Express Scripts to buy Medco for $29 Billion–Medco 2nd Quarter Profits Were Down 4% And the Profit Algorithms Once Again Are Hard at Work To Control Costs via Acquisition

<p>The whole purpose here is to keep the costs of prescriptions down and with the merging of the 2 pharmacy benefit managers, they gain a ton of market share.  For a <img align="right" border="0" height="82" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TLKhVbzCwFI/AAAAAAAAiCk/ADDkNdrDwb4/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="220" />short blast to the past, last month Walgreens dumped Express Scripts stating the reimbursement rates were too low.  Contract are determining almost everything today and where you can get a prescription filled, what doctor you can see and so forth to stay in network and be covered.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/walgreen-dumps-express-scripts-pharmacy.html"><font size="2">Walgreen Dumps Express Scripts Pharmacy Benefit Manager–Contract Dispute With Reimbursement to Retail Chain Too Low</font></a></h4> <p><u>In addition the news also stated that in 2012 the Medco contract with United Healthcare expires and would end in December of 2012</u>.  Remember United just has record profits once again here and it all comes down to business intelligence and where the cost can be driven down.  Medco <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TdXoM2LJ4SI/AAAAAAAAxjU/yGESOm3UFqg/image%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />obviously is not getting what they feel is a high enough reimbursement rate here.  Tons of doctors feel the same with their United contracts and United has their own pharmacy benefit management company and I would guess they want to funnel everything in that direction.   In addition, Medco also has some investments in the research business too.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/medco-buys-medical-research-firm-united.html"><font size="2">Medco Buys Medical Research firm United BioSource for $750 million–Subsidiary Watch</font></a></h6> <p>In addition Express Scripts also has a new program to contact patients and predict which patients may not be taking their medicine. <strong> I hope they are not working with FICO on their bogus algorithms that tie in credit ratings as that will deny drugs and care with what I call a complete mis match of information generated for marketing algorithms only.</strong>  The link below will shock you and how rogue algorithms are being marketed today and their interpretations, which is the important factor here.  </p> <p>About a year and a half ago I did an<u> interview with Proto magazine with a free lance reporter and she and I were talking about this, and I might say it was before our time as we both knew this existed, but the public was not ready to hear it yet and thus we did not get published and the reporter was the one that actually coined the words “rouge algorithm”. </u> This is something to be aware of as if you think medical claims are are had to battle, <strong><em>wait until some of these start running to give a skewed risk management assessment and you not going to like it and there will be flaws.</em></strong>  <u>Hopefully Express Scripts and Medco will stay clear of some of these mathematical algorithms</u> that are being marketed and stay closer to those that are actually beneficial.  <img align="right" border="0" height="84" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yBfun11LBTQ/TgOm26g2e9I/AAAAAAAAz5w/ych8G5_Jqxk/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="247" /></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/fico-analytics-press-release-marketing.html"><font size="2">FICO Analytics Press Release Marketing Credit Scoring Algorithms to Predict Medication Adherence–Update (Opinion)</font></a></h4> <p>Be prepared for more of this to take place as mergers and acquisitions accelerate:</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-is-almost-everyone-in-healthcare.html"><font size="2">Why Is Almost Everyone In Healthcare Marketing Their “Ass” Off</font></a></h6> <p>In addition too, I think with all the privacy issues out there and the millions made from <img align="right" border="0" height="64" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="164" />selling our data, which these folks do, it might be time to tax the transactions, and Walgreens as an example said their business in the data selling area represents just under $800 million,<u> which brings about another question here, could these pharmacy benefit managers exist and show a profit to shareholders without the data selling money they make?  I don’t know but it’s a damn good question to ask and do we have the best healthcare system ever “sold”.</u>  </p> <p>No wonder a while back the reporter at Fox News thought one could get a pap smear at Walgreens, it confuses everybody.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/04/greatest-movie-ever-sold-just-like.html"><font size="2">The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” Just Like “The Greatest Healthcare System Ever Sold”- Same Paradigms-Colbert Report (Video)</font></a></h6> <p>We are the product and the squeeze here will be both on the part of contracts with pharmaceutical companies and with health insurers.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/privacy-wantedso-lets-require-those-who.html"><font size="2">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<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="169" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SZ-ONY96T5E/TihlemO7kvI/AAAAAAAA188/ziJ4xQD1G-U/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="208" /></font></a></h6> <p>Current contracts in place the article states will keep things going for a while, until they come up for review and negotiation<u> so there should not be a whole lot of immediate changes, but as they do, it’s cattle drive time and patients and doctors will be shifted to a new “corral” </u>as contracts are re-negotiated.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>The two biggest <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/drugs-medicines/prescription-drugs-HEDAR00000155.topic">prescription drug</a> benefit managers in the U.S. plan to combine in a $29.1 billion deal they say will help rein in costs and improve patients' health. <br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/express-scripts-incorporated-ORCRP005500.topic">Express Scripts Inc.</a> announced an agreement Thursday to buy Medco Health Solutions Inc., which is bigger in terms of revenue, but recently lost several major contracts covering millions of people.</p> <p>Combined, Express Scripts and Medco would handle prescriptions for an estimated 135 million people -- more than one in three Americans, under the deal announced Thursday. <strong>Express Scripts said the tie-up would give it more power to negotiate lower prices with drugmakers.</strong></p> <p><u>Patients might see tougher rules for getting medicines for chronic health problems by mail order or requiring more use of generics.</u> Patients whose prescriptions are handled by either company shouldn't see any changes right away, as their drug benefit plans are covered under multi-year contracts.</p> <p>"Everyone agrees that we need to get health care costs under control," Paz told the analysts. "It's what America needs, it's what the patients need, it's what the clients need."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medco-express-scripts-20110721,0,2454812.story?track=rss&dlvrit=52116">Express Scripts to buy Medco for $29 billion - latimes.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a605ea1a-0522-4206-9080-bcbcc3d991a8" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Express+Scripts" rel="tag">Express Scripts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medco" rel="tag">Medco</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharmacy+benefit+managers" rel="tag">pharmacy benefit managers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heatlh+IT" rel="tag">Heatlh IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/prescriptions" rel="tag">prescriptions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patients" rel="tag">patients</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/contracts" rel="tag">contracts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UnitedHealthcare" rel="tag">UnitedHealthcare</a></div>

Express Scripts to buy Medco for $29 Billion–Medco 2nd Quarter Profits Were Down 4% And the Profit Algorithms Once Again Are Hard at Work To Control Costs via Acquisition

The whole purpose here is to keep the costs of prescriptions down and with the merging of the 2 pharmacy benefit managers, they gain a ton o...

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More Hospital Layoffs in Massachusetts and Mergers - Operating Income Funded A Lot of Technology Upgrades–Close To $49 Million

<p>Baystate Health will be laying off 354 jobs due to budget shortfalls.  As you can read the system has 60 medic practices and an ambulance company but the profits were eaten by technology, so this if nothing else gives you an idea of how much <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jL1EvG21Ggg/TifXjqNHj4I/AAAAAAAA18A/SeQi74Tndds/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="75" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wykXzFvv6Ps/TifXkK2a0II/AAAAAAAA18E/E6anK_GxSTI/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a>Health IT is costing today at hospitals and medical centers.  Medicaid reimbursements are another reason for the shortfalls with 26 percent of the patient population falling into this category.  Baystate Health is the largest employer in western Massachusetts.  </p> <p><strong>In other news in the state Lahey Clinic is Merging with Northeast Health System</strong> and the new company will be called Lahey Health System.  Beth Israel Deaconess, Vanguard Health Systems and Steward Health Care were also interested in acquiring Northeast.  This seems to be a sign of the times and Massachusetts is not the only state affected as it is being felt all over the country.  </p> <p>I read all types of news in healthcare and technology every day and by comparison <u>when I see $26 million thrown at a start up social network or gaming company for around the same amount of $26 million with investors, it really makes one wonder where the entire country is going and where the real priorities lie</u>.  There was one tech company that even the geeks were talking about that drew $40 million and they didn’t even have the entire software program set up to run yet, so how <u>long before the investor algorithm dollars run out</u> or everyone loses enough money. The odds are 1 out of 100 make it, so thus the jobs created only end up being temporary and those millions spent down the drain sure could buy a lot of healthcare.  </p> <p><strong><em>Those who can’t get healthcare though will have an over abundance of social networks and games to keep them busy so they won’t have to think about being sick or tend to any preventive health issues, sad to say.  We seem to be a little off balance these days with priorities.  BD</em></strong>  </p> <blockquote> <p>Baystate Health, the Springfield parent of Bay State Medical Center and two other Western Massachusetts hospitals, yesterday said it will shed 354 jobs, or about 3.5 percent of its 10,064-person payroll, to make up for a projected $25 million budget shortfall.</p> <p>“After engaging in strategies to increase revenue and reduce expenses, this was the last resort so we could be financially viable,’’ said Baystate spokeswoman Jane S. Albert. “We have an obligation to meet our budget targets because we have to reinvest in our facilities.’’</p> <p>The system as a whole, which also owns 60 medical practices, an ambulance company, and other operations, had operating income of $49 million, but that money is used to fund technology upgrades and capital improvements.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2011/07/21/baystate_health_to_cut_354_jobs_at_three_hospitals_and_other_sites_in_western_mass/">Baystate Health to cut 354 jobs at three hospitals and other sites in western Mass. - The Boston Globe</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d6428da4-8dee-4ff9-8f65-18c0cb85b86b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Massachusetts" rel="tag">Massachusetts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospitals" rel="tag">hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Baystate" rel="tag">Baystate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lahey+Clinic" rel="tag">Lahey Clinic</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/layoffs" rel="tag">layoffs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bugets" rel="tag">bugets</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/job+cuts" rel="tag">job cuts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heatlh+IT" rel="tag">Heatlh IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/nurses" rel="tag">nurses</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a></div>

More Hospital Layoffs in Massachusetts and Mergers - Operating Income Funded A Lot of Technology Upgrades–Close To $49 Million

Baystate Health will be laying off 354 jobs due to budget shortfalls.  As you can read the system has 60 medic practices and an ambulance co...

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FDA and Medical Devices-Who Doesn’t Get This, They Are Looking for Engineers Just Like Technology Companies Are Doing- Get Some Congressional Digital Literacy in Place

<p>When you look at the devices created today a good majority of them are using software and let’s say about 5 years ago the opposite was true.  We have <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-oG8qfljyHaE/TieHaQTobLI/AAAAAAAA15s/WUWwFR1ji_s/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="170" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2ivNFIPXaj0/TieHa94aDzI/AAAAAAAA15w/JqcWW0J9tWg/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="213" /></a>big “duh” here for those wanting to “fix” the FDA process as they don’t get it or read enough news.  <u>Bill Gates has testified every year before Congress</u> and they all nod and say thank you very much and continue to live in the garden of denial.  Intel has spent years telling all the same thing!  <strong><u>Well our time is about up here and you cant’ do that anymore.</u></strong>  </p> <p><strong>When it comes to writing safe software, you are NOT going to push the developers as you will have problems and deep in my soul this has gone on with coders being pushed to “hurry” up so they can get the product to market.</strong>  I would be a fool if I said this has not happened.  So our dear digital illiterates making laws can keep beating up the agency and asking questions, but not much is going to change.  It is what it is.  We want safety and sometimes that requires a little more time to not only build the software and hardware but to also test to make sure a product that is being evaluated is “safe”.  If you need any more thoughts on this, take a look at this article to where a man died because of faulty device, so how did that get approved? <strong><u>Nobody wanted or wants to be this man.</u></strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/56311471/Micro-Cap-FDA-Recalls-Never-End" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; display: block; font: 14px helvetica,arial,sans-serif; text-decoration: underline; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none" title="View Micro-Cap FDA Recalls Never End on Scribd">Micro-Cap FDA Recalls Never End</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="520" id="doc_91126" name="doc_91126" style="outline:none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=56311471&access_key=key-1hy9qgjolxot1avjntsn&page=1&viewMode=list"> <embed id="doc_91126" name="doc_91126" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=56311471&access_key=key-1hy9qgjolxot1avjntsn&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object></p> <p><strong><em>YOU CAN’T PUSH THE PROCESS AND GUARANTEE OR PARTLY GUARANTEE SAFETY!</em></strong></p> <p><u>The FDA needs in house engineers to work with contracted companies to collaborate with approvals.</u>  Now outside of this realm as far as trials go, that’s another matter to where their judgment is best. <u> You might as well start calling our bodies “beta testers” if the push to get devices to market exceeds safety concerns. </u> If you have not caught on yet, then watch this video for some additional clues at to the reality of what’s happening in the world.  Work with the FDA and realize the issues they have and support them and<u> cut out the witch hunts.</u>  </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 371px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:0819ca82-0a61-41ec-9a9f-3f61ac29ab90" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="127bcb5a-3098-48c0-bb30-7589a43d79ef" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1vpjD6djwI" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('127bcb5a-3098-48c0-bb30-7589a43d79ef'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"371\" height=\"226\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/F1vpjD6djwI?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/F1vpjD6djwI?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"371\" height=\"226\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Z1r9XDke2uk/TieHbJcBURI/AAAAAAAA150/YPgVniCPPRg/video6689646a7db2%25255B18%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div><div style="width:371px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">World Belongs to the Geeks As Nobody Else Wants It</div></div> <p>My last thought on some of this too is that I wish some of the journalists would take some of the drama out of reporting stories like this too, they skew the news and it doesn’t always come out the way it is supposed be with reality and truth but rather written for ratings and sometimes the OMG factors, leave that for Hollywood.  </p> <p>You have digital illiterates making laws that are for “those guys over there” and raising questions about technology they know nothing about and are usually near the bottom of the list with consumer IT knowledge and we find very little participation while the whole world is exploding around them.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats sought to blunt Republican attacks on medical device regulations Wednesday by asking medical journal editors to weigh in.</p> <p>Democrats point out that much of the criticism against the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of medical devices has relied on two studies that were funded by the industry and weren't published in a peer-reviewed journal. The studies argue that medical device approval is slower and more convoluted in the U.S. than in Europe.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medical-devices-and-prescription-drug-policy-/172521-dems-slam-fda-critics-ahead-of-medical-device-hearing">Dems slam FDA critics ahead of medical device hearing - The Hill's Healthwatch</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3f49432e-e6b2-4029-b82f-00dd13218044" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/digital+illiteracy" rel="tag">digital illiteracy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/approvals" rel="tag">approvals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/reviews" rel="tag">reviews</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/studies" rel="tag">studies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/compilers" rel="tag">compilers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algoirthms" rel="tag">algoirthms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/government" rel="tag">government</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/journals" rel="tag">journals</a></div>

FDA and Medical Devices-Who Doesn’t Get This, They Are Looking for Engineers Just Like Technology Companies Are Doing- Get Some Congressional Digital Literacy in Place

When you look at the devices created today a good majority of them are using software and let’s say about 5 years ago the opposite was true....

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Verizon and Northrop Grumman Working with WellPoint Contractor To Turn On the Anti-Fraud Algorithms for CMS–Subsidiary Watch

<p>This is perhaps good with 2 other companies with data interests involved here as National Government Services already processes Medicare claims for 20 states and the faucet is not turned on presently.  As a matter of fact, some of the 3rd party <img align="right" border="0" height="85" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TGR7wsobQdI/AAAAAAAAgew/tRUSvU5whuQ/image%5B13%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="220" />companies who audit all of this are owned by insurance companies too, so can insurance company subsidiaries audit other subsidiaries or CMS interests without conflict of interest?  Just a question kicking around in my head.  </p> <p>The <u>algos don’t come along for free</u> and I am guessing it will be closely associated with the WellPoint/Blue Cross commercial claims processes that are used with some modifications to fit CMS. The links below will give you a little history from 2010 as the Wellpoint subsidiary data processes are also being used to determine Physician incentives too, <strong>so we have <u>CMS and Medicare with the IT infrastructure they were never allowed to build</u>, all done mostly by insurance companies.  </strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/medicare-contractor-gets-deal-to.html"><font size="2">Medicare Contractor Gets Deal to Monitor Physician Incentive Payments–Same Folks Earlier This Week Admonished For Not Doing Enough for Fraud Prevention?</font></a></h4> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TGR7xcUo34I/AAAAAAAAge4/126koDrhroI/image%5B8%5D_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/medicare-fraud-prevention-has-cases.html"><font size="2">Medicare Fraud Prevention Has Cases Falling Through the Cracks–Looks Who’s Getting the Contracts And Check Out the Algorithms For Their Profitable Business Models</font></a></h6> <p>In short it will be interesting to follow how Northrop Grumman and Verizon work with the Wellpoint algorithms and put all of this together and see how well National Government Services polices itself in the 20 state area where they already process Medicare claims.   <strong>We do need some type of auditing with claims to help detect fraud and it is a good thing, but the parameters and effectiveness with hopefully not a lot of false positives will pay off.  BD</strong>  </p> <blockquote> <p>Federal Network Systems, Herndon, Va., the Verizon unit, will supply the CMS with a customized version of its predictive modeling technology used to detect fraud and protect security in its telecommunications network, according to a Verizon news release. <br />National Government Services, the Wellpoint subsidiary also based in Indianapolis, will provide its expertise in fee-for service claims handling, including algorithms for fraud prevention as well as hosting of information technology and infrastructure, a <a href="http://ir.wellpoint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=130104&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1586832&highlight=">Wellpoint statement said</a>. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20110720/NEWS/307209958?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMZmJVLzhCRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVzNVh3WUpibXA=#">Verizon, Wellpoint team with Northrop Grumman - Healthcare business news, research, information and opinions | Modern Healthcare</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:35d42fde-6918-4561-b370-40ba18d59d6a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fraud" rel="tag">fraud</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heatlhcare" rel="tag">Heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algorithms" rel="tag">algorithms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/contracts" rel="tag">contracts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/claims" rel="tag">claims</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Incentives" rel="tag">Incentives</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Wellpoint" rel="tag">Wellpoint</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/National+Government+Services" rel="tag">National Government Services</a></div>

Verizon and Northrop Grumman Working with WellPoint Contractor To Turn On the Anti-Fraud Algorithms for CMS–Subsidiary Watch

This is perhaps good with 2 other companies with data interests involved here as National Government Services already processes Medicare cla...

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FDA Approves Anticlotting Brilinta from AstraZeneca to Compete with Plavix

<p>From what I am reading here aspirin is also prescribed to be taken with the drug per the clinical trial information supplied.  The data cited here is conflicting too with US <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PABM7Kr1z4g/TidyJ-G4yMI/AAAAAAAA15A/_9CuomFozsc/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="132" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-wyw78gUeg58/TidyLRcM_UI/AAAAAAAA15E/McQZcXw_RSc/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="161" /></a>patients not doing as well as others with the medication but higher doses of aspirin were maybe the culprit?  The drug is to be taken to thin blood to help avoid heart attacks, strokes and other deaths from cardiovascular issues.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved AstraZeneca PLC's anticlotting drug Brilinta. </p> <p>Brilinta, also known by its generic name ticagrelor, is regarded as a key product for AstraZeneca to help offset expiring patents on some of the company's best-selling medicines including its antipsychotic drug Seroquel. Brilinta is sold under the brand name Brilique outside the U.S. </p> <p>The drug was approved with the FDA's toughest boxed warning, discussing bleeding risks and stating that aspirin doses above 100 milligrams reduce the product's effectiveness. </p> <p>Brilinta is designed to keep blood platelets from sticking together in order to prevent blood clots that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. It was approved for patients diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903461104576458462285334824.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">FDA Approves Astra's Anticlotting Drug - WSJ.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c94f7958-eeda-4c90-8b21-70521a9ed65a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brilinat" rel="tag">Brilinat</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AstraZeneca'" rel="tag">AstraZeneca'</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ticagrelor" rel="tag">ticagrelor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patents" rel="tag">patents</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/warnings" rel="tag">warnings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/aspirin" rel="tag">aspirin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heart+attacks" rel="tag">heart attacks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stroke" rel="tag">stroke</a></div>

FDA Approves Anticlotting Brilinta from AstraZeneca to Compete with Plavix

From what I am reading here aspirin is also prescribed to be taken with the drug per the clinical trial information supplied.  The data cite...

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Former CEO of Alegent Health Joins Former HHS Director at Leavitt Partners to Advise on Private Equity & Help with FutureFrame Predictive Algorithms Project

<p>Sometimes I’m not sure who’s making out the best today between Andrew von Eschenbach, former FDA Commish or Leavitt.  Everyone seems to fall somewhere and Mr. Leavitt is taking the “algorithm career” path and is bringing in former CEOS of healthcare systems to help advise and here it’s all financial.  <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TU96r6gvn5I/AAAAAAAAqrE/Uxr7fMwSmU4/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/11/former-hhs-secretary-michael-o-leavitt.html"><font size="2">Former HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt Creates His Own Company – Leavitt Partners</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/04/former-hhs-secretary-mike-leavitt-joins.html"><font size="2">Former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt Joins Board of Healthcare Financial Services Company</font></a></h6> <p>Mr. Leavitt was also promoting the $3 million dollar contest for developers to find the magical algorithm to help hospitals avoid re-admittance.  When retiring from US government service the financial industry is where they all seem to go with the idea that they can create all the solutions for healthcare with algorithms, although most have never seen one in code, but believers they are that math can solve all, but it’s just not so.  I have written tons of algos and they are great and help, but it’s always the interpretation that makes the difference and how they are used.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>SALT LAKE CITY--(<a href="http://www.businesswire.com/">BUSINESS WIRE</a>)--Wayne Sensor, former CEO of Alegent Health, has Joined <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leavittpartners.com&esheet=6800600&lan=en-US&anchor=Leavitt+Partners%2C+LLC&index=1&md5=dd7e9d71108022dfef358f85626ae51a">Leavitt Partners, LLC</a>. Sensor will be a partner in the firm. <a href="http://leavittpartners.com/futureframe/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="173" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LwXtOJvpwNs/TidtDrevzWI/AAAAAAAA144/EO4XtXQ-ugY/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="190" /></a></p> <p>Leavitt Partners was founded by <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leavittpartners.com%2Four-team%2Fmichael-o-leavitt&esheet=6800600&lan=en-US&anchor=Michael+O.+Leavitt&index=2&md5=1bd395acf0cd3d6c1269a07057c956e8">Michael O. Leavitt</a>, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The firm’s signature product, <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futureframe.com&esheet=6800600&lan=en-US&anchor=FutureFrame%E2%84%A2&index=3&md5=65c4e1ace8265b50e84572c3932c5d88">FutureFrame™</a>, is a qualitative predictive model about the future of health care. Sensor will help lead the development, refinement and application of FutureFrame™ for the firm. He will also advise Leavitt Partners' private equity practice area.</p> <p>“Health CEOs are surrounded by uncertainty,” Leavitt explained. “They have to make critically important decisions without knowing what the future will look like. Wayne Sensor will help organizations identify the highest impact uncertainties and then use our predictive model to systematically develop, monitor and continually refine high quality assumptions.” </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110720006457/en/Wayne-Sensor-Joins-Leavitt-Partners">Wayne Sensor Joins Leavitt Partners | Business Wire</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:6b867a51-6600-4566-8f12-1e5de34ec24b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Leavitt+Partners" rel="tag">Leavitt Partners</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Leavitt" rel="tag">Leavitt</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HHS" rel="tag">HHS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Michael+Leavitt" rel="tag">Michael Leavitt</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/private+equity" rel="tag">private equity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Future+Frame" rel="tag">Future Frame</a></div>

Former CEO of Alegent Health Joins Former HHS Director at Leavitt Partners to Advise on Private Equity & Help with FutureFrame Predictive Algorithms Project

Sometimes I’m not sure who’s making out the best today between Andrew von Eschenbach, former FDA Commish or Leavitt.  Everyone seems to fall...

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Ron Williams Former Aetna CEO Comments on HealthCare Law-It Just Won’t Work Without Changes-US Economy Can’t Live On Algorithms Alone for Jobs & Productivity

There’s a lot of topics covered in this video and jobs and healthcare are right in <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zwuPoGrTYyg/TideamEb4eI/AAAAAAAA14c/-1K4j_bAufg/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="170" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Hrqaqi0brTw/TidebD8KbfI/AAAAAAAA14g/8WUnrKuT2vo/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="165" /></a>there as well as health insurance.  He mentions how the entire credit rating situation has changed.<u>  You want to see a good example of over exaggerated credit marketing, look no further than the link </u>below to see a company that claims to have built an algorithm to predict compliance with taking medications based on adding credit scores to a mix of other data they collect!<b>  This is the dark side of algorithms for marketing and profit and it could not be any clearer, don’t believe it.  </b>In essence when he says the credit scoring and companies have changed, he hit the nail on the head here.  <br /> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/fico-analytics-press-release-marketing.html"><span style="font-size: x-small">FICO Analytics Press Release Marketing Credit Scoring Algorithms to Predict Medication Adherence–Update (Opinion)</span></a></h4> <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="380" id="cnbcplayer" width="400"> <param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="best" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000034261/code/cnbcplayershare" /> <embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000034261/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /> </object> <br />He said his focus is technology and in the last couple of years while at Aetna those were the companies Aetna was buying –<b> I call this “subsidiary watch”.</b>  Now I don’t agree with the “market” approach for health insurance at all but his background is health insurance and I would not expect a different answer there.  <br />He also does touch on the fact too that we don’t have some of the right “types” of people in decision making processes and again<u> I think when you have been at the top of the helm with data functionality and know how to adjust algorithms to quickly change and adapt business algorithms, you just can’t miss the fact that we are full if digital illiteracy with both lawmakers and executives</u> who will in time end up killing us with rogue and inaccurate interpretations.  <br />As soon as we can get more “consumer tech participants” and drag a few more out of the tech denial closet, maybe we can make progress.   <b>The US economy can’t live on algorithms alone for jobs and production and</b> perhaps even the banks are finally beginning to realize this with some of their antics with over rated social and gaming algorithms they have put out there, the bottom will fall out eventually without tangibles to balance.  BD <br /> <blockquote>The health-care plan passed in March 2010 will not be what is ultimately implemented, according to former<b><b> Aetna </b></b>CEO Ronald Williams.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/43827732?__source=RSS*tag*&par=RSS">Health-Care Law 'Just Won't Work': Ex-Aetna CEO - CNBC</a> <br /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:955c9c54-7285-4680-8a41-7250619174c8" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aetna" rel="tag">Aetna</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/board+of+directors" rel="tag">board of directors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/laws" rel="tag">laws</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/credit" rel="tag">credit</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/digital+literacy" rel="tag">digital literacy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a></div>

Ron Williams Former Aetna CEO Comments on HealthCare Law-It Just Won’t Work Without Changes-US Economy Can’t Live On Algorithms Alone for Jobs & Productivity

There’s a lot of topics covered in this video and jobs and healthcare are right in there as well as health insurance.  He mentions how the e...

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Truckload of Drugs Stolen From Novartis Subsidiary Alcon–Mostly Ophthalmic Products–Bar Codes Could Have Helped Identify Stolen Goods When Scanned

<p>This was an entire truckload, big loss here and insurance doesn’t cover this as I spent enough time in logistics to know the answer here when looking for insurance reimbursement.  The usual is that everyone eats a third and shares the loss, so <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vKF3WAKbaGM/TiZyOIRAKWI/AAAAAAAA114/oViguJlNuvE/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-8N3rTgwOGJU/TiZyOdaI7wI/AAAAAAAA118/Jl4jFQ9-J0E/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a>Walgreens, Alcon and the trucking company have this to deal with.  I had a truckload of Toshiba products stolen years ago when still in that business and it was a mess and a lot of bad feelings as a result due to the cost.  Things might be a little different now.  Novartis just stated their eye care was boosting their results but this will take a big chunk out of next quarter’s results.  </p> <p>Would have been nice if bar codes were on the products so they could be easily identified when someone tried to scan one.  It doesn’t appear that there are any heavy pain drugs in the mix as those seem to go at a premium these days but chances are the drugs are probably out of the country by now as these types of thieves usually are very sophisticated and the Cargo Cat enforcement folks are usually all over this and do a good job recovering when it is possible.  If you want to read up on bar codes and how they can help identify stolen goods, check out the links below and try to figure out why nobody in the drug and device business has tried this yet.  BD  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/p/healthcare-bar-code-posts.html"><font size="2">Healthcare Bar Code Posts</font></a><img align="right" border="0" height="160" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SsrjIC4BO7I/AAAAAAAAaR8/0BwJVnvzoas/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="215" /></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/03/eli-lilly-pill-heist-in-connecticut.html"><font size="2">Eli Lilly Pill Heist in Connecticut – Worth a Few Million on the Black Market And Should Have Been “Tagged” for Identification To Help Identify Reselling By the Thieves</font></a></h6> <p>How about a nice heat map that shows where the products are when scanned, pretty good huh?  BD  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/microsoft-tag-bar-codeswhos-been.html"><font size="2">Microsoft Tag Bar Codes–Who’s Been Scanning the Medical Quack–The Bing Heat Map Tells All And Could Help Find Stolen or Expired Drugs and Devices With This Methodology</font></a></h6> <img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJmlWcrzZhI/AAAAAAAAhik/Y-I04K0DhWA/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /> You can scan your Vodka, but not medicine! <p><b></b></p> <blockquote> <p>Novartis subsidiary Alcon suffered a full trailer load (FTL) theft of various ophthalmic products, including Systane lubricating eyedrops and various pharmaceutical preparations, on July 18 in Florida, USA. <br />The shipment was being carried by HMD Trucking on behalf of National Consolidated Services, and was in transit from an NCS facility in Alsip, Illinois, to a Walgreens facility in Jupiter, Florida. The load was stolen in Wimauma, Florida, in the early hours of Monday morning.</p> <p>The value of the shipment has not been disclosed. Prescription drugs included in the haul include antibiotics (ofloxacin, tobramycin, neomycin and trimethoprim sulfate/polymyxin), corticosteroids (dexamethasone and prednisolone), an anti-inflammatory (ketorolac) and various glaucoma treatments (brimonidine,atropine, pilocarpine and timolol).</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/989.php">SecuringPharma - Thieves steal Alcon eye products shipment</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:dd6a0cfd-0ccc-481c-8593-7ff06d26d825" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Alcon" rel="tag">Alcon</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Novaris" rel="tag">Novaris</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trucking" rel="tag">trucking</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/theft" rel="tag">theft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DEA" rel="tag">DEA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/antibiotics" rel="tag">antibiotics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bar+codes" rel="tag">bar codes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a></div>

Truckload of Drugs Stolen From Novartis Subsidiary Alcon–Mostly Ophthalmic Products–Bar Codes Could Have Helped Identify Stolen Goods When Scanned

This was an entire truckload, big loss here and insurance doesn’t cover this as I spent enough time in logistics to know the answer here whe...

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Johnson & Johnson Hurt by Recalls For 2nd Quarter–Time to Get Those Bar Codes Set up for Recalls And Regain Consumer Confidence

<p>If you read here often enough you know what I have to say about recalls and how drug, device companies and the FDA should work together to solve the notification solution.  They are not going away and it’s not that we are making bad drugs today compared to the past, but we can find discrepancies and problems much better than we used to.  This is not excusing the issues but the situation is out of hand and we have luddites not doing anything for the consumer on this issue. This weekend I was quote in the Milwaukee Journal on this topic.  <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OP4pLaJV6v0/TiZi3aKoFvI/AAAAAAAA11g/So-7LJoD730/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="171" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wn94XCg8rT4/TiZi4AlBbHI/AAAAAAAA11k/Pdn2sltWRwc/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/recalled-wipes-from-triad-still-out.html"><font size="2">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</font></a></h4> <p><em>“It would take health care workers only a moment to scan something, such as a box of disposable alcohol pads, to determine whether it's on a national recall list, according to Barbara Duck, a California-based medical bar code advocate who has written medical records software for doctors.</em></p> <p><em><strong>They could even use their smartphones for the task - but only if the recall information were readily available and bar codes were programmed to display it. Now, the technology is used more for inventory control and sales purposes than to send out recall alerts.</strong></em></p> <p><em>"I can take my smartphone to a Best Buy store, scan something like a Canon <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/125695813.html"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="98" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SyMRNVY_q00/TiSLiy4V6aI/AAAAAAAA1vM/XM5NFa_kCfA/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="161" /></a>printer, and it tells me everything about it," Duck said <b>.</b> "But when it comes to a product recall that might save my life, I can't get anything."</em></p> <p><em>She believes that hospitals have missed product recalls when a simple bar code could have alerted them to the information.</em></p> <p><em>"One company found that even after a medical device with a potentially dangerous flaw was pulled from the market, doctors at more than 40 hospitals implanted it in at least 50 patients," Duck said.<img align="right" border="0" height="96" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Ss1zzjODU2I/AAAAAAAAaVk/y_3JkEZBH7g/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="74" /></em></p> <p><em>Finding information on recall notices on the FDA website can be difficult.</em></p> <p><em>"Users may review hundreds of serial numbers and/or lot numbers published by the FDA and companies," Duck said. "Then they have to manually compare the information on a product label."</em></p> <p><strong><em>This is hot stuff and lazy and luddite companies at hand.</em></strong></p> <p>At hand was the discussion of the huge Triad recall, which is just as bad as Johnson and Johnson and <u>maybe this is why we see the bar codes on their Baby Wipes now.  It has product information but in case of a recall they could be reprogrammed immediately to give recall information</u>.  This has been a 2 year <img align="right" border="0" height="137" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-888ft_ZSx7M/TgD__H1Su2I/AAAAAAAAzqM/BzKvjFKF34g/image_thumb%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="274" />campaign calling on deaf ears all the way around, and it’s very doable.  Both J and J and Triad had their factories closed for goodness sakes and at J and J they can’t seem to treat their pallets outside so the drug stink, I saw that for years when I was in logistics sales, a low tech solution needed there to avoid those recalls.  </p> <p><strong><em>Yes I have beat J and J over the head too with this idea in more ways than one.</em></strong>  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/johnson-and-johnson-puts-microsoft-tag.html"><font size="2">Johnson and Johnson Puts Microsoft Tag Bar Codes on Baby Wipes But Can’t Do the Same to Give Consumers the Chance to Find Their FDA Recalls - BarCode Baby Steps?</font></a></h6> <p>If you read the full report consumer sales were flat, and we don’t trust J and J like we used to, so get the recall situation fix in hand and be the comeback kid.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>Johnson & Johnson posted a 20 percent decline in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by product recalls, flat sales in the United States and costs related to litigation and restructuring. </p> <p>Johnson & Johnson executives said they were making progress on fixing manufacturing problems that resulted in several recalls and had numerous new drugs, medical devices and toiletries hitting the market or coming soon. </p> <p>The <a href="http://www.jnj.com/connect/news/all/johnson-and-johnson-reports-2011-second-quarter-results">company said it earned</a> $2.78 billion, or $1 a share, down from $3.45 billion, or $1.23 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 8.3 percent, to $16.6 billion, from $15.33 billion a year ago. </p> <p><strong>Revenue was flat in the United States; consumer health product sales were down 8.5 percent because recalled products remained off store shelves.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/business/johnson-johnson-hurt-by-recalls-in-second-quarter.html?smid=tw-nytimeshealth">Johnson & Johnson Hurt by Recalls in Second Quarter - NYTimes.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:edbeed27-f972-455f-b87f-b350f2a224c9" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Johnson+and+Johnson" rel="tag">Johnson and Johnson</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Recalls" rel="tag">Recalls</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/earnings" rel="tag">earnings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/manufacturing" rel="tag">manufacturing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tylenol" rel="tag">Tylenol</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stinking+drugs" rel="tag">stinking drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lawsuits" rel="tag">lawsuits</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/BP" rel="tag">BP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Baby+Wipes" rel="tag">Baby Wipes</a></div>

Johnson & Johnson Hurt by Recalls For 2nd Quarter–Time to Get Those Bar Codes Set up for Recalls And Regain Consumer Confidence

If you read here often enough you know what I have to say about recalls and how drug, device companies and the FDA should work together to s...

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Vendor Failed to Restore Security on PC and Ended Up with A Virus in Radiology Area

<p>First of all this hospital is a fore runner to everyone else with medical records and has an ONC approved home brewed medical record system.  On top of that the CIO, Dr. Halamka is probably the most influential and most sharing individual in Health IT so when it happens at his facility it can happen anywhere and the patients have been given free credit although no financial or social security information was divulged. <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LOwVutCI_98/TiZLdHhCYeI/AAAAAAAA11A/6qArl_d-6dg/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="191" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RU9WH8_-X3w/TiZLdlN61II/AAAAAAAA11E/8sl1NCou8PA/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="208" /></a></p> <p>Secondly, this happened yesterday, Monday and we have it today and not months later like some facilities choose to do and it has been resolved in 24 hours or less.  He also added that all the information that was breached was going out encrypted so there was no way to see what was actually taken and as he commented, it could have been operating system files as well as anything else on the computer.  When you have the man watching your system that lived with the future folks who started HP in California and sold a computer to UCLA he built in high school, you don’t get much better than this as far as skills and being hands on guy too.  Actually he’s good candidate to clone. <grin>  I say that in jest be he’s also one of the first 20 people to be sequenced too.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/dr-halamka-becomes-harvard-professor.html">Dr. Halamka Becomes Harvard Professor -How Can We Clone His Expertise As A Role Model</a></h4> <p>Again the prompt action here with reporting and fixing was great and I just read a few minutes ago where Google is now putting notice up on their browser that they have malware floating around and if you are one who may be potentially affected, a notice will appear for you.  Everyone has issued staying ahead of the malware and remembering to restore all setting too for that matter as this was done by an outside vendor.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is trying to make up for the exposure of more than 2,000 patients' personal information that was hacked from a hospital computer. </p> <p>The hospital told reporters that a computer repair vendor, who remains unnamed, failed to restore the computer's security settings after servicing the machine. The computer was later found to have contracted a virus that snagged patient files and sent them to an unknown recipient. </p> <p>The virus accessed patient medical record numbers, names, genders, birthdates and data on radiology procedures that the patients had undergone. No social security information or financial data was stored on the computer, the <em>Boston Globe's</em> <a href="http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2011/07/beth-israel-reports-potential-data-breach/sLnihf9HOmBQDGc6GFCVTI/index.html?p1=News_links">boston.com</a> reported.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.massdevice.com/news/hospital-hack-exposes-more-2000-patient-records">Hospital hack exposes more than 2,000 patient records | MassDevice - Medical Device Industry News</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e375e7bf-7679-46f2-b46d-4c8af1579f5f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Opinion" rel="tag">Opinion</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/consumers" rel="tag">consumers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patients" rel="tag">patients</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/digital+literacy" rel="tag">digital literacy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/exercise" rel="tag">exercise</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/awarness" rel="tag">awarness</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthIT" rel="tag">HealthIT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/role+models" rel="tag">role models</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/breach" rel="tag">breach</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Beth+Israel+Deaconess+Hospital" rel="tag">Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/radiology" rel="tag">radiology</a></div>

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Vendor Failed to Restore Security on PC and Ended Up with A Virus in Radiology Area

First of all this hospital is a fore runner to everyone else with medical records and has an ONC approved home brewed medical record system....

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UnitedHealth 2nd Quarter 2011 Profits Rise 13%–Technology and Business Algorithms Hard at Work

<p>It’s all in the math and how business intelligence savvy insurance companies work the numbers and find areas where bigger profits can be seen and to cut down in other areas to where certain areas might not be as profitable.  As was mentioned <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TXCfvYCDCBI/AAAAAAAAsv0/8biVjC7dBI0/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />earlier this year, the Optum group, which is where their technology purchases lay are listed as contributing factors to the overall bottom line.  The corporate structure I can say is getting more complicated to keep on top of who owns who these days for the average consumer as we have these “daisy chain” structures with all the mergers and acquisitions.  In January the company reported over all profits and how subsidiaries added to the bottom line – I call this “subsidiary watch” here at the Quack.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/unitedhealth-group-reports-record.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealth Group Reports Record Profits for 2010 of $1.80 Billion-Algorithm Revenues Up with Subsidiary Groups Too</font></a></h4> <p>The company has a bank with HAS savings funds that has over a billion on deposit as well as some interest outside the US, such as this one.<img align="right" border="0" height="119" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TD65vGVwerI/AAAAAAAAfqE/zp5DvN-k928/image_thumb%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="188" /></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/05/unitedhealth-subsidiary-ingenix.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealth subsidiary (Ingenix Subsidiary I3) Acquires ChinaGate – Working to Sell Chinese Products Globally</font></a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/07/unitedhealth-group-owns-bank-with.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealth Group Owns a Bank With Deposits Surpassing a Billion – OptumHealth Bank FDIC Insured</font></a></h6> <p>Medical Loss Ratios were mentioned as they are a shade over the required percentage of 80% being required.  The Optum division, which has all the technology, the bank and several other entities showed a 19% increase in sales.  I don’t they made any acquisitions this quarter but in the past several quarters there have been quite a few to include all the investments in HIE interchange systems that basically allow software to communicate and have both doctors and hospitals to be able to exchange and communicate with medical records.  United is not alone here as Aetna has jumped in pretty big with the same types of acquisitions.  In addition we are also seeing insurers buying out HMOs and IPAs.  One in particular was here in southern California which I happened to know from years back and it was a big one so the next move appears to be buying out physician’s groups. <strong> So one has to ask is this the next move in almost “owning the doctors” next?  </strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/03/optumhealth-subsidiary-of-united.html">OptumHealth (Subsidiary of United Healthcare) Takes Over Memorial IPA in California-Subsidiary Watch</a></h4> <p>Having patents in one’s portfolio also can help bring in additional revenues and if you read today this is a heated topic as how many “algos” can be patented I ask as it does provide for more value and perhaps a higher selling cost overall.</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/03/qualitymetricingenix-united-healthcare.html"><font size="2">QualityMetric/Ingenix (United HealthCare) Receives Patent for Patient Health Survey Algorithms-Subsidiary Watch</font></a></h6> <p>In addition the use of business intelligence algorithms also helps find cheaper or less expensive locations and gives the analytics for moving or changing locations, such as one from last year in southern California with one of the last areas of combining the old PacifiCare HMO, which they bought years ago.  <strong>When decisions as such are made as in this case, a bus took all the employees to a hotel to where they were given their walking papers,</strong> not a real warm way to do this in my opinion.  Analytics can be tough today and the interpretations people make are what drives the decision making processes.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/03/unitedhealthcare-lays-off-180-employees.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealthcare Lays Off 180 Employees In Orange County-Initial Notification Sent By Instant Message to Those Affected</font></a></h6> <p>In addition other acquisitions include companies that manage employer wellness programs such as PPC which I believe falls somewhere along the daisy chain area under Optum.  Some of these subsidiaries are pursuing the use of biometric monitoring for employees.  Some of this stuff is good, but how it gets implemented is the key and the option should always be there without a monetary penalty.</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/02/unitedhealth-buys-another-wellness.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealth Buys Another Wellness Company – Biometric Monitoring For Data With Employer Contracts</font></a></h6> <p>Even the VA finds themselves in business today with United with the Picis <img align="right" border="0" height="109" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SkL9GOgy_rI/AAAAAAAATec/4yxb2jf7CV8/image_thumb%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="264" />subsidiary as some of their business was already in place before United purchased them.  Ingenix also has a big business of selling data for various uses across the US, mainly prescription data that is used for underwriting and is crunched for use with Walgreens Pay for Performance programs to where the pharmacists there can earn money for consumers who participate in various programs from United.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/va-awards-contract-to-picis-subsidiary.html"><font size="2">VA Awards Contract to Picis, Subsidiary of Ingenix for Anesthesia Record Keeping Software</font></a></h6> <p>Some of these links go back to the former name of Ingenix which has now been changed to Optum .</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/ingenix-consulting-adds-new-consulting.html"><font size="2">Ingenix Consulting Adds New Consulting Gig–Strategic <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/THVrOHyObWI/AAAAAAAAgy8/YYO9l4pjjW8/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="85" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/THVrOjo3N6I/AAAAAAAAgzA/CWxI5GlKR38/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="164" /></a>Technology Solutions–Focus on Health IT Executives On How to Invest and Implement Algorithmic Performance Strategies</font></a></h6> <p>Here’s one more “analytics” company that was purchased in the area of risk assessment so numbers they are not short on for decision making processes.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/03/ingenix-subsidiary-of-united-health.html"><font size="2">Ingenix (Subsidiary of United Health Care) Buys QualityMetric – More Algorithmic Formulas To Choose From To Identify Future Risk and Cost</font></a></h6> <p>So if you are not a believer in how math works today, this should drive that point home as that is how they function and all decisions are based on analytics and they sell a ton of analytics too as well as patient and doctor data and these all come into play with profits as well as the premiums paid.  <strong>The company is suing Tri-Care for the military health insurance business as well and the grounds for all <img align="right" border="0" height="135" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/S-JfTqQMrRI/AAAAAAAAd10/o0C09WEqTDQ/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="139" />of this are not quite clear to me other than the fact that they must somehow be convinced that they deserve the business or need the mixture to bring down the MLR maybe as this would add more consumers to spread the costing analysis process?  </strong>  Go figure.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/unitedhealth-loses-tri-care-protest.html"><font size="2">UnitedHealth Loses Tri-Care Protest Again With Contract Awarded to Humana in the South-Now Protesting Contracts Awarded In Both the South and the Western States</font></a></h4> <p><strong>All insurers too are backing off on what they pay insurance agents too and again when those “algos” show a potential profit area identified, companies go for it and ethics and the idea that humans lose income and jobs, doesn’t seem to mean a thing and that’s why markets are blazing and main street is not recovering.</strong>  Nurses have tried and so have many other areas of healthcare to get attention but the profits just keep on moving up for insurers with effective use of those algos as hospitals continue to close, file bankruptcy and private practices take in their shingles.  BD</p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/nurses-demonstrate-on-wall-street.html"><font size="2"><strong>Nurses Demonstrate on Wall Street Discussing Wages, Working Conditions - Addressing the Sad State of Healthcare Created by Financial Greed (Video)</strong></font></a></p> <p><em><strong>“It is a technological arms race in financial markets and the regulators are a bit caught unaware of how quickly the technology has evolved” </strong></em></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=UNH">UnitedHealth Group</a> Inc.'s second-quarter earnings rose 13% behind stronger revenue, rising membership and continued sluggish trends in patients using health care, leading the managed-care company to once again boost its outlook for the year. <img align="right" border="0" height="60" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="154" /></p> <p>The Minnetonka, Minn., company raised its 2011 per-share earnings forecast by 20 cents, the year's second increase following a guidance jump in April, while sharpening its sales outlook. Like its peers, the industry bellwether has seen its results buoyed in recent quarters by consumers' light use of health-care services</p> <p>"We expect a return toward somewhat more normal utilization trends in the second half of this year and into 2012," company Chief Executive <a href="http://topics.wsj.com/person/h/stephen-j-hemsley/592">Stephen Hemsley</a> said on a conference call, where he also stressed that rising costs for health care remain the most important cost driver. But he said the company has a positive outlook for 2012. </p> <p>UnitedHealth's medical-loss ratio, or MLR—an important statistic that reflects the portion of insurance premiums used for patient care—edged down to 81.4% in the second quarter from 81.5% a year earlier and was unchanged from the first quarter. Health insurers have to meet new minimum MLR requirements this year or provide rebates for falling short, which could potentially limit margins, although United Health doesn't break out rebates. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303661904576455592503704816.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">UnitedHealth Profit Rises 13%, Raises View - WSJ.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ad1db8f2-ac75-4127-90ce-bac2abb10b82" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UnitedHealthcare" rel="tag">UnitedHealthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ingenix" rel="tag">Ingenix</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/I3" rel="tag">I3</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ChinaGate" rel="tag">ChinaGate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/China" rel="tag">China</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mergers+and+acquisitions" rel="tag">mergers and acquisitions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/revenue" rel="tag">revenue</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/profits" rel="tag">profits</a></div>

UnitedHealth 2nd Quarter 2011 Profits Rise 13%–Technology and Business Algorithms Hard at Work

It’s all in the math and how business intelligence savvy insurance companies work the numbers and find areas where bigger profits can be see...

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Mergers and Acquisitions in Biotech Disrupts Markets With Bankers Rolling Up Mega-Mergers For Short Term Returns

<p>This was an interesting piece in Xconomy, an opinion piece but I happen to agree with a lot of what is said here.  <strong>We have some real imbalances with many biotech companies struggling to get funded who are working on cures and disease treatments while some social algorithm company gets their value blown sky high to the moon.</strong>  A social algorithm is not going to cure or treat me, but a drug or device might do the trick and these are the small companies that are hurting.  We need some long term tangible investors and not the short term “make a buck” bank orchestrated values.  They all have a place and there are some good acquisitions out there that happen too, so it’s not all bad. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MHEu2VEdYLI/TiTOFINzoEI/AAAAAAAA1xY/LqptqooUUmI/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="175" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nW_fiKVcADg/TiTOFvbVMDI/AAAAAAAA1xc/cudwwXsr_Q8/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="217" /></a></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/life-and-healthcare-big-batch-of-non.html"><font size="2">Life and Healthcare A Big Batch of Non Balanced Algorithms With Insufficient Intellectual Interpretations–Tax Breaks Maybe For Those Producing Tangibles Vs Formulas</font></a></h6> <p><u>In addition the rush for the buck has a tendency to rush researchers and create some maybe not so good allies and we see come out in the news with falsified or studies written by ghostwriters</u>, not a good thing.  As mentioned below it’s not the researchers that get the rewards it’s the boards and the bankers.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/good-science-investments-and-chase-for.html"><font size="2">Good Science, Investments and The Chase for Social Algorithms Has Become a Dangerous Mix-Healthcare and The Creation of Jobs Continue to Suffer</font></a></h4> <p>Basically the tone of this article is to be wary of the “fast” money in biotech and stand alone so as not to drive the markets with the bankers and the inflated fees they get.  This may not work all the time of course and there is a time and place for mergers and acquisitions of course, but it should not be the focus of the entire company to build to be bought out and perhaps go public on their own perhaps or remain private.  </p> <p>All you have to do is look at Dendreon for a biotech company that has ridden the roller coaster of the markets and I guess still could have a few rolls left but so much that occurred with the company in value had nothing to do with the research and development of their drug.  BD  <img align="right" border="0" height="58" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sff5o8yDgoI/AAAAAAAAPYg/9U3oQnLdPsA/image%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="157" /></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/dendreon-day-what-got-people-more.html"><font size="2">Dendreon Day - What Got People More Excited, the Announcement or the Stock?</font></a></h4> <blockquote> <p>Given what investment bankers did to the financial system just a couple years ago, it surprises me how many people still accept what they have to say at face value. But quite a few people in biotech are still lapping up all sorts of short-sighted, destructive advice from the financial powers that be.</p> <p>The latest bit of wisdom passed down from Wall Street came in a Reuters <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/us-biotech-deals-idUSTRE76C4YG20110713">story</a> this past week. It speculated about 11 publicly traded biotech companies that various investment pros consider to be takeover candidates. These companies have the kind of novel drugs that Big Pharma needs to replenish its empty pipelines. If you’re a shareholder in one of these little companies, this sounds exciting. Just hold onto your shares a little while longer, or buy some now while you can, and wait a couple quarters for a suitor to pay a 30, 40, or 50 percent premium. Instant returns! That will make everybody happy, right?</p> <p>What stories like this usually fail to mention is who really stands to gain, and who loses, in these deals. Investment bankers, C-level executives, lawyers, accountants, certain consultants—<u>they all pocket big money. Bench scientists, lower-level management, and entire regional economies can get whacked as hundreds or thousands of people lose their jobs.</u></p> <p><u>What’s more problematic is when the bankers aren’t satisfied with the puny fees they get from those $500 million to $1 billion acquisitions. So they start beating the drum for multi-billion dollar mega-mergers.</u> These are the kind of deals that can generate monster fees, like the potential takeovers listed in the Reuters report. The target list includes Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BIIB">BIIB</a>), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=VRTX">VRTX</a>), Dendreon (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DNDN">DNDN</a>), Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SGEN">SGEN</a>), Exelixis (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=EXEL">EXEL</a>), and Intermune (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ITMN">ITMN</a>), along with some smaller players.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.xconomy.com/national/2011/07/18/stop-the-ma-obsession-biotech-needs-more-companies-to-stay-independent/?single_page=true">Stop the M&A Obsession: Biotech Needs More Companies to Stay Independent | Xconomy</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:25f5ea29-7682-462f-b6dd-69d21d0dca54" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Science" rel="tag">Science</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/investments" rel="tag">investments</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algorithms" rel="tag">algorithms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+networks" rel="tag">social networks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/value" rel="tag">value</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intangibles" rel="tag">intangibles</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/devices" rel="tag">devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospitals" rel="tag">hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biotech" rel="tag">biotech</a></div>

Mergers and Acquisitions in Biotech Disrupts Markets With Bankers Rolling Up Mega-Mergers For Short Term Returns

This was an interesting piece in Xconomy, an opinion piece but I happen to agree with a lot of what is said here.  We have some real imbalan...

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Greenway Medical Records Company Files to Go Public To Raise $100 Million

<p><a href="http://www.greenwaymedical.com/">Greenway</a> has been around for a long time and perhaps one of the first EHR <a href="http://www.greenwaymedical.com/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="81" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uHrROEg8DS8/TiTFiUvAbRI/AAAAAAAA1xA/p46HNu4MB7U/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="217" /></a>vendors when all of this started years ago.  They are an approved vendor and also have their own speech recognition technology that is used with their medical record for both doctors and in hospitals.  This is one of the speech technologies not bought by Nuance yet and that might require the whole package if that idea were ever entertained.  BD  </p> <blockquote>In registration papers and a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Carrollton, Ga.-based company estimates the market for its products at $33 billion. Of that, the market for its integrated EHR/practice management system is $9 billion, with <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vIcqd0g4Y5I/TiTFi3f9SoI/AAAAAAAA1xE/OVbAsRyJjQw/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="56" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-d8CNlYPyGNA/TiTFjHZagJI/AAAAAAAA1xI/pZ5v4D1CJdE/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="189" /></a>markets of $14 billion for revenue cycle management services, $3.5 billion for health information exchange and $2 billion for speech recognition. The company also sells provider and patient Web portals and apps for mobile devices. More than 33,000 providers use the products.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/ipo-iniitial-public-offering-greenway-42811-1.html">Greenway Medical Files to Go Public</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:00f4688e-6326-409f-97e6-d844396a5c00" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Greenway+Medical+Records" rel="tag">Greenway Medical Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEC" rel="tag">SEC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heatlh+IT" rel="tag">Heatlh IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/IPO" rel="tag">IPO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stock" rel="tag">stock</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospitals" rel="tag">hospitals</a></div>

Greenway Medical Records Company Files to Go Public To Raise $100 Million

Greenway has been around for a long time and perhaps one of the first EHR vendors when all of this started years ago.  They are an approved...

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Craig Mundie from Microsoft Talks About Avatar Kinect and Use in Healthcare And How Technology is Reshaping Main Street (Videos)

<p>This is kind of cute interview as part of the interview is actually done with Kinect Avatars.  Craig Mundie says Kinect is a good match to help autistic children with the automatic feedback.  He states there are going to be lots of new applications to be created.  In Germany it shows a system created that helps the blind. <img align="right" border="0" height="105" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TTaMiMLsFbI/AAAAAAAAo3g/zceGKvGUMOM/image_thumb%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="172"></p> <p>He says as a country we are really struggling with brining aggregated technologies together to improve economics and create jobs.  He states businesses are not embracing technologies at the same pace as the pubic.  I might dispute that a little bit from what I see in the healthcare sector when it comes to mining and selling our data and some of the devices I report on here as they are way far advanced.</p> <h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/microsoft-kinect-working-with-pacs.html"><font size="2"></font></a></h6><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="380" id="cnbcplayer" width="400"> <param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="best" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="flashVars" value="startTime=000" /> <param name="flashVars" value="endTime=000" /> <param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000033523/code/cnbcplayershare" /> <embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000033523/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /></object></h4> <blockquote></blockquote> <p>Now for another video that talks more specifically how jobs are not growing due to technology leaps as we don’t have enough people and we do not have a mix of tangible and intangible companies.  I have written a few times on that topic and the gap is getting larger each day.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/us-medical-companies-going-overseas-for.html"><font size="2">US Medical Companies Going Overseas for Investors While We Keep Driving Up Intangible Social Algorithms for Investments</font></a></h4> <p>In the video they talk about how companies are doing more with less.  Do the people who are out of work need to go open their own small business?  We might see more of this to survive.  We need more than just algorithms for jobs in the US and hopefully we can come to a better balance soon, but with a Congress that is for the most part digitally illiterate, it’s going to be hard to balance and grow.  BD  </p> <p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="380" id="cnbcplayer" width="400"> <param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="best" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="flashVars" value="startTime=000" /> <param name="flashVars" value="endTime=000" /> <param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000033813/code/cnbcplayershare" /> <embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000033813/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /></object></p> <p>Here’s a few more healthcare uses with Kinect.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/03/hospital-using-kinect-technology-in.html"><font size="1">Hospital Using Kinect Technology In the Operating Room To View and Manipulate Imaging-Saves Having to Rescrub! (Video)</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/02/kinect-and-davinci-surgical-robot-do.html">Kinect And daVinci Surgical Robot Do Simulated Surgery Suturing Together (Video)</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/microsoft-kinect-working-with-pacs.html">Microsoft Kinect Working with a PACS Server-Images on Steroids Via Gestures (Video)</a></h6> <p><a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000033523#eyJ2aWQiOiIzMDAwMDMzNTIzIiwiZW5jVmlkIjoiYjNaZEFKdzc2THY1MFZXckRXN3pDUT09IiwidlRhYiI6InRyYW5zY3JpcHQiLCJ2UGFnZSI6MSwiZ05hdiI6WyLCoExhdGVzdCBWaWRlbyJdLCJnU2VjdCI6IkFMTCIsImdQYWdlIjoiMSIsInN5bSI6IiIsInNlYXJjaCI6IiJ9">Maria Bartiromo's & Xbox Avatar Kinect</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:08c7f34d-d52b-4c71-bfff-7a33b2af68f0" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kinect" rel="tag">Kinect</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Craig+Mundie" rel="tag">Craig Mundie</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Resarch+and+development" rel="tag">Resarch and development</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gestures" rel="tag">gestures</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mobility" rel="tag">mobility</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Avatar+Kinect" rel="tag">Avatar Kinect</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/jobs" rel="tag">jobs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/economy" rel="tag">economy</a></div>

Craig Mundie from Microsoft Talks About Avatar Kinect and Use in Healthcare And How Technology is Reshaping Main Street (Videos)

This is kind of cute interview as part of the interview is actually done with Kinect Avatars.  Craig Mundie says Kinect is a good match to h...

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Why Is James Murdoch on the Board of GlaxoSmithKline And Will He Stay?

<p>This is a good thought provoking article here and for no other reason than the title, why is he on the board of the UK’s largest pharmaceutical firm?  It just seems a bit <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-dG8etRM0Zeo/TiSxW-UrDII/AAAAAAAA1wg/Mc-peXjQFY4/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="150" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-34n9kxvRQwc/TiSxZMpp-gI/AAAAAAAA1wk/QfJ8DnurjAQ/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="180" /></a>odd since he’s in the media business as to what value he could bring to a pharmaceutical company?  Does he actually do anything on the board?  With the news breaking almost by the hour of late with News Corporation with arrests and resignations, I think this is a healthy question to ask and will Glaxo keep him?  He is also listed on the board of Sotheby’s auction house, so he got around a bit it seems. </p> <p>I hope we don’t end up finding any connection here and again what will investors have to say about all of this.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>Never mind whether <strong>James Murdoch</strong> should remain chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, how long before someone asks why he is on the board of <strong>GlaxoSmithKlein Plc</strong> (<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=LON%3AGSK">LON:GSK</a>)? <br />Unnoticed amid all the headlines about Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is that his favorite son is a non-executive director of Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company.</p> <p>And if television is a business regulated by governments, so much more so are drug companies – not just in Britain, but globally. Including America. Pharm companies cannot afford to court controversy in their governance.</p> <p>James Murdoch has been a Glaxo main-board director since May 2009. Yes, FTSE 100 companies tend to recruit their non-execs from the execs of other Footsie firms and James was chief executive of BSkyB before he became chairman. But shareholders might belatedly start asking what experience he brings: his whole working life has been inside his father’s empire.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://dofonline.co.uk/blogs/the-edge/corporate-fraud/glaxosmithkline-3453453454/?">Director of Finance Online - Blogs - The Edge » Blog Archive » What is James Murdoch doing on the GlaxoSmithKline board?</a></p> <p>Hat Tip:  <a href="http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-is-james-murdoch-doing-on.html">Pharmagossip</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:24a16f53-5272-4579-9cc8-7305e2cc2815" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/James+Murdoch" rel="tag">James Murdoch</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/News+Corporation" rel="tag">News Corporation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/GlaxoSmithKline" rel="tag">GlaxoSmithKline</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/board+members" rel="tag">board members</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/scandal" rel="tag">scandal</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security+hacking" rel="tag">security hacking</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/news" rel="tag">news</a></div>

Why Is James Murdoch on the Board of GlaxoSmithKline And Will He Stay?

This is a good thought provoking article here and for no other reason than the title, why is he on the board of the UK’s largest pharmaceuti...

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High-tech Gadget Turns a Smart Phone Into a Hospital-Grade Heart Monitor With the Ability to Produce EKG in 30 Seconds And Email

<p>Phones are getting better all the time and with all the big strides being made in <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fnw_rSfwtd0/TiSpUV8mMII/AAAAAAAA1v0/heDoMi8Utys/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="113" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-sGWRC529Sck/TiSpUss_tTI/AAAAAAAA1v4/MmF3xsURGEM/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="138" /></a>consumer medical devices will we, someday in the future be required t show up at the ER with our our EKG already emailed to the hospital?  Think about it as that could be not too far off base in the future.  </p> <p><a href="http://www.shl-telemedicine.com/telemedicine/telemedicine-monitoring-center/">SHL Telemedicine</a> has created the product and if you l<a href="http://www.shl-telemedicine.com/telemedicine/telemedicine-devices/">ook at their website,</a> they have few other telemedicine product that transmit data.  The video at the site is kind of interesting as here you <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RI3rwOci_Jg/TiSpUzW0WFI/AAAAAAAA1v8/L8r1qqLdmWs/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="155" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--JDOzoNJzns/TiSpWeIieVI/AAAAAAAA1wA/GG-FIRtbrzA/image_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="151" /></a>are with your device connected and speaking with a “call center”.  The company is listed and traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange, SHLTN.  </p> <blockquote> <p>Scientists have designed a remarkable new gadget which turns a mobile phone into a powerful medical tool able to detect heart problems.</p> <p>The 'Smartheart' connects to the trendy smartphone and converts it into a hospital grade heart monitor capable of performing electrocardiograms in just 30 seconds.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OjHVKB89jmU/TiSpWicf8bI/AAAAAAAA1wE/IuPf_ABbl_E/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="201" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YEfc7ArNaTI/TiSpXV5qRuI/AAAAAAAA1wI/O5m3GWBlffY/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="344" /></a></p> <p>The device hooks around the user's chest and records their heart rate by measuring its electro-activity.</p> <p>Instead of a traditional ECG, which uses several monitors stuck to the body, Smartheart has just one and the scan is completed in 30 seconds.</p> <p>You can then view the ECG in detail and email it to your doctor. If it <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pvMBLFP03MQ/TiSpajPQS2I/AAAAAAAA1wM/gMsKhd4Hbl0/s1600-h/image%25255B16%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="135" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jMT6iH3v-O0/TiSpdFB3YHI/AAAAAAAA1wQ/YAop3msauLo/image_thumb%25255B8%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="122" /></a>identifies an irregular or abnormal heart condition it will send you an alert.</p> <p>Smartheart addresses the most crucial factor related to heart attacks - time. Within 30 seconds, anyone can record a scan and have it transmitted to their doctor.</p> <p>'It can be used anywhere, by anyone, and is a real breakthrough in technology.' </p> <p>Smartheart can be purchased for £300 online and the app can be downloaded for free.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2015771/High-tech-gadget-turns-smart-phone-hospital-grade-heart-monitor.html">High-tech gadget turns your smart phone into a hospital-grade heart monitor | Mail Online</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c51e62ac-fed2-43a2-abad-13a4f8673230" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Smartheart" rel="tag">Smartheart</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gadgets" rel="tag">gadgets</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cell+phones" rel="tag">cell phones</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heart+monitors" rel="tag">heart monitors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/electrocardiogram" rel="tag">electrocardiogram</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heart+rate" rel="tag">heart rate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/telemedicine" rel="tag">telemedicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heart+attacks" rel="tag">heart attacks</a></div>

High-tech Gadget Turns a Smart Phone Into a Hospital-Grade Heart Monitor With the Ability to Produce EKG in 30 Seconds And Email

Phones are getting better all the time and with all the big strides being made in consumer medical devices will we, someday in the future be...

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Microsoft Research Launches Free Tool Kit to Assist Big-Data Scientists-More Ways to Use the Azure Cloud With Large Scale Data Sets And Algorithms For Analytics

<p>Here’s another topic we have been hearing a lot about and it will continue to <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/azure/daytona.aspx"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="94" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NaqBu9dIQ-8/TiSfs4eE91I/AAAAAAAA1vo/34mZRd4yU3E/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="192" /></a>grow “machine learning”.  There have been many articles about the topic and you might be familiar with IBM Watson servers as that is exactly what you have there.</p> <p>We are talking about processing terabytes here to run algorithms  to extract patterns, clusters and to build training models to classify data based on data that has already been captured as a result of prior queries, etc.  The program is called <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/azure/daytona.aspx"><u>Daytona</u></a> and updated will be scheduled monthly and it is free.  The runtime for Windows Azure is free to download.  </p> <p>The applications will be built on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud technology.  Groups both inside and outside of Microsoft will have the ability to use.</p> <p><em>“Microsoft has developed an iterative MapReduce runtime for Windows Azure, code-named "Daytona." Project Daytona is designed to support a wide class of data analytics and machine learning algorithms. It can scale out to hundreds of server cores for analysis of distributed data.”</em></p> <p><em><strong>“There are a number of use cases for Project Daytona, such as for data analysis, machine learning, financial analysis, text processing, indexing, and search.</strong> Almost any application that involves data manipulation and analysis can take advantage of Project Daytona to scale out processing on Windows Azure</em>.”</p> <p> Additional information can be found here and this is “hard hat” area that mostly developers will understand.  Basically this is the Microsoft Cloud technology to be used for handling huge data sets with building on memory with queries and algorithms already used in the system so everyone can benefit from the “machine learning” portions for faster and more concise information.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>Two years ago, during a cyber infrastructure meeting convened by the U.S. National Science Foundation, principal investigators from across the country found their scientific concerns begin to converge.</p> <p>“All around the table,” recalls <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/barga/">Roger Barga</a>, an architect in Microsoft Research’s <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/labs/xcg/default.aspx">eXtreme Computing Group</a> (XCG), “people were saying, ‘I need the means to analyze data,’ or ‘I need a library of analytics that scale out over large data.’”</p> <p>Barga and his colleagues took note, and in Redmond, Wash., on July 18, the opening day of the 12th annual Microsoft Research <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/fs2011/">Faculty Summit</a>, they provided their response to the scientists’ plea: a platform code-named “<a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/azure/daytona.aspx">Daytona</a>,” designed to expand the tool set for scientists who require large-scale data computation.</p> <p>“‘Daytona’ has a very simple, easy-to-use programming interface for developers to write machine-learning and data-analytics algorithms,” he says. “They don’t have to know too much about distributed computing or how they’re going to spread the computation out, and they don’t need to know the specifics of Windows Azure.”</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/headlines/daytona-071811.aspx">Free Tool Kit to Assist Big-Data Scientists - Microsoft Research</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:918cab63-ae13-47be-b70d-dcdf0b258a21" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Science" rel="tag">Science</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Life+Sciences" rel="tag">Life Sciences</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/analytics" rel="tag">analytics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/machine+learning" rel="tag">machine learning</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft+Research" rel="tag">Microsoft Research</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Azure+Platform" rel="tag">Azure Platform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/scale" rel="tag">scale</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Daytona" rel="tag">Daytona</a></div>

Microsoft Research Launches Free Tool Kit to Assist Big-Data Scientists-More Ways to Use the Azure Cloud With Large Scale Data Sets And Algorithms For Analytics

Here’s another topic we have been hearing a lot about and it will continue to grow “machine learning”.  There have been many articles about ...

Read more »