Health Care: Sick And Getting Sicker

  According to Forbes, the HMO business and stocks are sick.  Also, we still have President Bush stating he’s still going to veto the Medicare bill that was passed this week, why?  The bill is veto-proof, so what’s the point? 

Let’s just make this difficult situation a little more complicated and stall a bit longer.  The White House didn’t come up with a plan, and they state they are unhappy about the funding from Congress, so what gives?   Things are getting sicker and sicker.  BD   

What's more, with a heavy bout of selling taking hold of the market July 11, the HMO has tagged a new multi-year low by breaking below long-term psychological support at the 1,200 level.

Technorati Tags: Health Care,physician pay cuts,Congress,Medicare

Health Care: Sick And Getting Sicker - Forbes.com

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Ex-ER doctor charged with felonies in alleged road-rage crash

 UPDATE:  As posted earlier this week, the conflict between the motorist and bicyclists leaves the former ER physician with the potential of up to 7 or 8 months in prison if convicted.  Also of note, he was no longer practicing in the ER, but is listed as one of the partners of  an electronic medical records company, Touch Medix in the Los Angeles area.  In addition to road rage there’s also the ongoing cases too of desk rage, so rage seems to be on the run with current economic times taking it’s toll on many, think about taking a time out here and there if possible.  These are rocky and stressful times for all, especially in healthcare.  BD 

LOS ANGELES - A former emergency room doctor was charged with reckless driving and other felonies Friday for a crash that seriously injured two bicyclists on a Brentwood canyon road. Prosecutors contend that Dr. Christopher Thompson, 59, had argued with bikers who were crossing his path on a narrow road and pulled in front of them before slamming on his brakes on Mandeville Canyon Road. One biker went through the rear window of Thompson's Infiniti sedan. He suffered broken teeth, facial cuts and a broken nose that was nearly severed, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

del.icio.us Tags: Road Rage,Desk Rage,Physician,Rage,Biker

Technorati Tags: Road Rage,Desk Rage,Physician,Rage,Biker

Ex-ER doctor charged with felonies in alleged road-rage crash that seriously injured 2 bicyclists - San Jose Mercury News

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Frueh Leaves FDA for Medco

FDA loses one to private industry, where the focus is, personalized medicine.  BD 

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Medco Health Solutions has appointed Felix Frueh to be VP of research and development, personalized medicine.

Frueh formerly was associate director for genomics at the US Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Clinical Pharmacology in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. He also was chair of the FDA’s Interdisciplinary Pharmacogenomics Review Group.

Technorati Tags: Personalized Medicine,FDA,R and D

del.icio.us Tags: Personalized Medicine,FDA,R and D

http://www.genomeweb.com/issues/news/148146-1.html

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DeCode to Accelerate Existing-Product Marketing to MDs and further grow Personalized Medicine…

We all recently heard about the warning letters sent from the state of California to firms selling online personal DNA sequencing over the Internet, and requiring a physician’s prescription for the service.  One company DeCode, has taken the letter to heart and is revising their marketing plant to actively involve and educate physicians in the process, which is due to become prime in the 3rd and 4th quarters of this year.  The company is located in Iceland and has working partnerships with companies like Illumina, Roche, and Merck and one other location in Illinois.  Illumina in San Diego is a partner who does the diagnostic portions of the testing.   More about the diagnostic testing machines can be read here. 

They should have 5 new predictive cancer diagnostics upcoming according to the recent presentation given and have doubled their sales staff, again to focus on educating  the physicians and health care facilities.  In addition, any physician who becomes familiar with their product can sign up for a free test of their own.  They also stated most business is coming now through the health care business channels set up and not from the consumer side.  California, New York, and Maryland require licenses and they are waiting for those to be issued.  

There are established CPT Codes for billing set up for some individual tests already. They also state the savings can be up to a billion a year as an example for Medicare, with people not being treated with drugs that will show no benefit. 33 Major insurers are involved and are discussing reimbursement levels.  This looks to be a major marketing step in getting personalized medicine out there in the day to day doctor/patient care visits.  For more information on what Pharmacogenomics is all about, watch the video here.  BD

In the coming months, DeCode Genetics plans to intensify its strategy of marketing its tests to US doctors, a demographic the Icelandic company believes will be the bread and butter of its diagnostics business. DeCode’s commercialization plan for its diagnostics products will involve marketing partnerships with prevention-oriented healthcare firms in the US, growing its sales force, reaching out to physicians at medical conferences, publishing in medical journals, and hiring medical opinion leaders to speak about its products.

DeCode’s test for atrial fibrillation determines a patient’s risk of developing the dangerous arrhythmia, based on two markers in the PITX2 gene. By testing patients with the AF assay, the company hopes to prevent the 15 percent to 20 percent of strokes caused by undiagnosed intermittent AF.

DeCode’s prostate cancer test, on the other hand, combines eight different SNP markers to determine a patient’s genetic risk of developing the disease.

DeCode’s glaucoma test detects which existing glaucoma patients are at risk of early exfoliation glaucoma, which carries with it a poorer prognosis, including a higher rate of cataract extraction and resistance to certain treatments.

The breast cancer test, which combines eight SNPs to determine women’s risk for developing estrogen-positive breast cancer, and whether they will benefit from tamoxifen therapy, is slated for launch in the fourth quarter

Technorati Tags: DNA,DeCode,Genomics,Personalized Medicine,Pharmacogenomics,Sequence,Diagnostics,CPT

http://www.pgxreporter.com/issues/6_28/features/148077-1.html

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Life: Medical bills take toll on personal finances, medical bills, bankruptcy

Every day it seems that I post something related to hospitals and the cost of healthcare as well the new technology that is coming out. This information today from the Orange County Register talks about the high cost of health care.  In Orange County home repossessions are at a record high as well.  50% of the hospitals in the country border on insolvency, but yet the debate goes out on there about insurance.  It   certainly is not getting any better and even the insurance companies are looking for new markets in China.  So where does it all end?  Have we finally reached the bottoming out point here?  Medicare audits recently returned some nice numbers reflecting fraud, but how much of this is really recoverable?  Are we beating out heads against the wall when strategies up front could have handled some of this and focuses more so on getting blood out of a turnip? 

Not a case for fraud by any means of the word and those folks deserve punishment, but how about the folks that were caught along who were facially innocent bystanders or participants?  With healthcare billing and payments the way it it set up, there’s room for that all over the place as the government has shown us with their audits, even within their own offices.  It’s everywhere, so I ask where is the focus, to collect and put more cash stricken hospitals out of business if this is the case? 

In case nobody has noticed, push has finally come to shove here, so how much further will the drill go.  Have we totally out priced ourselves as a nation not to be able to afford our own medical care for the sake of robbing Peter to pay Paul?  Check out the statistics below.  Who are the good guys and bad guys anymore, or have we lost focus in some of those areas too where it gets too gray to see? Now we have “desk rage” at places of employment as folks are running out of people to blame and take it out on their co-workers or their computers…all stemming from the same thing.  It’s time for a new system and Congress needs some new steam to get this going, quickly.  BD 

Health care providers are also struggling under the weight of unpaid bills. Last year, California hospitals lost $9.7 billion treating patients who couldn't pay, according to data reported to the state. Those losses cut into revenue hospitals need to buy diagnostic equipment, staff emergency rooms or even stay open.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy,Orange County,Medical Bills,healthcare

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/health-herrick-bills-2090987-insurance-care?slideshow=1

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Pfizer, Merck and Lilly Form Drug Discovery Venture

Update:  Are 3 minds better than one?  It certainly appears this could be the case, at least when it comes to clinical trials and getting the right type of participants to enroll and some forecasting to make sure the drugs will succeed.   What is the target here, the big crystal ball that we all want, some upfront knowledge to keep time, money and overall costs down.  

Tools to predict responses, imaging techniques are a couple of the focuses and it comes back around to personalized medicine.  The only way better predicting can be done with better information up front.  It was also mentioned down the road more funding may be required as well and so far no mention of current financial terms, but I would guess all 3 are going to have some major stakes involved, as the stakes are high.  If some of the Crystal Ball outcomes are attained here, perhaps it will assist in bringing products to market much faster, but time will tell.  One one side of the room you have biotech with drugs, and on the other side, there’s medical devices, and in the middle, the places where they all come together in some form or another.  BD

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Eli Lilly & Co., along with a Boston-based venture capital firm, are pooling $39 million to start a research-based company aimed at speeding the discovery of new kinds of medicines. The three drugmakers and the investment firm, PureTech Ventures LLC, formed Enlight Biosciences LLC, of Boston. H. Robert Horvitz, a Nobel Prize winner from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the co-founder of Enlight.

Technorati Tags: Pharma,Pfizer,Lillly,Merck,Drugs,Biotech

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

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FDA tests electronic submissions from firms

One more step with the FDA beefing up their information systems.  I would think that most pharma companies would more than likely jump on this opportunity in a hurry as their business has been one of the most progressive in health care, with even pharma representatives who carry around Tablet PCs in order to capture a digital signature as an example when making a delivery of samples.  They talk about doctors being slow to go paperless, the FDA was in the same mode until recently transparency required some accounting to be done, and all the old policies and procedures just made their way out in the the wash.  Now about those bonuses…..??  

This is using XML formatting, the same thing that makes the feeds from this blog available and visible.  By June 2009, all submissions will need to be electronic.  Perhaps someday those XML feeds can also make it to Twitter as well.  BD

The Food and Drug Administration has established a pilot program and draft guidance for drug companies to voluntarily submit registration information and their list of pharmaceutical products in an electronic format, the agency said in a draft guidance published today in the Federal Register. The requested information is fundamental to many processes the agency uses for surveillance for serious drug reactions, inspection of facilities used for drug manufacturing and processing, and monitoring imported drug products inspection, the FDA said.

del.icio.us Tags: FDA,Technology,Electronic Submission,Paperless,Tablet PC

FDA tests electronic submissions from firms

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Artificial kidney enables "dialysis-on-the-go"

This looks like wonderful potential here, to have a portable dialysis product to take along with you.  I’m sure there’s a bit more to go here on the research and development, but nice that it can/will exist soon as it states they are looking in to creating a commercial version…nice and great joint effort between the VA and UCLA.  BD  

Not like we haven't heard of at-home dialysis before, but a pair of researchers from UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System concocted a design which would make the process even more portable. The AWAK (automated, wearable artificial kidney) would "avoid the complications patients often suffer with traditional dialysis" by being bloodless in nature; additionally, it would theoretically "reduce or even eliminate protein loss."

Artificial kidney enables "dialysis-on-the-go" - Engadget

del.icio.us Tags: dialysis,kidney,artificial kidney,healthcare,kidney disease

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Trend away from HMOs has reformers concerned - San Francisco

As the economy continues to shake here and there, consumers are either discontinuing insurance due to financial situations or going to a plan offering less coverage, such as the “lean” plan, and Kaiser is also feeling that heat as well. People are choosing what they believe they can afford.  BD 

Changing health-care economics, and a sickening overall U.S. economy, are causing drastic changes in Bay Area health plan enrollment patterns, and possibly paving the way for fresh demands for systemic reform. Even Kaiser Permanente, the mother ship for traditional managed care, is feeling the heat. Between 10 percent and 11 percent of its recent enrollment has been in plans with "leaner designs," including high-deductible and HSA-compatible versions of its traditional HMO products, said Wade Overgaard, Kaiser's senior vice president for sales and account management.

Trend away from HMOs has reformers concerned - San Francisco Business Times:

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The NHS Number You Have Dialed Is Busy. Please Die Later," UK

A report that shows the response time of the switchboards in the UK wit the NHS, 45 seconds is not bad, but I would hate to be the one stuck for 18 minutes in the case of a real emergency.  BD

Nearly two thirds of NHS acute hospital switchboards fail to answer incoming calls within twenty seconds. The longest wait was 18 minutes. The average answering time across all switchboards was 45 seconds, and fifty hospitals took more than a minute on average. The authors made a total of 657 calls (at their own cost) over a one month period and at three specific timeslots on different days. The data measured answering times provided by human operators and answering services, and consistency of response.

Mr Kayvan Shokrollahi is available for comment.
'How fast is fast enough? An audit and league table of response times of acute NHS Trust switchboards in England' is published in the July issue of the Journal of the Royal Medical Society, volume 101.

The NHS Number You Have Dialed Is Busy. Please Die Later," UK

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Bioheart, Inc. To Introduce At-Home Heart Failure Monitor For Congestive Heart Failure Patients

  The company who will manufacture, RTX also has a number of consumer products for use with services such as Skype, so this appears to be combining the joint efforts of BioHeart, who’s technology involves stem cell therapy and now a device than can monitor the progress.   The website has collective pages of information regarding their clinical trials.  The device will collect information and send it to a clinician to add to the data base and is wireless.   The hope is to be on top of issues to cut down on the amount of ER visits for patients and hospital stays, and of course, cost.  BD 

The Bioheart 3370 Heart Failure Monitor, an interactive and simple-to-use at-home intelligent device designed specifically to improve available healthcare to patients outside hospitals who are suffering from heart failure. The device, manufactured by RTX Healthcare A/S (Denmark), has 510k market clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the U.S. and CE mark approval for marketing in Europe and other countries that follow this mark. The Company is planning to begin immediate commercial distribution.

Bioheart, Inc. To Introduce At-Home Heart Failure Monitor For Congestive Heart Failure Patients

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A New Philanthropist for Los Angeles…Personalized Medicine

He plans to work in the area of Personalized Medicine development to develop new drugs in this area.  His new worth is around 5 billion and places him as the $4 spot for the Wealthiest Angelenos.  The big boost came from the cash sale of APP Pharmaceuticals to a German medical company, Fresenius SE,  for at least 4.7 billion.  The company manufactures generic drugs.  BD 

After striking an eye-popping deal last week, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong stands to become the fourth wealthiest Angeleno with an estimated net worth that exceeds $5 billion – a position not lost on the surgeon turned entrepreneur who is poised to turn into one of the city’s biggest philanthropists.  And because that wealth is in cash, and not just on paper, Soon-Shiong said he plans to dive in to bigger philanthropic activities in the area of health care access.

del.icio.us Tags: Philantrhopy,Generic Drugs,Los Angeles

http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=67776606.6501536.1653366.2926234.7728677.546&aID2=127173

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FriendFeed - One More way to Read the Medical Quack

If you prefer to go to one place to see the headlines of what is posted, well there's one more choice now, FriendFeed.  You can easily comment here and see what is going on Twitter posts, The Medical Quack Blog Posts and what I have selected to "Digg".  With Twitter comments they can go to the main program too, not so with the Medical Quack Blog as you will need to follow the link to the page to comment. 

Don't forget to check out the Science Roll Link located at the top right hand side to search for any kind of medical information, as this makes it a pretty quick one stop shop for information. 

Thanks once more to everyone for their continued readership of The Medical Quack!!

del.icio.us Tags: FriendFeed,Blog,Twitter

http://friendfeed.com/

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Desk rage spoils workplace for many Americans

Yes, this is here unfortunately.  It is not just limited to the workplace, but also how customers, patients, etc are being treated over the phone too!  I have heard it and one simple example was when I was returning a phone call from a physician.  Try as I did, there was no way I was getting through the person answering the phone, even though the physician said to specifically tell the front desk when I called to get her, didn’t work.  Instead I was told that I must have a wrong number and she knew exactly who calls the doctors and that I must have made an error.  Tried back a second time, hoping to get someone else, same thing except a more irritated receptionist on the phone. 

Recent articles spoke about physicians bullying others, but it’s beyond that.  People are tearing up their computers for one thing, as well as striking out at others in extreme cases.  2 or 3 percent are admitting to pushing and shoving others.  It comes back around to blame shifting to perhaps release some steam and make it someone else’s fault.  In health care, these situations can be deadly if not addressed. Many organizations are creating new positions just to help and listen, in other words someone who will listen and perhaps offer some kind words to defuse and keep a situation from growing worse to help create a better working environment, and the tech side of things is right up there, the first item on the list as as matter of fact in many areas.  BD 

It's a total disaster," said Anna Maravelas, author of "How to Reduce Workplace Conflict and Stress." "Rudeness, impatience, people being angry -- we used to do that kind of stuff at home but at work, we were professional. Now it's almost becoming trendy to do it at work. "It was something we did behind closed doors," she said. "Now people are losing their sense of embarrassment over it.

People reassure themselves by blaming others and "find comfort in believing their suffering is caused by a callous, incompetent or selfish organization, leader, supplier, union or regulatory body," she said.

Technorati Tags: Desk Rage,Anger,Frustration,Office Work,Healthcare

Desk rage spoils workplace for many Americans - Yahoo! News

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i440D Sahara Tablet PC – 10 Hour Battery now available…

The 10 hour batteries are now in stock and can be ordered via the website.  During the HIMMS convention earlier this year there was a lot of interest in this add on and who can’t use 8-10 hours of battery life.  This could come in very handy when using dictation  features too that have a tendency to drag a little extra power with the software.  The unit is priced at $369.00 and fits flush on the back of the tablet.  Actual battery life varies according to which software programs are being used and the duration.

To view the earlier post on the Sahara Tablet, you can go here. 

The post was also included here at Computer Shopper, the same information at mentioned above.   

One accessory that is well worth looking at the the 10 hour battery that can be ordered.  This attaches flush on to the back of the unit and will give up to 10 hours of additional time, as the included battery is good for 2 – 4 hours. If you are a physician working all day long with charting, this is a real plus. 

The unit has a stand which can be detached, so the unit can function as a docking station as well as an extended battery. 

When carrying the unit around you would not want the stand on the back in order to have a flush unit attached to the back of the tablet. 

Also, there are indicator lights on how much power is left. 

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,Tablet-PC,Sahara,i440D,Inking,Mobility,Healthcare,Hardware,Wireless Healthcare

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Shortage of teachers means shortage of nurses

One example cited in Hawaii stated there were 524 qualified applications who could not go to school, they did not have the facility to support it.  Salaries are par of the problem too as  nurse with a master’s degree can make 30k more in clinical practice rather than teaching.  Last year, the Moores from Intel even donated 100 million to the University of California Berkeley to establish a nursing school and was landmarked one of the largest donation of it’s kind, but still not enough, and this was party motivated due to a medical error encountered by Betty Moore while in the hospital with receiving a shot of insulin that was for the patient next to her.  It appears that the teaching salaries could be increased to encourage more to consider a career teaching versus a clinical surrounding if this is what we need, otherwise in the same boat, who would not make the choice of the clinical work environment.  BD 

The nation’s shortage of nurses continues to worsen, and the trend shows no signs of reversing — not because too few young people want to become nurses, but because there aren’t enough nursing teachers to train them, medical researchers and administrators say.

Technorati Tags: Nursing,Healthcare,Teaching,Intel,Hospital

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25626353/

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Proposed E-Prescribing Regulations: A Windfall for Consultants and Software Vendors?

This is what the DEA is recommending for their report on E-Prescribing.  The portion about confirming the physician’s authority though is not a bad idea at all in view of the Medicare Fraud this week involving “dead doctors” who were still prescribing medical equipment, an audit process that one might have thought should have been in place a long time ago.  The tricky part comes to item number 3 below, and this is where the software vendor programs and offerings come in.  BD  

*Physicians must undergo "identity proofing" processes conducted by an authority such as a hospital credentialing office or a state licensing authority;

* Pharmacies must confirm weekly that the physician's authority to prescribe has not been revoked, must have system audit controls in place, and must engage auditors to audit those system controls;

* All participants in the e-prescribing process must maintain records of the transactions, with off-site backups; and

* Security breaches involving e-prescription information must be reported to the DEA.

Technorati Tags: DEA,e-Prescribing,Pharma,Drugs,EHR,EMR,Physicians,Prescriptions

Proposed E-Prescribing Regulations: A Windfall for Consultants and Software Vendors? | Blog | Healthcare Informatics

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Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Hospital Goes Live with Medication Bar Code Scanning

The first facility from Kaiser to go with the software and additional features will be added as the program expands to add access to schedule operating rooms, view X-rays and quite a few other additional features.  BD 

In an effort to enhance patient safety, Panorama City Hospital, a Kaiser Permanente (KP) care facility operating in Southern California has become the first KP hospital to implement medication bar code scanning. The current implementation is part of the final phase installation of KP HealthConnect TM at Panorama City.
Using this technology, physicians at Panorama can access the bar coded patient information from the bedside KP HealthConnect™ computer terminal, confirming the accuracy of the medication type and dosage. KP HealthConnect™, a comprehensive EMR designed to enhance patient safety and quality care went live at the Panorama City hospital in September 2007.

http://www.healthnewsdirect.com/?p=369

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Biotech Blockbusters…

According to this report, these 4 drugs are at the top of the ladder, but as the report indicates, provided there are no stumbling blocks, which do come up, especially with the new practices in place at the FDA.  In a related story, here’s another listing from Fierce Biotech listing “Emerging Drug Developers”, the weekly list of biotech companies who appear to be the most promising. Amgen still continues to be in the running in the midst of recent publicity and questions.  BD

Motavizumab - AstraZeneca's MedImmune

Denosumab - Amgen

Golimumab - Johnson & Johnson's Centocor

Ipilimumab - Bristol-Myers Squibb, Medarex

Data courtesy of IMS Health

Denosumab, Ipilimumab, Goliumumab, Motavizumab - FierceBiotech

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AirStrip Technologies - Medical Application for Apple iPhone in the works

If you already own a Windows Mobile device, the service is already available on many models.  The software is FDA approved and brings in real time monitoring information.  More than 40 hospitals already use the software and soon it appears the IPhone will be added to the list of devices.  BD 

It is in the advanced stages of development for its innovative AirStrip OB(TM) medical application for the new Apple iPhone 3G. The latest generation of the iPhone is due for release tomorrow. AirStrip OB, which is already  available for use on PDAs and Smartphones, will allow obstetricians to use their iPhones to remotely access virtual real-time and historical waveform data for both the mother and baby directly from the hospital's labor and delivery unit utilizing only a cell phone connection. A beta version of the AirStrip OB iPhone application will be completed by the end of the month, with AirStrip OB scheduled to be available for use by physicians on iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2008.

AirStrip Technologies, L.P. Preps Revolutionary Medical Application for Apple iPhone 3G - MarketWatch

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Physician Motorist Vs. Bicycle Incident Deemed 'Road Rage – Los Angeles

The original story is posted here, but the driver of the car was identified as a physician who pulled in front of the bicyclists and put on the brakes as they were apparently in his way.  After the incident the driver identified himself as a physician.  This story is almost unbelievable, as one wonders what lead up to this type of action.  Was there something else on his mind that distracted his judgment?  This happened during an annual cycling event with the physician continuing the rant after the incident of telling them to get off the road.  The cyclist was taken to the hospital via ambulance.

Last month there was the incident in Cypress with the physician getting into an altercation at a Costco gas station and recent articles were published talking about physician bullying.   Are fuses running this short with additional job pressures and heavier workloads carried today?  BD 

Regarding the incident reported this morning where a one Dr. Christopher Thompson*, a 58-year-old emergency room physician and resident of the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood, was involved in an alleged road rage incident between two bicyclists, Christian Stoehr and Ron Peterson, on Mandeville Canyon Rd. in Brentwood, there have been some updates.

Technorati Tags: Physician,Road Rage,ER Physician

LAist: Mandeville Canyon Motorist Vs. Bicycle Incident Deemed 'Road Rage'*

Hat Tip:  Kevin, MD

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US, Europe, Australia to jointly inspect Indian and Chinese drug factories

The FDA is getting help with other countries to inspect drug factories in both China and India.  This appears to be a coordinated move on the part of many and certainly can’t hurt as one could find something missed by another inspection.  The FDA though still has the option to re-inspect any facility previously inspected as well.  The FDA is in the process of opening up offices in China and will do the same in India.  Pharmaceuticals are  a global market, thus the importance of ensuring quality, as we all learned with the recent heparin stories as to what can happen when an economic decision impairs production.  BD 

Washington, July 10 (IANS) With countries like India and China making an increasing share of the active ingredients in medications, the US is joining Europe and Australia to inspect overseas factories. A pilot program announced Wednesday will allow regulators to coordinate their inspections and share information, thereby covering a wider territory and more foreign facilities.

Last year, the US imported more than $2 trillion-worth of products. Its biggest trading partners are now Canada, China, and Mexico, in that order. Chinese products made up about one-sixth of all US imports.

Technorati Tags: FDA,Pharmaceutics,Drugs

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/us-europe-australia-to-jointly-inspect-indian-drug-factories_10069780.html

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Zapping Individual Cancer Cells One at a Time

 Further defining cancer surgery, with the device healthy cells around the area can be left untouched. This has to also improve the healing time.  Imaging and the tool to destroy the cancer cells are done with the same device.  It has not been used on either humans or animals yet and the probe needs to be reduced to the size of a standard endoscopic device to work with existing technology.   More work in progress but it sure appears to be a potential forthcoming breakthrough at some point in time.  BD 

“Engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have patented a laser microscalpel that allows a surgeon to operate on tissue one cell at a time, precisely targeting disease while leaving healthy surrounding cells alive. The device combines two technologies--a femtosecond laser and two-photon fluorescence microscopy--into a single miniaturized, flexible probe. The probe can target single cells in three-dimensional space, penetrating up to 250 micrometers into tissue.”

Technology Review: Zapping Individual Cancer Cells

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Share Medical Space – Find or Share Medical Office Space Online…

I recently came across ShareMedicalSpace.com, which is apparently the only website exclusively focused on matching doctors with medical office space to share with colleagues who are seeking medical space on a part-time basis.  BD

In today’s challenging economic environment (especially for doctors, with falling reimbursement rates and rising expenses), ShareMedicalSpace.com is definitely a resource worth checking out. If you are a recent medical school graduate or a doctor who only wants to work part-time, and are not ready to invest tens of thousands of dollars in new medical space, equipment and staff, you can search for the “perfect” medical space on the website.

Alternatively, if you a doctor with an established practice, but don’t use your offices every day of the week (perhaps because you are working at a satellite office or a hospital), you can recoup part of your operating expenses by listing your medical space on the site. As the founder of the website, Dr. Ari Weitzner (a practicing ophthalmologist in Brooklyn, New York) observes, “it’s insane to leave medical office space sitting empty and unused when it could be earning thousands of dollars a month for the owner of the practice.” Indeed, Dr. Weitzner’s own frustrating experience looking for another doctor to share his space is what led him to create ShareMedicalSpace.com.

For now, there is no cost to list your space on the site. So check it out while the service is still free (Dr. Weitzner expects to start charging for basic and premium listings after the summer).

Technorati Tags: Physician,Office Space,Medical,Healthcare

http://www.sharemedicalspace.com/ (sponsored review)

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FDA Execs Reap Lavish Bonuses and it has not been a banner year…

By comparison, small bonuses were paid to scientists and doctors.  $35 million in bonuses all together were handed out.  The head of the criminal investigation division made more than the director of the FBI and the person in charge of revising the bonus system, well, they got the biggest bonus.   Earlier this year it was reported how under budgeted the FDA was.  Earlier this year it was reported that some of the key employees were still writing out studies longhand and didn’t have a computer.  One bonus certainly could have helped purchase a few.  It’s a long hard road in to the 21st century now though and transparency is the the name of the game as the government is finally beefing up the data flow processes.  BD 

28 senior FDA executives took in a combined $1 million in bonuses last year, pushing their pay above that of members of Congress, federal judges - and even some cabinet secretaries.

Technorati Tags: FDA,Bonuses,Government,Congress,Budgets

FDA Execs Reap Lavish Bonuses, Agency Criticized As "Broken," But FDA Executives Still Make Big Bank - CBS News

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Todd Bentley's Interview – the Revival to cure

This is part one from You Tube.  Link here to see from ABC.  He claims to be the new “God” that can go beyond where medical technology leaves off and create miracles, video filmed in Lakeland, Florida, tattoos and all.  Old fashioned snake oil?  BD 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tv1NCbL7HA

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Microsoft Launches New Online Resource for Nonprofit Groups

NGO = NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 

All non profit folks who may be reading this post, this is worth looking at!  Hospitals, fund raising groups, you name it.  Are you looking for Grant Information, look here.  There are software and hardware grants available.  This is worldwide and not just for the US.  You can find refurbished hardware here too.

If you are on the other side of the fence and want to donate funds, you can do that here too.  There are discussion forums to compare notes with other organizations as well.  This looks to be a great resource and would recommend this site to any Non Profit group to take a look and see what has been brought under one website portal.  It might make the search process just a little easier and open some doors that perhaps you didn’t know existed.  BD 

Microsoft today announced the global availability of NGO Connection, a new online resource for thousands of nonprofit groups around the world. Driven by feedback from nonprofit partners and years of experience  working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the online resource is designed to assist NGOs to more efficiently use technology to achieve their goals as well as to encourage networking and coordination of NGO resources across the world.

“Microsoft provides strategic cash donations as part of our Community Technology Skills program, which focuses on workforce development and employability in more than 100 countries worldwide. To learn more about Microsoft community programs, visit the Community Engagement and Investment Web site.”

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Nonprofits,NGO,Grants,Software,Hardware,Hospitals,Health IT

Bink.nu | Microsoft Launches New Online Resource for Nonprofit Groups - Bink.nu

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Doctors' Personal Lives Need Saving, Too

This article contains good information for all.  Doctors, with the long hours and the recent roller coaster rides with compensation, procedures, you name it, have a very challenging and demanding position, and yet to find that inner sanctum area for family and spouses is a challenge.  When do you cut off the Blackberry and text messages?  I call it making an appointment with yourself, something I had to figure out for myself a while back.  BD 

“The result is even a profession like medicine, which is traditionally defined by long hours, is waking up to the fact that the profession must adapt to both women and men demanding more of a work-life balance.”

"On top of working [you're] trying to maintain a little bit of self-preservation," he said. "The initial downfall is the relationship between the husband and the wife — it gets neglected. And once you start neglecting it, it becomes very easy to value it less."

ABC News: Doctors' Personal Lives Need Saving, Too

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Three Drugmakers Form For-Profit Joint Venture

Usually competition is the name of the game, but 3 major pharma companies are combining forces in a For Profit venture to work on research projects in what appears to be a collective manner to speed up the R and D processes.   BD 

Merck, Lilly and Pfizer are teaming with PureTech Ventures, a venture capital firm, to create a new entity that will focus on drug-discovery methods in hopes of reducing the failure rate of clinical trials, The Wall Street Journal reports. The new firm will be called Enlight Biosciences and has $39 million in backing.

Three Drugmakers Form For-Profit Joint Venture // Pharmalot

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Making the classroom a playground for learning – Classrooms without Walls…

We all talk about the number of games on the web and devices that distract children but in Europe a new approach, classrooms without walls.  Students are being given mobile devices to learn and working with a program called eMapps the learning procedure begins.  Shoot if this works for the kids, just think of what it might do for us adults and perhaps some potential with medical schools.  BD 

To achieve the full potential of the games for education, the learning must go beyond the physical boundaries of the classroom. For this reason, the project focused on using digital devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and tablet PCs over GPRS and UMTS networks.

Children across Europe can participate in the multilingual, multicultural content created through the games. Forums and online chat, as well as weblogs, podcasts and videocasts are used to add to the interactive learning experience and build a sense of community among the participants.T he platform, available through the eMapps website, allows school children to use skills valuable for successful game play.

“In the future, learning will move increasingly from the classroom and into the learner’s environments, both real and virtual,” says Lovasz.

Technorati Tags: Tablet PC,Tablet-PC,Technology

http://www.physorg.com/news134918454.html

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Teaching old drugs new tricks – Personalized Medicine Advances

As the article states and uses Viagra for comparison, what it was designed for and what it ended up being marketed for were two different stories, so with additional clinical data to study side effects and similarities there may be other additional uses for many already on the market.  With the new methodology being tested, the time frame could be shaved by many years, especially with the introduction of new drugs, more knowledge right up front to help perhaps get some potential drugs to market a little faster, complete with more documented information.  BD

Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory discovered a new way to make use of drugs' unwanted side effects. They developed a computational method that compares how similar the side effects of different drugs are and predicts how likely the drugs act on the same target molecule. The study, published in Science this week, hints at new uses of marketed drugs.

Teaching old drugs new tricks

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Microsoft Response Point – Voice Over IP Phone System for a Small Practice…

   If you are a small practice and want to incorporate email and voice communications, Response Point can be purchased at Costco.  You need an active LAN and a phone RJ-11 connection and can handle up to 50 users.  This is Voice over IP  and contains speech recognition options.  Mobile users have full access to all their Outlook contacts and phone numbers, Windows mobile.  The system starts at around $2500.00.  With one phone line you can move the connections all out over Voice over IP and easy for administrators to set up  and change. You can typically reduce the number of phone lines needed for an office.  Worth taking a look to see if it might offer some solutions in the small medical office.  BD 

Microsoft® Response Point" is phone system software designed for small businesses with 1 to 50 employees. The intuitive management programs, voice-activated user interface, and rich feature set make Response Point easy to configure, manage, and use. D-Link, Syspine, and Aastra offer complete systems that are bundled in affordable starter packages.

Microsoft Response Point is innovative phone system software that's easy to use, manage, and grow, helping you save time and money with:

• Automated Receptionist
• Innovative voice recognition technology
• Quick user setup
• VoIP-enabled
• Hardware by Aastra, Quanta, and D-Link

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Windows Mobile,Outlook,Voice over IP,VOIP

Bink.nu | Microsoft Response Point 1.0 Service Pack 1 - Bink.nu

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When Things Go Wrong, It's Better To Be at Home - Medical Tourism

What happens when things go wrong overseas, is a money back guarantee good enough?  The hospital was accredited by the Joint Commission International and has thousands of visits each year.  Something to think about when venturing overseas for a procedure, where do you go when things go wrong.  Things go wrong here too unfortunately, but you have a little different scenario with getting things corrected but with a lack of regulation overseas, it is something to consider.  The type and number of procedures to be done is also an important factor.  BD 

"Meisel set out to find a surgeon to fix what had been done. But when she'd try to make an appointment, most doctors wouldn't see her. Others took one look at her surgery sites and left the room making derisive comments about people who go overseas for surgery, she recalls.  Meisel wrote the hospital in Bangkok and the surgeon two months after her operations to tell them of her terrible outcomes, but said she didn't hear back. Contacted by a reporter this year, the hospital said it had not received her letter. The hospital then e-mailed Meisel and offered to reimburse her for her surgeries and hospital stay."

When Things Go Wrong, It's Better To Be at Home - washingtonpost.com

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Texas doctors who will see new Medicare Patients…

How many doctors take Medicare?  According to this article, in Texas, 58%.  Thank goodness Congress acted on the legislation yesterday not to cut physician compensation, but this is the picture here as it stands today in Texas.  The numbers shown are from the Texas Medical Association and you can see from the picture what is evolving on the stats on how many take “new” Medicare patients.  BD

Only 58 percent of doctors in the state now accept new Medicare patients,  according to a recent survey by the Texas Medical Association, down from an estimated 90 percent before 1990. Among primary-care doctors, the percentage is 38 percent.

Technorati Tags: Medicare,Physicians,Healthcare

More Texas doctors opting out of Medicare | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

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Texas Probes Heparin Infant Overdose – Medical Errors

Two babies have died, the investigation still continues.  Bar Coding certainly can help the issue, perhaps along with a little software to perhaps monitor before the medication is given.  Just like your computer asks, “are you sure you want to delete this file” if you will, software could also come to the rescue with presenting a screen on either a computer or portable device that shows the dose set to administer, along with verifying the medication to be given, with a pop up window giving a summary of what has been input, and a message asking for confirmation, such as “are you sure this is the correct medication and is this the dosage to be administered”. 

In other words, software can be a potential big help with a “time out” and reaffirming the dose and medication before it is done.  Many argue that some of these procedures used are a waste of time, but when it comes to verifying crucial information and having the potential to save a costly medical error, what’s a couple seconds.  E-prescribing software does this for physicians, with potential interaction warnings, etc. and something similar could certainly not hurt to have as a final check, especially in light of what has been in the news today.  We all get distracted and are multi functioning in almost everything we do today and when things are rushed and stringent time goals are looking us in the face every minute, a short “time out” with the help of a little technology could certainly prove to be a very welcome thought.  BD 

Christus Spohn Hospital South said it has yet to determine if the deaths of the children, who were twins, are related to a heparin overdose that left another infant in critical condition. Twelve other babies remain in stable condition after receiving a dose that may have been 100 times too strong, while two more babies have been released from the hospital.

Technorati Tags: Medical Errors,Heparin,Hospital

ABC News: Texas Probes Heparin Infant ODs

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Widow Sues After Husband's Suicide – Side Effects?

There seems to be a flurry of lawsuits of late, related to unknown or somewhat known psychological side effects from selected pharma products, and this is one more on the way.  I am sure there’s much more research to go on, but how many of the products have these effects and what percentage of patients are affected?  Yesterday, there was the news about the banker on Wall Street having issues with compulsive gambling as a result of taking Mirapex. 

Issues as such may continue on as well as the research to see what can be determined, but in the meantime, each potential side effect has to be made aware to the consumer.  Somewhere along the line there has to be some determination factor and balance enter the picture, and it makes for the question of how many drugs have these side effects and will there be more revolutions upcoming? Does everyone go to court, and is the the model for the future to resolve?  Just some questions that come to mind and if it continues to grow will we someday have to be signing a release to take a certain medication prescribed for a treatment plan?  BD 

In Pfizer’s case, the suit over the smoking-cessation drug Chantix was filed by the widow of a man who shot himself to death in January, Dow Jones Newswires reports. He’d started using Chantix in late October 2007, according to the suit, filed by Linda Collins of Gas City, Ind.

Technorati Tags: Phizer,FDA,Drugs

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/07/10/widow-sues-pfizer-over-chantix-after-husbands-suicide/

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FDA Approves Intel Home-Care Touch Screen Device

This is not where you usually see the Intel name associated with FDA approvals, but they are working on their own device to be used in the home to collect data from a multitude of medical devices, and will send it over the web to medical facilities monitoring patient vitals.  BD 

The chip maker said it received FDA clearance for Intel Health Guide, a set of technologies that includes a special-purpose touchscreen computer. The system is to be attached to medical devices, including blood-pressure monitors, glucose meters and weight scales, to gather data that is sent over the Internet to medical professionals.

Technorati Tags: Medical Devices,Intel,Home Health Care

FDA Approves Intel Home-Care Tools - WSJ.com

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Sly Stallone's ex-wife Brigitte Nielsen has plastic surgery live on tv

Is this the latest craze with reality TV, celebrity plastic surgery on television and how many episodes will this be, a mini series?    What is the goal, to be on the cover of Playboy once more, 20 years later.  For those enquiring minds you have to be in Germany to watch.  BD  

Over two million viewers watched the first episode of a series which will see the 44-year-old film star undergo head-to-toe surgery. The show 'From Old to New: Brigitte Nielsen in the Celebrity Clinic' will see Miss Nielsen have a facelift, eyelift, liposuction and a breast lift.

Sly Stallone's ex-wife Brigitte Nielsen has plastic surgery live on tv - Telegraph

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Home Medical Equipment Providers Are Appalled by 'Dead-Doctor' Scam

Fraud hurts everyone, and it is embarrassing to say the least to find the huge numbers of “dead doctors” listed to defraud.  As the investigation continues, will there be any “dead patients” located on the rosters as well?  Some data base cross referencing will definitely come in handy to catch some of this activity before it snowballs with future claims.  BD 

Durable medical equipment manufacturers and providers are just as appalled as lawmakers and Medicare officials at the revelations that scam artists used identification numbers from deceased doctors to bilk millions of dollars from the Medicare system. The medical equipment providers and manufacturers represented by the American Association for Homecare stand united against fraud and abuse of the nation's Medicare system.

Home Medical Equipment Providers Are Appalled by 'Dead-Doctor' Scam, Strongly Support Anti-Fraud Efforts to Protect Medicare System - MarketWatch

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Small Business Is Latest Focus in Health Fight

Many small employers are dropping health insurance as a benefit, simply due to cost.  Many have changed the type of policies, brought in bigger co-pays, higher payment towards the premiums from the employees too, but when all of this is done and exhausted, what’s the next step when you have narrow profit margins or worse yet are operating in the red or on the borderline?  Small companies do not have the ability to spread the cost out over a large group as do larger corporations, thus when it comes to keeping the doors open or dropping insurance coverage, well you might guess what decision might be made.  Also, at what point does the insurance become not affordable for the employees at the premiums charged. 

That happens quite a bit even with big companies, banks, grocery stores, etc. too, the insurance is available, but employees can’t afford it.  So what is the solution?  The numbers keep dropping for the small businesses who can afford employee health benefits and it costs a large percentage more than some of the plans offered by large employers.  BD  

Not only does the cost of insurance tend to be a bigger burden for a smaller business, but Jon R. Gabel, a health policy researcher at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, estimates that small firms pay 18 percent more for the same insurance than big companies.

Small Business Is Latest Focus in Health Fight - NYTimes.com

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Drug Industry to Announce Revised Code on Marketing

Where’s my Viagra clock or my Cialis pen?   All those items are earmarked to be banned from pharma marketing under a voluntary guideline.  The biggest item to be missed will be the pens!  The announcement is to be made on Thursday, but does not appear to apply to medical device manufacturers or biotech companies.  The last revised code was in 2002, so after the announcement is made we will all know more.  BD

The industry’s Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals will ask the chief executives of large drug makers to certify in writing that “they have policies and procedures in place to foster compliance with the code.” The code was written by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s trade association.

But the code provides no definite limits on the millions of dollars spent on speaking and consulting arrangements that drug makers have forged with tens of thousands of doctors. Nor does it ban the routine provision of office breakfasts and lunches, or the occasional invitation to educational dinners at fancy restaurants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/business/10code.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

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Man says Mirapex caused compulsive gambling – filing legal suit

Mirapex is known to many as a drug prescribed for RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) and is also used for treating Parkinson’s Disease.  This is a Wall Street Banker filing the case as he claims it caused him to become a compulsive gambler, well and I guess he must have lost a lot.  He is no longer taking the drug, but feels he was not adequately warned of the side effects and wants compensation.  Pfizer commented  they said they have not had any involvement since the year 2005 when studies arose that the drug could  be linked to compulsive behaviors.  I am curious though as to what drug has replaced Mirapex for his Parkinsons.  BD  

The lawsuit, filed in New York State Court on Tuesday, accuses the privately held German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Pharmacia & Upjohn of breach of warranty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. Randolph Simens, 55, said that he took the drug, Mirapex, from 2002 to 2007 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and suffering hand tremors.

Technorati Tags: Gambling,Mirapex,Pfizer

Man says prescription drug caused compulsive gambling - Yahoo! News

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Invitrogen gets breast cancer test gets FDA approval -Personalized Medicine

This is a big even in the move towards personalized medicine.  This test will allow the physician to determine if the use of Herceptin is the right treatment for the patient with breast cancer!  If it is determined not to work, then the patient is spared the expense and use of the drug, and better yet, if the test shows it is useful, then a treatment plan can  begin.  This should also help with getting the insurance company to pay as well.  The process can be done in most hospital labs according to the article, without any special equipment to be purchased.  BD 

Invitrogen has won FDA approval of a test that can determine whether a woman with breast cancer will benefit from Genentech's Herceptin. The SPOT-Light test, as it is known, uses a DNA probe for the HER2 gene, which is amplified in 18 to 30 percent of breast cancers and can predict whether a patient will benefit from Herceptin. While a test is already available for Herceptin, many smaller hospitals don't have the resources to process the tests. Invitrogen's SPOT-Light doesn't require specialized equipment and can be processed in most hospital labs.

Technorati Tags: Breast Cancer,Personalized Medicine,FDA

Invitrogen gets breast cancer test approval - FierceBiotech

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The Trouble with Medicare Advantage

 They are way to complicated for the number one reason.  This article does a very good job in going through by detail explaining what the shortcomings are.  Markets change quite frequently with the plans as well, and again once more who can keep up with all of it.  What may be here one year, may be gone the next too, and are there any requirements for quality, I think not.  Again, very good article here and well worth the read.  BD 

The truth is that, as many seniors have discovered, Medicare Advantage fee-for-service (the plan Congress has now voted to phase out by 2011) is not turning out to be an advantage for them.

Health Beat: The Trouble with Medicare Advantage

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As Kennedy Returns, Senate Votes to Block Medicare Pay Cut for Doctors – enough to override a veto – HR 6331

Well this one won’t be vetoed hopefully as it can be overridden, good news.  This will hold us off until next January until we may once again go through the same motions, unless a new plan is developed between now and then.   He surprised everyone and wanted to make sure his vote was cast.  Some Republicans still hold stance on their position and I’m sure the web will have a listing online soon.  Senator McCain was absent during the vote so perhaps he though it would not make a difference?  The insurance companies lose, or at least for the next 6 months.  BD

Video with Kennedy’s return can be seen here. 

Kennedy issued this statement: "I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens -- and that's to protect Medicare. Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here.

Then, when all the votes are tallied, the bill passes by a vote of 69-30 — a wider-than-expected margin that will be enough to override a promised presidential veto (unless a few senators change their votes).

The bill passed by the Senate is the same one passed by the House by an even wider margin a few weeks back. It blocks a 10.6% cut in Medicare payments to doctors that was supposed to go into effect on July 1. And it takes some funding away from Medicare Advantage, the privately run Medicare plans that cost the government more than traditional Medicare.

Technorati Tags: HR 6331,Physicain Pay Cuts,Congress,Medicare

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/07/09/as-kennedy-returns-senate-votes-to-block-medicare-pay-cut-for-doctors/

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