This is funny, Purposol, off label prescribing, if you want to become a werewolf! BD
http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/the-perfect-drug-090809/1155304/
Physicians Are Still Being Marketed – Psyche Profile Models
Everybody is being marketed today and physicians seem to be getting more than their share, or maybe I should say more than they want. Business models now on data collected are going the next step to define it down to a minute level with companies using data bases and business intelligenc
e software to help guide pharma reps on what makes you tick. If the drug reps are not getting it off the bat, there’s further training now that will help them. I’m sure this is not the only organization out there doing this, but one I just happened to run across.
Anyway, it might make one stop and think about whether or not they want to opt in or out when allowing prescribing data to be shared and used by pharma, you may be getting an extensive profile in the process today when meeting with pharma reps to help their performance at the same time. BD
Your goal is simple: win in the field by educating physicians on the benefits of your products for patient care. What isn't so simple is to know exactly how to accomplish that in today's environment. It takes more than just tracking sales rep interactions with physicians; you also need to understand the effectiveness of those interactions to get a complete picture of your performance. That is why we created
AdvantageBuilder database that has captured in-depth physician attitudes on over 600,000 sales rep/physician interactions and the resulting changes in behavior for hundreds of products in dozens of therapeutic markets. We've built validated models that reveal your in-field sales and marketing performance by accurately translating physician attitudes on your rep/physician interactions into their actual impact on prescribing behavior.
Technorati Tags: pharma,marketing,physicians,prescribing,data bases,drugs,medication,profiles,business intelligence,healthcare
State Of Washington Will Break Contract with Aetna – Violation of State Rules on Bidding Process
Due to problems with the bidding process, it will be done all over again. United HealthCare contested the bid process and you can see one group was very upset over the change in payment to become preferred provider, which is the case with many carriers, instead of being rewarded for being a preferred provider, they get less. Aetna felt they did no wrong and will resubmit and follow what ever guidelines set forth. 
The state Health Care Authority says it is scrapping a contract with insurer Aetna, which had planned to take over administration of the popular Uniform Medical Plan for state employees in 2010.
The move had been expected to save the state unspecified millions of dollars, but the change was controversial and an administrative law judge threw out the contract last week, saying the bid process was defective and violated state rules. About 180,000 people are insured under the Uniform Medical Plan.
Insurers, led by United HealthCare, formally challenged the bid award. And Olympia-area psychotherapists, including family therapist Brian Kennedy, complained that they would see reimbursement rates cut nearly in half next year – from about $125 an hour to $66 in some cases – if they wanted to be in Aetna’s preferred network.
The judge found numerous defects in the health agency’s bidding process, including letting Aetna and other bidders change bid terms after bids were opened. United HealthCare also disputed that its bid had been judged not qualified. Its subsidiary, UMR/Harrington Health, already handles third-party administrative work for claims and customer service for the Uniform Medical Plan.
State will break Aetna contract - South Sound - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington
Urologist Facing Possible State Discipline For Botched Penis Enlargements – Orange County
The attorney for the doctor states the complaints are being made to destroy his business from competitors. This sounds like a good place to 
apologize as has been recommended so many times in the news and on the web, maybe?
So far the judges have ruled there has not been any wrong doing, but the disciplinary proceedings start in January. The article lists 3 patients on record but doesn’t mention if there may or may not be more patients involved. BD
An Anaheim Hills urologist faces possible state discipline for allegations that he botched several penis enlargement surgeries, according to the California Medical Board.
Dr. Gary Rheinschild, 75, faces possible discipline that could range from a public reprimand to loss of license. Rheinschild is accused of gross negligence in his treatment of three men and of practicing despite signs of cognitive impairment.
His Costa Mesa attorney, Erin Muellenberg, said that a judge recently ruled that Rheinschild is not impaired. She said the complaints to the state were made by competitors seeking to destroy his reputation. In national news publications, including the Washington Post, he's been described as often performing reconstructions on penile enhancement surgeries gone wrong. Rheinschild's Web site says patients can achieve an increase of one to two inches in length and girth.
The disciplinary proceedings are scheduled for January.
To look up the disciplinary record of California doctors, www.medbd.ca.gov
Complete Genomics Sequences 14 Complete and Accurate Human Genomes
This project was run in conjunction with George Church and now it appears when we add the 14 completed there will be 24 individuals who have
been sequenced with their entire genomes made public, part of the deal. Complete Genomics has been in and out of the news of late, working to bring down the cost of having a full sequence done for an individual. They do not interpret, they just run the software (algorithms) and present the data and another firm does the interpretations. Their goal, and I don’t know if we have reached this point yet, was to have an entire sequence available for 5K. BD
From a prior post:
Personal Genome Project – Webisodes on How It All Came Together
“This is a nice grouping of videos recently uploaded, first off George Church, swimming, and talking. I do like that swimming pool, but back on course, the 3 videos below talk to George Church and two of the other participants Rosalyn Gill-Garrison and Dr. John Halamka. The interviews and film footage are very well done and have the same 2 minute introduction, so fast forward the last 2 if you don’t want to see the same intro again. By the way, there’s an effort going on to recruit the next wave and you can read more at the link below.”
Personal Genome Project looking for next wave of volunteers for an entire sequencing
Complete Genomics has sequenced, analyzed and delivered 14 human genomes since March 2009. Considering that fewer than 20 genomes have been sequenced and published to date, this represents a significant advance for medical research.
Complete Genomics’ current customers are using human genome sequencing technology to conduct small pilot projects, each comprised of five to 10 genomes. These customers represent a mix of academic research institutions and biopharmaceutical companies and include Pfizer, the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Duke University, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in addition to the Institute for Systems Biology and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. These customers send DNA samples to the company and receive their requested genome data. Because they do not need to purchase instruments or reagents, it greatly reduces the cost and complexity of sequencing complete human genomes.
The pilot projects are being used to evaluate the technology and also to conduct small-scale disease studies to investigate conditions as diverse as cancer (breast, lung, colorectal and melanoma), HIV and schizophrenia.
Dr. George M. Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, director of the Center for Computational Genetics, and member of Complete Genomics’ Scientific Advisory Board, described his experience: “As part of the Personal Genome Project, we have had a single human genome sequenced by Complete Genomics. We have cross-validated Complete Genomics’ resulting data set, including a list of variants, to gauge its technical accuracy. I am pleased with the quality of the data provided. Complete Genomics’ technology can clearly deliver high-quality genomic data, which compare favorably with other published results, and at a low cost. I look forward to continuing to work with the company as it scales up the process to sequence thousands of genomes next year.”
Complete Genomics Sequences 14 Human Genomes
Related Reading:
George Church Says Microsoft and Google are Helping with the Growth of Personalized Medicine
An Introduction to Genomics – Humans have Bugs just like Windows does and It’s all about the Code
Complete Genomics to Release Its DNA Sequencing Data Next Week
And now a word from the CEO of Complete Genomics
Complete Genomic Sequence $5000 Next Year – Wholesale
Genome Database Will Link Genes, Traits in Public View – George Church
Clinical Trial at UCI To Fix Baggy Eyelids
Gee, this one even interests me. There’s no compensation for the trial, but there’s also no expense, free=free on this one. BD
UC Irvine is looking for volunteers for a clinical trial in which scientists will test a new method for reducing the sag that develops in some people’s lower eyelids once they become around 30 years old.
Brian Wong, a researcher at UCI’s Beckman Laser Institute Medical Clinic, says he’s evaluating “the safety and effectiveness of the FDA-approved Holmium: YAG laser” for this type of cosmetic surgery.
Wong is looking for volunteers who are “30 to 50 years-old, with good skin elasticity and not a lot of excess skin. We’re also looking for people who haven’t had eyelid treatment, and those who do not have eye disorders.”
Wong emphasized that he isn’t looking for older candidates who would benefit more from traditional lower eyelid surgery.
If you’re interested in Wong’s study, call nurse Montana Compton at 714-824-9265 or send email to mocomton@uci.edu
Got baggy eyelids? UCI might fix them — for free - Sciencedude - OCRegister.com
(Reminder any time you see a word on this blog you don’t understand, double click on the word for additional information on any text section)
Technorati Tags: UCI Irvine,Clinical Trials,Baggy Eyelids,Opthomology,Study,YAG Laser,costmetic surgery
FDA approves Zargis' Signal X6 Heart and Lung Scanner
One more step in the advancement of telemedicine, send the scans through the internet to a specialists if one is not available. These are the same
folks with the Bluetooth Stethoscope which is now available. At the rate medical devices are going, I might wonder when the technology might get to the point where we go buy a disposable pack, get in front of our web cam and do it ourselves, in other words another extension of the physician web cam visit? The Department of Defense is up to be the first users of the system. BD
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Zargis Medical Corp. said Thursday the Food and Drug Administration has approved its Signal X6 heart and lung scanner, which can take cardiac scans and transmit them through the Internet to specialists.
The device records signals from the heart and lungs through six sensors. The data can be viewed on site, but can also be transmitted if there are no cardiac specialists nearby. Zargis said that after the approval, it delivered seven Signal X6s to the U.S. Army. The sensors will be used in six Department of Defense medical facilities.
eClinicalWorks Announces Peer to Peer Sharing Availability 4th Quarter
I posted a couple days ago about the eClinicalWorks Annual meeting where new features were to be announced this year. You can use the link below to read the initial post.
eClinicalWorks National Users Conference Begins – Doubled The Attendance From Last Year
This is the first announcement of it’s type that I have seen to allow peer to peer sharing with electronic medical records. Now everyone thinks of 
peer to peer as those music files we are not supposed to be sharing at work and in part that is true, but why not take the technology the next level up with appropriate security and make it beneficial. Again, just reading the announcement here I can’t comment on any of the mechanics as to how exactly it will work, but it certainly stands to be a real asset to be able to share patient medical records under the correct and appropriate settings to ensure security and confidentiality.
The big benefit here as mentioned is to not have to fax information between providers when a data transmission that is paperless can do the trick, so in theory you could be an EClinicalWorks user on one coast and communicate with a provider on the other coast for a simple example. If you had a patient on vacation from one coast to the other, this would work and if the patient has their PHR available, it would be “information availability” for the patient as well. As mentioned it is a standalone product that can be added to the current EHR system and available for use on an iPhone as well. Other additional enhancements to the system are listed below and it states availability sometime during the 4th Quarter of this year. BD
Enhancements to other eClinicalWorks solutions include:
* Enterprise Business Optimizer (eBO) 2.0 - eBO has been accelerated to include integration of the eClinicalWorks Registry with eBO reports, enhanced clinical metadata and reports, enhanced financial metadata data and reports, and added security integration with eClinicalWorks EMR/PM Reports exchange via eCWShare (http://ecwshare.eclinicalworks.com).
* eClinicalWorks Electronic Health eXchange (eEHX) 3.0 - Some enhancements include split screen patient lookup, threshold settings for patient matching, patient reconciliation, community-wide measure reporting and population health alerts.
* eClinicalMessenger 2.0 - eClinicalWorks is piloting 2.0 which includes a further refined back end infrastructure, new Web-based screens for easier navigation, additional administrative options, SMS text messaging and integration with eClinicalWorks Registry.
* eClinicalMobile 2.0 - eClinicalWorks is piloting 2.0, which offers streamlined navigation on the iPhone, enhanced charge entry, lab ordering, enhanced administrative and favorite settings, creating appointments and faxing of progress notes. Availability eClinicalWorks P2P will be available in Q4 2009. It is included free as a module in eEHX 3.0 for community deployments. The solution is also available as a standalone product and will be offered free to clients until the end of 2010.
eClinicalWorks P2P will be available in Q4 2009. It is included free as a module in eEHX 3.0 for community deployments. The solution is also available as a standalone product and will be offered free to clients until the end of 2010.
eClinicalWorks Announces eClinicalWorks P2P | Reuters
Related Reading:
Electronic Medical Records – Many Choices and Integration/Aggregation Need to Be at the Top of the List
HealthVault Connects with eClinicalWorks EHR, NextGen EHR/EMR Systems and more…Shop Wal-Mart (Sam’s Club) in the Spring
eClinicalWorks Users Annual Meeting – Integration and the Future of EHRS and PHRs
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Using an Internal Cloud for Virtualized Electronic Health Records for Private Physician Groups
“Connected Health” Prevention Could Cut U.S. Healthcare Costs By Up To 40 Percent - Survey
The information below in the press release addresses a couple of items I speak of frequently on the blog….education and awareness for starters. This is a survey conducted to determine where technology can effectively help save money. Cambridge Consultants is seen regularly here on the blog 
usually when I speak of some of their new developed connected technologies and devices (i.e. the blue tooth inhaler) , and the Center for Connected Healthcare is a division of Partners Healthcare in Boston which represents the connected and IT side of their current program and offerings. My own feeling reflected below on education, and more:
HealthCare Reform Revolves around Participation, Perception and Education For Success
Through “connected care” and telehealth the study advocates a pretty large base of potential savings, money and time. I talk quite a bit on the blog about “devices that transmit data” and how they will be implemented into healthcare, where the data goes, who gets to see it, and how the software accomplishes all of this. There is also a study ongoing at UCLA regarding participatory sensing as relates to medical data devices. The survey focuses too on how nobody is accountable as one common group and my feelings on this is that we are too fractured and the laws need to be more algorithmic centric, spell it out with technology and not just words as that only makes money for the lawyers. Algorithms built within the laws will make enforcement a simpler task for all with a “hands on formula” available for testing. BD
Are We Ever Going to Get Some Algorithm Centric Laws for Healthcare
Ok now my comments are out of the way and here’s the study….BD
Press Release:
Respondents reveal potential for new Connected Health technologies while also identifying a knowledge gap and slow adoption rate 
Cambridge, MA (September 18, 2009) – A patient-centered and coordinated approach to healthcare could save billions, according to a survey of leading healthcare providers, patients, payers and technology enablers. Focus on patient well-being will improve overall health outcomes and care coordination will reduce wasteful spending in defensive medicine, inefficient claims processing, medical errors and E.R. services, according to results released today by the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) and Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology product design and development firm.
The MassMEDIC and Cambridge Consultants Connected Health survey findings come on the heels of an August report issued by the accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute, which found that wasteful spending in U.S. healthcare is estimated at $1.2 trillion annually, comprising over half of the $2.3 trillion spent in total. The greatest areas of excess, according to the report, are found in defensive medical practices ($210 billion) such as redundant, inappropriate or unnecessary tests and procedures, followed by inefficient healthcare administration (up to $210 billion) and the cost of care necessitated by preventable conditions ($100 billion). In many cases, healthcare specialists are motivated to employ tests or procedures based on concern over liability or increasing their income over the needs of a patient.
Of the survey respondents who were familiar with the Connected Health approach, 75 percent predicted that this new preventative practice could cut health care costs by up to 40 percent. An integrated Connected Health approach advocates an end to end solution, giving patients control as well as responsibility and connecting them with a wide network of healthcare professionals and online applications. This integration can be achieved through a range of technologies, beginning with electronic medical records (EMRs) and expanding outside clinical settings via connected devices such as glucometers and inhalers. This approach can improve medication adherence, enable early detection, reduce long-term treatment costs, and improve patient access to, and interaction with, healthcare providers.
Given the perceived benefits of a Connected Health future, the survey also reveals a worrying lack of knowledge about the new approach, with 40 percent of respondents saying that they were “not aware of Connected Health solutions or examples.”
“It is apparent that the survey results call for a concerted national educational campaign, for the medical community and the public at-large, on the virtues of using connected health solutions to improve patient adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes,” said Dr. Joseph Kvedar, Founder and Director, Partners Healthcare Center for Connected Health. “As early adopters of this philosophy at Partners, we have seen improvements in operational efficiencies in our hospitals, and with insurers and pharmacies alike, not to mention more active, engaged and, ultimately, compliant patients.”
While many respondents view Connected Health as a cost-saving alternative for U.S. healthcare, the great majority (90 percent) of those who responded to the question, believe widespread adoption will take at least four and potentially up to fifteen years. A narrow view of the Connected Health concept was also uncovered, limited in many cases to electronic medical records or remote monitoring.
“Effective and innovative Connected Health technologies exist in the market today, albeit in an uncoordinated and piecemeal fashion,” said Vaishali Kamat, Group Manager at Cambridge Consultants, and organizer of the survey. “But if we adopt a Connected Health mindset and improve interoperability, costs for linking patients with providers will come down and ignite realization of the explosive market potential cited in the survey. We are already seeing new players entering the healthcare space, deploying smart solutions targeted directly at consumers. We cannot ignore the potential that this has to improve the outcomes for all the stakeholders in the healthcare world.”
According to the survey, a leading factor holding back adoption is that no single owner is accountable to drive the solutions. Larger incumbent organizations such as insurers, institutional medical care providers, and drug or medical device companies are skeptical and slow to move, waiting to see the outcomes of recent political and other market developments.
“Fixing healthcare in this country should be our government’s highest priority,” said Thomas Sommer, President, MassMEDIC. “And we know that even with all the technology in the world, the political will must be there as well. Elected officials need to know about the incredible potential of Connected Health before it is too late as we begin to design new cost-saving measures into the healthcare system.”
Concurrent with the release of the survey results, MassMEDIC and Cambridge Consultants will today host “Delivering on the Promise of Connected Health,” a program highlighting the potential benefits that Connected Health could bring. Taking place at the Massachusetts Medical Society headquarters in Waltham, MA, the event will feature expert panelists that will provide in-depth analysis by presenting their experiences with Connected Health and a moderated discussion that will address key study findings and debate the challenges ahead.
End
NOTES TO EDITORS
Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide. For nearly 50 years, the company has enabled its clients to turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies.
With a team of over 300 engineers, designers, scientists and consultants, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA), Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, transport, energy, cleantech and wireless communications. In 2009, the company was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. For more information visit: www.CambridgeConsultants.com.
Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, the European leader in innovation and high technology consulting. The Group’s 17,500 consultants, operating worldwide, cover the entire range of engineering specialties, including electronics, information technology, quality and organization. Altran offers its clients ongoing support throughout the innovation cycle, from technology watch, applied basic research and management consulting to industrial systems engineering and information systems. The Group provides services to most industries, including the automotive, aeronautics, space, life sciences and telecommunications sectors. Founded in 1982, Altran operates in 20 priority countries. In 2008, it generated a turnover of €1,650 million. For more information visit: www.altran.com.
The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) is the voluntary grassroots association of medical device manufacturers and associated companies in the Commonwealth. MassMEDIC is the only organization in New England dedicated solely to promoting the unique interests of the medical device industry. Visit us at www.massmedic.com.
The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare in Boston, develops innovative and effective solutions for delivering quality patient care outside of the traditional medical setting. The Center engages in pioneering research in a wide range of connected health-related areas and works to advance the field through its convening and publishing activities. Its programs - which are being offered by large self-insured employers who wish to help employees better manage their health, to contain healthcare spending and to improve productivity and satisfaction - use a combination of remote-monitoring, online communications and intelligence, and technology applications to improve patient adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes. Participants are patients and providers at Partners-affiliated practices and hospitals throughout New England. Partners HealthCare was founded by Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General Hospitals in 1995. For more information, please visit www.connected-health.org.
For further information, please contact:
Cambridge Consultants
Patrick Pordage
Marketing Communications Director
01223 420024
Patrick.Pordage@CambridgeConsultants.com
European PR USA PR
Katie Robertson Travis Small
EML Rasky Baerlein
+44 (0)208 408 8000 +1 617 443 9933 x356
Man Accidentally Infects Ohio Hospital with Spyware – Was Meant for Girlfriend’s Home Computer and She Opened Her Yahoo Mail at Work Instead
This is a real neat story here, the man wanted to spy on his girlfriend, sends the attachment to her Yahoo mail, which she opens at work and not at home on her own computer….well now we have spyware on the hospital network. I am surprised too that some type of monitoring software didn’t 
catch it as well. I have this security discussion with physicians all the time at their offices and they don’t seem to take it seriously. In one office I had to reformat a computer twice (same employee) due to a bot infection a few years ago, and the second time I had everything pretty well locked down but it was a peer to peer network and not a server, thus reliance on the router security and other software was needed and the bot worked around it. Now it has Steady State from Microsoft and no problems since!
Well if one finds a need to have to participate in spying, best you do it in another fashion as he could get 5 years in jail and gee, how long did he sit and there and spy, no word on how long it took before he was found out either. I have found in the past a LimeWire on hospital PCs and I’m not even the IT person, but when you are sitting there and notice the software you have to at least tell the employee it is not good and should be removed as well as informing the IT Department before you leave. BD
A 38-year-old Avon Lake, Ohio, man is set to plead guilty to federal charges after spyware he allegedly meant to install on the computer of a woman he'd had a relationship with ended up infecting computers at Akron Children's Hospital.
In late February 2008, Scott Graham shelled out US$115 for a spyware program called SpyAgent and sent it to the woman, according to a plea agreement filed in the US District Court for the Northeastern District of Ohio.
He allegedly sent the spyware to the woman's Yahoo email address, hoping that it would give him a way to monitor what she was doing on her PC. But instead, she opened the spyware on a computer in the hospital's pediatric cardiac surgery department, creating a regulatory nightmare for the hospital.Between March 19 and March 28 the spyware sent more than 1,000 screen captures to Graham via email. They included details of medical procedures, diagnostic notes and other confidential information relating to 62 hospital patients. He was also able to obtain email and financial records of four other hospital employees as well, the plea agreement states.
The Ablet Factory – New Release of One Note 2007 EMR Suite
If you are a small or solo practice and want a basic and simple EMR, take a look at what the Ablet Factory has to offer. First, learn how to use One 
Note and then you can move on from there. You will need a copy of Microsoft One Note to use the software. Below is the Ablet Word manager for handwriting recognition, which you can use with or without One note as a dictionary for recognition and and words to your dictionary, for $250.00, it’s a great tool for use anywhere with a Tablet PC. BD
OneNote2007 EMR Suite
The abletFactory is pleased to announce the release of its latest product, OneNote2007 EMR Suite. Following the release of previous Toolkits, this product supports the newest version of Microsoft's OneNote 2007. A new graphical user interface (GUI) and faster operation make this version the one to purchase for your first EMR. Also included is the new Microsoft Ribbon control, an easier and discoverable way to do your tasks.
OneNote2007 EMR Suite includes:
EMR Toolkit functions for using your own forms and templates.
SOAP Note generation.
e-Prescribing functionality.
* Also with 64-Bit and SQL Express support
Price $695
abletWordMgr
The tool to own for personalizing your Tablet's handwriting recognition. Merge words from MS Word. Order this product if you want all the SPIDs! Especially valuable for Health Care professionals that are interested in medical specialties. Includes SuperMed SPID, 140,000 Medical words and terms. This is a combination of all Medical SPIDS including SNOMED. The SuperMed SPID can also be used to customize the MS Word Dictionary for Medical Terms. If you find it frustrating the the default Microsoft Word dictionary doesn't recognize the medical terms you write every day, there's a simple way to make the spell check work for your specific needs. Just customize the Word dictionary so that the default dictionary points to the SuperMed SPID.
price $250
http://abletfactory.com/EMRSuite.html
Related Reading:
abletFactory Handwriting Recognition EMR Electronic Medical Record Tablet Software….
abletFactory Handwriting Recognition EMR Electronic Medical Record Tablet
Woman in Illinois Catches Fire in the Operating Room – Dies 6 Days later
Due to privacy issues, additional details are not available now, so we don’t know if the fire was the actual cause of death. BD
MARION, Ill. — An attorney says a southern Illinois woman died six days after being accidentally set ablaze during an operation at a
Marion hospital.
Robert Howerton has been retained by the family of Janice McCall. He says the 65-year-old Energy woman died Sept. 8 at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital to which she was transferred.
Howerton says he's requesting records from Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion about what happened to McCall.
The hospital acknowledges in a statement that the flash fire happened but won't offer specifics, citing patient confidentiality law
Illinois Woman Dies After Catching Fire in Surgery - Incredible Health - FOXNews.com
Congress Grills the Health Insurance Executives Today – They Didn’t Know Their Algorithms
The video starts out with talking about a case of “claimed denied” with a HMO, Regal. That hit a bit close to home as I used to help MDs and that was one of the HMO carriers. Not Regal, but other carriers had a few years back this “floating patient” syndrome with EOBs and the capitation lists. Patients were still eligible, no change with insurance, but were floaters, appeared some months and disappeared on other months, and would make some monthly statements pay the doctors short. Fixed that one with some SQL queries and had the MDs start getting their statements on spreadsheets instead of huge paper files so the data could be imported and analyzed into a small custom data base to figure out who was short that month and the dollar amounts as well as create individual listings to review each month and compare and the “floating patient” syndrome seemed to disappear in time once confronted.
From what I could see in this video, none of them knew how to explain their “algorithms”, which brings me back around to a suggestion, we certify software for EMRs to make sure they are correct and integrate properly, why not certify Insurance Carriers and their algorithmic software? I have said this in “jest” to quite a few people, even a couple who work in the insurance business and surprisingly everyone agrees with a distinct array of enthusiasm that it is a missing link and why not, the other side gets certified so why do half the job. BD
(CBS) It was a rare sight - leaders from the nation's largest insurers sitting down to get grilled.
Members of Congress pushed the top brass from Cigna, Humana, Aetna and more to explain why premiums have shot up 131 percent in the past 10 years - more than triple the average wage increase, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
Lawmakers accused insurers of putting profits before customers - customers like 2-year-old Sidney Gendernalik from Los Angeles, who suffers from a rare syndrome known as infant spasms. Her father, Mark Gendernalik, said that Sidney can have up to 50 seizures a day.
Congress Questions Insurance Executives - CBS Evening News - CBS News
Technorati Tags: health insurance,Congress,testimonies,profits,money driven Medicine,Blue Cross,Aetna,Cigna,Humana,algorithms
How Kaiser Permanente Does Medical Records a Look Inside – Challenges for Others
CBS did a very good in depth report here and one of the most interesting portions is the actual look at a Kaiser facility in Santa Clara, showing some 
real time use and answering some questions on how and why it works. Yes they made one huge investment and I remember all the information on the internet about how they took strike 2 and went at the project a second time by working with Epic Systems, once their own internal project failed to meet the needs, so you try and try again. Training is mentioned as key and they have over 3 million patients who can access their medical records online too.
Kaiser Permanente Talking Technology
Not too long ago I had the opportunity to interview Dr. James Leo at Long Beach Memorial Hospital on their transition to electronic medical records and they use the same Epic System that is used at Kaiser. It was enlightening and I learned quite bit first had there as well as to the plotting, planning and training processes that have to take place for success.
Long Beach Memorial Center’s Conversion to Electronic Medical Records – Interview with Dr. James Leo
Also shown here is Dr. Blumenthal, the Executive Branch Czar on electronic medical records, discussing the stimulus money and the upfront investments for physicians to participate. In addition, there are several clips from Dennis Quaid, who, not necessarily by his own choice, became a spokesperson for technology and records as relates to safety and medical errors.
Also, what is interesting is to see how much or maybe little our Congress actually understands about the process to in their own video posted on the web back in January, where a representative from Kaiser and Microsoft try to explain how it works, none has seen a PHR at that point. BD
The debate over health care reform is proving to be a no-holds barred battle but, as New York Times' David Pogue reports, electronic records have already provided one big change.
Charting A New Course - CBS News Video
Related Reading:
Kaiser Permanente Opens New Medical Center in Downey
Three Million People Now Using Kaiser Permanente's PHR – My Health Manager
Kaiser Permanente And Veterans Affairs Preview Electronic Health Record Interoperability
Kaiser Permanente offers Abbreviated Personal Health Records on a Read Only USB drive for $5.00
HIMMS Healthcare IT Conference and Exhibition 2009 – Dennis Quaid Keynote Speaker
Dennis Quaid tours Dallas hospital
Dennis Quaid Acts on Medical Errors
Investing in Health IT: US Senate Testimonies
Need Help Finding an EMR/EHR Consultant – Kelly Services HealthCare Enters the Arena
There are a number of consulting firms and individuals that can help you today, self included and now we have Kelly Healthcare, which probably everyone knows as Kelly Services who has been a long time provider of temporary help in the business world. One thing for sure we are not anyw
here near short of advisors these days, but again make sure you are working with someone you can trust are the best words of advice I have to offer, and one that is a straight shooter, look for years of experience if possible. I wrote an EMR years ago and that’s my claim to fame, and when Web 2.0 came into being it was much more than the simple operation it started to be, so now I consult.
One area that someone could address though in this area is to offer training on EHRs too, general training for temporary help as a suggestion. Systems are getting more complicated and having a temporary employee that has knowledge up front could certainly be considered an asset. BD
TROY, MI -- (Marketwire) -- 09/14/09 -- To address the growing need for the restructuring of healthcare records, Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA) (NASDAQ: KELYB) today announced its Health Informatics service offering. Health Informatics is the intersection of information science, technology and healthcare and focuses on the application of computer information systems to healthcare and public health providers.
In order to transform the way the healthcare industry manages its data, information technologists are creating a systematic approach to managing individual medical records known as electronic healthcare records (EHR). EHR will allow medical providers to access patients' medical histories and prescriptions nationwide.
According to Gray, "Kelly's candidate pool includes credentialed professionals in the areas of healthcare administration, nursing and information technology. Combine this talent with our extensive experience in program development and Kelly can make our clients' transition to EHR relatively seamless. It's a great partnership."
As the move to Health Informatics continues, Kelly Services will supply customized healthcare and IT staffing solutions to healthcare organizations around the country to ensure that they are prepared for the arrival of health informatics.
For more information about the Health Informatics services offered by Kelly Services, click here.
Kelly Services, Inc. Moves Into Electronic Healthcare Records Service | Yacht Vacations & Charters
LinkedIn Business Social Network Paying a Visit to the White House
If you were reading this blog or the web this week you may be aware of the new government software store, Apps.Gov and it included a section on 
social networks. I don’t remember seeing LinkedIn on the site, so perhaps this could have something to do with LinkedIn and their visit today, would make sense to me as they certainly contribute to the social networks with connecting business people.
If you have not seen the site yet, take a look around and keep in mind it is still building with more applications coming online. BD
The Government Software Store at Apps.Gov – Shop and Buy Software and Some Apps Are Free
LinkedIn PR honcho Kay Luo tweeted this morning: "Heading to the White House to talk to them about LinkedIn (hoping to catch a glimpse of First Dog Bo)."
That followed what sounds like a bumpy plane ride, after which Kay tweeted, "Landed in DC covered in apple juice due to turbulence and the woman seated behind me."
It's not the first time top techies have headed to the West Wing.
Back in March, we razzed the President for inviting revenue-unimcumbered Twitter execs to the White House as a part of a a “young business leaders" summit to discuss the economic crises.
Marietta Memorial Hospital in Ohio Outsources IT Department
The CIO retired and a new relationship begins. Granted this may not be the solution for all hospitals, but this is one that is beginning. I have seen 
other hospitals too where basically their EMR/EHR vendor is pretty much the in house IT Department as well here in the Los Angeles area.
Just like anything else with business decisions, there will be pros and cons to both sides. The one positive note here too is that the current IT employees at the hospital will have the opportunity to transition to CareTech so hopefully no jobs lost. BD
Marietta (Ohio) Memorial Hospital has outsourced its information technology operations to CareTech Solutions, Troy, Mich. Terms of the
five-year contract were not disclosed.
The firm will assume the I.T. leadership role at the 199-bed hospital and its 25-bed Selby General Hospital. Marietta Memorial Hospital contracted with CareTech earlier this year for implementation of practice management and electronic health records software at affiliated physician offices. The recent retirement of Marietta’s CIO led to talks that have broadened the relationship.
A CareTech executive at the hospital now will oversee I.T. operations. Information technology employees at Marietta will transition to CareTech.
Technorati Tags: Marietta Memorial Hospital,healtcare,Health IT,CareTech,outsourcing,EMR/EHR,medical records,technology,Ohio
Burt Reynolds Checking in to Rehab – Prescription Pain Killers
The addiction to pain killers is “in our face” today and nice that celebrities take the time to admit and publish their problems and issues too as this 
keeps this in the forefront and the need to address the problems many are having with addiction. The Michael Jackson story of course is all still too fresh as well as another reminder. Just this week the state of California updated their online systems to help healthcare agencies and physician track those who may be abusing pain killers with seeing more than one doctor with multiple prescriptions. BD
California CURES System to Track Prescriptions ...
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Burt Reynolds checked into a drug rehab clinic "to regain control of his life" after becoming addicting to painkillers prescribed following back surgery, his manager said.
A short statement, issued by manager Erik Kritzer on Wednesday, did not say when or where Reynolds entered rehab.
"After a recent back surgery, Mr. Reynolds felt like he was going through hell and after a while, realized he was a prisoner of prescription pain pills," Kritzer said. "He checked himself into rehab in order to regain control of his life.
"Mr. Reynolds hopes his story will help others in a similar situation," Kritzer said.
Personal Medicine International – Presented At The Transform Symposium - Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic recently hosted a symposium on healthcare and healthcare IT. Dr. Hodge, who a regular reader here at the blog was one of the speakers with her presentation on how she is using technology to further progress in healthcare. The solutions include using the “Cloud” to further communication efforts and handling of patient data, along with a plan that is created to generate a “manageable” solution without the chaos of seeing a large amount of patients every day. You can see more information at the website and a slideshow gives the basic bullet points. BD
Natalie Hodge, M.D.
Co-Founder, Personal Medicine International
From the website:
Health care futurist Natalie Hodge has 10 years of experience practicing pediatric medicine in St. Louis, Mo. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1995 and completed Pediatrics training at Washington University's program at St. Louis Children's Hospital in 1998. Dr. Hodge spent three years developing and refining the personalized house call platform creating cloud-based technology and ecommerce platform solutions for mobile medical practice. She co-founded Personal Medicine International, a health care service organization whose mission is to connect primary care doctors in direct patient practice relationships to patients in attentive mobile medical practice. She is the author of The Personal Pediatrics Primer for the Progressive Parent. Dr. Hodge's special interests in pediatrics include nutrition, prevention and consumer facing Internet. Dr. Hodge is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a Fellow of the Academy of Pediatrics' Quality and Innovation Network, and an active member of the Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design. Dr. Hodge has three children, Kennedy, Hugo and Francesca.
Vlingo – Mobile Speech Recognition Wars
This battle pretty much relates to speech as used on BlackBerries and Mobile Cell phones. The company is switching speech engines and has a battle ongoing with Nuance, who maintains the current speech engine developed by IBM and is now exploring the engine from AT&T. BD
Vlingo, the Cambridge, MA-based startup that makes a suite of speech-to-text applications used by millions of iPhone, BlackBerry, and
Nokia mobile device owners, is about to get a brain transplant of sorts. It said today that it will largely abandon a core speech-recognition engine developed by IBM and maintained by Nuance Communications in favor of a system from AT&T Labs in New Jersey.
As part of the shift, says Vlingo CEO Dave Grannan, Vlingo and AT&T have agreed to a long-term strategic alliance. Vlingo’s speech scientists will be able to modify and improve the source code for the AT&T technology, called Watson, while AT&T will take a minority ownership stake in Vlingo. All of Vlingo’s applications will be running on top of the AT&T speech-recognition system by the first quarter of 2010, Grannan says.
Vlingo isn’t breaking its three-year contract with IBM, and may actually continue to use the IBM speech recognizer in simple deployments, Grannan says. But by moving its main products to the AT&T technology, “We now have what we think is a much more strategic partner in the space,” he says.
Technorati Tags: Speech recognition,Vlingo,Nuance,legal battles,lawsuits,IBM,mobile technology,AT&T,BlackBerry
Is the CRT-D’s Costly Investment for Heart Health Worth It?
Please welcome Hannah Watson, who has written a guest post today on the topic of CRT-Ds. Thanks Hannah for adding some quality information to the blog!
She writes about the online nursing program and welcomes your feedback at HannahWatson84@ yahoo.com.
A recent study shows that a new heart implant device, called the cardiac-resynchronization therapy device and defibrillator, or CRT-D, reduced hospitalizations due to heart failure by 41 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported. The device shocks the heart into beating regularly and on time if it is beating erratically, such as during a heart attack. The results of the study, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that the CRT-D’s hybrid of a cardiac synchronizer and defibrillator is more effective than either of the devices alone.
The size of a cell-phone, the CRT-D is implanted in 60,000 patients with severe heart disease every year, the Los Angeles Times reports. The implantable device can reanimate a stalled heart, just as a defibrillator can, and also keep the heart beating in the rhythm it is supposed to be beating. But researchers are exploring the option of implanting the device in those with milder forms of heart disease, which makes up 70 percent of all American heart failure patients.
“The theme of this study is to put the device in patients earlier,’’ David S. Cannom, co principal investigator for the heart study and director of cardiology at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, told the Boston Globe. “We don’t want to wait until they have progressed to advanced heart failure. This is preventing trouble rather than waiting for it to happen.’’
But the hefty price tag may make the implant a dud rather than a scientific breakthrough in medicine. Each device costs about $30,000, not including the $10,000 to $15,000 hospital and surgical fee. On the other hand, a defibrillator implant costs only $20,000. With such a huge gap between costs, researchers are wondering if getting implanted with the fancy CRT-D is a worthwhile investment. Having the implant does not necessarily mean that patients will survive a cardiac arrest or the progression of heart disease, though it will cut down on the need for hospitalization. Some are arguing that this alone justifies the major difference in prices between the CRT-D and single defibrillator implants. Those hospitalized for heart failure are likely to be hospitalized again, which can add up in terms of costs over the visits. Therefore, the savings from the reduced number of hospital visits for those wearing the CRT-D balances out its $10,000 difference in cost.
Yet, it is notable that the rate of death from heart failure among women in the study was the same with or without the implant. This means that while the CRT-D keeps heart patients out of hospitals longer, it does not lengthen the lives of those patients.
Technorati Tags: CRT-D,implants,medical device,online nursing program,hospital,investment,heart failure,cardiology
Common Pain Cream May be of Help During a Heart Attack to Prevent/Reduce Damage - Capsaicin
Capsaicin is also found in red chili peppers. Capsaicin can be purchased over the counter at most drug stores. 
It could be used in an ambulance or in the ER room and it is known to have little or few side effects. They are still working to figure out exactly which spots on the body are the best for application during a heart attack, but if this works, it’s inexpensive and could save lives as it saves heart cells during an attack. BD
New research from the University of Cincinnati shows that a common, over-the-counter pain salve rubbed on the skin during a heart attack could prevent or reduce damage to the heart while treatment is administered.
Keith Jones, PhD, a researcher in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, and scientists in his lab have found that applying capsaicin to specific skin locations in mice caused sensory nerves in the skin to trigger signals in the nervous system. These signals activate cellular "pro-survival" pathways in the heart, which protect the muscle.
"By activating these sensors in the nervous system, via skin, we think that a response to preserve and protect the heart is triggered," said Weintraub.
"Parachute" Treatment for Congestive Heart Failure Symptoms – Interventional Cardiology
The Interventional doctors, these are the guys/gals you want to know. They are the skilled doctors who use technology to help save your life via 
catheters and make your procedures a lot less invasive. Not too long ago I did an interview with Dr. Muhs from Yale Medical Center relative to aneurisms and the processes are very similar as far as using a catheter and getting to the heart.
The device is under clinical trials at present. When you watch the video and listen to the patient who received one, it’s an incredible difference in how she feels and how much physical movement she has regained without being out of breath. BD
From the website:
The PARACHUTETM procedure is performed in the cardiac catheterization lab or surgical suite, with the patient receiving local anesthesia. Under 
imaging guidance, the physician inserts the self-attaching PARACHUTETM device through the femoral artery, and deploys it into the apex of the left ventricle. The PARACHUTETM device partitions off the portion of the ventricle affected by the damaged myocardium, reducing the volume of the ventricle by approximately 20%, and reshapes the ventricle to a more natural conical shape. The reduced volume reduces wall stress and increases contractility and ejection fraction (a measure of the effectiveness of the ventricle).
The PARACHUTETM device, implanted by an Interventional Cardiologist, has demonstrated in feasibility trials that patients experience a significant decrease in heart failure symptoms and an increase in exercise capacity and quality of life; with virtually no device related safety events. The feasibility trial also established that the device can be implanted with ease by interventional cardiologists under local anesthesia, with patients discharged in twenty-four hours.
(CBS) Congestive heart failure patients may soon be able to "parachute" their way to better lives.
A new device, dubbed "the parachute," is meant to increase blood flow in those patients, and is doing well in clinical trials.
The device, dubbed "the parachute," looks like an upside-down chute. A small incision is made in a leg artery, and it's snaked up to the damaged portion of the pumping chamber of the heart, isolating the inefficient portion of the weakened heart chamber and enabling blood to flow more effectively. Most patients are discharged from the hospital a day after the procedure.
"Parachute" May Help Some Heart Patients - The Early Show - CBS News
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