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LabCorp Settles with State of California Over Kickback Marketing Scheme–Lab Wars
Both Quest and LabCorp were doing this and this is funny in the information here from BNET that he had the actual PowerPoint slides. Quest settled up for $241 million for their portion of gaining market share. Quest Diagnostics Agrees to Settle California Medicaid Suit for $241 Million-Overcharg…
Another New Portable Device Slated to Make Fitness Fun - A Keychain to Reward for Exercise and Donate To Charities
How many more of these things are we going to see. Folks I know that bough the Fitbit tried it for a while and got bored. I don’t have one and this is just what others told me as they said it was something else they had to do and they had enough overload with all the other consumer IT stuff and ga…
Non Profit HEALTHeLINK Partners with United Healthcare Subsidiary Optumsight to Remote Monitor Diabetics In Buffalo in Pilot Program
I try to keep track of mergers and acquisitions here and the partner Axolotl was purchased by Ingenix in August of 2010, about a year ago, so when you hear of insurers buying up technology companies here’s one and where bottom line revenues end up contributing to for profit insurers. Ingenix Acqu…
Abbott Labs to Discontinue Distributing FreeStyle Navigator Glucose Monitor in the US
The FDA just approved the Freestyle easier to use monitor in June of 2010 and received the European CE Mark in May of 2011. In December of 2009 there were strip recalls for the old version of the Freestyle, however other Abbott models had a lot more strips recalled in December of 2010. Abbott Di…
Non Profit Social Interest Solutions Group and Microsoft Partner To Advance State and Government Health Exchange Initiatives
Back in February of 2011 Microsoft Government also announced their low cost State Insurance Exchange solutions. Microsoft’s HIX solutions eliminate the need for states to evaluate numerous point solutions from various firms to find one that works well with government policies or existing IT infrast…
California Bill to Regulate Health Insurance Rates Dies Due to Lobbying By Insurers and Other Groups So No Serious Audit Algorithms for Now to Control Premium Hikes
Well here’s one more not for the consumer. If you read through the article in the LA Times the bill died as lobbying efforts claimed here would not allow for a majority of votes to pass. It will be tried again next year. It’s funny that we go through great lengths and trouble to audit and certif…
United Healthcare To Buy Huge Chunk of Orange County, California Managed Care Business with the Purchase of Monarch Healthcare–Subsidiary Watch
This is in my back yard in the OC and for a few doctors I know this just might be the big push to start a Concierge Medical Office. Newport Beach which is south of where I live has a ton of affluent residents and the Boutique practices there do well as money for many in the area is not a problem. …
When Will MDs Prescribe Life Extending Drugs Such as Provenge–Reimbursement And Delivery Matters
Fierce Pharma in conjunction with Sermo, the doctor’s social network have compiled a survey of interest with regards to prescribing life extending drugs, Provenge is the big example that stands out. It is not cheap. You can view the full results of the survey from the link below and can download t…
Prognosis Health EHR System Buys Creative Healthcare Patient Accounting Company
Software companies continue to merge and acquire one another, the merging of the software algorithms. In this case the EHR system will be adding more financial accounting modules, and this seems to be pretty common place today to add the financial and/or billing capabilities to medical record syste…
Illinois Doctors and Hospitals Refusing to Participate in Pilot Medicaid Managed Care Program Run by Commercial Insurers
The program is being run by two insurance companies, Aetna and Centene-IlliniCare and I am guessing the reimbursement rates are at the heart of the issue, what else today? Many patients will need to change doctors and care facilities. As what happens today with changes with doctors and care faci…
Pruning Shears in a Freak Accident End Up Inside Man’s Head-Full Recovery Expected
This is a strange picture as he accidentally lost his balance and pretty much fell on the clippers. Half the the pruning shears were in his head! Luckily he didn’t lose either of his eyes, but the x-ray is just dumb founding. BD Leroy Luetscher dropped a pair of pruning shears while worki…
Windows Phone + Windows7 + Kinect + Surface + Speech Recognition – Wicked Technology and Integration
Wicked is about the best word I could come up with here. When you watch the demonstration of all of these technologies together this is amazing. I have used all of them separately but have never seen anything like this. So far I’m a happy camper too with my Windows Phone and recently read where i…
Senator Grassley Holds a Town Hall Meeting–States He Knows Only Knows of One Member of Congress Who Really Wants to Privatize Social Security-But He’s Not Telling (Video)
Well, well we could go all kinds of places with this and based on what has been all over the news of late, does he have his facts right? I wonder. You can listen to the town hall meeting. I have to say one thing though is that he does at least have a town hall meeting as in my area in the OC whic…
UnitedHealth, YMCA Expand Diabetes Prevention Program with P4P for Walgreens
The process uses UnitedHealth claims data and other demographic information to flag people at risk of developing diabetes and invite them to a free, 16-session exercise and nutrition class at a local YMCA. Those who already have diabetes receive a 45 minute assessment unless anything has changed. …
Don’t Get Stuck in the IT Past–Locked in an 8 Track World–VM Limited (Video-Humor)
This is funny and we may guess who VM Limited might be and there’s a company having their big meeting this week with a similar name. Now I do have to say, “locked in an 8 track world also very well applies to many of our members of Congress too, doesn’t this guy look like some of them . I love the…
AMA Issues Response to CMS Bundled Payment Initiative–Short and Sweet-Be Prepared to Provide Technical Assistance And Data To the Doctors Beyond a Website
I like this answer as the AMA is of course stating they are pleased with the options and opportunities, but they are also real in this statement. It’s confusing, tough and a lot of information to read through and practices will have a lot of questions and will need “Health IT” support (let’s not fo…
NHS Doctors to Use “Redneck Telehealth” Also Known as “Skype”–A Good Thing
A while back I wrote about this topic with a friend who was out of town and needed to talk with his doctor long distance and the doctor wanted to know about his toe, so I said “Get on Skype put your toe up there”. You can read more at the link below, but gee, why not? Both the doctor and friend we…
