Computer with patient information stolen

Missing/stolen records story of the week and this time it was the renown John Hopkins hospital...hope it was encrypted....BD 

Johns Hopkins Hospital officials say a desktop computer containing the personal information of more than 57-hundred patients was stolen from the hospital in July. The (Baltimore) Sun reports that the hospital waited more than five weeks to tell the patients or their families about the theft. Hospital spokesman Gary Stephenson says it was "highly likely" the computer was sold for the value of its hardware. It has not been found. He says there's no reason to believe any of the data has been misused.

Display Story

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Tainted water may have killed hospital patient

Hospital stay?  Don't drink the water...BD   

GRAND RAPIDS -- It wasn't the leukemia that killed Scott E. Miller, a burly truck driver nicknamed Desert Rat, his family said. Through days of chemotherapy, he had faced up to that threat against his life and was expected to recover, doctors told them. Instead, it was contaminated water at Saint Mary's Health Care that killed him, his family said. Miller, 37, a married father of a 13-year-old girl, was identified as the victim of Legionella infection, contracted from the hospital's water, his relatives say.

Tainted water may have killed hospital patient - mlive.com

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Medical records from old hospital illegally torched on a farm Salem Township

Ok, well we hear all the stories about stolen medical records and these folks obviously have too and decided to take action...but the wrong type of action...a big bon fire on the farm was not the appropriate answer...but one thing for sure is that nobody will ever get any information from what was contained here, although some of what was destroyed may have contained some vital records history too on the other hand...BD

Michigan authorities announced Friday that they plan to prosecute those responsible for the decision to burn tens of thousands of medical records on a farm in Salem Township. The records, some of which dated back a half-century and included Social Security numbers and X-rays, were found in burning piles Thursday by firefighters responding to a call.

The farm is owned by Dr. Soon K. Kim, a psychiatrist and businessman whose management company reportedly oversaw the hospital.

Kim, who authorities say lives in California, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Medical records from old hospital illegally torched on a farm Salem Township

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Medical Error Is For the Dogs, Too

Man's best friend can be at risk as well, 2nd opinions for pets works too...BD

It was an absolutely devastating moment when we learned from our veterinarian that our sweet brown and white greyhound Finnegan had two months to live. A few weeks earlier, he had collapsed and lost feeling in his back legs. Ultimately we found out that Finnegan had a blood clot between two of his vertebrae pressing against his spine. With surgery, we were told, he would recover. As a precaution, once the clot was removed, it was sent to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine for a biopsy. There was a greater than 90 percent chance that it was nothing, our vet said.

.....agreed that our dog's biopsy had been misread and he did not have osteosarcoma. Months later, instead of having cancer, Finnegan has made a full recovery.

Medical Error Is For the Dogs, Too - washingtonpost.com

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Schwarzenegger pushes universal health care for California

2 good stories on the progress here in California...and the unique partnership between the governor and Assembly speaker Nunez...BD

LOS ANGELES (AFP) Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday spoke in favor of his plan to provide universal health care for all state residents, where he said some 6.7 million people live with no type of health insurance. Universal health care is normally an issue raised by left-wing Democrats, but Schwarzenegger used the issue to help gain re-election in November 2006, which he did thanks to Democratic support. "Our health care system is broken, and the people expect us to fix it, and this is exactly what I'm trying to do," said Schwarzenegger, speaking at an event that included legislators, business leaders and health care representatives in the southern city of San Diego.

AFP: Schwarzenegger pushes universal health care for California

Related Story from the LA Times:  http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-nunez1sep01,1,5020010.story?coll=la-headlines-health

SACRAMENTO -- With time running out to overhaul California's healthcare system this year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez are fashioning a high-stakes strategy to raise business and hospital taxes through a ballot measure that would circumvent defiant Republican lawmakers.  The unusual partnership between the Republican governor and the Los Angeles Democrat echoes their collaboration last year, which resulted in landmark global warming legislation and a minimum-wage increase.

The hospitals' support is critical to passing any initiative. Plus, some strategists believe that strong backing could budge enough Republican legislators to make the initiative unnecessary because many hospitals in GOP legislative districts stand to benefit financially.

"The progress we've made has been considerable," he said. "The question now is, can we go back to our constituencies and can we make the deal work."

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Hospital Might Face Fines, Loss Of Medicare

 

A Montgomery County hospital where a 29-year-old patient suffered extreme malnutrition before his death could face steep state fines within weeks and even the loss of federal Medicare funding this fall because of serious failings in care. Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, which has facilities in Rockville and Tahoma Park, was notified recently by state health regulators that its efforts to remedy problems still fall short and that more improvement is required. The most alarming issues continued to relate to patients' dietary needs, with one woman in the end-stage renal disease repeatedly suffering severe drops in weight.

The rehabilitation facility, which yesterday had 44 patients, is part of the Adventist HealthCare system. Hospital and state officials said it has had no significant deficiencies or accreditation difficulties in recent years.

Md. Hospital Might Face Fines, Loss Of Medicare - washingtonpost.com

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We are all uninsured now

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor give us her solution and suggestions to a better health care system...good reading...BD

BIG NUMBERS, like 45 million uninsured Americans, are hard to grasp. But that number came home to me at a recent conference. The keynote speaker was former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Her topic was our healthcare system, and her message was personal and anguished.

As I listened, a light dawned: O'Connor and the rest of us with health coverage are also uninsured. We too face terrible, albeit more remote, healthcare risks -- the risk that our employer will drop our plan, that Medicare will go bust, that our plan won't cover our needs, that premiums will eat us alive, that our doctor will stop taking our insurance, that long-term care will wipe us out, and that our uninsured friends and family members will need major financial help.

Why can't a country as rich as ours come up with a system that works? This, in essence, was Justice O'Connor's parting question.

But, in fact, we can. Now if we can just get the big cheeses in the Oval Office or on their way there to start thinking big . .

We are all uninsured now - The Boston Globe

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Medical Quack - Updated Blog Format

I have recently updated the format used for the blog. The information that was previously located in the left hand column is now on the right, the content information and helpful links are still there. The color scheme has been changed to hopefully make it a littler easier to read and navigate.

At the bottom of the main page, you can continue to "older posts" as well. If you are looking to find a past article that is not shown on the main page, use the "search" option at the top of the page in the upper left hand corner. You can locate any past article by keyword. The same option is available at the bottom of the page.



To keep updated, you can use an RSS Feed program to send updated previews to the software or even use the built in web feeds offered by Yahoo and Google if you do not want to use a seperate software program.

The email subscription is also a good feature to use to keep updated as you will receive a summary 2-3 times a week with previews of new posts. With the email notification you can quickly see what has been added and quickly navigate to the article by using the links in the email sent. This can be a time saver in finding the articles that you want to read without having to navigate the entire site. Thinks of the blog as an online newspaper, whereby you can select and choose what you want to read. Take what you want and leave the rest. Hopefully the new changes will make the site easier to read and navigate. Don't forget, you can add comments to any articles at any time and you can be anonymous. To post a comment you will need to verify that it is a "real" post by using a number/letter verification system. This is done to keep spam from hitting the site with unwanted and unrelated posts that clutter and become a nuisance for all.

Barbara Duck

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Patient Records Need Reviews - paper errors harder to find

Errors on paper records are much more difficult to locate..something to think about by comparing to the use of electronic medical records.  BD 

Mistakes can arise from a mistyped diagnosis code or transcription error to an inaccurate diagnosis or a diagnosis that is out-of-date, say because a patient has gotten his or her cholesterol under control. And, if you have a common name, other peoples' records can end up in your file, says Ms. Pritts. Part of the problem is that the U.S. health-care system relies mainly on paper records, which make it harder to coordinate care and spot errors. Many hospitals use electronic health records, but until the U.S. develops a comprehensive, consolidated system, the burden falls to individuals to keep tabs on their health histories.

Patient Records Need Reviews - WSJ.com

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Assembly leader calls off vote on health care plan

Continues to be work in progress in California...BD

SACRAMENTO - The Democratic leader of the Assembly canceled a vote on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's sweeping health care plan Thursday, backing off from his threat to demonstrate how little support the governor's proposal has in the Legislature. After meeting with Schwarzenegger on Wednesday night, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, decided it would be counterproductive to antagonize the governor just as their talks on health care reform were heating up. "I'm not going to embarrass the governor," Núñez told reporters Thursday. "We're negotiating, and we're making progress.

San Jose Mercury News - Assembly leader calls off vote on health care plan

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HMO's prefer doctors who save them money - opinion

Sad but perhaps somewhat true....BD 

Finally, when doctors succumb out of fear for loss of income to any HMO's cost-cutting rules, eventually they lose their allegiance to patients. They eventually become more concerned about saving money for the HMO than giving their patients the best care. Putting doctors into "tiered networks" based on how much money they can save HMOs strikes at the very heart and soul of medicine. It should be illegal.

News Times Live

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Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Medicare HMOs in Hospital Reimbursement Fight

Sound like a move in the direction of getting rid of some additional red tape in the claim process...BD 

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that hospitals providing Medicare-related services can seek reimbursement in state court without first being forced to pursue costly and time-consuming reviews through "the federal administrative machinery." "This is a huge victory for health care providers," says attorney Scott Clearman of Houston-based McClanahan & Clearman, who represents five area hospital systems in their case against Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc. . "It's not often that the Texas Supreme Court rules against insurance companies. More important, this decision puts a little more certainty in the health care system and that's good for everyone.

However, the Texas Supreme Court found that "requiring Hospitals to exhaust administrative remedies before coverage decisions have been made would turn the administrative scheme on its head ... "

The Court reversed the court of appeals decision and remanded the case to the trial court to determine Aetna's contractual obligations to the hospitals.

Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Medicare HMOs in Hospital Reimbursement Fight

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Opinion and response to electronic medical records - Modern Healthcare Online

 

This, too, is in response to Al Puerini's letter where he wonders why electronic health records have not been widely adopted by the healthcare industry compared with other industries. In his letter, he says, "Let's ask the airline industry if they could even exist without computerized record-keeping. Let's talk to UPS and FedEx and see if they think computerizing their industry has made a difference. How about the banking industry? Has it added to their efficiencies?" UPS and FedEx don't share database information ... banks aren't willing to blend all their customers into one database ... and try to get TWA to tell you about your Northwest travel plans. No, like the LG Electronics Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Player, it doesn't care which format you prefer ... it plays both. The company that can adapt and translate any health record format will be the front-runner in establishing a baseline for electronic health records data.

Modern Healthcare Online

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Heart Repair By Cardiomyocytes Produced From Human Embryonic Stem Cells

 

Published online in Nature Biotechnology, the landmark study is the first to document the potential clinical utility of regenerating damaged heart muscle by injecting hESC-derived cardiomyocytes directly into the site of the infarct. In addition, the research confirms the effectiveness of a scalable production system that enables Geron to manufacture the cardiomyocytes for use in ongoing large animal studies and, ultimately, testing in humans.

Heart Repair By Cardiomyocytes Produced From Human Embryonic Stem Cells

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Angioplasties Increasing, Bypass Surgeries Decreasing

 

Use of transluminal coronary angioplasty, or PTCA, a procedure for opening blocked arteries in patients with coronary artery disease, is now used nearly three times more often than the older and more invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Angioplasties Increasing, Bypass Surgeries Decreasing

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Calling On Congress To End Workplace Health-Benefits Inequity, USA

 

This Labor Day, Mental Health America urges Congress to end a critical workplace inequity by passing legislation to establish parity between the coverage for general and mental health benefits for American workers and their families. More than 113 million American workers and their families rely on employee-sponsored health insurance, but even those with "good health insurance" face unique roadblocks to needed mental health care in the form of arbitrary treatment limits and higher out-of-pocket costs.

Labor Day: Calling On Congress To End Workplace Health-Benefits Inequity, USA

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Star Trek Medical Device Uses Ultrasound To Seal Punctured Lungs

"Doctors will scan the body from the outside, recognize where the injury is, focus the beam on the injury and use the beams to seal the wound," Jurkovich said. The futuristic medical technology's promise is substantial, he said. "It would be non-invasive and it would stop the bleeding from the outside. When it happens, that's going to revolutionize how we would care for some of these injuries."

A stretcher races through the entrance of a busy hospital. The car accident victim lies on top and grimaces in pain. While surface injuries look gruesome, the real medical danger is invisible - internal organ damage caused by being crushed against the steering wheel. This isn't a scene from Seattle Grace Hospital, the set of the popular television drama Grey's Anatomy, but from its real-life model, Harborview Medical Center. Engineers at the University of Washington are working with Harborview doctors to create new emergency treatments right out of Star Trek: a tricorder type device using high-intensity focused ultrasound rays. This summer, researchers published the first experiment using ultrasound to seal punctured lungs.

Star Trek Medical Device Uses Ultrasound To Seal Punctured Lungs

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FDA Approves Human Thrombin For Topical Use In Surgery

New alternative to control surgical bleeding..derived from human donors and cattle...surgeons have the choice of which one they use...BD 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Evithrom (human thrombin), a blood-clotting protein used to help control bleeding during surgery. Evithrom is the first human thrombin approved since 1954 and is the only product currently licensed. It is derived from human plasma obtained from carefully screened and tested U.S. donors and has undergone steps to further reduce the risk for transfusion-transmitted diseases.

The product is applied to the surface of bleeding tissue and may be used in conjunction with an absorbable gelatin sponge. Evithrom must not be injected into blood vessels, which would result in serious clinical complications and may even be fatal.

FDA Approves Human Thrombin For Topical Use In Surgery

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Telehealth Monitor receives FDA Market Clearance

This looks to have real possibilities and yet simple and easy to use.  These same folks also make devices (phones) that can help you use Skype, the free Internet voice over IP calling system.    Blue tooth is alive and well and here to stay in health care too!  BD

RTX Healthcare announced a 510k market clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use the RTX3370 Telehealth Monitor in the US. The Telehealth Monitor is a wireless device designed specifically to improve the provision of healthcare to elderly patients outside hospitals suffering from chronic diseases.

RTX3370 - The RTX Telehealth Monitor Sends the data directly to your Clinical Information System The RTX3370 Telehealth Monitor is an interactive and simple to use device, designed specifically to improve the way of providing healthcare to patients outside hospitals suffering from chronic diseases such as heart failure, COPD and diabetes.

 

• Low cost solution
• Large easily readable color display
• Audio for patient interaction
• Bluetooth, serial and IrDA interface for peripheral vital sign monitors  

The device has a large easy-to-read display and large buttons. It is designed for the 60+ target group with simplicity and usability as important targets.

Telehealth Monitor

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CBS Evening News and "health insurance and red tape, physicians do like and welcome cash

Good video on how the physician/patient relationship can work when it comes to paying the bills.  As you see in the video, cash is good is available right away for practice expenditures, while insurance payments...well we all know how long those take for the EOB payments to roll in...and doctors may give you a discount for cash too, especially if you do not have insurance coverage..it's worth talking about for all involved...BD

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yTxFKYkNxQg

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Ruling may unlock key data on doctors relative to Medicare....

Well worth reading, especially for physicians...Medicare could also have all your information relative to medicare cases up on the web for research soon.  As the article mentions, the data base is far richer than any private insurer could have...BD 

A little-noticed decision last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of a consumer group that sued the Health and Human Services Department to allow disclosure of specific data about doctors from the Medicare claims database. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan concluded that releasing the data would be "a significant public benefit," and ordered the department to turn it over by Sept. 21. With information on more than 40 million patients and 700,000 doctors, the Medicare database is far richer than any private insurer's. Though it does not have information on some doctors, such as pediatricians, who don't treat Medicare patients, it is considered the mother lode for data on those who treat adults, because Medicare recipients are a mainstay of most practices.

"Someone who is thinking they need a knee replacement -- or a prostatectomy -- will be able to go on our website and see how many of these procedures their physician has done for Medicare patients," he added.  An appeal could be politically embarrassing for the administration, because President Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt have both campaigned for greater openness and consumer empowerment in healthcare.

He estimated it would take a month or two after receiving the information to post it online.

Ruling may unlock key data on doctors - Los Angeles Times

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3D functionality - KODAK CARESTREAM PACS

Perhaps an eventual end to the workstations as PCs get better and better with graphics..also this technology is taking advantage of a virtual PACS server...virtual...the way of the future make possible by Intel chip technology...BD 

Dramatic growth in study volumes and the number of CT and MRI images place todays radiology departments under extreme pressure. 3-D imaging can help facilitate more efficient viewing and handling of huge data sets. But the need for specialized 3-D workstations often requires cumbersome procedures that interfere with reading routines, hinder workflow, and disrupt the radiologists concentration.

Eliminating specialized 3-D workstations offers significant benefits in reduced reading time and streamlined workflow. It also eliminates data transmission and storage requirements associated with multiple workstation procedures.

 

 

Carestream Health: 3D functionality - KODAK CARESTREAM PACS

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Biotech pioneer takes on Big Pharma industry to save lives

 

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- The power went out at Hammersmith Hospital just a few minutes after I started chatting with Sunil Shaunak, a professor who specializes in drug discovery for infectious diseases. Since it was a bright, cool morning in London, the absence of lights and air-conditioning didn't strike me as problematic. Shaunak's graduate students looked alarmed, however, and it suddenly occurred to me why: The team had live cells growing in the refrigerators nearby. Yet Shaunak maintained the calm of a man accustomed to toiling in suboptimal conditions. "Remember," Shaunak said with a smile, "I'm an academic." altruist.03.jpg Experimental drugmaking: Shaunak is reversing the industry's typical business model. discover_drug.03.gif More from Business 2.0 A biotech pioneer takes on Big Pharma A Microsoft legend's next great adventure Wii: The greenest game console Fastest Growing Tech Companies Current Issue Subscribe to Business 2.0 In truth, it's impossible to forget that Shaunak isn't your ordinary entrepreneur. Far from singing the praises of high-tech capitalism, he rails against the disparities in the health care it delivers to the First and Third Worlds. He cheerfully admits to being naive about all things commercial. "I didn't know what an IPO was until five years ago," he says. "And I still can't read a spreadsheet." Nevertheless, Shaunak is the co-founder of one of the most exciting startups I've ever encountered - a biotech outfit that not only holds the promise of saving millions of lives but could undermine the business model that sustains Big Pharma to the detriment of medical innovation.

Biotech pioneer takes on industry to save lives - Aug. 29, 2007

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California health legislation not looking so well these days...time will tell

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The prognosis for universal health care in California is grim this year, and experts say a failure could set back similar efforts nationwide for years to come.

Unions, doctors and other powerful interests are arrayed against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $12 billion-a-year plan to make medical insurance mandatory. He has threatened to veto the Democrats' less ambitious alternative and take his plan to the ballot instead.

A showdown could come as early as Thursday, when the Democrats plan to put Schwarzenegger's proposal to a vote in the state Assembly. The aim is to show how little support it has.

Watchful eye'
With the campaign for the White House under way, what happens in America's most populous state could have especially wide repercussions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20498927/

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Corp. execs don't enter data, why should docs?

I sure wish the execs would learn though, it would sure make it easier for everyone if they would at least do some data entry, even if for their own business and other Internet needs, besides that we would have folks in the decision making positions with some familiarity and perhaps get some better decisions made.  Mobility works for everyone and I can't tell you how many times folks look at me like I am "Lucifer" when I walk in with a tablet pc.  I do it because it makes my job easier and I give better service to my clients by being organized too.  Mobility is where it's at today...BD   

This is in response to Al Puerini's letter where he wonders why electronic health records have not been widely adopted by the healthcare industry compared with other industries. In his letter, he says "Let's ask the airline industry if they could even exist without computerized record-keeping. Let's talk to UPS and FedEx and see if they think computerizing their industry has made a difference. How about the banking industry? Has it added to their efficiencies?" Most people fail to recognize that the sophisticated computers and systems that power American industries and streamline operations rely upon data entry performed by a workforce of minimum or near-minimum wage earners. These responsibilities fall upon the shoulders of cashiers at McDonalds, Gap and Wal-Mart, or clerks in the banking industry that enter information into computer mainframes. Data entry is carried out by the bank teller, the bookkeeper and even the UPS and FedEx deliverymen and women who hold a wireless unit in their hands at all times. One thing is certain: Highly compensated corporate executives earning as much as $250,000 or more are not taking on the tasks of data entry. So, it stands to reason that physicians, who earn comparable salaries, also would be unlikely candidates. Yet, it seems that everyone expects just the opposite.

Modern Healthcare Online

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Remedy sought for MD crisis --Upstate New York

 

LAKE GEORGE -- The Adirondacks are hemorrhaging doctors. More primary care physicians are fleeing the North Country than ever before. Burned out by the grind of a country doctor, they're being lured away to other states with offers of better pay, more vacation time and fewer nights on-call. In some cases, new patients have to be turned away, while others have to travel farther or wait longer to see a physician. Health clinics are in danger of closing because they're losing money as reimbursement rates remain flat and costs climb. Openings for physicians are going unfilled, meaning doctors who stay behind in the poor, rural region are struggling to treat more people, driving more miles between clinics and working more hours. All the while, they're expected to pay back hefty medical school loans and cover the steep cost of malpractice insurance. The inducements to bolt are many and proving harder to resist.

Remedy sought for MD crisis -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

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Hospitals hone their Web-side manner with WiFi

As more hospitals add wifi to their systems, it might take some of the pressure off Starbucks...:)  BD 

Now, in many cases, patients or visitors to hospitals can whip out their laptops or other wireless devices and enjoy the same free Internet access. Hospitals across Central Indiana and around the nation increasingly are turning their cafeterias, patient rooms and waiting areas into free WiFi -- wireless fidelity -- hotspots. "You hear people say, 'They can do it at Starbucks. Why can't they do it in the hospital?' " said Barbara Coulter, director of information services for St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers. "It was just a trend that we knew we had to provide for patients.

Hospitals hone their Web-side manner | IndyStar.com

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Microsoft develops double-sided touchscreen

A two sided touch screen tablet...now this one has me thinking and dreaming a bit...BD 

Microsoft is pioneering a new touchscreen that can be operated from both the front and back. The device aims to overcome the conventional touchscreen flaw of the hand covering-up much of what is being displayed. Microsoft's existing prototype, called LucidTouch, allows users to view the front screen without   obstruction by entering text, navigating maps and clicking links from the back. Beginning with a commercial touchscreen, the researchers at Microsoft bolted a multi-input touchpad to the back and then fitted a webcam on a boom to record the motion of the user's fingers. This video is then fed into software running on the PC which filters out everything except the fingers, adds pointers to the fingertips so that users can select items precisely on screen and then feeds it back to the display.

PC Pro: News: Microsoft develops double-sided touchscreen

Hat Tip:  www.tabletpctalk.com

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RemedyMD® SpecialtyEHR", giving it away for free after September 1st..

Support and training...#1 with medical records these days and this company seems to be banking on it with the offer of free software...as what good is the program if nobody knows how to use it and never trains...we have come a long way since the days where we picked up our AOL disc at the store and went online immediately..things are much more complicated these days...thus support has to be right up there.  BD

They plan to make money from doctors by selling additional tech-support (email help is free) and a host of analytical tools that let doctors compare their patients and practices to those of peers and competitors.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah August 29, 2007 RemedyMD®, Inc., the market leader in the use of predictive informatics in healthcare, today announced a major new initiative to dramatically accelerate improved outcomes in healthcare. Starting September 1, RemedyMD will offer free licenses for its market-proven, specialty-specific Electronic Health Records and practice management software to its ambulatory practices and their patients. Offering physicians and their patients the opportunity to use RemedyMDs software at no charge will dramatically increase the number of practices who collect data electronically instead of using paper charts.

 

RemedyMD® SpecialtyEHR", Investigate", and Patient Portal.

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Plastic Surgeon to the Stars by Chris Thompson

 Interesting story about the most popular and famous plastic surgeon...he has a few suits following him as well...BD

Brad Jacobs calls himself "one of the most famous plastic surgeons in history." At his clinic on the Upper East Side, he's performed thousands of breast-augmentation and liposuction procedures, and his patients reportedly include Playboy Playmate Courtney Culkin and Playboy cover girl Monica Leigh. Last year, he expanded his practice to include a new specialty in reshaping buttocks at his "Star Butts" clinic. For $11,000, patients reshaped their asses to resemble the behinds of Eva Longoria, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, or Paris Hilton. Jacobs received his medical degree from McGill University, which his lawyer calls "the Harvard of Canada." He's a family man with a wife and a son and a house on Long Island. He's also at the center of one of New York's most sensational medical-malpractice scandals in recent history. Over the course of the last eight years, Jacobs has settled or lost at least 26 malpractice lawsuits filed against him, and more are working their way through the courts. In late June, the state Department of Health suspended his license to practice medicine, and Jacobs is now fighting to save his career. State medical investigators have charged him with a wide range of misconduct, including giving his patients boob jobs that were much bigger than they requested, failing to treat a patient's abscess after surgery, humiliating a patient by undressing her post-operative wounds in front of Jacobs's then girlfriend, and removing too much cartilage from a patient's nose during rhinoplasty. In the most shocking case, state investigators claim that Jacobs smoked crystal meth with one of his patients, had sex with her while she was recuperating from a nose job, and ultimately deformed her face

village voice > news > Plastic Surgeon to the Scars by Chris Thompson

Hat Tip:  Kevin, MD

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FDA Clearance Received For First Cervical Artificial Disc

The bionic hand, arm...and now the bionic disc. and this could be good news versus spinal fusion if it can still offer more mobility.  BD

People who have suffered for years from degenerative discs in their neck now have an option that may relieve the pain in their neck and arm, allow quick recovery and enable them to lead active and productive lives. On July 17, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Prestige ST Cervical Disc System. Used extensively in Europe, FDA clearance of the Prestige disc from Medtronic follows a unanimous recommendation for approval from the FDA advisory board. The artificial disc for the cervical (neck) region is expected to impact more than 200,000 Americans who suffer from degenerative disc disease.

FDA Clearance Received For First Cervical Artificial Disc

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Medicare Proposes New Rules For ASCs That Serve Medicare Patients, USA

One more new rule...who is going to do the inspections to be sure the outpatient surgery centers are compliant?  Is this a rule with out a budget to enforce?  Something to think about as I would rather see potential enforcement costs go direct to Medicare for claim payments instead...BD 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that will revise the requirements that ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) must meet in order to bill Medicare for services furnished to beneficiaries. This proposed rule would update the existing ASC Conditions for Coverage (CfC) to reflect contemporary standards of practice in the ASC community, as well as recommendations from the HHS Inspector General. The new requirements will promote and protect patient access to quality services in ASCs.

 ASCs are typically free-standing facilities that perform outpatient surgery. To participate in the Medicare program, they must meet Medicare's conditions for coverage. 

Medicare Proposes New Rules For ASCs That Serve Medicare Patients, USA

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CMS Issues Final Rule Prohibiting Physician Self-Referral, USA

This puts an end to investing or participating in anything that could be related to the practice if you own part of the business it appears as this is one more item that will be not be covered...let's see how long is this list?  BD   

CMS issued final regulations prohibiting physicians from referring Medicare patients for certain items, services and tests provided by businesses in which they or their immediate family members have a financial interest. This regulation is the third phase of the final regulations implementing the physician self-referral prohibition commonly referred to as the Stark law. "These rules protect beneficiaries from receiving services they may not need and the Medicare program from paying potentially unnecessary costs," said Herb Kuhn, CMS acting deputy administrator.

CMS Issues Final Rule Prohibiting Physician Self-Referral, USA

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Study Blames Abbreviations For Medication Errors

This one should come as no surprise...pharmacists see this every day and I really marvel sometimes as how they can read some of the handwriting they see on the paper script forms...another good reason for e-prescribing...BD

-- The most common abbreviation resulting in a medication error was the use of "qd" in place of "once daily," accounting for 43.1 percent of all errors. -- The other most common abbreviations resulting in medication errors were "U" for units, "cc" for mL, "MSO4" or "MS" for morphine sulfate, and decimal errors. -- Eighty-one percent of the errors occurred during prescribing; errors during transcribing and dispensing represented 14 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. -- Abbreviation errors originated most often from medical staff. -- The three most common types of abbreviation-related errors were prescribing, improper dose/quantity, and incorrectly prepared medication. The authors conclude more abbreviations should be added to the standard "do not use" list. Top candidates for an expanded list include drug name abbreviations, such as PCN, DCN, TCN; stem abbreviations (amps, nitro, succs), µg (mcg), cc (mL); and dose scheduling (BID, TID, QID).

Study Blames Abbreviations For Medication Errors

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New AHIP Ad Campaign: Medicare Advantage Cuts Threaten Seniors' Health Security, USA

Time for politics this week...BD

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has launched a new national television ad campaign reminding Congress about the devastating impact on seniors of cuts to Medicare Advantage. Titled "Last Time," the ad follows passage of legislation by the House of Representatives that would cut the Medicare Advantage program by $157 billion over ten years. "History has shown that cuts to this Medicare program have a direct impact on seniors' health security," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP.

New AHIP Ad Campaign: Medicare Advantage Cuts Threaten Seniors' Health Security, USA

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Doctors Hand Out 27% More Prescriptions During The Last Five Years, UK

It has to be increasing at the same or similar levels here too in the US...BD 

Five years ago UK GPs prescribed 721 million drugs, in 2006 the figure rose to 918 million, an increase of £10 billion per year in costs for the National Health Service. Some health experts are concerned that Britain may be turning into a nation of pill-poppers, where a drug is demanded for every ill. British doctors write 870,000 anti-depressant prescriptions each week, compared to 730,000 five years ago. Paul Flynn, MP, said that British society is becoming medicalised - where people believe they need a pill for everything. The Daily Telegraph quotes a Conservative Party study which indicates that £1 billion has been spent on drugs that patients never used over the past five years.

Doctors Hand Out 27% More Prescriptions During The Last Five Years, UK

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Cooline - personal evaportaive cooling vest

I wonder what this will do for hot flashes?  Perhaps you might see more of the female gender sporting these...if it works, it could be well worth the money!  BD

COOLINE - invest in better performance COOLINE mimics and supports the temperature regulation of the human body with its perspiration and cooling by evaporating sweat. In this way, COOLINE overcomes the body's own limitations. However, the high tech fleece in COOLINE is in a position to bind several times its own weight of water. The water then escapes by evaporation, not by mechanical pressure. The result is evaporation cooling to cool the body. The COOLINE vest does not cover the kidney area for medical reasons. The functional fibers of the high tech fleece are convenient to wear and are absolutely dry on the outside. They cool down the area of the cardiovascular system on the upper body mostly affected by thermal stress. The COOLINE system is designed for professional use. The climatic cabinet COOLBOXX® provides fully automatic activation and control and ensures that the COOLINE vests are ready for use 24 hours a day. Just Stay Cool Irrespective of the environmental temperature you keep cool and therefore have better conditions for health, concentration and performance. As a result of the physical principle of evaporation cooling, COOLINE cools more intensively at higher temperatures and less intensively at low temperatures. This produces optimal cooling at all times. COOLINE also absorbs the body's own perspiration, thereby also promoting the body's own cooling system. Dependent on the ambient temperature, the cooling effect is maintained for hours up to several days and is therefore suitable for any period of work and deployment.

Cooline

Hat Tip:  Gizmag

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Medtronic And Bayer Diabetes Care Announce Alliance To Provide Blood Glucose Meter To Medtronic Patients Outside The United States

 

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) and Bayer Diabetes Care, a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC and a member of the Bayer Group (NYSE: BAY), announced an alliance to distribute and co-market a new blood glucose meter for Medtronic patients outside the United States beginning in Canada and Europe. The new meter, based on Bayer's Contour® meter platform, will wirelessly transmit blood glucose test results directly to MiniMed Paradigm® insulin pumps and Guardian® REAL-Time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Wireless communications make data entry easier and more convenient for patients.

Medtronic And Bayer Diabetes Care Announce Alliance To Provide Blood Glucose Meter To Medtronic Patients Outside The United States

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Tablet Kiosk Forums

Great news...Tablet Kiosk now has a forum whereby you can post questions and comments.  This will be a great help.  Be sure to register in order to ask questions and receive alerts via email when comments are added to your post.  BD

Active Topics Active Topics Display List of Forum Members Membership List Search The Forum Search Help Help Member Control Panel MenuSettings Logout

TabletKiosk Forums

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Docs often write off patient side effects

Side effects can be many and vary ...and there could be multiple drugs being use by the patient as well...not as easy as it seems sometimes to identify true side effect with multiple conditions and drugs...BD 

NEW YORK - When patients feel they might be having an adverse drug effect, doctors will very often dismiss their concerns, a new study shows. In a survey of 650 patients, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, who reported having adverse drug reactions, many said their physicians denied that the drug could be connected to their symptoms, Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb of the University of California at San Diego and her colleagues found. Physicians seem to commonly dismiss the possibility of a connection, Golomb told Reuters Health. This seems to occur even for the best-supported adverse effects of the most widely prescribed class of drugs...Clearly there is a need for better physician education about adverse effects, and there is a strong need for patient involvement in adverse event reporting.

Docs often write off patient side effects - Health Care - MSNBC.com

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GE Healthcare Announces FDA Approval For Mobile Mammography Screening Device

 

GE Healthcare on Wednesday announced that it has received FDA approval for its mobile mammography screening device, Reuters reports. The device will make it easier to increase screening for breast cancer in rural areas, Reuters reports (Reuters, 8/22). According to a GE release, the Senographe Essential device will improve access to mammography screening worldwide (GE release, 8/22). According to a study published in the June 15 issue of the journal Cancer, the proportion of U.S. women age 40 and older who said they have undergone a mammogram in the previous two years declined from 70% to 66% from 2000 to 2005 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/14).

GE Healthcare Announces FDA Approval For Mobile Mammography Screening Device

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Hospital Size Doesn't Matter For EMR Sophistication

Anyone any size can make the transition...BD

Contrary to conventional wisdom, new research from the HIMSS Analytics Database (derived from the Dorenfest IHDS+ DatabaseTM) has identified both general medical/surgical hospitals, and academic medical centers, that have successfully implemented almost fully automated or paperless electronic medical records as measured by HIMSS Analytics' Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model (EMRAM).

Hospital Size Doesn't Matter For EMR Sophistication, Says HIMSS Analytics White Paper, USA

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Statins May Stave Off Alzheimer's, New Study

 

By comparing brain tissue of people who had taken statins with those who had not, US scientists have established for the first time that taking statins may help to stave off the telltale signs of Alzheimer's. The study is reported in the August 28th issue of Neurology, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology and is the work of lead author Dr Gail (Ge) Li, an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, and colleagues.

Statins May Stave Off Alzheimer's, New Study

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Employers Must Promote Healthy Lifestyles For Workers To Lower Costs, Health Officials Say

Do you know what your blood pressure and cholesterol readings are?  Your employer may want to know soon as it will save money to ensure you are working on a healthy lifestyle..or are least participating an an employer offered program...BD 

Employers must promote good public policy, healthy lifestyles among workers and must understand determinants of health to reduce health care costs, Louisiana health officials said on Tuesday, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Fred Cerise and Gery Barry, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, spoke at the Louisiana Business Group on Health board of directors meeting and corporate leadership roundtable. The group represents a coalition of employers, insurers and health care providers that are examining ways to control health care costs in the state. Barry said employers should pay attention to medical home models of health care, where a neighborhood clinic or physician manages a person's care using electronic health records, and look for ways to use such systems to reduce health costs. Cerise and Barry said employers also should adopt employee-wellness initiatives to prevent health problems among workers.

Employers Must Promote Healthy Lifestyles For Workers To Lower Costs, Health Officials Say

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700,000 New York Workers Lack Health Insurance With Young Adults, Men And Hispanics Topping The List

 

Having a job is not necessarily a passport to health insurance in New York City. One million New Yorkers -- some 17% of the adult population -- lacked coverage in 2005, according to a new Health Department report, and 700,000 of them were employed. The complete report, Health Care Access among Adults in New York City, is available online at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/hca/hca-nyc-adults.pdf.

700,000 New York Workers Lack Health Insurance With Young Adults, Men And Hispanics Topping The List

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Pharma lobbying shifts to states

 

WASHINGTON -- At a national convention of state legislators in Boston this month, Novartis spon sored a reception for women lawmakers, AstraZenca financed two luncheons and employees from Bristol-Myers Squibb and other drugmakers pressed their views at panel discussions. "There was a visible presence by the pharmaceutical companies, but they also operated out of the limelight, behind-the-scenes, to have one-on-one time with individual legislators," said Sharon Anglin Treat, a former Maine state senator and now head of the nonprofit National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices. The lobbying at the National Conference of State Legislatures' conclave came as drugmakers find themselves on the defensive, facing tighter regulations and restrictions in many states. Some 500 pharmaceutical-related bills and resolutions have been filed in statehouses around the country since the start of the year -- an average of 10 per state.

Pharma lobbying shifts to states- NJ.com

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State purchases three mobile hospitals - California

Fascinating technology on how one of these portable hospitals can be rolled out and set up in a hurry...picture below shows an ICU bed...and the units even have air conditional throughout...BD

During the 1994 Northridge quake, some injured Angelenos drove to local hospitals only to find them severely damaged, and had to drive elsewhere for help. But now there's a new tool that California and local officials will have in the next disaster: three full-service mobile hospitals that each have 200 beds and can be rapidly deployed wherever needed in the state. Los Angeles County has also purchased a 100-bed mobile hospital, which is expected to be delivered this week. The public got its first peek Saturday at one of the facilities that was sprawled on a grassy area the size of a football field at the California National Guard's Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.

 

The portable facility consists of 30 blue-and-orange vinyl tents, draped over arched aluminum frames. The tents can be attached, like an adult-sized hamster tube. Inside was everything you'd find in a community hospital: fully equipped emergency and operating rooms, a trauma unit, a pharmacy, oxygen generators and even a tent where doctors can take X-rays and see them on a computer screen.

The move to purchase mobile hospitals came as part of efforts last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to improve the state's response to disaster and to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic flu, which in California could cause one-third of the population to fall ill and, in the worst case, result in 35,000 deaths statewide.

State purchases three mobile hospitals - Los Angeles Times

More information here:  Blu-Med website

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End the doughnut hole...

 

Somerset County senior citizens who thought they were getting help with the doughnut hole provision of Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage with the new Somerset County Drug Discount Card received bad news from Tuesday's county commissioners' meeting. None of their purchases with the new NACo card made during their doughnut hole will count towards getting them out of the hole. The doughnut hole is a gap in Part D coverage when people go from paying a co-payment for their prescriptions to paying for the entire cost.

Congress should have passed Part D without a doughnut hole. Instead, Congress sided with the drug companies and shifted the cost to senior citizens. As Part D's threshold for resuming coverage goes up each year, more and more senior citizens will be unable to pay for all their medications.

Daily American Online Your one stop spot for News, Sports and Entertainment

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Time running out for health care reform in California..

Also, California has the 10th largest economy in the world...one state...BD 

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a sweeping proposal in January to extend health insurance to all Californians, Democrats and reform advocates hailed it as the best opportunity in years to revamp a system notoriously resistant to change. Now, with just three weeks left in the legislative session, expectations are dimming by the day. Rather than joining the governor's call for shared sacrifice, lawmakers and interest groups are zeroing in on aspects of his plan they dislike, and there is no clear path to a middle ground. "We started in January with an amazing amount of hope," said Dustin Corcoran, a lobbyist for the California Medical Association, which opposes a key part of the governor's plan. "And now, here we are three weeks out from the end of the session, and the sides are farther apart than they ever were.

Whittier Daily News - Time running out for health care reform

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