The crash took place after hours and there will be a couple of doctors without offices tomorrow.  Luckily the offices were empty.  Two surgical technicians in surgery left the room and ran out with fire extinguishers to help put out the fire until the fire department arrived.  Thank goodness it was not the surgery areas that were hit.  The account from the one man who saw the faces of the two in the plane is eerie as both died in the accident. 

The hospital area itself was fine with the exception of smoke and the smell of the fire from the crash. One doctor who’s office was affected will be going in as soon as it is safe to secure her patients records.  The hospital is in close proximity of the airport.  BD

UPDATED 9:20 P.M. WATSONVILLE - A four-passenger airplane crashed into Watsonville Community Hospital about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, killing two people, according to Fire Chief Mark Bisbee.

Witness George Benson said he saw the plane take off. The pilot appeared to be trying to clear the fog line.

Benson, a Watsonville pilot, was in the industrial park adjacent to the Watsonville Municipal Airport. He said the single-engine light brown Mooney aircraft was a four-seater.

"He was heading toward the coast and tried to climb," Benson said. "From the time he took off he was going too steep, too slow.

Arnold, whose fiancee is in labor inside the hospital, said the plane came careening sideways across the parking lot about 15 feet above his head.

"I saw two faces and two big sets of eyes," Arnold said of the passengers inside the plane.  Surgical technician Rick Cervantes said he was in surgery and heard the crash. He and his partner ran out with two fire extinguishers and attempted to put out the flames before firefighters arrived.

Airplane nose dives into Watsonville Community Hospital, two people dead - MontereyHerald.com :

Technorati Tags: airplane,crash,hospital,Watsonville,California,surgery,offices,doctors

The patient has a choice to be monitored by either a remote doctor while in intensive care or to choose doctors and nurses on premise.  In this example below, the doctor is in Israel and went to school here in the US, so he is familiar with American practices and medical centers and that is a help. 

Banner says the monitoring in the ICU has saved lives and reduces the time of stay in the hospital.  The doctor in Israel has a small office in Tel Aviv that has all of his remote monitoring equipment complete with t-1 high speed data lines.  With the time difference he is covering the night shift here in the states.  He also does some local hospital work so as not to lose his patient in person skills as well.  On an average shift he gets 15-20 calls from nurses and if course he can call a hospital nurse or doctor immediately. 

Banner has a command center set up that connects doctors and hospitals and covers about 450 beds. Doctors in southern California are also joining the system to monitor patients remotely so if you are an MD in California and want to look into this check out Banner Hospitals.  Critical-care specialists, also known as "intensivists," do the monitoring and they can cover more patients than could be done in person.  The iCare service has been around since 2006 so this is not brand new.  BD 

Taylor, 32 and a Phoenix resident, instead went to Banner Estrella Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening diabetic reaction.

At the Phoenix hospital's intensive-care unit, Taylor was treated remotely by a doctor in Tel Aviv, Israel, via a two-way camera installed in the patient's room.

Health-care companies such as Banner have turned increasingly to remote doctors to monitor their patients because of a shortage of critical-care specialists.

Dr. Baruch Goldstein assessed Taylor, monitored his vital signs and regularly communicated with him and his nurses, who provided hands-on care. Taylor received insulin, potassium, magnesium and fluid to treat diabetic acidosis, a condition in which a lack of insulin caused his blood levels to rise. He was out of the hospital's intensive-care unit within 48 hours and returned home that Thursday.

Taylor was satisfied that Goldstein, located half a world away, checked him several times during the day and night, even navigating a scare when Taylor's heart rate slowed in reaction to multiple needle injections. Not only could the doctor see the patient, but the patient could see the doctor.

"This one was a little more instantaneous. I felt he (Goldstein) could respond faster, rather than having to waiting for a doctor to come to your room or call a nurse back."

Banner Health's system is among the nation's largest remote telemedicine systems used for critical care.

Over the past four years, Banner said that patients have spent 26,000 fewer days in critical care and nearly 100,000 fewer days in hospital rooms. Last year, Banner estimates that the remote system saved more than 600 lives by providing more attentive care from critical-care specialists.

Hospitals turn to telemedicine for remote care of patients - USATODAY.com

Technorati Tags: Banner Hospitals,telehealth,intensive care,hospital,technology,Israel,monitor,opt out,remote monitoring,patient,doctor

When you hire the former CEO of Cigna, perhaps this might be an area of expertise to get coverage and the tourism element started.  The destination here is Puerto Rico which is not totally out of the country being it is a US possession. 

Former Cigna CEO and Founder Joins Board of Directors With Medical Tourism Company–Accounting and Algorithmic Business Model Expertise Hired

Below is a video from their website where a man talks about his experience in going to the Apollo hospital in India for a resurfacing procedure.  I remember when Satori stated out with a video showing a ship and it’s posted around the Medical Quack back around 2008 as it was kind of a teaser/satire if I remember correctly.  You can also find this press release at the City of Hartford’s website. 

Satori World Medical

When you look at their map, Canada is in there too and they have wanted to get into the tourism business as well.

Ontario Hospitals Being Considered for Medical Tourism – If Space is Available

Back in 2009 I attended the World Medical Tourism Conference in Los Angeles and I was a bit of a sponge in soaking up all the information I could get and now just a couple years later I’m seeing some of the companies represented there growing and offering the services which many at the time were just proposals.  You can read the link below for more information as I chatted with companies from Israel, Germany, (the professor who codes, my favorite as we talked medical records too) Turkey, and quite a few from Mexico.  Germany was close to our costs but less and the costs at that time included airfare and travel so I guess they were less when you took out those 2 elements.  I learned a lot that day.  BD

World Medical Tourism Conference 2009 – A Learning Awareness

Press Release:

The City of Hartford selects Satori World Medical as Medical Travel Facilitator

SAN DIEGO/HARTFORD – June 30, 2011 –The City of Hartford, Connecticut has selected through a competitive bidding process Satori World Medical, a global healthcare network and medical travel company, as an additional network option for city employees.  This positions the City of Hartford as the first major city in the United States to offer this innovative medical travel benefit to their employees and dependents.

Satori World Medical will provide City of Hartford employees and their dependents with a full service medical travel program, also known as medical tourism or global healthcare, which can result in 40-80 percent cost savings per procedure. The program offers specialized procedures, such as orthopedic, cardiac, and other major surgeries that can be performed at one of Satori’s network hospitals in Puerto Rico.

“We employ a large Hispanic workforce and having access to some of the best doctors and hospitals in Puerto Rico through Satori’s Global Network may be a very attractive option for their medical care,” said Richard Pokorski, Benefits Administrator for the City of Hartford.  Mr. Pokorski goes on to say that the cost savings will be helpful to the City of Hartford as many municipalities are seeking ways to help balance a shrinking revenue base and higher operating costs. It is estimated that implementing Satori’s medical travel benefit may save the City of Hartford approximately 6% off their total annual medical spend.

“We are very excited to work with such an innovative city and offer access to our high quality, cost-effective network of hospitals,” said Steven Lash, President & CEO, Satori World Medical.  Mr. Lash continues to say “Due to the significant development of quality programs overseas and greater transparency on quality outcomes, coupled with the unrelenting increase in healthcare costs in the U.S. there is now more than ever, a need to provide access to low cost, high quality healthcare.”

Satori World Medical has done extensive due diligence on hospitals and physicians to find the best the world has to offer. Its network features hospitals that meet or exceed U.S. standards of care, are accredited, and monitored regularly by Satori on the quality of care delivered.

For more information on the City of Hartford, visit http://www.hartford.gov/

Satori World Medical provides access to its global network of board-certified doctors and worldwide centers of excellence through a high-quality integrated medical travel program, which is easily added to any health plan, reducing the costs of surgical procedures by an average of 40-80 percent when compared to the same procedures performed in a U.S. hospital. Its business model is specifically designed to deliver high-quality health care services, share the tremendous cost savings with plan sponsors and their employees and to coordinate all medical and travel services for individuals who need care. For more information about Satori World Medical, call +1 (619) 704-2000 or visit at http://www.satoriworldmedical.com.

Technorati Tags: Cigna,Medical Tourism,heatlhcare,Satori,Mexico,CEO,health insurance,algorithm,healthcare reform,James Buncher,board of directors

This is the first part of the project that will begin rolling up in Congress more than likely as we get closer to the end of the year.  Each year CMS submits their plan by honoring the current SGR that is in place by law, this item that lawmakers have not been able to fix for the last 10 years and this does take an act of Congress.  Instead as you know we get bandaids and not a permanent fix, which has been a good thing instead of cutting doctor compensation with Medicare.  Again, this is the current law on the book that drives CMS to present their case every year and it will keep happening until something permanent is done. 

Dr. Don Berwick, head of CMS states below this cannot happen and has been a long time advocate for a permanent fix, as well as most of us as this comes down the deep drama at the end of the year when the pressure cooker is boiling and it has even exceeded it a couple of times, which is a real mess for billing and claims have to be resubmitted, back tracked for the money that was cut and then when the law goes into place for the extension, the balance of the claims get paid.  This is not an easy process let me tell you as the balance due payments get messed up in “data world” and it creates a lot of work when Congress is late and the time expires.  Smarter lawmaking would be bliss to say the least. 

IBM Watson Capabilities Being Pitched to Financial Industry-Congress Must Not Have Felt They Needed This So Further Behind We Fall With Effective Intelligent Lawmaking

So how far to the bell it goes this year remains to be seen on whether or not we get a permanent fix.  To do this though and see all elements Congress is going to need to get some high powered computing so a ton of unintended circumstances will be avoided if they create a permanent fix.  What will it take to grow from denial and realize the power of IT infrastructure and computer learning?  They just don’t get it so until we have “digital literates” representing us, the soap operas go on and we all suffer.  Here’s one very good example of a total waste of time and money on that subject.  This will do little, cost a lot of money and won’t help the consumer.  BD

Digital Illiteracy Is Killing Us With New Bill Wanting MD Medicare Compensation Put Online-No Clue on the Cost, Time and Truckloads of Errors to Audit and Correct

WASHINGTON -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued its proposed changes to the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including a long anticipated -- and long-feared -- plan to cut Medicare pay to physicians by 30%.

The agency is required to issue the fee schedule based on current payment rules. Using the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula now in effect, physicians are scheduled for a nearly 30% decrease in reimbursement beginning in 2012. Although similar cuts have been averted almost every year by last-minute Congressional reprieve, CMS cannot assume such a reprieve will occur and must issue its proposed fee schedule as if the payment cut were going to go into effect.

Including the cut, total payments under the fee schedule, if adopted, would be $80 billion in calendar year 2012. That money would be used to reimburse nearly one million providers, including limited license practitioners such as podiatrists, as well as nurse practitioners and physical therapists, in addition to physicians.

CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until Aug. 30, and plans to issue a final rule by Nov. 1.

Medical News: Medicare Unveils Plan to Cut Doctor Pay by 30% - in Public Health & Policy, Medicare from MedPage Today

Technorati Tags: Medicare,algorithms,media,lawsuit,CMS,Don Berwick,digital illiteracy,technology,SGR

The study encompasses 300 hospitals in the western US and is focused on performance in areas of cancer, heart surgery and a few other categories, but wait are we not trying to run physician owned hospitals out of business?   This is not a cost study but rather focuses on patient care which we like as patients by all means and might signify a better doctor/patient relationship too.

There’s a lot of anxious individuals waiting to hear more on this study I can bet as if our practice of using non clinical CEOs, which is basically what we have today is not getting the performance desired, then we have been going about this in all wrong ways.  The data being used for the study is from 2009, which is current enough and not ancient history with information relative to how hospitals function today.  The initial percentages numbers are nothing to sneeze at either with 25% being the average with what the study has gathered so far in the area of quality of care.  The information compiled includes both professional and personal backgrounds of both types of each leader.  I would also think the AMA would be all over this study as well.  BD 

The research, to be published in the elite journal Social Science and Medicine, is the first of its kind. Its conclusions run counter to a modern trend across the western world to put generally trained managers -- not those with a medical degree -- at the helm of hospitals. This trend has been questioned, particularly by the Darzi Report, which was commissioned by the U.K. National Health Service, but until now there has been no clear evidence.

Amanda Goodall PhD, the author of the study, and a senior researcher at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany, constructed a detailed database on 300 of the most prominent hospitals in the United States. She then traced the professional background and personal history of each leader. The research focused particularly on hospital performance in the fields of cancer, digestive disorders and heart surgery.

The study shows that hospital quality scores are approximately 25% higher in physician-run hospitals than in the average hospital.

Barry Silbaugh M.D., the CEO of American College of Physician Executives, commented: "We are watching Dr Goodall's research carefully because it seems to finally provide a real evidence-base for physician leadership. This is something we have long supported."

Best U.S. hospitals are run by physicians, study finds

Technorati Tags: study,hospitals,doctors,healthcare,physician owned hospitals,quality,cancer,heart surgery,patients

Well this kind of gives a new meaning to whether or not implants are the way to go if one travels quite a bit as it could mean some additional red tape at the TSA inspection areas.  If a woman terrorist were the subject then it would be breast implants and if it is a male, then we have the buttock implants.  Granted there are not as many men with those and chances are they would be caught easier as it’s something out of the norm. 

One plastic surgeon said it could be done easy enough with today’s technology and then another physician said again this might make women think twice about implants and embrace the fact that small is great.  BD 

The U.S. government has warned domestic and international airlines that terrorists are considering surgically implanting explosives into humans.

This potential threat repeats a worry that emerged more than a year ago, when a British intelligence service described a possible terrorist plan to insert explosives in buttock implants for male bombers and in breast implants for female bombers.

The latest warning is not based on intelligence pointing to a specific plot, but the Associated Press said the U.S. shared its renewed concerns last week with executives at domestic and international carriers.

People traveling to the U.S. from overseas may experience additional screening at airports because of the threat, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the UCI Department of Dermatology, speculated that the reported al-Qaida scheme might change women’s attitudes to breast implants.

“Small is beautiful,” he said, quoting economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher. “Perhaps this will put some rationality into those who desire the larger bust, for they might be subjected to extra screening in the airport security lines.”

http://inyourface.ocregister.com/2011/07/06/u-s-warns-of-breast-implant-bombs/31311/

Technorati Tags: implants,TSA,bombs,terrorists,intelligence,travel,explosives

The product is being created for the “developing” world which means we will have it here as sometimes in the US we are getting close to using such technologies.  This is not a treatment but a device that can diagnose.  Our phone is going to do just about everything soon.  BD 

iPhone Cataract

Here’s another way the iPhone is revolutionizing medicine — it’s now a cheap, portable tool for detecting cataracts, the leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed Catra, a cheap plastic lens that clips onto the iPhone’s screen. Using a simple vision test, the Catra software creates a map of cloudy areas that may indicate the onset of cataracts.

MIT Researchers Use iPhone To Detect Cataracts | Cult of Mac

Technorati Tags: MIT,cataract,eye,iPhone,cell phone,smartphone,mobile devices,eye test,developing countries

A couple years ago I remember when I first posted about the development of the product and it sounded a bit out there but here it is with FDA approval and the sound system will be going on sale this fall in the US. In March of this year the product received the CE Mark of Approval.  There is a piece you wear behind your ear as well and it is small so the part on the teeth communicates with the part behind the ear. 

SoundBite™ Hearing System Gets European CE Mark–Wireless Hearing Aid That Attaches to Your Teeth

In addition to the doctor, this also requires a visit to the dentist as the device is custom made to fit inside your mouth.  For reimbursement the website states that the device is a DME and they seek reimbursement directly from the patient’s insurance company.  The device is programmed via software with a regular PC with the device attached via a cable and settings are stored on the BTE microphone unit..  BD   

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonitus Medical, Inc., a medical device company that manufactures the world's first non-surgical and removable hearing device to transmit sound via the teeth, today announced that it has received an additional FDA clearance for its SoundBite Hearing System. The FDA 510(k) clearance for Conductive hearing loss is the second for the SoundBite prosthetic device and marks another significant milestone for the company.

"We are pleased that the uses of the SoundBite system continue to expand," said Amir Abolfathi, CEO of Sonitus Medical. "As we begin the roll out of our product in partnership with Otologists, ENTs, and Audiologists, we remain committed to increasing the number of patients who may benefit from our non-surgical treatment option."

Expanding upon the FDA clearance for the treatment of Single Sided Deafness attained by the company earlier this year, this second indication for use in treating patients with Conductive hearing loss further establishes SoundBite as a non-surgical and cost-effective alternative to bone anchored surgical implants. The SoundBite hearing system will be available starting early this fall through physicians and audiologists in a few select markets in the US (see where at www.soundbitehearing.com/find/), with expansion to additional markets nationwide over the following several months.

Sonitus Medical Receives Second FDA Clearance for SoundBite™ Hearing System -- SAN MATEO, Calif., July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Technorati Tags: Sonitus,hearing aides,wireless,teeth,clinical trials,FDA,UHL,SSD,bone conduction,technology,healthcare,European CE mark

Ok this sounds a little Facebookish with the default set to place this on the web with having to “uncheck” the box to be private.  Now in addition, how many that are using Fitbit are tracking their sexual activity and does this account for exercise with calories burned?   Last year a guy hacked his Fitbit so he could have his information directly instead of going through the web interface.  Google Health, which is now going away does allow for the information to be input. 

Patients Want their Data–This Guy Hacked a Fitbit to Get it Along With The API Algorithms

Some folks feel different about the automation of collecting and made this comment below.  You can also sleep with a Fitbit on and maybe this is how some of the sexual activity snuck in here?  Also, we have the sales and marketing again with data so what are they selling and to who so thus the hack mentioned above. 

“Manual collection of information means the collector is focusing on the data (whenever collection occurs) and has the opportunity for short reflections, and can keep abreast of the data more easily. We have found that completely automating collection removes these opportunities and can actually hinder individuals in keeping track of and making sense of their data.”

This was a good find over at Tech Crunch and They said it was not Fitbit’s fault totally but I’ll disagree a bit there as we are talking some HIPAA guidelines so cheers to all of those burning their calories and you might want to check with your security settings and while you track exercise with Fitbit, do you really want to sleep with it?  To each their own.  BD 

Yikes. Users of fitness and calorie tracker Fitbit may need to be more careful when creating a profile on the site. The sexual activity of many of the users of the company’s tracker and online platform can be found in Google Search results, meaning that these users’ profiles are public and searchable. You can click here to access these results. The Next Web reported this earlier this morning.

When you create a profile, the default privacy setting allows profiles to be found in search results (Google, Bing, etc). If you don’t unclick this setting, it will obviously make your profile public for anyone to find.

Sexual Activity Tracked By Fitbit Shows Up In Google Search Results

Technorati Tags: Fitbit,PHR,Google Health,medical devices,devices that report data,applications,participatory sensing,algorithms,search engines

Aetna was named as one of the highest increases taking place with the number being 92% so how many that involves, it does not say.  When the federal law was passed it was not anticipated that insurers would be using sophisticated algorithmic formulas to query and score so extensively to keep profits high but if nothing is done, it will continue, they work the numbers.  What makes it a bit more complicated here is that we have two governing agencies, the insurance commissioner and the Department of Managed care.  What a nice 4th of July wish. 

Blue Cross Rate Increases Spread Between 2 Regulatory Agencies in California-Consumer Watchdog Calls on Governor to Merge Insurance Commissioner & Managed Care Office As HMO Side Rates Go up 16%

I say this all the time, get in to the math and technology as that’s how all of this is calculated and as a patient you are given a risk assessment score and some of these methodologies are far from being a correct match.  Here’s one example where one of the third party analytics company tweaked those algos a little to much so when a claim is denied, this is what you are battling, insurance company algorithmic formulas and they are not always right and get used for hard core decisions instead of intelligent guidance. 

Med Solutions and Blue Cross Caught On the Stress Test Denial Algorithm (video)

One example is using your credit scores to assess your behavior to give a number of whether or not you will take your medications'.  FICO is one agency that is selling this analytic services to insurers and pharmacy companies.  I declare it a mis match as you can skew data just about any way you want today and the other side that monitors is bringing a dull knife to gun battles without hi technology to verify. 

FICO Credit Score Company Develops New Medication Adherence Scoring Program–Risk Management Assessment Algorithms Created to Derive Profits For Corporations–Fail!

If you think you are being fleeced by some of the current day analytics, you are correct, you are and if you have not come to that conclusion do some reading as there’s a lot of it just on this site that will explain how the formulas are used and sometimes abused.  Read these two books for starters if you want to get a better understanding of how analytic are used today. 

Wendell Potter Tell All Book–Deadly Spin–One to Put On My List as “He Knows Algorithms and How they Create Profits”

“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms–New Book Coming Out Soon

When it comes to the math with medical records a lot of effort and certification efforts have been put into place for safety and so forth, but we leave out the other side and certify medical record algorithms but the insurers run hog wild and very few question their algorithms and thus so we should certify them as well.  Ms. Sebelius doesn’t have a strong Health IT background in this specific area and thus I think they have to rely on so many outside companies to help them verify what in the world the carriers are doing.  They are just changing and adjusting those algorithms for profit and there’s a dark side. 

HHS Issues Final Rule for Health Insurers To Justify Increases–Need to Certify Insurance Algorithms For Calculation Just Like We Certify Electronic Record Algorithms

We certify software from medical record vendors, so why do we not certify that he algorithms run by insurers and their agents are also performing correctly?  Medical Loss Ratios, they get beat with the algorithms for business model profits and even those who sell health insurance are taking it in the shorts with compensation too.  Some are leaving the business while others cut back on services they used to do for free, so some of the hands that feed health insurers are getting cut too. 

Medical Loss Ratios Showing Devastating Effects With Health Insurance Agents and Consumers 

One of the absolute lowest blows here though is trying to create games online that get you to play and supposedly learn about living a healthier life and all Aetna and Humana here are doing is tying you down to a computer for even a longer amount of time and scraping some data to sell while they are at it.  To me this was absolutely one of the lowest blows to insult consumer intelligence.  They have money for grants for this absurdity and I would rather see claims paid as this will do little and probably won’t draw much of a crowd anyway. So when your premiums go up, remember they want your data and want you sit around and play games like those on Facebook.

Aetna To Offer Online Game Social Game For Personal Wellness- Joins Humana As They Have An Online Game Called FamScape

Consumers are smart enough to know that good health and eating habits are not a game, it’s real life so don’t be suckered in, it’s all in the math for profit.   Again as mentioned analytics will and are abused to get you to buy in with some of the marketing you see out there today too so do your best to make sure that you are getting some real analytic information and not being given numbers like referenced in the FICO story above, as credit agencies make money selling your data, so their rationalization of their data using credit scores is a mis match and put out there to market to see how many will sucker and buy it, plain and simple on their scoring. 

High Frequency Electronic Trading Methodologies And Algorithms Work Their Way Into Healthcare With Human Bodies Losing Liquidity With the “Data Game”

Coming back around here if you have not figured out it’s all about those algorithms read around the Quack and do some searches as there’s a lot more from where this came from.  I used to write all kinds of queries for analytics and you are not always getting the straight story with some of the “marketing analytics” being sold today.  Here in California one carrier was even going to have to refund some money to consumers as they charged too much. All Medicare claims are processed by contractors which are insurance companies so no big Medicare computer in Washington doing any of that work. 

Health Insurers Spending Millions to Update IT Infrastructure to Comply With Federal Laws–New Software, Algorithms and Other Health IT Systems To Provide Accurate Information

We need lawmakers who are digitally intelligent too otherwise this battle goes on and on with the wool pulled over their eyes too.  Congress could use some real algo men as well as other government entities to at least talk on the same algorithmic level as the insurers as they do have the most advanced IT infrastructures outside of the financial business and they use it.  BD 

More Congressional Testimonies About Health IT–Members of Congress Could Entertain Getting an “Algo Man” on Staff As Wall Street and Health Insurers Have Them–Don’t Leave Home Without One

If you read this far, what do you think about the math and use of computer formulas?  I’m just here explaining the process and what consumers need in order to not be fleeced with over worked and mismatched formulas when it happens.  Technology is not all bad and does great things but we have to be aware that just like a car can be used to drive to work it could also be used in robbery, so think about what the use of the algorithms are, just like the car.  BD 

Many plans are increasing their rates Friday, with no obligation to justify the increases. The latest rate hike by some of the state's largest health insurers affects 1.5 million Californians; mostly small business and individual policyholders.

The premium jump ranges from as small as 3 percent to a whopping 92 percent. For some customers, it's the third rate hike in less than a year.

"I have the authority right now to reject excessive rate hikes for auto insurance, homeowners insurance, property insurance, casualty insurance, but not health insurance," said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones

"I have the authority right now to reject excessive rate hikes for auto insurance, homeowners insurance, property insurance, casualty insurance, but not health insurance," said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

New bill to regulate California insurance hikes | abc7.com

Technorati Tags: health insurance,Department of Managed care,Insurance Commissioner,Califonria,premiums,rate increases,algorithms,profit

Steward Health is part of Cerberus Capital Management who has been buying up quite a few hospitals of late, especially in the Massachusetts area and a couple outside of the state.  After dumping $50 million with the filing Steward will be making the purchase. Steward was not willing to take on the debt so it was either file bankruptcy or close down the facility.  Several million will be spent by Steward for upgrades and so forth.  All the bond holders and unsecured creditors such as doctors groups will be not be reimbursed in full, so I wonder how much they will get on the dollar.  Here was another recent purchase.  One more not profit crosses over to the for profit side.  BD

Steward Health (Cerberus Capital) Buys Another Massachusetts Hospital–Morton

From the Website:

“Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., along with its affiliates, is one of the world's leading private investment firms. Through its team of investment and operations professionals, Cerberus specializes in providing both financial resources and operational expertise to help transform undervalued companies into industry leaders for long-term success and value creation. Cerberus holds controlling or significant minority interests in companies around the world.
Cerberus is headquartered in New York City with affiliate and/or advisory offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.”

Four days after Quincy Medical Center trustees approved a deal for it to be acquired by Steward Health Care System, the hospital today filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to dump more than $50 million in debt before the sale.

The 196-bed hospital had not previously disclosed its plans to restructure in US Bankruptcy Court. Last month, it failed to make a monthly payment to bondholders on about $56 million it borrowed four years ago to finance renovations and a new power plant.

Quincy Medical Center trustee Richard P. Barry said the bankruptcy filing is necessary because neither Steward nor other potential buyers identified by a consulting firm, Navigant Capital Advisors, were willing to invest enough money to pay off the hospital’s debts.

Quincy hospital files for bankruptcy

Technorati Tags: Caritas Christi Health,private equity,healthcare,hospitals,Cerberus,money,investments,Landmark Medical,acquisitions and mergers,JPMorgan Healthcare Conference,Quincy Medical Center

If you have not heard the latest with the Supreme Court in Wisconsin, we appear to have experienced some kind of altercation with Judge Prosser allegedly holding another judge in a choke hold.  Judge Prosser is not real popular right now as you may remember it was his decision on the interpretation of the law that is leading to record recalls and the petitions are all being filed.  There are members from both parties on the court panel and when the discussion became a little heated something happened but we don’t know the details yet.  The video below shows Judge Prosser who appeared to have some anger management issues going on with the reporter from Fox when asked about the incident.  The reporters actually talked with many of the judges but only Prosser seemed a bit non professional in grabbing the reporter’s microphone, again anger management? 

My thoughts once more is to give the judges the technology they need to decipher all the information and have it drilled down to a format where everyone is looking at the same numbers at the same time and work more harmoniously without granting favors.  Is this what we have to look forward to with our judicial systems and their decision making processes?  There’s definitely a need to come to some better decisions and this is not the only court that is seeing such cases but again are physical altercations the way things are going to be settled?  BD 

 

There is something clearly wrong with Supreme Court justices 'duking out' their differences of opinion. It is hard to know exactly what happened yet, but it sounds like someone may be on their way out.

“Yesterday morning, I first read the story written by Bill Lueders — of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism — saying that "Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers earlier this month."
...
Later in the day, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel came out with an article that revealed more complexity to the allegations. I wrote about that post last night, noting the account of "a source" who had spoken to "several" of the justices who witnessed the incident (there were "[a]t least five"), and said that Prosser "put his hands around" Bradley's neck, without "exert[ing] any pressure," which Bradley "described as a chokehold."
The Journal Sentinel then cites "another source" that said "that Bradley attacked Prosser." Here we get the first allegation that Bradely "charged him with fists raised" and that Prosser "put his hands in a defensive posture," blocking her, resulting in hand-neck contact."

Berman Post: Physical Confrontation Among Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices?

Technorati Tags: healthcare,Wisconsin,judges,ruling,digital literacy,technology,labor laws,Prosser

This is kind of an oxymoron to have the agency responsible for making sure that privacy and security is followed and issues fines, only to have issues in their own back yard.  Actually this was a good job though on the part of the IT department with analytics noticing the transfer of files by an employee and to what drive and where is unknown.  The employee is on leave until the investigation is completed.  BD 

The California Department of Public Health, which previously has fined at least a dozen hospitals and one nursing home for privacy violations, has suffered its second major breach of protected health information since September 2010--and took 80 days to report this second breach. Its first breach took 79 days to report.

The breach affects about 9,000 current and former state health department employees. The department's information security systems on April 5 detected unusual activity, which turned out to be an employee who improperly copied information to a private hard drive, according to a June 24 statement from the department.  The employee has been unable "to account for the disposition of that data or the equipment onto which the data was copied," and is on administrative leave pending completion of the incident.

The California Department of Public Health, which previously has fined at least a dozen hospitals and one nursing home for privacy violations, has suffered its second major breach

Technorati Tags: California,security,privacy,data breach,Health IT

This is just so funny and very well done so when your vacuum cleaner is possessed and you need an exorcist, I wouldn’t count on a lot of help.  This is not false advertising here as the exorcist can’t figure this one out and this might be one appliance that may not adapt well to machine learning technology.  BD

The Possessed Dirt Devil

What an excellent day for an exorcism.
Dirt Devil - Exorcist (90")
Brand: Dirt Devil
Product: Centrino Cleancontrol
Production Company: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Creative: Andre Price
Producer: Christian Hergenröther
Director: Andreas Roth
Dop: Roland Stuprich
Music: The German Wahnsinn Team
Editor: Alexander Menkö
Postproduction: lafourmi postproduction, nhb video

YouTube - ‪Dirt Devil-The Exorcist‬‏

Technorati Tags: Dirt Devil,exorcist,humor,need a laugh,vacuum cleaner,devil,commercials

The drug was not theirs though as it came from Bayer Healthcare who already markets the drug in other countries and the market name for rivaroxaban, the Bayer drug, under the J and J approval is Xarelto. Maybe this is a dumb question but one wonders why Bayer didn’t go after their own FDA approval since they already the drug distributed?  Who knows, perhaps J and J had a bigger bankroll or maybe Bayer didn’t want to spend the time and effort? 

I guess too with all the recalls maybe this is to be a “good will” step in the right direction?  Who knows but at least it is an alternative pill instead of an injection. Bayer already markets the drug elsewhere in the world.  There’s also Pradaxa that was approved in October of 2010 for blood thinning.

FDA Approves Pradaxa–An Alternative to Warfarin To Treat Blot Clots Associated With Atrial Fibrillation

WASHINGTON – Johnson & Johnson said Friday that U.S. regulators have approved its new type of blood thinner shown to reduce deadly blood clots in patients who have undergone knee and hip replacements.

The Food and Drug Administration decision makes rivaroxaban the first U.S.-approved drug that works by blocking a clotting protein called factor Xa. That's in contrast to older blood thinners that work by preventing platelets from sticking together.

The once-a-day pill will serve as an alternative to the popular injection Lovenox, which is the standard treatment for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery. The drugs had similar results in head-to-head trials, including similar rates of side effects such as major internal bleeding. J&J said its new drug would be priced similarly to Lovenox, which is marketed by French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Rivaroxaban was discovered by German drugmaker Bayer Healthcare, which already markets the drug in 110 countries around the world. New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J will market the drug in the U.S. under the brand name Xarelto.

J&J wins U.S. approval for new blood thinner - USATODAY.com

Technorati Tags: blood thinners,blood clots,atrial fibrillation,heart disease,enzyme,clincal trials,FDA,cardiology,Bayer,Johnson and Johnson

It is amazing all the focus that abortions are getting when we have real issues out there and technologies that need regulation popping up all around them and then we get this!  Again I feel that perhaps some of those folks are “non participants” with consumer technologies and have to resort to controlling abortion clinics to show they are doing something and distract from the difficulty they are having with real problems.  I’m not the only one out there in tech that feels this way, a lot of people feel this way and are not even the Health IT area, and besides that with new technologies abortions are even safer so what the heck?  What’s up with these guys hanging on to the 70s? 

Thank goodness we had a judge with some sense here and realized this and the “digital illiterate” stuff makes big new headlines but hurt people so again what’s the purpose with the “non participant” lawmakers here?  I am really beginning to wonder what cabbage leaf these folks rolled out of myself.  If I have that opinion, just think of what the rest of the world thinks as this is just a big side show for attention and I don’t think it’s going to have the long time effect they want and those folks just wasted a ton of taxpayer money and time.  This group in Kansas is not alone there’s other whack jobs out there too crusading for control of something that has been decided years ago. 

Digital Illiteracy Still Plagues Law Makers–Severe Focus on Abortion Rights Proves It–Is This Where Our Lawmaking Knowledge Leaves Off or Even Begins? Scary…

The new law requires hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices to obtain an annual license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to perform more than five nonemergency abortions in a month. The regulations tell abortion providers what drugs and equipment they must stock and, among other things, establish minimum sizes and acceptable temperatures for procedure and recovery rooms.

In blocking the law, Murguia said evidence presented in court documents showed the providers would “suffer irreparable harm” through the loss of business and patients, and that at least two women currently seeking abortions would be harmed by not being able to go to the provider of their choice.

The licensing law was part of a wave of anti-abortion measures enacted this year by Kansas and other states with new Republican governors or GOP-dominated legislatures. Utah and Virginia also are imposing new regulations on abortion providers, but Kansas moved with unusual speed to enact its rules by Friday — a major issue in the lawsuit.

In blocking the law, Murguia said evidence presented in court documents showed the providers would “suffer irreparable harm” through the loss of business and patients, and that at least two women currently seeking abortions would be harmed by not being able to go to the provider of their choice.

Kan. licensing rules for abortion clinics blocked | CJOnline.com

Technorati Tags: Abortions,digital literacy,lawmakers,technology,healthcare,doctors,fines,prison,GOP,digital illiteracy,laws,Kansas,judge

This is interesting to listen to the man from Canada who traveled to Mexico for treatment and it’s pretty astounding when he talks about what he couldn’t do before and two weeks after surgery he can ride a bike and walk without oxygen.  He had 2 treatments at the clinic and was not even unable to bath himself before the treatment and was basically waiting to die in his words. 

COPD Stem Cell Therapy

There’s also a lot of work going on at UCLA with research in this area.  Just this week a new airway stem cell was discovered and the finding is also another step in the direction of treating COPD and treating cells to repair the mucus glands.  Again  when you listen to the results the man had in the video, there’s no doubt that stem cell therapy needs to continue as it is not only saving lives but giving quality of life back to patients as well.  BD

“I thought there was absolutely no hope and that I was destined to pass away.” Those are the words of Ron, a COPD patient who had stem cell therapy at Angeles hospital in Tijuana, Mexico. Watch this moving video showing Ron before and after stem cell therapy. He talks about his symptoms before treatment and how he lost hope of ever getting better. Then we get to see his after therapy and the results are amazing. Watch the video below!

COPD Patient Video Before and After Stem Cell Therapy | StemCellMX

Technorati Tags: COPD,stem cells,regenerative medicine,lungs,breathing,Tijuana,therapy technologies

There might be a reason in past history for this event as back in March of 2009 860 Health IT positions were abolished so got us once but maybe not twice?   This lay off was done in 2009 though when recovery efforts were still in the dog house after the 2008 crash and everyone was cutting corners where they could.  In addition the health IT field has taken off tremendously since that time so there is a needs for more in this field.  Also, some of those who were laid off  back then were able to get jobs at IBM who was going to take over some of the IT functions at that time.

Kaiser to cut 860 Health IT positions

If you ever see the job openings for Kaiser it’s like about 75% tech on their openings, and a big majority at the Oakland headquarters.  There is a move in California for more employees to organize and I am guessing this is driven partially by current day working environments and goodness knows we have had demonstrations this last couple of years all over the US.  Recently the nurses marched on Wall Street, but funny it didn’t get much news coverage.  BD 

Nurses Demonstrate on Wall Street Discussing Wages, Working Conditions - Addressing the Sad State of Healthcare Created by Financial Greed (Video)

LOS ANGELES -- A group of 500 information technology professionals at Kaiser facilities across California overwhelmingly said “yes” to join Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers – West (SEIU-UHW) on Thurs., June 30, to ensure quality jobs in our community, and reliable technology services at Kaiser.

“One of our main concerns is making sure we keep committed, experienced tech professionals at Kaiser. Our patients depend on us to keep their data safe, and our coworkers depend on us to keep their computers and technology working,” said Maria Escalante, a senior desktop analyst at Kaiser South Bay. “Now we can focus on working with management in partnership to solve problems on the job.”

The election, certified Thursday afternoon by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was conducted by a “card check” or sign-up. 57 percent of employees signed cards stating they wish to be represented by the union.

Information technology workers at Kaiser will now join 45,000 of their coworkers to prepare for contract negotiations in 2012 by conducting surveys to determine top priorities such as workload, quality of services and working more closely with management to solve problems on the job.

500 More Kaiser Professionals Unite for Good Jobs, Quality Services Across California in SEIU-UHW - Business Wire - SunHerald.com

Technorati Tags: Kaiser Permanente,layoffs,healthcare,Health IT,Outsourcing,IBM,unions,organize,SEIU-UHW,technologists