Some of the hospitals went bankrupt and are now trying to recover.  Hawaii has been a focus of telemedicine more so perhaps than other states and it also stands to represent some potential savings.  The report states in the long run for next year, things are not going to get much better with current economic conditions and people losing their health insurance.  BD 

HONOLULU — Hawaii's 16 hospitals are continuing to lose money.

That's the finding of a study the Ernst & Young accounting firm conducted for the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

It says the island hospitals had operating losses of $187 million in 2008. That's on top of $212 million in losses reported for 2007.

Looking to the future, Fujii says hospital losses likely will spike next year as unemployed people run out of temporary COBRA insurance and more uninsured people go to emergency rooms.

The Associated Press: Report: Hawaii hospitals continue to lose money

Technorati Tags: Hawaii,Desperate Hospitals,healthcare,health insurance,economy,Cobra,healthcare reform

The US military is making November a target month for awareness and education on what breakthroughs are happening in medicine and how it will affect not only their lives, but families as well.  Integration – they get it. 

This is a great effort and we need this for non military US citizens too.  Education is the first step in continuing on with participation.  In addition, there’s a press release below for a town hall meeting for all military members to attend via the web with questions and answers on H1N1.  BD 

The MHS observes Military Medical Technologies Month in November in an effort to educate service members and their families on current and future technological breakthroughs in medicine that will keep the MHS at the forefront of health care delivery.

The military consistently adapts technologies to best serve wounded warriors. The MHS also has extensive rehabilitation and prosthesis technologies and capabilities available to service members and their families.

Our goal is to ensure that all service members and their families understand the medical technology resources available to them and the easy access to quality care.

Military is using robotic doctors too

MHS to Answer H1N1 Questions Online (Press Release)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Military Health System (MHS) will host a Web-based town hall on Nov. 10 from 3 to 4 p.m. EST to respond to questions about novel H1N1 influenza.

Military service members, their families, and health care providers and Department of Defense civilians may submit questions starting today, Nov. 2, using the comments box at www.health.mil/flu. As many as possible of the questions submitted in advance, as well as questions asked throughout the live event, will be answered during the Web hall. A transcript of all questions and answers will be posted to the site after the event.

“We want to keep service members and their families informed about the H1N1 flu and the Department of Defense’s vaccination strategy,” said Michael E. Kilpatrick, M.D., director of strategic communications for the Military Health System. “We want to answer your questions directly, so please join us online on November 10."

Subject matter experts from the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness, the Military Vaccine Agency, TRICARE Management Activity and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are scheduled to participate in the Web hall to provide accurate, up-to-date information about the H1N1 flu and vaccine.

Participants in the Web hall are asked to limit questions to H1N1 flu-related topics and to refrain from disclosing personal information, to protect their privacy. When possible, service members should contact their chain of command to resolve issues.

Media are encouraged to submit queries to the MHS press office directly.

To participate in the Web hall, visit: www.health.mil/flu

Press Releases/Advisories - MHS to Answer H1N1 Questions Online

Technorati Tags: MHS,military,healthcare,technology,rehabilitation,prosthetics,healthcare delivery,integration,H1N1,education

This is a prototype, but the fact that nerve endings can be connected to a device is amazing to connect with signals from the brain.  BD 

 

London, England (CNN) -- Researchers are working on a breakthrough in artificial limb technology -- a prosthetic hand that can actually feel.

The SmartHand project is funded by the European Union and is a collaboration between researchers from across the continent. It has produced a prototype motorized prosthetic hand that researchers say gives unprecedented sensory feedback.

The artificial hand that can 'feel' - CNN.com

Technorati Tags: Smart Hand,prosthetics,feeling,amputees,science,medical devices,healthcare,neurology,surgery

This is a good overall video that opens up discussion on where wireless technology, cell phones is headed and compares some of the uses in India to perhaps something we could use here.  The Android phone and it’s potential is discussed.  Also mentioned is the study on Participatory Sensing being conducted at UCLA and I have mentioned it a couple times recently here on the blog.  Now that everyone could have the ability to take pictures, communicate, get medical stats, etc. what is the level that makes sense for realistic use, that’s a loaded question.  I ponder that one quite a bit myself.  Realistic is the key word here to be able to function with all of the capabilities and not have excessive distraction and intrusion keep us from doing what we need to do, like our jobs. 

Participatory Sensing – Medical Devices Reporting Data and Their Use

Sty tuned as there will be a lot more to come on this challenging issue, and I mean a lot, especially when you begin speaking about devices that report personal data, their use, and privacy.  We still need some algorithmic centric laws to govern all of this too, if anyone in Congress happens to be listening.  BD 

“We’re in the adolescence of the mobile and wireless revolution,” White House Deputy Director for Policy in the Office of Science and Technology Tom Kalil declared during a presentation at the Mobile Future luncheon in Washington D.C. this week. Kalil explained that wireless technology could help improve (and in some cases has already improved) the U.S. education system, the U.S. healthcare system and the country’s push for a carbon-neutral energy system.

Kalil said that the Administration is now trying to determine what “ambitious” but “realistic” goals we should be setting to use wireless technologies to solve national challenges, including healthcare. Kalil said that part of that discussion needs to examine legal and regulatory barriers; consider establishing prizes like the Android Developer challenge; fund research to determine the benefits of these solutions; and create fora for multi-sector collaboration, like the mHealth Alliance, which is a partnership between Vodafone Foundation, UN Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation to support wireless health initiatives in developing markets.

White House: Wireless health is “really promising” | mobihealthnews

Technorati Tags: Wireless,Healthcare,Science and Technology,mobility,cell phones,mobile health,Android,participatory sensing,legal barriers,regulatory barriers,devices reporting data

Guests and topics from Health Tech Today will run 15-20 minutes for each show and the first show is due to air on November 10th.  A short while back I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Crounse and as well as being a physician I learned he has a background in television broadcasting too, so this lead to the creation of Health Tech Today, bringing videos to the web showing Health IT as it is being used and discussed around the world.  The first video as you can see in the trailer features Desmond Tutu.  He is communicating via a Microsoft HD webcam.  Some of the interviews will be done in the studio in Redmond while others will take advantage of Live Messenger so variety is on the menu. 

This will be a monthly feature with several guests and each segment can be viewed separately or you will be able to watch the entire presentation.  The presentations are broadcast in Silverlight as is the trailer below, so make sure you have the Silverlight web add on or extension included in your browser.  BD 

Health Tech Today

Health Tech Today with Dr. Bill Crounse is a monthly online series providing cutting-edge stories at the intersection of health and information technology. The show features informative interviews with some of the world's top health leaders; compelling health-related personal stories; and the latest new technology and IT innovations.

This is a preview of the Health Tech Today show. To view the entire show, please visit us on November 10.

One Hell of a Training Program Needed – The Bottom Line to Success ...

Health Tech Today with Dr. Bill Crounse

Technorati Tags: Health Tech Today,Bill Crounse,Microsoft,healthcare,Heatlh IT,innovations,interviews

Many employers provided the vaccines and put in requests to receive them, but the last line in this article is what I find somewhat strange, why did Morgan Stanley get their allotment ahead of the hospitals in the first place.  Who’s running the distribution here when we have people frantically trying to find the vaccine?  BD

NEW YORK – Some of New York's biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged.

Hospitals, universities and the Federal Reserve Bank also got doses of the vaccine for employees who need it the most, such as pregnant women or chronically ill workers, according to the city's health department.

Goldman Sachs has received 200 doses, and Citigroup has received 1,200, health officials said.

In statements, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs said the vaccine would only go to those in high-risk groups.

"Goldman Sachs, like other responsible employers, has requested vaccine and will supply it only to employees who qualify," spokesman Ed Canaday said.

Morgan Stanley received 1,000 doses of the vaccine for its New York and suburban offices, but the company turned over its entire supply to local hospitals when it learned it received shipments before some area hospitals, spokeswoman Jeanmarie McFadden said.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup got swine flu vaccine - Yahoo! News

Technorati Tags: H1N1,Swine Flu,Goldman,Morgan Stanley,healthcare,vaccines,Citigroup

One of the targets for the software would be individuals with chronic disease, to see if the voice patterns might relate to depression.  Well I could almost guess anyone with any chronic care disease could potentially fall into being depressed a little bit even, again depending on what disease is being managed and just the personality of the individual and now the computer is going to attempt to let us know if we miss it, all in the algorithms.  BD 

It's a common complaint in any communication breakdown: "It's not what you said, it's how you said it." For professor Sandy Pentland and his group at MIT's Media Lab, the tone and pitch of a person's voice, the length and frequency of pauses and speed of speech can reveal  much about his or her mood.

In much the same way, Cogito Health's software detects specific patterns in vocal recordings. For example, the researchers have developed mathematical models to measure a speaker's consistency in tone, fluidity of speech, level of vocal energy, and level of engagement in the conversation (for example, whether someone responds with "uh-huh's" or with silence). "It listens to the pattern of speech, not the words," says Pentland, a scientific advisor to the company. "By measuring those signals in the background, you can tell what's going on."

Feast says the software could be a valuable tool in managing patients with chronic diseases, which often lead to depression. As part of certain disease-management programs, nurses routinely call patients between visits to ask if they are taking their medication. However, symptoms of depression are more difficult for nurses to identify. Feast says voice analysis software could provide a natural and noninvasive way for nurses to screen for depression during routine phone calls. "If you're a nurse and you're trying to deal with a patient with long-term diabetes, it's very hard to tell if a person is depressed," says Feast. "We try to help nurses detect possible mood disorders in patients that have chronic disease."

Technology Review: Software Listens for Hints of Depression

Technorati Tags: Algorithms,speech recognition,Cogito,depression,healthcare,chronic health conditions

Four individuals were arrested today at the sit in.  These are non violent protests that are asking for a single payer system and getting arrested to bring it to the forefront.  Recently the group has been sitting in at insurance company headquarters and in Rhode Island, one group stated that United has granted their wish for a direct meeting with the CEO.  The group in Rhode Island also had a cancer victim with them who has had no success in getting answers for 5 years, so that may have made some impact.  Today, the sit ins were protecting the fact that Senator Lieberman has had such generous contributions from Aetna.  Lieberman has threatened to join a filibuster if any government plan is included in healthcare bills.  BD  

Nine protesters were arrested Thursday in a demonstration at the office of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to demand that he pledge to stop accepting from the health insurance industry.

Lieberman, who last week said he would join a GOP filibuster of any health care bill with a government-run public option, has accepted about $1.5 million from health professionals and insurance agencies since 2003, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Twenty protesters, including four student from the University of Connecticut, marched into the senator's office in the morning and demanded to speak with him. Aides denied their request, offering constituents a closed-door meeting with two legislative aides, which was rejected. Nine protesters then staged a sit-in, saying they would not leave the office until they could have a discussion with the senator in person.

Lieberman did not arrive, though he was in the building, preparing to chair a Homeland Security Committee hearing on business formation and financial crime.

"It's ironic Lieberman is chairing this meeting on corporate crimes," said Medea Benjamin, who characterized the practice of accepting campaign donations from health insurance companies as criminal.

The demonstration was organized by the Mobilization for Health Care for All, which has been staging rallies and sit-ins in front of insurance companies since September. So far, 150 people have been arrested, and the organization promises to continue its actions.

Nine Arrested Protesting Lieberman's Healthcare Stance

Technorati Tags: Mobiliation for Heatlhcare,Sit Ins,Aetna,Lieberman,Connecticut,healthcare reform,single payor

I thought this was interesting to view by today’s comparison and published it just for that reason and not to discourage flu shots by any means.  It had been such a number of years, that I myself had completely forgotten that a Swine Flu potential pandemic had actually occurred in the past and that vaccines were given out. 

 

Flu shots were a bit different a number of years ago.  60 Minutes showed this report and then it was buried.  Today we have a lot more information available as well.  The video shows a woman who had some problems with the vaccine.  Again the technology and science we have today far exceeds what was available 30 years ago.  BD 

 

CBS " 60 MINUTES" documentary on the swine flu epidemics of 1976 in the U.S. It went on air only once and was never shown again.
For more infos: www.personocratia.com

Dailymotion - Swine Flu 1976 & Propaganda - une vidéo Expression Libre

Technorati Tags: Swine Flu,H1N1,healthcare,60 Minutes,pandemic influenza,flu shot,allergies

We have yet one more device to enter the arena.  The Gruve was developed on conjunction with Mayo Clinic.  The push is for employers to incorporate the product for use in wellness programs, although you can certainly buy on yourself.  I originally wrote about the product a few months ago.

The Muve Gruve Device Measures your Inactivity – Intrusive Technology with a Human Audit Trail?

If you are large enough, you the “Muvologist” to come out and set up all the employees on the use of the product.  This one runs around $300, which of late we saw the Fitbit at $100, so I’ not sure on what exactly is the big difference here with the two products other than Muve may have the Mayo Clinic studies in line with their product. 

I still believe all this information that goes to websites for all these devices should pass through a PHR, personal health record first to allow access.  With the way security is today and scams all over the web, I think that is only a fair precautionary measure as well as being able to choose who you want to have access AND know where you data is stored.  This is important and it’s going to even be more important in the upcoming year to implement such devices without being intrusive and disruptive. 

Participatory Sensing from CENS at UCLA

Participatory Sensing – Medical Devices Reporting Data for Patient Compliance

The above 2 articles discuss some issues that need to be addressed with using devices.  Let’s say you already have a phone and maybe one other biometric devices, are we overdone?  As you can read below companies such as Best Buy have already incorporated the product into their wellness program.  I’ll have to look next time I’m in one of their stores and see if I find anyone using it.  They are not the first as Target works with Red Brick Insurance to add biometric monitoring to their programs as well.  Overall I think having it and using on your own or with a group is fine, but have serious doubts and wonders about how secure all the transmitted information is when used with wellness programs where you are not in control of the data.

It’s a major war right now “to get your data”, in God we trust, all the rest bring data if you want healthcare it seems.  I just think the company somewhat blew it a bit by not placing one of these on every member of Congress so they could understand how devices are quickly entering the area of healthcare.  Perhaps the Office of the Attending Physician could make room for a “Muvologist”, as if it good for us, shouldn’t it be good for them.  By doing such I think it would help everyone by adding participants at the top levels of our government, entering into the world of participation.  BD

Our Gruve is an amazing piece of technology! This little device provides you with a personalized, quantifiable measure of your activities and the calories you burn throughout your day.
The Gruve uses an Omni directional accelerometer to measure activity intensity and duration. Synchronizing your Gruve device with our Gruve web site gives you the ability to view your own daily calorie burn and track your weight loss progress.

Product Description: We have developed the Gruve Solution™, a patent-pending weight management
system that tracks energy expenditure with a wearable device, an accompanying online service and our
Muvology™ consulting services. Our product is unique in that it allows an individual to accurately track
their personal caloric burn throughout the day and determine the amount of activity needed to exceed
their caloric intake and lose weight. Our Gruve device uses an Omni directional accelerometer to
measure activity intensity and duration. Synchronizing the Gruve device with our Gruve web site gives
the customer the ability to view their daily calorie burn and track their weight loss progress. We are
currently providing our scientifically-tested

Customers: Companies such as Medica, Mercy Hospital Cedar Rapids, General Mills, Best Buy, U.S.
Bank, Emerson Process Management, and Salo have all implemented the Gruve Solution with the
objective of lowering health care costs while their employees become more healthy and active. We are
also selling to the individual consumer through both online and offline retail channels.

Muvology™

The science of adding activity into your daily routine.

Muve, Inc. is able to provide both motivation and support to our customers through our trained Muvologists™. Our Muvologists are placed onsite to support each employee throughout the entire Gruve™ experience from the initial assessment and goal setting phase, all the way through to completion of the program. Muvologists will also help employees develop long term plans which integrate all of the learning from the Gruve program.

Our Muvologists have been trained in the areas of activity based weight loss, exercise, physiology, nutrition, and psychology. Muvologists have also been trained in Kinetic Ergonomics™ so they can analyze the current work environment, make suggestions for creating an active work space and help to implement healthy changes for employees.

When you combine the insight and support of a Muvologist with the Gruve device and Gruve Online™, the result is increased activity levels and better health.

MUVE - Track your calorie burn and fitness in real time

Related Reading:

The Human Audit Trail to automatically track your fitness and sleep and a few other things…

The Wellness Programs: Payouts to Those Who Work Out - Insurers give discounts on premiums

High-tech gadgets hit doctor-patient relationships and more..

Technorati Tags: Health Insurance,Healthcare,Wellness Programs,fitness monitoring,Big Brother,premiums,incentives,employer insurance,Muve Gruve,intrusive technology,weight Loss,Mayo,Best Buy

This is a great video found by Medgadget, and so very true.  These are real people working with devices and gadgets, real reactions and what we do when we get a bit frustrated too.  This can really apply everywhere, even outside of healthcare with the number of new devices/gadgets that are appearing every day it seems.  I think I have felt exactly like some of the folks in this film at times.  BD 

Oh Shnocks! The state of healthcare technology in '09 from Healthcare Human Factors on Vimeo.

The Healthcare Human Factors Group from Canada's University Health Network produced a short comic video that gives a sense of what it's like to deal with all the gadgetry in a modern hospital

The state of healthcare technology in '09" (Medgadget)

Technorati Tags: Medical devices,medical devices reporting data,gadgets,healthcare,technology,humor,satire

Senator Rockefeller is convinced they are not being told the truth, and there might just be something to that, as in California the State has inquired and brought investigations about several times.  Several states have also looked into the amount of “reserves”, in other words rainy day money that is stockpiled as well. 

Are you insured by a technology or insurance company ...

I have wondered some of this myself with recent news announcements with millions of dollars to be spent on projects that are technology related to healthcare. 

United health to spend tens of million of dollars with Cisco

Again, it comes back to the algorithms and what they use for business models and the algos only put out the numbers they are programmed to submit.  BD

Insurance Companies Under Attack with Lawsuits – Generated by their own Algorithms

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Health insurance companies were asked on Tuesday for information on pricing for small businesses, the latest example of U.S. lawmakers putting pressure on the industry as Congress considers how to expand coverage to more Americans.

The chairman of the Senate health committee sent letters to Aetna Inc (AET.N), Humana Inc (HUM.N), UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) and WellPoint (WLP.N) following reports that small companies could expect a 15 percent rate hike next year.

On Monday, Rockefeller said an analysis shows for-profit health insurers are using less of collected premium dollars to pay for actual health care services than had previously been made public.

The industry has said 87 cents of every premium dollar goes toward care, while an analysis released by Rockefeller said the amount was between 74 cents and 84 cents.

"They're just lying," the West Virginia Democrat told reporters on Tuesday.

US sen. asks health insurers about small businesses | Industries | Healthcare | Reuters

Related Reading:

Obama Suggesting New Agency to Protect Consumers – A “Department of Algorithms” Would Work

Update Cisco Lays Off Hundreds - UnitedHealth ...

OptumHealth (Subsidiary of UnitedHealthCare) Teams Up With American Well for 24/7 Physician Consults

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Technology,Cisco,healthcare,Health IT,United Healthcare,Health 2.0,Algorithms,education,healthcare reform,training

Yes, this thing is ugly and looks gross and in healthcare we worry about the real ones for sure.  I’m not quite sure what the intent here was for this device or exactly what it’s purpose is other than to bring an awareness around to what a tumor looks like.  

This is one is chocked up to the weird and strange files, who would want a tumor on their computer, we have a hard enough time with viruses.  BD 

This "Mechanical Tumor" plugs into your computer, looking very fleshy and realistic. As your computer runs, it quivers and pulses, growing as your computer works harder.

Mechanical Tumor Is the Grossest Computer Peripheral Ever - Mechanical tumor - Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: Tumor,computer,CPU monitor,technology,Japan,Strange

With healthcare reform carrying center spotlight, it’s never a bad idea to look around and see what others are doing to provide healthcare for their citizens.  This video shows people with dual citizenship who have experienced both, and granted the US is a much larger entity than Israel so our problem is larger of course.

One item worth mentioning is that everyone gets care, even though taxes are higher and based on income levels.  One item they have in common with us in the US is the pay for physicians, a problem as some are talking about potentially looking elsewhere.  Actually physician’s pay could become a global issue as just due to technology their job descriptions are changing rapidly.  The physician of the future involves use of technology in all areas and thus with automation, as what has happened in other industries, the compensation goes down.  In healthcare though, this is a very touchy area as the product is “us”, the people, so cutting costs and reassembling business models is not like and never will be like any other business. 

There is competition from 3 or 4 HMOs for patients to choose from so there is access for all, the video explains the system in further detail.  Again, last week at the Global Healthcare Tourism Conference, I learned that Israel is also looking to expand their market in this area as well.  BD  

Americans who hold dual Israeli-American citizenship often engage in the never ending ping-pong game of ““x” is better in the old country” – whichever country one may have emigrated from – to which the second or third generation native would volley “No, “x” is better here;” and so on. For the small stuff, the game generally ends in the Talmudic ‘taiku’ or draw. But for the big stuff, the issues that are approached in different ways in the two countries, we could learn from each other if only we would listen to each other and consider adopting that which is helpful.

Socialized Medicine in Israel

Technorati Tags: Israel,Socialized medicine,heatlhcare,insurance,physicians pay,healthcare reform,patients

Medco is a large pharmacy benefit manager that most are probably familiar with.  They have 2 locations and all the filling, printing, etc. of your prescriptions is done via automation.  You can use this link to view a video and watch how it is all done.  While the orders are being filled in the factor, they are printing the information upstairs in the offices to go along with the prescription.  During the interview, the gal asks “do you have any real people working here'”, again this relates to the high level of technology used and they further elaborate on how much faster they are than the retail pharmacy we use as well.

In the news this week, Medco stated they were not actively looking to purchase other companies, but will keep the doors open to prospect when opportunities become available.  Many companies now in their benefits packages are using mail order/internet pharmacy benefit managers as the default selection, so to use a local pharmacy you need to select that choice over a mail order PBM.  BD

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) today reported record third-quarter 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.69, up 19.0 percent compared to $0.58 for the third quarter of 2008. Adjusting for the amortization of intangible assets that existed when Medco became a publicly traded company in 2003, third-quarter 2009 diluted earnings per share increased 19.0 percent to $0.75, from $0.63 in the third quarter of 2008. With continuing strong performance expected for the remainder of the year, GAAP diluted EPS for 2009 is now projected to grow 21 to 22 percent. On top of this increased 2009 growth expectation, 2010 GAAP diluted EPS is projected to grow an additional 17 to 22 percent. 

Medco continues to demonstrate strong momentum in the marketplace. Annualized 2009 new-named and net-new sales stand at records of more than $10 billion and more than $8 billion, respectively. For 2010, annualized new-named sales climbed from the $2.8 billion reported last quarter to $4.1 billion, and net-new sales have also surpassed the $4 billion mark.

Medco Health Solutions reports third-quarter total net revenues of $14.8 billion

Technorati Tags: Medco,pharmacy benefit managers,healthcare,pharma,technology,pharmacists,profits,mail order pharmacy

The company reported a better than expected result.  As with most of the other carriers, the employer ranks continue to fall as either it’s too expensive or small employers are dropped.  BD 

Humana, the health insurer, posted on Monday a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit, as bulging membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage overcame a lackluster commercial segment.

But the company said enrollment in its plans sold to employers fell by 7.6 percent from a year ago, contributing to a pretax loss in its commercial segment.

Profit at Humana Rises 65% - NYTimes.com

Technorati Tags: Humana,health insurance,profits,Part D. Medicare Advantage

Last year in 2008 in the same quarter Tenet had a profit.  They are faced with all the same issues as all hospitals have today, less money to go around.  BD 

Tenet Healthcare Corp. lost money in the third quarter but still boosted year-end projections.

"While the economy has had some effect year-to-date, it remains less than we would have expected in the context of rising unemployment levels in many of our markets," Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter said. 

For the three months that ended Sept. 30, Tenet lost $3 million, or 1 cent per share, compared with a net income of $104 million, or 22 cents per share, during the third quarter of 2008.

Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 2 cents per share.

Tenet Healthcare boosts outlook despite $3 million loss in third quarter | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Dallas Business News

Technorati Tags: Tenet,healthcare,hospital,stocks,CEO,Dallas,health insurance

As proposed in the draft rule in July, the new physician fee schedule also eliminates payment for consultation codes, which will reduce payments for cardiology consultation services.  If CMS is using the survey from the AMA and there was such a small return and this is the basis for the cut, I guess it would appear be sure and answer their surveys?   They may have had better luck on Sermo for a matter like this.

This is hard to believe and all it will do is create a shortage in cardiology.  If you have ever had heart problems and need help, you don’t want these folks to go away and only be available only at the hospital as the care will not be the same.  As the article states, those on Medicare will have to check into the hospital to be seen, where they have coverage.  Perhaps things will change around here as they did this week for radiation oncologists, which were also facing a big cut, and that has now been reversed to a small cut of 1% a year for a total of 5%.  Also, the respondents of the survey had a large number of are already hospital based.  

In other related Cardiology news, one interventional cardiologist is filing a lawsuit over the loss of his job, stemming back to his complaints about  violations of the Massachusetts Healthcare Whistleblower Act where he was pressured to use products from Medtronic and was not protected under the law, so working for the hospital could have some downsides too with areas such as this.  BD 

In a move that threatens the continued existence of out-patient, cardiological care, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced rate cuts approaching 40% in the amounts paid for key diagnostic tests utilized in the treatment and monitoring of heart related disease.

The cuts are the direct result of a decision made by the CMS to adopt a survey conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) – and a pretty poor survey at that.

While the AMA’s survey was sent out to 3500 doctors, only 55 chose to participate – 11 of which were from hospital-based physicians who are not affected by the rate cut. Further, while the questionable survey suggested that costs of cardiology imaging practice have gone down 42% in recent years, there is significant evidence to reveal that those costs have actually increased by about 5% annually.

It is difficult to believe that Medicare is prepared to change the way cardiology is practiced in this country based on what 55 physicians had to say. However, that is precisely what is happening.

Because the rate cuts do not affect physicians practicing inside hospitals, expect many cardiologist to give up private practice and join hospital staffs.
This is hardly the way to convince our seniors that health care reform is a good thing for them. While the Medicare decision probably does not tie into a cost savings required to make the numbers work for reform, (it appears that the money is being robbed from cardiologist Peter to pay primary care physician Paul,) all our seniors will see is that they are no longer able to visit their cardiologist in his or her office for the tests necessary to monitor their cardiac health. If they need the tests, they will have to check into the hospital where the tests will still be covered by their Medicare.

CMS plans cuts to Medicare physician fees for CV imaging

Technorati Tags: Cardiology,Medicare,heatlhcare,provicers,hospital,whistelblower,rates,services,hospitals,AMA. Survey

You have to love these guys, this is funny, so now all the junk foods and mints no longer have a monopoly on what you can buy!  According to the article they are also exploring other areas where the market for an EHR would be good, at the ball game or even at concerts (grin).  I take it this will be the “light” version of the program.  It’s almost like a bit ATM machine, choose your EMR and pull the plug and kiss your money goodbye.  BD 

SEEDIE – The Society for Exorbitantly Expensive and Difficult To Implement EHRs Submits Meaningful Use Recommendations

Brantley Whittington/CEO

“My sole focus is on maximizing shareholder value, period…oh, and improving patient care, too.”

Whittington, a former Wall Street hedge fund manager, has a keen interest in EHR technology that dates back to a 2004 analyst report projecting exponential growth in the healthcare IT sector. Whittington provides leadership and vision, balancing perceived customer needs with the very real demands of Extormity investors.

EMR vendor Extormity announced today that its electronic health record systems will soon be available for purchase in vending machines.

“With the anticipated exponential growth in EMR adoption based on ARRA funding, we noticed that several healthcare IT vendors were pursuing non-traditional channel strategies – including selling EMRs through discount retailers,” said Extormity CEO Brantley Whittington. “We are employing a more innovative approach, namely, vending machines.”

“Now, when you buy a soda and a bag of chips, you can also grab an Extormity EMR,” added Whittington. “Snack foods are no longer the sole domain of the vending machine channel, and with abundant stimulus incentives, obtaining an EMR for your practice will be as commonplace as picking up a package of gum or a roll of mints.”

According to Whittington, Extormity will market a “light” version of its EMR designed for physicians who plan to take advantage of stimulus funds. “Not only will Extormity Light weigh less, it will retail for far less than our fully burdened solutions that generally require bank debt.”

Planned retail for Extormity Light is $43,980, leaving twenty dollars in change to purchase snack cakes and energy drinks for practice staff. Extormity is also investigating alternative vending models, including the sale of EMRs at stadiums, ball parks and concert venues. This approach combines a live sales representative with companion products including beer, peanuts and cotton candy.

About Extormity

Extormity is an electronic health records mega-corporation dedicated to offering highly proprietary, difficult to customize and prohibitively expensive healthcare IT solutions. Our flagship product, the Extormity EMR Software Suite, was recently voted “Most Complex” by readers of a leading healthcare industry publication. Learn more at www.extormity.com

Technorati Tags: EHR,EMR,humor,Seedie,healthcare,medical records,Extormity,ARRA,meaningful use,SEEDIE

The TrialX mobile software looks very nice from the screenshots and is available for use for either a patient or a physician.  I have the TrialX Widget on the blog at all times you can also use to find information.   Clinical Trials keep getting easier to locate.  The software has been recently featured on USA Today. 

If you want to use Twitter for locating trials and receiving updates when they become available, they have that too! 

USA Today Talks About Twitter for HealthCare – Focus on TrialX to Locate Clinical Trials

Here are a few screenshots and more can be seen at the main page.  First of all you select patient or doctor and the screens walk you through the rest.

You get a full description of the trial and can further filter the results, and then it will map the location for you.

After looking at the details, it also has the formatted style to contact an investigator, all done from the phone.  You can do this online as well through the website and the key to using your personal health records is key to the filtering process so you don’t have to filter through many where you might not meet the qualifications.  BD

The TrialX Clinical Trials App enables patients and doctors to find relevant clinical trials near them and connect with the trial investigators in just a few taps. And it's FREE!

TrialX Mobile - Putting clinical trial search in your hands

Related Reading:

Tweeting for Trials – TrialX Wins New York Entrepreneur Week Venture Competition Award

TrialX and CenterWatch Partner to Help Locate Additional Clinical Trial Information - Integrate with Personal Health Records

TrialX Mobile – Find Clinical Trials with an IPhone Coming Soon with Work in Progress

Tweeting for Trials – TrialX Wins New York Entrepreneur Week Venture Competition Award

Clinical Trials in the US – Begin involving the physicians and patients at the point of care to achieve greater success and participation with Personal Health Records

Technorati Tags: Twitter,TrialX.org,Trialx,healthcare,technology,Clinical Trials,HeatlhIT,Web 2.0,USA Today,Google Health,Microsoft Healthvault,PHR,Personal Health Records,iPhones

Who would have ever thought ocean containers would be used to house servers.  This is an interesting video and if they need more room, send in the trucks with the containers.  Microsoft is building a few more of these around the world and I seem to remember a large center in China somewhere  along the line.  When we talk about the “cloud” well this one of the big ones.   I spent many years in logistics and perhaps that is why the container mode is still a funny sort of idea as I saw just about everything else in ocean containers, but high tech years ago would have been the last thing I would have thought of, active high tech. 

This could be the eventual storage facility of your medical records some day.  The article stated there were many Bing posters all over the inside, so perhaps that’s another director of what is happening inside.  BD 

 

CHICAGO--On the outside, Microsoft's massive new data center resembles the other buildings in the industrial area.

Even the inside of the building doesn't look like that much. The ground floor looks like a large indoor parking lot filled with a few parked trailers.

It's what's inside those trailers, though, that is the key to Microsoft's cloud-computing efforts. Each of the shipping containers in the Chicago data center houses anywhere from 1,800 to 2,500 servers, each of which can be serving up e-mail, managing instant messages, or running applications for Microsoft's soon-to-be-launched cloud-based operating system--Windows Azure.

Inside one of the world's largest data centers | Beyond Binary - CNET News

Technorati Tags: Azure,High Tech,The Cloud,Data Centers,Ocean containers,healthcare

This current version of HealthSync does not sync yet according to the article but the next version will with Google Health.  For 99 cents at the app store, it’s almost free.  Gigabit is also the same company who works with Airstrip with their OBGYN software, which has been FDA approved for use.  BD 

Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Using IPhone with Microsoft ...

“Gigabit’s HealthSync iPhone application is a comprehensive personal medical records management, maintenance and tracking tool. A user-friendly application available for download from the iTunes App Store, HealthSync places the control over managing medical records directly on the finger tips of iPhone users.
HealthSync is ideal for managing medical records of patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes or allergies, that require frequent monitoring and regular doctor visits and treatments. Families tracking immunizations for small children, as well as those managing the health of elderly relatives, also benefit from the convenience and piece-of-mind HealthSync’s mobile medical information access provides.”

RALEIGH, N.C.--(Business Wire)-- Smartphone application developer Gigabit (www.gigabitt.com) today announced immediate availability of HealthSync, an iPhone application that offers comprehensive personal medical records management, maintenance and tracking for individuals and families. HealthSync is ideal for those managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or allergies, which require frequent monitoring and regular physician visits and treatments. HealthSync stores key medical records information, including age, vital signs, medications, allergies, immunization records and appointments. Data is input directly into the iPhone by the user and securely stored locally within the device. The application stores multiple patients per user, making it ideal for families managing the health of young children, as well as elderly relatives.

With HealthSynch, data is input directly into the user’s iPhone by the user and stored locally within the device. Medical records that are captured in the app conform to the Google Health standards. Future HealthSync versions will support data sharing capabilities, which will enable patients to manage their health records via the Google Health web-based interface.

Gigabit Unveils HealthSync, an iPhone Application that Tracks and Manages Personal Medical Records | Reuters

Technorati Tags: HealthSync,Google Heatlh,Personal Health Records,PHR,medical records,sharing,healthcare

 Capsule Technology is an independent provider of medical device connectivity services and it sounds like this hospital has benefited from using their services.  They support close to 500 devices and can be the answer to connecting devices at many different levels and age of equipment.  A good percentage of the equipment was from GE and needed to connect to a Cerner Software EHR.  The cost versus going through GE was about half of the amount quoted so they saved a lot of money along the line.  The “drivers” are the key to getting the hardware to work properly, as is with any computer, you need drivers and apparently this is the area of expertise Capsule decided to address a few years ago. 

The Capsule Neuron™ can function both wired and wirelessly from the patient’s bedside.  The Data Captor Software manages all the information from the devices.  BD

Capsule Adds 80 Medical Devices Drivers for Software – HL7 and XML to the EHR

“Capsule’s DataCaptor™ software runs on standard Microsoft Windows based-platforms. It supports up to 500 simultaneously connected devices on a single DataCaptor™ Connectivity Server with the flexibility to link multiple systems for increased levels of scalability. DataCaptor features built-in support for over 400 bedside medical devices such as patient monitors, ventilators, infusion pumps and anesthesia machines and supports services such as data queuing and device management.”

Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Ill., wanted to integrate patient monitoring devices with its electronic health records system. However, it quickly determined that the enabling data transfer technology from its EHR vendor was not up to the task. To compound the issue, Sherman's primary medical device vendor said some older devices could not even be integrated with the EHR and suggested buying new ones at a substantial cost.

Instead, the 240-bed hospital turned to Andover, Mass.-based Capsule Technologies, a vendor that has built an interface library for more than 415 medical devices. Capsule's bedside medical device interfaces rely on device drivers that are specific to each vendor, type and version of medical device. Moreover, incorporating them into the clinical setting is a plug-and-play proposition, says Matthew Perry, R.N., a systems analyst at 240-bed Sherman Hospital. It only took a week in April 2008 to prepare some 100 devices - comprising 12 different categories - to transmit data. "The device drivers are the heart and soul of the BMDI connectivity," Perry notes.

Getting Devices to Talk to EHRs

Technorati Tags: Medical Devices,Capsule Technologies,heatlhcare,interoperability,ICU,servers,data captor,GE,Cerner,monitoring devices

One of the companies accused in the case of providing kickbacks was Johnson and Johnson in their marketing of Risperdal.  In addition $8 million in kickbacks from drug manufacturer IVAX in exchange for an agreement to purchase $50 million dollars worth of drugs.  With Risperdal coming off of patent that somewhat will make less expensive generics available for seniors.  The company admitted no wrong doing, but shelled out quite a bit of money in doing so.  BD 
Omnicare offers services primarily for seniors, list below from the website:

Omnicare Senior Pharmacy Services   Advanced clinical programs and comprehensive pharmaceutical care distinguish our pharmacy services.

Omnicare Geriatric Pharmaceutical Care Guidelines   A unique, clinically based drug formulary used to determine the most appropriate medication therapy for the elderly.

Omnicare Clinical Programs   Our programs aid in both the early detection and treatment of illness among seniors.

Omnicare Senior Health Outcomes   Managing pharmaceutical care on behalf of major corporations for retirees and employees.

Omnicare Information Solutions   The nation's largest provider of clinical and financial software to long-term care facilities.

Omnicare Clinical Research   Partnering with drug manufacturers to help develop new drugs that safely and affordably enhance the quality of life.

Omnicare PBM Plus   A pharmacy benefit management company focused on creating cost effective solutions for our clients.

CBS) As members of Congress debate healthcare reform - most would agree to a crackdown on those who cheat the system. At least $68 billion is lost to health care fraud every year - and that's considered a conservative estimate.
CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian has more on a staggering fraud case involving health care giant Omnicare.
When it comes to selling drugs to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities across the country, Omnicare has a prescription for success - a market share in excess of 70 percent and more than $6 billion in sales last year alone.

Kickbacks Keeping Big Pharma Healthy? - CBS Evening News - CBS News

Technorati Tags: Omnicare,Johnson and Johson,senior care,prescriptions,Ivax,Justice Department,pharma,drugs,healthcare,kickbacks