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Flexicath gains FDA Approval
The FirmGrip™ combines a standard catheter enclosed in a polymer sleeve with a special silicone insertion unit to produce a self-contained sterile catheter insertion field. FirmGrip.15In this model, a soft midterm catheter (20 cm) encased in the compact sterile sleeve is inserted in a simple, e…
Patient told to cough up or ship out
The practice continues to work with needy patients as stated in the full article...BD When a doctor's office prescribes timely payment for its services, a patient might be wise to comply -- even when the bill is for a relatively small amount of money. A coastal Sussex County businesswoman, for inst…
ID cards for Medical Pot users to be issued
The application fee for county residents will be $153, or $76.50 for Medi-Cal recipients. Medical marijuana users must present a doctor's written recommendation to obtain the drug, and must apply to the Department of Public Health. ID cards for medical pot users to be issued - Los Angeles Times …
Medical lab automated at UCI
New automated process for securing lab results...results sent electronically to the physicians...be sure your PC or network is ready...BD The specimens are all marked with bar codes that the automated lab reads to direct the samples along the line. The first read sends the sample into a centrifuge f…
Former San Jose Medical Group manager stole patients' information
The former manager at San Jose Medical Group entered a guilty plea to charges that he stole computer equipment containing sensitive personal information, the U.S. Attorney's office said Thursday. U.S. Attorney Scott N. Schools said Joseph Nathaniel Harris, 44, who now lives in Riverside, admitte…
FDA Approves Wyeth's Torisel For Treatment Of Advanced Kidney Cancer
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved Wyeth's new drug Torisel (chemical name temsirolimus) for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of advanced kidney cancer.The FDA approval was based on the results of a clinical trial published today in the New Englan…
Wearable monitoring devices from BodyMedia
Working on a diet...products are available for both personal and professional use and the data is recorded and used with PC software. The article states the armband can be given to a patient for monitoring, the results are sent to the patient's PC whereby they can be emailed to the monitoring phys…
Northrop Grumman Provides Patient Information Application to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
CMS outsourcing efforts for improving health care...BD MCLEAN, Va., May 30, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a task order from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and implement a Web-based application that will help Medica…
United Health Group demonstration held at the annual meeting
MINNEAPOLIS - While United Health Group, Inc., tried to reassure shareholders that it's addressing a stock scandal that forced the ouster of CEO William McGuire, protesters outside the HMO's annual meeting called for universal health care. The demonstrators, organized by the Universal Health Care…
Blue Cross to lose 350 jobs after Medicare contract expires
TOPEKA - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas will lose 350 jobs in the state after a bid for a five-year Medicare contract was rejected. The company was told that a bid by one of its subsidiaries, Wheatlands Administrative Services, was rejected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,…
Microsoft unveils new Surface computer
This may totally change the way radiology reports and images are viewed or just accessing a patient chart. Last year I remembered viewing the "play anywhere" video from Microsoft and this appears to be the next phase of the technology emerging. Get your cellphones and wireless equipped tablets re…
Visits to Doctors Who Are Not in, Ever
This story breaks down the generations in the search for information, "Dr. Google" in particular here provides the basic information and the article continues on to talk about how different generations locate and find information today with technology. BD “I’m contagious,” my 9-year-old said, look…
Bloodless Prostate Cancer Surgery Performed
More about robotic surgery. As this field continues to grow and procedures are added, it really can help speed up recovery times and in most instances is far less invasive. The picture below shows the surgeon in the operating room, viewing everything from the da vinci console. BD Even if traditi…
ICU Nurse Working Conditions Linked To Increase In Patient Infections
"Nurses are the hospitals' safety officers"....BD A review of outcomes data for more than 15,000 patients in 51 U.S. hospital ICUs showed that those with high nurse staffing levels (the average was 17 registered nurse hours per patient day) had a lower incidence of infections. Higher levels of over…
AMA wants doctors to swap idea online
I think this is already taking place in many circles on the web...goes under the name of "blogging" BD The AMA on Wednesday plans to announce a partnership with a company called Sermo Inc., which seeks to use the Web to tap into the collective wisdom of the service's growing network of 15,000 U.S. …
Hospitalist Model May Reduce Costs without adversely Affecting Outcomes
(from Medscape, may require subscription May 25, 2007 (Dallas) — For patients with common inpatient diagnoses, the hospitalist model reduces length of stay and costs without adversely affecting mortality or readmission, according to a presentation by Peter K. Lindenauer, MD, MSc, medical director …
Despite advances, most hospitals are years away from fully computerized systems
Electronic records and accurate information do save lives; however, in the chase to provide the one central location cure all to locate medical records, we somehow left out some of the "baby steps" needed to get there. Having a practice or hospital using electronic records today is definitely a plu…
Philanthropy's Struggle in Health Care: Nonprofit Hospitals in America
Study available - fee required. BD Margins are falling, bond ratings are dropping, and competition for patients and reimbursement is sharp. At the same time, the perceptions of the American public have changed. While a decade ago fewer than one in ten Americans saw no difference between nonprofit…
Print to OneNote - Great Organizational tool
For anyone needing to keep their notes, emails, client information in one place, this is a killer application. I can literally take anything and include it in One Note for easy access and searching. Why spend all the time digging through the drive of a PC, when this makes the process so very simpl…
Blues Plans Are Introducing More E-Prescribing Pilots, Initiatives
Is one of your health plans sponsoring NEPSI? We will always maintain a permanent link on this site for physicians to get started as it is free to anyone who decides to participate. There is a short webinar to attend before getting started that is an introduction on how to use the software, which …
BlueCross BlueShield Of South Carolina Launches Subsidiary To Facilitate Medical Tourism
This is the first type of service I have seen combining local health services and tourism in one package to speak...allowing 2 visits with local physicians...BD BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina recently launched a subsidiary, Companion Global Healthcare, to help U.S. patients plan trips to T…
Heart congestion - share the revenue , better healthcare for the patients
This can certainly make the decision process much easier for the patient and hopefully ends up with fair compensation for all physicians involved. BD To reduce patients' confusion, increase revenue, and improve care, the 50 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center doctors who work in the cardiology,…
Partners TeleStroke Center
Using mobility to get the technology to hospitals that may not be able to afford this service otherwise and saving lives at the same time...BD One form of treatment is to administer Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA), a clot busting drug that can greatly reduce the disability resulting from a strok…
The Watch Phone is almost here....
For those of us that remember Dick Tracy and his phone...well many years later it has arrived or will arrive shortly...BD Features:Time/Date, Last Number Redial, Recent Calls, Missed Calls, File Manager, 199 Contacts, SMS Messages, Multi Languages, Flight Mode, Email.Accessories:USB Travel Adapte…
When Health Coverage Doesn't Hold Up - Providers Can Deny Big Claims
CBS has a good storyline about medical insurance and this is just one of the stories featured. This so much reminds me of the recent Blue Cross settlement here in California where the carrier did settle. This is scary to think that when someone is in dire need of medical assistance that when it co…
Doctors' list puts a price on care
I am guessing competition from the retail clinics may have some influence here with this decision and perhaps there will be more posted in time. BD A lot of other providers don't want to compete on price because they think it cheapens the medical field. Some critics, however, say the value of p…
Doctors sue hospital firm IHHI
Everybody seems to be suing everyone in this story...BD Shareholder physicians want to boot key managers, saying the company that controls 12 percent of O.C.’s hospital beds could go out of business. Doctors who own a majority of Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc. have filed suit in an attempt to…
Changes mean less care, more profits: HMO Business in Florida
Is it getting any better anywhere? BD Before reform, about 95 percent of Florida doctors participated in Medicaid. Now a survey conducted by Georgetown University indicates that more doctors are dropping out of Medicaid and those that remain are seeing fewer patients. Most doctors stay in the syste…
CMS to Stop Paying Hospitals for Medical Errors
I am not sure I totally agree with this methodology, but I can certainly add that in my travels, the "old school" hospital administrators do exist and I have experienced this first hand myself, even with walking in with a "Tablet PC". In today's world of evolving medical technology, I would think t…
Medicare pay-for-reporting: How to get your 1.5% ...
Get those registry modules up to date in any EMR to make this task easy. If you are currently using an EMR or EHR program that incorporates this, reporting will be as simple as creating a spreadsheet from the data entered while doing your daily charting. BD Next month, Medicare will take a big s…
Physicians say PPO network's fax masked 25% pay cut
Be sure to read any faxes these days from your neighborly PPO. BD The AMA and several state medical societies are engaged in ongoing discussions with a PPO network that sent a fax to physicians that appeared to be a routine request for tax information -- but also bound physicians to having their …
Videoconferencing services for hospitals and clinics
Hospitals and clinics are exploring the alternative with non-English speaking patients, but experts say the cost must drop before it makes sense for private practices. Translation services are pitching -- and some hospitals are buying -- videoconferencing technology as a way to improve communicat…
LSU jumps on the PHR bandwagon - online personal health records
By the time the 2008 hurricane season rolls around, the LSU Healthcare Network hopes its patients will be well on their way to having portable personal electronic health records they can access in case of a catastrophe.LSU picked Medem’s™ iHealth to generate the free health records for patients, …
10 Educational Hours at the ER
May 25, 2007 - Having spent a sleepless night with a bit too much pain in my abdomen, I informed my wife I was suffering from another bout with diverticulitis. I was also forced to admit I had consumed a bag of microwave popcorn, a definite no-no for someone with no intestinal fortitude. We aske…
Hospitals taking a cue from retailers to reduce on meds errors
Virtually the same kind of technology used to ring up merchandise at the checkout counter is being put to a new use by some hospitals to help prevent medication mistakes for patients. You already know how it works in stores: A clerk runs the bar codes on your merchandise across a scanner, and the…
Chapter 8, "Are you still just using your cell phone for phone calls?"
Cell Phones made simple for seniors...good idea..BD There's a reason Jitterbug has just wonrecognition as the best new company inthe cell phone industry. Before we spoke,we listened. We listened to the kind ofsimple cell phone experience you wanted foryourself and those you care about. The resulti…
UC Davis Medical Adds SmartPill GI Monitoring System
Check out the link below for the full story. The site is still working on a "find a physician" list at this time wh uses the SmartPill. BD SmartPill aids in the evaluation of GI motility disorders, which can affect up to 50 percent of all diabetics Buffalo, N.Y. and Sacramento, Calif. — Thursday,…
Mylan Laboratories To Acquire Generics Business Of Merck KGaA For 4.9 Billion Euros
Mylan Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: MYL) and Merck KGaA today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Mylan will acquire Merck's generics business ("Merck Generics") for EUR 4.9 billion ($6.7 billion) in an all-cash transaction. The combination of Mylan and Merck Generics will create…
Medicare Plans to Deny Coverage of Artificial Disks
Government regulators said yesterday that Medicare, the federal insurance program, planned to deny coverage for artificial disks implanted in the lower spines of older patients. The preliminary decision, which is expected to become final in August, extends to the ProDisc-L made by Synthes a natio…
Blue Cross Earmarks $2 Million To Fight Health Reform Plans
Blue Cross of California on Thursday launched an advertising campaign to oppose health insurance market reforms that are being proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Democratic lawmakers as part of their plans to overhaul California's health care system, the AP/San Jose Mercury News repor…
EHRs and Physician Training..Update
From Modern Health Care...this is a response to an earlier post with physician involvement with implementation of electronic medical records. I can agree in one area myself, "begged" as I have done a bit of that myself and it has been a real challenge sometimes to get the physician to "buy in" with…
Many Small Physician Offices No Longer Provide Injected Medications Because of Medicare Reimbursement Issues
If you are a Medicare participant, this is worth checking out as many of the injection compensations are being changed by Medicare. Many small offices too may not be able to absorb the cost associated with maintaining a supply on hand if they cannot purchase in bulk quantity. BD Thousands of smal…
Demonstrators to target United Health Shareholders meeting
United Health Care issues in the news once more...BD MINNEAPOLIS - To dramatize the need for health care reform, several organizations will demonstrate Tuesday outside the annual shareholders meeting of United Health Group. The demonstration will start at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 29, at the Minneapolis …
Google declares war on $2 trillion health care industry
Interesting perspective on medical record technology. Will we someday "Google" our medical records? BD The Google health care die has been cast, it is a $2 trillion declaration of medical intent. Adam Bosworth, Google Vice preisdent Engineering, is no longer content with “touch-feely” consumer r…
Pharma Marketing Blog: Dumb Blonde Reps vs. Slovenly Genius Reps
John Mack creates some good questions here on the Pharma Marketing Blog...the Pharma companies do cater good lunches though, as many of the offices I visit invite me to partake if I happen to be there on business, but most of the time it tends to be much better than pizza. BD Ed Silverman over at …
FDA Approves Tigris System for testing donated blood
SAN DIEGO, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gen-Probe Incorporated (Nasdaq: GPRO) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company's PROCLEIX(R) TIGRIS(R) system, the first fully automated molecular diagnostics instrument, for use with the PROCLEIX ULTRIO(…
Insurers Promote Use Of Generic Anticholesterol Drugs
The Syracuse Post-Standard on Monday examined how many health insurers have begun to encourage members to use generic versions of the anticholesterol medication Zocor, which reached the U.S. market last June, rather than Lipitor, manufactured by Pfizer, to reduce costs. For example, Excellus Blue…
Chapter 7, "Are you still just using your Cell Phone for phone calls?"
Windows Live Search for your cell phone can be a huge tool. In this example we did some live lookups on the phone. It has a very simple interface and will not only help you with a map, but can also help you locate a business, i.e. a restaurant, a medical office, hospital, you name it. The example…
California Grants Provide Funds for Nurse Training
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Wednesday announced more than $1.6 million in grants to help fund six nurse training programs statewide. The grants are intended to help California residents find jobs that pay at least the average state hourly wage of $22.51 while also boosting California's supp…
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - Hospital Compare
I gave this a try this morning using several different search criteria and the results for each hospital selected were given on a bar graph for easy comparison. Some hospitals did not treat or supply enough data to show on every graph in a few categories. Good tool to get a basic idea of the servi…
Why hedge fund managers outearn doctors - BloggingStocks
Interesting comparison on this blog, one person's opinion...BD But there's really more to it than that -- society perceived that the pricing mechanism for doctors' services was broken. That is, if the free market set the price, many citizens would not be able to afford to pay. And society believes…
Health Benefits Direct to Enter California Market With Addition of PacifiCare as Health Insurance Carrier
If you have not used one of these services, this is an online service built to help companies and individuals select and purchase various types of health care coverage. BD RADNOR, PA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 24, 2007 -- Health Benefits Direct Corporation (OTCBB: HBDT), a leading innovator in the d…
Sometimes, Sightseeing Is a Look at Your X-Rays
Interesting article about both sides of medical tourism..and brings to light what type of medical attention the citizens of these countries receive...BD But just as American travelers begin getting comfortable with the safety of foreign hospitals, they face a new question. With developing world hos…
Advertising pharmaceuticals with Legos?
Does marketing need to go this far? BD More new business opportunities for drugmakers - cross-promotional moments with toymakers. Here we have an item that's popular with children of many ages, particularly young boys. Source: Pharmalot: Risperdal Legos: Building Blocks For Care Hat Tip: Kevin…
Chapter 6, "Are you still just using your Cell Phone for Phone calls?"
In Japan a participant can simply snap a picture of the food and get expert advice back via the cell phone for nutrition information. BD TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Wondering how much of a diet-buster that banana cream pie on your plate is? Some Japanese have a novel way to find out: Photograph it with …
Robotic Surgery May Improve Survival Rate For Prostate Cancer Patients
Performing less invasive laparoscopic surgery using robotic technology may improve survival rates for prostate cancer patients, according to a study by urologic oncologists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's multidisciplinary Genitourinary (GU) cancer center.In a study presented May 21, 20…
Patient Pain Medication - Self Dispensing pill medication at bedside
This is not a new concept as IV dispensers have been around for quite a while, but new technology allows for the same type of dispensing with pills by using RFID (radio frequency ID). BD The MOD® is a Class I device approved for use by the FDA. Use of the device in the EQA Program is not considere…
