Blue Cross Sues Financially Stressed Landmark Hospital in Rhode Island-Court To Determine New Owner in April

Back in August of 2010 it was announced that Cerberus was going to buy Landmark Hospital but reports state that the conversations broke down over the issue of the money with Blue Cross that didn’t go well.  The hospital now is considering selling their parking lot to CVS to raise money.  The conversations involve the employee health insurance the hospital provided for employees. 

Caritas Christi Health Care Reaches Agreement to Acquire Landmark Medical Hospital in Rhode Island–Private Equity Firm Cerberus Purchased Caritas in March Pending Final Approval

Blue Cross is suing the hospital and the hospital is suing Blue Cross.  The news also said that agreements were not meant with United Healthcare and the union as well with Cerberus.  RegionalCare from Tennessee has also been interested and the deadline was extended until the end of March.  The court will determine who the new owner will be, and in the meantime the legal disputes continue.  BD

Four days after being sued by Landmark Medical Center, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island on Friday filed its own suit in Superior Court.

The suit seeks to end Blue Cross’ contracts with the financially ailing hospital and also to permit the insurer to start collecting the money the hospital owes.

The debts result from Blue Cross’ contract to administer the health and dental coverage for the Woonsocket hospital’s 1,200 employees. Under this arrangement, Blue Cross processes the claims but the hospital is responsible for medical costs. The insurer says that Landmark has not paid all its bills for its employees’ medical and dental care.

Landmark spokesman Bill Fischer denounced Blue Cross’ action as “a heavy-handed and retaliatory reaction” to the hospital’s suit.

On Monday, Landmark sued Blue Cross on a separate matter. The hospital accused the insurer of using “monopoly” power to force Landmark to accept inadequate reimbursements and asked the court to require Blue Cross to negotiate fairly.

According to Blue Cross, Landmark owes $488,397 for employees’ medical claims just this year, as well as $3.1 million in other debts, including from before the hospital came under court supervision, a form of receivership, in June 2008.

Fischer disputed Blue Cross’ numbers on how much the hospital owes. He declined to say what he thought the debt actually was. He said the hospital has been paying Blue Cross $250,000 a month and this month made payments totaling $391,000.

The two suits come just days before the March 30 deadline for prospective buyers to submit proposals to acquire Landmark, which has been searching for a buyer for years and continues to lose money. To raise cash, Landmark is planning to sell a parking lot it owns in North Smithfield to CVS for $1 million.

Blue Cross sues financially ailing Landmark, seeking payments | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Technorati Tags: Caritas Christi Health,private equity,healthcare,hospitals,Cerberus,money,investments,Landmark Medical,acquisitions and mergers,lawsuits

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Department of Justice Investigating Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance Plan Contracts Made Directly With Hospitals

The DOJ is looking in to see if in fact the agreements made directly with hospitals are out pricing or less than what competitive insurance companies offer so basically checking to see if this is a way to keep the others from gaining market share. According to the article the DOJ has found other insurers doing this same thing.  They are also looking at dominant hospitals doing the the opposite with their agreements too, in other words is the hospital at the steering wheel working to keep other hospitals at bay I am guessing. 

In the Boston area this year this was an interesting contract whereby those insured received cheaper premiums if they chose a plan that excluded 15 named hospitals in the area.  If the higher priced facilities were used, there was an option to make that selection and pay more though. 

Blue Cross Launching New Health Coverage Option in Massachusetts-Encourages Consumers Via Employer Plans to Avoid 15 Named High Cost Hospitals

Right now nobody is commenting much further on the investigation but would it not be much easier if every procedure cost the same at any hospital?  Maybe this in a way getting to that point because at some point, if it keeps moving this way nobody is going to know where to go, especially when contracts change so quickly.  BD 

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Justice Department is widening a probe of Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans in several states, examining whether they are effectively raising health-insurance premiums by striking agreements with hospitals that stifle competition from rival insurers.

Federal investigators, as well as some state attorneys general, have sent civil subpoenas to "Blue" health plans in Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the District of Columbia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investigation is looking at whether dominant health plans around the country are forcing hospitals to sign anticompetitive contracts that inhibit them in doing business with their rivals

Such clauses can simply be guarantees to get the best pricing available, but they can violate antitrust laws if used improperly by a dominant company to hobble competitors.

U.S. Widens Probe of Blue Cross Plans - WSJ.com

Technorati Tags: Blue Cross,Boston,hospitals,contracts,Hospital Choice,cost,co-payments,procedures,surgery,premiums,Department of Justice,DOJ,heatlh insurance

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Dutch Medical Device Company Elana receives FDA Approval for Lifesaving Device for Cerebral Bypass Surgery

This is for a bypass procedure of the brain and they hope to move into the coronary field in the future.  This is one bypass I hope I never need.  This is a catheter surgical kit that places an implant in the brain for the bypass.  The surgeon can also stop a procedure at any state of surgery. 

The website has a video that explains a bit more about the procedure.  BD 

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dutch medical device manufacturer, Elana bv, announced today that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a humanitarian device exemption (HDE), enabling a lifesaving cerebral bypass. Elana bv is a corporate spin-off from the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands.

“The Elana Surgical Kit may help those with a rare condition for whom there previously was no treatment option,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The company expects that annually a thousand patients worldwide are eligible to be treated with the device.

The patented Elana Surgical Kit_HUD is currently used in neurosurgery in numerous European countries as well as in Canada. In the United States the device has been used under a clinical study in St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Elana produces a disposable laser catheter and an implant, through which blood vessels can be connected and subsequently opened. Surgeons are able to use the Elana Surgical Kit_HUD for constructing a vascular bypass without any interruption of the blood flow on patients of 13 years and older who have an aneurysm or tumor at the skull base. “It changes the concept of bypassing fundamentally, making it more safe for patients,” states Prof C.A.F. Tulleken, Emeritus Professor and former Chairman of Neurosurgery UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands, and, with his team, inventor of this concept.

Elana receives FDA approval for lifesaving bypass device | Business Wire

Technorati Tags: Elana,medical devices,healthcare,neurology,brain surgery,bypass surgery,minimally invasive procedures,Aneurysm,Netherlands

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Avanti Hospitals to Buy Coast Plaza Hospital In Norwalk, California (So. California)

One more hospital coming under the management of a company that’s going to help them run more efficiently and save money.  It’s first off all about the algorithms of payment and then of course there’s additional methodologies for improving care and services.  One thing for sure today when it comes to hospital management, the business intelligence transactional reporting comes first as far as looking for places to improve and the rest kind of falls into place from there.  BD

From the Avanti Website:

“Avanti leverages the unique capabilities and 100+ years of experience of its management team to drive change and create value in the areas of hospital and related healthcare operations, transactional and financial strategies, healthcare real estate strategies, turnaround and crisis management, and executive leadership.

We offer proven healthcare experience and the know how to promote the necessary changes that enable healthcare operations to realize their full potential. We’ve worked with doctors, investors, tenets, landlords, regulators, government agencies, and senior management teams, all while maintaining a reputation of trust and high integrity that gives us credibility in the marketplace.”

NORWALK, Calif., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Coast Plaza Hospital and Avanti Hospitals, LLC are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive purchase agreement whereby Avanti will acquire Coast Plaza Hospital, making the Norwalk facility the fourth hospital in Los Angeles County to join the Avanti family. Through its affiliates, Avanti currently owns or operates Memorial Hospital of Gardena, East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital, and Community Hospital of Huntington Park. The Coast Plaza transaction is anticipated to close in early May, 2011.

"Avanti's mission is to build a hospital system that stands as an innovative leader in quality of care, operational efficiency, patient satisfaction, financial strength, and community contribution," Freedman said. "Considering its outstanding physicians and nurses, committed staff, and terrific location, Coast Plaza Hospital is the perfect complement to our regional community hospital network."

Avanti Hospitals, LLC Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Coast Plaza Hospital -- NORWALK, Calif., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Technorati Tags: Avanti Hospitals,Coast Plaza Hospital,mergers and acquisitions,hospitals,healthcare,purchase,Health IT

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One More Recall for Johnson and Johnson Ethicon Division-Urgent-Products May Not be Sterile Due to Packaging

It was only a month ago we had the Ethicon wound sealing adhesive products recalled and here’s one more.  Years ago when I was in logistics, I used to deal with a J and J facility and they were at the time very attentive to their receiving policies and contamination.  Of course at that time I had a boss that tried to get me to talk them into taking product where wrapping had been stripped off or hit with a forklift.  That stuff I’m sure goes on as the carrier eats a lot of cost if the product is contaminated and you have to get the folks on the freight platforms to do their work better.  So what I am saying here is that if product as such could have been received and somehow got out the door to fill orders before the carrier returned, this could happen, I seen it happen. 

J&J Unit Recalls Wound-Sealing Adhesive And Hernia Treatment Product-Ethicon

This company really need a coordinated recall system.  Even if the product doesn’t have any affect on consumers directly, the mounting items of items in the news certainly is not a very big help at all. 

Bar Codes anyone???

Hospital IT guy likes it here too, from Twitter!

Again, Johnson and Johnson with all their products in so many different areas of healthcare could sure stand to build consumer, doctor and business confidence about now and it sure beats being the BP of the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry and my bar coding idea still stands.  There’s a link below where you can pull up the quite lengthy listing, a big hassle once again!  Here’s also the lack of readership too from the FDA on doing a better job of this, it is what it is.

FDA Looking for Public Input on How They Communicate With the Public-In My Case They Don’t Relative to Using Bar Codes for Device, Drug and OTC Products Recalls

It’s sad that technology is there and available for design to help the situation but the fact that we have a lot of either luddites and/or dead ears still exists.  BD 

Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson co., is voluntarily recalling hundreds of thousands of surgical drain products after customers complained that the packaging might not be sterile. The notice on Ethicon's Inc.'s website specifically states, "The company identified the potential for the sterile barrier of the product packaging to be compromised after receiving customer complaints." The company also states that it has not received any reports of adverse events related to this issue, and it has notified the U.S. FDA.

The recall affects multiple lots of Blake Silicone Drains, Blake Silicone Drain Kits, Blake Cardio Connectors, J-VAC Reservoirs and J-VA Drain Adapters, with distribution dates of May 10, 2010 through February 28, 2011. Product codes and lot numbers of products impacted by the recall can be downloaded from the company's website using the following link: http://www.ethicon.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Drains-Reservoirs%20Recall%2032511.pdf

While Ethicon is immediately recommending discontinuing use of affected products, it does stress that the recall is limited to the product names, product codes and lot numbers listed

Packaging concerns prompt another Johnson & Johnson recall - 2011-03-25 15:06:48 | Packaging Digest

Technorati Tags: Johnson and Johnson,recalls,Ethicon,adhesvie,non sterile packaging,Securestrap,Medical Devices,packaging,Silicone drains

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FDA Looking for Public Input on How They Communicate With the Public-In My Case They Don’t Relative to Using Bar Codes for Device, Drug and OTC Products Recalls

I have tried, especially on my bar coding campaign here a few times to get a response from the FDA.  It takes 2 weeks to get a “canned” response that most websites send immediately thanking you for your submission. Does one call that a response?  I guess if you were running stats and algorithms you might get a star as the mapping would show a response on the report.  Dare we talk “quality” of response maybe? 

I have my campaigns that have had huge comments and support for being able to scan an over the counter product, a prescription drug (pharmacists commented extensively here) or medical devices.  FDA is not the only one, try the DEA too and that was even minus a courtesy thank you.  It does make one wonder if any pay attention and I realize they get a lot of mail too. 

What’s really interesting when I look at my web stats on this blog to see the number of FDA folks logged on and reading the Medical Quack, duh?  The Park Lawn servers (the FDA network) are observed here all the time.  We have a disconnect here which is growing like a virus all over the place.  Everyone wants consumer involvement, and yet when they try to get involved we get the “ignore button” and there’s very little being done for the consumer as well and we keep getting these articles in the papers that put down consumers for their lack of knowledge, well it starts at the top.  Look at the mess they made, as well as the manufacturer they made out other sterile pads, these are all over the place under different names! 

FDA Announces Recall of Alcohol Prep Pads, Swabs, Swabsticks From Triad–FDA and Manufacturers Should Ashamed-Campaign for Bar Codes Still Stands Stronger Than Ever!

Two years ago I stated recalls were going to grow and darned if they have not, but we have not done anything and bar coding will help find counterfeit drugs too, but luddites I guess still call the shots.  Sad to say when it comes to role models at HHS, it doesn’t get much better, we never hear anyone having success with any consumer health products, like devices that record heart rates, nope, that’s the same old subject of “it’s for those guys over there” as we are administrators and above all of this and we are doing all this data work to help the peons of the world that need to learn digital literacy.  Fact is, we have some of the worst digital literacy right at the top, just watch the news <grin>  Heck bar coding could even make compliance easier for the agency too, duh? 

HHS National Plan to Improve Health Literacy – Not Going To Happen Until We Focus on Using Technology (The Tool for Literacy) Which Includes Role Models at HHS And Other Places in Government

I have quit picking on Joe Biden though as there has been proof and videos of him talking about his IPAD, but goodness forbid we see even as much as an image online of any governments folks using any “consumer health technology” and the press continues to run the stories that beat up the public.  If you are fat, you are evil is what some of what we see gets out there, rather than people needing help.  Shoot when Michelle Obama announced her program there was all kinds of speculation as to why she didn’t want a big fuss.  Well we were talking about diets and losing weight and I saw a whole bunch of out of whack BMIs sitting in Congress, was this maybe the reason…for those guys over there again?

Why Was Michelle Obama 'embarrassed' by The Standing Ovation As Obesity Program for Children Was Announced

Becoming participants with modern day technology would do wonders to improve how government agencies and our Congress communicate.  Most just seem to suck at this and yet have no problem criticizing others for their lack of digital literacy.   Back on track though the former FDA administration slept at the wheel for years as I remember putting out a post asking Intel to get some Classmate computers out to the FDA as back just 3 years ago some investigators didn’t have computers and were still writing up assessments in long hand, geez!  BD 

The FDA's Risk Communication Advisory Committee plans to hold an open meeting in Washington, D.C., May 5 to discuss the agency's public outreach efforts.

But the federal watchdog agency might want to polish up on its web-linking skills. The meeting announcement on the FDA's website directs users to background material on the meeting on another webpage that links right back to the original announcement page. Such "circular linking" is bad juju from a web design perspective.

FDA seeks public input on its efforts to communicate with the public | MassDevice - Medical Device Industry News

Technorati Tags: FDA,communications,DEA,government,websites,meetings,technology,Heatlh IT,recalls,Healthcare,safety,medical devcies,drugs,compliance

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CRKP New Antibiotic Resistant Superbug Making It’s Way Through Southern California Healthcare Facilities

Fatality rates show worse than MRSA, but it tends to strike more of the elderly population.  Even healthy people could transmit the bacteria.  It comes down to washing hands again and there are some technology solutions that can help out here and they works well and even the VA is installing the system.

VA Medical Center In Chicago Installs HyGreen Hand Washing Hygiene System-Sensors Tell on Unwashed Hands

In addition, one doctor said stuffing paper gowns into gloves helps too.

Stuffing Paper Hospital Gowns in Gloves helping reduce the spread of MRSA

So far 350 cases have been reported and wonder if this will jump into the “never-never” category?   The bacteria was first reported in New York and cases are not just in hospitals but also nursing homes.  It is more difficult to treat than MRSA, so this is a big concern by all means and the video states that 40% of people who contract the disease have passed away.  BD

An antibiotic-resistant superbug once thought to be rare is spreading through health-care facilities in Southern California, health officials say.

Roughly 350 cases of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, were reported in Los Angeles County between June and December of 2010, according to a study from the L.A. County Department of Public Health to be presented April 3 in Dallas at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

"But in terms of mortality and morbidity, it's very, very serious," Srinivasan said. "These infections are more difficult to treat than MRSA."

Deadly Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Spreads in Southern California - ABC News

Technorati Tags: CRKP. MRSA,Los Angeles,southern california,hospitals,virus,superbug,antibiotics,heatlhcare,seniors,germs,washing hands

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FDA Clears Yervoy for Treatment of Melanoma to Extend Life of Patients

Some of the side effects include diarrhea, swelling of the colon, rash and fatigue.  The drug is from Bristol Myers and the study done contained 676 patients who all had advanced melanoma.  The average life extension was around 3 months but the study had some that lived far longer.  There was no mention yet on what the drug will cost. 

Bristol in 2012 will lose their patent on Plavix so a new approval can’t hurt when it comes time to replace lost sales revenue.  BD 

(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a breakthrough cancer medication from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. that researchers have heralded as the first drug to prolong the lives of patients with melanoma.

The federal health agency approved the injectable drug, called Yervoy, for late-stage or metastatic melanoma. The agency has only approved two other drugs for advanced melanoma, the last of which was cleared more than 13 years ago. Neither drug has been shown to significantly extend patient lives.

Known chemically as ipilimumab, the biotech drug only worked in a small segment of patients studied, and on average they lived just four months longer than patients given older medications. But experts say the drug is an important milestone in treating the deadliest form of skin cancer, which is often unresponsive to therapy.

FDA clears first melanoma drug to extend survival

Technorati Tags: melanoma,skin cancer,food and drug administration,chemotherapy,white blood cells,metastatic melanoma,ipilimumab,FDA

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United Healthcare Expanding Diabetes Prevention & Predictive Algorithm Program With Walgreens And Pay for Performance Incentives In Atlanta

The data mining program was first announced back in April of 2010 with United and Walgreens and their partnership.  I still feel there’s a lacking element here of the doctor in all of this.  Certainly the goal is to bring about an awareness and help people get healthier, but again noting that pharmacists are offered pay for performance incentives is important, unless anything has changed since the original announcement. 

UnitedHealthCare To Use Data Mining Algorithms On Claim Data To Look For Those At “Risk” of Developing Diabetes – Walgreens and the YMCA Benefit With Pay for Performance Dollars to Promote and Supply The Tools

“The prevention arm will use 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. They’ll have monthly follow-up after the class is over, and instructors will be paid bonuses if participants meet certain modest weight-loss goals.”

I’m not quite sure on how this all comes together but it sounds like a “make a buck save a buck” deal to me.  Below are a couple recently filed lawsuits questioning the use of patient medication data for sale.  Walgreens says this intangible business is worth over $749 million to them annually.  All those neat gadgets also may have privacy issues you may want to check out too.  The devices are pretty cool, but who’s getting the data and making a buck is something I want to know.  It sounds like CDC is in approval of this process too, so United and others get to collect more data which again is used in all types of marketing, underwriting and more.  LabCorp gets in here on some action too with providing a blood test and again the services are good, but the data brings money to the door of Untied at the same time.  Can’t one just go to their doctor and get a test I ask?  I don’t know but that’s who I trust. 

Walgreens And CVS Accused of Selling Customer Prescription Data in 2 Separate Law Suits-Sales for Marketing Data Continues and the Data Bases Gets Larger with Technology

Under a separate press release you can read about the big kick off in New York for the YMCA, and again they seem to benefit some where in here too.  How is the data analyzed, for better care or better profits as shareholders come first?  I just connect the data dots here and try to explain how some of this occurs today with privacy and marketing, and there’s a lot of that going on behind the scenes in ways you may not be aware.  With mergers and acquisitions, we are not dealing with the same old companies with the same old business models anymore. 

My mother recently had her own experience as a senior with some of the marketing and sales efforts between her Part D carrier (which is not United) and Walgreens.  One said checking her glucose twice a day was fine but the other, the drug store said no, you need to do that 3 times a day.  She’s being checking her glucose for 20 years now and was told by the drug store it’s not often enough.  It has to do with selling strips here, as 3 times a day will yield a bigger sale and thus so she is informed by the retail pharmacist that she’s doing it wrong, nice huh? 

Both her doctor and health plan said twice a day is fine for her glucose readings.   See what happens when the doctor gets left out!

Compliance Police Out In Force for Seniors–Health Plans and Drug Stores Making Phone Calls-Business Models & Caller Behavior Sucks -A Result of Pay for Performance Efforts?

Maybe these are unintended circumstances, but hey they are happening so be aware of the driving business model just for your own good.  With current business trends I would think that physicians would be brought into the groups since insurers seem to be buying up many of the IPAs (independent physician associations).  Is it sorry doc your contract is getting cut to some lower rates as we have to ensure we have enough for P4P for the pharmacists? 

OptumHealth (Subsidiary of United Healthcare) Takes Over Memorial IPA in California-Subsidiary Watch

Not too long ago some studies came out of Harvard that said pay for performance is not all it has cracked up to be too. 

Pay For Performance Is Not All That It Has Cracked Up to Be-Time to Rethink As Money Is Not Creating Better Health Outcomes

"Governments and private insurers throughout the world are likely wasting many billions on policies that assume that all you have to do is pay doctors to improve quality of medical care," says senior author Stephen Soumerai, professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. "Based on our study of almost 500,000 patients over seven years, that assumption is questionable at best."

At any rate the P4P drive continues to move forward and the algorithms for profit roll so whether or not CDC and Harvard agree, it will be interesting to see what other reports and studies surface as time moves on, as Harvard said it was wasting money paying doctors, so is this why the shift is going to pharmacists and others?  Gotta get that valuable data that is worth millions for marketing and predictive behavior modeling business says <grin>.  BD 

Atlanta residents are among the first in the United States to have access to Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance community-based programs that use proven approaches to help prevent and control diabetes.

The two Alliance programs – available at no cost to participants – are:

• The Diabetes Prevention Program with the Y helps people with prediabetes and who are at high risk for diabetes prevent the disease through healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes;
• The Diabetes Control Program with Walgreens provides education and support from trained pharmacists and nurse practitioners to help people with diabetes better control their condition and reduce the risk of developing complications from diabetes, such as nerve, kidney and eye disease.

The Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance was launched in 2010 by founding partners UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG), the Y and others.

There is substantial evidence that supports early and aggressive intervention to help people avoid the health and financial toll of diabetes. The programs at the Y and Walgreens have been tested in controlled clinical trials or pilot projects with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Y, Indiana University, clinical centers, employers and retail pharmacies.

The Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance is one of many UnitedHealth Group programs and services that fight diabetes, obesity and related health problems in creative, practical ways to help improve health care quality, expand support and coverage, and help bend the cost curve.

Home Healthcare Laboratory of America (HHLA), a subsidiary of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, another Alliance partner, provides screening tests to Control Program participants through the use of Lab-in-an-Envelope® services for use at home. HHLA mails HbA1c and lipid panel testing kits to participants every three months to provide a convenient method for them to regularly monitor blood glucose control and cholesterol levels.

http://www.4-traders.com/UNITEDHEALTH-GRP-14750/news/UNITEDHEALTH-GRP-Diabetes-Prevention-and-Control-Alliance-Programs-Expand-to-Atlanta-to-Help-Tackle--13586325/

Technorati Tags: UnitedHealthare,algorithms,doctor,primary care,pay for performance,YMCA,Walgreens,transactions,analysis,wellness,pharmacists

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Tenet Settles Class Action Lawsuit Relative to Hurricane Katrina Deaths at Memorial Medical Center

Reading this article makes you stop and think about the healing processes in New Orleans and how long some of this takes.  In January of 2010 they were still working to get funding to rebuild Charity Hospital too, which is not related to this settlement, but another needed hospital in the New Orleans area. 

How Long Does It Take to Get Federal Funds to Rebuild Charity Hospital After the Hurricane – 4 Years

According to this article the terms and dollar amounts have not been revealed, but the hospital had a higher death rate of patients than the rest in the area.  Tenet has since then sold the hospital in 2006.  Tenet has settled 11 lawsuits that were related to Hurricane Katrina.  The settlement means this will not have to go to trial.  BD 

Tenet Healthcare Corp. and attorneys for people who stayed at Memorial Medical Center in the traumatic days after Hurricane Katrina agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit against the company on Wednesday, both sides announced.

The lawsuit accused Tenet of failing to properly prepare for the storm. Memorial, located on Napoleon Avenue near its intersection with South Claiborne Avenue, was swamped by floodwaters after levees broke following the hurricane. The hospital lost power, including backup generators, and temperatures inside the facilities soared, a factor that contributed to the deaths of some patients.

The plaintiffs accused Tenet of neglecting to anticipate and prepare for the loss of power after the storm, as well as failing to develop and follow proper evacuation plans and take other necessary emergency-preparedness steps.

After Katrina, 45 bodies were recovered from Memorial, the highest number of any hospital in the city. Deaths at the facility soon became a focus of an investigation by Attorney General Charles Foti, who accused a doctor and two nurses of euthanatizing some of the sickest patients; the three were arrested in the summer of 2006. That case was rejected by a state grand jury in 2007.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/03/class-action_lawsuit_against_t.html

Technorati Tags: Tenet,hospitals,healthcare,Katrina,hurricanes,New Orleans,neglect,lawsuit

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Walgreens To Buy Drugstore.Com for $409 Million

There’s a lot of moving and shaking going on with analytics on drawing down to profits at the bottom lines today with mergers and acquisitions and Walgreens has been particularly active of late.  Recently they just sold off their pharmacy benefit management arm.  Is this to say they are going to focus on the retail end of drugs?  Everyone is running their business intelligence algorithms to squeeze the maximum profits for sure today.  They are all doing this.  At all has to do with not only profiting on drugs but data as well. 

Catalyst Buys Walgreen Pharmacy Benefit Management Services For $525M

To further illustrate the value of consumer data, you can read below and see where Walgreens themselves stated that the data they have compiled on all of us is worth over $749 million.  We are not even talking one pill here, just data.  We are definitely living in some strange times today when intangibles and their value are out pricing the value of tangibles, and perhaps this has an impact on our economy.  When I get sick I still need an tangible to help me get better.  You can read about the recent lawsuit filed below as pertains to consumer data.  If the data is there it will be queried, analyzed and run through business intelligence algorithms to maximize profits and everyone is doing this, while our little bodies keep producing the data for profit. 

I do wonder how much longer at times we can keep placing more value on intangibles and rebuilt the economy in the US, seems to be a little off balance of late, and look at Facebook for another glaring example outside of healthcare, what do you have there, some servers with email, images and a whole slew of algorithms that run and match every link up they can find going back to you. 

Walgreens And CVS Accused of Selling Customer Prescription Data in 2 Separate Law Suits-Sales for Marketing Data Continues and the Data Bases Gets Larger with Technology

Last but not least, done forget those coupons as they generate money and connect ads back to you.  Facebook actually has privacy setting out there for ads and I would suggest all go into their profile and change it to No One so your picture from your profile doesn’t end up in an ad just because you “liked” something.  Take heed.  Here’s a post from a few months ago on how coupons work and get that data too.

Drug Co-Pay Coupons–Chapter Two of Healthcare Marketing Their “Asses” Off

The smartest thing to do is to check for a generic and ditch the coupons if possible as they all are out there to get data of one form or another, that is if you want to preserve a little bit of privacy.  Back on track, lots of coupons on Drugstore.com and another avenue to collect data on your purchasing habits and so on.  If you want to connect your Facebook account here, you can, but you have warned about how the data chain works and creates profits <grin>.  I’m only here to help explain to those how all these dots get connected.  As a matter of fact even judges have issues with their investments as they end up with “conflicts of interest” as they don’t stay up to date with how the companies they invest in are changing.

There’s been some of that in the news of late to where judges are totally in shock over an investment they made years ago now showing up as a conflict of interest, well duh judges, get up to par with Wall Street and business intelligence there so you too don’t get caught not knowing this, I like to call this “subsidiary watch. BD

3 Judges in Health-Care Lawsuits Caught Up In Potential Conflict of Interest-It’s Called Subsidiary Watch-Be Aware of Your Investments With Mergers and Acquisitions

Walgreens announced plans on Thursday to buy the online pharmacy drugstore.com, in a deal valued at $409 million.

Investors in the company will receive $3.80 in cash for every share they own, which is about 113 percent above the closing price of drugstore.com on Wednesday.

The move will help Walgreen expand its online reach. In addition to Walgreens.com, the drugstore chain introduced an app for the iPhone last year and a mobile Web site, services that include sending a text message to consumers when prescriptions are ready.

Earlier this month, Walgreens sold its pharmacy benefit management subsidiary to Catalyst Health Solutions for $525 million in cash.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/walgreens-to-buy-drugstore-com/

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55 Hospitals in the US Achieved Stage 7 on Health IT–35 Are Kaiser Permanente Hospitals-Others Still Looking For More Algorithms

Ok I thought I might get called on this one, but the reality here is a data and health IT system well done and in a closed system.  See what progress is made when not having to integrate and aggregate multiple systems can produce?  We have too many of them out there and this is the issue we have to deal with today and why the job is getting so expensive.  There’s even times when it’s time to migrate, and ouch, the data folks cringe at that alternative, but it can be done but data integrity and processes to take on massive transfers are not like the old days used to be. 

Migration though if a system is that old and antiquated can still be the ultimate though to bring some scalability into the picture.  Back to Kaiser, they started their home work a bit ahead of many too and I remember when they wrote their own and spent millions and canned it to bring in Epic.  It’s a huge job and they had to bring a lot under one roof though too, but perhaps they did not have the vast numbers of vendors clawing at the door and they had to migrate data to Epic from their own internally written program. 

Kaiser Permanente also has their innovation and learning center that has been around for a while that is also a model for others.  The work on both high tech and low solutions here.  I learned a lot about what they do when I spoke with them last year.  Good stuff. 

Innovation and Learning at Kaiser Permanente – Interview With Chris McCarthy

Here’s a group with a big bounty carrot hanging out there for some good algorithms.

Heritage Providers Continues to Promote $3 Million Dollar Prize to Create An Algorithm To Predict and Prevent Hospitalizations

We also have technology with the new left curve everyday that we have to look at and see if emerging technologies need to be incorporated into the growth process.  Some will and some will not.  There has to be one big burial ground on medical code somewhere around this earth and it’s big, and you know we still have Junker code being written.  Now like technology and used to write code myself, but darn when everyone comes out with an application that does one thing and throws it out on the market, it’s over load.  If those one thing developers would get together and bring some “6 thing” products to market and collaborate like everyone talks about we could save some time here, and some room on this blog for that matter. 

This is where the “hands on” folks come into play.  Your average consumer has not clue on the code behind what makes those screens look so cool, and they shouldn’t have to either, but smart scrutinizing IT folks, well the first thing they usually think of is how does this integrate?  Do we need middleware and is this “one thing” going to change the world?  99% of the time it does not.  Even Pharma is getting smart out there and dumping a lot of this type of software.  We’ve passed that stage of the cool screens and movements as they all have it now.  Pharma is also looking for that 6 thing or better software application. 

Pfizer, J&J & Merck Remove Health IPhone Apps-Realization of the Need for “Meaningful Mobile Apps” in Healthcare And Little Value With Apps that Only Do “One Thing”

Pharma Invests in Mobile-Phone Apps on One Hand and On the Other Hand Pharma Companies Dump a Ton of Their Apps Too

Long and short, for ACOs, you need the right algorithms to make it all work along with some predictive business intelligence numbers to get started in the right direction so before decisions are made, simulations can take place and hopefully keep the “unintended consequences” down to a minimum as there will always be some, but cutting  out the potential obvious is a help.  When we look at numbers to help us make decisions too let us not forget we have this side that functions out there among us too, good book to read.  BD

“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms

"When I think of HIT systems that have the capability currently to cross the continuum of care, Kaiser Permanente is one of the only systems that come to mind, and even Kaiser's systems have some limitations," says Marion Jenkins, CEO at QSE Technologies, an Englewood, Colo.-based systems integrator with more than 150 ambulatory I.T. implementations.

A reality check: As of January 2011, only 55 hospitals across the nation have achieved Stage 7, the highest level under the HIMSS Analytics scale of health I.T. capabilities, and 35 are Kaiser hospitals. Jim Adams, managing director at the Advisory Board Company consultancy and a former leader of HIMSS Analytics, says even Stage 7 hospitals aren't ready for ACOs.

Consequently, Jenkins warns providers to beware of I.T. vendors touting their products as fully capable today of supporting ACOs. "There's a lot of Kool-Aid getting served up."

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/accountable-care-organization-health-care-reform-42182-1.html

Technorati Tags: ACO,Health IT,technology,algorithms,Kaiser Permanente,data,inegration

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CyberKnife Robotic Device Used For Targeted Cancer Tumor Radiation Treatment

The CyberKnife robot is able to move around and hit specific targets to kill the tumors.  The doctor states that it doesn’t work for all types of cancer, but it destroys the DNA of the cells.  If the target is defined and localized it’s a great tool but cancer is not always localized.  It can be used with other treatments such as chemotherapy. 

The treatment in the video was well handled by a 92 year old cancer patient.  El Camino Hospital in northern California was the treatment of choice for her with minimal risk.  The robot can be used from many different angles as it can move around the body.  From different angles it can shoot different types of beams. 

The device has also been used extensively for prostate cancer treatments.  BD 

Safety and Effectiveness of Using CyberKnife on Prostate Cancer

From the CyberKnife website:

“Though its name may conjure images of scalpels and surgery, the CyberKnife treatment involves no cutting. In fact, the CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors throughout the body non-invasively. It provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.”

Last year, Jean Stuetzle, 92, learned she had lung cancer and was given few options to make her well again. Then, she visited radiation oncologist Robert Sinha at El Camino Hospital in Silicon Valley. He told Jean about CyberKnife, a non-invasive procedure that uses a robot and targeted radiation to eliminate cancerous tumors. SmartPlanet looks at the new technology and how it's working on cancer patients like Stuetzle.

http://www.smartplanet.com/technology/video/oncologists-use-robots-to-fight-cancer/6202367/

Technorati Tags: CyberKnife,cancer,robotics,robot,tumors,radiataion,non surgical treatment,technology

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St. Mary’s Hospital in Connecticut To Become a “For Profit” Working as a Joint Venture With LHP Hospital Group

It makes one wonder if we will end up having any non profits left when everything gets done shaking out.  As it stands now it will be business as usual with honoring the current religious standards at the hospital from the Catholic church.

From what I am reading here LHP are both the financial and management individuals that offer their money and expertise to hospitals on how to make money.  BD 

From the LHP Website:

“LHP Hospital Group, Inc. (LHP) is a privately held company, established to provide essential hospital capital and expertise to not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems, with which it forms joint ventures to own, operate and manage acute care hospitals. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, LHP is owned by affiliates of private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC, and the CPP Investment Board, as well as members of management. “

In many important ways, Saint Mary's Hospital will remain the same institution it has been for the past 104 years, even after the dust settles from its announcement Tuesday that it will become a for-profit, tax-paying business.
The hospital, founded in 1907, revealed plans to form a partnership with a Plano, Texas, company that will invest nearly $200 million. Under the definitive agreement, the hospital will be owned and operated as a joint venture between a successor company to Saint Mary's Health System, the hospital's current owner, and LHP Hospital Group Inc., a privately owned hospital management and development company.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/03/22/news/local/546921.txt#

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Hospital in Roanoke Alabama Shuts Down Abruptly Last Week-ER Doctors Not Paid–Desperate Hospital With Big Debt

This is probably nothing new with the same situation of money being at the back end of the problem.  There were big outstanding loans to the USDA and Medicare that were owed.  The ER room doctors, who were contracted, are still owed money.  This had to be a decision made in a hurry as the doctors were told last Friday to leave at 3 pm.  Once the doctors left they hospital had to close and there was to be a special meeting to be held on how to slowly close the operation down but it didn’t happen that way.

Employees had not be told of the closure before the doctors were ordered to leave.  The Roanoke Health Care Authority were hoping to find someone interested in buying the hospital.  With the government being the biggest owed here, they can’t file bankruptcy and the total debt is not known yet and the cash flow is gone.  One MD said when you begin running out of supplies, there’s simply no way the facility could stay open.  Again, to expect a shut down over 2 weeks to be shortened to one night would be a shock for anyone as they had a lot of long term employees.  BD

ROANOKE – Former employees of the Randolph Medical Center had some of their questions answered Tuesday night at the first Roanoke Health Care Authority meeting since the hospital closed.
Joe Davis, the hospital’s human resources director, apologized to the crowd of more than 50 people. He then told employees they will be paid as usual for the period ending Friday; money put into the state retirement program will be returned to employees when the hospital formally withdraws from the program; and vacation time will be paid with money returned to the hospital for retirement matching funds.
Gary Clark, the authority’s chairman, read a statement answering some questions laid out by former employees at Monday night’s Roanoke City Council meeting, before opening the floor to the crowd.
The hospital authority owes the USDA $5.9 million, owes Medicare $2.2 million, and has yet to pay a $350,000 debt to an independent contractor that provided emergency room doctors.

http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/12457968/article-Employees-get-some-answers-about-Randolph-hospital-shutdown?instance=home_news

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State of the Art Hospital in Florida Shows Off New Technology-Totally Wireless Hospital And Also Includes $8k Patient Beds

Every bed in the hospital is the same, $8k for each one.  The idea of course is to avoid bed sores and they have some nice air flow technology there too. 

The flash CT scanner is also new and is 128 bit.  Thin slicing is done which is faster and offers less radiation exposure.  They have a direct connection to the the clinic next door.  The floors are color coded and I can see that being handy to keep in touch with where one is.  The entire computer system is wireless except for x-rays and imaging.  It’s nice to see the boards with tracking in the ICU.  It’s funny to hear that patients can use docking stations to listen to their music.  BD 

Three years after winning final state approval to build a 100-bed hospital in Viera, Health First will provide local residents a first glimpse inside.

An open house to showcase the five-story, all-digital, Mediterranean-style Viera Hospital near Lake Andrew Drive and Wickham Road will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The hospital's official opening, the first new hospital in Brevard County in nearly a decade, is tentatively slated for April 2.

A flash computer tomography scanner, capable of taking rapid-fire diagnostic images, with less patient radiation exposure.

Dual inpatient/outpatient diagnostic and laboratory capabilities, reducing duplication of equipment and personnel costs.

A critical care model that allows patients to stay in place, no matter their medical status.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110323/NEWS01/103230341/-1/news0207/Viera-Hospital-ready-reveal-all-offers?odyssey=nav|head

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Iowa Becomes the 8th State to Request Relief For Medical Loss Ratios With a 3 Year Phase In Plan

As t the article states, there are many smaller insurance companies in Iowa that are having trouble meeting the medical loss ratio numbers.  The one big major player is doing fine at 80% so the relief is needed for the smaller businesses. It’s back to setting up the business models and the algorithms to comply.   Earlier this year Aetna took out reinsurance so fi they were to get hit with catastrophic claims they would be covered, I think.  BD

Aetna Takes Out Reinsurance Deal In The Cayman Islands- $150 Million to Kick When Medical Loss Ratio Hits 104%

Iowa is the eighth state to request relief from a provision in the federal health reform law that requires insurers to spend most member premiums on medical costs.

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Dakota have also submitted medical loss ratio waiver requests to the HHS. Only Maine's has been approved.

In Iowa, the dominant insurer, Wellmark, already meets the 80% medical loss ratio standard but “Iowa has a number of smaller carriers, which need time to adjust their business models to comply,” Voss wrote in the letter, dated March 21.

Iowa requests medical loss-ratio waiver - Healthcare business news, research, information and opinions | Modern Healthcare

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Best Buy Accepting Online Orders for New RIM (BlackBerry) Tablet

As Blackberries were initially, the RIM PlayBook is oriented towards the enterprise client but that doesn’t mean you have to be a business person to get one, just that there are other security measures and software applications for enterprise users.  The pricing looks to be pretty close to the IPAD over all. 

The official launch is in April and has Wi-Fi.  The prices are $499, $599 and $699 for the 3 models.  I weighs one pound with a 7 inch screen and I g of ram.   3G and $G connectivity to be added in future models.  Just think back in 2008 everybody thought I was crazy saying tablets were going to rule.  BD  

PlayBook

Minneapolis, MN and Waterloo, ON - Customers eagerly awaiting the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet can begin placing their orders today. Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), a preferred retailer for the BlackBerry PlayBook, today announced the pricing and launch date for the highly anticipated tablet in the U.S. and Canada.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will come in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively.  It is scheduled to be available from all Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile stores in the US, as well as Best Buy and Future Shop* stores in Canada, on April 19. Customers in the US and Canada can place their orders beginning today by visiting their local Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile or Future Shop store or by ordering on-line (after 8am ET) at:

U.S. – www.bestbuy.com/playbook

Canada - www.bestbuy.ca/blackberry  or www.futureshop.ca/blackberry

BlackBerry PlayBook Specifications

• 7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
• Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
• Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
• 1080p HDMI output
• Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
• 1 GB RAM memory
• Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
• GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
• Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
• Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
• Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support

Best Buy begins accepting orders for BlackBerry PlayBook today | CrackBerry.com

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