Will be taking a short break and will be back in a couple days...thank you for reading and subscribing and more to follow in a couple days!
Microsoft Mobile platform earns critical security certifications
Department of Defense...chooses Windows Mobile...including health care entities...BD
Washington, DC, March 14, 2008 -- Microsoft Federal today announced the addition of two critical security certifications to its Windows Mobile operating system. Windows Mobile 5.0 with Messaging and Security Feature Pack, and Windows Mobile 6 operating systems were awarded Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 2+ (EAL2+).
Separately, the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) announced it has approved Windows Mobile® for secure wireless e-mail throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). These milestones offer independent validation of Microsoft's commitment to assist governments and enterprises in meeting the ever-increasing security demands for mobile devices accessing sensitive data on information networks.
Microsoft Mobile platform earns critical security certifications
Heart Scans Still Covered by Medicare
Good news for CT Scan procedures...hopefully the insurance companies will do the same..BD
Reversing a proposed decision issued in December, the federal government said Wednesday it would continue to cover the use of an increasingly popular procedure to detect heart disease.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would continue to cover the scanning procedure, despite its earlier misgivings over whether there was enough evidence to justify paying for the tests under Medicare.
The agency’s decision to continue paying for scans means their use is likely to continue to climb, according to doctors and insurers. Private insurers often follow Medicare’s lead on what medical procedures they will pay for.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Chair Says Medicare More Efficient In Delivering Benefits Than Medicare Advantage Plans
Somebody in Congress finally said it...it's going to the insurance companies...the administrative costs....The problem with this payment system is we're rewarding inefficient private plans," Hackbarth said....BD
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Chair Glenn Hackbarth in a Tuesday hearing of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee said traditional Medicare is a more efficient way of delivering benefits to beneficiaries than Medicare Advantage plans, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 3/12).
Hackbarth "took particular aim" at fee-for-service MA plans, which submit bids to the administration at more than 8% higher than the traditional Medicare rate and in some states receive payments as much as 20% higher than Medicare, CongressDaily reports. Hackbarth said, "When Medicare pays a lot more for private fee-for-service in Texas or in Michigan, a lot of that money is going to higher administrative costs. ... It's going to insurance companies" (CongressDaily, 3/12).
Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) asked whether Hackbarth thought the government was a better insurer than the private industry. Hackbarth disagreed with Johnson's statement, noting that some MA plans cost less than traditional plans and deliver higher quality care. "The problem with this payment system is we're rewarding inefficient private plans," Hackbarth said (CongressDaily, 3/12).
AND....
Republicans have unveiled a fiscal year 2009 budget plan that includes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in response to the Democrats' $3 trillion budget proposal (H. Con. Res. 312) that would increase funding for many domestic programs, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. According to the AP/Chronicle, the "rival budget plans display the difficult trade-offs facing the next president, who must weigh tax cuts that expire at the end of 2010 with popular spending programs like education, highway construction and Medicare."
MedPAC Chair Says Medicare More Efficient In Delivering Benefits Than Medicare Advantage Plans
Wheelchair-Bound to Airlines: A Little Help?
Who's going to help the handicapped at the airport? Airlines state there's not enough profit in the till to provide the service...and how is it handled when flights are delayed and late?
Ellen Brehm, a retired nurse who walks with cane, was stranded last September after flying home from California following the annual trip she's been taking with college friends since 1947.
Her flight, had which departed six hours late, landed at Newark at about 1:20 a.m. The wheelchair service she'd requested was nowhere in sight. Brehm returned to the plane to sit and wait, but a flight attendant told her she must get off so the crew could leave. Here I am, at 2 a.m., 83 years old, all by myself," Brehm says. "There wasn't one person in this whole huge airport. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come out." "Ninety percent of the wheelchair problems exist because there's no money in it," Lipp says. "I'm not 100% convinced that airline executives are really willing to pay for this service."
Travelers who request wheelchair service in advance don't always receive it immediately when getting off a plane because another passenger who didn't request help in advance may have reached the wheelchair first. Attendants are typically told to help anyone who sits in their chair. Some travelers also cheat, particularly at large international airports, where able-bodied people sometimes get wheelchairs to cut into long lines at Customs, say airport and airline officials.
Google Says Layoffs Are Coming
With the recent purchase of on line advertiser, DoubleClick...more automation and less humans to handle what servers and PCs accomplish...BD
After nearly a year of wrangling, Google's long-sought acquisition of online ad delivery service DoubleClick was completed March 11. The $3.1 billion deal was completed within hours after the Europe Commission removed the final roadblock to the purchase with its approval.
"Although it's been nearly a year since we announced our intention to acquire DoubleClick last April, we are no less excited today about the benefits that the combination of our two companies will bring to the online advertising market," wrote CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt on Google's official blog shortly after the announcement was made.
Medicare Agrees To Pay Hospitals To Settle Suit Over Indigent Care
What happens when hospitals sue Medicare...in this case they won...BD
Medicare has agreed to pay 667 hospitals $666 million to settle a lawsuit over a reimbursement policy from the 1980s, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The policy, which took effect in 1986, changed Medicare reimbursement rules to exclude certain low-income patients from the formula used to determine whether hospitals qualify for greater compensation for treating a disproportionate number of indigent patients. Several hospitals challenged the rule, and it was overturned in 1997.
Medicare Agrees To Pay Hospitals To Settle Suit Over Indigent Care - California Healthline
Comcare, HIMSS form board to promote emergency integration
Emergency medical care...something on everyone's mind...with technology today there are many options available to perhaps "save a life"...BD
Comcare, a non-profit group focused on improving emergency response systems and practices, and the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) have formed a advisory board to help link emergency response applications and health care systems.
Founded in 1998, Comcare was formed to promoting better collaboration among emergency responders and health care system through interoperable information technology solutions and standards.
Comcare, HIMSS form board to promote emergency integration
Related Story: In the Air, Health Emergencies
The death of an American Airlines passenger during a flight from Haiti to New York last month has cast a spotlight on the growing number of medical emergencies on commercial jets, a trend that largely has escaped public notice because airlines aren't required to report such incidents.
"Airlines don't want to tell anybody about their medical problems in flight," he says. "There is no public affairs value in that at all." Each airline must equip its planes with working AEDs, but federal rules allow jets with inoperable ones to make a few flights until a replacement can be found.
Airlines and industry groups such as the Air Transport Association have mostly resisted revealing details about medical emergencies, saying such information is hard to collect and can be misinterpreted. And because airlines aren't required to file such reports, more is known about in-flight emergencies involving animals than humans. MedAire says passengers with diabetes, seizure disorders and heart and respiratory ailments account for 23% of in-flight deaths and 29% of medically related flight diversions.
Inhaled Tuberculosis Vaccine More Effective Than Traditional Shot
According to this story we could be inhaling our next immunizations....BD
A novel aerosol version of the most common tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, administered directly to the lungs as an oral mist, offers significantly better protection against the disease in experimental animals than a comparable dose of the traditional injected vaccine, researchers report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The aerosol vaccine -- under development through a collaboration between Harvard University and the international not-for-profit Medicine in Need (MEND) -- could provide a low-cost, needle-free TB treatment that is highly stable at room temperature.The rapid-drying process by which the aerosol vaccine is made resembles the technique used in the manufacture of powdered milk. In the aerosol vaccine, particles form at micrometer and nanometer scales and in spherical and elongated shapes, a combination that appears to improve dispersal in the mouth.
Inhaled Tuberculosis Vaccine More Effective Than Traditional Shot
New Report Shows How Many People Are Likely To Die In Oregon Due To Lack Of Health Coverage
This may be a dumb comparison, but recently I posted about legal marijuana in the state...is there any correlation here as to a higher consumption of weed due to the fact that folks are dying due to lack of insurance? BD
One person dies each day in Oregon because he or she doesn't have health insurance, says a new report by Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers. The conclusions are sadly clear-a lack of health coverage is a matter of life and death for many Oregonians.
The Families USA report, the first-ever state-specific report of this type, is based on a groundbreaking national study by the Institute of Medicine, which in 2002 forged the direct link between a lack of health coverage and deaths from health-related causes.
New Report Shows How Many People Are Likely To Die In Oregon Due To Lack Of Health Coverage
China overtakes U.S. as top Web market
Will they overtake in healthcare on the web as well? Big push in the US, but slow adaptation..BD
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest Internet market by number of users, a research firm said on Thursday. The estimate by Beijing-based BDA was based on data from China Internet Network Information Center which indicated that the country's Internet users totaled 210 million at end-2007.
China overtakes U.S. as top Web market: researcher - Yahoo! News
New Sources Needed To Fund Pharmacy Services, ASHP Tells CMS
Doesn't adequately cover costs related to outpatient benefits...BD
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should implement a new model that will appropriately reimburse hospitals for pharmacy services, ASHP told an agency advisory panel last week.
Edward Stemley, M.S.., Pharm.D., director of ASHP's section of pharmacy practice managers, joined a group of stakeholders to shed light on the impact that the current reimbursement structure has on pharmacy overhead costs for the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Advisory Panel. ASHP member Ernest R. Anderson, Jr., M.S., director of pharmacy at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. and president-elect of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, was also a part of stakeholder group.
New Sources Needed To Fund Pharmacy Services, ASHP Tells CMS
Penicillin Could Be Back In Battle Against Antibiotic Resistant Bugs That Kill Millions
Could me making a comeback with the fight against MRSA...BD
Research led by the University of Warwick has uncovered exactly how the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae has become resistant to the antibiotic penicillin. The same research could also open up MRSA to attack by penicillin and help create a library of designer antibiotics to use against a range of other dangerous bacteria.
Worldwide Streptococcus pneumoniae causes 5 million fatal pneumonia infections a year in children. In the US it causes 1 million cases a year of pneumococcal pneumonia in the elderly of which up to 7% are fatal. This new research has completely exposed how Streptococcus pneumoniae builds its penicillin immunity and opens up many ways to disrupt that mechanism and restore penicillin as a weapon against these bacteria.
Penicillin Could Be Back In Battle Against Antibiotic Resistant Bugs That Kill Millions
A real business leader
Good story from Robert Scoble...about leadership at the CEO level...he found it in San Antonio...good story and I reference leadership myself quite frequently as that is the key role to technology adaptation in HealthCare IT....look around at various healthcare organizations and you can see the difference...and who's has things cooking on the front burner...BD
I’ve met and interviewed hundreds of CEOs and, while you get a sense with many of them that they have leadership skills — after all, why are they CEO if they don’t — it’s rare that you hear a story that so clearly defines a real business leader.
How did one guy who had an absolutely crazy idea that 1,400 people hated, including his partners, turn this all around in about a year? Leadership.
Elmendorf, in the video, told how Weston convinced 1,400 people one-by-one and turned a crazy idea into reality.
Business leadership. There it is. Thank you to Rob La Gesse who introduced me to not just Graham and Dirk, but a whole range of interesting geeks in San Antonio, TX.
Aspirin's Positive Effect On Stroke Risk Destroyed By Ibuprofen
If you are taking aspirin for stroke and heart therapy, this study indicates that Ibuprofen has the potential to negate some of the benefits...BD
Stroke patients who use ibuprofen for arthritis pain or other conditions while taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a second stroke undermine aspirin's ability to act as an anti-platelet agent, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.
In a cohort of patients seen by physicians at two offices of the Dent Neurologic Institute, 28 patients were identified as taking both aspirin and ibuprofen (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID) daily and all were found to have no anti-platelet effect from their daily aspirin.
Aspirin's Positive Effect On Stroke Risk Destroyed By Ibuprofen
Health IT Experts Say Incentives May Be Needed To Encourage Physicians To Adopt Electronic Systems
Nothing new here...we all know they need some type of incentive to buy in...new tax breaks are a smart start....but it goes way beyond this point for most...BD
Health care information technology experts on Tuesday said that implementation of electronic health records and electronic prescribing will reduce costs by billions of dollars and save lives but added that health care providers might require financial incentives to adopt the technologies, CongressDaily reports.
At a conference sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation, experts said that although larger physician groups and many pharmacies have begun to adopt such technologies, many smaller physician groups and pharmacies in rural areas have not, in large part because of cost issues. Privacy issues also have delayed the adoption of such technologies, experts said (Posner/Johnson, CongressDaily, 3/11).
Health IT Experts Say Incentives May Be Needed To Encourage Physicians To Adopt Electronic Systems
Hawaii's Premier Physician Management Company, TeamPraxis, Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record for Statewide Deployment
This announcement was a bit confusing with the name as there is another EMR called Praxis, but it appears it is just the common name and no affiliation with the organization in Hawaii...BD
CHICAGO and HONOLULU, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts, the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, today announced that TeamPraxis, a physician management services organization that provides technology and support services to more than 1,000 physicians in Hawaii, has purchased a statewide license for the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR). The agreement enables TeamPraxis to provide the Allscripts solution to physicians across Hawaii.
Placebo Television #10 - The disruptive physician...
Always look forward to his updates...great humor....BD
Health IT and the disadvantaged - Public Healthcare reporting
In Orange County, CA, a web based system is being used to improve tracking and health care coordination of 25,000 residents who are either considered at poverty income levels, chronically ill, or homeless...to help emergency room physicians with relative information for treatment...BD
One of the big promises of health IT is that it will help improve health care by capturing vast amounts of data about treatments, procedures and payments.
Using electronic health record systems, registries, and other health IT systems, clinical data will be crunched to find how one treatment protocol performed against another. This data will also be used to make the case for re-orienting health care payment incentives toward preventive or chronic care and away from the acute care side of the ledger. The tool most widely used by these agencies is a basic health registry, a sometimes electronic, sometimes paper-based tool for organizing information on people who have a particular disease or condition. These registries are the building blocks of more sophisticated electronic health records systems and health information exchanges of the future.One local government trend-setter in public health IT has been Orange County, Calif., which is using a Web-based system to improve tracking and health care coordination of 25,000 of its residents who are impoverished, chronically ill, or homeless. According to our story in the upcoming issue of Government Health IT, the system arose from the interest by emergency room physicians for better clinical and diagnostic data on its poorer, transient patients.
National Launch For MyRapidMD
Power to the Cell Phones...not a full personal health record, but emergency information only if you ended up in the ER that would be easily accessible...if your wireless carrier is Verizon, you can subscribe through their "Get It Now" applications...BD
MyRapidMD, the developer of the personal medical alert service - the Emergency Service Profile (ESP) cell phone application, has announced free lifetime ESP memberships to the first 1000 subscribers as part of its national launch campaign.
Once ESP is installed on a cell phone, the proprietary and potentially lifesaving ESP application provides users personal Emergency Service Profile, including photo identification, at the accident or medical emergency scene to first responders
immediately, and without the need of a service connection. It is not trying to provide an extensive personal health or medical history record of a person, that's what online medical record services such as Microsoft's Health vault, Google Health or WebMD's PHR do, among others. Simply put, time and information saves lives and the trickle down effects directly benefit healthcare, emergency services and their relevant providers.
There are hundreds of medical conditions that should be known by health professionals in emergency or non-critical medical situations. Including but not limited to:
- Implanted Device
- Artificial Limb or Appendage
- Deaf, Mute, or Blind
- Drug or Food Allergy
- Current Prescriptions
A large majority of service providers and cell or smart phone handsets, including Blackberries, are ESP compatible. Verizon's "Get it Now" browser and the Apple iPhone both currently block outside third party applications. Non- "Get it Now" Verizon customers can however install ESP.
MagneTrace Sensor Necklace monitors what pills you take and when
Interesting new technology here...wear a necklace or a patch and the information is sent to a cell phone....a Windows Mobile smartphone.....then the information can be sent to family members or physicians over the web...looks like another potential partner for use with the HealthVault...and may have some potential for use with clinical trials....BD
In a bid to aid the elderly and forgetful patients, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering have invented a technology that monitors what pills you take and when. Their invention is called MagneTrace, and it requires you to place small amounts of "passable" magnets inside pills. You team it up with either a special necklace or a skin patch, which have sensors that can detect when the medicine goes down your throat, and records the exact time and date. The information can be sent to a cell phone, and then automatically transmitted to the doctor or some other caregiver. Roll over to understand the full concept.
The date and time the user swallowed the pill can be recorded on a handheld wireless device, such as a smartphone, carried on the user's body. The information can then be sent to the patient's doctor, caregiver or family member over the Internet. The device can notify both the patient and the patient's doctor if the prescribed dosage is not taken at the proper time. One device that actually monitors ingestion uses an optical sensor to detect a fluorescent dye incorporated in the medication as it enters the bloodstream. This technology provides a convenient, yet low cost method to help individuals adhere with their prescribed medication regimens and help researchers and pharmaceutical companies conduct more accurate clinical trials on new drugs.
MagneTrace Sensor Necklace monitors what pills you take and when - Newlaunches.com
Dock for Tablet Kiosk EO
New dock available for the EO....note this must be one of the new units and not the original units..in other words if you purchased on the the first units available, this dock is not suited for that model...buy one today and the dock will work....4 USB outlets, VGA, Internet 10/00 Ethernet and power..BD
eo v7110e UMPC, the new rev to the eo v7110 series with the 1.2 GHz Via C7M processor, 1GB RAM and 40GB hard drive. The biggest news about this rev, however, is that in conjunction with the launch we have also released the eo v7110e docking cradle.
http://tabletkiosk.com/tkstore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=27&idproduct=140
Microsoft to Expand Investment in Desktop Virtualization With Acquisition of Kidaro
Microsoft stands firm on their commitment to virtualization....and it reads both VMWare and Microsoft virtual machines...have the virtual machine operate directly from the USB drive..and you can associate the workspace with Group Policy and Active Directory...Centralized monitoring and reporting provide control over the endpoint and granular audit of user activity...cuts down some of the need for server farms...
Could this be the next direction of the Microsoft HealthVault for something similar with medical records carried on a virtual drive? You can also produce a DVD and run a virtual system...and for the end user...it is pretty much invisible..no need for training, just the same software they are already familiar with...BD
REDMOND, Wash. — March 12, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced its intended acquisition of Kidaro, a leading provider of desktop virtualization solutions for enterprises. In combining Kidaro’s virtualization technology with its suite of desktop management tools, known as the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, Microsoft will enable IT professionals to optimize their desktop infrastructure by providing management capabilities for Virtual PCs, streamlining deployments and easing application compatibility issues.
Components of the Desktop Optimization Pack....and now add Kidaro...
- Microsoft Application Virtualization (the former SoftGrid technologies)
- Advanced Group Policy Management (the former DesktopStandard GPvault technology)
- Diagnostics & Recovery Toolset (the former Winternals Utility Suite)
- Asset Inventory Services (the former AssetMatrix application service)
- System Center Desktop Error Reporting (Operations Manager for client OS & application error reporting)
Woman Takes Two-Year Toilet Break
One more strange one for the books...nice one for the ER room having to remove the seat which was fused to her skin...and what about the boyfriend who brought her food and water every day...very strange story....BD
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years -- so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital."We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."
Drug Rep Tells All: Drink the Kool-Aid
You can even see the sites on the web with pharma companies advertising for former cheerleaders to become a sales representative...interesting how this will come out...my former industry, transportation used to have tactics of this sort, but it's only freight services and not something that affects human lives for the sake of sales...the pharma business has transportation beat hands down though...as far as tactics go....BD
To sell their drugs, pharmaceutical companies hire former cheerleaders and ex-models to wine and dine doctors, exaggerate the drug's benefits and underplay their side-effects, a former sales rep told a Congressional committee this morning.
Included in his prepared remarks, Ahari cites a quote from a senior marketing executive at Parke-Davis: "I want you out there every day selling Neurotonin. Neurotonin is more profitable than Accupril, so we need to focus on Neurotonin. Pain management, now that's money…. I don't want to see a single patient coming off Neurotonin before they've been up to at least 4,800 milligrams a day. I don't want to hear that safety crap, either." A spokesman for Parke-Davis did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
During their five-week training class, Ahari claims that instructors teach sales tactics, including how to exceed spending limits for important clients, being generous with free samples to leverage sales, using friendships and personal gifts to foster a "quid pro quo" relationship, and how to exploit sexual tension.
Bill Gates Testifies before Congress - more technology education needed before the US falls behind....
Funding for basic research should be increased...private companies cannot do it alone and the government needs to jump on the bandwagon...science and math education need to be improved...or the US will no longer the the world's innovator....and I do have to agree...when you work with technology it is easier to see the shortfalls of where we are in many areas compared to other countries...information technology will continue to transform our lives every day...BD
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology today at 10 a.m. EDT on the future of innovation and U.S. competitiveness. At a hearing to commemorate the committee’s 50th anniversary, Gates will focus on issues of U.S. competitiveness, including education and work-force development, the need for immigration reform to allow highly skilled workers to remain in the U.S, and the need to continue to invest in basic research.
“I know we all want the United States to continue to be the world’s center for innovation. But our position as the global leader in innovation is at risk,” Gates said. “If this nation is to continue to be the global center of innovation, Congress, the current administration and the next president must act decisively.”
Bink.nu | Bill Gates Asks Congress to Act Now to Maintain U.S. Innovation Lead - Bink.nu
Germany Asks Companies Selling Heparin to Test for Contamination
Germany's medical regulator has asked all companies selling the blood thinner heparin in Germany to test all batches of their product for signs of contamination, the regulator said Wednesday.
Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, known by the German acronym BFARM, asked 10 manufacturers of the drug to carry out the additional tests and expects results soon, perhaps by next week, Ulrich Hagemann, a pharmaceutical safety official at the agency, said in a phone interview. He said he couldn't name the companies for legal reasons, but said all are German.
Germany Asks Companies Selling Heparin to Test for Contamination - WSJ.com
The State of Health Information Technology in California: Consumer Perspective
Full article download available at the link below....BD
Although consumers frequently use and seek out health information online, most are ambivalent about using health information technology (HIT), such as personal health records, due to concerns about privacy and confidentiality.
A recent survey, which is summarized in this snapshot, provides a comprehensive overview of California consumers' adoption, use, and perception of HIT. The findings reveal that most consumers are not actively using online tools, including electronic health records, email with their health professionals, and online appointment scheduling.
- Nearly half of consumers obtained health information on the Internet in the last 12 months and discussed that information with health care providers or family and friends;
- While 40% of consumers express interest in accessing a personal health record, only 2% currently do so;
- More than half of consumers are very or somewhat interested in scheduling an appointment online, but only 7% have actually scheduled an appointment this way; and
- Nearly half of consumers are interested in receiving email from their doctors, but only 4% have done so.
The complete report is available under Document Downloads below.
The State of Health Information Technology in California: Consumer Perspective - CHCF.org
Parents may be jailed over vaccinations
Appeals pending...pretty stiff penalty for refusing polio vaccinations...BD
LONDON - As doctors struggle to eradicate polio worldwide, one of their biggest problems is persuading parents to vaccinate their children. In Belgium, authorities are resorting to an extreme measure: prison sentences.
Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently handed five month prison terms for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each parent was also fined 4,100 euros ($8,000).
"It's a pretty extraordinary case," said Dr. Ross Upshur, director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto.
FDA Names Woodcock As Permanent Director Of CDER; Leavitt Releases Documents To Avoid Contempt Charges
Good news for the FDA...hope so...in the meantime Leavitt releases information so he is not held held in contempt relative to the information regarding the antibiotic Ketek and the serious side effects in the report...BD
FDA on Monday named Janet Woodcock, deputy commissioner and chief medical officer at the agency, as director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which reviews new medications for safety and effectiveness, USA Today reports. Woodcock has served as acting director of CDER since October 2007, according to FDA spokesperson Heidi Rebello (USA Today, 3/11). She will relinquish her current two positions, an FDA spokesperson said.
As director of CDER, Woodcock will oversee the implementation of a 2007 law that requires FDA to hire hundreds of new staffers and develop procedures to implement increased authority over medications after they reach the market. Woodcock previously served as director of CDER from 1994 to 2005.
Prosthetic Device Manufacturers, Users Push For Higher Coverage Payments
Good points made here...what good are the devices if we can't get them to the people who need them...especially veterans...BD
Amputees and manufacturers of prosthetic limbs are urging lawmakers in several states to introduce legislation that would require private insurance companies to provide prosthesis coverage similar to that of Medicare, the Wall Street Journal reports. Eight states currently have laws mandating prosthesis coverage similar to Medicare, and 27 other states are considering similar legislation. The Amputee Coalition of America is lobbying to introduce a bill in Congress.
Prosthetic Device Manufacturers, Users Push For Higher Coverage Payments
DOD vendors to secure internal networks
Something on everyone's mind today...recently at the HIMMS convention in Orlando I spoke with a few of their representatives as to how software relates to hardware security for medical records with mobility and they are daily and almost hourly reviewing and monitoring this exact subject.... BD
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Defense Department is working with contractors to shore up data security on their internal networks, one company at a time.
DOD is negotiating agreements with individual companies, starting with large integrators, to protect sensitive or controlled but unclassified information on their internal networks, said John Grimes, DOD’s chief information officer. However, legal issues complicate the government’s ability to determine if an individual is using pieces of the data in an unauthorized manner because companies’ proprietary information might be involved, Grimes said.
Update on the 2008 Keep Me Awake Projects
Good article and blog...honest information...and all these issues for any CIO in healthcare would keep anyone awake as there's a lot of unknown territory as he mentions, things can change almost daily...I only post information here at the blog, but Dr. Halamka is working, breathing and living the transformation in real time..so many areas that need to come together for a successful project...and there are plenty of bumps in the road to keep one awake. Under the blog roll, there is a link to his blog...good reading and insight for anyone in healthcare...he makes some very good points about not only healthcare; mobility and security are top on the lists as well..BD
We're on track for a pilot this Summer, but there are still many unknowns because few hospitals in the US have offered Software as a Service Electronic Health Records to their non-owned clinicians. This project will still keep me up at night until our pilot sites are completed and we've secured all the funding needed for full production rollout.
"As fast as we innovate, hackers and spammers innovate, so we'll vigilantly keep adding more security projects every year."
Life as a Healthcare CIO: Update on the 2008 Keep Me Awake Projects
Hospitals File Lawsuit Against Federal Government To Stop Medicaid Cuts
Hospitals go to court...this means a huge loss of revenue, especially for community hospitals who rely on grants and other sources of revenue to serve their communities...this CEO speaks out on how it will paralyze the efforts of the hospital...it still takes money to run one...and with the cuts on Medicaid there appears there will be a lot less to go around...May 25, 2008 is D-Day...BD
"We know that there is strong support on Capitol Hill to take action, but so far, Congress has not extended the moratorium and time is running out," said Wright Lassiter, III, CEO of Alameda County Medical Center in California, which is one of the plaintiffs in the suit. "For me, it's very real. I have just a few months until this rule paralyzes my hospital. Alameda treats thousands of our community's most vulnerable patients every year, and if this rule becomes a reality, we'll take very serious actions in terms of our staffing levels and the services we provide, and I'm afraid our patients will pay the price."
A coalition led by the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and supported by the National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.), today asked a federal court to prevent the Bush Administration from implementing a proposed Medicaid regulation that would cut $5 billion in funding to safety net hospitals.
Hospitals File Lawsuit Against Federal Government To Stop Medicaid Cuts
Former Pfizer District Sales Manager Indicted
How far do individuals go for a sale? Sounds like these efforts were beyond what would be considered normal...one more legal battle for Pfizer...BD
A former district sales manager was charged last week in a four-count indictment with obstruction of justice for altering and deleting documents from his own computer and for directing sales reps to wipe out info from their computers about off-label promotion, according to the US Attorney in Boston. A Pfizer spokesman wrote us to say: “Pfizer terminated Mr. Farina and certain other employees several years ago and voluntarily reported this conduct to the Justice Department.
Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight
This is about one of the best medical technology stories I have seen and hope it goes a long way with the FDA granting the research application...BD
We've seen initiatives all over the globe created in an attempt to beat blindness, but researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly confident that their development is within a few years of being able to "restore partial sight to people who have slowly gone blind because of degenerative diseases of the retina." The bio-electronic implant, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, would actually sit behind the retina at the back of the eyeball, and images would be transmitted to the brain "via a connector the width of a human hair." As it stands, an FDA grant application is already in the works, and the scientists are hoping to have it implanted in an animal as early as this summer
Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight - Engadget
Government Of Canada Announces New Food And Drugs Act Liaison Office
Canada is beefing up their pharmaceutical efforts...BD
The Government of Canada today announced the official opening of the Food and Drugs Act Liaison Office (FDALO) to deal with issues concerning the Food and Drugs Act.
"The new Food and Drugs Act Liaison Office is part of a series of initiatives designed to modernize and strengthen Canada's safety system for food, health and consumer products," said Minister Clement, Minister of Health. "Like the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan announced on December 17, 2007, the new office will also serve to fulfil our Government's commitment to continuously improve its accountability mechanisms when it comes to matters pertaining to the Food and Drugs Act."
Government Of Canada Announces New Food And Drugs Act Liaison Office
What do you call an internist who spend enough time with patients...Poor...
Good points - in the transportation field where I spent many years, we used to call the production time on the platform (moving freight) "pounds per man hour"...are we using the same methodology for patient care...."patients per man hour"...sure seems that way with the current structure...BD
What do you call an internist who spends enough time with each patient? POOR!“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”Our favorite retired doc has a great post today - Patients value “thoroughness” in their docs.
This post reinforces a point that I make repeatedly. Patients want our time and are willing to pay for that time.
What bothers me most about our current payment system is the incentive to see more patients rather than spend the appropriate amount of time with each patient. As we reinvent medicine, we must reward physicians who spend the right amount of time with each patient.
Fixing health care - Time · DB’s Medical Rants
Hat Tip: Kevin, MD
Aetna to offer wealth of health data online
This is an interesting twist...the service will mine your data from Aetna claim files..but how accurate will that be...the carrier already has your data the article states so there's no fear in having a 3rd party use it against you...and if you add information the insurer has it too...how about the MIB...and what if you change carriers...well who do you trust, an insurer, Google or Microsoft? BD
Aetna Inc. is offering its members a new online search tool that connects to easy-to-understand articles, local doctors who specialize in their needs, as well as cost information based on their personal health record and benefits.
The service is a result of a partnership with Healthline Networks, a San Francisco health-technology company that develops software to navigate health searches.Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Revolution Health, created by AOL co-founder Steve Case, have all introduced various services in recent months to help patients organize their medical information online.
The new service is already being tested by the insurer's 30,000 employees and will be expanded to as many as 2 million customers by the end of this year as part of a pilot program.
Could someone Hack your Defibrillator and steal your identity?
Security issue...make sure you get a unit that uses encryption ....some are and some are not, obviously the benefits outweigh the risk, but if you need the device this would be the last additional worry one would want....BD
BOSTON (AP) — A common new technology for monitoring defibrillators is vulnerable to hacking and even to reprogramming that could stop the devices from delivering a lifesaving shock, according to research to be released Wednesday.
In the past couple years, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. alone have been implanted with newer devices that reduce medical visits by sending information on a patient to a bedside monitor that then sends the data to a doctor, usually once a day.
In the model researchers studied, transmissions from the defibrillator to the bedside monitor are not encrypted, which means that someone intercepting the transmissions could retrieve such data as the patient's birth date, medical ID number and, in some cases, Social Security number.
Medical Marijuana: Oregon's Flaming Success
It has been legal in Oregon for 9 years...with 16,000 permits...BD
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - It's difficult for me not to be a bit flamboyant about this but as Oregon's number one leading marijuana doctor with more than 4,000 patients, I do feel exuberant about it.
The Oregon Department of Human Services estimated that only about 500 patients would be eligible for the marijuana permits. (they are not prescriptions) If I remember correctly in the first year we registered one thousand marijuana patients and about 500 were mine. This was my only practice as I have a spinal cord injury which prevents me from running around a regular office.Marijuana is less dangerous and less addicting than Starbucks lattes. The worst adverse side effect from a high dose of the pure medicinal agent hashish is maybe sleeping for 24 hours although the pure synthetic THC as prescription Marinol causes severe panic attacks in many people and they avoid it and often use the natural plant instead.
Medical Marijuana: Oregon's Flaming Success - Salem-News.Com
Medical Progress Slowed?
The NIH budget does not appear to be handing out as many grants for medical research according to the article...and they are getting harder to attain...BD
Dr. Jill Rafael-Fortney is hopeful she's discovered a medication that has enormous potential to fight disease, but for the moment that medication sits in a freezer in her laboratory with nowhere to go.
"It's possible that in five years, we've found a drug that can stop heart failure," said Rafael-Fortney, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University. But until Rafael-Fortney gets renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to do more legwork, the heart medication will have to wait."They are confronted with a reality that diminishes many of their hopes and dreams," Harvard University President Drew Faust told a Senate panel on Monday. "Where will we be in ten years if we discourage a generation of trailblazers?""My biggest concern is what this is doing to researchers in general. We're losing a lot of people who are training along beside me."
Deadly Superbug Evades Hospital Screening
Screening is not enough...MRSA still thriving unfortunately....BD
What they found was that, screening or not, the levels of MRSA that spread were about the same for all patients — a finding that flies in the face of recommendations by top health policy makers and experts aimed at catching the disease early, before it can spread unchecked through hospitals."There's incredible antibiotic pressure in U.S. hospitals," Harbarth said. "Length of stay for patients is extremely short, and they get bombarded with antibiotics, so it helps to create favorable environment to select these resistant organisms." But other doctors said the new finding suggests that many hospitals may have been too quick to implement an additional, largely unproven admissions procedure that turned out to have a minimal role in controlling the spread of MRSA.
What ever happened to carpal tunnel?
"So now that carpal tunnel is no longer the plague of cubicle workers everywhere, what’s our next pain point likely to be? The thumb. Yes, “Blackberry thumb” — the trendy malady of the text-messaging set."...couldn't have said it better...BD
For one thing, the lumping of nearly every patient with an achy arm into the carpal tunnel category has diminished, and other trendy, multisyllabic diagnoses such as repetitive stress syndrome (RSS), cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) and musculoskeletal disease (MSD) are filling the gap. Secondly, measures taken in the workplace — job rotation, stretch breaks and attention to ergonomics have indeed had an effect — even if what had been labeled carpal tunnel was in reality plain old tendonitis, bursitis, spasm, or even muscular lack of conditioning.
What ever happened to carpal tunnel? - Health care- msnbc.com
WellPoint Warning May Long Haunt HMO Stocks
Are folks going to finally stop investing...BD
NEW YORK (Reuters) Mar 11 - WellPoint Inc may have just shot down any investor hopes that U.S. health insurers could be a safe place to put their money in a troubled economy.
Shares of WellPoint tumbled as much as 27.6 percent on Tuesday after the largest U.S. health insurer by membership slashed its 2008 profit forecast, citing high medical costs, weak enrollment and a worsening economy.
The stock dropped as low as $47.70, the lowest price since November 2004. That move wiped away nearly $10 billion in market value in WellPoint alone. Rival insurers also fell sharply: Humana shares fell 18 percent, UnitedHealth Group shares were down about 10 percent, Cigna dropped 10 percent and Health Care sank 19 percent. Aetna shares fell 10 percent despite reaffirming its outlook on Tuesday.
Toddler takes Viagra in order to survive
What the drug was originally designed for...hypertension...BD
A two year old in Britain has a rare condition that causes chronic high blood pressure and must take Viagra to stay alive.
Little Oliver Sherwood suffers from pulmonary hypertension and a simple a chest infection could kill him.The pulmonary hypertension is controlled with four doses of Viagra a day which improves his blood flow.
Viagra, more famous for treating erectile function is used in rare cases to open the veins and capillaries to help circulation. His mother Sarah, a part-time nurse, says while Viagra is an expensive drug but it remains one of the cheapest for treating pulmonary hypertension.
Estrogen Tied to Breast Cancer Recurrence
One more study....BD
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The higher a woman’s estrogen level, the more likely breast cancer will come back, according to new research. The new study reveals that women whose breast cancer came back had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood than women who remained cancer-free.
“While this makes sense, there have been only a few small studies that have looked at the link between sex hormones in the blood and cancer recurrence,” says Cheryl Rock, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. “This is the largest study to date and the only one to have included women taking agents such as tamoxifen to reduce estrogen’s effect on cancer growth.”
Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - Estrogen Tied to Breast Cancer Recurrence
Facebook Is Extending Its Network to Blood Donations looking for blood....in all the right places...
Still think Facebook is something just for entertainment....well think again...if you donate blood you can get a reminder and when your blood type is needed, alerts will be sent...so you could get an alert to possibly donate blood in a certain city, region, etc. when supplies are low....this appears to be one of the most useful programs to be added to Facebook....BD
Facebook, the vast and expanding social networking Web site, is about to confront users with a serious new question: What’s your blood type?
For those who opt in, the system will send out alerts through Facebook — as well as by phone, fax, e-mail and text message — when their blood type is needed in their area. It will also send out reminders for regular donations.
A program to be officially introduced on Monday by a New York-area nonprofit organization called Takes All Types aims to better coordinate where and when people donate blood in response to shortages and crises while encouraging broader donation over all.“This suggests that you can do almost anything when you have a growing network,” said Michael A. Cusumano, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “That’s the core of what Facebook’s value is — that you have this increasing network of people and you can lay almost anything on top of it.”
Facebook Is Extending Its Network to Blood Donations - New York Times
Surgeons Assemble On Capitol Hill For Landmark Advocacy Conference
For the first time ever, surgeons from a wide variety of specialties are joining together to create a powerful, unified voice on Capitol Hill at the 2008 Joint Surgical Advocacy Conference (JSAC). The innovative three-day event will host more than 300 physicians from across the nation and focus on critical issues facing the U.S. healthcare system and surgery.
Surgeons will descend on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to fix the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and avoid looming cuts in physician payments scheduled for July 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009. It is critical that Congress take action immediately to replace the Medicare cuts with positive updates based on practice cost increases, or seniors could face a crisis when accessing the healthcare they need. The Congressional meetings will also provide the opportunity for surgeons to discuss with legislators other important healthcare initiatives impacting their patients and clinical practices.
Nurse Tampered With Painkiller Fentanyl
One word for this....nutcase...patients needing pain relief received saline instead ....BD
MINNEAPOLIS — A Mankato hospital suspended a nurse for tampering with its stock of fentanyl, a powerful pain medication, and has notified 335 patients that they may have received saline instead of the intended drug.
There's no indication yet that any patients suffered ill effects, Dr. Greg Kutcher, the president and CEO of Immanuel St. Joseph's Mayo Health System, said Monday.The hospital said its investigation found the nurse would open new vials of fentanyl, withdraw the contents and replace it with sterile saline solution. The employee self-administered fentanyl later, according to a press release from the hospital.
Hospital workers found empty fentanyl vials in a wastebasket Feb. 25. The hospital launched an investigation, and within eight days identified the nurse as a culprit.Kutcher said the case had been referred to authorities for possible charges. The hospital did not identify the nurse.
California Endowment Health Care Grants - Accepting Grant Applications
California non-profits...BD
The California Endowment is accepting applications for its health care grants to support projects in California focused on the program goals of improving access to health, culturally competent health systems, and community health and the elimination of health disparities.
Grant amounts will vary. Eligible applicants include California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that each is classified as ‘not a private foundation’ under Section 509(a), government and public agencies, and independent sponsored projects of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization acting as a fiscal sponsor.
For those who may have received prior funding from The Endowment under the Local Opportunities Fund and CommunitiesFirst designations, we are now accepting applications only through the new Grant Application Guide, which serves as a single-point-of-entry to all of The Endowment's funding.
Deadline: Ongoing Contact the California Endowment directly for complete program information and application guidelines:
http://www.calendow.org/grant_guide/index.stm.
California Endowment Health Care Grants - Accepting Grant Applications
Accident ruins 800-lb. man's date
Having to rent a fork life for a date...obesity does have some unusual expenses in this case...goodness he's down to 800 pounds...and where does hit sit when he gets there....BD
MEXICO CITY - When Manuel Uribe went out on a date, he made all the necessary arrangements: a forklift to carry him out of the house and a flatbed tow truck big enough to haul the formerly half-ton man and his bed to a party. Since
the summer of 2002, Uribe has been bedridden, relying on his mother and friends to feed and clean him. He drew worldwide attention when he pleaded for help on national television in January 2006.
Uribe was halfway to a picnic near his Monterrey-area home on Sunday when one of the posts holding a sun-shielding tarp over his bed hit an overpass.
Uribe's blood pressure dropped so much his doctors advised him not to go on and the celebration — being documented by about two dozen photographers and reporters from around the world — was canceled.
Medical records sold to teacher as scrap paper
UPS originally lost in the shuffle....security breach of the week...love this story...the old "freight salvage sales"...spent many years in this freight business and they can be a good thing, but hey look at what gets put on the auction block before you start taking bids.....even though some of the people on the medical list records were dead, this leaves an open opportunity for someone to assume their identity....and the transportation company should have scrutinized the items before assuming it was just your run of the day "printed matter"...BD
SALT LAKE CITY - The medical records of 28 Central Florida Regional Hospital patients were sold last month at a Salt Lake City surplus store for about $20, a newspaper reported.
The records were sold to a local school teacher looking for scrap paper for her fourth-grade class, The Deseret Morning News of Salt Lake City reported Monday. The mixup is being blamed on a shipping problem. The records contained detailed medical histories, phone numbers, addresses, Social Security numbers and insurance information. Several of the patients whose information was lost are dead.
Shipping companies often sell off packages that cannot be delivered. A UPS spokesman said his company keeps packages for at least three months before liquidating them. The package containing the records was eventually sold as scrap paper at National Product Sales.
Medical records sold to teacher as scrap paper - Health care- msnbc.com
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Passes US House Once Again
March 10, 2008 — The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was passed in the US House of Representatives last week, as a section of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. GINA prevents insurers from denying health coverage to individuals based only on genetic predisposition to a disease. In addition, GINA prevents the use of genetic information by employers to reach decisions about hiring, firing, or promotion.
However, HIPAA did not forbid health insurers to charge higher rates based on genetic information, collect genetic information, or require genetic testing. States have taken some matters into their own hands: Although remaining consistent with HIPAA, 41 states have adopted laws regarding genetic discrimination in health insurance, and 31 have legislation concerning genetic discrimination in employment.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Passes US House Once Again
India Asks Drug Makers to Lower Prices
India wants lower drugs prices too...BD
NEW DELHI (Reuters) Mar 10 - Pharmaceutical companies will have to lower prices on most of the non-scheduled drugs by 4.58 percent following duty cuts in the federal budget, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said on Monday."Prices of all non scheduled packs must accordingly be reduced by 4.58 percent," a government statement said.
Internet Is Changing Doctor-Patient Interactions
Good article and makes a point about the references for physicians...numerous...I post them here all the time....it's different when mining data and information that does not reflect on human life...maybe that's the reason why health care is slower to adapt...there's one ton of information, studies, and clinical research to absorb.....challenge for today's physicians....not to mention the data needed to get paid after the consult...BD
March 7, 2008 (Hollywood, Florida) — A multidisciplinary panel discussing online health information and the way it is transforming the clinical landscape has some advice for oncologists. Presenting during a roundtable discussion at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 13th Annual Conference, experts encouraged doctors to embrace the trend and not feel threatened by it.
"It's hard enough for physicians to keep up to date with medical knowledge without also having to closely monitor the resources patients are using," Dr. Benson said during an interview.Panelist James Mault, MD, representing Microsoft, said the Internet provides a significant opportunity. "Doctors shouldn't feel threatened," he said. "The Internet addresses a fundamental need and can offer patients an important second opinion."
"People are managing their finances, their social networks, they are monitoring their fantasy football teams, but they are not focusing on their health until they are sick. The result is we have a sick-care system."
He added that although the Internet has transformed nearly all industries, this has, for the most part, not been the case for healthcare.
Can Bullying at Work Lead to Suicide?
Interesting that 2 different sites chose to address this...we all have seen it and either been the bully or victim of a bully...the bully has a need to control and in essence shows their own insecurities here...in my years of experience one of the sure tell signs is the extreme criticism exercised by the bullies...there is constructive criticism and there is bully criticism...and the key sometimes is to differentiate but the tone in which statements are made says a lot...one typical scenario is the bully who will cut you off at the pass...stating "I have heard that before"...or "you are repeating yourself"...but one thing I have learned myself over the years is to continue to listen and give the person the opportunity to speak even if I have heard it before 10 times, as time number 11 may contain information added that I have not heard...something I think every physician knows well...sure you can talk a lot, but if you never did any listening, the personal talking would not have anything to talk about...think about it...and for the bullies out there, give this article some thought...are you constantly putting others in a position of having to defend their every move..are you part of the problem...and if you are the victim of a bully at work...don't let this affect your health and well being if possible...just realize those folks are out there and hopefully see it for what it is and make the choice to not let this affect your health and well being...do a little soul searching and make sure you are on the right path and not buying in to the office bully to the point where it can affect your health....BD
"I was like a soldier crouched in a foxhole while the shells were exploding around you," said Bill Lepowsky, a mathematics and statistics professor at Laney College in Oakland, Calif.
"My world went from ordered, sensible and predictable to a nonsense, 'Alice in Wonderland' world of insanity," he said. Lepowsky's account is not from a war zone. It's from his workplace. "You can take a person's humanity away from them," he said.
He is one of many who say they have experienced bullying at work. These experiences have been known to cause stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. And new research suggests that the effects can be worse than those of sexual harassment. Hershcovis also found that employees who experience bullying reported more stress, anxiety and depression than their sexually harassed counterparts. They were also more likely to experience headaches and stomachaches, the pain condition fibromyalgia, generally lower levels of well-being and were less satisfied or left their jobs.
Sprint phone first to use fast network - EVDO
If you are not aware of EVDO wireless...read on...have one of those wireless cards from your carrier...well there's even more you can do with the card...how about a wireless network...from the card...check out the article from Engadget from 2006, this has been around for a while...get an EVDO router and share the connection, just like your DSL or Cable connection....now this makes EVDO even more valuable...share your wireless with a router...pop the wireless card in the router and you are ready to configure and go....a good answer to those who cannot get DSL or cable in some areas where the service is not available....and now a phone that will be capable of the new faster signal....BD
NEW YORK - Sprint Nextel Corp. is upgrading one of its cell phone models so that it can connect to a faster data network, doubling its download speeds and boosting upload speeds by about eight times.
Both Sprint and Verizon Wireless operate so-called EV-DO Rev. A networks, but have used them only for laptop cards. Their fastest phones have used the older and slower EV-DO Rev. 0 network. The Mogul is a smart phone that runs Windows Mobile software and can be used as a modem for a laptop. It costs $199.99 with a two-year contract and went on sale in June. The software update will be available immediately from HTC's site.
Drugs in the Drinking Water: Reason for Concern?
Give as whole new meaning to "its in the water"...are you getting medicated just by drinking the water in some cities...flushing unused mediations down the toilet...one cause...the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals...and chlorine can make some pharmaceuticals more toxic...and it's not just people....think about the animals who receive steroids...they have the same bodily functions and there's another area of concern...BD
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.
But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.
How do the drugs get into the water?
People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue. A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water. Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz."We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.
Pharsight Announces Procter and Gamble as a new client...
Hard Hat area: "Using WinNonlin AutoPilot, customers can automate the production of PK analyses mandated by the FDA for any new drug submission, including business rules and formats"...."Pharsight software tools are used extensively by leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry customers, academic institutions, and important regulatory authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...data helpful in bringing new drugs to market....BD
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pharsight Corporation , a leading provider of software and strategic services for optimizing clinical drug development, today announced that Procter & Gamble has purchased floating licenses of WinNonlin AutoPilot to use in conjunction with their licenses of WinNonlin.
WinNonlin AutoPilot is configurable software that pre-clinical and clinical research scientists can use to automate common or repetitive tasks during clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis and to create report-ready tables and graphs. Using WinNonlin AutoPilot, companies can increase their productivity while improving the quality and consistency of analyses and reports.
AutoPilot orchestrates PK analyses by selecting input data from a user's local file system or Pharsight Knowledgebase Server(TM) ("PKS"), and then directs WinNonlin to perform analyses and produce report quality tables, figures, and text output (e.g., in Microsoft(R) Excel(TM), SigmaPlot(R), and Microsoft Word(TM) for regulatory submissions and interim reports.
"We have a rapidly growing customer base of companies that use Pharsight's products and services. All of the world's largest 50 pharmaceutical companies license at least one of Pharsight's computer-assisted drug development products, and 22 of the world's top 50 pharmaceutical firms currently utilize the company's Strategic Consulting Services group in multiple therapeutic areas."
Three Of Five Largest U.S. Health Insurers Receive Low Approval Ratings In Survey Of Hospital Executives
Hospitals in California rank Insurers....even the best responses are not that good....""It's definitely a wake-up call for the employers," Edwards said. "When you pick a health plan for your employees, think very hard about what the health plans' relationships are with their primary providers."...Los Angeles Times.....BD
According to the survey, UnitedHealth Group received the lowest approval ratings, with unfavorable ratings from 91% of respondents and favorable ratings from only 8% of respondents. WellPoint received unfavorable ratings from 48% of respondents and favorable ratings from 20% of respondents, the survey found. In addition, the survey found that Cigna received unfavorable ratings from 47% of respondents and favorable ratings from 44% of respondents. Aetna received the highest approval ratings, with favorable ratings from 57% of respondents and unfavorable ratings from 37% of respondents, the survey found.
Jan Emerson, a spokeswoman for the California Hospital Assn., said the survey confirmed "what we are hearing from a lot of our member hospitals about health plans that operate in California, particularly the two largest ones, United and Wellpoint."
Depuy Orthopaedics Launches Significant Enhancements for Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery...
2 of the mostly commonly researched procedures...additional information at the links below...also announced are new technologies in rotator cuff ACL repair at the site....BD
www.hipreplacement.com www.kneereplacment.com
DePuy announced the company will also be launching a professional and consumer education campaign about the science and clinical evidence behind the products. This campaign will feature actual hip replacement patients, including legendary Duke Basketball head coach Mike (Coach K) Krzyzewski, who has two DePuy hips.
DePuy Orthopaedics
made the announcement at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), where it will showcase these new products, including Sigma High Performance instruments, a new line of instruments designed to enhance procedure efficiency, surgical precision and flexibility. Designed for contemporary knee surgery, the High Performance Instruments adapt to a surgeon's specific surgical technique, including computer assisted surgery and manual surgery, with both minimally invasive and traditional open approaches. Sigma High Performance instruments were developed with a compact design to allow for smaller incisions and are soft-tissue friendly to reduce surgical trauma. This is DePuy Orthopaedics' largest introduction of instrumentation in a decade.
DePuy Orthopaedics made the announcement at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), where it will showcase these new products, including Sigma High Performance instruments, a new line of instruments designed to enhance procedure efficiency, surgical precision and flexibility.
DePuy Mitek, Inc., a leading manufacturer of surgical sports medicine devices, announced the launch of the HEALIX™ PEEK Suture Anchor System for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and the Femoral INTRAFIX® ACL Fixation System for ACL repair using the anteromedial (AM) approach.
DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a global leader in devices for joint replacement, announced the launch of Pinnacle™ Hip Solutions with TrueGlide™ technology, a portfolio of high performance instruments, advanced implants, materials and solutions. Pinnacle Hip Solutions products are designed to promote pain relief and a smooth range-of-motion. This new portfolio of hip products offers surgeons more options and greater flexibility when performing hip replacement surgery.
http://www.depuyorthopaedics.com/home.jhtml?_requestid=2627592
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Math–This Could be a Subject for Michael Moore to Explore and Document In a Movie
Screenings Too–Killer Algorithms Part 12–Medical Billing Codes Style
Assessing Consumer Credit Scores–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 21 With Flawed Data
Duping” Society Combined With A World of Rogue Algorithms & Flawed Data Continues In Markets As Seen With Knight Capital This Week-Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 36
Study Fraud With EHR Technologies, Namely Medical Records/Billing Software Used by Hospitals– HHS And SEC Continue Getting Their Non-Algorithmic Fannies Kicked–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 46
SilverScript Senior Drug Program Sanctioned by Medicare Until the Payment And Billing Algorithms are Cleaned Up-Killer Algorithms Chapter 53
