief medical officer with Univera Healthcare. ”Teenagers and young adults are at risk and need to take prevention seriously.”

One or more blistering sunburns in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person’s chance of developing melanoma later in life. Yet half of young adults said they’ve been sunburned in the last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than 15 percent of high school students use a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher when they’re outside for more than an hour on a sunny day, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Take action to prevent sunburns and skin cancer by doing more than the minimum; simply applying sunscreen on summer beach or pool days is not enough. Skin needs to be protected during fall, winter and spring months as well.

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends: 

• Using a water-resistant, broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher when you’ll be outside for a long period of time.
• Applying sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside.
• Reapplying sunscreen after two hours of sun exposure, swimming or sweating. 
• Wearing UVA/UVB protective sunglasses and protecting your face with wide-brimmed hats.
• Seeking shade, especially midday. 
• Avoiding indoor tanning.

To learn more visit http://brand.univerahealthcare.com/infographics/skincancer.html to view our skin
cancer statistics and prevention.

New Univera Report On High Blood Pressure

Most Western New York Adults Diagnosed with High Blood Pressure Follow Recommended Care, But Many Don’t 

While many Western New York adults diagnosed with high blood pressure take steps to control the condition, thousands are putting their health at risk by failing to do what they can to manage it, according to a new Univera Healthcare report.

“About two out of three of the 416,000 Western New York adults diagnosed with high blood pressure said they changed their diet or increased their physical activity to manage their condition,” said Richard Vienne, D.O., vice president and chief medical officer, Univera Healthcare. “But one in three Western New York adults with the condition is not taking these two crucial steps to improve blood pressure control.

“That’s concerning, because properly managing high blood pressure can add years to your life and help you avoid costly and crippling health problems, such as heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease,” he added.

One in three upstate New York adults, or 1.2 million people, was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2009, according to the most recent data available.

Anyone can develop high blood pressure, but certain factors increase risk. The risk of high blood pressure increases with age and is higher in people who have a family history of the condition. Non-Hispanic blacks and women older than age 65 are also prone to high blood pressure.

Adopting a healthier lifestyle can help adults prevent and control high blood pressure. A healthy lifestyle includes maintaining a healthy weight; minimizing dietary salt, fat and sugar and getting enough potassium; regularly engaging in aerobic physical activity; moderating alcohol; avoiding tobacco; and following your physician’s advice about blood pressure control medication.

The Univera Healthcare report is based on an annual survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the report, many Western New York adults diagnosed with high blood pressure said they made recommended lifestyle changes to manage it:

· 66.2 percent to 76.0 percent said they changed their diet, reduced their salt intake or increased their physical activity.

· About one-third said they don’t drink alcohol, but 10.1 percent said they had at least one binge-drinking episode in the 30 days prior to the survey.

· About four out of five said they take blood pressure control medication as advised by their health care provider.

· 83.5 percent said they do not currently smoke, but 16.0 percent said they currently do.

Obesity is the most important predictor of high blood pressure. In Western New York, 37.6 percent of adults diagnosed with high blood pressure were obese, and 35.4 percent were overweight. Only about one in four adults diagnosed with high blood pressure was at a healthy weight.

Blood pressure measures how hard the blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. High blood pressure can damage your blood vessels, which can cause heart and kidney disease. You have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, if your systolic pressure (“top number”) is 140 mm Hg or higher or your diastolic pressure (“bottom number”) is 90 mm Hg or higher.

“The report also found that a health professional’s advice to adopt healthier behaviors can be a powerful motivator for patients,” Vienne said. “About 75 percent of upstate New York adults diagnosed with high blood pressure who reported adopting a healthier diet, for example, said they were advised by a health professional to do so.”

Univera Healthcare’s TakeCharge Community Health Report on high blood pressure is the second in a series describing what upstate New Yorkers report doing to manage their health conditions proactively. The first TakeCharge report focused on diabetes. To view the reports, go to UniveraHealthcare.com/factsheets.

Univera Healthcare Report on the Cost of Medical Malpractice Coverage in New York State

Medical malpractice premiums for physicians in different regions of the state can vary as much as five times the amount paid between regions and the difference can exceed $100,000 for some specialties, according to ananalysis issued today by Univera Healthcare.

“Medical malpractice rates for upstate New York physicians are considerably less than those in downstate regions and are similar to the amounts paid by physicians in states that report the lowest premium rates in the country,” said Richard Vienne, D.O., vice president and chief medical officer, Univera Healthcare.

“The Facts About New York State Medical Malpractice Coverage Premiums” shows that the standard malpractice premium for an internist in Buffalo, Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica ($9,874) is significantly lower than for an internist practicing on Long Island ($35,028). A similar differential exists for physicians in other specialties. For example, a general surgeon’s premium rate in those same upstate areas is $32,663, contrasted with a Long Island surgeon’s rate of $115,872; and obstetricians/gynecologists in many upstate regions may pay $52,650, while their Long Island counterparts face a standard rate of $186,772.

Physicians pose varying risks of liability based on their specialty, experience factors and the experience of other physicians in the regions where they practice medicine. Standard rates are reviewed and approved by the New York State Insurance Department.

From the standard rates, discounts, credits, experience factors and other considerations are used to determine the actual premium paid by individual physicians. The data presented in the fact sheet for New York state physicians is based on current standard premium rates of the Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co., which insures most physicians in the state.

Standard medical malpractice premiums for typical physicians in New York state are referred to as “occurrence policies” that provide up to $1.3 million in liability coverage for a single injury and up to $3.9 million for a single policy year.

“Regardless of the regional differences in premium rates, physicians and hospitals that pay their physicians’ medical malpractice insurance premiums believe that the rates are too high and want to see them lowered by reforms to the state’s tort system,” Vienne said. The fact sheet reviews reports that provide cost estimates on the impact that malpractice insurance coverage and defensive medicine may have on total health care spending.

“We share physicians’ concerns about malpractice premium rates,” Vienne said. Univera Healthcare has advocated, together with such organizations as the Medical Society of the State of New York and The Business Council of New York State, for tort reforms that would help lower medical malpractice costs and other liability expenses faced by businesses in the state.

One step taken this year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York state Legislature to help address rising malpractice insurance costs – particularly in response to downstate hospital pleas for help – was the establishment of a statewide medical indemnity fund to cover medical expenses for eligible children with birth-related neurological injuries.

The report issued today shows the various rating regions of the state and compares three common physician specialties. It also indicates states that have higher and lower malpractice insurance rates than those in New York.

A free copy of the “The Facts About New York State Medical Malpractice Coverage Premiums” fact sheet can be downloaded at univerahealthcare.com/factsheets.