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Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) Work in Progress from DOD and VA

8/15/2009 10:12:00 PM  ,  

We have a new term here, VLER.  Perhaps others may have heard this but this is a new one for me with abbreviations.  Both agencies have also been very active in working with Personal Health records too.  BD

Government Accounting Office says DOD and VA need better strategic planning for EHR Interoperability

8/14/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- For service members who still remember hand-carrying their medical records back and forth to imageappointments, the new virtual lifetime electronic record will help prevent misplaced paperwork and help providers maintain and offer quality health care, the acting director of the program said Aug. 13.
President Barack Obama, along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, announced April 9 that VA and the Defense Department have taken steps toward creating a joint virtual lifetime electronic record, or VLER.
"The president's vision, as he expressed that day, will permit information vital to health care, benefits and services to be available seamlessly to both departments from the moment a service member enters the military until the service member's or veteran's death," Navy Rear Adm. Gregory A. Timberlake, the acting director of the Defense Department-VA Interagency Program Office, said in a "DotMilDocs" interview on Pentagon Web Radio.

DOD, VA work to create lifetime electronic records

Related Reading:

DOD seeks software solution against denial-of-service attacks

DOD and the VA take lead in health-record sharing

Tri-Care Giving Telehealth Services a Try - Telemental Care With Access Provided by American Well

Read More

California Physicians Continue Fight Against Rescissions From Blue Cross

8/15/2009 10:02:00 PM  ,  

As noted below, a similar bill last year was vetoed, although I don’t know what else might have been included with the bill.  With healthcare reform on everybody’s mind, rescission is one of the hot issues being debated, not cancelling coverage when the patient needs the coverage and the care.  imageThis is the most cold hearted thing a carrier can do in my estimation after collecting premiums.  BD

The California Medical Association (CMA) and the Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) have filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit filed against Blue Cross of California for illegally cancelling patients' health insurance policies.
Last year, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a lawsuit on behalf of the people of California against the insurer for false advertising and unfair business practices. The suit alleges that Blue Cross sold people false promises of coverage, while systematically cancelling policies after policyholders got sick and filed expensive claims. This practice is known as rescission.

Last year, CMA and De La Torre teamed up to pass similar legislation - AB 1945. Despite the bill's bipartisan support and Governor Schwarzenegger's criticism of the practice of rescission, the governor vetoed the legislation, leaving Californians exposed to this insidious practice.

California Physicians Continue Fight Against Rescissions

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The Full Sized Bachelor Looking for the Full Sized Woman – Will “More to Love” Help Obesity?

8/15/2009 02:38:00 PM  ,  

One of the interesting portions on the videos is that everyone is shown not only with their name, but their weight as well.  Considering the country's rising obesity levels and all the healthcare concerns on the web, is this somehow overlooking the concern and issues?  On the other hand it’s ok to see those in plus sizes on TV too.  You can make your own opinions on this one, but you might think their health insurers with national exposure might be sending a health coach their way or maybe suggesting incentives and ways to lose a pound or two.  One of the controversial items was the fact that the women were calling slim women "skinny bitches" so I guess some battle lines, or at least for entertainment on the show were drawn.

What next for marketing and entertainment?  I do have to say too that I don’t care for the Bachelor or Bachelorette either so they are all in the same boat in my opinion, let’s get some new real life entertainment out there.  I happened to be watching a comedian on television and he mentioned 2 other names for some new reality shows, ‘Wheel of Pork Skin” and “Waffle Swap”, again I think he was trying to make a point on how far does marketing go and to what extent will we continue to buy in.  BD 

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MORE TO LOVE, the new dating competition show from Mike Fleiss ("The Bachelor"), follows one regular guy's search for love among a group of real women determined to prove that love comes in all shapes and sizes. The inspirational new series is hosted by iconic supermodel Emme.

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Luke Conley is a 26-year-old former college football offensive lineman who stands 6'3" and weighs over 300 pounds.

FOX Broadcasting Company: MORE TO LOVE

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PriceDoc.Com, “Price Line for Doctors” – “Deal or No Deal”

8/15/2009 12:29:00 AM  , ,  

 image This is basically what you read in the title.  There are a couple areas and thus far the service is available in the State of Washington.  Take a look and visit the site and enter some zip codes and see what you come up with.  It includes dental, medial, surgical procedures, chiropractors, and more. 

There is a Twitter page than can be found here and a Facebook site too.  I played around a bit with the cosmetic side and yes you can bid on your Botox treatment too, I saw everything from 10.00 to over 15.00 per unit listed.  Patients pay cash or pay buy credit card and file their own insurance forms, if they have insurance. 

A therapeutic ultra sound had started at $25.00 and went up to “call for price” and had 77 results listed.  Here’s a link from a post from last year which brokered surgical procedures between the US and Canada. 

The Surgical Procedure Broker - Have bum hip, will travel

Many of the items I post on the blog are for informational purposes only and I do have to say reputation and word of mouth recommendation is by all means not dead in my book either, those are sometimes the absolute best a patient can get.  As bidding and pricing moves along for healthcare, I’m almost positive there will be some meshing along the way to stay in the game with pricing too, perhaps not a small amount charge, but rather larger amounts and probably more prevalent in the cosmetic and/or chiropractic areas I might guess.  For pricing this may benefit the consumer but I think overall it could contribute to distancing the physician/patient relationship to a degree as it somewhat resembles purchasing a deal on an advertised product instead of health care.  All doctors and patients too are not created equal.  BD 

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If you can’t find a price, there’s also another feature where you can list the price as a patient that you are willing to pay.  The service will try to locate a provider who will accept the price that the patient has presented.  As the page states, almost like buying an airline ticket.  I remember when a business similar to this started a few years ago for surgical procedures only, but it looks like with today’s technology, it has grown beyond just surgery.

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PriceDoc offers a new way to lower your healthcare costs! Through PriceDoc, providers are able to offer fee reductions in exchange for direct payment with cash or credit card. Whether you have no insurance, a high deductible or are seeking elective procedures, using PriceDoc saves you money!

PriceDoc is a FREE online service that lets you search for qualified healthcare providers in your local area and compare their pricing for specific procedures. Once you have reviewed each provider’s profile and their cost for the procedure you can choose the provider that is the best fit for you.

PriceDoc - Better Price + Better Healthcare.

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The NHS System - The Brits Twitter and Say We Like It and Don’t Want the American System

8/14/2009 06:05:00 PM  ,  

With all the town hall meetings and emotions running wild over healthcare, the Brits took matters into their own hands and are putting their imagecomments on Twitter, including the Prime Minister and his wife.  Even if you are obese, the NHS finds a way to get you to the hospital, even by using the fire department if you are in need.

Margaret Thatcher Suffers a Fall and Has Been Released – Her Care was provided by the NHS

They are unhappy about the recent ads running in the US saying we would have a system like the NHS as it has been not featured in very positive manner.  Remarks from Palin and as you see in the CNN video, a feature that was run on the Glenn Beck show.  As a refresher, here’s a link back to a more somber Beck when he was recovering from surgery, what happened to this guy lately, are the ratings that tough to get?   I think they can still be had with showing a little class if you get my drift as along with losing advertisers, he might be losing some countries as an audience as well. 

Here’s a link to a post that I did a while back on the technology used by the NHS and it is still being well viewed on Fox and posted back in May.  Perhaps some of these folks may want to lighten up a bit and keep an eye out on who’s toes they are stepping on in the process of making their opinions known.  BD

Microsoft Business Intelligence in Healthcare – The NHS Solution

 LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britons including Prime Minister Gordon Brown have leapt to the defense of their creaking healthcare service after President Barack Obama's plans for a similar system in the United States were branded "evil" by Republicans.

Tens of thousands of people have joined a Twitter group expressing pride in the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which offers free taxpayer-funded medical care to all British residents, while leading politicians have spoken out in support.

A posting on the 10 Downing Street Twitter site on Wednesday read: "PM: NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there."

The message was followed by another, from Brown's wife Sarah, adding: "#welovetheNHS -- more than words can say."

"One of the wonderful things about living in this country is that the moment you're injured or fall ill -- no matter who you are, where you are from, or how much money you've got -- you know that the NHS will look after you."

Britons pour love on 'evil' healthcare system - CNN.com

Related Reading:

More Patients Say They Receive Excellent Care From NHS Hospitals In Major National Survey, UK

NHS Sees Value in Genomics and Starts Pilot Program to Educate Physicians

Doctors for the rich, nurse specialists for the poor - NHS Blog Doctor from the UK speaks out

Read More

Merck and Singulair – More Legal Battles Besides Teva With Patent Challenges

8/14/2009 05:38:00 PM  ,  

Recently in the news, Teva was challenging Merck on their patent and now it looks like there’s a few more joining the legal process, other drug companies and a couple insurance firms, Singulair is one big patent in question and this has to be costing the company a lot of money.  Singulair brought in over 4 billion in sales in 2008 and the current patent doesn’t expire until the year 2012, so there’s quite a bit of time left on the patent clock.  BD 

Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic

NEW YORK — The battle over the patent on Merck and Co.'s allergy and asthma drug Singulair, the best-selling drug of one of the world's

image

largest drug makers, continued Friday as a group of drug distributors and health insurers sued Merck.

The filers say Merck should never have been awarded one of the key patents supporting the drug, and that is has wrongfully intimidated rivals by suing them for patent infringement, which has kept competing versions of Singulair off the U.S. market and allowed Merck to charge a higher price for Singulair.

The companies say Merck kept a monopoly on the drug, and as a result, they have overpaid for Singulair over the last six years. The claimants in the cases are Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co., Burlington Drug Co., Miami-Luken Inc., District Council 37 Health & Security Plan and The Guardian Life Insurance Co.

Merck sued over patent on allergy drug Singulair

Related Reading:

Merck Issues Statement on Singulair Patent Challenge from Teva

Healthcare Patents – How Long and How Much is Becoming a Challenging Question

Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic
Sanofi Patent Protections Expiring – Looking to Joining the Generics

Read More

United Health Care – More About the Multi Million Dollar Mobile Health Trailers

8/14/2009 06:00:00 AM  , ,  

Here’s another video explaining how the trailer will be used, and could be used.  One of the comments made here was that they could have a trailer like this parked outside and used by an employer for a simple example.

Does Senator Grassley Have a PHR or an EHR That He is Aware of – Can He Read the Healthcare Bill on a Tablet PC or Kindle or Are We Still in the 70s

One thing they might want to brush up on though is getting sanitized computer peripherals, in other words just like in a doctor’s office, somebody needs to keep everything clean and sterile.   Implementation is everything with software today, and again education and training will be needed.  I like the technology but a bit shy of how it will be used as well as the data when it comes back to insurability and payment of claims.  BD 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Ug8Plfyn4

Related Reading:

Update Cisco Lays Off Hundreds - UnitedHealth To Spend Tens of Million of Dollars with Cisco to Build Nationwide Telehealth Network –

Connected Care – Webcam Remote Visits Explained by UnitedHealthCare
OptumHealth (Subsidiary of UnitedHealthCare) Teams Up With American Well for 24/7 Physician Consults

The Ingenix Inquisition – Hearing Requested by Senator Rockefeller

Are You Insured by a Technology or Insurance Company – UnitedHealthCare

Read More

Johnson and Johnson Whistle Blower Case Is Re-Opened From a Few Years Back

8/14/2009 12:20:00 AM  ,  

This case goes back around 10 years or better, but we live in a world of transparency today so the judge wants the details.  I keep coming back around to a post I wrote a while back, these 2 seem to be driving a lot of revenue these days:)

The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers

I have a feeling some of these cases are going to last for a very long time, but the one allegation here that is scary is the claim about overdosing patients, or rather showing the overdosing amount on the bills to Medicare whether or not the patient actually received too much is not clear from this article.  BD 

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived a multibillion-dollar Medicare fraud case brought by whistle-blowers alleging Johnson & Johnson paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe an expensive drug in a strategy to boost sales.
Two former salespeople for the health care giant have been alleging that J&J's Ortho Biotech Products unit, which sells its anemia drug Procrit, gave doctors kickbacks to write prescriptions for the blockbuster drug during the 1990s. Most of the prescriptions were covered by the federal Medicare health program.
Jan Schlichtmann, attorney for the ex-salesmen, said in an interview Thursday that Ortho Biotech ran "an extensive scheme" in which oncologists and other doctors were given free Procrit, honoraria, speaking fees, "off-the-invoice discounts" and other monetary inducements to give their patients Procrit, particularly after the drug faced competition from rival Amgen Inc.'s Aranesp.

Procrit was administered as an intravenous injection at doctors' offices, hospitals and clinics, and those providers would then bill Medicare for the product's full price. In addition, salespeople induced doctors to increase the amount of Procrit that patients received by one-third more than the approved dose, increasing J&J's revenue, said Schlichtmann.

Appeals court revives whistle-blower suit alleging J&J paid doctors to sell anemia drug -- chicagotribune.com

Related Reading:

Patient Whistleblower who was paid by the Pharmaceutical Company to Endorse Abilify Had Side Effects But Could Not Turn Down the Money

Merck Whistle blower Wins $68M Award

CVS Settles Whistleblower Case Over Switching

Johnson and Johnson Hit with Off Label Allegations

Corporate Whistleblowers – Healthcare

Hospitals Across the Nation are Sending Fraudulent Charges - WhistleBlower gets Reward

Kessler says he was fired for reporting Fund Problems

Read More

Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in California hospital goes live with Sunrise Pharmacy Software

8/13/2009 11:53:00 PM  ,  

This is nice to see, as I had a few meetings with their IT folks a while back when discussing Tablet PCs and I do have to say this was one of the most organized groups I had seen with regular meetings with meeting their goals towards getting their electronic records system going.  BD 

WHITTIER, CA – Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital recently went live with a centralized pharmacy information system that hospital imageexecutives say will help close the medication loop.

The 444-bed acute care hospital implemented Sunrise Pharmacy software from Atlanta-based Eclipsys. By replacing paper processes with an automated system, the hospital also initiated a system-wide electronic medication record (eMAR) to boost communication, speed and accuracy in dispensing medications.

“Our daily pharmacy processes have been dramatically changed,” he said. “Instead of deciphering handwriting, we receive orders that are easy to read and very clear, and the order sets reflect evidence-based guidelines for medication protocols. We’ve been able to redeploy resources to focus on using the pharmacy system to improve patient safety and clinical pharmacy services. Plus, the system is such that you can constantly make enhancements and take advantage of its rich safety check features.

California hospital goes live with pharmacy system to close medication loop | Healthcare IT News

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Remote Area Medical LA – Twitter Widget

8/13/2009 11:05:00 PM  ,  

You can also add this widget to your site use the “copy me” link and embed on your site for the duration of the event.  This is the Twitter Feed as they update.  I will have the Widget posted until the end of the event at the Forum and you can see by reading the updates, they are booked, handed out wristbands to keep individuals from sleeping on the streets. 

Move the mouse over the right hand corner and you will see the link.  Click on any of the entries and it will take you to the Remote Area Medical LA Twitter Site, and from there you can connect to the Main Site as well. 

They still need more volunteers, ophthalmologists, optometrists dental assistants, trainees to manage and deliver supplies.  Scroll down on the widget for daily updates.  BD 

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Related Reading:

USC Mobile School of Dentistry Joins Remote Area Medical at the Forum in Los Angeles

RamLosAngeles – Website Update With Additional Information – Day Two

Remote Area Medical – More Doctors & Dentists Needed – Video with Stan Brock and the Patients

Wendell Potter - Join Me in L.A. at the Los Angeles RAM (Remote Access Medical) Event

Remote Area Medical Los Angeles – Day One

Remote Area Medical Coming to Los Angeles – August 11-18th at the Forum

Read More

Health Insurance Company Web Traffic Declining

8/13/2009 09:28:00 PM  ,  

The searches to find pages that perhaps broker or find online coverage are up a small bit such as COBRA coverage, Medicaid, etc, but with unemployment and high prices the traffic on the insurance carrier sites is down.  BD 

RESTON, Va., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of the online health insurance industry, which showed the effects of increasing U.S. unemployment on online consumer activity. While the number of visitors to health insurance provider sites has seen substantial declines, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of searches related to obtaining health coverage during the past year.

Health Insurer Sites Decline, Info Sites on the RiseThe number of visitors to major health insurance provider Web sites hasdeclined during the past year as a result of the increase in U.S.unemployment. UnitedHealth Group saw visitation decline 29 percent during thepast year to 3.2 million visitors in June. The number of visitors to AetnaInc. (down 12 percent to 1.9 million), WellPoint, Inc. (down 11 percent to 1.6million), and CIGNA.com (down 19 percent to 944,000) also decreased.

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Health Insurance Provider Sites Attract Fewer U.S. Visitors as Unemployment Increases | Reuters





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Twitter Feeds In Silverlight On the Medical Quack

8/13/2009 08:03:00 PM  , ,  

I am trying out a Silverlight Twitter widget and so far so good.  You do need to have Silverlight, just as you would Flash in your browser.  There’s also a shortcut to allow others to follow you on Twitter too, one less item to have separate on the blog.  Right underneath this version is the Flash version too, so either way it’s covered! 

Underneath is another widget which scrolls through the most recent posts by thumbnail, and you don’t need Silverlight for this one. 

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If you do not have Silverlight installed, you will see this, a link that will install Silverlight and it works in Firefox very well too. 

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Here are a couple other online demos.  Wonder if the new version of Office might have Silverlight, maybe?

Drag and Drop Text

Outlook Demo in Silverlight

PowerPoint in Silverlight

Dynamic Calendar in Silverlight

Also, if you have never seen it, check out the Common User Interface, free at CodePlex for any EMR developer to work with.  They have an entire forum and would this not be nice to have the same/similar screens at all hospitals, doctors offices, etc. with some nice easy to use dynamic screens with Silverlight.

Here’s a write up on a developer in New Zealand who I happen to know who has done some work with the project and uses it on his EMR.

Electronic Health Records Not Enough – Aggregation and Better Interfaces Needed

I tried out the demo myself a while back.

Related Reading:

Genomics and Silverlight from Microsoft working together for Great Visual Enhancement– BioMashUps
Common User Interface – Update and walk through video

Microsoft Common User Interface for Health Applications- Silverlight...and Windows Presentation Foundation

Common User Interface – Update and walk through video

Silverlight Blamed for Restructuring at Netflix, It works too good, Could do the same for Medical Records with Common User Interface
Common User Interface – Update and walk through video
Silverlight Books - all books on Microsoft Silverlight Development
Microsoft linking Silverlight, Ruby on Rails
Silverlight Training Videos

Read More

Remote Area Medical Day Three In LA – Employees of Local Governments, Long Beach City and Orange County Getting Care

8/13/2009 05:46:00 PM  ,  

In today’s update the video from CBS shows local government employees being taken care of, one with a $1000.00 co-payment for her child which imageshe could not afford for a two week check up.  When you watch the video you will see this is a very mixed crowd and they come from all over southern California. 

Remote Area Medical Website for Additional Information

Disability checks not large enough to cover one man’s need for glasses.  Many people today have insurance, but it’s not enough or the deductibles are too high and as one doctor who was interviewed in the video stated, there are also many who work for small companies who cannot afford to provide health insurance, so they go without.  She also stated there’s a much a need here in the US as well as other countries, she travels and has donated time in other countries and make the comparison. 

They can still use more volunteers too.  Use the link to the website below and there’s other additional information under the related reading section below which is a summary of all the posts about RMA in LA.   BD 

Volunteer Information

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Roughly 1,500 people with little or no health insurance are lining up daily to receive free medical care from professionals and volunteers at the L.A. Forum. Bill Whitaker reports.

L.A.'s Free Medical Care - CBS News Video

Related Reading:

USC Mobile School of Dentistry Joins Remote Area Medical at the Forum in Los Angeles

RamLosAngeles – Website Update With Additional Information – Day Two

Remote Area Medical – More Doctors & Dentists Needed – Video with Stan Brock and the Patients
Wendell Potter - Join Me in L.A. at the Los Angeles RAM (Remote Access Medical) Event
Remote Area Medical Los Angeles – Day One
Remote Area Medical Coming to Los Angeles – August 11-18th at the Forum

Read More

Wooden Leg Insurance – It’s All in How You Describe It (Humor)

8/13/2009 02:33:00 PM    

Anyone who has done any medical billing will get a kick out of this one, me too as I have done some billing, it all is in the coding and the processing of imagethe algorithms that process the codes used to match up to see how much you will get compensated, and sometimes it’s not always the same either, even within the same shop. 

What would life be without ICD and CPT codes.  BD

A man and his wife, moved back home to Oklahoma , from Chicago . The husband had a wooden leg, and to insure it back in Chicago cost them $2000. Per year!

When they arrived in Oklahoma , they went to an insurance agency to see how much it would cost to insure his wooden leg.

The agent looked it up on the computer and said: '$39.'

The man was shocked and asked why it was so cheap here in

Oklahoma to insure it because it cost him $2000 in Chicago!

The insurance agent turned his computer screen to the couple and said,

'Well, here it is on the screen, it says:

Any wooden structure, with a sprinkler system above it, is $39...

You just have to know how to describe it!'

Read More

USC Mobile School of Dentistry Joins Remote Area Medical at the Forum in Los Angeles

8/13/2009 12:26:00 PM  ,  

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Hats off to USC Mobile Dental Clinic in joining the cause.  Just yesterday I had posted on the blog that dentists were needed and there people responding.  Medical Assistants and technicians are still needed too.  BD 

Remote Area Medical Website for Additional Information

The USC School of Dentistry’s Mobile Dental Clinic has joined forces with other Southern California health care providers to provide free health services at the Forum in Inglewood through Aug. 18.

Remote Area Medical – Doctors and Dentists Need Assistants and Techs for Day Three

With the help of USC and other local partners, Remote Area Medical, a nonprofit volunteer group dedicated to providing free care in remote or low-access areas throughout the Americas, will provide free medical, dental and vision exams and treatment for thousands by the end of the weeklong event. The Los Angeles operation is the group’s first venture into a major metropolitan area, said founder Stan Brock.

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The website has been updated with additional information for both patients and volunteers.

Mobile Clinic director Marjorie Domingo said that with a full volunteer staff manning the five USC mobile dental units, the clinic should be able to treat nearly 40 cases per day. Combined with services from other dental charities and volunteers at the Forum, USC’s efforts will ensure that hundreds of people receive the oral health care they need by the end of the weeklong operation.

A Forum Filled With Fresh Smiles - USC News

Related Reading:

RamLosAngeles – Website Update With Additional Information – Day Two

Remote Area Medical – More Doctors & Dentists Needed – Video with Stan Brock and the Patients

Read More

HealthVault’s George Scriban talks wireless health – Interview at Mobile Health News

8/13/2009 12:00:00 PM  , ,  

This is a very good and in depth interview and gives a lot of insight into the Microsoft PHR, the HealthVault and well worth reading.  On this blog I imagehave a large section devoted to HealthVault and Google Health News and it is updated all the time, to include new vendors, devices, etc.  What i particularly like about this interview is the fact that they are addressing devices, a big part of healthcare that is evolving rapidly and the needs to have one focus point to store this data, the HealthVault.

Personal Health Record Information at the Medical Quack

Below are a few highlights, but the entire article is well worth reading.  The one strong message conveyed here is that it is in fact a consumer product, one we should all be aware of, not just the healthcare folks.  BD

Health Issues on Vacation, Call Your Insurer and Have Information with You in a Personal Health Record

Mobihealthnews recently caught up with HealthVault’s Senior Global Strategist George Scriban to discuss how HealthVault fits into the wireless health discussion. Can mobile application developers synch their apps directly to HealthVault? Will Windows Mobile create apps that integrate to HealthVault? How does a medical device maker enable its users to send information to HealthVault? Scriban answered these questions and more in a wide-ranging interview that also covered whether HealthVault could be offered as a bare bones EHR for physicians, how HealthVault drives revenue within the health solutions group at Microsoft and hints at the global health market as the key opportunity for wireless in healthcare.

We get that question a lot in the United States because of the dismal numbers around EMR adoption particularly in smaller practices. We are really, really clear about who HealthVault is for — who it is defined for and who we have in mind as our user: This is the consumer. We don’t want to muddy that picture by saying that it is also a tool for physicians, except in the case that it is a tool that consumers can use to convey information to physicians. That said, we do work with partners like Covisint and the American Medical Association and the two of them have collaborated to offer a hosted, light-weight EMR to AMA members that is, incidentally, HealthVault compatible. There are a number of ways we think that HealthVault can play a roll both in creating a certain amount of demand on the patient/consumer side for digital medicine and at the same time it can be a more effective tool for physicians. Physicians can now see that their follow-up care instructions are transmitted directly to the user via HealthVault or they can get more accurate information from their patient online before the patient even sets foot in their office.

Cross Country Truck Driver using Microsoft HeatlhVault to send blood pressure readings to his doctor

The data is being uploaded to HealthVault through HealthVault Connection Center, which is the software that sits on your Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC. The data itself is also being transmitted — with the patient’s permission and full consent — to the clinicians at Cleveland Clinic and they can case manage individual patients. They can say that this patient is normal, he is not gaining weight so we don’t have to worry about him right now or they might see some rapid weight gain and high blood pressures with this patient. So they then can focus their resources on the patient who is at risk before he shows up in acute care some place. There is definitely a role that HealthVault plays in connecting two previously very separate domains of healthcare management.

Regardless of how the wireless device space in healthcare shakes out, HealthVault will always be open as an integration point to pull all this data together so users have a unified personal health database.

HealthVault’s George Scriban talks wireless health | mobihealthnews

Related Reading:

Cleveland Clinic and Microsoft HealthVault to track chronic diseases at home with Medical Devices

EHRtv Interviews Steve Aylward, Microsoft’s General Manager for Health & Life Sciences

Discussion with Peter Neupert – Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Health Solutions Group
Where Are the PHR Mentors – Education Required as the Arizona Senior Project is Finding Out with Little Participation
I want HealthVault now Video – A Nice Story Format on How It All Works
HealthVault Goes Viral - IAmEnabled.com – Social Networking, Marketing and Education
Steve Shihadeh, VP Microsoft Health Solutions Group – The Amalga Software Solution for Aggregating Hospital Information (Interview)
University of Miami and HealthVault Pilot Program – Communicating with Diabetic Patients
American Medical Association and HealthVault to Provide Physician’s Portal – Physicians Will be able to access “Patient Shared” Information

Read More

Glenn Beck on Hospitals and Healthcare from January 2008 Revisited

8/13/2009 11:35:00 AM  ,  

How does Glenn Beck feel about healthcare, here’s a You Tube video he did right after his surgery from January 2008.  Listen to what he has to say and compare to what we are hearing today, very interesting as he was ready to report even the CEO of the hospital and speaks about how the average American and the military may not receive the same type of care.  BD 

Original Post found here at the blog. 

http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/01/glenn-beck-hospitals-gone-bad.html

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Successful Aging Exposition in Long Beach, California

8/13/2009 10:49:00 AM  ,  

Have you ever wanted to learn how to age? This is an expo being held in the Long Beach, California area. Additional information below.  The intended audience here is from age 40 on up, so you don’t have to be a senior to attend. 

Additional Information can be found here on how to sponsor.

Additional Information can be found here to exhibit. 

If interested, you can also email me (use the link in the heading of this page) and I can make sure someone gets in touch.  These expos have been getting a lot of interest, especially with vendors showing many products that can help the aging process.  I am posting this at the request of a reader here who stated there could be some benefit on letting individuals know about one day free event as it is sponsored by the local newspaper and several other newspapers across the country are involved in the same or similar projects.  BD 

Aging Expo General

2009 Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 9 am to 3 pm The Grand Long Beach Event Center 4101 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815 SPONSORED BY THE Press-Telegram designed Grand Long Beach Event Center resources and information. opportunity to visit over 7 something of value mid life and older participation in a “Successful Aging” 100. This FREE Oct 17 at The Audiology General Oct 15 Press-Telegram Oct 15 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL (562) 499-1493 RE-09-4040 Successful Aging.

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White House Addresses Viral Emails – Reality Check Website Set Up to Help Explain Insurance Reform

8/13/2009 09:28:00 AM  , ,  

I have heard even from my mother, who is a senior on some of the viral emails she has been receiving from various groups and I could not believe the amount of emails that she, for one has been targeted with on the issue, and some of which are just downright scary.  If you are not aware of the email campaigns, ask a senior you know about what they are receiving in their inbox, and you could become enlightened here.  No wonder the Town Hall meetings are getting more violet and emotional.  Some of us too who are not seniors may be getting a full helping of this too, but the targeted senior age group for one is certainly being bombarded. 

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There is also a FAQ page that answers some commonly asked questions too.  Again, I go back to education and not scare tactics as being the best way to get messages across.  I would love to see citizens educated on how the entire process works, to include the role that technology plays, as this is something Congress is coming to grips with as well, new laws and technology need to work together in unison, otherwise we have laws and regulations made that are useless and don’t do anybody much good, this is the big fear in my opinion and why we need leaders with at least some limited IT experience, (or some that will go get some merely by participating) in consumer related healthcare issues.  How can Congress create laws in areas where they have not tested the water themselves?  Hands on experience in consumer matters, and that is healthcare as we all need it, is the best medicine and with this will come some successful mentors too, a good thing and perhaps an end to the viral email campaigns that are feeding on those who simply have not had the opportunity to be educated on how the world and technology functions today, decision making processes are all about the algorithms we use.  Read this post below on how Social Security is learning from working with algorithms and technology as an example.  BD 

Social Security Administration To Pay Out Benefits Withheld Due to Bad Implementation of Data Base

There are quite a few "viral emails" floating around, making outlandish claims about health insurance reform and pretending to be careful analyses of the bills moving through Congress. Drafted to appear as if they are written by concerned citizens, more often the information comes from organizations with a strident agenda to protect the status quo. White House Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle takes on one of the most prevalent emails directly.

The return of the viral email | Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

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Social Security Administration To Pay Out Benefits Withheld Due to Bad Implementation of Data Base

8/13/2009 08:56:00 AM  , ,  

In running the queries it appeared that anyone with any kind of warrant was denied benefits, some people had erroneous warrants and were denied benefits.  One example cited a woman in California who was denied based on an outstanding warrant years old in Florida for drugs, problem was sheimage had never been to Florida nor did drugs.  This actually says something positive here in the fact that someone is taking a look at the integrity of the data that is being matched for decisions, the algorithms used, how accurate is the data.  Social Security is needing to update as well to move from the old Cobol based system before room gets short, see the link below.

New Data Center for Social Security as they face running short of space – Stimulus Funds

If you have been denied benefits, check and see if you might have any warrants floating around out there.  We have the same in healthcare now too with mistakes and data not being 100% correct.  A visit to the doctor from years back, perhaps coded as a problem could show that you have a certain disease, thus premiums could be higher or you could be denied insurance coverage on this fact alone.  As a simple example, for years physicals were not covered, thus in order to get paid and not have the patient pay out of pocket, diagnosis codes were entered to get the office visit for a physical covered, and I have a feeling there’s a lot of those out there going way back.  I remember one of those from years back of my own, it was pretty common place. 

This also makes a good case for getting a PHR to indeed find out what is out there in your file, as you may be shocked!  When you have the opportunity to import insurance claim data, medication history, etc. that comes from all the sources available you get a good picture of what is on your rap sheet through the various avenues. Again I will come back once more though to education and how the processes to do this need to be implemented from Congress all the way down.  I would really like to hear a personal experience of someone in Congress going through the steps and sharing their own experience as we all have “stuff” on file and need to sort it out.  At the end of all of this though too, you benefit with having a PHR to help you and healthcare facilities with your medical history, helps avoid mistakes, some of which can be lifesaving. 

Check out the related reading below, Social Security is also in the game for Electronic Medical Records too.  BD 

The Social Security Administration has agreed to pay more than $500 million in benefits that had been withheld from 80,000 people since January 2007 and to eliminate overpayment balances for tens of thousands of others. The decision is the result of a class action lawsuit against the agency that boiled down to a poorly implemented database system.

The government is permitted by law to withhold benefits to fugitive felons, but the Social Security Administration had put into place an automated system that withheld payments and suspended benefits of anyone whose name matched those in a number of databases of outstanding warrants. That meant that just about anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant was denied benefits, including people who were unaware of warrants, were falsely accused or whose crimes were unproven, or had long-dormant warrants or minor infractions.

Automated System Backfires On Social Security Administration – InformationWeek

Related Reading:

Social Security budgets 24 Million for EHRs

Social Security likes PHRs too – wanting to work with EMR and PHR software with pilot program

EHRs go beyond treatment – Social Security Pilot Program with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston

Social Security Disability - New Debit Card, Going Paperless

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Remote Area Medical – Doctors and Dentists Need Assistants and Techs for Day Three

8/13/2009 05:00:00 AM  ,  

Volunteers are needed to help the Doctors and Dentists!  Pass this along to anyone who can donate some time at the Forum in the next few days.  They were up to full capacity once again with 1500 numbers given out.  Here’s who’s needed. Also donations of water and food are gladly accepted too for the patients while they wait and sometimes is is a number of hours.  BD 

Medical Assistants   Dental Assistants  

Technicians             Screeners

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The website has been updated with additional information for both patients and volunteers.  Any of the images below will take you to the RAMLA site for additional information. 

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Related Reading:

RamLosAngeles – Website Update With Additional Information – Day Two

Remote Area Medical – More Doctors & Dentists Needed – Video with Stan Brock and the Patients

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RamLosAngeles – Website Update With Additional Information – Day Two

8/12/2009 04:04:00 PM  , ,  

The website has been updated with additional information for both patients and volunteers.  Any of the images below will take you to the RAMLA site for additional information.   A news clip from ABC reporting on today’s events is included below and more volunteers are needed.  BD 

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http://ramclinic.info/START.html

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