Six Largest Health Insurance Companies in Wisconsin Form New Trade Association–Insurance Exchange Formation is All But Dead

The association of course is slated to look at cost and then secondly improve the market place and this is not new. Private insurers have seen some golden opportunities to make money with insurance exchanges and the government exchange for consumers has been halted according to the statement made in this article from the Governor’s office.  They are not the first state as Kansas is yet another state who has backed away from the idea, even though under reform this is mandatory by 2014.  Sure there are parts of the reform bill that need some change and this is just simply due to current economics and changed times, especially with technology.  We have seen leaps and bounds since the law passed with Health IT and somethings need amending.

Wisconsin with their new governor has not been very happy with a lot of what has occurred since taking over and I am guessing the recall action is still alive and well.  Just a couple days ago another company called “InsureMonkey” (which I hate the name) put out a video for online shopping for insurance.  I guess we are all monkeys now when we don’t have insurance from employers.  It’s just one more effort to aggregate data and they earn the same as any commissioned sale rep for selling policies and their privacy policy is a bit unclear to me, but that’s not unusual today as we see this quite commonly with legal terminology written beyond the understanding of the average layman. 

“InsureMonkey” Yet One More Way to Shop for Health Insurance–The Orbitz of the Insurance Market For Shopping Rates

I said a while back if a platform is all we are looking for, use the one at EBay for goodness sakes and save some money.  It’s still the same old race as to who can create the most “saleable” algorithms for consumer use and of course the branding and marketing enter here as well and thus so why I think branding with the name “monkeys” sucks. 

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

Again, I think HHS is ready for major overhauls here as they are not keeping up with regulating insurers and big business plays the business intelligence and algorithm game to the max for profits and we end up with some unintentional consequences due to that fact.  I said back when Sebelius was nominated that we needed a leader that had some Health IT in their background and over the last two years the job has expanded to where about 70-80% of the decision making processes for that job would involve Health IT and we are certainly at that point today.  We need more than just figureheads for executive departments.  BD 

Six of the largest health insurance companies in Wisconsin have formed a new trade association, including four that used to belong to another group that includes Dane County's main insurers.

The new Alliance of Health Insurers is led by board president James Riordan, president and CEO of Madison-based WPS Health Insurance. Other members are Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin, Humana, Managed Health Services Insurance Corp., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin and WEA Insurance Corp.

The alliance, announced Friday, "will advocate for essential and effective industry regulations that serve to foster innovation, eliminate waste and protect Wisconsin health care consumers," the group said in a news release.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/business/health-insurance-companies-form-new-trade-association/article_5b6a6fce-3e35-11e1-8b53-001871e3ce6c.html

Technorati Tags: exchanges,health insurance,reform,Sebelius,Wisconsin,trade associations,healthcare,Health IT,budgets,algorithms,software

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University of Washington To Release Raven II, Common Research Platform for Robotic Surgical Procedures–Open Source Collaboration for Universities

As the article mentions we are all pretty much aware of the daVinci robot for many surgical procedures and now the university has some open source action taking place with research and will be providing a few other universities including Harvard and Johns Hopkins.  After distribution has been made to to all, the robots will be connected via the internet for data sharing and collaboration. 

The daVinci is not going away any time soon but through collaboration we might see some new innovation and research and the ability to share and perhaps create additional options for surgical robots.  BD 

Raven II

The cost and complexity of commercial robot surgeons has meant slow penetration in the market and to only one player–Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci.

But that could all change if researchers at the University of Washington (UW) carry out their plans to accelerate innovation in surgical robotics.

UW researchers will do final testing and then ship their latest version of robots named Ravens to five universities, including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The software running the robots is interoperable with the Robot Operating System, a popular open source robotics code. Once installed at each campus, the Robots will be connected to each other via the Internet to allow for data sharing and collaboration.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/robotic-surgeons-get-open-source-boost/3101

Technorati Tags: robots,surgery,open source,software,internet,heatlhcare,Health IT,University of Washington,FDA,operation,sofware,UW,Ravens,National Science Foundation

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CA Department of Managed Care Orders Blue Cross To Pay Providers For Claims That Were Inaccurately Paid or Denied–2.6 Million Claims Under Question With Bad Payment Algorithms

Not only is the Department of Managed Care requesting payment, but they want interest paid too.  Blue Cross said they settled matters on claims back in 2010 but perhaps this is another new issue as they paid fines a couple years ago.

Yes we are back to those nasty algorithms again that determine payment and if the code doesn’t run write or is not written correctly we have flaws.  The full amount due is waiting a full audit of all the claims.  Back a couple years ago Blue Cross used this ugly algorithm…again processes to where no human usually touches the claims and the servers running 24/7 make the decisions.  Here’s a 3rd party along with Blue Cross that got caught on a stress test algorithm.  This one was pretty blatant and Med Solutions shut down the website back when I wrote the post over this. 

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

We might still have this court case tied up too where Blue Cross used Ingenix (division of Untied Healthcare) algorithms to short pay.  The AMA settled a suit with all carriers using the United/Ingenix algorithms a couple years ago for almost 15 years of short pay on out of network claims. 

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Blue Cross Blue Shield in Florida – Out of Network Ingenix Algorithms

Insurance companies live off of their algorithms for every step of business they conduct and why we need to get into the math and algos.

WellPoint Creates Reimbursement Algorithm to Cut Down Hospital Annual Payment Increases and Reward Only Those Who “Score” Well–Analytics on Steroids

This particular algorithm was pretty nasty to where parameters set in the code cancelled women who had breast cancer too.  The word “fraud” detection is used and sometimes with the way the SQL statements are written, you false positives. 

WellPoint Ran a Breast Cancer Algorithm to Target Members for Cancellation of Policies - “Fraud Detection” is the Catch All that Justifies the Reporting

You know we go through all this trouble to certify and make sure medical records software is compliant and accurate but look what happens with the payers here and they have rogue algorithms running making decisions and denying care or money every where you turn around. 

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

Now you can see why I was motivated to write about the “Attack of the Killer Algorithms” in healthcare and in the financial world too.  Check all 7 part at the link below.  All I can wish for is that our new Financial Consumer Chief doesn’t sit in denial in this area as we need help auditing corporate USA algos.  BD  

President Appoints Richard Cordray as New Consumer Financial Protection Chief - Hope He Knows And Understands Correcting Flawed Math and Formulas To Battle the “Financial Attack of Killer Algorithms” On Consumers With Banks and Corporate USA

The California Department of Managed Health Care ordered Anthem Blue Cross of California to pay health care providers for services provided dating back to 2007 after a financial claims audit discovered alleged errors in how the company paid claims. Under the order, the company will be required to pay interest on any claims that are found to have been improperly paid.

The order stems from an audit conducted by the DMHC in 2008 that examined claims payment practices at the seven largest health care providers in California. The department launched the audit after it saw an increased number of complaints from providers about payments that were either late or inaccurate. In some cases, claims were inappropriately denied, the department said in a statement.

The DMHC required the plans to pay providers the money they were owed and to demonstrate improvements to the plans' claims processes to prevent future errors. Carriers also entered into settlement agreements to pay administrative fines for their allegedly improper claims practices. To date, six of the seven plans have undertaken provider remediation efforts.

Rodger Butler, a spokesman for the department, said as many as 2.6 million claims submitted to Anthem Blue Cross have been called into question. Butler said the department has not assessed a total for how much Anthem Blue Cross may owe because it is awaiting the results of a review of those claims.

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=325961&type=lifehealth

Technorati Tags: Blue Cross,Health Insurance,hospitals,healthcare,Heatlh IT,doctors,patients,in network,disruptions,co-pay,contracts,Department of Managed Care,California

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In Car-In Health Monitoring From Ford and Microsoft Announced–Will Need to Remain As An Option And Who Gets the Data and Would It Be Sold At Some Point?

I like all the new technologies but again we need consumer trust to have ideas take off and become beneficial.  If a consumer can be assured that their information is safe and the fact that they are not generating data for additional corporate greed, as much of this information is ending up at hedge funds, social networks and so forth then we could have a winning situation.  Technology and what it can do and where will continue to evolve and present itself, and then it is up to the consumer as to whether or not to buy in.  For someone with chronic conditions to monitor, this could be great, but it still need to be a matter of “choice” and not force fed for profits to sell data.  We see so much of that today and this is one of the reasons that mHealth is having a slow go in many areas. 

Why should a consumer have to contribute via their data to big corporate profits to adapt a healthier lifestyle or why should one be forced as it’s not getting any better for the consumer today with data being sold right and left, and we continue to read about corporate profits based on this fact and we have no transparency of what is really being mined and sold as there’s no real laws that provide a place for public disclosure but rather we have these finely crafted privacy statements that sometimes are very confusing and when you use certain services, you agree in a round about way to release your data, so it’s mixed bag. 

A couple years ago I would have never seen myself making a post like the one below but marketing and selling data today is on steroids, so much to the fact that state servers are slowing down to a crawl with data mining bots and some states have had to put software in to keep the bots out so consumers like you and me can have access, why the sites were created in the first place.  Again, the consumer loses again as corporate greed in one way or another locks us out, give that some thought. 

The Alternative Millionaire’s Tax–License and Tax Big Corporations Who Mine and Sell Taxpayer Data They Get for Free From the Internet-Phase One to Restore Middle Class With Transparency, Disclosure and Money

A good comment made here too is that the companies are not going to try to use such monitoring systems for diagnosis but will remain with monitoring as the FDA would need to become involved if diagnosis were a model here.  If you have not seen the video at the link below, check it out as there are some good examples that show how consumer data is used, and again corporate USA gets all of this for free and makes billions. 

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

Implementation is important today and I see a lot of bad ones out there, again tossed in the face of a consumer without full explanations of how the entire circles work.  If something like the car was forced upon consumers rather than remaining a choice, then we at some point reach a conclusion of “who wants a car” that’s going to be a vehicle to promote corporate greed and profits?  Of course that would create a whole new market for “old cars” that do not have this built in for the sake of privacy <grin>.  The same can be said for a pen or pencil you use too, will there be cheap monitors there too?  From earlier this year you can read more about biometric monitoring with Ford and Medtronic. 

Ford Adding Biometric Health Monitoring to Cars–And How Long Before the Cars Are Driving Themselves (Video)

There’s also a lot of work with cars that drive themselves too so think about this one if you were to add health monitoring here?  The car could be a bit scary when it comes to the data and who gets it as someone will hold you accountable perhaps at some point with a risk analysis report.  If one were a diabetic could they only get car insurance on vehicles that monitor?  That’s the way as an example that risk assessment works for profit and cherry picking would continue. 

So what’s next, dialysis in the car while one drives:)

Again technology will continue to evolve and how we use and implement is the key to success without giving away “free taxpayer data” for bigger corporate profits and items as such should always be a choice along with transparency and disclosure other than the jumbo we are presented with today.  Our new consumer financial chief’s area of responsibility is going to grow quickly and I hope he understands algorithms, math, deception and has a tiny bit of IT in his background to fully investigate what needs to be done to help protect consumers today, or we do have “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms” in any direction we will turn. 

Richard Corday has his hands full and will need his own group of geeks and engineers to keep up with what corporate USA is doing today and determine when discrimination by algorithm occurs.  The link below contains parts 1 to 7 on my viewpoints on the Killer Algorithms that have teeth and live amongst us.  Information is running on servers 24/7 with no real consumer transparency today and thus I believe this is the ultimate factor that actually created the “Occupy” movement out of sheer frustration as you can’t see, talk or touch those algos that make life changing decisions that affect all of us in split seconds with data and sometimes severely flawed data that we have to chase and correct.  BD 

President Appoints Richard Cordray as New Consumer Financial Protection Chief - Hope He Knows And Understands Correcting Flawed Math and Formulas To Battle the “Financial Attack of Killer Algorithms” On Consumers With Banks and Corporate USA

Ford Motor Co. is building on its in-car health monitoring initiative by teaming with Microsoft and Healthrageous to research how people can monitor their health and promote wellness with connected devices while in their vehicles. The companies are taking advantage of the spotlight at the massive 2012 International CES trade show in Las Vegas this week to show off a prototype called “the car that cares.”

Healthrageous, a Boston-based producer of online and mobile apps for self-management of chronic diseases and preventive health activities, is embedding its “digital coach” technology into the Microsoft-powered Sync communications and entertainment system now common in Ford vehicles.

“Sync will be Ford’s key technology supporting activities in the health and wellness sphere,” Gary Strumolo, manager of “infotainment,” interiors, health and wellness in the Ford Research and Innovation division, said Wednesday at the CES Digital Health Summit.

http://mobihealthnews.com/15797/microsoft-healthrageous-join-ford-to-research-in-car-health-monitoring/

Technorati Tags: CES,Ford Motor health monitoring,Sync health apps,Healthrageous,Microsoft,cars,monitoring,FDA,Health IT,technology,healthcare

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Novartis Cutting Close to 2000 Jobs in the US–Patent Loss for Diovan Attributed to Anticipated Loss of Sales Revenue

Novartis was also in the news for the recall of several over the counter drugs in the last week and has closed one factory in the US until corrections are made.

Novartis Recalls of Excedrin and Other Over The Counter Drugs May Be Mixed Up Wit Opioid Pain Killers–So Where Are the Bar Codes to Help Consumers Find the Products?

The changes in restructuring and layoffs are slated to begin in the second quarter of this year, not that far away.  There was also a clinical trial that failed to prove it was lowering blood pressure as patients who took the medication actually did worse so it appears that drug in it’s current formulation is not going to offer any relief in the immediate future.  BD 

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis AG is cutting nearly 2,000 jobs in the United States ahead of the patent loss of top-selling blood pressure drug Diovan as it braces for tough market conditions and a slump in sales of another key drug.

Novartis is the latest in a long line of global drugmakers to cut their sales forces as the industry faces its biggest wave of patent expiries in its history.

The group will book a one-off charge of $900 million in the fourth quarter after a clinical trial showed patients taking its blood pressure pill Rasilez actually did worse, meaning sales of the treatment, previously tipped to rake in sales of more than $1 billion, are likely to plunge.

The Swiss drugmaker is currently in talks with regulatory authorities on both sides of the Atlantic about whether this drug, once seen as a Diovan successor, could end up being pulled from the market, a spokesman said on Friday.

The Basel-based group has already cut thousands of jobs and shut several sites, notably in Britain. It has also shifted its focus to specialty medicines in a bid to boost profitability and protect its bottom line.

http://news.yahoo.com/novartis-slash-nearly-2-000-u-jobs-070115452.html

Technorati Tags: Diovan,Novartis,healthcare,drugs,pharma,profits,blood pressure,generic drugs,patents,layoffs

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Louisiana Doctor Charged With Child Pornography Now Has HealthCare Billing Fraud Added- Billed for Physician Monitoring Services When There Was No Internet Connection

This case beyond the ugly pornography charges get even more interesting with the new charges added on.  Somehow when the company billed for their services someone forgot that there are audit trails. 

The doctor was a medical director of a company that provided monitoring services surgical procedures using the Internet.  It appears that even when the web was down at certain locations, the service was billed anyway.  Doctors were not able to monitor either due to no connection or tech issues with getting the service live. 

The charges are that the billing took place whether or not the monitoring by physicians took place or not, and, this is a big and here, employees posed as doctors to monitor and now we have crossed another line here with employees logging on to monitor a procedure to where a doctor was promised and should be there as part of the service.  On top of that the type of surgeries were neurophysiologic, so complex and specific in nature.  Modern technology does a lot for healthcare but it also has to be present to create a billing.  BD 

Dr. Daniel Joachim, 51, was charged Wednesday in federal court along with Maryland company Physicians Analytical Services Inc., according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office. Joachim and the company are accused of fraudulently billing insurance companies and pension and benefits programs for surgical monitoring services.

Joachim was first charged in federal court with receipt of child pornography in August 2010. He is accused of trying to receive sexually explicit images of children and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison if convicted, according to court records.

The superseding bill of information handed down Wednesday retains the child pornography charge but adds the health care fraud charges, Letten's office said.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/01/health_care_fraud_charges_adde.html

Technorati Tags: Doctors,technology,internet,pornography,medical billing fraud,monitoring,devices,surgery,Health IT

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Resveratrol Research Scientist Leads University of Connecticut to Investigate and Ask Journals To Retract Fabricated Data

Here we go again, more flawed data except this time it’s on the side of research and not on the the consumer side of aggregated data.  The research was very popular as of course it talks about the benefits of red wine and Resveratrol.  Even back in 2009 Dr. Oz and Oprah went after the Anti-Aging Scammers that were using their names.

Oprah and Dr. Oz Go After the Resveratrol Anti-Aging Scammers

There’s a lot of flawed data out there whether it is created or gets put in place with aggregating data that is either erroneously input or combined with other data and this is an awareness warning for all.  I go after the flawed data that haunts consumers all the time with data mining and actually we should charge and license those folks who sell this data as much of it mined from the web is erroneous and yet we are grilled at the stake over those assuming all is accurate.  Hershey even jumped on the bandwagon back in 2008 with saying chocolate was healthy with the resveratrol compound. 

This is a good audio broadcast to listen to as Professor Siefe from NYU explains some of how the research and journals gets fabricated with marketing fogging up the horizon all the time.  BD

“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

There’s a ton of healthcare addressed here.

The University of Connecticut, in what clearly seems like an attempt to get ahead of damaging news, has announced an “extensive” investigation into research misconduct involving one of its scientists, Dipak K. Das.

According to a press release, the university has notified 11 journals that published Das’ work about the alleged fraud. One area of interest for Das, a government-funded professor of surgery and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center, has been resveratrol, a substance in red wine that has allegedly been linked to improved cardiac health

The abuses in one lab do not reflect the overall performance of the Health Center’s biomedical research enterprise which continues to pursue advances in treatments and cures with the utmost of integrity,” he added. “We demand full compliance with all research standards and policies by our faculty and staff.”

According to the release, the 11 journals where Das may have published fabricated data are:

American Journal of Physiology – Heart & Circulatory
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling
Cellular Physiology & Biochemistry
Free Radical Biology
Free Radical Research
Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
Journal of Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Molecular & Cellular Cardiology
Molecular & Cellular Chemistry

http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/uconn-resveratrol-researcher-dipak-das-fingered-in-sweeping-misconduct-case/

Technorati Tags: Resveratrol,journals,science,healthcare,clinical trials,math,algorithms,anti aging,studies,marketing,FDA

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US CIO Office VanRoekel To Address Mobile Apps and Inter-Agency Leverage-Finally Apps That Do More Than One Thing For More Than One Agency

This is good news as I have ranted about mobile apps that do “one thing” for a long time and with what is written here, device agnostic software along with agencies leveraging each other’s gains is nice.  We have way too much glut and too many “me too’s” out there and not only in healthcare but even at CES this was mentioned as well.  We have device fatigue.  If you read the link below I did a little out of the box commenting with software used for medical records and then some. 

Innovation Without Collaboration Is Fouling Up The US Healthcare IT System–We Need Both As We Can’t Stand on Innovation Alone

Now if he can just slowly break Aneesh away from the “I” word above and talk more about collaboration things will work better I think.  I kind of got tired of hearing Chopra talk about how programmers could get rich to stimulate them into writing code.  Some got stimulated alright but not enough for the government as many went to work writing algorithms that mine social data instead.  As mentioned, a government mobile apps store would be great and again with sharing between agencies with some APIs and scripting one agency can benefit from another.  BD

Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel launched an interactive dialogue on government mobile policy on Wednesday that he said would be the first step toward a government wide mobile roadmap due out in March.

That roadmap, VanRoekel said, will address a range of issues from ways the government can save money -- such as by buying smartphones in larger quantities -- to serving citizens more effectively through public-facing apps.

As things stand now, too many agencies and bureaus are putting time and effort into mobile projects without leveraging each other's gains, he said.

It also will include information about building internal mobile applications to help federal field officers, such as U.S. Forest Service workers and Border Patrol agents, do their jobs more efficiently.

VanRoekel's office is considering something along the lines of a governmentwide apps store so one agency can adopt or retrofit an app another agency has developed, he said. Apps placed in that store would probably be required to be "device agnostic," he said, so the government wouldn't become overly dependent on a particular provider of mobile devices.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120111_3812.php?oref=topnews

Technorati Tags: apps,mHealth,mobile health,government,CIOs,tablets,US government,smart phones,agencies

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Dr. Oz Answers the Question About Healthcare Becoming Too Dependent on Technology – Yes and No

He likes most of what technology has done but says not to use it a surrogate for caring for patients  He talks about how fast we are and out of the hospital and how technology has given us better quality of life. 

The videos were done by the discover channel and are short and answer one question.  BD 

One more…what is integrated medicine? 

Technorati Tags: Dr. Oz,curiosity,healthcare,Heatlh IT,patients,doctors,technology,medicine,surgery

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Contact Lenses Monitoring Blood Sugar Levels Without the Needles–Microsoft Case Study-University of Washington With Natural User Interfaces In Real Time

This look very promising and the technology is pretty fascinating.  In the video you see a couple children who could benefit without the needle stick, and adults for that matter could benefit too.  Similar efforts have been made too with an implant under the skin but if the contact lens could do it all, much more convenient. 

PositiveID Implantable GlucoChip RFID Technology Continues-Submitted to FDA for 501K Approval

Maybe the CES show was not very exciting, but this make up for it.  This is still work in process but the lenses would work and could send information to an insulin pump, done in real time.  The video is great and explores a few other potential uses of monitors creating information with contact lenses.  BD

Contact Lens–Diabetes Monitor

Millions of people worldwide live with type 1 diabetes, a chronic medical condition that requires constant, daily vigilance to maintain proper health. People who have type 1 diabetes must check their blood sugar (glucose) levels multiple times a day, which can be an unpleasant, painful process. Researchers at the University of Washington are developing a solution that would painlessly monitor glucose levels through tears rather than blood and provide feedback to the patient immediately, should a problem begin to develop.

Diabetes is a potentially devastating disease with no known cure. The pancreas of a person who has type 1 diabetes does not produce insulin. The failure to strike the right balance between food and insulin intake can lead to extreme physiological reactions—from crying jags to loss of consciousness. The long-term effects of uncontrolled blood glucose imbalances can be even more devastating.

Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring

Today, people with type 1 diabetes use needles to prick their fingers multiple times throughout the day, every day, including meal times, to collect blood samples that allow them to monitor and maintain healthy glucose levels, which is critical to reducing the impact that diabetes has on the patient’s health. The never-ending, daily blood draws are not only unpleasant for the person with diabetes, but they also provide limited information.

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=4000011273

Technorati Tags: Diabetes,contact lenses,glucose monitoring,needles,sugar,monitoring,medical devices,healthcare,Health IT,Microsoft

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California Doctor Arrested for Drug Trafficking–Numerous Patients Hooked on Prescription Drugs–Case Went for 15 Years

The one doctor below makes a very good comment as to why this went so long as several ER doctors had flagged his prescribing methods, and yet if there’s bad record keeping, the medical board is all over a doctor. 

!2 patients died since 2006 and he was known as the Candy Man by some patients.  When you look at the one example of a patient being prescribed over 2000 pills in six weeks, I think that’s a flag.  The other issues at hand were female patients with drugs for sex.  This should prove to be an interesting case and all the traffickers are not on Florida.  For 15 years the DEA had complaints about the doctor.  This was pretty bad when other doctors get in touch with the DEA to report you and looks pretty obvious.  BD 

(SANTA ANA, Calif.) — Emergency room doctors at a Santa Barbara hospital saw a disturbing trend for more than a decade — patient after patient hooked on prescription drugs shared the same physician.

Despite their complaints to state medical authorities and federal law enforcement, Dr. Julio Diaz continued practicing even though 12 patients had died since 2006.

His arrest Wednesday on federal drug trafficking charges came as no surprise to some who knew him. What stunned them is that it took so long.

"I don't really understand what happened there," said Dr. Chris Lambert, an emergency physician at Cottage Health System who was one of the doctors to flag Diaz's prescribing patterns. "Physicians these days get censured for bad record keeping — the medical board is on them immediately for making an error in a chart. But what happened in this case? How did it slide along?"

Diaz hasn't been charged in connection with the deaths, which remain under investigation. He is accused of illegally prescribing large amounts of painkillers to patients who didn't need the drugs and for accepting sexual favors as payment from some women.

Lambert said the complaints about Diaz date back roughly 15 years, and doctors reached out to the DEA about four years ago. DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said the investigation into Diaz began in mid-2009, but she was unaware of any prior complaints against him.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2103834,00.html

Technorati Tags: California,drug trafficking,DEA,deaths,patients,nacotics,ER rooms,Santa Barbara,pain killers,sex

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Second Patient In US Receives Spinal Implant for Pain and Requires No Pain Pills and Is Out of the Wheelchair

This is pretty amazing that the man had a spinal injury and could not walk for 3 years and now is out of the wheelchair and moving around just fine.  The device blocks pain receptors which allows him to move.  When you look at the alternative of just under 300 pain tablets a month, what change. 

The device actually learns how much stimulation he needs for the pain, we have “device” learning here.  BD 

Jeff Hardick shot up from his chair in the waiting room at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, strode over to neurosurgeon Steven Falowski and wrapped the man in a bear hug.
A month ago, that would have been impossible.

"I gotta give you a hug," Hardick, 51, of Bangor, said, "because you saved my life."

Hardick spent the last three years in bed, slumped in a wheelchair or stooped and grimacing while tottering around with the aid of a cane. He struggled due to constant, crippling pain from a back injury. He was prone to blacking out and falling down. He couldn't work or drive and was mired in depression.

Falowski placed a device onto Hardick's back that sends an electrical current to block pain receptors. It is one of 13 devices available nationwide after the manufacturer, Medtronic, gained Food and Drug Administration approval in November. Hardick is the second person in the nation to have the device installed, Falowski said.

The Hardicks said the road to the new device was littered with doctors who told Hardick he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Jeff said one doctor even told him to wear a helmet because of his blackouts. He took 270 pain pills a month, plus antidepressants and a sleep aid.

He hasn't touched pain medication since the surgery.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2012/01/bangor_man_benefits_from_new_m.html

Technorati Tags: bangor,bethlehem,medtronic,slate belt,st. luke's hospital & health network,healthcare,medical devices,pain management

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“InsureMonkey” Yet One More Way to Shop for Health Insurance–The Orbitz of the Insurance Market For Shopping Rates

It does look like a site where one would book travel and they make a commission from the policy that is sold.  All information is aggregated by location and a consumer can shop from there, but maybe this is more like “Cheap Flights” <grin>. 

Below is an image that shows a Co-Pay Saver from United and it has pop up windows that describe whether or not you are getting first class or coach. 

The name is correct as this seems like a bit of a zoo just like shopping anywhere for insurance.  They license the technology out to health insurers as well.  You know not too long ago I sad Ebay would be the place for insurance exchanges but perhaps they have a better search agent going here, but no word on if you can use PayPal. 

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

If this doesn’t work here you might be venturing to Walgreens soon as it has been mentioned they could be considering selling insurance too, but hey they might just put a kiosk in the store and collect the commission from InsureMonkey, ok you heard that speculation here first. 

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

InsureMonkey

The government has a page too that helps folks search for insurance and the company does not do any ratings yet but outsources that part of the business to another company.  BD 

InsureMonkey allows consumers to compare insurance providers online to find the best rates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCeGP_4obyw

Technorati Tags: InsureMonkey,health insurance,healthcare,consumers,Health IT,carriers,rates,website,aggregation,API,data

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Novartis Recalls of Excedrin and Other Over The Counter Drugs May Be Mixed Up Wit Opioid Pain Killers–So Where Are the Bar Codes to Help Consumers Find the Products?

Imagine getting your Excedrin bottle out and getting a lot more pain killer for the buck?  There could be a run on the products before they all get pulled from the shelves for those who may abuse pain killers.  On the other hand when one needs a strong pain killer like after surgery, you only get Excedrin.  The opioid drugs are sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone.

I have been on this kick for at least 2 years now with my bar code campaign for FDA recalls for both drugs and devices and we have nothing yet except a whole lot of inconvenience for consumers. 

You can read more here….and here...

In addition, the factory being closed will produce shortages possibly, so this is no win all the way around.  

Microsoft Tag (Bar Codes) Adds QR and NFC Capabilities - So Let’s Move on the FDA for Recalls- OTC, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices..The Vehicle to Drive mHealth

In addition it’s getting easier and more secure with bar codes too if you read the article about about Microsoft Tags being able to create QR codes as well and these can go through an encrypted server.  Below is an article I wrote about a man who died because he was mistakenly implanted with a “recalled” device that was missed from being pulled, so enough is enough with pharma and device companies not doing something here as things will happen but no plan for a disaster is a disaster.  BD

CBS/AP) The Food and Drug Administration and Swiss drug maker Novartis warned yesterday that over-the-counter medications may be mixed up with powerful painkillers.

Officials advised consumers to stop using the products following hundreds of complaints about broken or incorrect tablets winding up in pill bottles.

Novartis recalled 1,645 lots of drugs including Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz and Gas-X. These drugs may have accidentally been packaged at the Lincoln, Neb., facility with powerful prescription painkillers made at the same facility. The opioid drugs are sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone.

During an inspection, FDA inspectors uncovered a manufacturing problem that could allow pills to become stuck in the machinery and carry over to the packaging of other products, Cox said. The agency says the investigation is ongoing and would not comment on potential penalties against Endo or Novartis.

The FDA and Endo Pharmaceuticals recommend patients examine their prescriptions to make sure all the tablets are similar in shape, color, size and marking. If one or more of the tablets look different, patients should return the medicine to their pharmacist.

Consumers should visit www.novartisOTC.com for a full list of recalled products, and they can call Novartis at 1-888-477-2403, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. Patients can also call Endo Pharmaceuticals' call center at 1-800-462-3636.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57355929-10391704/fda-novartis-pill-mix-up-may-involve-prescription-painkillers/

Technorati Tags: Novartis,pain killers,bar codes,FDA recalls,healthcare,opoids,Endo Pharma,medicine,drugs,pharmacy

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Kinect for Windows Becoming Available Next Month–Insurer Prayers Have Been Answered With Getting Consumers to Play Games So They Can Collect More Data <Grin>

If you read here often enough you know I have covered quite a few of the Kinect healthcare stories which are great with what has been done with hacking the system, but we do have these insurance companies that want every stick of data they can get their hands on and have put out games for consumers to play to be healthy, well this is just what they were waiting for and Aetna already has their games they have hawked quite a bit recently so will the public play “the Insurance Games”?  I don’t know about you but my healthcare and games don’t quite mix and I’d rather play a real game. 

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

As a matter of fact it would not surprise me to see the games in Best Buy since Aetna is going to begin hawking their software products in some of their stores.  They want your data one way or another.

Best Buy Setting Up to Hawk Software from Aetna For Consumer Wellness–Companies Still Don’t Get the Consumer Involvement Yet With a Vehicle and Creating Value

So which one will come out with a game first?  United had a big presence at CES so maybe they will jump on this bandwagon too?  They get into everything including investing in low income housing and distributing cheap hearing aids from China.

United Healthcare Partners With Mobile Health Tech Firms–Investment for Data? Check Out All Privacy Statements Today Regarding Privacy, What Little is Left for Consumers

One executive from Homeland Security a while back though said sometimes we “dumb down” consumers with items as such too and as I mentioned at the post below, would you see Ben Bernanke playing insurance company games?  I think he’s more interested in money and has his plate full with other items. 

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

Now for PACS systems and other uses, Kinect has some awesome potential and it has even worked with the daVinci robotic surgery unit.  This is where the real value of Kinect will be for healthcare instead of creating another way to get data to sell.  Here’s some real good articles below.

Microsoft Announces New Kinect Hardware for Windows Coming in Early 2012–Bring It On

Microsoft Kinect Working with a PACS Server-Images on Steroids Via Gestures (Video)

Microsoft Kinect Effect–Sensors Everywhere Including the Hospital OR- Video

Here’s another hot article to check out relating to Kinect and Surface.  Again I do wonder how long it will take insurers to work this into the game=data scenario and how long before we read about it and will they be fighting in court over patenting their games <grin>.  BD 

Windows Phone + Windows7 + Kinect + Surface + Speech Recognition – Wicked Technology and Integration

Healthcare. Microsoft clearly sees Kinect as a hospital and healthcare staple. On ZDNet Health, Denise Amrich noted how Kinect is helping hospitals practice so-called clean techniques. Amrich, an RN, noted that keeping a sterile environment is critical. Kinect is also likely to have surgical applications too. And Kinect is likely to be useful even at the lower end of the healthcare spectrum. The Wii is used in physical therapy. Chances are the Kinect will be too. Also see: Microsoft foresees roles for Surface 2, Xbox, Kinect in healthcare

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/five-industries-for-microsofts-kinect-for-windows/66700

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Kinect,healthcare,Health IT,PC,hardware,software,developers,data,health insurance

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WebMD CEO Resigns and Company Ends Its Search for a Buyer–Advertising from Pharma At Lower Levels

The company has had a lot of success over the years and was pretty much the first of it’s kind in the health information business but competition along with social networks have kind of eaten away at that advantage.  There have been other websites who have experienced the same thing out there.  So with the class action lawsuit about over stating their financial status, the CEO says so long.  BD 

Class Action Suits Filed Against WebMD Questioning Potential Inside Trading Without Disclosing Lower Expectations

WebMD Health Corp. said Chief Executive Wayne T. Gattinella resigned, and the health-website operator called off a search for a buyer as it braces for weaker financial results this year.

The New York-based company is feeling pressure as drug makers curb spending on marketing amid generic competition for major products. WebMD had a bumpy ride last year, lowering its financial expectations a couple of times as it dealt with customer-related delays and cancellations.

Amid these pressures, the company said it terminated talks with potential buyers and a process to review a potential sale. WebMD said it has talked to "several potential acquirers" after starting to review strategic alternatives late last year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577152492128960220.html

Technorati Tags: WebMD,CEO,acquisition,money,revenue,advertising,pharma,healthcare,Health IT

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United Healthcare Partners With Mobile Health Tech Firms–Investment for Data? Check Out All Privacy Statements Today Regarding Privacy, What Little is Left for Consumers

we don’t know which subsidiaries of big conglomerates shares data with the other ones so that’s the only item that worries me with such services.  We are seeing all types of web services and even when shared with a wellness service, some of those are owned by insurance companies so who really knows.  Back in October of 2011 the CareSpeak integration was announced as a means for compliance.  Who gets to see and access that data, the “Shadow” wants to know. 

United Healthcare To Begin Using CareSpeak Text Messaging for CareGiver Alerts and to Push Compliance With Requested Responses

These options are not bad but gee when you think of how companies like Walgreens made short of just $800 million on data selling, and United and their subsidiaries are king of this market, it does make one wonder on the data and behavioral analytics too.  We are not there of course to see the data integrations so we can only guess, but there’s money in that data and you almost have to say where there’s a “will” there’s a “way”.

When it comes to privacy too, Fitbit was found to have sexual profiles online in Google searches a few months ago, so hmmmmm, privacy again. 

Fitbit Profile Sexual Activity Shows Up In Google Search Results–Default Privacy Settings Allow Search Engines To Post

Again with all the massive profits made from selling data, and with looking a the huge dollars in profits insurers make doing this, the Alternative Millionaire’s Tax makes sense, license and tax those folks who make millions consuming “free taxpayer data” from the web.  In some states they have had to put software governors on the free data as the bots slow the servers down to a crawl and consumers like you and I who are supposed to have access have a difficult time as the data miners for profit edge us out with multiple bots for profit.  I think about it every time I have to go buy a tire for my car and pay federal excise tax. 

The Alternative Millionaire’s Tax–License and Tax Big Corporations Who Mine and Sell Taxpayer Data They Get for Free From the Internet-Phase One to Restore Middle Class With Transparency, Disclosure and Money

Again I do hope our new consumer financial chief knows math and algorithms, otherwise are sunk as it’s profit for big corporations by the algos and that includes healthcare.  We just just get to chase flawed data as consumers and the entire post below explains a lot of that. 

President Appoints Richard Cordray as New Consumer Financial Protection Chief - Hope He Knows And Understands Correcting Flawed Math and Formulas To Battle the “Financial Attack of Killer Algorithms” On Consumers With Banks and Corporate USA

So again from a consumer advocacy standpoint and awareness, read those disclaimers over and over to make sure you understand if you signing “your data away” for profit.  I’m not against good data for better clinical care but this is really not what’s happening here at all.  Wake up and smell the roses if you will, as it’s all about the data and you do wonder with Walgreens making just short of $800 million on data selling, is filling prescriptions just a side line business to get the data for sale?  Ponder that one if you will. 

United has a bank and is into all kind of stuff outside of health insurance and you can read about their low income housing investments below.

United Healthcare Gets in The Low Income Housing Business With Partnership to Finance Housing Projects in New Mexico

Maybe these could be free in time too if they collect enough data for sale?  I wonder too about the no co-pay hearing aids too and how other insurers see this as a lure to attract seniors to their health insurance plans?  They own the company that distributes them too.  BD 

UnitedHealthCare Throws in Free Hearing Aids for Those Who Enroll In AARP Medicare Advantage, HMO & POS Plans in Miami-Dade County From Their New Subsidiary

MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealth Group has announced strategic partnerships with three health technology companies that offer mobile products and services designed to help improve consumers’ health and well-being.

“Physical activity is paramount in helping people improve their health and well-being. Fitbit is dedicated to developing innovative and simple ways to motivate and empower consumers to achieve the results they want for their health and fitness”

UnitedHealth Group’s new business partners – CareSpeak Communications, Lose It! and Fitbit – help simplify the consumer health care experience by making relevant, practical information easier to access by using consumer-friendly technology devices such as smartphones and other mobile devices.

“Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the way that people take control of their health. UnitedHealth Group is committed to developing innovative solutions, and we look forward to working with such creative partners as CareSpeak Communications, Lose It! and Fitbit to help people live healthier lives,” said Rick Jelinek, executive vice president and CEO of Emerging Business Group at UnitedHealth Group.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120109006594/en/UnitedHealth-Group-Announces-Strategic-Partnerships-Mobile-Health

Technorati Tags: UnitedHealthcare,CareSpeak,data,privacy,SMS,text messages,compliance,diabetes,healthcare,Health IT,care givers,Fitbit,Lose It

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New York Medicaid HMO Sends out Layoff Notices to Nearly 900 Workers Effective in March of This Year

It was just a few months ago that a Brooklyn hospital sold their HMO to Amerigroup so it seems these are the folks being laid off from the article below.  The hospital needed the money and didn’t have much choice.  Amerigroup is a publicly traded company. 

Brooklyn Hospital Sells Off Its HMO To Amerigroup –They Need the Money for Health IT Updates and Pensions–All Four Brooklyn Hospitals Could Face Bankruptcy

It’s getting to be costly to run an HMO today unless it is part of a multi national US insurance company, who are also buying up HMOs.  BD 

Nearly 900 workers at one of the state's largest Medicaid HMO's have received layoff notices, as part of the sale of Health Plus to Amerigroup, a Virginia-based HMO with a small presence in New York.

Amerigroup says all 875 Health Plus workers got notices to fulfill a state legal requirement, but the company plans to keep "a substantial majority" of them as employees.

Layoffs would go into effect starting March 31.

Health Plus currently serves about 320,000 New Yorkers. Amerigroup said members will continue to receive the same benefits and have access to the same doctors and hospitals.

Health Plus was founded in 1984 by Lutheran Medical Center, in Brooklyn. Hospital officials said they need the $85 million they'll get from the sale of Health Plus.

Most of the five million New York State residents on Medicaid receive their coverage through Medicaid HMO's.

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2012/jan/04/layoffs-loom-local-hmo/

Technorati Tags: Amerigroup,health insurance,Medicaid,healthcare,Heatlh IT,Health Plus,layoffs,New York

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How Surgeons Put Our Bones Back Together- Animated Video

This is very well done and one of the best I have seen telling a story with visuals on how we get our bones put back together.  Music is great and very enjoyable video.  BD

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xMYjfb_M9wM&vq=large

Technorati Tags: bones,video,annimations,surgery,screws,spine,leg,kneee,ghost productions,fingers,tools,surgeon,movement,patient

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