Epic Medical and Apple Working on Mobile EHR Project with iPhones – Stanford Medical

Stanford Hospital and Clinics started a trial program recently with Apple, as they also use Epic.  Why does this not surprise me?  Epic has to be the most popular large hospital software around today and the iPhone the same for cell phones.  I did an interview earlier this year with Long Beach Memorial on their transition to Epic which describes the massive training efforts and attention to detail at their conversion. 

Long Beach Memorial Center’s Conversion to Electronic Medical Records – Interview with Dr. James Leo

Epic systems is also used by Kaiser Permanente throughout their network, which pretty much goes to show there hasn’t been a job too big for Epic to handle.  This pilot though is different as the article states, as Apple in actively involved this time in the process.  BD

“The hottest company in the electronic medical records industry is a secretive Wisconsin outfit called Epic Systems,” a recent Forbes article explained. “It does little marketing or advertising, shuns acquisitions, never issues press releases and tries to stay out of the headlines.”

An EMR company with a penchant for the secretive? No wonder Apple has teamed up with Epic Systems to increase its foray into the healthcare IT space. Here’s another reason: “Yet with a reputation for customer service and software that is more user-friendly than most, Epic has snagged contracts with famous places like the Cleveland Clinic and University of Chicago Medical Center, the big HMO Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle,” Forbes reported. Epic has won about 40 percent of the new contracts for EHRs at major hospitals, according to one estimate from research firm Klas Enterprises.

Apple, Epic team up for mobile EHR pilot | mobihealthnews

Technorati Tags: Epic Medical Records,Apple,iPhones,healthcare,Stanford Medical,Kaiser Permanente,Cleveland Clinic

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Kidney Donations – Algorithms for Pre-existing Conditions Used to “Score” for Health Insurance Coverage

This is terrible as the 2 people who could donate and match, can’t or won’t be tested as they could possibly lose or have their health insurance rates hiked up beyond the ability to pay.  If you do donate a kidney and when you apply for health insurance, now you have a pre-existing condition?

It’s back once again to those “algorithms” they run to asses risk.  We passed GINA, but does that really protect us against denial of coverage as in this case where the test results from a DNA based test can be used by insurance companies?  HHS is still trying to figure this out.

HHS Attempts Clarifications on GINA – Time to Further Confuse This Issue Too With Insurance Access?

This brings me back around once more to algorithmic centric laws that spell it out without 1300 pages of text.  Submit and have an agency certify those algorithms, so we have a definite answer.  If there’s a change, have it re-certified or denied.  We need to move up to the 21st century here.  The longer we keep tripping around on words and can’t test run those algorithms and formulas used, people die.  Certify those Algos, just like we do for EMR/EHR systems and write them to law when affecting healthcare.  Congress does not have this problem though as their policies don’t have a provision to eliminate and score individuals for “pre-existing” conditions. 

“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These in the US Government

The two sons could face all types of problems not only with insurance premiums, but what if they found the same hereditary factor?  Would they now have a pre-existing condition?  Again, time for a new way of creating laws as now it appears we are trying to define GINA or allow exceptions for the purpose of risk management.  The LA Times recently pursued this question with insurers and did not get a definitive answer from any of the insurers.  Living people who want to help save a life are penalized and the only what might be called “save” donating individual appears to be a “dead” donator.  Does this make sense?  Nobody has to worry about risk management with a person who is deceased, right? 

People who donate organs should be rewarded, not penalized.  BD 

Newser) – So dear old dad desperately needs a kidney, and the docs say you're the best fit. Tough luck, writes Nicholas Kristof in a look at the case of David Waddington, whose two sons can't donate—because pre-donation screening might reveal to insurance companies that they have the same genetic condition he has.“At the time David needed a transplant, the people closest to him couldn’t even offer a lifesaving donation—for insurance reasons,” Waddington's wife tells the New York Times columnist. 

But because Waddington's sons dared not get tested, they also couldn't get medication that could stave off the disease—until one ended up in the emergency room with, you guessed it, kidney disease. So while Congress has "first-rate health care for themselves and so perhaps don’t appreciate how their posturing forces people like the Waddingtons into impossible situations," Kristof hopes "they can find it in their hearts to overhaul the disgrace of the industrialized world."

Want to Save Dad? Insurance Won't Let You - Science & Health News Summaries | Newser

Technorati Tags: Kidney Donors,GINA,healthcare,transplants,health insurance,algorithms,healthcare reform,Congress,education,denial of care

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Johnson and Johnson Cancels Contract with Palomar – Unfavorable Economic Conditions Stated For A Massive Product Launch

Palomar is going ahead on their own to bring the anti wrinkle consumer device to market.  As you can see from a prior post below, the product is a home use patented FDA approved laser device for removing wrinkles and more.  Palomar agreed that current economic conditions didn’t warrant a huge product launch with the additional required revenue so they have developed their own plan that will follow launching on a smaller scale.  According to the article, the product should launch some time next year.  BD

From a prior post:

FDA approves Palomar's anti-wrinkle device for Over the Counter Sales

“In looking over the site and the multitude of products, this appears to be the first available directly for consumers.  The screenshot below is one from the site and may not represent the results of the exact product approved.  If you view the website, they have products for just about every type of skin repair, enhancing procedures, hair and tattoo removal you could think of and from what I can tell, the focus has been primarily for the clinical side with marketing to physicians to include plastic surgeons and dermatologists.  As far as the exact product approved from the FDA, I guess we will have to wait to find out more information and when it will be available to the consumer.”

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTI), a leading researcher and developer of light-based systems for cosmetic treatments, today announced the termination of its agreement with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc ("JJCC"), a Johnson & Johnson company, to develop, clinically test and commercialize home-use, light-based devices for (i) reducing or reshaping body fat including cellulite; (ii) reducing appearance of skin aging; and (iii) reducing or preventing acne. Despite Palomar having met all of its deliverables under the agreement, JJCC terminated the agreement referencing the current unfavorable economic conditions as the reason for its decision. With this decision, JJCC avoids having to make a large commercialization payment to Palomar and avoids having to commit to the significant level of funding required to successfully launch a new product into the mass market. Upon termination of the agreement, JJCC's license to Palomar technology was terminated and all technology and intellectual property rights related to light-based devices developed under the agreement were assigned to Palomar. JJCC is also precluded from further development or commercialization of the light-based devices developed under the agreement.

Palomar to Commercialize FDA Cleared Over-The-Counter Home Use Wrinkle Treatment Laser Device Without Johnson & Johnson | Reuters

Technorati Tags: Palomar,Johson and Johnson,skin care,skin,liposuction,anti aging,tattoo,acne,dermatology,plastic surgery

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SEC Goes to Work on Hedge Fund Investigation – Big Name Execs Intel Capital, IBM Arrested

This is the first time that court ordered authorized wire taps were used to investigate the world of inside trading, arrests made by the FBI.  Inside trading information around AMD was part of the information discussed according to the article as well as Hilton, Polycom and Google.  The one company at the focus of all of this is the hedge fund company, Galleon Group. 

It is good to see the SEC with the help of the FBI making a comeback with enforcement.  In other related news B of A posted a 3rd quarter loss of one billion.  We wonder where all the money goes and why healthcare is so deprived.

The Banks Are Recovering – Healthcare Is Nowhere Near Recovery

“And so what do those big money makers use:  Robotic Investing Software and you can buy some robots online, but you can bet it’s not all the proprietary code that Goldman uses.

One company said set your algos and go golf, the robot will do the rest, so that’s how they do it with the right hardware and connections.  So this is how they live, set the algos and can spend the rest of the day leisurely or adjust the robot at any time.  This is what makes big bonuses, basically wagering.”

Hospitals and doctors are struggling to make ends meet while we continue to hear of big bonuses.  Harvard University today took a 1.3 billion dollar cash hit, and again we keep hearing the economy is getting better?  Well the inside traders economy seemed to be improving with hedge funds coming up with schemes as mentioned in a post below with basically gambling on human lives with bonds created with people with cashed in life insurance policies that have chronic or potentially fatal conditions, and the deal with the hedges was that investors who were in a pool where survivors were living too long would lose their money.  The link below is a real eye opener.  When you read all of this, Martha Stewart looks more like an angel by comparison.  Dollar amounts here of 12 million are small by Wall Street standards, but perhaps there’s more to come.  BD  

If you think the “so called death panels” are something to worry about, Human Hedge Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged six finance and technology executives and a hedge fund with insider trading.

Those charged include a senior VP at IBM (NYSE: IBM), a managing director at Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Capital, and a director at McKinsey & Company.

The SEC said that billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, head of Galleon Management, a hedge fund advisory firm based in New York, conspired with five other individuals in a scheme that generated over $25 million in illegal gains.

The SEC's complaint claims that Rajaratnam and his associates obtained confidential information about corporate earnings or takeover activity at several companies, including Google, Hilton, and Sun Microsystems.

SEC enforcement director Robert Khuzami said in a statement that Rajaratnam's financial results were not a consequence of savvy trading but of savvy networking. "He cultivated a network of high-ranking corporate executives and insiders, and then tapped into this ring to obtain confidential details about quarterly earnings and takeover activity," said Khuzami.

In addition to Rajaratnam, those charged include: New Castle Funds portfolio manager Danielle Chiesi of New York, N.Y., Intel Capital managing director Rajiv Goel of Los Altos, Calif., McKinsey & Company director Anil Kumar of Saratoga, Calif., New Castle senior managing director and general partner Mark Kurland of Mount Kisco, N.Y., and IBM senior VP Robert Moffat of Ridgefield, Conn.

New Castle Funds is the hedge fund named in the complaint.

From Reuters:

All of the defendants were arrested this morning by agents of the FBI.Rajaratnam, Kumar, and Chiesi were arrested in New York; Kurland was arrestedin Mt. Kisko, N.Y.; and Goel was arrested in San Jose, Calif. Moffatsurrendered this morning to the FBI in White Plains, N.Y. Rajaratnam, Chiesi,Kurland, Kumar, and Moffat will be presented in Manhattan federal court latertoday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton. Goel will be presentedtoday in federal court in San Jose, Calif.

From approximately January 2006 until around July 2007, Rajaratnam and others engaged in schemes to trade on the basis of Inside Information pertaining to Polycom, Hilton, and Google. Rajaratnam obtained Inside Information relatingto these companies from the CW who, in turn, obtained this information fromvarious inside sources. Those sources included an insider at Polycom, a sourceat Moody's who provided Inside Information pertaining to Hilton, and a sourceat Market Street Partners who provided Inside information pertaining toGoogle. Based on trading related to information about these entities,Rajaratnam caused Galleon to earn a total profit of more than $12.7 million.In exchange for the Inside Information Rajaratnam received from the CW, Rajaratnam provided the CW with Inside Information on a number of companies.

SEC Charges Billionaire, Tech Execs With Insider Trading -- InformationWeek

Technorati Tags: Wall Street,Hedge Funds,Galleon,Intel,IBM,insider informtion,FBI,SEC,arrests

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California Medical Association – Orange County Physician Brennan Cassidy, Cosmetic Dermatologist Next President

The CMA has a new president coming into office, and his background is Cosmetic Dermatology.  The last 2 lines of his short interview say it all, he went into the Cosmetic end of healthcare due to difficulty of dealing with insurance plans and the cost!   Being he is in the predominantly cash business, he also more than likely has the time to devote to the position as well, unlike many who are still captured by the red tape and heavy administration of dealing with insurance carriers, but it sounds like he has not forgotten.  BD 

“Q. Why did you change the direction of your practice to cosmetic procedures?

A. I enjoy it. Part of it was driven by the negative things happening in health care, the difficulty with insurance plans, billing and the cost of maintaining a practice.”

ANAHEIM An Orange County doctor will become the next president of the California Medical Association, at a time when the group is doing everything from weighing in on health reform to helping doctors get reimbursed for giving H1N1 vaccines.

Dr. Brennan Cassidy, who practices in Santa Ana, will be named president Monday of the 153-year-old organization that represents about 35,000 doctors.

Cassidy spent most of his career in emergency medicine and urgent care. Three years ago, he moved into cosmetic dermatology, which provides Botox, facial fillers and laser treatments.

O.C. doc to head state medical association | president, care, become, keep, health - Life - OCRegister.com

Technorati Tags: CMA,California Medical Association,Brennan Cassidy,Cosmtetic Dermatology,healthcare,healthcare reform,Santa Ana

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Pigs May Have Screened Positive for H1N1 – Pork Is Still Safe to Eat

Notice there are no pictures of pigs or hogs here, but on with the purpose here, pork is ok to eat as the H1N1 is airborne when spread.  Now the folks working around the potentially infected pigs might be having to wear masks I would guess and gives a whole new meaning to hog’s breath that we don’t want to become familiar with.  Ok little humor here as last time the pork folks were worried about lost sales with a pig or hog reference. 

If you think you may have swine or H1N1 flu, you can use the Microsoft online tool to assess, a link on the right hand side of this blog is permanently here for reference.  Homeland Security has a very good video on the H1N1 virus and it takes a few minutes to load.   Use the link below to view, it is about 30 minutes.  I originally embedded it in a prior post but now it states it can’t bee viewed so maybe I took up too much bandwidth on Homeland’s website?  BD 

http://www.hstvchannel.com/Specials/Pandemic_Preparedness/H1N1_Pandemic_Preparedness.html

 

Information on Pork below: 

For Immediate Release

Contact: Janet Riley, 703-801-2238 or jriley@meatami.com

Possible Novel H1N1 Cases In Pigs Not Unexpected; Experts Say U.S. Pork Is Safe To Eat

Attribute to J. Patrick Boyle, President and CEO, American Meat Institute

“USDA has confirmed that hogs at the Minnesota State Fair may have screened positive for the novel H1N1 virus. USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories expects to have confirmatory results within the next few days. This event is not unexpected given that much like humans, hogs can contract influenza viruses.

Experts have said unequivocally that U.S. pork is safe to eat and that people can not contract the flu from eating pork or pork products. USDA scientists have underscored that novel H1N1 flu is not a foodborne disease; it is a respiratory infection that does not impact pork safety.

The U.S. government has in place strict safeguards to protect the safety of our food supply. All pork sold in the U.S. is inspected by USDA and must meet strict safety standards. Every hog that is processed is inspected by a federal veterinarian to ensure only healthy hogs enter our food supply. The “Passed and Inspected by USDA” seal ensures that pork is wholesome and free from disease.

Consumers can continue to enjoy pork as part of a healthy, balanced diet. It is important that consumers take care of their health. An essential part of staying healthy is eating a balanced diet that includes vitamin and mineral-rich foods like pork.”

For more information, visit www.meatsafety.org.

Technorati Tags: H1N1 flu,Swine flu,Homeland Security,Dr. Erkika Schwartz,healthcare pandemic,Threast Matrix,Meat safety,pork,pigs,hogs

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FDA Approves Glaxo Cervical Cancer Vaccine – Cervarix for HPV

Move over Gardasil, competition is here.  Cervarix is already used in over 100 other countries.  The HPV virus in some strains is known to cause cancer.  As with all recent vaccines today, there remains some controversy and recently in the news the use of Gardasil for men has been discussed.  The article states though that Gardasil covers 2 strains that are not in the Cervarix vaccine for genital warts, so it may be tough going for marketing.   Gardasil had sales of over a billion last year.  BD

(AP) British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Friday U.S. regulators approved its vaccine Cervarix to prevent the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.
The approval from the Food and Drug Administration allows Glaxo to compete against Merck's blockbuster vaccine Gardasil, which has been on the market here since 2006. 
London-based Glaxo said it expects to launch the vaccine late this year.
Cervarix already is approved in nearly 100 other countries, but had been delayed in the U.S. since 2007, when the FDA requested additional data from the company.

There are more than 100 types of HPV, though about 15 are known to cause cervical cancer.
Cervarix's effectiveness against extra strains of the virus could help differentiate it from Merck's Gardasil, which also protects against HPV 16 and 18, but not other cancerous strains.

FDA Approves Glaxo Cervical Cancer Vaccine - CBS News

Technorati Tags: GlaxoSmithKline,Gardasil,Cervarix,HPV vaccination,Human Papillomavirus,healthcare,vaccines,Merck,cancer

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Care 360 from MedPlus (Quest Diagnostics) Now Has Ambulatory Web Based EHR – Integrated with Labs and E-Prescribing

Back in July I had the opportunity to chat with Rohit Nayak from MedPlus and at that time he stated that an EHR from MedPlus was on the way, well it’s here now.  You can use the link below to explore some of the offerings from MedPlus that we discussed.  Care 360 is also involved in many RHIO projects across the US as well.  See the related links below for even more information.

Quest Diagnostics and Health IT – Interview with Rohit Nayak, Vice President of Sales, Clinical Information Solutions Group, MedPlus

Physicians can also use an iPhone to get patient lab results.  If you want to try out Care 360 e-Prescribing, check out the 6 month trial offer currently available.  Quest Diagnostics works with Personal Health Records, Google Health and HealthVault so patient labs can be accessed by the patient.  If you are a physician you would need to enroll first to allow this to occur. 

Sean Nolan over at HeatlhVault stated that Lab information and data is some of the richest information available today for helping patients gather and populate the information for their PHR. 

Care 360 Lab results online have been available for quite a while and even several years ago when I was still writing my EMR, I wrote an interface to bring the results into my program.  Why deal with paper when all this can be done online and move the next level up.  If labs are ordered online, the patient doesn’t have to worry about losing that slip of paper for the lab order, and gee, stop waiting on snail mail and get your results faster for your patients. 

I have many links on this blog for Quest and MedPlus, just do a search on the second search box and you will find them all.  Be the “informed patient” and “informed MD” and read up and get involved as technology can certainly take much of the leg work out of all the stuff you are doing by chasing paper.  I mention participation, and to relieve yourself of some of the frustrations, take a few minutes and learn about Quest/MedPlus and other technology solutions, you’ll be happy you took the plunge and simplify some of your healthcare tasks.  BD

From the Website:

MedPlus offers a comprehensive suite of solutions focused on enabling the physician in the ambulatory setting to provide the level of care they desire in the most efficient manner possible.

MedPlus offers a comprehensive suite of solutions focused on enabling the physician in the ambulatory setting to provide the level of care they desire in the most efficient manner possible.

The web-based (ASP) Care360™ suite of solutions is currently used by close to 70,000 physician practices nationwide. At the heart of the Care360 solutions is an innovative, secure, HIPAA compliant platform that removes all the complexities associated with traditional client-server type solutions.

Flexibility is essential to all of the Care360 solutions, which are built on cutting edge technologies that ensure your practice is well positioned for future initiatives¹. This offers several compelling advantages to your practice such as:

• Simple Interoperability
  • Seamlessly connect with other systems via web services 
• Instant Connectivity & Communication
  • Securely messaging any user on the nationwide Care360 network
  • Out of the box communication with patients via industry leading Personal Health Records (PHR's)
• No Costly Hardware Requirements
  • Only requires PC with browser and internet access
  • Affordable monthly subscription model
  • Rapid/Affordable Implementation
  • No costly/time consuming upfront implementation
• Instant/Transparent Product Upgrades
  • Single instance, web-based architecture enables us to upgrade the system without impacting your practice

Since all of the Care360 solutions are built on a single web-based platform, it's an effortless transition from one solution to another because there is no added installation or implementation required. When you decide to upgrade we simply activate the additional module remotely, provide additional training and you are ready to go!

The following Care360 components are available:

• Care360™ Labs & Meds
  • Enables electronic lab order management & secure messaging solution.
• Care360™ ePrescribing
  • Enables electronic prescribing, electronic lab order management & secure messaging solution.
• Care360™ EHR
  • Our ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) offering
• Care360™ Mobile
  • Enables Care360 access via an Apple iPhone

Contact us today to learn about how the Care360 suite of solutions can help you streamline your practice.

MedPlus is the healthcare information technology subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics and Care360™ is a registered trademark of Quest Diagnostics.

Technology Solutions for the Physician Office

Related Reading:

Quest Diagnostics and Microsoft HealthVault – Connect to get your Lab Results in your PHR

Quest Diagnostics and Google Empower Patients and Physicians to Share Diagnostic Test Results Online

Quest Diagnostics/MedPlus Centergy(TM) Offers New Technology Benefits – HIE and RHIO

Quest Care360 – Access Patient Lab Results and Medication History from your iPhone

Health IT company declares victory in NHIN trial to send and receive patient medical record summary

NEPSI – Free E-Prescribing Solutions with Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health

Quest Diagnostics Joins National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI)

Statewide Health Information Exchange System to Launch in 23 Orange County ERs

Technorati Tags: Quest Diagnostics,MedPlus,Personal Health Records,Microsoft,HealthVault,healthcare,Health IT,Lab results,PHR,HL7,informed patient,EHR,Google Health

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Mobilization for Health Care for All – “Sit Ins” At Health Insurance Offices Campaign Supporting Single Payor Plan

 Our healthcare system debate is getting more heated all the time.  Mobilization for Health Care that supports establishing a single pay system is now organizing “sit ins” at the various insurance office company offices and getting arrested.  These are peaceful demonstrations with people basically protesting and chanting.  There are several videos on the sites that have been posted and I included a couple here with a retired nurse and retired doctor who have joined the ranks.

In Los Angeles the building was put on lock down.  In Washington DC their demonstration in the rain made the news.  14 were arrested in New York, 7 in Chicago and more.  October 15th this week was the date selected to rally at several health insurance offices.  At the rally in Washington DC, they attempted to get someone from Blue Cross on the phone, and no response.  Recently I posted about another group, Mad As Hell Doctors, and you can read more at the link below.

Mad As Hell Doctors.com – Doctor’s Group Pushing for Single Pay System

Citizens are getting more outspoken with regard to reform and the groups are establishing their voices.  I watched the one video from New York and it looked as if employees were coming to work to find the the “Sit In” group in the lobby and one turned around and walked out the door. 

Again, it’s back to the algorithms that are run to “score” us, assign our risk as a “body” and deny coverage, care and claims.  We have had years of this and countless news reports.  You can’t go on the internet one day and not see a new list of posts.  With reference to profits, human lives and our healthcare just appear to be one more commodity traded on Wall Street today and the respect for your fellow man and woman has been in the sake of saving the banking economy, not the US economy.  BD

If You Think The “So Called Death Panels” are bad, read about the Human Hedge Funds

---

Chanting “patients not profits,” citizens and health care providers attempted to enter the lobby of a Blue Cross office in downtown LA. When the police stated that they had put the building on lockdown, protestors sat down in a circle in front of the door. Several people were present who had been impacted by a harmful denial by a health insurance company. These sit-ins are part of a national mobilization involving rallies and acts of civil disobedience at health insurance company offices in New York, Washington, Phoenix, Palm Beach, Portland, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Reno.

On September 29th in New York City, the Mobilization for Health Care for All launched a national campaign of "Patients Not Profit" sit-ins at insurance company offices to demand an end to a system that profits by denying people care. We want the real "public option": Medicare for All, a single payer plan that cuts out the profit and puts patients first.

Palm Beach Post article: 6 arrested for health care for all at Humana office in Palm Beach!

Sit-in and arrests in New York. 14 arrested to stand for health care for all!

12 Arrested in LA for Health Care for All!

Together, through this campaign, we can turn the tide and win the fight for health care for all. To succeed, we need to organize sit-ins in as many cities as possible in the month of October. The campaign began in New York City on September 29th and continues in Chicago on October 8th and in cities across the country on October 15th. After the 15th, we will continue to organize actions in as many cities as possible until we win health care reform that ensures that the insurance companies no longer stand between the American people and the health care that we need. It's time to cut out the profit and put patients first with Medicare for All.

The mobilization was launched two weeks ago when 17 people were arrested at an Aetna office in downtown New York City. Last week, 7 were arrested at a Cigna office in downtown Chicago. Today, over 54 people were arrested at insurance offices for United Health Group, Wellpoint, Humana, Cigna, Medical Mutual, and Blue Cross. In several cities, police put the insurance company buildings on lockdown and refused entry to all. By 6 PM PST, the action in Phoenix, Arizona, was still ongoing and number of arrests was uncertain.

http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org/2009/10/16/12-arrested-in-la-for-health-care-for-all/

Technorati Tags: health insurance,Madashelldoctors.com,healthcare reform,Obama,physicians,doctors,healthcare politics,rallies,Mobilization for HealthCare,Patients Not Profit,algorithms,Single Payor,Medicare

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“Not on My Watch” – Kimberly-Clark Website Offering Education on Hospital Acquired Infections

This is a new site about HIA both for patients and healthcare workers.  If you need more help in training, rent the bus.  There’s a lot of buses out there today bringing healthcare education around on a mobile basis. 

If you are the patient, ask your doctor to wash his/her hands.

Ventilator - Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

 

If this doesn’t work, there’s a technology solution you can put in place,  which is actually very cool.  BD

Real Time Monitoring of When you Washed your Hands – Don’t Touch that Patient Until You Have Washed Your Hands

“The way the system operated with the bedside monitor, the patient will see the green light too, so they will know if you have washed your hands too.   If the green light doesn’t appear you get a reminder to stop and wash with your ID tag that will vibrate.  I can say this is better than a voice calling out.   This is a full on data trail of who and when hands have been washed.  Read below to see an example of the reporting functions.  If you missed a hand washing, it will show.   The reports can also be exported to an Excel spreadsheet too.”

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Healthcare-Associated Infection: Not on My Watch - Kimberly-Clark Health Care

Technorati Tags: Kimberly Clarke,HAI,hospital acquired infections,H1N1,MRSA,hospital,education,CME,wash hands

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Steve Ballmer Microsoft CEO Address in the Netherlands – The New Efficiency

Steve Ballmer begins speaking of the growth of IT – Information technology, and how we have arrived at the the new normal.  IT is important for the World Economy.  When it comes to the cloud, he says there’s 3 screens in the cloud.  Information technology is going to make everyone more efficient.  This speech struck me as one that is good for anyone to hear and brings a bit of IT reality today and where we are going tomorrow.

New pharmaceutical products will be created by Information Technology.  The next 2 years will be a revolution with technology. 

He stated user interfaces need to make sense and IT is more critical than ever for growth. 

Speak to your television, not controlling with a mouse but more touch and voice technology, it’s going to happen he says.  Natural language is another advancement moving forward, all search engines. 

How do we get from here to the future – the new efficiency.  It is funny to hear him speak of a server launch and he says don’t ask me which one.  IT is always under pressure for better designed software. 

Ballmer likes wireless networking with Windows 7 and says the end user interface is ready for the new efficiency.  Sharing is a big focus and users with Windows 7 are finding what they like. 

Sharing data, focus on the family he says in the Ballmer household.  Virtualization is creating effective ways to drive costs down from the data centers.  This is not a real hard sell for Windows 7, but more one on technology and the value of IT. 

http://mediadl.microsoft.com/mediadl/www/n/netherlands/FY10/technetlive/Steve_Ballmer_KeyNote_LowRes.wmv

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Email,Exchange,Steve Ballmer,Netherlands,Outlook,Windows 7,new efficiency,Gardner

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The Banks Are Recovering – Healthcare Is Nowhere Near Recovery

If you read the news today about the Goldman all time bonuses, like me, it does not make you want to jump up for joy.  I agree with this article here, we bailed out the banks and nobody else.   I wrote a thought provoking post about a month ago and I still keep provoking those thoughts.

“Maybe The Real Problem With The Economy Is That It Doesn't Need You Anymore – Opinion”

“When you look at this first paragraph below, there is a smaller number of people needed in many areas, due to technology doing a lot of what we used to do by hand, and again if you have not seen this, take a look around, it’s there.  The technology swing in healthcare is just getting started, we will be using more devices and have more information before we get to see our doctors in the future, it is what it is, and some of it is about as intrusive, disruptive  and impersonal as it can get, but I don’t think there’s any stopping progress here, so we need to adapt somehow and keep a healthy level of a state of mental well being.  That challenge is huge, everywhere.”

“Goldman executives are perplexed by the resentment directed at their bank and contend the criticism is unjustified.  Goldman Sachs is on pace to pay annual bonuses that will rival the record payouts that it made in 2007, at the height of the bubble. In the last nine months, the bank set aside about $16.7 billion for compensation — on track to pay each of its 31,700 employees close to $700,000 this year. Top producers are expecting multimillion-dollar paydays.”

Would Goldman short the Health Care stocks to zero if reform goes through?  This is a good question and something to think about, really think about.  Goldman has the latest version of the Inslaw/PTECH/PROMS software and front runs the market including their own clients, that's how they get their money through software with accelerated business intelligence algorithm and aggregation capabilities.

High frequency and flash trading have been the key elements to Goldman’s success, the running of the algorithms.  High frequency to us data folks is about like having a T5 line and leasing out space or access and that’s exactly what this is and that comes at a cost, fee, etc. so more money made here for the brokers and no data trail to see who they are as it comes back to a broker’s IP address, no log in, just massive access with servers and computers piled high with Xeon high powered processors to cut out the competition within 1/30th of a second.  You can see from the picture on the right there’s one less area for the data to move through as well. 

And so what do those big money makers use:  Robotic Investing Software and you can buy some robots online, but you can bet it’s not all the proprietary code that Goldman uses. 

One company said set your algos and go golf, the robot will do the rest, so that’s how they do it with the right hardware and connections.  So this is how they live, set the algos and can spend the rest of the day leisurely or adjust the robot at any time.  This is what makes big bonuses, basically wagering. 

Back to healthcare, I noticed about six hospitals in the news today with layoffs and one in New England closing.  Next question, what happens when the folks that run the robots need healthcare, do they think about it?  Why are their executives perplexed with thoughts of resentment and anger from the rest of us?  They can’t figure that out?   Health insurers do the same thing, it’s in the algos and we need to get up to par and have an SEC with enough business intelligence to audit and find the “dark pools” before we all become members of someone’s dark pool of another kind.  BD 

A survey of the nation’s top CEOs indicates business conditions are improving. I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling it. So who, exactly, is benefiting from the bullish outlook?

If you work for Goldman Sachs, which today announced quarterly profits of $3.2 billion while setting aside $5.4 billion for compensation, you’re a happy camper. But if you’re among the 9.8 percent of Americans that are unemployed - a 25-year record - you’re probably not in the mood to celebrate just yet.

It sort of makes you wonder. Just a year after a near collapse of the entire banking system, bankers are making record profits and compensation while the rest of the nation has record unemployment. Moreover, reports from the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (as reported by the Wall Street Journal) indicate that the vast majority of stimulus funds have yet to be spent and the number of jobs added or saved is relatively moderate.

I could be wrong, but it’s starting to look like we bailed out the banks and nobody else.

The Banks are Recovering - Are You? | The Corner Office | BNET

Technorati Tags: Wall Street,Heatlhcare reform,Goldman,greed,hospitals,economy,robotic investing,algorithms,dark pools

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Rheos Implanted Device Controls Blood Pressure – CE Marked in Europe and Cost Study in the US

The  surgery and the cost of the device itself would be around $20,000 and the study was to determine of using a device versus drugs would be cost effective.  The study patients that participated were those with drug resistant blood pressure control issues at stage 2.  The device called a Rheos, lowers blood pressure by 30 to 35mm Hg.  It is approved for use in Europe but not yet in the US. 

In addition other studies are on going for the use with congestive heart failure patients.   Surgery takes 2- 3 hours, 2 incisions are made in the neck to place the device and requires a short stay in the hospital.   We are getting more implants available today for sure, so gee I could have a defibrillator , an implant for depression, and so on, so I guess that wireless power device they are working on to power multiple devices should get here soon (grin).  BD

A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates that, for certain patient populations, an experimental device that lowers blood pressure may be a cost effective treatment. The implantable device, called Rheos, is in advanced stages of testing for individuals with drug resistant hypertension.

The Rheos High Blood Pressure or Hypertension Therapy System - which is being developed by CVRx, Inc. of Minneapolis - consists of a battery-powered implantable generator, which is inserted under the skin near the collarbone, and two carotid sinus leads, which run from the generator to the left and right carotid sinus in the neck.

   

The device activates the carotid baroreceptors - a key regulator of the body's cardiovascular system - which prompts signals that are interpreted by the brain as a rise in blood pressure. The brain then works to counteract this perceived rise in blood pressure by sending signals to other parts of the body that relax the blood vessels and inhibit the production of stress-related hormones. These changes enable the heart to increase blood output, while maintaining or reducing its workload, thereby reducing blood pressure when it is elevated and alleviating the symptoms of heart failure.

Rheos is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials at sites throughout the U.S., including Rochester where physicians were the first in the nation to implant the device back in 2005. The device is also being used in a newer study which is evaluating its utility in treating patients with congestive heart failure.

Cost effectiveness of blood pressure device evaluated

Technorati Tags: high blood Pressure,hypertension,medical devices,CVRX,healthcare,implants,generator,RHEOS

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CBS Doc Dot Com Talks with Dr. Oz And His Crusade for Healthcare

In this interview and video, Dr. Oz puts some faces to what we hear in the news, and reflects back on his free healthcare day in Houston from a few weeks ago.  He states to be sure and look up centers that have physicians and others who donate their time if you need help and not to go without.  BD

National Association of Free Clinics. 

'The Dr. Oz Show' and the National Association of Free Clinics Host One Day of Free Public HealthCare

" Dr. Jon LaPook talks with Dr. Mehmet Oz about free healthcare clinics. And, Dr. LaPook, a gastroenterologist, offers his services to a man in need of treatment.

Dr. Oz's Health Crusade - CBS News Video

Technorati Tags: Dr. Oz,healthcare,healthcare reform,Dr LaPook,physicians,doctors,CBS. doctors,Houston

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AMA Going to Bat to Help Congress Pass Bill to Increase Physician Medicare Payment

The AMA is seeking for a permanent repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula.  This comes up right about this time every year as we have seen in the past with everyone holding their breath until the last minute.  If this gets done they could maybe even pick up some new members or re-attract lost membership.

A new television campaign is to follow, sample video below.  The AMA states it is time for more than just a band aid fix, as if it is not done there are the consequences of seniors having even more difficulty finding a physician as many more will choose not to see seniors.   To avoid this happening, the law needs to be changed to stop the algorithms that calculate pay to go into effect if there is no action.  BD

The nation's largest medical society is jumping into action right away on a campaign to help the Senate Democratic leadership pass a bill next week to would hike their pay rates.
The American Medical Association (AMA) announced Thursday that it is launching a national television advertising campaign to push senators to pass the bill, even though centrist Democrats and all Republicans are concerned that it would add to the federal budget deficit.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to begin debate next week on a bill, which would cost around $240 billion over 10 years and not be offset by budget cuts or tax increases, just before the Senate opens its fight over the healthcare reform package Reid is in the process of finalizing.

Doctors come out firing for Medicare pay fix - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Technorati Tags: AMA,Healthcare reform,algorithms,Medicare,Physicians pay,Medicare fees,Congress

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Biosense Webster Receives FDA Clearance for the CARTO® 3 System – Catheter Mapping and Placement

Navigation for catheter placement is going high tech as well.  With the rise of interventional technologies, this allows the interventional cardiologist or radiologist to ensure exact placement through better visual processes.

The system also integrates with other technologies, something we hear a lot about with Health IT, and this is further evidence of technology leading the way with integrating imaging from other software, such as a DICOM image to be imported into the software.

Who would have ever thought the words “plug and play” and “point and click” would be utilized with healthcare a few years ago, but it goes to show the importance of computer technology and how it creates accuracy and saves lives by reducing error.  Given a choice of an X-Ray or 3D modeling there’s not much to say as far as which could offer the best visual mapping capabilities with catheters.  BD 

“Leading-edge technology creates a map as fast you can move the catheter allowing the rapid creation of high-resolution, CT-like maps with proven CARTO System accuracy”

State-of-the-Art Navigational Mapping System Offers Unique Combination of Accuracy, Speed and Efficiency DIAMOND BAR, Calif.--(Business Wire)-- Biosense Webster, Inc., a worldwide leader in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing the CARTO® 3 System, the most advanced three-dimensional imaging technology for use by electrophysiologists in treating cardiac arrhythmias, commonly referred to as irregular heart rhythms. It is estimated that 20 million people in the United States suffer from some sort of arrhythmia. Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib as it`s more commonly known, is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia affecting between 2.3 to 5.6 million adults in the United States alone and is the leading cause of stroke among people 65 years and older.

Earlier this year, the FDA approved the NAVISTAR® THERMOCOOL® Catheter,including its bidirectional EZ STEER® Catheter platform, as safe and effectivefor the treatment of drug refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrialfibrillation when used with the CARTO® System. The NAVISTAR® THERMOCOOL®Catheters are the first and the only ablation catheters approved by the FDA forthe treatment of AFib.

CONNECTION OF CHOICE™ is enabled by the brand new CARTO® System hardware configuration featuring a central connection point for all catheters and equipment while preserving the signal quality of intracardiac electrograms. Catheter connections have been re-designed for "plug-and-play" functionality and automatic catheter recognition. All of these enhancements have been developed to streamline and simplify workflow in the EP lab.

Biosense Webster Receives FDA Clearance for the CARTO® 3 System | Reuters

Technorati Tags: catherters,mapping,placement,3D,technology,DICOM,navigation,integration,Healthcare,heart disease,interventional medicine,Johnson and Johnson,Biosense Webster,cardiology

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Work Furloughs at California Medical Board – CMA Files Lawsuit as the Agency Not Funded by the State

The California Medical Association may in fact have a good case as this agency is not funded by the state, but rather license fees paid by the physicians.  So why is this an issue?  With furloughs and not having the availability to get new physicians out into practice and the time to investigate malpractice cases, it puts everything miles behind.

We all read about cases that need attention and this makes the process even longer.  At a time when there is a call for more physicians, perhaps not a good time to delay getting more out there in California.  Furloughs are up to 3 days a week and the CMA wants the state to stop borrowing from this agency as it is holding up processing of licenses and other duties the Medical Board has before it.  Right now with the healthcare debate and reform in process this might get some quick action I would guess.  BD  

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is illegally exacerbating an "imminent crisis in healthcare" because forced worker furloughs are delaying the state Medical Board's approval of applications from 7,200 new doctors, says a lawsuit filed by the California Medical Association.

Most of the doctors are fresh out of residency training and ready to go.

"By raiding the special fund that supports the Medical Board, and by imposing debilitating furloughs on its staff, the state is obstructing the Medical Board from ensuring that more duly licensed physicians can deliver health care to Californians," according to the CMA lawsuit. The documents were filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court. The applications, the lawsuit claims, are "mired in the backlog."

Additionally, CMA officials are concerned that the furloughs are delaying malpractice investigations, which is keeping the board from "discharging its mandate to protect the public through its investigatory and disciplinary responsibilities." Since only 17% of disciplinary investigations result in an public accusation, the cloud over the remaining 83% of the accused physicians' practices is allowed to unnecessarily persist, Do says.

Until the malpractice issue is resolved, doctors under investigation must disclose the issues to their medical groups, hospitals, and health plans—and may even lose privileges at a practice or hospital in the interim.

Doctors Sue California for Raiding Their Licensing Fees - www.healthleadersmedia.com

Technorati Tags: CMA,California Medical Association,California Medical Board,Law Suits,healthcare reform,doctors,physicians,Schwarzenegger,furlough

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UMass Memorial Health Care Using Software as a Service for Physicians to Connect and Receive Clinical Results in Office Practice EMRs

More news on hospitals and physicians getting connected in Massachusetts.  This will add even more value and less expense in potentially duplicating tests that have already been done for patients and for the physicians information from the hospital files.  From the other side of the coin, the hospital will be able to receive direct orders from the physician, a win-win for both sides.  There was no mention of which practice EMRs could participate and the exact process, but I’m sure there will be more information later on.  BD

Accenx(TM), a leading provider of health information exchange and interoperability solutions, announced today that UMass Memorial Health Care, clinical partner of University of Massachusetts Medical School and the largest healthcare system in Central and Western Massachusetts, has selected the Accenx Exchange(TM) interoperability platform to rapidly establish a health information exchange with its community physicians. 

UMass Memorial was recently recognized by Information Week as among the most innovative healthcare organizations in the country, and is committed to achieving the benefits of improved quality, enhanced patient safety, and greater efficiency inherent from realizing the vision of connected healthcare. UMass Memorial services cover the complete health care continuum, with UMass Memorial Medical Center, its academic medical center, member and affiliated community hospitals, freestanding primary care practices, ambulatory outpatient clinics, home health agencies, hospice programs, a rehabilitation group and mental heath services. 

Utilizing a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, Accenx Exchange will enable UMass Memorial to deliver clinical results directly to the physician practices EMR, as well as receiving orders directly from the physician.

UMass Memorial Health Care to implement Accenx' interoperability platform for physician practice integration

Technorati Tags: UMass Memorial,Software as a Service,Memorial Health,Massachusetts,heathcare IT,Accenx,integration

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Lilly Sells Manufacturing Plant in Indiana to German Chemical Company

The good news though is that it appears employees will be offered jobs with the new owner.  The sale is perhaps an omen to how some of big pharma is getting ready for additional generic drug competition.  BD 

BOSTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) said on Wednesday that it had agreed to sell one of its manufacturing facilities to German chemical company Evonik Industries AG EVON.UL as it braces for generic competition to several of its most important drugs.

 

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said it would take a charge of 23 cents a share in the third quarter to cover restructuring costs and asset impairment.

Lilly said about 700 employees at its Tippecanoe Laboratories facility in Lafayette, Indiana, would be offered new employment at Evonik. The plant produces active pharmaceutical ingredients and specialty

UPDATE 2-Eli Lilly sells manufacturing plant, takes charge | Industries | Healthcare | Reuters

Technorati Tags: Lilly,Evonik,pharma,drugs,generic drugs,healthcare,acquisitions

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