Advocate Medical Group In Illinois Data Breach–4 Million Patient Records At Risk After Computers Were Stolen

<p>So far there has no indication of any abuse but it is still early in the game<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="54" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-siTeDkSFy1I/Uhwt84yQCjI/AAAAAAABHeY/fONG1eBdMz0/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="207" />.  Why they had all the information on the computers instead of a secured server again is beyond me.  All of the patients will receive a letter and the company is urging all patients to go to the website for additional information if they want to be ahead of receiving the letter.</p> <p>This stands to be a huge HIPAA breach and it happened over a month ago.  Again why patient records are stored on computers is beyond me.  BD</p> <p><iframe id="nbcLP220902441" height="1" src="http://www.nbcchicago.com/templates/nbc_blank" width="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">var nbcLP={};nbcLP.aRandomNumber=Math.floor(Math.random()*10000);nbcLP.currentPageLoc=encodeURIComponent(window.location.href);nbcLP.currentSiteLoc=encodeURIComponent(window.location.host);nbcLP.defaultWidth=652;nbcLP.defaultHeight=367;nbcLP.cmsID="220902441";nbcLP.vidPid="Wo1GCN7mOHMI";nbcLP.vidSec="TK";nbcLP.vidSubSec="TK";nbcLP.vidFrame=document.getElementById("nbcLP220902441");nbcLP.vidFrame.style.border="none";nbcLP.vidFrame.width=nbcLP.defaultWidth;nbcLP.vidFrame.height=nbcLP.defaultHeight;nbcLP.vidFrame.scrolling="no";nbcLP.vidFrame.src="http://www.nbcchicago.com/templates/nbc_partner_player?cmsID="+nbcLP.cmsID+"&videoID="+nbcLP.vidPid+"&width="+nbcLP.defaultWidth+"&height="+nbcLP.defaultHeight+"&sec="+nbcLP.vidSec+"&subsec="+nbcLP.vidSubSec+"&turl="+nbcLP.currentSiteLoc+"&ourl="+nbcLP.currentPageLoc+"&rand="+nbcLP.aRandomNumber;</script></p> <hr />Roughly four million people who've used Advocate Medical Group doctors or services dating back to the 1990s may be at risk for identity theft after four computers were swiped last month. <p>The computers, inside a nondescript building in Park Ridge, northwest of Chicago, were stolen July 15, company officials said.</p> <p>The computers didn't contain medical records but did hold patient information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and some clinical information such as treating physicians and department, diagnoses, medical record numbers, medical service codes and health insurance data, the company said in a release.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/health/advocated-medical-park-ridge-theft-220901171.html#ixzz2d8macMdc">http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/health/advocated-medical-park-ridge-theft-220901171.html#ixzz2d8macMdc</a></p>

Advocate Medical Group In Illinois Data Breach–4 Million Patient Records At Risk After Computers Were Stolen

So far there has no indication of any abuse but it is still early in the game .  Why they had all the information on the computers instead o...

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Amgen Buys Onyx for $10.4 Billion–Biotech Cancer Drugs

<p>Last week there was additional information released referencing some of the  data <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4K0xBIkY8_Y/UMZn9XMmoQI/AAAAAAABBI8/NpxYD2TkhgE/image%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right">on the drugs in production at Onyx and this must have done the trick for Amgen to give the go ahead to buy.  Last year Onyx made the news with their approval of a new skin cancer drug.  The drug comes under the category of one of the life extending drugs on the market.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/carfilzomib-from-onyx-gets-fda-approval.html">Carfilzomib From Onyx Gets FDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma For Patients Who Have Had Prior Treatments</a></h5> <p>In addition, they are also co-marketing a drug with Bayer for a colon cancer drug and will receive a 20% royalty on global net sales of the product, and the drug is being tested for use with breast cancer.  Amgen is the largest biotech company around.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/09/fda-approves-bayer-colon-cancer-drug.html">FDA Approves Bayer Colon Cancer Drug Stivarga to be Co-Marketed by Onyx Pharmaceuticals</a></h5> <p>Earlier this year May was also a very busy month for acquisitions in the biotech business with several others that occurred.  </p> <p> <hr> Amgen buying cancer drug maker Onyx for $10.4B<br>Amgen agrees to buy cancer drug maker Onyx for $10.4B, or $125 per share<br>NEW YORK (AP) — Biotech drugmaker Amgen will buy cancer drug maker Onyx Pharmaceuticals for about $10.4 billion in cash in a deal that will add several cancer drugs to Amgen's stable and boost its pipeline of new drugs.<img align="right" height="64" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RM5qPH1ouyY/UAncx0YZMsI/AAAAAAAA8Ys/RxOxyj5OPZ4/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="138"><br>Amgen Inc. said Sunday that it will acquire Onyx for $125 per share, and it expects to complete the deal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The companies value the deal at $9.7 billion excluding Onyx's cash, and Amgen said it will use $8.1 billion in committed bank loans to <a href="http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/finance/">finance</a> the deal.<br>Onyx rejected an offer from Amgen worth $120 per share in June. <p><a href="http://world.einnews.com/article/164897672/aMT6yYsB--RSACVF">http://world.einnews.com/article/164897672/aMT6yYsB--RSACVF</a>

Amgen Buys Onyx for $10.4 Billion–Biotech Cancer Drugs

Last week there was additional information released referencing some of the  data on the drugs in production at Onyx and this must have done...

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One More Patient Security Breach in Alaska This Time

<p>Now this one sounds like complete human error with some one in a hurry to<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="101" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--3S1LfWwoOs/UhvYL7yopRI/AAAAAAABHeI/0C7eCc0E6L4/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="144" /> get an email blast out.  An attachment went along with the email that divulged the names of disabled patients, all for the sake of doing a survey?  Well those procedures better have a second look I would say.  It’s one of those “third party deals” again with patient data, where a lot of the breaches take place.  All one had to do here was read the email sent.   BD  </p> <p> <hr />An email from Alaska-based Hope Community Resources that had meant to promote a survey of clients and stakeholders instead included attachments with confidential information of its 3,700 disabled clients that contract with Hope, according to an Aug. 20 article in <em>Alaska Dispatch </em>.</p> <p>In this latest breach, the names, dates of birth, guardians and parents, addresses and other private identifying information were disclosed. The email had sought to collect data required for state health accreditation; ironically, the survey asked recipients—including state workers and others who assist the disabled—about their experience with Hope handling sensitive information, according to the article. </p> <p><a href="http://www.clinical-innovation.com/topics/privacy-security/email-accidentally-discloses-information-3700-disabled-patients">http://www.clinical-innovation.com/topics/privacy-security/email-accidentally-discloses-information-3700-disabled-patients</a></p>

One More Patient Security Breach in Alaska This Time

Now this one sounds like complete human error with some one in a hurry to get an email blast out.  An attachment went along with the email ...

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Nancy DeParle Returns to What She Knows, Private Equity-Technology Experience, Knowledge And Being In Touch With Reality Is What Government Needs Today

<p>This was kind of a funny interview here and during the initial transition of the White House things were different years back and there were quite a few “transition” type people hired.  If you look at the US CTO and CIO jobs, both of the transition folks got out of Dodge too as the job requirements changed to be heavy on technology.  Back in 2009 I questioned both Sebelius and DeParle and wondered how long they would stay around.  DeParle left her job a while back and Sebelius is still there.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="190" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gx0-vd8UVo0/UhuNqqdHH7I/AAAAAAABHd4/wCSaI9WKLMA/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="243" /></p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/nancy-ann-deparle-and-kathleen-sebelius.html">Nancy-Ann DeParle and Kathleen Sebelius – Business Intelligence?</a></h5> <p>What is happening here is that it comes out in the press with things that are not relative.  A few weeks ago I read where <strong>DeParle stated the “IT work was done” as it relates to insurance exchanges and there’s nothing further from the truth</strong> as you can read about it every day, again we come back to digital literacy and political comments made to sway opinions that are not accurate.  Here’s a recent past that talks about some of the technologies for the exchanges…</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/obamacare-health-insurance-exchanges.html">Obamacare Health Insurance Exchanges “Will It Blend”….Cobol Lives On With the Feds</a></h5> <p>Once you read articles like this with the technologists who are actually doing the work with first hand technology experience, it becomes more transparent that the comments made by politicians are kind of useless as they give somewhat of a digital illiterate translation.  Here’s another one where Sebelius wants to “speed up Health IT”, well we would all like that of course but we are still humans writing code and these are embarrassing moments.</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/02/speed-up-rate-of-change-in-health.html">Speed Up Rate of Change in Health IT?–“Short Order Code Kitchen Burned Down a Few Years Ago and There Was No Fire Sale”..IT Infrastructure Chance and Revisions Takes a Lot of ”Code”, “Time” and “ Most Importantly Money”</a></h5> <p>So again we come back to many folks that were in fact “transitional” and when the real work is needed, just as you see with the current US CTO and CIO jobs, the folks with the technology talent are tasked to do the job.  In this interview, she says she’s having fun with Private Equity, so how many others are having “fun” while <a href="http://www.ducknet.net/attack-of-the-killer-algorithms/">Algo Duping for profit</a> continues to grow along with the data selling epidemic.  I guess it’s nice that folks with some money at the top can have “fun” while the rest of us are at the mercy of the code and algorithms running on servers 24/7 making like impacting decisions about all of us along with this huge problem of the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-has-come-to-license-and-tax-data.html">data selling epidemic</a> that few have recognized that is cutting away at the focus of the economy.   She couldn’t talk about this issue or even acknowledge it I don’t believe as she references he own kids being addicted to apps?  What’s up with that?  </p> <p><strong>The rest of us out here are not having fun, ask any doctor, hospital, etc.</strong>  She just doesn’t get it and is now so removed in her focus that the least involvement she has right now I think is better as it is time for some real truths to be brought forward with Health IT, which is what I try to do here.  From the way this article reads, she’s all about money and again back in the early days with organizing she had some input and value but it’s certainly not what we need today for consumers, patients and providers.  It’s dangerous sometimes to have “transitional” executives hang around too long in my opinion.  BD  </p> <p> <hr />The former director of the White House Office of Health Reform, since 2011 DeParle had been deputy chief of staff for policy, helping the president develop policy in multiple areas. Still, DeParle is best known as a chief architect of the Affordable Care Act, and a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the Clinton administration.</p> <p>Earlier this month, DeParle returned to a healthcare focus, albeit in the world of private equity, as a partner with the New York-based firm Consonance Capital Partners. She'll help guide CCP's investment decisions in lower middle market healthcare enterprises.</p> <p>I am increasingly using them, and from watching my own teenage children I can tell you that they’re hooked on them. Whether it will apply to the population at large is still something of a question. In the last few weeks, I’ve been speaking with CEOs at insurance companies, and they are all over this trend. They see mobile apps and tools as a way to help manage patient engagement. They are trying to go where people are living these days, which is on their smartphones, their tablets, and giving them something that can help them manage their health.</p> <p><a href="http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/aca-architect-returns-private-equity?single-page=true">http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/aca-architect-returns-private-equity?single-page=true</a></p>

Nancy DeParle Returns to What She Knows, Private Equity-Technology Experience, Knowledge And Being In Touch With Reality Is What Government Needs Today

This was kind of a funny interview here and during the initial transition of the White House things were different years back and there were...

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Another “Stolen Code” Case on Wall Street Emerges–Hope They Get It Right This Time And Either Prosecute the Case Correctly or Dismiss It-The “Evil” Drop Box Share…

<p>Here we go again and as you might remember the last case against the former Goldman programmer was botched so badly and was never accurately proven.  <strong>You certainly can’t find a “jury of peers” from ordinary candidates either and the experts called need to be just that, ones that truly are familiar and know the procedures of how code is written and used.</strong>  The State of New York still brought another case against Sergey Aleynikov after a judge threw out the first case.  A jury of common consumers cannot understand all of this, I don’t care what anyone says. <strong> It is funny when you read the article about the FBI agent not knowing what “subversion” (SVC) was</strong>.  Anyone in programming will laugh their fannies off at reading about it:)</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/08/former-goldman-programmer-sergey.html">Former Goldman Programmer Sergey Aleynikov Case–Digital Illiteracy of FBI, A Duped Jury-How Goldman Played It And Is Still Not Accountable for Their Own Risk Altering Models…</a></h5> <p><strong>With what happened to Goldman last week,<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="197" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ksiHPAD6Knc/Uhq6v3G_ehI/AAAAAAABHdg/Sh6Bnp1TJ1Y/image%25255B9%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="199" /> they might be well advised to look old Sergey up</strong> as he appears to also have some real serious software engineering skills too, which was part of the area to where I believe their code ran bad last week and we have not heard yet what the outcome is there and how much money was lost or better yet what the ill fated non tech lawyer running the SEC will do.  Tortoise SVN (image)  is one of the best software SVN  programs out there and it’s open source from Microsoft..</p> <p><strong>Now these folks were sending and sharing code via Drop Box supposedly to start a business and we need to know exactly what the content was.</strong>  People share code modules all the time, I’ve used some and they are ones openly shared and open source code that has been rewritten.  Does is make an entire program for me, no way, it only works in creating a particular module of the bigger picture of all the code together work.  <strong>Duh!  People don’t get this and understand the concept.  With Drop Box, who needs (SVN) subversion (grin).</strong>  </p> <p>Now they said they found proof that the recipient had worked and rewritten some of the code and that is was part of a secret algorithm…<strong><u><font style="background-color: #ffff00">well if that’s the case better run the code and see what it does</font></u></strong> as it could be useless. <strong> Programmers and developers do stuff like that, they just play around with it and end up dumping it as many times it’s just something to experiment with or you find a new couple of lines of code that make such modules run more efficiently.</strong>  Again, remember too that a lot of the trading software is “open source” and Goldman has a one way relationship in the fact that they never give back, which is part of how open source works, you use it and then give some modules and portions back that you develop.  Sure one may not give everything back, and we know they don’t, but it really looks bad if you don’t even give back some beefed up “common” modules that everyone uses. </p> <p><strong>All I can say is that these cases so far are a joke as far as how they have been handled by digital illiterate lawyers and we all want the truth, and we want accuracy but again as I mentioned above, the case against Sergey was never done correctly and the pending new case is also a joke.</strong> <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="177" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BvNE4yzxeD0/Uhq6wTJqkQI/AAAAAAABHdo/c-tgiyQdD7g/image%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="174" /> Lawyers are smart and do their research for sure, but unless they code, this is way out of their realm as you never know when you will get an “expert” that will lie to make a case.  Everyone complains about this whether it’s a court case or that IT folks lie to them at some company or a bank.  Some do lie and <font style="background-color: #ffff00">in other cases it’s a matter of trying to tell the layman what the cause of a very complex issue is and you do have to make up some analogies that they can understand as otherwise they will never get it.</font>  I’ve done that in a good way to help educate so they understand but if you were to look at some of the analogies I have used in the past, someone could take that out of context and call it a lie as well.</p> <p><strong>That’s what makes all of this so bad and again we are just suffering like crazy by not having a technologist at the top of the helm at the SEC.  Old digital illiterate lawyers believe whatever technologists happen to be on hand and their interpretations are all different as well as different work and education backgrounds will provide that alone.</strong>  Being the fact that the two being prosecuted were traders, well I would imagine<strong> <em>they were just making some pretty good guesses at what to put in Drop Box, as their expertise is more about dealing with spreadsheets and analytics than code</em></strong> and programming (grin).  <strong>All I can say is here we go again with the digital illits in a court case and they better get it right this time as the whole technology world is watching and laughing.  BD</strong>  </p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p> <hr />The top prosecutor in Manhattan is seeking to indict three men for allegedly stealing valuable computer source code from an automated trading firm, according to people familiar with the matter.</p> <p>A criminal complaint filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in New York and seen by The Wall Street Journal alleges that Glen Cressman and Jason Vuu, who worked as traders at Flow Traders US LLC in New York, emailed themselves lines of code that contained secret algorithms at the heart of the firm's high-frequency trading strategy.</p> <p>Mr. Vuu shared the code with Simon Lu, a college friend from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, through the file-storage service Dropbox, according to the complaint, which accuses the two men of planning to use the secret software to start their own company. Mr. Lu, currently a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was studying there when he allegedly received the stolen code.</p> <p>Mr. Vuu's attorney, Jeremy Saland, said he doesn't believe any harm was done to Flow Traders and is still looking into the facts. "I look forward to defending these accusations," he said Sunday.</p> <p>After searching Mr. Lu's computers, investigators discovered that some of the computer code allegedly stolen from Flow Traders had been manipulated, leading investigators to believe that Mr. Lu had taken steps toward launching his own high-frequency trading platform, according to a person familiar with the matter. Messrs. Lu and Vuu had not set up their own firm.</p> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323980604579031034025132054.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323980604579031034025132054.html</a></p>

Another “Stolen Code” Case on Wall Street Emerges–Hope They Get It Right This Time And Either Prosecute the Case Correctly or Dismiss It-The “Evil” Drop Box Share…

Here we go again and as you might remember the last case against the former Goldman programmer was botched so badly and was never accurately...

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Science Researchers Create Cells That Line Blood Vessels from iPSCs–May Lead to Patients Needing Less Blood Thinning Medications In the Future

<p>iPSC cells are are wonderful thing by all means and I can go backwards here about 3 years ago when the process began whereby skin or other stem cells<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="132" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8liUfZBI5EQ/Uhpj6QBeKsI/AAAAAAABHdQ/8Tc_gJyOQYI/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="127" /> can be changed.  As you can see from the link below intestine cells were created  and we are routinely it seems finding more and more ways to work with re-identifying cells so they function as if they were native and that’s what this story is about as well.  We all know about blood thinners, been around for years and how touchy it is to control with some like Warfarin, which we read about all the time.  </p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/stem-cells-turned-into-intestinal.html">Stem Cells Turned Into Intestinal Tissue in Lab</a></p> <p>The re-identified cells perform 3 important functions that could eliminate the use of some blood thinners for those using dialysis or treatments for lung failure.  Anytime blood thinners are not needed, you are always miles ahead.  BD <hr /></p> <p>In a scientific first, Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists have successfully grown the cells that line the blood vessels—called vascular endothelial cells—from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), revealing new details about how these cells function. Using a unique approach, the researchers induced the differentiation of specific cell types by generating mechanical forces on the surface of the iPSC-derived endothelium mimicking the flow of blood. For example, cells that felt a stronger "flow" became artery cells, while those that felt a weaker "flow" became vein cells.</p> <p>"It was especially exciting to us to discover that these cells are basically responding to biomechanical cues," research leader Guillermo García-Cardena, PhD, an HSCI Affiliated Faculty member, said. "By exposing cells to 'atheroprone flow,' we can direct differentiation of these cells into cells that are present in areas of the circulatory system that we know are affected by diseases like atherosclerosis." García-Cardena is now working on modeling the formation of arterial plaques using human iPSC-derived vascular endothelial cells and identifying potential drugs that might prevent plaque formation.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sciencecodex.com/harvard_stem_cell_researchers_create_cells_that_line_blood_vessels-118033">http://www.sciencecodex.com/harvard_stem_cell_researchers_create_cells_that_line_blood_vessels-118033</a></p>

Science Researchers Create Cells That Line Blood Vessels from iPSCs–May Lead to Patients Needing Less Blood Thinning Medications In the Future

iPSC cells are are wonderful thing by all means and I can go backwards here about 3 years ago when the process began whereby skin or other s...

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FDA Approves Mass Spectrometer System, VITEK MS That Can Identify 192 Different Tests at Once

<p>This is pretty cool with the VITEK MS device, to have the ability <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-n39X3oqnhTg/UhpYb8Lue4I/AAAAAAABHdA/7kBuyjmlVMw/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="186" />to do a large number of tests at one time and there’s the remote connectivity so all don’t have to physically be in one place.  The videos below explain a bit more on how the system works and I would venture to say that the product stands to save some man hours with getting large numbers of results done at once.  4 target slides can be loaded at once with multi stations for collaboration for 4 technologists to work at the same time.  There’s middle ware software that does the connecting.</p> <p>You can watch in the video that all samples are bar coded for accuracy and matching.    Below is a short description of all the working parts that go into using the testing system from the website.  BD</p> <p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=2617249807001&playerID=1617735794001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABeGXgwqE~,6lTwCtCVeFxxzz7grMfXiUVNltMp-GwE&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=2617249807001&playerID=1617735794001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABeGXgwqE~,6lTwCtCVeFxxzz7grMfXiUVNltMp-GwE&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="420" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></p> <p><a href="http://www.vitekms.com/id-ast.html">From the website:</a></p> <p><em><strong>VITEK^® MS </strong> <br />An automated mass spectrometry and software system designed for rapid microbial identification, using innovative matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight technology (MALDI-TOF). This technology tests up to 192 isolates per run, delivers results in minutes, and requires no pretreatment of samples for even faster turnaround time. VITEK MS is easy-to-use, integrates seamlessly into your lab’s workflow, and enables more confident patient-care decisions with:</em></p> <p><em><strong>Etest^®</strong> <br />A predefined, stable gradient of 15 antibiotic concentrations on a plastic strip. Using innovative dry chemistry technology, Etest determines the onscale Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of antibiotics, antifungal agents and anti-mycobacterial agents. More than 100 antimicrobials are available in the product range for testing of aerobic bacteria and fastidious organisms.</em></p> <p><em><strong>VITEK^® 2</strong> <br />Best-In-Class Technology Makes It More Than a Workhorse - With an expanded identification database and the most automated platform available, VITEK^® 2 is your lab’s powerhouse for rapid, complete, and accurate ID/AST:</em></p> <ul> <li><em>results in 4-8 hours enable targeted therapy sooner </em></li> <li><em>broadest range of GN AST cards includes the industry’s only FDA-approved three-drug yeast susceptibility card </em></li> <li><em>ergonomically sound automation that enhances workflow and minimizes waste </em></li> <li><em>immediate capability to integrate with your lab’s LIS and improve connectivity. </em></li> </ul> <p><em><strong>Myla™ </strong> <br />An innovative software solution that simplifies lab operations by improving connectivity, workflow and information management.  The system offers an actionable picture of a lab’s workflow that rapidly impacts patient management with an intuitive dashboard and virtual workstations that enable lab personnel to recapture their time. Flexible, scalable, and versatile, Myla is designed to establish synergy with a facility’s existing Lab Information System (LIS) to improve broader access to patient data.</em></p> <p><em><strong>VILINK™</strong> <br />An on-line, highly secure connectivity environment that optimizes instrument ‘up time’ to improve laboratory productivity. It provides immediate access to the latest instrument application/analysis enhancements to further improve testing accuracy, and rapidly resolves platform issues to minimize the need for labor-intensive, off-line back-up testing procedures.</em></p> <p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=2617249807001&playerID=1617735794001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABeGXgwqE~,6lTwCtCVeFxxzz7grMfXiUVNltMp-GwE&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=2617249807001&playerID=1617735794001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABeGXgwqE~,6lTwCtCVeFxxzz7grMfXiUVNltMp-GwE&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="420" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></p> <hr />HealthDay News -- The FDA has approved a novel mass spectrometer system designed to identify 193 yeast and bacteria that are capable of causing <a href="http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/search/pneumonia/daterange-all/b/">pneumonia</a>, meningitis and skin and bloodstream infections. <p>The automated system, VITEK MS (bioMerieux Inc.), can perform as many as 192 different tests in a single automated series, with each test taking about one minute, the agency said in a press release. </p> <p>“The ability for laboratories to use one device to identify almost 200 different microorganisms is a significant advance in the timely identification of pathogenic microorganisms,” said Alberto Gutierrez, PhD, director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health at FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Rapid identification of harmful microorganisms can improve the care of critically ill patients.</p> <p>The FDA approved VITEK MS using its de novo classifcation process, a regulatory pathway for some novel low-to-moderate risk medical devices that are not substantially equivalent to an already legally marketed device. It is indicated for use in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory findings to aid in the diagnosis of bacterial and fungal infections.</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/fda-approves-novel-mass-spectrometer/article/308552/">http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/fda-approves-novel-mass-spectrometer/article/308552/#</a></p>

FDA Approves Mass Spectrometer System, VITEK MS That Can Identify 192 Different Tests at Once

This is pretty cool with the VITEK MS device, to have the ability to do a large number of tests at one time and there’s the remote connectiv...

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First Liver Surgery Assisted With a Tablet Performed in Germany

<p>At the link at the bottom of the post there are quite a few pictures that show how the tablet was used with creating a model from the “real organ”.  Augmented reality as mentioned allowed for 3D vision which helps locate blood vessels, potential tumors and so forth.  Fascinating…..BD  </p> <p> <hr />The following are images from Germany of a liver surgery, one of the first surgeries of its kind in the country with the support of a tablet computer to access<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="175" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oA6d7qTtsTU/UhW7hJxCOgI/AAAAAAABHao/ZB9YFvXE8Ig/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="216" /> and visualize planning data. The tablet uses augmented reality, which allows the liver to be filmed with an iPad and overlaid during an operation with virtual 3D models reconstructed from the real organ. <br />Developed by Fraunhofer MEVIS in Bremen, this procedure helps locate critical structures such as tumors and vessels and is expected to improve the quality of transferring pre operational resection plans into actual surgery. (Reuters)</p> <p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/first-liver-surgery-with-tablet-computer-in-germany-slideshow/">http://news.yahoo.com/photos/first-liver-surgery-with-tablet-computer-in-germany-slideshow/</a></p>

First Liver Surgery Assisted With a Tablet Performed in Germany

At the link at the bottom of the post there are quite a few pictures that show how the tablet was used with creating a model from the “real ...

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CVS Comes Up With More Legal Mumbo Jumbo Relative to Privacy And HIPAA To Allow More Access to Data For Sale, Offering a Mere Pittance of $50 Purchasing Credits To Dupe Consumers

<p>Here we go again with the data selling epidemic, and when you think about it, what generates all of this today, money.  In this case it’s more data for <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="131" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-E8HZP1mAF3U/UhUr60uSDZI/AAAAAAABHaY/zeBGCJ2vIXM/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="191" />sale and the ability to query additional data bases.  I have said many times that Walgreens makes about a billion a year on selling data only and of course one would guess that CVS is right up there with them.  They all do it.  I said a while back that we needed to take HIPAA out of the HHS silo and republish the provisions in other areas to easy access for consumers is there.  We have a lot of new entities now that fall under the provisions of HIPAA, so this makes perfect sense.</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/time-to-take-hipaa-out-of-healthcare.html">Time to Take HIPAA Out of the Healthcare Silo–Needs to Be Integrated In Overall Privacy Laws Healthcare Information Is All Over The Place And Privacy Efforts Will Fail Without Real Algorithmic Levels of Regulation</a></h5> <p>Again I tell folks if you don’t understand the privacy statements, then don’t go there if you don’t have too.  I realize there are incentives and sometimes it’s difficult when the dollar amounts are substantial.  We just had one grocery chain in California, Albertsons, get rid of the their cards for collecting data.  <img align="right" border="0" height="73" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_JckpaLDWHA/UQct1qfzu8I/AAAAAAABD4o/f6pIXXCwuDM/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" width="120" />Now don’t think they are totally good guys here with dropping this entirely, it’s probably just that they found a cheaper way to get data and analyze it.  <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/04/steward-health-cerberus-capital-buys.html">Cerberus Capital</a> Management just bought the grocery/drug chain not too long ago and I might guess it could be cheaper to buy Visa and MasterCard records from the banks and run queries, like the insurers do.  We have no real regulation here so we end up with “laws with no balls”…you can read below where I wrote about this blinding lack of a path to regulate and thus now we have CVS looking at the legal wording here trying to get around HIPAA in a “legal verbiage” way to selling more data.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/privacy-relative-to-tracking-apps-and.html">Privacy Relative to Tracking Apps and Data Mining Legislation Will Fail If There is No Regulation Path Created–License and Excise Tax Data Miners & Sellers Otherwise It’s “Laws With No Balls”</a></h5> <p>Christopher Steiner says it pretty well in this video about “algorithms taking over the world” and the verbiage here with CVS is to allow more algorithms to operate “legally” but still screw you as a consumer.  Again when you see that Walgreens is up around a billion a year for “easy money” from algorithms that mine, query and sell, you can pretty well figure out why the manufacturing tangible business in the US suffers with everyone flipping algos for profit.  If you want more on how some of this works, visit the <a href="http://www.ducknet.net/attack-of-the-killer-algorithms/">Algo Duping page</a> for more on models and studies that are tweaked and created for profit only with no concern of how the end consumer is affected.  </p> <p><iframe style="width: 434px; height: 236px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H_aLU-NOdHM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Here’s how insurers like Blue Cross and United use the data they purchase and I might add too that <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/04/more-data-for-sale-soon-with-shared.html">United cuts a few fat hogs with selling data</a> and they have been doing it longer than most.  Why keep an entire group of data scientists on board when you can buy the data and not worry about collecting it yourself and of course this means more money for the banks.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/03/insurance-companies-are-buying-up.html">Insurance Companies Are Buying Up Consumer Spending Data-Time is Here to License and Tax the Data Sellers-As Insurers Sell Tons of Data, Gets Flawed Data When Data Buyers Uses Out of Context Too</a></h5> <p>See how your purchases other than prescriptions can be queried with other purchases you make in the store and one could look at a person being a diabetic and buying a candy bar for a simple example, however that candy bar might not be for you but when they query data, they assume it is for your consumption and this is the danger here with data telling stories that might not be realistic and true.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/05/health-insurers-and-others-trying-to.html">Health Insurers and Others Trying to Track Junk Food Consumers Purchase–Attack of the Killer Algorithms for Corporate Profits</a></h5> <p>Time for a path to regulate data sellers as this game will go on and on with the data scientists that can figure out how to have an algorithm function<img align="right" border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJsy5_-1cPjzaPKJ1bNbOsyA0E5vLocojVTXPwC_UMW1X2avqTmg" 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" /> without violating any English or other language as it is written, it’s all in the interpretation which is pretty scummy anymore as there can be many interpretations just as there can be many models, and thus so we need digitally centric laws and need to starting licensing (and taxing ones who profit) with selling data.  This is the biggest crock of garbage out there and they call this “law”?  <strong>Better start looking at the models as that’s what CVS is crafting here and see how much new data they can suck in for sale.</strong>  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-has-come-to-license-and-tax-data.html">Time Has Come to License and Tax the Data Sellers of the Web, Companies, Banks, Social Networks..Any One Making a Profit-Latest Microsoft/Google Privacy War Helping the Cause –Consumers Deserve to Know What Is Being Sold and To Who in a Searchable Format</a></h5> <p>Next time HIPAA laws are reviewed and rewritten, better get some technologists and quants on board to find the loopholes up front before the lawyers figure out how to create additional privacy statements that continue to dupe.  The current FTC deal about collecting data is totally useless as well.  Government should hire some quants that can tell them how this works soon!  It’s a technology farce that hurts all of us.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/ftc-reclaim-your-name-campaign-not-good.html">FTC “Reclaim Your Name Campaign” Not Good Enough–No Path for Regulation Identified–All Data Sellers Including Banks, Insurers, Etc. Should Be Required to Buy a License</a></h5> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MdcQ51oZRKs/UDz9pcW4fBI/AAAAAAAA9PM/5H-RdgxYtf8/image%25255B11%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" /></p> <p> <hr />Since February, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods-industries/cvs-caremark-corporation-ORCRP004225.topic">CVS Caremark</a> has been pushing its pharmacists to enroll customers in a prescription-drug rewards program.</p> <p>The benefit to customers is the opportunity to earn up to $50 a year in store credits that can be used to buy shampoo, toothpaste or other products.</p> <p>The benefit to CVS is persuading pharmacy customers, through questionable means, to give up federal privacy safeguards for their medical information and permitting the company to share people's drug purchases with others.</p> <p>"It's very troubling," said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego.</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods-industries/walgreens-ORCRP017359.topic">Walgreens</a> and Rite-Aid have their own rewards programs for <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/drugs-medicines/prescription-drugs-HEDAR00000155.topic">prescription drugs</a>. But officials at each company said they don't require customers to relinquish federal privacy protections.</p> <p>Among the site's frequently asked questions for the program is, "Why do I need to sign a HIPAA Authorization?"</p> <p>The answer: "The HIPAA Authorization allows CVS/pharmacy to record the prescription earnings of each person who joins the ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards program."</p> <p>That last step is where you encounter a screen saying you acknowledge that "my health information may potentially be re-disclosed and thus is no longer protected by the federal Privacy Rule."</p> <p>CVS takes the liberty of assuming you know that HIPAA and the "federal Privacy Rule" are one and the same, although it has nowhere made the connection clear.</p> <p>What is it about CVS' program that necessitates customers abandoning their federal privacy rights? CVS isn't saying.</p> <p>But $50 worth of store credits is hardly fair compensation for such a marketing prize.</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130816,0,6519110,full.column">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130816,0,6519110,full.column</a></p>

CVS Comes Up With More Legal Mumbo Jumbo Relative to Privacy And HIPAA To Allow More Access to Data For Sale, Offering a Mere Pittance of $50 Purchasing Credits To Dupe Consumers

Here we go again with the data selling epidemic, and when you think about it, what generates all of this today, money.  In this case it’s mo...

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Humana Offers Financial Incentives for Primary Care Physicians To Use Greenway EHR PrimeSUITE–Up to 85% Reimbursement Possible

<p>I just read today that Greenway posted<img align="right" border="0" height="67" 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" width="167"> a lost for their last quarter due to changing over to web or cloud based services from the old client/server EMR systems.  It was a little over a year ago that Greenway went public with their IPO to raise $100 million, so if investor revenue was raised and they still lost money this quarter, might be one to keep an eye on and see how they come out next quarter.  There could have been some charge back with going public as well.</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/greenway-medical-records-ipovideos-and.html">Greenway Medical Records IPO–Videos and Pictures at NYSE Getting Old as Hospitals and Doctors Struggle for Income And Close</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/greenway-medical-records-company-files.html">Greenway Medical Records Company Files to Go Public To Raise $100 Million</a></h5> <p>In addition, Seamless Medical also announced they will be reselling the Greenway EHR and joins the Greenway market place.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="62" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-d6wJGYNK92M/UhRvv5yUy_I/AAAAAAABHaI/oI-qODVt_cA/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="126">  In addition a former Humana executive also started a private insurance exchange a few months ago.  It is interesting to see the EHR folks and insurers getting closer and closer all the time.  United Healthcare owns a few EHR companies in their huge portfolio of subsidiary companies.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/03/one-more-insurance-exchange-started-by.html">One More Insurance Exchange Started by Former Humana Executive–Currently There Are Over 100 Private Exchanges in Place To Compete With State Exchanges</a></h5> <p> <hr> LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug 13, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Humana Inc. <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/HUM">HUM</a> -0.02% , one of the nation's leading health and well-being companies, recently announced its partnership with Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc. to provide integrated technology to primary care providers, which will help doctors and payers exchange clinical information. <p>The strategic alliance of Humana's Electronic Health Records (EHR) Rewards program and Greenway's integrated solution for EHR, practice-management and interoperability will provide physicians the information and point-of-care opportunities necessary to support patient management and enable automated reporting for contractual performance measures. <p>Humana's EHR Rewards Program offers financial incentives to assist qualified physician practices in using EHR systems. Specifically, Humana will subsidize up to 85 percent of the cost of purchase of Greenway's PrimeSUITE EHR solution for physicians practicing in the Humana network. Such incentives encourage the sharing of clinical information between Humana and physicians. <p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/humana-and-greenway-medical-technologies-partner-to-provide-advanced-information-technology-to-primary-care-physicians-2013-08-13">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/humana-and-greenway-medical-technologies-partner-to-provide-advanced-information-technology-to-primary-care-physicians-2013-08-13</a>

Humana Offers Financial Incentives for Primary Care Physicians To Use Greenway EHR PrimeSUITE–Up to 85% Reimbursement Possible

I just read today that Greenway posted a lost for their last quarter due to changing over to web or cloud based services from the old clien...

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UPS To Remove Thousands of Working Spouses From Health Insurance Coverage Beginning in 2014

<p>A working spouse is one who has coverage else where for health insurance so there goes the additional second payer to pick up what the first insurer may not cover and this will lead to increased costs for the spouses.  <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="166" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6-c0g36nQJk/UhRqSSdvybI/AAAAAAABHZ4/qdq2wVEdWUg/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="226" />UPS is not alone and many other companies are doing the same.  After reading the article it appears those who do not have coverage elsewhere, are ok to remain eligible.  In addition this policy only pertains to the non union employees as they have their own health insurance plans and options, but there’s still a ton of non union folks at UPS. </p> <p>Also in the article is the mention of the money made by UPS, as $807 million in profit from revenue of over $54 billion is not a huge profit margin.   BD </p> <p> <hr />Partly blaming the health law, United Parcel Service is set to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere.</p> <p>Many analysts downplay the Affordable Care Act's effect on companies such as UPS, noting that the move is part of a long-term trend of shrinking corporate medical benefits. But the shipping giant repeatedly cites the act to explain the decision, adding fuel to the debate over whether it erodes traditional employer coverage.</p> <p>Rising medical costs, "combined with the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of health care benefits to our employees at an affordable cost," UPS said in a memo to employees.</p> <p>While acknowledging that overall health spending continues to rise, the company also blamed cost increases on the Affordable Care Act's research fee (initially $1 per health plan member, then rising to $2) and a temporary fee of $63 per member to stabilize new online marketplaces for consumers buying directly from insurers.</p> <p>Other factors are the act's ban on annual and lifetime coverage limits and its requirement to cover dependent children up to age 26, UPS said. The law's mandate for individuals to obtain coverage will nudge employees who previously opted out to enroll, also raising costs, the company said.</p> <p>The health law is "one of the reasons that UPS is implementing the changes," McGowan said.</p> <p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/08/20/ups-spouses-health-insurance/2651713/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/08/20/ups-spouses-health-insurance/2651713/</a></p>

UPS To Remove Thousands of Working Spouses From Health Insurance Coverage Beginning in 2014

A working spouse is one who has coverage else where for health insurance so there goes the additional second payer to pick up what the first...

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Man With 132 Pound Scrotum Finally Has Surgery and Gets Relief..Could Not Afford the Cost And Had to Find A Way…

<p>You have to watch the videos and it was almost overnight that his scrotum grew to the size of a melon, and each month afterwards it added on another 3 pounds until it got to the point where it was before surgery.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="208" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vs5ZLTSNNVU/UhRgcnNV9VI/AAAAAAABHZo/3W9JRLzE5No/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="220" />  He was finally able to have the surgery to remove it.  This was a rare condition and again watch the video and see how hard it was for him to get around with this between his legs.  It did nothing for his sex life and he hopes that perhaps maybe with some additional surgical procedures it might come back. </p> <p>As you can read below, his story will be on the TLC network and perhaps this was where some of the money needed came from so he could have his surgery?  The doctor donated his services if Medicaid would cover the surgery but there’s always something else that comes up with cost.  The condition started 5 years ago and he said if affordable care was more available, then he would not have had to suffer and could have had his surgery sooner before it got this big and painful.  He could no longer wear pants and wore a “hoodie” upside down.  </p> <p><iframe id="dit-video-embed" height="216" src="http://snagplayer.video.dp.discovery.com/834336/snag-it-player.htm?auto=no" frameborder="0" width="384" allowtransparency="allowtransparency" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p>Here’s another video with an interview after he had his surgery.  BD</p> <p> </p> <div style="text-align: center"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=281&width=560&height=345&playList=517902600"></script> <br /></div> <hr />(CNN) — Imagine carrying a bowling ball between your legs that weighs close to 200 pounds. If that image is too much to stomach, continue reading with caution. <p>Wesley Warren, 49, spent more than four years with this extra burden before having surgery to repair the damage from a rare medical condition called scrotal lymphedema.</p> <p>When doctors placed the swollen mass they had cut from Warren’s scrotum on the scale, it weighed 132 pounds. That’s not counting the fluid or smaller pieces of tissue the surgeons had also removed from the Las Vegas man.</p> <p>“There are a lot of people that will look and laugh and stare in shock and awe and amazement,” Warren says as he walks down the street in a preview for TLC’s upcoming show “The Man with the 132-Pound Scrotum.” The one-hour special airs Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. <br />“It’s tough to deal with it, you know, because essentially, this is a sort of living and breathing freak show.”</p> <p><a href="http://fox13now.com/2013/08/19/the-man-with-the-132-pound-scrotum-unraveling-the-medical-mystery/">http://fox13now.com/2013/08/19/the-man-with-the-132-pound-scrotum-unraveling-the-medical-mystery/</a></p>

Man With 132 Pound Scrotum Finally Has Surgery and Gets Relief..Could Not Afford the Cost And Had to Find A Way…

You have to watch the videos and it was almost overnight that his scrotum grew to the size of a melon, and each month afterwards it added on...

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United Healthcare and Partner Develop Insurance Exchange Specifically For US Employees Working for India Owned IT Services

<p>If you are a US employee working for an Indian owned IT company looks like United Healthcare and their partner, Hanna Global will have a new health <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="101" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-r0xAUr3rgTw/UgM-iNDTIcI/AAAAAAABHZU/_zS16OueVfc/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="154" />insurance exchange to service this niche.  <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/united-healthcare-states-they-will-pick.html">United did say they would limit their participation in US Health insurance exchanges</a> a short while back and it looks like they are out creating their own exchanges instead.  Just this week United bowed out of participating in the Wisconsin exchange.  </p> <p>We know with all the quants and business intelligence algorithmic formulas and contracts United has they probably designed this with their analytics as a good guess.  This move follows along with their focus with employer provided insurance.  By the way, have you ever seen the number of subsidiaries the company has..truckloads of them..more at the link below, with everything from housing, medical records, consultants for the FDA and so on.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/health-insurance-business-under-radar.html">Health Insurance Business Under the Radar With Tiered Subsidiaries–Where All the Action Takes Place With Mergers, Acquisitions and Profit Centers-Subsidiary Watch</a></h5> <p> <hr />CHENNAI, India--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- Hanna Global Solutions (HGS), a global human resource and employee benefits management and consulting company, today announced the launch of their unique U.S. Healthcare Exchange solution, developed specifically for Indian companies with employees in the United States. This solution has been developed in partnership with UnitedHealthcare (UHC), the most diversified health care company in the United States. </p> <p>The HGS Healthcare Exchange offers employees more choice, more control and the opportunity to buy a health benefit plan that better meets their needs, including the chance to access coverage at a lower cost depending on the plan selected and the individuals’ health status. In addition to medical insurance, employees will be able to choose dental, vision, life and disability insurance plans from this exchange. </p> <p>An employer decides how much they want to contribute or subsidize for the employees. The employees then use the subsidy to select the plan design and coverage level that best meets their personal needs. </p> <p><a href="http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/hanna-global-solutions-launches-unique-130000960.html">http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/hanna-global-solutions-launches-unique-130000960.html</a></p>

United Healthcare and Partner Develop Insurance Exchange Specifically For US Employees Working for India Owned IT Services

If you are a US employee working for an Indian owned IT company looks like United Healthcare and their partner, Hanna Global will have a new...

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HealthVault PHR Creates API for Developers to Write and Create HealthVault Apps

<p>If you are not a developer then this may not be too exciting but if you have a friend that is one, you can pass this along:)  You will need a Visual Studio Kit and know a bit about programming, but if you are a consumer you can probably expect to see some HealthVault applications soon.  One thing <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="66" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bJ7zazdIiZI/UgGbi2S3AII/AAAAAAABHZI/AbZBOsPamq8/image%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="167" />about HealthVault is that it is “non-tethered” so the information contained is yours to share with how you desire and is not sold to 3rd parties.  <strong>So as not to be confusing though there are 3rd party applications like Fitbit and others who do sell data or data profiles that do connect to HealthVault, but when choosing to use them to connect, they have already collected the data or data profiles they want to sell by use of “their” app. </strong>  That’s how that works, so if your device connects directly to HealthVault without an app, then there’s nobody else collecting the data. </p> <p><strong>The Blue Button and the Direct Project of course are direct imports or connections where data is secured</strong> and not exposed to a 3rd party application.  One former Microsoft HealthVault employee now has sock sensors, Sensora,  that will eventually connect to HealthVault and again no data sold here either.  I like the privacy statements of those who don’t sell data, they are real simple, i.e. “we don’t sell your data” versus 2-15 pages of a privacy statement that some lawyer wrote that is confusing as all get out, where you have no clue as to half of what you have read.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-computer-is-in-your-sockssensors_2007.html">The Computer is in Your Socks–Sensors and Monitoring Discreetly at Your Feet…Beyond the Accelerator With Mobile Health Monitoring</a></h5> <p><strong>Sean from HealthVault pretty much says what you read here all the time…used in context with whatever blog post I am adding.</strong>  </p> <p><em>“In the world today --- </em><a href="http://www.code.org/"><em>code is power</em></a><em>. Code runs virtually everything around us, so making sure our users have code-level access to their information is the most real and sincere way we can possibly say: it’s yours, do with it what you want.”</em></p> <p>So stay tuned and you might start seeing HealthVault applications for use soon…and I might guess Microsoft might put a few of their own creations out there as it’s kind of been their history to do so with a lot of their projects.  Here’s another project in the making too that will not sell your data and who knows perhaps the Tri-Coder when it’s ready might also connect to record your data.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/scanadu-tricoder-scoutone-mhealth.html">Scanadu Tricoder Scout–One mHealth Device Not Selling Data For Profit Goes To Crowdfunding, Will the FDA Consider Privacy in Their Mobile Device Approval System</a></h5> <p><a href="http://healthvault.com/"> <hr />HealthVault</a> is a pretty great aggregator of health data. We have more than <a href="http://healthvault.com/devices">200 biometric monitoring devices</a> connected to the platform: fitness and activity monitors, weight scales, blood pressure and glucose monitors, peak flow meters, and more. We have hundreds of <a href="http://healthvault.com/programs">connected web and mobile apps</a>, many of which are built to capture personal observations using everything from simple manual check-ins to camera and audio captures.</p> <p>But best of all --- we have an API and extensible data model that makes it incredibly easy for developers to add even more data to the mix, and to work with it holistically and efficiently. One query and data across domains comes back for correlation and pattern-searching. No database to worry about. Automatic integration of clinical data. <a href="http://msdn.com/healthvault">SDKs available</a> for all modern platforms. And a fully-functional test environment you can start using in five minutes. It’s pretty awesome.</p> <p>Let’s be really clear about what this is. You now have one, universal, consistent API that you can use to work with your data from (let’s just take a sampling off the top of my head):</p> <ul> <li>Fitness devices from: <a href="http://www.fitbit.com/apps/healthvault">Fitbit</a>, <a href="http://withings.com/en/services/mshv">Withings</a>, <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=97e149d1-9513-4f29-a9a7-0f2d325d1b7e">Nike</a>, <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=c04e377e-dc82-471e-b5e7-56a177126a84&target=1&queryparam=FT80">Polar</a>, <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=97e149d1-9513-4f29-a9a7-0f2d325d1b7e">Garmin</a>, <a href="http://healthvault.com/devices">more</a>…</li> <li><a href="http://healthvault.com/devices">Blood glucose meters, blood pressure cuffs, weight scales, peak flow meters, more…</a></li> <li>Healthcare providers (<a href="http://healthvault.com/bluebutton">Blue Button</a>, <a href="https://apps.healthvault.com/messagecenter">Direct Project</a>, more…)</li> <li>Clinical lab results from <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=f51f5fe7-cbc4-40d8-8e87-1b7aee69bdc6">LabCorp</a>, <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=59382c01-2e29-4fdc-b883-a5e0068fee66">Quest</a>, <a href="https://account.healthvault.com/Directory?id=7780435c-980e-4f17-900e-58cc4b1cc5c8">MyMedLab</a>, more…</li> <li>Mobile apps on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-healthvault/id546835834?mt=8">iOS</a>, <a href="https://www.itriagehealth.com/">Android</a>, <a href="http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/healthvault/daa5bf42-cf02-4327-97cf-0721ca4ff7a2">Windows Phone</a>, <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-US/app/healthvault/728f1c88-7e2f-4b40-95c1-74fc09983689">Windows 8</a>, more….</li> <li><a href="https://www.healthvault.com/us/en/connection-center">Medical images</a> in DICOM format…</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/familyhealthguy/archive/2013/08/06/quantified-self-check.aspx">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/familyhealthguy/archive/2013/08/06/quantified-self-check.aspx</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:f181eb5c-c8bf-4ee8-9a61-3dd38afd6648" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/programming" rel="tag">programming</a></div>

HealthVault PHR Creates API for Developers to Write and Create HealthVault Apps

If you are not a developer then this may not be too exciting but if you have a friend that is one, you can pass this along:)  You will need ...

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Former Goldman Programmer Sergey Aleynikov Case–Digital Illiteracy of FBI, A Duped Jury-How Goldman Played It And Is Still Not Accountable for Their Own Risk Altering Models…

<p><strong>First of all “subversion”..anyone in programming will love the sentence in this article about how it “was suspicious”.</strong>  Also in this article you<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-rQ87R5TOIZI/UgGFaWkRFeI/AAAAAAABHY4/ASblboCstxc/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="129" /> learn that Goldman has a one way relationship with open source code, they take but don’t ever give anything back and that’s what you do with open source code.  Now I understand you may have some modules you keep but to return not even some generic improvements made to code that all banks use?  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/former-goldman-coder-case-still-open-as.html">Former Goldman Coder Case Still Open As Questions Are Still Surfacing From Those Who Do Not Program or Understand Data Mechanics About What Kind of Code Did He Steal</a></h5> <p>The FBI agent gets a “crash” course in what to look for…geez…thought the FBI had higher level tech folks hanging around as in something like this, you better get an agent that deal with technology involved.  As I said when this occurred the size of the file would show that it’s not enough to contain enough “secret sauce” as was indicated here.  This is really too bad that we have so many digital duds here who can’t investigate this case properly.  Sure Sergey admitted what he did but had no clue of what kind of digital dud he was dealing with from the FBI and obviously everyone else was just as dumb and of course Goldman took full advantage to build up the “drama queen” scenario taking this way out of context. </p> <p>With subversion you check code in and out and it may be configured differently at each place but the basics are the same with full on audit trails, so developers can if allowed have a module or two to work on loaded on their own computers as it has to be replicated and checked when the developer is done.  Again the humor with the FBI agent with the word “subversion” is hysterical.  Also worth watching if you want to see some real digital illiteracy is the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-untouchables-too-big-to-jail.html">PBS documentary called “The Untouchables”</a> where you can see DOJ Manny whine and within 5 minutes of listening to him, you can pretty much determine he was in the same boat as this digital dud FBI case here.  </p> <p>How could the court really determine what was<img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zYX7c50LSbo/UP-ASH6svMI/AAAAAAABDhM/FKwgb9dxO_0/image%25255B22%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" /> open source and what was proprietary code accurately?  Goldman could have said anything and the judge and jury would have bought it as if you are not a coder, you can be snowed easily and take a look at the <a href="http://www.ducknet.net/attack-of-the-killer-algorithms/">Algo Duping page</a> if you want to learn more on that topic.  I said the same thing about Snowden too, he’s a system admin and everyone talked about the case like they were chasing James Bond.  Technologists don’t think and act this way, I was one of the for a while so take my word for it.</p> <p>It’ worth your while to read the <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2013/09/michael-lewis-goldman-sachs-programmer">entire Vanity Fair article,</a> at the link at the bottom of this post to learn more.  Read some of the comments too.  This again with digital duds was not handled properly and Goldman jumped on it and they have a few hundred quants that could lay out a story for a non tech FBI Agent to believe.  This guy should be out of jail and the charges dropped and Goldman should be held accountable for their models that hide risk in my opinion.  If you have never seen the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.hk/2012/09/quants-alchemists-of-wall-street-video.html">Quants of Wall Street video documentary, watch it and see what I mean.</a>  They have done far worse with lying models and cheating code themselves.  BD</p> <p> <hr />A month after ace programmer Sergey Aleynikov left Goldman Sachs, he was arrested. Exactly what he’d done neither the F.B.I., which interrogated him, nor the jury, which convicted him a year later, seemed to understand. But Goldman had accused him of stealing computer code, and the 41-year-old father of three was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Investigating Aleynikov’s case, Michael Lewis holds a second trial.</p> <p><strong>The Web site Serge had used (which has the word “subversion” in its name) as well as the location of its server (Germany) McSwain clearly found highly suspicious.</strong> He also seemed to think it significant that Serge had used a site not blocked by Goldman Sachs, even after Serge tried to explain to him that Goldman did not block any sites used by its programmers, but merely blocked its employees from porn and social-media sites and suchlike. Finally, the F.B.I. agent wanted him to admit that he had erased his “bash history”—that is, the commands he had typed into his own Goldman computer keyboard. Serge tried to explain why he had done this, but McSwain had no interest in his story. “The way he did it seemed nefarious,” the F.B.I. agent would later testify.</p> <p>What Serge did not yet know was that Goldman had discovered his downloads just a few days earlier, months after he’d made the first of them. They’d called the F.B.I. in haste, just two days before, and then put their agent through what amounted to a crash course on high-frequency trading and computer programming. <strong>McSwain later conceded that he didn’t seek out independent expert advice to study the code Serge Aleynikov had taken. (“I relied on statements from Goldman employees.”)</strong> He himself had no idea of the value of the stolen code (“Representatives of Goldman told me it was worth a lot of money”) or if any of it was actually all that special (he based his belief that the code contained trade secrets on “representations made by members of Goldman Sachs”). </p> <p><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2013/09/michael-lewis-goldman-sachs-programmer">http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2013/09/michael-lewis-goldman-sachs-programmer</a></p>

Former Goldman Programmer Sergey Aleynikov Case–Digital Illiteracy of FBI, A Duped Jury-How Goldman Played It And Is Still Not Accountable for Their Own Risk Altering Models…

First of all “subversion”..anyone in programming will love the sentence in this article about how it “was suspicious”.   Also in this articl...

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New York City to Put Out Bids For Multi-Billion Dollar Health Insurance Contracts–Some Insurers Sue If They Are Not Selected, Caution Needed With Bid Invitations?

<p>Here’s a couple examples below on how the bids go <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--04F3fxMYdk/UXCN1C5Q1iI/AAAAAAABGjI/h667as84zHM/image%25255B7%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" />today with one insurer just suing municipalities if they don’t get the contract.  Just recently the company lost a big lawsuit with their Oxford Insurance division in New York to where the Supreme court ruled that doctors now can “group together” to dispute and litigate insurance problems, billing and accusations of fraud.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/update-unitedhealthcare-sues-department.html">Update: UnitedHealthcare Sues Department of Defense Over Tri-Care Contracts–They Said They Would Do This – Is This A Case Of My Algorithms Are Better Than Yours?</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/united-healthcare-files-lawsuit-against.html">United Healthcare Files Lawsuit Against the City of Birmingham Disputing Contract Award To Blue Cross</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/state-of-louisiana-rejects-united.html">State of Louisiana Rejects United Healthcare’s Protest Over Awarding Blue Cross/Blue Shield Contract To Manage State Employee Health Insurance–Battle of the Insurance Algorithms Continues..</a></h5> <p>Here’s the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-aafp-confronts-united-healthcare-on.html">recent ruling from the Supreme Court</a> where the decision was made relative to insurance contracts as for years doctors, to be in network, have had to sign contracts that did not allow them to work as a group to litigate, so it has always been the big corporation against “one single doctor” so you know what advantages are had there with big insurer conglomerates.  If you were not aware of this, it has been going on for a long time and at the end of 2012 the AAFP confronted United as they found these complex contracts also ended paying doctors at a rate less than Medicare.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/us-supreme-court-rules-physicians-can.html">US Supreme Court Rules Physicians Can Work As A Group To Fight Unfair Business Practices of Health Insurers–Victory Over United Healthcare (Oxford Subsidiary)–Context Once Again With Contracts</a></h5> <p>There’s other instances of contract disputes over the last couple years floating around out there too, but it does make one wonder about the bidding process and also wonder about Steve Larsen who left HHS to work as a VP at the Optum division of United too.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/us-health-insurance-regulator-leaving.html">US Health Insurance Regulator Leaving to Take a Job at UnitedHealth Care As Vice President of the Optum Division – Moving to the “For Profit Side” With Business Intelligence Algorithm Dollars To Review</a></h5> <p>So who’s going to be invited to bid on this big contract?  There’s a lot of money involved here and are we to the point of lawsuits if not selected?  There seems to be some kind of a trend going on here.  It is also interesting how QSSI, a subsidiary of United is also building the federal data hub, as <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/sec-rules-ask-for-disclosure-only-when.html">they purchased QSSI two weeks after HHS awarded the contract</a>…very aggressive analytics company here and also has <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/hospice-in-for-profit-sector-as.html">hospice services for profit as well</a>…scary when an insurer has so many subsidiaries and has to profit from end of life care as well.  It really make you wonder about the bidding system as a whole when business intelligence algorithmic formulas are used as the sole basis for most of the business practices of insurers and this is what we are stuck with.  <strong>On the topic of exchanges I don’t think it’s Obamacare itself that is the bottom line</strong>, but rather the <strong>requirement by law to have to purchase from what is beginning to morph out as “too big to fail” insurers</strong>, just like the banks, way too much power.   BD</p> <p> <hr />NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New York City will seek bids within days for its multibillion-dollar health insurance contracts.</p> <p>The step comes amid a standoff between the city and unions over expired contracts.</p> <p>Bloomberg re-emphasized his stance on the labor issues during a speech Tuesday.</p> <p>He wants more city employees to contribute to their health insurance. He also wants changes to a pension system he says is becoming too costly.</p> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4fe4a7ccbf234c859b5a0f02f308a149.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4fe4a7ccbf234c859b5a0f02f308a149.html</a></p>

New York City to Put Out Bids For Multi-Billion Dollar Health Insurance Contracts–Some Insurers Sue If They Are Not Selected, Caution Needed With Bid Invitations?

Here’s a couple examples below on how the bids go today with one insurer just suing municipalities if they don’t get the contract.  Just rec...

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Jordan Health Systems to Merge With Beth Israel Deaconess System in Boston

<p>More hospitals merging and this will make a larger hospital group which will have some impact with negotiating all types of contracts.  Dr. Halamka, CIO at Beth Israel is going to be busy with yet one more hospital <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="100" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RR-HIaUb-NA/UgCnIz8o5dI/AAAAAAABHYo/JV5bo1j-FD0/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="149" />under their Health IT medical systems.  Jordan hospital has been squeezed by tighter reimbursement ratios and payment guidelines enforced by insurers, so same old story here about money but insurers are making even bigger profits these days.  BD <hr /></p> <p>Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Jordan Health Systems Inc., have signed an agreement merging the Plymouth-based hospital into the growing health care system. </p> <p>Both hospitals issued a joint press release Aug. 1, announcing the merger. </p> <p>The merger will "improve, expand and enhance care and services for residents on the South Shore and Cape Cod....while allowing Jordan Hospital to retain local management and board governance," according to the release.</p> <p>Jordan Hospital will retain its own board of directors, but three members will be representatives of BIDMC. Meanwhile Jordan will have one representative on the BI’s board. Under the agreement, BIDMC will become the sole "corporate member" or parent corporation of Jordan Hospital Health Systems and Jordan Hospital.</p> <p><a href="http://plymouth.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/jordan-hospital-beth-israel-finalize-merger">http://plymouth.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/jordan-hospital-beth-israel-finalize-merger</a></p>

Jordan Health Systems to Merge With Beth Israel Deaconess System in Boston

More hospitals merging and this will make a larger hospital group which will have some impact with negotiating all types of contracts.  Dr. ...

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Aetna Who Is Leaving the California Individual Health Insurance Market at the End of the Year Jacks Up Policies 19% for the Remaining 3 Months And Withdraws From Participation in the Connecticut, Maryland and Georgia Exchanges

<p>Now is this really necessary to jack up the cost of a health insurance policy 3 months before it is ended?  This is really soaking <img align="right" border="0" height="78" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Tdw_o4vsq8I/AAAAAAAAx5I/6eXxsnT8M9A/image_thumb%5B10%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="136" />the consumers here and besides Aetna said their market is not that big here.  Here’s the original story about their departure below.</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/aetna-individual-policy-consumers-in.html">Aetna Individual Policy Consumers In California Will Have to Find a New Carrier By The End of The Year-Pulling Out of The Consumer Insurance Business</a></h5> <p>Now the excuse given by Aetna is this is to cover their expenses in exiting the market?  Give me a break!!  <a href="http://www.ctmirror.org//story/2013/08/05/aetna-withdraws-states-health-insurance-exchange">Today, in Connecticut where Aetna’s headquarters are located, they said they are pulling out of the</a> health insurance exchange there as well!  <strong>Aetna is located in Hartford, Connecticut.</strong>  I swear if the government doesn’t get some Quant sleuths on board soon, the will remain behind the 8 ball as insurers play the business intelligence analytics by the minute, finding loopholes and other areas to profit as soon as they are created.  </p> <p><strong>Boy this doesn’t say a lot for supporting the state where their corporate offices are located does it.</strong>  It’s all about the math models. <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nyFsMPDDLgk/UDEQa31432I/AAAAAAAA86o/sscFDo2n0LE/image%25255B21%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" /> In addition, they won’t participate in Maryland and Georgia. <strong> These folks are beginning to resemble a miniature United Healthcare group with the way they are operating as they seem to be following their foot steps all over the place</strong>.  They started with buying up Health IT companies and it has now expanded into the math business models as well.  <a href="http://www.ctmirror.org//story/2013/08/05/aetna-withdraws-states-health-insurance-exchange">Here’s a quote below from a recent article discussing Aetna, in United Healthcare style if you will.</a>  </p> <p><em>“Unlike the other carriers, Aetna also included in its rate proposals an assumption that the newly insured would use more medical services to make up for years of going without care.”</em></p> <p>Let’s also not forget how their profits are growing as indicated with their second quarter results.  Last year they bought Coventry too for over 5 billion and then they also have this <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/aetna-takes-out-reinsurance-deal-in.html">Cayman Island reinsurance deal in place.</a>  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/aetna-to-buy-coventry-healthcare-for-57.html">Aetna To Buy Coventry Healthcare for $5.7 Billion in Cash and Stock</a></h5> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MdcQ51oZRKs/UDz9pcW4fBI/AAAAAAAA9PM/5H-RdgxYtf8/image%25255B11%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" /></p> <p>In the meantime I guess the best we might look forward to is another Facebook contest from Sebelius, nothing personal but she’s over run by people who are a thousand times smarter than her and it’s really showing and we all suffer, she better hire some sleuths.  She still seems pretty enamored over herself using Twitter.  </p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/hhs-secretary-sebelius-still-looking.html">HHS Secretary Sebelius Still Looking for Tech Breakthroughs To Save the Day</a></h5> <p>This is really sad that the President’s own cabinet is not being of much help of late and it’s not just HHS, we have bunch of digital duds in there that can’t understand math and the power and we are so screwed.  Link below has a few more details on how that works as well as the videos on the <a href="http://www.ducknet.net/attack-of-the-killer-algorithms/">Algo Duping page</a>.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/lack-of-modeling-and-algorithm-sleuths.html">Lack of Modeling and Algorithm Sleuths and Stalkers In Government, Part of Why We See Such “Silly” HHS and Congressional News About Financial Donations And/Or Solicitations…</a></h5> <p> <hr />Speaking of companies with less heart than the Tin Woodman, a tip of the funnel cap to health insurer <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/aetna-inc.-ORCRP000343.topic">Aetna</a>.</p> <p>The company announced in June that it would terminate most individual insurance policies in California at the end of the year, leaving thousands of customers high and dry.</p> <p>Harlan Lassiter, 58, is one of the Aetna customers who will lose coverage as part of the company's efforts to save a buck. For the last five years, the Newport Beach resident has been paying Aetna $389 a month in premiums and swallowing an $8,000 deductible.</p> <p><strong>Now, adding insult to injury, he's just received a notice from the insurer saying that his monthly premium will rise 19% in October for his final three months of coverage.</strong></p> <p>Anjie Coplin, an Aetna spokeswoman, told me the rate hike is intended to cover expected medical costs prior to the company decamping from the individual insurance market.</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130806,0,2801752.column?track=rss&cid=dlvr.it&dlvrit=52116" title="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130806,0,2801752.column?track=rss&cid=dlvr.it&dlvrit=52116">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130806,0,2801752.column?track=rss&cid=dlvr.it&dlvrit=52116</a></p>

Aetna Who Is Leaving the California Individual Health Insurance Market at the End of the Year Jacks Up Policies 19% for the Remaining 3 Months And Withdraws From Participation in the Connecticut, Maryland and Georgia Exchanges

Now is this really necessary to jack up the cost of a health insurance policy 3 months before it is ended?  This is really soaking the consu...

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“Cernerville”–A New Office Park at the Site of a Former Shopping Mall Being Developed by Cerner Medical Records

<p>$10.7 million in state tax credits is helping the cause with the clean up and development where the former mall was located.  <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="126" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MTxA792D97A/UgBsUMLWb4I/AAAAAAABHYQ/P9bJdKt3ctI/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="197" />As the article reads this appears to be a major development to include day care for employees, fitness centers and perhaps even a new big data center.  A hotel and other retail centers might all be located in the development.  </p> <p>1.6 million square feet of office space and 1.2 million square feet of retail are planned for the development along with several new jobs with Cerner and other occupants.  BD <hr /></p> <p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City officials are praising a plan by medical records software maker Cerner Corp. to build an office park on a 236-acre site formerly occupied by a massive shopping center.</p> <p>Highly visible on a hilltop along Interstate 435 in southern Kansas <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="76" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-89BlGk26hRg/UgBsVsoEW6I/AAAAAAABHYY/ciOn7cds2lI/image%25255B7%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="169" />City, the vacant lot has been considered an embarrassment by many city leaders since <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Bannister+Mall%22">Bannister Mall</a> was demolished in 2009. It was a victim of competition from other shopping centers and fear of crime in the area.</p> <p>Cerner recently reported a second-quarter profits of $112.9 million on revenues of $707.6 million. The company projects its 2013 revenue to total between $2.95 billion and $3.05 billion.</p> <p>The health care information technology company has products licensed by about 10,000 hospitals, doctors' offices, medical laboratories, ambulatory centers, pharmacies and other facilities in the United States and abroad.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cerner-Corp-plans-expansion-at-former-mall-site-4705028.php">http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Cerner-Corp-plans-expansion-at-former-mall-site-4705028.php</a></p>

“Cernerville”–A New Office Park at the Site of a Former Shopping Mall Being Developed by Cerner Medical Records

$10.7 million in state tax credits is helping the cause with the clean up and development where the former mall was located.  As the article...

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Nationwide Ambulance Company Rural/Metro Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Owned by Private Equity Firm

<p>A New York-based investment firm, bought Rural/Metro in July 2011 for about $676.5 million, including $236.3 million in debt, so is debt such a good investment anymore one might ask?  <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="91" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UoAU_RVJrjI/UgBU5fF0ImI/AAAAAAABHYA/G6vzvEDqXp8/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="168" />The corporate offices are located in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The company also provides fire fighting services in many communities across the US and for big companies such as FedEx and other industrial types of companies.  </p> <p>The company is also looking at borrowing $40 million to help get them over the Chapter 11 hump.  Billing and collection problems were slated as one of the big issues.  Investors and banks that hold $308 million in notes will swap them for all of the company's equity.  How many more will there be in healthcare?  BD <hr /></p> <p>(Reuters) - Ambulance operator Rural/Metro Corp, owned by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the aim of cutting its debts after it missed an interest payment in July, according to court filings.</p> <p>The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company also intends to renegotiate unprofitable contracts and free up capital for investments through the bankruptcy process, according to the filings.</p> <p>The provider of private ambulance and fire protection services declared liabilities and assets each worth more than $500 million.</p> <p>Rural/Metro reached an agreement with both its senior secured and unsecured debt holders to reduce its debt and interest payments by nearly 50 percent.  In 2011, affiliates of Warburg Pincus bought Rural/Metro for about $438 million in an all-cash deal excluding debt.</p> <p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-ruralmetro-bankruptcy-idUSBRE97402J20130805?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-ruralmetro-bankruptcy-idUSBRE97402J20130805?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews</a></p>

Nationwide Ambulance Company Rural/Metro Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Owned by Private Equity Firm

A New York-based investment firm, bought Rural/Metro in July 2011 for about $676.5 million, including $236.3 million in debt, so is debt suc...

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Health Net to Offer Small Business Health Insurance in California Via the Exchange

<p>Last time I wrote the offerings for small businesses went from 1 to zero in California with Blue Cross pulling out so now <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="77" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RsiOfCrYzOo/UgA7jhf8D2I/AAAAAAABHXw/53Crf3mWOEY/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="149" />there’s Health Net to fill the bill in all counties.  The California Insurance Commissioner recently was hammering on WellPoint for their rate increases so one might wonder if this had anything to do with their decision as he demanded they be barred from the small group market, so maybe they just decided to leave on their own.</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/small-business-california-insurance.html">Small Business California Insurance Exchange Option Went From a Choice of One to a Choice of Zero as WellPoint Pulls Out–Stay Tuned As More Develops</a></h5> <p>Health Net will offer both PPO and HMO services.  We knew there had to be someone step to the plate sooner or later.  BD</p> <p> <hr />Health Net Life's bid to provide health care coverage to eligible small businesses is accepted for all 58 counties in the state </p> <p>Health Net Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Net of California, Inc., today announced that the Covered California health insurance exchange has accepted its bid to provide preferred provider organization health insurance policies to eligible small businesses in all 58 counties. Health Net of California is a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE: HNT). </p> <p>"Health Net is excited to be part of the Covered California small business exchange," said Steve Sell, president of Health Net's Western Region Health Plan. "No matter where in the state a small business is located, it will be able to select Health Net plans designed to be affordable and easy to use." </p> <p>The acceptance of Health Net Life's statewide participation in California's small business exchange follows Covered California's announcement in May that Health Net of California and Health Net Life will offer HMO and PPO health plans, respectively, in the state's individual health insurance exchange. </p> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130801-917502.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130801-917502.html</a></p>

Health Net to Offer Small Business Health Insurance in California Via the Exchange

Last time I wrote the offerings for small businesses went from 1 to zero in California with Blue Cross pulling out so now there’s Health Net...

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Assisted Living Care in the US–PBS Report on Dementia and Alzheimer's Patients Being in the Wrong Facility When Nursing Homes Would Be Appropriate

<p>If you have not seen this, a good report on how yet one more area of greed is hurting seniors with dementia and Alzheimer's being placed in Assisted Living Care facilities when nursing homes are more appropriate. The care or lack of I should say here is scary and there’s that awful ringing of money bells once again with the same issues that doctors have at hospitals, <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="153" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qtqaIyOdCQ0/Uf3uQQjSv9I/AAAAAAABHXc/q3QsHS5Jxb8/image%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="234" />“fill up the beds” and admit patients, and that does happen at hospitals and you won’t hear doctors talk about it either as they would be kicked out of being on staff if they did.  </p> <p>Emeritus is sold on the stock exchange of course and there comes the pressure to make money for share holders.  I think some businesses are not meant to be for profit and this is one of them.  Not too long ago I wrote about a United Healthcare subsidiary which is <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/hospice-in-for-profit-sector-as.html">“hospice for profit”.</a>  I used a hospice service for my mother who passed away recently and I can say that I am so glad I used a non profit as the United subsidiary would probably have pounded me with stats and studies, etc. when that was not the time for it, as that’s how they operate, money and shareholders are number one.  Read more here about <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/07/health-insurance-business-under-radar.html">how big insurers stay under the radar</a> too so you don’t even know sometimes if you are doing business with a subsidiary of a huge conglomerate.  According to this report, nothing is changing.  BD  </p> <object height="288" width="412"><param name="movie" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> </param><param name="flashvars" value="width=412&height=288&video=http://video.pbs.org/videoPlayerInfo/2365054620/?player=PBS_Partner_Player_v1&start=0&end=0&balance=true&player=viral&end=0&lr_admap=in:warnings:0;in:pbs:0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=412&height=288&video=http://video.pbs.org/videoPlayerInfo/2365054620/?player=PBS_Partner_Player_v1&start=0&end=0&balance=true&player=viral&end=0&lr_admap=in:warnings:0;in:pbs:0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="412" height="288" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object> <p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 5px; width: 412px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; color: #808080; font-size: 11px"> <p>Watch <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365054620" style="height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; text-decoration: none !important" target="_blank">Life and Death in Assisted Living</a> on PBS. See more from <a href="http://video.pbs.org/program/frontline/" style="height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; text-decoration: none !important" target="_blank">FRONTLINE.</a></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365054620">http://video.pbs.org/video/2365054620</a></p></p>

Assisted Living Care in the US–PBS Report on Dementia and Alzheimer's Patients Being in the Wrong Facility When Nursing Homes Would Be Appropriate

If you have not seen this, a good report on how yet one more area of greed is hurting seniors with dementia and Alzheimer's being placed...

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Wireless Home Monitoring System Gets FDA Approval With Information Available to Third Parties

<p>Here's yet one more device company that is offering a simplified monitoring system and below is a couple paragraphs <a href="http://www.ambiohealth.com/pages/privacy">from the website</a> so again this looks like we have “data for sale’ here once again.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="171" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-c9g8gEMRhLI/Uf0hmj4WqKI/AAAAAAABHXE/S5NWW7XGkyA/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="187" />  It is using a web portal and requires a USB connection to your computer.  Controlling diabetes and hypertension are the main chronic conditions targeted with the system and the targeted sales for the service/devices are insurance companies and home healthcare agencies.  </p> <p>The company also plans to move into the “live sensor” area next as well and currently will send you text messages and reminders.  Again the privacy policy opens up the information for aggregated information profiles and there’s the usual mumbo jumbo about how they use it, etc.  </p> <p><em>“Permission is required before AH discloses Personal Information to a third party.  No permission is necessary for Aggregate Information, since Aggregate Information does not identify a specific individual.</em></p> <p><em>a. For disclosure of Medical Information, Informed Consent is required before AH discloses Medical Information to a third party.  Informed Consent occurs when an individual has sufficient facts about the disclosure, comprehends those facts, and voluntarily consents to the disclosure.  Where a third party such as the employer or healthcare provider of an individual requires the individual to participate in an AH program which collects Medical Information, AH will require the employer or healthcare provider to procure Informed Consent before AH will  release Medical Information to that employer or healthcare provider.”</em></p> <p><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="160" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jGPRvTP6U7A/Uf0hp55oifI/AAAAAAABHXM/bqE7wEWyRZU/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="444" /></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">There are a few devices out there that do not sell your data and the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/06/scanadu-tricoder-scoutone-mhealth.html">Tri-Coder</a> is one under development.  Again I wonder how many of these mobile device companies and apps can stay in business without selling data at times.  In the article it also states such information could be available to employers and most folks I have been talking with of late are telling me they prefer to stay outside the radar and have tried some of the wellness programs but some have become way too intrusive with time and reporting so it will be interesting as consumers become more aware of the data selling epidemic as to how many folks actually will use the various technologies.  BD</p> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/04/data-floating-around-web-and-you-dont.html">Data Floating Around the Web and You Don’t Know How It Got There? Time to License and Excise Tax Data Sellers–Identify “Flawed Data” Epidemic At The Root of the Problem</a></h5> <p align="left"></p> <hr /> <p>Aging in place and disease management technology developer <strong><a href="http://www.ambiohealth.com">Ambio Health</a></strong> has gained FDA 510(k) regulatory clearance for its flagship Ambio Remote Health Monitoring System. The system, first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, essentially adds wireless capability to standard home health monitors and automates data collection.</p> <p>Stamford, Connecticut-based Ambio is now free to sell the system in the US, and it will do so at a price point significantly lower than competitors, according to CEO Kevin Jones. The wireless gateway, which plugs into a standard home-based Ethernet router, costs $19.99 by itself or $44.97 bundled with an AgaMatrix Presto blood-glucose monitor and proprietary Ambio wireless connector. A package with a Homedics BPA-060 blood-pressure monitor is priced at $89.97.</p> <p>An Ambio Health-branded digital weight scale, sold for $84.98 with a wireless gateway or $64.99 without, has the transmitter built in. Monitoring service costs $4.99 a month per device, based on an annual subscription.</p> <p><a href="http://mobihealthnews.com/24345/fda-clears-ambio-health-wireless-health-monitoring-system/">http://mobihealthnews.com/24345/fda-clears-ambio-health-wireless-health-monitoring-system/</a></p>

Wireless Home Monitoring System Gets FDA Approval With Information Available to Third Parties

Here's yet one more device company that is offering a simplified monitoring system and below is a couple paragraphs from the website so...

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Half or Better of the Accountable Act Call Center Jobs Will Be Part Time With No Benefits in Contra Costa County, California

<p>This pertains to one of the call centers and ironically these people get no benefits and might just have to fork out and pay for insurance themselves through the exchange.   In reading this article, there seems to be some confusion, mismanagement or both of the above in how many of the jobs were to be full time and how many were to be part time.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="196" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OIzLec_Go6g/UfNLsJ9hiII/AAAAAAABHVw/e-92BoKa-n4/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="218" />  It sounds like everyone thought they had a full time job until decisions were made.  The full time employees work the day shift and the part time fill in after regular hours it sounds like.  </p> <p>They had over 7000 applications for just over 200 jobs and one person said they quit another job to take this job and found out later it was only going to be part time.  Part time pay will range from $15.33 to $18.63 and the part time are given the option of purchasing their own insurance but it runs from $600 a month all the way up to $2900 a month, typical of what we see in many places today so the part timers might really have to depend on getting a break by purchasing their own insurance through exchanges.  You can see where the union has become involved too with asking the county to pick up 80% of the cost of the premiums since the employees will be Contra Costa County workers.   </p> <p>I guess things could be worse if they were outsourced to the Philippines, India or elsewhere but I think due to the complexities of the project and the constant changes it will be challenging enough to stay on top of it here without adding that element..  BD</p> <p> <hr /></p> <p>CONCORD -- Earlier this year, Contra Costa County won the right to run a health care call center, where workers will answer questions to help implement the president's Affordable Care Act. Area politicians called the 200-plus jobs it would bring to the region an economic coup.</p> <p>Now, with two months to go before the Concord operation opens to serve the public, information has surfaced that about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits -- a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.</p> <p>The worker said no clear reasons for the change were given.</p> <p>Those who became part-time were told they would have to pay full freight on their health plans, ranging from $600 to $1,200 a month for a single worker and between $1,400 to $2,900 a month for an employee with a family. That is a steep bill for employees with part-time jobs paying from $15.33 to $18.63 an hour. </p> <p>Another applicant said he ditched another job offer after getting a congratulatory hiring letter from call center operators in June, only to be given the runaround in the months since.</p> <p>During negotiations months ago, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents the customer service agents, demanded 80 percent of health insurance premiums be paid by the county, and 20 percent be paid by the employee. SEIU did not return a call for comment. </p> <p><a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_23733819/concord-half-call-center-jobs-will-be-part">http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_23733819/concord-half-call-center-jobs-will-be-part</a></p>

Half or Better of the Accountable Act Call Center Jobs Will Be Part Time With No Benefits in Contra Costa County, California

This pertains to one of the call centers and ironically these people get no benefits and might just have to fork out and pay for insurance t...

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