Help the cash patient...$4.00 prescription links

Both Target and WalMart/Sam's Club have $4.00 generic prescription plans. There are around 300 on each list. It just could be a good idea to keep a copy of the listings available, as the price could make the difference on whether or not some patients could afford the prescription. Sometimes the $4.00 could even be less than the insurance co-pay amount. This is not an endorsement for either retail chain, but an awareness item that might be of help to patients and physicians anywhere.
The links below go direct to the pdf form which you can save or print for future reference. I had this exact situation happen to me recently and paid over $70.00 for a generic prescription for antibiotics when it could have been located on this list and filled here. I thought I was doing good at that point as the name brand was almost $100.00. As a prudent patient I think I might also entertain keeping a list with me when visiting a physician. $70.00 versus $4.00..not hard to do the math here. When we are not feeling well, sometimes items like this slip by and end up costing additional money needlessly and I fell right into that category myself but hopefully not again. The lists contain many drugs commonly prescribed.
http://sites.target.com/images/pharmacy/pharmacy_4dollar_program_list.pdf
http://i.walmart.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/genericdruglist.pdf
Perhaps a good time to get started with free E-Prescribing too. Use the link on the right hand side for more information .

Read More

EO UMPC from Tablet Kiosk Mobilizes Southern California Physician

Dr. Jack Rubin, an internist and nephrologist is really putting his UMPC to work. Dr. Rubin is currently consulting and admitting at 15 local hospitals in the Orange County/Los Angeles area, as well as seeing a good number of patients at his local office.

Dr. Rubin makes the maximum use of his EO by being able to have the ability to have his patient records with him at all time. In addition, he also responds to emergency calls as needed. By maintaining a synchronized copy of his EMR (electronic medical records) with him, he is able to look up patient information in the matter of a couple minutes, the time it takes to boot the computer if it is not currently running. By having his records available and up to date, he can view all past notes, current medications, etc. relative to the patient chart and avoid creating needless errors.

I was able to catch up for a brief moment today with him as he stopped in the office in between hospital visits. He uses 3 methods of input with the EO, inking, a keyboard when needed, and also uses voice recognition. Voice recognition is very helpful for adding notes while at the hospitals as items are added immediately to the patient chart in the EMR. Having the ability to be mobile in today’s world not only allows for better patient care, but also helps in growing the practice, as time is not spent duplicating the same efforts with staff members having to do what he can do himself.

Dr. Rubin has been working at this for a while to get to where he is today with utilizing technology. By having his records with him he can also easily generate information from the patient chart to be used for admitting and consultations, thus providing a complete medical history of the patient chart. By having the ability to provide this information, sometimes this can and does lead to not having to order additional tests and wasting time, having to manually secure chart data from his office. It saves time for all and really benefits the patient with documented information relative to their current illness and treatment.

One of the real benefits of using the UMPC is the size. The UMPC has proven to be much more useful and portable than a full size unit, and yet offers all the same features as found on a larger tablet. Mobility has really paid off for Dr. Rubin. The EO UMPC travels with him at all times and is his constant electronic companion in the pursuit of better health care and I am glad we were able to provide the UMPC to help him with this mission.

Barbara Duck

Read More

Is it a bong or Exubera?

In case you haven't seen this product yet, it is has a very interesting design and a fairly large price tag that goes along with it. I don't see this being portable enough to carry in my purse, plus if I were in a public location, someone might think I have a bong and could possibly alert the authorities. Is it a bong or is it Exubera? BD

Get Ready For Those Exubera Ads

Pfizer is making good on those recent threats and will soon run them on tv and in magazines. The desperate drugmaker wants to go directly to diabetics to salvage its failing insulin inhaler, which has bombed due to a high price tag and its cumbersome design (it looks like a bong, if you didn't already know).

http://pharmalot.com/2007/02/get_ready_for_those_exubera_ad.php

Read More

Using a UMPC as a Desktop Replacement

Did you you can use your UMPC as a desktop replacement? Hugo Ortega, a Microsoft MVP does an excellent job on showing how the UMPC can be both your desktop and and then be available to be mobile. He is demonstrating the EO from Tablet Kiosk in part 2 and does a very good job with a visual "how to", which is pretty much not more than connecting cables and setting up Windows display properties.

Part Two of the video focuses on something I like to term as the “Mobile Permanent Office.” Because the i7210 is the first UMPC (Microsoft Origami Project derivative) to run an Intel Processor with 2MB of L2 Cache [providing multitasking abilities] the possibilities of replacing a notebook or desktop are “somewhat” closer. Using i7210’s capacity to “Extend its Desktop” I demonstrate just how one might increase their own productivity in the office, or home.




http://ubertablet.blogspot.com/2006/09/umpc-as-desktop-replacement.html

Read More

Physician explains to other MDs the value of relational data bases

This is an excellent commentary with one physician discussing the benefits of relational data bases and their development and use, a nice way of explaining why document storage is not the ultimate answer for health records. BD

The reason is many physicians do not know what they need. They have little experience thinking about relational databases. They have difficulty understanding the potential to the increased efficiency of their daily workflow (effective relational databases) in the practice of clinical medicine. Most of the effective information technology in clinical practice has been in financial medical management. Financial outcomes have not been linked to medical practice outcomes in an understandable way.

Many businesses rely on relational databases. Two simple examples are Amazon.com
and Netflix. Amazon tells me what books I would enjoy and Netflix tells me which movies I should order from my order history.

The airlines let me schedule a flight online. Southwest has my online ticket buying reduced to three clicks.

http://stanleyfeldmdmace.typepad.com/repairing_the_healthcare_/2007/02/is_an_ideal_ele.html

Read More

Pharming Attack Targeted Bank Customers Worldwide

Good article about online awareness...BD

An attack this week that targeted online customers of at least 50 financial institutions in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific has been shut down, a security expert said Thursday.
The controller also shows infection statistics. Websense said at least 1,000 machines were being infected per day, mostly in the U.S. and Australia.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070222/tc_pcworld/129270

Read More

IBM, Duke develop Web site for patients

WASHINGTON - Patients in Duke University's health system can now go to one Web site to pay medical bills, schedule doctor appointments and eventually view their personal medical histories.

For now, patients, who must register with the site, can make non-urgent appointments and pay bills.

Clinical information, such as prescriptions, lab and X-ray results and immunization records, will be available online in about two months, Ahmad said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070222/ap_on_hi_te/ibm_health_it

Read More

FDA Warning - Xolair

FDA Warns About Asthma Drug, Xolair

Extreme Allergic Reactions Seen in Patients Using Injected Drug

Feb. 21, 2007 -- The FDA is calling for a "black box" label warning for the asthma drug Xolair, alerting users it can cause potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.

The FDA issued the alert after reviewing 48 cases of anaphylaxis -- life-threatening allergic reactions -- submitted to the agency from June 2003, when Xolair was approved, through December 2005.

These cases included symptoms of bronchospasm (narrowing of airways), difficulty breathing, drop in blood pressure, fainting, hives, and swelling of the throat or tongue.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79536

Read More

And one more story about lost/stolen data - when will they learn...

Social Security worker loses files

Some are never found; hearings on disability benefits delayed

Security is a huge focus for all. With flash drives being so convenient to use be very careful on what information you carry around on a device. As you can read from the article, this employee is no longer allowed to work from home. If you are carrying anything even close to relating to any medical information, for goodness sakes encrypt the information before leaving your office. If you don't know how to encrypt information to be portable, I would recommend not putting yourself in this type of position and either ask someone to help you or simply don't transfer the information and find an alternative method to get your work done. BD

The confidential files of six Wisconsin residents who had sought Social Security disability benefits were lost for months, as were documents from seven other files, after a Social Security employee took them home to work on them.

In a bizarre twist, the mother of one applicant received an anonymous call in November from a man who had "very specific" information on her son's medical condition, records show.

The caller told her that his Social Security file, along with others, had been found in a downtown Milwaukee Dumpster, according to federal investigative reports.

In addition to private medical information, the files include Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers of family members, dates of birth and work history - all of which could be used by identity thieves.

All of the applicants had been waiting at least two years for a final decision on whether they qualify for disability benefits when their files were lost, delaying decisions even further.

The Social Security Administration allows employees nationwide to work on confidential files at home under a program called Flexiplace, which has come under fire in the past because of privacy concerns.

The employee who took the files home told authorities she believes some were left behind when she fled her home last summer because of domestic violence. She told authorities she had kept them in a locked two-drawer file cabinet.

Full story at the source:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=567240&format=print

Read More

Fighting surgeons leave patient in lurch

When I read a story like this, there's only one real question that comes to mind....Why?

"At one moment Vukanic pulled the ear of the operating doctor, slapped him in the face and walked out," she said.

Radulovic followed and an all-out fight ensued, resulting in bruises, a split lip, loose teeth and a fractured finger.

Fighting surgeons leave patient in lurch

Read More

What happens when a Hospital CEO Blogs?

Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston has started his own blog. It is fairly new as is this blog, but full of action. I have linked to the doctor and nurses post whereby he is now adding physicians and nurses who are reading the blog. Good things happen when people get involved. If you haven't had a chance to take a look at his blog yet, I have included the link below. I have added the blog to my RSS Feeds to keep abreast on what he has to say at the top level of hospital management. Again, it's good to see hospital CEOs involved in the process of creating better medical care. The name of his blog: Running a Hospital.
http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-feature-nurse-and-doctors-links.html

Read More

Sahara Tablet PC - Acooustic digital Microphone

AKU2001 CMOS MEMS Microphone Arrays in TabletKiosk Sahara Slate

Akustica, Inc., pioneer in acoustic system-on-chip solutions, today announced that TabletKiosk's family of Sahara Slate PCs are shipping with an embedded "dual array" of its AKU2001 digital microphones. The Sahara Slate i412T, i440T, and i440D are the first tablet PCs using Akustica digital microphones.

The AKU2001 is a single-chip digital-output microphone manufactured using Akustica's patented Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologyThe small form factor and digital output of the AKU2001 deliver the ideal microphone solution for enhancing the voice-input quality in a tablet PC.

"Akustica's digital microphones bring a new level of voice input quality to the Sahara Slate PC and ensure that users will never experience the irritating buzzing noises that traditional microphones often pick up from a nearby cellphone or even from the WiFi antennas and that are also located in the slate itself," said Davin Yuknis, Akustica's vice president of marketing and product management. "Our digital microphones

Full story at Chris De Herrera's site:

http://www.tabletpctalk.com/

Read More

Online CME Credit

I had a client ask me last week about how to get started with Online CME credit. Google is always a good place to start, but then it requires searching each link to find what one may be looking for. To make it easy for my client to get started I compiled a simple listing of some links and will post here for any others just getting started using online CME.
This is the kitchen sink with something for almost anything you could think of being here, with links directly to the sites with CME credit courses, some are free, some cost a few dollars, some are sponsored, while some are not.
http://www.cmelist.com/list.htm
American Academy of Family Physicians - RSS Feed - get new articles and podcasts via RSS, podcasts can be set to automatically download to listen at any time with an RSS Feed Program - scroll down mid page to select to add. RSS Feed is the way to go to autopilot receiving updates and podcasts.
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/aboutus/theaafp/about/helpcenter/rss.html
These are all free CME courses, some are sponsored and some are not.
http://www.primeinc.org/
Medscape Website - also tracks all your online credits for you as well - search for listings from this page and most are free.
http://www.medscape.com/activitytracker
CME Corner - some free and some you pay
http://www.cmecorner.com/program_list.asp?audience=Physicians
Discovery Health Channel CME - free
http://discoveryhealthcme.discovery.com/programs/programs.html
http://health.discovery.com/tvlistings/series.jsp?series=119321&gid=0&channel=DHC
The last link above goes to the tv listings for Discovery Health CME. In case you want to watch from your computer, there are several free internet TV websites. The link below is to one site that carries the Discovery Channel, but there are plenty of others if you Google internet TV.
http://wwitv.com/portal.htm

Read More

A Little Humor from Another Blog....

One of the best spoofs I have seen!



http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/01/some-hilarity-to-start-long-weekend.html

Read More

Chicago Hospitals Offer Wi-Fi, Patient Portals - iHealthBeat - Daily News Digest on Health Care Information Technology

Chicago-area hospitals increasingly are offering Wi-Fi Internet access, patient-information portals and patient blogs, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital since it opened in February 2005 has provided patients with an entertainment and education system that lets patients access the Internet, check e-mail, view education information, download movies and play games. Patients and visitors with their own laptops also are given secure wireless Internet access at no cost.
In addition, cell phones now can be used in most hospital areas, the Tribune reports.
Nice to see this one finally go away...BD

Chicago Hospitals Offer Wi-Fi, Patient Portals - iHealthBeat - Daily News Digest on Health Care Information Technology

Read More

D-Link DIR-450 3G Mobile Router for EV-DO Networks

I have ran across several physicians who use one of the "Internet Anywhere" services available from the wireless cell phone carriers. This is something well worth looking in to, especially if you are mobile and let's say traveling between many hospitals, visiting nursing homes where an internet connection may not be available. When deal with patient information, having everything you need relative to a patient file can even add to the possibility of being a lifesaving benefit!
In addition, with the use of a EDVO mobile router, this experience can also be multiplied and you can use your imagination from here. If you were attending a meeting where you needed to collaborate or even allow a couple of your peers to access information relative to items being discussed, this device would enable you to immediately set up a temporary wireless network so all involved would have an internet connection. Having internet anywhere access can be a true friend to the mobile physician today and having this added capability to share and collaborate is phenomenal.
If one were residing in an area where dsl or cable connectivity is not available, perhaps in a rural area, but cell phone coverage is available, the barrier has now been broken as a wireless network when used with a pcmcia card or usb wireless device from a mobile carrier can now be the answer, and when mobile, you can take it with you.
This is a unit from D-Link, and there are several available from other manufacturers. What a great feature to be able to give a presentation and have the ability to enable a wireless network to let all attendees connect to added resources and information available via the web and really get your message across.
D-Link DIR-450 3G Mobile Router for EV-DO Networks

Read More

New Sahara Tablet

If you have missed any of the recent press releases on the new Sahara Tablet from Tablet Kiosk, here is a link to the page from the website. I have seen and held the unit and it is something to marvel at. Of course, those that know me already know I like those tablets. In the past I have demonstrated various models of tablets and the products from Tablet Kiosk are my top choice. The new Sahara now offers the ability to change from digitizer to touch screen, and it works with one touch from a hardware button! If you haven't seen the press releases and would like more additional information, follow the link below. By the way, I also use an EO UMPC from Tablet Kiosk and hope to be sharing some real success stories soon with some of my clients who are using the unit for their electronic medical records and are finding the unit not only convenient and portable, but a real asset to enable them to have all their patients notes with at all times.
http://www.tabletkiosk.com/products/sahara/i400s_pp.asp

Read More

Simpsons Discuss Health Insurance

This is from You Tube - hilarious and worth a watch...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_tkar2rLEQ

Read More

Tablet EO UMPC at the Hollywood Bowl from TabletPC2.com

Linda Epstein at TabletPC2.com has posted an update on the use of the new Tablet Kiosk EO at the Hollywood Bowl. Linda and I chatted quite a bit at the last Tablet Kiosk show. Her site is always updated with the latest information about using tablet pc. The Hollywood Bowl has been using tablets for over a couple years now and recently have made the move to the smaller EO unit as it is much smaller and easier to carry around. I have included a picture here with the engineer and the EO.

The reason I have included this article is really demonstrate the innovations being use with the UMPC units. If it can do this type of functionality with a very complex sound system, imagine what it can do for the medical business. A unit could easily be used to stream media from a Media Center PC, which with Vista, can now be added to a domain for complete IT management and control. Educational videos, lectures can all be streamed internally for a unique learning experience anywhere and this can really be helpful in getting valued information to attendees who cannot attend a session in person!

http://www.tabletpc2.com./Roger-Waters-Hollywood-Bowl-Article70020219.html

Read More

Wireless Router Security - Please don't Share

This was an item on my mind this week, and for that matter it seems to come to mind every week when I am in the field working with clients. Wireless is on the move today and we all like the convenience. Here is an article about Health Care catching on to Wireless fever.
http://enterpriseinnovator.com/index.php?articleID=9644&sectionID=13
The point of this post is to once again try to bring an awareness to light in reference to security with wireless routers. I still see routers every week in use at physician's offices without have any security, thus creating a free "hot spot" for me or anyone else who comes along. My efforts are to take a few moments and stop in to hopefully make the medical practice aware of the fact that they do not have security enabled. Well when you stop and think about someone being able to access medical records or any other information stored on your network, this can be pretty scary, and you do need to protect patient information, HIPAA says so, and good common sense does as well.
A few months ago one of the television stations did a "drive by" of various medical facilities showing how easy this was done and being able to see patient information and basically doing the same as I do in making the office aware that they are broadcasting. EMR software does of course have passwords in place, but what if the software was open and data was being entered - the password does no good at this point as they can see what you are seeing.
Here are some helpful links and some information about war driving. If you don't know what that is, be sure to check it out and find out how your pcs could become zombies under the control of someone outside your network.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/online/homewireless.mspx
This on demand webcast is also worth the watch for more information.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895616
One more item here that can also apply to small business networks. Use WPA and not WEP! WEP is not security enough and packet sniffers can pretty easily break the code.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_03july28.mspx
If you have questions or still have problems, call your IT help contact or the individual or company you contract with for service.
One other short item worth the mention, be sure to keep your PCs updated with Windows Updates to ensure you have the latest security patches. Every update now also contains the free malicious code removal tool update. I think of this from a patient side as well in the fact that I would not be too happy with my physician easily broadcasting any information on myself out there for anyone who passes by and logs on to the network.

Read More