Verizon Must Be Jumping into the Data Profile Selling Business–Got a Notice Today to “Opt Out” Otherwise They “Opt Me In” For “Advertising by Geography”

You can read the message below as to what was included and do I care about advertisers being able to reach me according to where I live, no.  Along with all this comes those data intense coupons that collect information too.  Is there any business around today that can exist without selling data?   They also have a new Google Toolbar so I am guessing this is marketing in coordination with Google?  When you use the coupons though that’s where it can get sticky for sure.  We all know that coupons do all kinds of things today.  Walgreens said their data selling business is valued just under $800 million. 

This looks like a good place to put the Stanford video once more that talks about privacy.  There’s millions made here so let’s tax it to help out healthcare by all means.  I would not die due to lacking a social network to connect to but I could die not having the medication I need to fight an infection or a hospital to go to.  BD 

Privacy Wanted–So Let’s Require Those Who Sell Web Data to Register and Tax the Transactions and Publicly Disclose Who They Sell To With a Federal Registry

---

You Are the Product–Privacy Anonymity and Net Neutrality On the Internet - Excellent Stanford University Lecture (Video)

You Are the Product

Dear Valued Customer,                                                                                                   
Your privacy is an important priority at Verizon.  We want to let you know that Verizon will soon participate in a program that will improve the ability of advertisers to reach our Verizon Online customers based on your physical address.  The goal is to provide online ads that may be more relevant to you.
This program uses your address to determine whether you reside in a local area an advertiser is trying to reach.  However, Verizon won’t share your address with advertisers as part of this process.  Advertisers won’t know it’s you specifically or where you actually live.  If you do not want us to allow advertisers to send you ads based on your geographic area you can let us know by selecting here.
What does this mean for you?
Certain ads you’ll see while browsing the Internet may be directed to you and other Verizon Online customers in your area, so these ads may be of more interest to you.  For example, a pizza chain may want to deliver their ad to give a special offer to people living in a particular area.  Using this program, national brands and local businesses can tailor their offers, coupons, and incentives to your local area.
Protection of Your Personal Information
Verizon protects your personal information as described in our privacy policy.  You can learn about Verizon’s ad practices or let us know that you do not want to participate by selecting here.  If you don’t want to participate, you will need your User ID and Password to access the opt-out page.  Please note that declining to participate won’t impact the number of ads you see, just their potential relevance to you.
For answers to your frequently asked questions, select here.
Sincerely,
Verizon

Technorati Tags: Stanford,Google,Facebook marketing,sales,search history,online,education,consumers,computers,Internet,web,Wikileaks,Verizon

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Healthcare Law–Economic Times Outdate Original Provisions With Mandate to Buy Insurance and Lack of Public Options–Judicial Systems And Lawmakers With a “Screw Loose” Upstairs?

As we all are probably aware the Supreme Court has been handed the law for their rulings and decisions.  The healthcare reform law was not all bad, as a matter of fact there’s much good than what some may consider bad in the law today.  As times have changed though, portions of the law are out of date.  I don’t know why we have this issue with reviewing laws and see if they fit current economic times.  Granted some laws are “timeless” but not all of them as some seem to think.

The first issue of mandating all to carry insurance is one and how do you expect to enforce this?  There’s a bit of insanity here with the high unemployment in the US and current economic times and right now this would be insane to think that this portion of the law could be carried out.  Only those who live in the 70s, and we have a ton of those folks would even think this has any teeth today.  What would one do fine those who don’t have the money?  You can’t put citizens in jail over this either as they are already over crowded.  Here in California where inmates are being turned out early is one big example.  So this provision is outdated and no longer applies at all.  Its’ not like a car where you have an option of whether or not to own one, it’s health insurance and we all have bodies that need care at some point so not an option.

The second item of the public option now certainly makes more sense than ever and would allow many to have insurance and sadly when the law was created during better economic times many didn’t see this as a need, well it’s time has arrived today.  It is also necessary to look at how the entire healthcare business has evolved.  When the law was passed we didn’t have the massive amount of insurance companies that owned subsidiaries to provide Health IT services.  That fact if nothing else with the way the business of health insurance has changed the face of time.  Again, do we come back those living in the 70s again being oblivious to this fact?

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

Actually at this point Universal Healthcare makes more sense than just enacting a public plan.  We live in a very complex society of mathematical formulas and even the abuse of math for marketing purposes in healthcare that flaws and skews statistics in so many areas.  They are not all bad by any means but there’s enough out there that makes the law almost impossible in these 2 areas to even have any substance.  As a good example, let’s take a look at what happens to judges today trying to rule on the law, they can’t even keep track of their investments with the huge amount of mergers and acquisitions out there and get themselves in positions of conflict of interest.  So what do we do jail them too, like the folks that can’t afford health insurance?  If you going to do one, might as well do the other as they are breaking the law too:)  Do they get the benefit of the doubt on something like this because they don’t keep up and read?  Some of these folks don’t do their math very well either, as reflected in the news. 

Judge In Health Care Lawsuit, Has Financial Ties To GOP Marketing Firm-Judges Need Some “Algo Men” on Board As Advisers to Sort Out Their Connected Interests

As citizens, we are told this all the time with being scrutinized for every action we create and are held accountable from information that is mined and sold about our medications and more.  Let’s quit talking in circles.  My opinion here is “sorry Judge educate yourself and see where your dollars are going and do some soul searching” as you are in a position to make huge decisions that impact all citizens,  so take control of your own decisions too, this is the age of transparency and people want to know what kind of role models exist and who’s at the helm making these decisions, take responsibility for your actions. If the first item of requiring all in current economic times is not changed, well everyone is going to look at the judicial system as “having a screw loose” as common sense needs to enter the picture here. 

Florida Judge Rules Against Health Law– Need Some Judicial “Algo Men” to Influence Decisions on Costs With Methodology Entailment and IT Systems Functionality

If you want to look at things in another way you can also see how similar provisions that are used in financial trading are crossing over into healthcare as the insurers are all bough and sold on the stock market so why should a citizen be required to buy from a company listed on a “stock exchange” without another option?  All the subsidiaries of the insurers also run Medicare with their subsidiary contractors processing claims so they are well embedded there for addition revenue too. 

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

Here’s something else to ponder with mergers and acquisitions too…take at look at the link below and it’s almost kind of scary that one company theoretically has a subsidiary to handle the process of introducing a drug/device to the FDA and through other owns subsidiaries could handle the entire process, right down to doctor reimbursement.  In the past maybe this was not such a big concern as subsidiaries operated as separate companies and they may still do that today to a degree but what happens today that didn’t happen even just a few years ago is the fact that they can and do SHARE DATA and SELL DATA for profit.  Wake up folks.  All of it is not bad, but a lot is when it comes to this type of action simply for profit only, it’s out there every day. 

Today we have a large “black hole” of insurance company subsidiaries that nobody pays a lick of attention to.  I was discussing this fact with someone in the financial area who of course is a human too with a need for care and he said shoot, next the insurers will be buying up the biotech and device companies. Keep an eye open Pharma and Device companies. 

United Healthcare (Optum) Owns A Consulting Firm for FDA Drug and Device Approvals, Clinical Trials–CanReg - Subsidiary Watch

It wasn’t but a few weeks later that we have something like that going on, read the link below with a new “subsidiary” of United with what they are doing.  They don’t own the device company but are set up to distribute and must have some dandy well paid anti-trust lawyers on board is about all I can figure. Sure we get cheaper hearing aids I believe from China, but for those American companies who make hearing aids here, this is not something welcome at a time when we need to bring tangible products being made back to the US.

United HealthCare Gets In the Medical Device Business–Distributing Cheap Hearing Aides Sold Via Hi HealthInnovations Division –Subsidiary Watch

Here’s one subsidiary they quietly bought while everyone is sleeping out there with again not looking at the subsidiary action going on with mergers and acquisitions. 

UnitedHealth subsidiary (Ingenix Subsidiary I3) Acquires ChinaGate – Working to Sell Chinese Products Globally

We also have marketing that just skews items and stats like you can’t believe.  Here’s a doctor from the UK that is addressing this and he deserves an ear by all means at this affects all of us.  So again, how can one rule on the healthcare law without looking at how all is connected today and how data is being used? 

Bad Science and Bad Analytics That Misleads–TED Video Takes on Advertising on Steroids and Danger of Mis-Matched Analytics And Distortion of Clinical Trials (Video)

In reality I don’t think anyone wants this job and responsibility to rule and it’s not an all or nothing decision by all means and only the digital illiterates that waste everyone’s time talking abortions in Congress still believe this I think.  You know I just watched Rachel Maddow this week and again the “illiterates” who live in the 70s have this back on the agenda today.  What a waste and it really makes those wasting time on this subject look so 70s and out of touch.  I guess this is where real lawmaking leaves off and what we sadly elected with this showing.  I just wonder if they don’t at some time wonder what other think, especially geeks like me that see that it is digital illiteracy staring us in the face. 

Abortion discussion is the “default topic” for digital Illiterate lawmakers in today’s world.

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…

This type of Congressional activity just makes some folks even look more digital illiterates and out of touch but for some reason they just don’t get it and stifle progress and good things happening all the way around.  It’s all they know with being “non participants” in general consumer IT.  We are basically screwed with “digital illiterates” making laws and the scary potential of “digital illiterates” ruling on them, how do we win or make sense here?  In the meantime the algorithms of progress that big business uses just keep on rolling.  This is the bottom line of why we have “Occupy Wall Street” in action today and all of those who are there may not even fully understand all of this but they know something is wrong and it’s doesn’t feel good, so they are doing their best to bring around the awareness the best they can. I call it the Attack of the Killer Algorithms, as it’s all IT infrastructure that runs everything today and put in place by those who design the systems. 

Occupying Wall Street–It’s All About the “Attack of the Killer Algorithms”–The Unfair and Marketing Exploit of Ethics Using Math–This Could be a Subject for Michael Moore to Explore and Document In a Movie

So in summary, let’s hope we do not have a judicial branch that is going to hang on to the 70s and rule on a topic that must take in current economic conditions so they can create an adjustment that makes sense here as it’s not all or nothing, the IT infrastructure if nothing else can’t be taken down from what has already been implemented but it can be adjusted.

This will be a tough decision and when it all shakes out I guess we will see who is really still living in Bedrock as the Fred Flintstones of the US.  If some kind of intelligence is not used and they believe that all stats and analytics are gospel as math is created with algorithmic formulas today, we are in for a long haul of absolute stupidity and and a world of hurt as the digital illiterates will end up shutting everything down in the US that have have prided ourselves on as a democracy with the ignorance of being able to interpret technology and the impact of big business today in how things are run in the US. 

It’s time to take a look at what’s really happening and the impact of technology and I made this post back in August of 2009 about needing a Department of Algorithms, based on what was happening then and it’s hasn’t changed a bit and I might even say here the need has accelerated. 

“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?

If we get an overall “repeal” vote come out of the Supreme Court it will be one for the record books and straight out of the world of digital illiteracy and if it was not such a dire and sad situation affecting so many in the US, we would be laughing our asses off. 

We need laws and interpretations that fit the digital world we live in today.  BD 

Technorati Tags: Judge,Florida,Healthcare repeal,IT systems,Algo Men,legal decisions,court cares,healthcare reform,health insurance,politics,algorithms,Supreme Court

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Bar Codes on Vaccines–Cook Children’s Healthcare Using Microsoft Tag To Add Vaccine Information to HealthVault PHR & Athena EHR

If you read here often enough, you know I am a bid advocate of the use for bar codes in healthcare and you can find my on going campaign for their use with FDA recalls here and more here.  The two links have a permanent home at the top of the Medical Quack you can find at any time.  As a matter of fact they can even be used for e-prescribing authentication too.  Sean over at the Family Health Guy blog also has some additional input on how this all came together. 

RAZCODE (Microsoft Tags) Using Smart Phones to authenticate MDs When e-Prescribing Controlled Substances

You may have seen the bar codes with the Withings Scale too.  Every time you step on the scale your weight goes right into your HealthVault account.  HealthJibe is the gateway where you sign up for the service through the gateway and register. 

Withings WiFi Connected Body Scale Integrates with Microsoft HealthVault To Use WiFi to Record Your Weight

In this case the Withings web page will send you to HealthJibe to get set up.  In essence your pounds are being authenticated through a similar gateway as mentioned about with e-prescribing.  Here’s a couple of past posts from the last few months.  Here’s a little history from a while back on how HealthVault and Google Health have this connectivity.

Connecting HealthVault/Google Health and More to RazCode Encrypted Microsoft Tags – Automate Data Input

The link below has some additional information too on how the authentication processes work with authentication and some nice videos that help explain. 

“Auth Tag” – Mobile Microsoft Bar Code Tags Using a Smartphone To Scan for Two Factor Authentication Giving Users Digital Tokens

Recently I was interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal paper about the massive Triad recalls and some of the anti bacterial wipes are still out there too…

Recalled Wipes From Triad Still Out There in Consumer Medicine Cabinets and Possibly At Some Retail Locations-Manufacturers and FDA Need To Do A Better Job-Bar Codes

As recently seen at the Microsoft Tag website…

Who wouldn’t want to just scan with a smart phone to instantly get your data in your medical records? 

Below is an article I wrote for an investment magazine on how I feel FDA recalls could really benefit with the focus on a patient who was accidentally implanted with a device that had been recalled, but was missed from being pulled from inventory and the man died a few days later when the clamp malfunctioned.  Many hospitals have a good RFID system in place today, but how about small surgical centers, doctors offices and so on?  Anyway you can see Microsoft Tags in use here on this website and nice job with Cook Medical and the vaccines!  BD 

Micro-Cap FDA Recalls Never End

Press Release:

FORT WORTH, Texas & WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PedsPal, Cook Children’s Health Care System’s physician group’s purchasing program, has collaborated with athenahealth (NASDAQ:ATHN - News), Microsoft, Sanofi Pasteur, and Merck, as well as its physician members, to establish the nation’s first use of 2D barcodes on vaccines. Cook Children’s will demonstrate the new 2D barcoding technology at the upcoming American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference being held from October 15-18^th in Boston, Massachusetts.

Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a guidance that allows an exemption to the existing requirement to use linear (i.e., 1D) barcodes on vaccines. As a result, physicians across America who use athenaClinicals®, athenahealth’s electronic health record (EHR) service platform, will soon be able to simply scan a vaccine’s barcode and have that information automatically incorporated into a patient’s EHR. This new capability will grant a host of new physician capabilities that Cook Children’s has been developing with athenahealth through its EHR since February of 2010, including:

• Better managing a practice’s vaccine supply—lowering their costs
• Confirming that the vaccine about to be given is for the right child, in the right dose, and at the right time
• Sending notice of the vaccine dose to the state’s vaccine registry automatically
• Creating a reorder to replace the administered vaccine

“Cook Children’s is pleased to help achieve this groundbreaking milestone in the care of children,” said Jason Terk, M.D., pediatrician with the Cook Children's Physician Network and Medical Director of PedsPal. “This new barcode system not only allows us to enhance our level of care, but also sets the standard for the entire nation. As health care providers, it’s important for us not to follow, but to take the lead, in using technology. We will be able, like never before, to meet the parents’ needs in an efficient manner and in a way that fits their lifestyle.”

This unique collaborative effort will provide parents and guardians with the ability to use their smartphones to scan vaccines administered to their children directly into their personal health record stored in their Microsoft HealthVault account, assuring that they have a complete record of immunizations received, which can be accessible to the family from any Internet connection when they need it. Microsoft HealthVault is a trusted place for people to organize, store, and share health information online.

Jonathan Bush, athenahealth’s CEO and Chairman, said, “Let’s face it, asking a parent to remember the last time their college-age child got a tetanus shot is unreliable, and the odds that their current doctor in San Francisco is aware that this shot was administered in Boston 20 years ago are slim at best. In health care, the ability to not only more effectively track vaccines but to build this data into an EHR platform that can follow the patient is an absolute game-changer, and we are confident that the forward thinking of Cook Children’s to again utilize the power of our cloud-based clinical network is going to lead to an invaluable level of improved patient safety.”

Peter Neupert, Corporate Vice President, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft, said, “Applications such as this one for vaccine management will help people to understand the importance of connecting information throughout the health system and making it promptly accessible to the people who need it, whether doctors, medical inventory managers, or parents caring for their children. We’re excited to work with Cook Children’s and athenahealth to deliver solutions to help improve care and empower families to manage their health.”

About Cook Children's Health Care System

Cook Children's Health Care System is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized pediatric health care organization comprised of seven entities - a Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Health Plan, Indemnity Company and Health Foundation. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the integrated system has more than 60 primary and specialty care offices throughout north Texas. Its service region includes Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, with an additional referral area encompassing nearly half the state. Cook Children's traces its roots back to 1918, but throughout its continual change and robust growth, it still embraces an inspiring promise - to improve the health of every child in its region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. To live up to this promise, Cook Children's combines the art of caring with the use of leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child, every day. For more information, please visit www.cookchildrens.org.

About athenahealth

athenahealth, Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based business services for physician practices. athenahealth's service offerings are based on proprietary web-native practice management and electronic health record (EHR) software, a continuously updated payer knowledge-base, integrated back-office service operations, automated and live patient communication services, and the coordination of care among participants in the health care system. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com or call (888) 652-8200.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the benefits and the timing of implementation of new barcode technologies. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to uncertainties, which may be beyond the Company’s control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by the Company, see the disclosures contained in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available on the Investors section of the Company’s website at http://www.athenahealth.com and on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cook-Childrens-Health-Care-bw-285646236.html?x=0&.v=1

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Tags,HealthVault,heatlhcare,technology,medical records,e-prescribing,PHR,EHR,cell phone,Tags,scanning,mobility,health IT,HealthJibe,Razcode. Razoron,DEA,prescriptions,authentication,drugs,Health IT,Cooks Childrens,Atthena

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CooperVision Recalls 600,000 Avaira Toric Contact Lenses

The lens of the recalled contacts have a presence of residue and that is the reason for the recall.  The web page has an area to where you can enter your lot number to see if you have one of the recalled sets.  8 million lenses are being recalled but only 600,00 were sold in the US.  BD

WASHINGTON — One of the nation’s largest eye care companies is stepping up efforts to publicize its recall of more than a half-million contact lenses after coming under pressure from federal health regulators.

CooperVision issued its second announcement in two months about the recall of 600,000 Avaira Toric contact lenses linked to pain, red eye and blurred vision by wearers. The company first announced the recall Aug. 19 and said it had focused its efforts on more than 7,000 eye care professionals who sell the lenses.

The FDA generally negotiates the terms of product recalls with companies, though the agency cannot order a company to recall a product or dictate the terms of the plan. Earlier this year the FDA gained the power to order recalls of unsafe food as part of a federal overhaul of the U.S. food safety system. Consumer advocates and some lawmakers have long supported giving FDA the same power to order recalls of drugs and medical products, though efforts have never passed Congress.

CooperVision said it “has fully cooperated with the FDA and continues to closely monitor the situation.” Reports of hazy vision and discomfort have continued since the company first announced the recall. More than 8 million lenses are affected by the problems, according to the FDA, though only 600,000 made it onto the U.S. market.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/under-pressure-from-fda-coopervision-steps-up-recall-of-600000-contact-lenses-linked-to-pain/2011/10/12/gIQA4leJfL_story.html

Technorati Tags: FDA,recalls,contact lenses,CooperVision,eye care,vision

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Dr. Oz and the Uninsured Lose Again–Free Clinic Coming Next Week to Los Angeles–State Board Has Had Since September of 2010 To Implement Law To Allow Doctors To Cross State Borders to California to Volunteer-Failed

I don’t like writing this and someone needs to get off their lazy butts and fix this.  A year is not adequate time to put this in place?  Come on, this is just a flat out “I don’t care” and pass the buck routine.  I posted this announcement back on September 8th as it was released too.  Did that spur any actions, apparently not as well as the other related press releases and other sources publicizing as well as me.  WTF!  Read below where they say it’s going to take them until after the first of the year!  This must be a big time paper office, unlike many doctors today who are paperless. 

Volunteer, Sponsors And Supplies Needed for The Largest Ever “Free Clinic” At the Los Angeles Sports Arena October 20-23, 2011

Let me guess some digital illiterate along the line didn’t know how to use the software to make this happen, either that or too many got laid off and nobody was watching the shop.  This really sucks and is a disgrace, especially when you have volunteers “wanting” to come in and donate their time!!  I’m guessing more digital illiteracy was in the hand here, as it’s all over with “non participants”. 

Hell even Dr. Oz can’t see patients, now how embarrassing is that!!

This is amazing as patients walk into doctor’s offices today and the eligibility information is all right there on the computer with their information and to believe that credentialing doctors, especially ones that have volunteered in other states can’t be done?  What are we talking here maybe a hundred?  This is absolutely pathetic as many who were counting on free care won’t get it. 

Once upon a time I was invited to participate in a conference call with Dr. Oz and you can read about it below and he talks just he does on TV, same enthusiasm and commitment to health and better lifestyles. 

Dr. Oz Talks About Attacking the Battle of the Bulge With the 11 Week Weight Challenge

Those regulatory agencies better get up to par.  You know the SEC doesn’t even have audit tables for financial transactions, that’s how bad the governments, federal and state need IT infrastructure upgrades.

Well I hope by posting this someone gets off their ass and gets this done and working so those who need the services of the free clinic get it!! 

This fail is not OK!!  BD

After more than 6,600 people overwhelmed volunteers at a free mobile health clinic in Los Angeles last year, California legislators passed a law making it easier for out-of-state medical personnel to assist with future events.
But just over a week before the massive clinic returns, the state has failed to adopt regulations needed for the additional volunteers to participate. As a result, only medical personnel licensed in California will be able to treat patients and some people could be turned away. It also means Mehmet Oz of "The Dr. Oz Show" won't be able to see patients at the clinic as planned, though he can serve as a consultant.

The clinic, which begins Oct. 20 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, will offer free healthcare services such as mammograms and eye exams to about 5,000 patients over four days. Run by the local nonprofit group CareNow, the event will be staffed by 700 to 850 doctors, dentists, optometrists, gynecologists, cardiologists and other volunteers. The clinic will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Organizers also expressed frustration at the delay on the regulations. Volunteers, including internal and family medicine doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and podiatrists, are still needed, they say. Others are being asked to donate time to register patients and guide them through the clinic.
But the greatest need, Manelli said, is for dentists. "There is a huge pent-up demand for dental," he said. Although many patients may be unaware of their medical problems, he said, "If you have a toothache you know it."
The Medical Board of California began developing regulations as soon as the law took effect in January, but it is not expected to be finished until after the New Year, said legislative chief Jennifer Simoes. "Everyone just assumes when a law is passed that it is effective, but there are steps in the process we had to take before it could be implemented," she said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-freeclinic-20111012,0,1784326.story

Technorati Tags: CareNow,free clinic,healthcare,Los Angeles,doctors,nurses,drugs,food,water,health insurance,volunteers,uninsured,donations,patients,Dr. Oz

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We Have Lost Our Minds With Trying to Establish Guidelines for PSA and Other Tests in the US–A One Size Test or Cost Algorithm For Insurance Coverage Does Not Fit All

Here we go again with the PSA test and boy is there enough of this in the news, and let’s not forget the Vitamin E study from a couple of days ago too.  Yes we have lost our minds with trying to define a definite guideline here to think we can actually have a black and white case.  We have also lost our minds from the reimbursement side of this for relatively inexpensive tests too.  I absolutely had to laugh today with Newt Gingrich and his comments, he should shut up and take care running for office.  With role models like him, who needs enemies.  He likes to raise money from doctors with one of his not so cool scam campaigns.  I’m sure former FDA Commish Andy would have preferred that he kept his mouth shut too:)  Commish Andy failed miserably as keeping up with technology at the FDA but that is not reflection on his capabilities with oncology. 

Newt Gingrich Scams Doctors With Fake Prize Awards That Costs $5000

So here we have again more folks thinking that there has to be an exact definitive black and white line, but the doctor is probably the best judge of when to order a test and no two bodies are alike.  What is really important is the decision making process that occurs after a test for patient care.  Mike Milken admits below that the PSA test is not a cancer test but it’s an indicator and could be life saving too just like breast exams. 

This a crying shame in the US today as we have members of Congress living in the 70s too that default to talking abortions when they get lost as many are what I call the “non participants” today with consumer IT, it shows.  Just do a Google search and see how many you can find with even so much as an image with a cell phone in hand, rest my case.  We try to educate in this country and go about it the wrong way so much of the time.  Look at what this insurance company does, a game.  As I mentioned would you see Ben Bernanke playing a game for his wellness, hell no, insults the intelligence as it does mine.  This is what folks are frustrated and mad about, you can’t get real value and you have some software folks that want to dummy you down instead of learning in a real education surrounding.  Software developers that make such games don’t mess with it either, they just want to make a million and soak many others into the belief that this is way to go, NOT. 

Insurer Software Games Continue to “Dumb Down” Consumers–Would You See Bernanke, the President, CEOs and Other Executives Playing an Online Insurance Game–No, Part of the Focus Of Occupy Wall Street Frustrations

Congress can’t even recognize or talk about big data and they need that technology to make better laws too, we do have “dummied down bunch of lawmakers” out there sadly, and it’s their own fault as they don’t participate in consumer IT so they have no clue, just like Gingrich and the geeks love to tear him up as some would do better to stay quiet on certain issues. 

Again when I listen to the news and hear members of Congress talking about “secret sauce” relative to Google and hear the term “circuit breakers” used in the financial news, I just shudder, well I should be honest and say laugh.  

In the real world of intelligence, we call these algorithms and the need to education and get away from “snow job” terminology would really help.

In the current administration too, we have a disconnected HHS Department too that thinks a game or app on Facebook is the answer, no wonder we can’t deal with using a PSA test intelligently. 

HHS Seems To Be Confused on Social Networks–Facebook for Disaster Support Contest, Give Me a Break Use Twitter Like Everyone Else Does

We even have the former HHS Director snowed under believing that the Heritage $3 million dollar prize is going to create Holy Grail of an algorithm that can be used for cut and dry analytics…digital illiterates that believe all the stats and numbers thrown at them and this site doesn’t even represent a professional study appearance, check it out, look like a bunch of gamers on there, so is this what we have come to?  What’s next, a game to roll some electronic dice to see if a PSA is in order?  This is so sad that we behave and believe this way and no wonder other countries look at us like are nuts. 

So What’s Going on Over at the Heritage Health Prize Competition to Predict Who Ends Up Being Re-Admitted to the Hospital–A Lot of Mathematical Algorithms For One…

Here’s another post I made over a year ago and it’s been all over many sites to include Forbes and others, why?  It's true I think of what’s to come with addictive behaviors here.   You can’t just believe there’s a 100% proof formulation for healthcare in every area and we do have insurers pushing this to the maximum as they live off of cost algorithms and have done that for years. 

Data Addiction and Abuse –The Up and Coming Next 12 Step Program Is On the Horizon–Side Effects Include Lack Of Data Quality, Integrity And Spasmodic Algorithms

Listen to this radio cast below on how mathematical deception occurs and there’s a ton in here related to healthcare.  I am just flat out embarrassed that we are so hung up on math and think that it is always the truth, well not today with algorithms that can compute easily your desired results. 

We are so messed up in the “stupid” studies that show up, we can’t tell the difference between good science and bad science and have lawmakers that sit on cruise control most of the time that are not IT savvy enough to even take an educated stand. 

Play Interview Via QuickTime                                Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3

Yes this is a sad deal that Mike Milken had to write this article in hopes of bringing a bit of common sense back, and I hope it works and perhaps my lead in offers some additional substantiation as well. When we have lost the value of being smart enough to utilize indicators to save lives, we have big problems and that’s when the bad math and marketing algorithms come in to fleece and dumb you down. 

This was written as the PSA test was in the news, but it certainly applies in many other areas of healthcare.  BD 

Forty years ago, my mother-in-law learned from a mammogram at age 57 that she had breast cancer. We immediately sought the best available treatment. She lived for many happy years and enjoyed precious time with her grandchildren. Would she have died sooner without the mammogram? I don’t know. But here’s what I do know from four decades of working to accelerate progress against all life-threatening diseases: No screening test is perfect; well-informed patients consulting with their doctors are better equipped than a government agency to make decisions about their health; there are options other than screening everyone or screening no one; and finally, there’s no comfort in ignorance.

The PSA test doesn’t diagnose prostate cancer. But it can raise a red flag calling for a doctor-patient dialogue on medical options, risks, benefits and costs. We need to make better use of it, not ban it, and, as the American Cancer Society recommends, better inform patients of overtreatment risks.

When we founded the Prostate Cancer Foundation nearly two decades ago, more than 40,000 U.S. men died annually from the disease. That toll was expected to rise sharply as population grew and baby boomers aged. Instead, deaths have dropped closer to 34,000. What happened? For one thing, we’ve supported research that has produced more effective therapies. But also, through media, advocacy events and congressional testimony, we have delivered the message that men should talk to their doctors about a PSA test. And that loved ones should give the same message to the men in their lives.

Congress should consider research and funding for prevention an investment, not an expense. The Milken Institute estimates that America’s gross domestic product will be $5.7 trillion lower by mid-century if we don’t contain the containable consequences of chronic diseases. We can save trillions — more than enough to balance the federal budget — by losing weight, exercising, avoiding tobacco, using seat belts and getting regular tests such as PSAs, colonoscopies and mammograms.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-block-a-cancer-test-that-saves-lives/2011/10/10/gIQAzybedL_story.html

Technorati Tags: PSA Test,algorithms,recomendations,healthcare,tests,indicators,doctor,lifestyle,prostate cancer,prostate cancer foundation,doctors,oncology,Congress,options

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Zilver Drug Coated Leg Stent for Treating PAD From Cook Medical Meets Safety Goals

A while back I spoke with Rob Lyles from Cook Medical when they stent came out and being it goes in your leg as treatment for PAD, it’s has some different areas it needs to address, one being stability.  When you think about your heart its there in one place, but legs move and do all kinds of activities and thus the placement and stability mean lot as you don’t want it to move.

Cook Medical Interview Discussing PAD Leg Therapies– Rob Lyles, VP Peripheral Intervention Division

The stent has been approved in Europe already.  In addition another article of interest was an interview I did a while back with UCLA Dr. Peter F. Lawrence, Director of the UCLA Gonda Vascular Center who treats patients for PAD.   BD

The UCLA Gonda Vascular Center Treats PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease)-Interview with Dr. Peter Lawrence Chief of Vascular Surgery

Zilver® PTX® Stent from Cook Medical Gains CE Mark – Treatment for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- A drug-coated stent from Cook Medical met safety and effectiveness goals in the treatment of blocked femoral arteries, according to a staff report by U.S. regulators weighing whether to clear the device for sale.

Clinical trials showed closely held Cook’s stent, the Zilver PTX, worked as well as or better than angioplasty and non-medicated stents in unclogging vessels, Food and Drug Administration staff said in a preliminary review released today on the agency’s website. Outside advisers to the FDA will meet Oct. 13 to evaluate the findings.

The device from Bloomington, Indiana-based Cook would be the first drug-coated stent approved in the U.S. to treat peripheral vascular disease in the largest artery of the upper leg. The stent could reduce leg amputations and painful bypass surgeries, the company said after winning approval for the device in Europe two years ago.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-11/cook-s-stent-met-efficacy-safety-goals-fda-staff-says.html

Technorati Tags: Cook Medical,impregnated catheters,leg therapy,healthcare,PAD,Zilver PTX,clinical trials,peripheral intervention,arteries

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Cerner Buys Clairvia Business Intelligence & Workforce Management Software For Hospitals

Cerner has been around for a long time and Clairvia is stated to be EHR agnostic and from the press release it states that it will stay that way and will be integrated with Cerner medical records. With business intelligence software the hospitals can get a bird’s eye view with reference to scheduling, staffing and more.

In addition the company also appears to consult and brings mobile technology on board as relates to scheduling and shifts.  BD

In an effort to boost its business intelligence capabilities, Cerner Corporation will acquire Clairvia, a health information technology provider of software that offers predictive models driven by data stored in electronic health records (EHRs).

The deal, which was announced October 7, reflects the growing need for companies like Cerner to offer their healthcare customers a better way to analyze relevant clinical data through business intelligence software that helps providers improve patient care quality, patient safety, and staff productivity as well as enhance reimbursement management systems. Plans are to integrate Clairvia's Care Value Management suite into Cerner's broader cloud-based and interoperability platforms, Cerner Healthe Intent and CareAware. That will allow Cerner to offer a comprehensive suite of resource management solutions.

More than 400 organizations worldwide use Clairvia's tools. Its clients range in size from large healthcare systems to specialty physician practices. One of the advantages to Clairvia's tools, Cerner officials said, is that their software is EHR-system agnostic and integrates with numerous platforms, including Cerner Millennium.

While financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the transaction is expected to close in mid-October and Clairvia associates in North Carolina will continue to remain in Durham, where its headquarters are located.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/clinical-systems/231900453

Technorati Tags: Clairvia,Cerner,business intelligence,medical records,software,analytics,mergers and acquisition,EHR,Millenium,cloud,providers

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FDA Has Drug Company Study and Research Old Drug and In Turn to Compensate for Their Time & Expense They Price the Newly Approved Drug Way Out of Site

There are several age old drugs that have been around before the FDA existed and the agency is trying to get research and information on how the drug reacts and calculate dangers to include dosage and other safety information compiled.  In this instance to make up for their research the drug price has now sky rocketed and can put it out of reach for many.  Did we get a good trade off here?  Colchicine has been around for years to treat all types of conditions to include gout. 

It’s almost too bad that the NIH can’t handle situations as such as it seems that would be the logical place to do a study to be fair on drugs that existed before the FDA came into being.  This happened to another drug about 3 years ago and I can’t remember which one it was.  In economic times as such, this was not welcome and the anticipated sales are around 1/2 a billion.  BD 

There are about 1,000 medications on the market that predate the existence of the Food and Drug Administration and therefore were never approved. FDA official Deborah Autor spoke to CBS News as head of the office of unapproved drugs. "Well, for me, unapproved drugs present current risks," Autor said. "We don't know what's in them. We don't know if they're going to work properly. We don't know how they're made and that's a real concern."

Hundreds of thousands of people take Colchicine each year. The FDA said over the past 40 years, 169 deaths have been linked to the medication. A company called URL Pharma decided it would take the ancient drug, sold for 10 cents a pill, and test it as part of an FDA program to either approve these drugs or get them off the market.

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports the medication is now called Colcrys, and costs McGrath $62.16. "Almost doubled the amount I paid, and it cost my insurance company $244.74," McGrath said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/10/eveningnews/main20118283.shtml

Technorati Tags: NIH,URL pharma,drugs,pricing,FDA,studies,gout,insurance,patients,Colchicine

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Senator Tom Coburn Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer–Already a 2 Time Cancer Survivor

He won’t be using “chickens” to pay for his care you can bet as he was caught somewhat out of context not too long ago, but again this brings to the attention of the stress and working as a lawmaker and fighting cancer at the same time.  The post below also kind of shows a little bit of maybe being out of control when emotions run high so again when having cancer and fighting back, that can happen to any of us.  There’s no discussion here on the PSA testing for sure that rambles through the news today, just more of the rhetoric we are all subject to with some bad science and crappy study algorithms. 

Chickens for Check Ups Is Back–Tom Coburn

The senator is also a doctor himself so he will know who and where he will get the best care, something that as consumers today we don’t always know.  He is expected to make a full recovery and return later this month.  You know with the bass ackwards ways our lawmaking works today, they can’t move an inch as they keep trying old methodologies that just done work.  We won’t see anything change until they understand they need technology to help sort things for them and again being sick at the same time does not help.  Why don’t they get this? 

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

I hope he has a good recovery and perhaps this will ring in to all members of Congress that real healthcare reform is needed and the current system of insurer algorithms only to cut cost are not the complete answer, but that’s all we see with mathematical deception today at an all time high.  BD 

Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), one of the Senate’s most colorful conservatives, has prostate cancer that will take him away from his duties for a while. But he is likely to overcome it completely, his office said Tuesday.

“Dr. Coburn underwent a procedure this week to treat an early-stage incidence of prostate cancer,” said spokesman John Hart. “He is expected to make a full recovery and return to his full-time duties later this month.”

Mr. Coburn, a physician, is known for his willingness to hold up Senate business when he objects to spending measures. But unlike some of the more unwavering figures on either side, he has good relations with senators of both parties, and he’s struck up a friendship with President Barack Obama.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/10/11/sen-coburn-in-treatment-for-prostate-cancer/?mod=WSJBlog&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Technorati Tags: Senate,Tom Coburn,chickens,healthcare,Oklahoma,doctor,Obama,government,politics,Congress,prostate cancer

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Walgreens Selling Health Insurance? The Question Still Rambles On and Which One Would They Sell First? United? Both Already Have a Number of Joint Collaborations

Everyone is looking to improve profits every which way they can and of course behind the scenes is the enticing dollar enriched data selling business that seems to be pushing a lot of this as who doesn’t want to rake in millions like Facebook does with selling data? To be fair, drug stores though have been selling prescription data for a long time, but this has take a new twist over the last few years too and the prospect of a drug rep having access is nothing compared to the money being made.  As a matter of fact the CFO of Walgreens said a while back that their “data selling” business was worth just under $800 million, that’s a lot of money and the idea of combining and analyzing retail purchases along with adding on the prescription data leaves a ton of data to be marketed to those who are paying for it. 

Walgreens Going to Sell Health Insurance? Data Information Connections Are Alive to Mine for Potential Premiums Rates & Chronic Conditions–Insurance Subsidiary Alert

You wonder sometimes is providing drugs a secondary interest as they need to sell drugs to get the data right?  Profit margins on data are huge as they don’t have to stock it, order the drugs from a pharmaceutical company, just collect from the data scraping and other tools out there to mine the information.  United has a plan in place in some areas in the US to where the pharmacists can earn pay for performance for signing people up in programs such as the YMCA and others, and this brings more data into play and of course as a consumer it is something that is healthy of course, but they make money, bottom line.  The analytics end of United, Optum, formerly known as Ingenix is one of the companies that has been selling prescription data for years. 

“By increasing understanding of potential disease conditions and relative risk, MedPoint enables underwriters to more accurately project future claims costs on a case-by-case basis.”

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

“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 thought this article was interesting too about how pay for performance is not all it has cracked up to be as folks seem to making money at some part of this but no better outcomes…hmmm….report from Harvard. 

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

If these areas don’t bring in more money, well there’s always alcohol and how does that play into better care <grin> 

Walgreens Applying For and Getting Liquor Licenses Across the US – Be Healthy and Get Your Alcohol Here Too

I don’t know what the chances would be with selling Blue Cross insurance since as of the first of the year unless anything changes, consumers won’t be able to fill their prescriptions at Walgreens. 

Anthem Blue Cross Members Will No Longer Be Able to Fill Prescriptions at Walgreens After January 1, 2012

Granted this has to do with the pharmacy benefit management end of things with Express Scripts as they don’t have the retail sales data to add to prescription data to create information rich “behavioral analytics” to sell, they just have data and any information they gather with conversing with consumers so the retail folks have truckload of data to include every bottle of wine, candy bar or what ever you may purchase in the store to relate to your medications…think about that folks as all are aggregating and selling data today and don’t think they aren't.  If you are filling a prescription for diabetes, they can match it to that package of M and Ms you buy a the same time or any other time in the store.

We have too many folks today creating markets where they really do not exist and some of the numbers we see are just for that, marketing and data gets mismatched and abused and ends up taking away for profit.  A good example of an over sell this this circus with FICO that I hope someone calls them on it with using your credit score and other data to determine if you will take your medications and they are selling this to pharma and insurance companies with scoring you. 

Hell, even the algorithm that Netflix uses to determine what you will like is only 60% on target so look at what a fleecing this is with misuse of numbers.  Listen to the audio at the link below and all of this will become clear to you and make you think about how numbers are used for profit and are not always what they seem to be, the dirty algorithms.  there’s a link to the FICO story there and you can read all about this abuse of data and how it will affect you. 

“Numbers Don’t Lie, But People Do”–Radio Interview from Charles Siefe–Journalists Take Note, He Addresses How Marketing And Bogus Statistics Are Sources of Problems That Mislead the Public & Government

Speaking of FICO and their fleecing the public algorithms, check this out, they just hired  a new director and where did he come from, you guessed it, United Healthcare.  Getting a big name on board in healthcare will help defend those bogus algorithms maybe, either that or open doors to sell those medication compliant bogus algorithms to someone where they can convince there is a market for it and I hope pharma is smart enough to bow out on that sale. 

Are  you getting the picture yet on how this is all intertwined here for profit, the stuff that the protesters are occupying Wall Street to bring this to light.   

So time will tell if Walgreens starts selling insurance but big big question, can you go into the store to settle a claim dispute??  OH yes that should definitely be part of the plan if one is going to be full service here and offer exchange services.  I think we would all save a lot of money and be much better off with a “tech company” doing this since the insurance exchanges and their existence and creation is all based on a strong IT infrastructure that HHS keeps handing grants out to help states get set up.  Let eBay do it as they have a platform that could do it as far as selling and price comparing. 

eBay and PayPal Expanding Mobile Technology Opening Up Platform to Allow 3rd Party Developers–Could it Handle Insurance Exchanges & Save a Ton of Money?

Well they all must have some really expensive anti-trust attorneys on staff is about all I can say and one more comment here, did you know that United created a new subsidiary to be in the medical devices business?  I call these articles “subsidiary watch” as everyone is oblivious as to how they work behind the scenes with data and intelligence today and it’s a sleeper so I hope all wake up soon as those algorithms along with very little awareness allows them to function and take over.  This appears to be their first big step with devices since acquiring China Gate a couple of years ago and who knows what drugs or biotech will be next and they could theoretically control the whole process of introduction to the FDA all the way to MD reimbursement as they have subsidiaries that can all the work, again subsidiary watch ….please.  So who knows, if Walgreens decides to sell insurance maybe United will be the first insurance they would sell, as collaboration and profit efforts are already in place in some areas between the 2.  BD 

United HealthCare Gets In the Medical Device Business–Distributing Cheap Hearing Aides Sold Via Hi HealthInnovations Division –Subsidiary Watch

Imagine walking into your corner drugstore to pick up aspirin, toothpaste and individual health insurance.

That day might not be so far away. Walgreens reportedly may enter the health insurance marketplace this fall, selling a variety of health plans at a variety of price points, although the company has not confirmed such reports.

Walgreens' possible entrance into the health insurance market is a result of a health care reform legislation mandate that will establish health insurance exchanges to offer coverage options. The exchanges must be in place by Jan. 1, 2014.

Ankeny Minoux, president of the nonprofit Foundation for Health Coverage Education, speculates that companies are holding off making announcements about plans to enter the health insurance arena because the formal rules under which they would operate haven't been established yet.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/10/06/would-buy-health-insurance-from-your-drugstore/

Technorati Tags: Walgreens,CMO,healthcare,medical records,retail clinics,drugs,pharma,data,United,pharmacists,pay for performance,health insurance

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