Medical Quack: 04/01/2008

More than Half of U.S. Hospitals are now technically insolvent or at risk of insolvency - study

Those who brought on technology earlier seemed to fair a bit better than those without or very little technology...BD

Looming Crisis Takes on New Sense of Urgency as Dependence on Sources of Non-Patient Care Revenue Become More Vulnerable in Weakening Economy
New York, NY - More than half of short-term acute-care hospitals in the United States are technically insolvent or at risk of insolvency, according to a recent analysis conducted by Alvarez & Marsal Healthcare Industry Group, part of the global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal. As states and municipalities begin to limit spending in the face of slumping tax revenues and a weakening economy, the financial health of many hospitals is likely to further deteriorate. Many will encounter serious liquidity crises and face the prospect of radically restructuring or shutting their doors, the report notes.
More than 2,000 of the nation's 4,900 acute-care hospitals do not make a profit treating patients and must rely on alternate and generally unstable sources of funding, including government subsidies and philanthropic contributions. Of the hospitals classified as "profitable," approximately 1,000 do not generate sufficient cash flow to fund essential, non-discretionary capital expenses necessary to comply with regulations and/or remain competitive with increasingly dominant academic medical centers. The majority of potentially insolvent hospitals are located in urban areas.
"In many cases, the complexities of operating a hospital or hospital system overwhelm management and the boards that oversee them."

A&M In the News - Alvarez & Marsal

'CSI' sleuths out Microsoft's latest technology - Tablet PCs, UMPCs and Surface....

CSI-NY may have the advantage here with Tablet PCs, as they have been featured on the show all the last season...more details from last year here...and now the Miami show looks to have some "Surface" features included...all shows are slated to be paperless very soon...BD

The CSI franchise also plans to go all "paperless" as key characters are outfitted with Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs. CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker first saw Photosynth, which is due later this year, in July during a tour of Microsoft's research labs in Redmond, Wash.Zuiker makes regular visits to Redmond as part of an ongoing creative relationship between CSI and Microsoft.
No money is exchanged in the Microsoft-CSI relationship, which goes well beyond traditional product placement. "We are moving to a role of technology adviser to a show," says Jay Kenny, a group product manager for lifestyle marketing and placement at Microsoft. "It's a unique collaboration we hope to see more of in the future."

CSI has put other Microsoft technology into its scripts. The audiovisual lab in CSI: Miami was rebuilt to include layout tables based on Microsoft's Surface tabletop computers. Transparent video "walls" have also been employed. "If the technology is real and it has been used or it could be used, we would champion that and put it on the air immediately," Zuiker says.

'CSI' sleuths out Microsoft's latest technology - USATODAY.com

Time to Roll for SafeMed

The integrated software solution is in use by many major EMR software companies..."SafeMed is an analytical software company dedicated to transforming healthcare decision-making by providing information that is trusted, understandable, personalized, and useful by doctors and patients."..there are 4 modules to include Pharma, Imaging, Quality and Analytics....for a full compliment of clinical decision support products...BD

Noffsinger, who joined San Diego-based SafeMed in December, formerly headed Microsoft Corp.’s health care division. He then served as president and COO of physician software vendor Amicore Inc., which Microsoft founded in 2001 with IBM Corp. and Pfizer Inc."
The company’s flagship product, introduced in 2007, is the SafeMed Analysis Engine. It combines reference content from multiple sources with patient-specific data from electronic health records, insurer information systems and PHRs to provide real-time decision support to clinicians and patients.
A drug prescription, for instance, can be checked for appropriateness against a patient’s weight, sex, age, allergies and interactions with other drugs the patient is taking. The software can even check for such details as whether the patient has only one functioning kidney. Prescriptions also can be checked against the patient’s drug formulary, co-pay and dosage guidelines.
One early SafeMed client, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, uses the decision support engine to help clinicians identify appropriate diagnostic imaging tests. Other clients include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and electronic health records vendors 4Medica, eClinicalWorks, MDTablet, Medi-EMR, Medsphere, Misys, NextGen and SSIMED.

Time to Roll for SafeMed

Chilean town giving free Viagra to senior citizens

The article states "to improve the quality of life"...BD

SANTIAGO, Chile - A working class suburb of Chile's capital began handing out free Viagra to senior citizens on Wednesday. Lo Prado Mayor Gonzalo Navarrete said he launched the program because "an active sexuality improves the overall quality of life."
"A doctor will have to certify that they suffer from erectile dysfunction and that their condition would not put them in danger of suffering cardio-respiratory side effects," Navarrete told The Associated Press by telephone.

Chilean town giving free Viagra to senior citizens - Yahoo! News

Opening Doors To Information - Secrets of the Trade for any Physician

One of the items cited in this article is a "lousy workflow" which paper creates...tricks of the trade here include an EHR, using Nuance Dragon Dictation and emailing patients...and he notes how expensive it is to answer the phone...patients are happy with getting lab results via email too...and with the practice in order, he finds time to serve as a part time consultant...BD

Eight years in the restaurant business before medical school taught Tom Landholt, M.D. some valuable lessons that he now applies to his practice. A focus on excellence in customer service is essential to all businesses, including the practice of medicine, he stresses.

Without the technology, the practice would likely need at least three more support staff members and its margins would be much slimmer, Landholt contends.
“Most practices’ expenses are too high because they’ve never done cost accounting,” Hudson says. “Doctors need to go through the practice and identify ways to cut costs. There’s plenty of money to save by eliminating lousy workflows.”By relying on an electronic health record—Centricity from GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wis. — the practice can handle a higher patient load, the physician contends. “My staff spends more time with patients than the average clinic because we’re not dealing with chasing paper,” he says. “The average doctor could probably see five more patients a day if they had access to all the right information. ”For the 10% of notes that must be dictated because of the level of detail, Landholt uses speech recognition software—Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance Communications Inc., Burlington, Mass.

Opening Doors To Information

FDA begins major hiring initiative

Could there be an FDA job fair in the near future? Anyway, good news with the agency reacting to the needs of the times...BD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is starting a major hiring initiative designed to fill more than 1,300 public health positions.
Biologists, chemists, medical officers, mathematical statisticians and investigators are among the experts with science or medical backgrounds the FDA is seeking. For general information and to apply for one of the positions people can submit their curriculum vitae with a cover letter via email to joinourteam@fda.gov.

FDA begins major hiring initiative

Pet Gadgets - One for the Dog

A little off topic here, but I think this one has some real potential...for anybody that is walking the dog and getting their exercise....BD

It's not pleasant to think about, but owning a pet means that you'll eventually have to clean up your companion's loose stools or diarrhea. With this gross task in mind, the people of POOP-FREEZE invented a spray that hardens the droppings so they can easily be picked up. It's available with or without aerosol and for an extra $2.95, you can even get a handy tote bag to carry it around. How fashionable.

12 Wacky Pet Gadgets 6 - Switched

2nd Annual Diabetes Mine™ Design Challenge

Submissions for the contest begins on April 30th and runs through May26th...more details at the Medgadget website...a video needs to be created and sent to enter...should see some new and inventive concepts as well as some great potential aesthetics, after all it's the ease of use and appeal to the patient that will drive the products...BD

Medgadget is proud to announce our co-sponsorship of the 2nd Annual DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge - "a competition designed to foster innovation in diabetes design and encourage creative new tools that will improve life with diabetes". The contest is looking for unique, practical, and novel design ideas that may one day be applied to real products. The winners of the design challenge will receive both prize money and consulting time with design firm IDEO.

"This competition is open to all individuals and organizations developing devices or supplies for people with diabetes (medications not included), or enterprising patients with unique prototype concepts. DiabetesMine™ will accept submissions in two categories: under age 18, and age 18 and older."

2nd Annual DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com

DARPA spotlighting the Cars that Drive themselves...

Department of Defense is busy with many areas of development, outside of medical care as well...here's a simple search of some of the stories from the past, including the cars that drive themselves from last years competition...videos from the Stanford Intel car named "Junior"...that came in 2nd...BD

The biggest markets for remote-controlled vehicles today are farming and surface mining. But designers see the potential for such vehicles in military convoys and, eventually, even on our highways.

On April 11, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency spotlighted six top performers from the agency’s Urban Challenge competition that took place in November (GCN.com, Quickfind 1031). The vehicles showcased at the Pentagon included the winner, a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe customized by a team of engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

The Tahoe is loaded with radar- and laser-enabled sensors that collect data about the vehicle and its environment.

The data is processed by 10 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo blades, each running custom-written code capable of evaluating more than 1,000 objects per second. The computer bank sits in the rear of the vehicle and requires its own generator and cooling system.

GCN tech briefs

Voice-recognition tool aids battlefield doctors - Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking

I use Dragon software on the Sahara tablet and have done a couple You Tube Videos as well on using dictation through the dual array microphones, which means no headset...nice to have this option when in a semi quiet area and not have to worry about a headset. BD

Surgeons, radiologists and other specialists practicing battlefield medicine in Iraq are being outfitted with voice-recognition software to help them record their notes on patient care more quickly.
The Military Health System says the technology is particularly useful in combat zones, where doctors carry heavy patient loads. The software, Nuance Communications’ Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical 9.5, works with the Army’s Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) system, which runs on laptop PCs.

Voice-recognition tool aids battlefield doctors

Hawaii Medical Center to cut 89 jobs - Perot Systems contract signed to replace in house administrative departments..

An attempt to save a hospital deep in financial debt....the state's only physician owned for profit hospitals...BD

Eighty-nine employees at Hawaii Medical Center will lose their jobs at the end of June when the hospital outsources work in its administrative departments.
The head of HMC said the company took the steps to "help save the hospitals," which were financially troubled even before their sale by a Roman Catholic religious order to a for-profit company in 2007. HMC officials said Tuesday that it will contract out its business office, call center, health information management and admissions departments to Perot Systems of Nashville, Tenn. effective June 28.

Hawaii Medical Center to cut 89 jobs - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

The Army’s health IT hothouse

Good article talking about what is going on with the DOD and healthcare...telemedicine is fueling some of the most sophisticated health IT developments in the world...BD

Today, DOD produces a torrent of research that has put it years ahead of most private organizations when it comes to understanding how IT can improve health care. Work is under way on applications ranging from a digital dog tag loaded with personal health information, an electronic medical record (EMR) tool that supports triage on a global basis and a Web-based system that lets military doctors compare clinical data on eye surgeries.
But the center doesn’t spend all of its time on high-level architectural problems. Much of its work is focused on the more microscopic needs of health care specialists.
For instance, surgeons at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center wanted to measure the efficacy of the refractive eye surgeries they were performing. So they asked TATRC to adapt an existing medical information system called the Field Deployable Record (FDR) into something that could meet their specific needs.
RSIS, a Java-based client/server application, has since been enhanced with a Web interface to become Web-enabled RSIS (webRSIS), whose easy-to-use interface for recording information during surgery enables surgeons to manage and accurately report outcomes.
“The interface is modeled after the doctors’ workflow,” Jeffrey said. “It is designed for data capture with the doctors in mind. The software captures information in the same way they are used to so it doesn’t interfere with their current workflow.”

The Army’s health IT hothouse

Medical Advances—Through Your Cell Phone

Update and Additional information on telemedicine... it will be a challenge in the future to be able to select the product and device that works for both the patient, physician and sometimes the hospital as well....when on the run, cell phones are a great asset for deriving and entering information....BD

The University of California professor says that by reducing a complex electromagnetic imaging machine to a portable electromagnetic scanner that can work in tandem with a regular cell phone and a computer, he has essentially replicated a $10,000 piece of equipment for just hundreds of dollars. The mobile scanner plugs into the phone, which beams the data to the computer, generating an image that can be transmitted to a doctor or hospital far away.

Rubinsky is hardly the only medical researcher who sees this potential. Indeed, of some 30 health-care-related projects at various universities recently funded by Microsoft (MSFT) Research, 17 involve cell phones.

Cell phones can also play an integral role in remote care for patients with chronic illnesses. BeWell Mobile, based in San Francisco, has created an application that lets asthma or diabetes sufferers enter their home test results into their cell phones and send them to the doctor daily.

Medical Advances—Through Your iPhone?

Related Images from Businessweek.

Related Story from Businessweek

Microsoft developing ad-funded, senior PCs in UK

This is a great idea as I actively work helping seniors with computers...and there are so many devices that relate to healthcare that need to work with a PC...BD

The geriatric set most definitely has plenty of cellphones catered to them, but finding a computer that's equally simple to operate isn't nearly as easy. According to a BBC report stemming from a Digital Inclusion conference in London, Microsoft UK is aiming to develop a "senior PC" which will feature a simplistic interface and come tweaked to handle tasks such as managing prescriptions and photos. The outfit is teaming up with charities Age Concern and Help the Aged, and it's just one of the many projects meant to tackle the issue of "digitally excluding" millions of citizens. Additionally, Microsoft is working up an "ad-funded PC" that would come preloaded with a step-by-step guide to get online, remain safe, perform "simple computer tasks" .

Microsoft developing ad-funded, senior PCs in UK - Engadget

World's first cardiac re-synchronization therapy defibrillator device

One patient yesterday became the first to have the implant...the hospital will be able to communicate and access information over phone lines...BD

A doctor holds a mock-up of the world's first cardiac re-synchronization therapy defibrillator device "Consulta CRT-D", made by U.S. company Medtronic Inc., implanted to German patient Monique Pachalek at the German Heart Institute Berlin (DHZB) in Berlin, April 29, 2008. Pachalek is the first patient worldwide to have the device implanted on April 23. The product makes it possible to the hospital to communicate with the patient's pacemaker over a phone line. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

World's first cardiac re-synchronisation therapy defibrillator device_English_Xinhua

Not So Vain: Carly Simon's Panicky Past

Nice when celebrity stories are brought to the forefront to discuss something that seems to affect all of us at one time or another...in one form or another...some use beta blockers before a performance, some alcohol, etc....something to just take the edge off...nobody wants to fail when in front of an audience of any kind...its enough to make anyone nervous...self included here...BD

Pop queen Carly Simon, whose hit "You're So Vain" was No. 1 on the charts in 1973, still struggles when she talks about the panic attacks that nearly crippled her successful singing career. Simon was so paralyzed during a 1981 concert in Pittsburgh that audience members swarmed the stage to help her, rubbing the singer's arms and legs. She made it through that show, but during the second one, she collapsed in front of 10,000 fans.

Panic attacks are unlike the usual jitters that accompany speaking in public or a first date. Sufferers like Simon report a pounding heart, sweating and weakness. Some experience tingling hands, nausea or other smothering sensations. They usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom or losing control. Stage fright is one of the most common forms of anxiety disorder -- though some anxiety is shown to be helpful in performing. "One study showed fear of speaking in public was higher than fear of death," said Szymanski.

ABC News: Not So Vain: Carly Simon's Panicky Past

Tibco backing Microsoft Silverlight

Hard hat area: Tibco has a healthcare market that works with HIPAA compliance solutions as well as an HL7 solution...BD

San Francisco - Tibco Software is throwing its support behind Microsoft's new Silverlight browser plug-in technology for rich Internet applications and also is offering users of Microsoft Web services technology an alternative message platform.
The company will make these announcements Wednesday at its TUCON (Tibco User Conference) in San Francisco. Also on the agenda is the addition of predictive service level agreement management for SOA, via the company's ActiveMatrix platform. While not contractually obligated to use Silverlight, Tibco plans to use it when AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is not sufficient for a planned Web-based user interface, said McNamara.
"TIBCO has been providing solutions to the healthcare industry since 1996. TIBCO understands the dramatic changes facing the industry and the IT challenges that these changes introduce. TIBCO's healthcare solutions are built on a comprehensive integration platform that ties together diverse healthcare resources for information sharing and business process management."

Tibco backing Microsoft Silverlight - Yahoo! News

The Biniki – a bra for your butt

Well this one had to be I guess...we already have apparel that addresses the top portion of our bodies, but wait, this is good news for men too, there's one available for the male sector...models have been using items such as duct tape for years to enhance their appearance, so the technique here is nothing new, but this could be a "ready to go" solution to avoid all that tape....check out the picture from Gizmag below with a before and after...more pictures at the source...BD

April 30, 2008 Heightening the ever-increasing pressures to conform to someone else’s ideals is this new invention known as the Biniki – put simply, it’s a bra for your butt. The patented Biniki is a US$30 series of straps you wear around the waist and under your bum cheeks to shape, tone, lift and support your derriere and the effect is significant and instant. There’s also a US$40 version for men (the Maniki) and a Throng, a US$30 device worn to achieve the same underwear-less look as a thong without having to floss in all the wrong places.

The Biniki – a bra for your butt

Johnson & Johnson Cuts Another 400 Jobs

One more pharma company reacting to the changing market...as the DNA biotech sector continues it's rapid and steady growth, big pharma continues to shift it's directions and marketing as well...sequencing is going to play a big roll soon and is destined to take much of the 'hit and miss' from how medications are prescribed today...BD

The healthcare giant yesterday notified employees it will consolidate the sales and marketing operations of two subsidiaries, Ortho Biotech and Centocor, leading to roughly 400 job cuts nationwide, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey reports.
The move is a response to the declining sales of its Procrit anemia med, a spokesman tells the paper. Procrit scrips fell sharply last year after the FDA issued new safety warnings, which were also placed on anemia meds sold by Amgen.

Pharmalot » Johnson & Johnson Cuts Another 400 Jobs

Congressman: 'Citizens Can No Longer Trust' FDA

One more strike for the FDA...as we continue as a nation to outsource beyond our borders so grows the responsibility to protect US citizens...something to ponder...what is the price we pay today for "cheaper" products made outside the borders of the country...everybody is in control but in reality, nobody's minding the shop...and there appears to be no ethical levels of necessarily being able to trust a designated partner when located outside the jurisdiction of the US...BD

The FDA got another tongue lashing from Rep. John Dingell yesterday, who seems frustrated that the agency isn’t clamoring for more money to inspect foreign manufacturing plants.
“Our citizens can no longer trust that their food, drugs or medical devices are safe when the FDA says they are,” Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said at a hearing on the recent spate of deaths tied to contaminated heparin, the WSJ reports.

Health Blog : Congressman: 'Citizens Can No Longer Trust' FDA

Researchers create heart and blood cells from reprogrammed skin cells

Using the cells from the patient appears to be the key element here...there are people already walking around with bladders that have been created in a similar fashion....BD

Stem cell researchers at UCLA were able to grow functioning cardiac cells using mouse skin cells that had been reprogrammed into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells. The finding is the first to show that induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells, which don’t involve the use of embryos or eggs, can be differentiated into the three types of cardiovascular cells needed to repair the heart and blood vessels.
The discovery could one day lead to clinical trials of new treatments for people who suffer heart attacks, have atherosclerosis or are in heart failure, said Dr. Robb MacLellan, a researcher at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and senior author of the study. Researchers also were able to differentiate the iPS cells into several types of blood cells, which may one day aid in treating blood diseases and in bone marrow transplantation.

Researchers create heart and blood cells from reprogrammed skin cells

Gene Sequencing for the Masses - affordable at $150,000

It is anticipated that it will sequence 10 billion base pairs in a single 80 hour run...Harvard and MIT have already purchased a unit...mid May should offer availability for all...with the open source design users will be able to set up their own queries, etc. The article states that sequencing versus chips offers much more versatility and can identify mutations that have been limited by the microarray processes. Another company Helicos just released it's own sequencing machine as, so the race is on to involve health care facilities....BD

An inexpensive new gene-sequencing machine is due to hit the market next month, and its creators hope that it will make sequencing more common, ultimately giving a boost to personalized medicine. The machine is the brainchild of George Church, a genomics pioneer who developed the first direct sequencing technology as a graduate student in the 1980s and helped initiate the Human Genome Project soon after.

The Danaher device will cost roughly $150,000, a third to a tenth of the cost of systems currently on the market. His team partnered with Danaher Motion, a precision-instrument maker that built movable microscope stages for earlier versions of the technology.

Church and his collaborators are using the new device to sequence the genomes of the project's first 10 volunteers, who will share their genome sequences, medical records, and other personal information with both scientists and the public.

Technology Review: Gene Sequencing for the Masses

Wellpoint to buy firm operating Delta Dental

DeCare contracts with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota, Medica and others. It administers 10 dental plans, including Delta Dental and recent links are being found between oral and medical conditions....BD

One of the nation's biggest health insurers, Wellpoint Inc., is buying the administrator of Delta Dental plans for an undisclosed sum.
Indianapolis-based Wellpoint is buying Eagan-based DeCare Dental, which has annual revenue of $1 billion and 4 million dental plan members nationally. Wellpoint is the nation's largest health insurer by membership and already has 5 million dental plan members (Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group has higher revenue.)

Wellpoint to buy firm operating Delta Dental

Entegrion wins FDA approval to sell bandages to consumers that "stop the bleeding"...

The product is both safe for home and can be used in a clinical setting...make the blood start clotting immediately...coming to the Internet or drug store soon...BD

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Entegrion, a medical technology firm utilizing technology developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University, has received Food and Drug Administration approval for one of its wound treatment products.
Stasilon FR is a hemostatic dressing that is designed to promote blood coagulation. It will be available over the counter as well as through prescriptions.
Entegrion is also developing other hemorrhage control technology, including gels and sprays for tissue repair, infusible treatments for control of internal hemorrhage and targeted drug delivery to tumors and internal bleeding.

RTP startup Entegrion wins FDA approval to sell bandages to consumers :: WRAL.com

New concept sends medical images via cellular phones

Cell phones are becoming more popular by the minute, especially with medical imaging, nice story on the software and hardware process to send an image via a cell phone...good use for both rural and developing areas of the world...BD

A process to transmit medical images via cellular phones that has been developed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher has the potential to provide sophisticated radiological diagnoses and treatment to the majority of the world's population lacking access to such technology. This would include millions in developing nations as well as those in rural areas of developed countries who live considerable distances from modern medical centers.

Even when such equipment does exist in developing countries, it is often not in use because it is too sophisticated or in disrepair or because the health personnel are not trained to use it, said Rubinsky..

Utilizing commercially available parts, the research team built a simple data acquisition device for the experiment. The device had 32 stainless steel electrodes - half to inject the electrical current and the other half to measure the voltage - connected to a gel-filled container that simulated breast tissue with a tumor.

New concept sends medical images via cellular phones

Testimony Of Baxter CEO Before Subcommittee On Oversight And Investigations Committee On Energy And Commerce U.S. House

These items relate to a woman and her son were going in for dialysis treatments whereby heparin was used...and she lost both...sad story indeed....and what is the future...pharmaceuticals must have the highest standards as they are products we use in our bodies and there's no room for "knock offs" in this business....and to think the decision was partly made due to economical conditions...how cheap is a human life? Most would say a life is priceless, but unfortunately there are those still putting price tags before health care....BD

-- More than any other company in the world, Baxter's products are involved in critical care settings. Because of this, we are greatly concerned that our heparin product appears to be the target of a deliberate adulteration scheme. Patient safety is our number one priority, and we deeply regret the impact this contamination in Baxter's heparin has had on patients and the clinicians who treat them.
-- The developments of the last several weeks have demonstrated that this is both a global and industry-wide crisis, with a root cause - oversulfated chondroitin sulfate ("OSCS") -- that was so novel and so insidious as to avoid the quality systems of a multitude of companies and the oversight of the world's most sophisticated drug regulatory agencies.
"Christmas music played in the background as each one of us said our goodbyes," said a shaking Leroy Hubley. "And the nightmare returned only weeks later when my son, Randy, started dialysis at the same clinic."

Testimony Of Baxter Int. CEO Before Subcommittee On Oversight And Investigations Committee On Energy And Commerce U.S. House Of Representatives

'Rotten eggs' in the blood - more gas in our system someday

Interesting research going on here...with H₂S gas...to combat and treat other diseases such as diabetes and helping with the cardiovascular system...draw your own conclusion on the "controlled and regulated manner"...it sounds like the key is put the gas where it's needed...BD

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) is a gas most commonly associated with the smell of stink bombs, sewage and rotten eggs, but a team of researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England and King’s College London have now identified a role for this gas in regulating blood pressure, according to research published today in the leading science journal Circulation.
The research team has previously shown that H₂S is produced naturally within our bodies, along with other gaseous molecules such as nitric oxide and that a balance between these gases relates to good health, whereas an imbalance could indicate disease. In the case of high blood pressure, a reduction in nitric oxide results in increased blood pressure, while H₂S may counteract this.
However, the research team from the Peninsula Medical School and King’s College have synthesized a new molecule which would allow H₂S to be released into the body in a more controllable and regulated manner.Dr. Matt Whiteman from the Peninsula Medical School added: “These are exciting times. We are only just starting to unravel the surprising role H₂S has in the body not only in the cardiovascular system but also its role in inflammation, neurodegeneration and diabetes, as well as its role in health”.

'Rotten eggs' in the blood

Merck shares hammered after FDA rejects Cordaptive

Rituxan fails (again) in late-stage lupus trial

One application for approval and one disappointing study for the pharma business this week..

Shares of Merck were sliding again this morning on the news that the FDA has turned thumbs down on MK-0524A, (Cordaptive) its new cholesterol therapy. The stock dropped eight percent after regulators announced that the experimental therapy, a combination of niacin and laropiprant that had been high up on the drug giant's list of potential blockbusters, failed to make the grade.

Genentech and Biogen Idec were taking it on the chin this morning after researchers announced that Rituxan had failed in a later-stage trial as a therapy for lupus. The failure won't harm the blockbuster's penetration of the markets for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Merck shares hammered after FDA rejects Cordaptive - FierceBiotech

Pharmacies to Push E-Prescribing with advertising campaign...

Consumers will also see signs on the doors and counters saying that they CAN fill electronic prescriptions...coming to a pharmacy near you soon...now if we can just get the DEA to join in and go paperless and quit worrying about the 3 part scripts where the doctor has to bring out the old paper to create one...if you need a free esprescribing plan, look in the right hand side of this page for more information on NEPSI or click on the picture to the right....and a good time to start using a tablet PC for these...BD

Ten major pharmacy chains are launching a national marketing campaign to raise consumer awareness about electronic prescriptions. According to SureScripts, more than 70% of community pharmacies can receive electronic prescriptions but only 6% of physicians can send them.

Participating pharmacy chains include CVS, Duane Reade, Giant Food, Kerr Drug, Longs Drugs, Rite Aid, Stop & Shop, SUPERVALU Pharmacies (Acme, Albertsons, bigg's, Cub, Farm Fresh, Osco, Shop & Save, and Shoppers), Walgreens and Wal-Mart.

The marketing campaign comes as physicians face a Jan. 1, 2009, mandate for all computer-generated prescriptions covered under the Medicare Part D program to be transmitted electronically and not via fax.

Pharmacies to Push E-Prescribing

FDA approves coronary artery plaque imaging device

A fiber optic catheter....initial use will be for diagnosis purposes initially for patients who have already had treatments to help in prevention of a second coronary event...an analysis of the chemical content of the plaque....will find lipid rich plaque at each segment...the video at the site will explain more...fibrotic plaque and lipid rich can be differentiated with the process....BD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a device that a doctor can use to see inside a blood vessel to assess the fat content of the plaque which builds up on the wall of the coronary arteries.

Plaque is a deposit made up of cholesterol-rich fat, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. As plaque accumulates on the artery wall, it reduces blood flow to the heart muscle and increases the risk of blood clots which can lead to a heart attack.

The InfraReDx system consists of a laser light source, an automated pullback and rotation device and a small fiberoptic catheter. While the catheter is similar in size and ease of use to an intravascular ultrasound catheter, the information it provides is quite different since it is based on an optical rather that an ultrasonic signal.

FDA approves coronary artery plaque imaging device

Call of Medicine Gives Way to Family Tug

Hospitals changing physician hours...splitting their time between the hospital and ambulatory time....helping the physicians get a life back...BD

Young docs are trying to balance work and family life in a way that was all but unheard of a generation ago, and medicine is changing to accommodate them.

.

Walter Cheng, who graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine four years ago, rejected the notion that a doctor should put medicine above all else. “I thought, ‘I don’t really want to be that kind of doctor.’… My family is as important, if not more important, than my career,” he told the WSJ.

Health Blog : Call of Medicine Gives Way to Family Tug

Doctors remove 57 kg fat from a Russian woman's belly

How do these tumors get ignored to get to this size? BD

Natalya was overweight since 13 as she had hormonal disturbance, she tried all the existing diets, visited hundreds of doctors, but with no result. With years her her belly was growing larger and larger. Finally it became so huge that the woman literally had to stump it to make a step. Finally a gigantic skin-fat growth on her belly removed, which was 36 inches (above 91 cm) long and weighed 125 pounds (about 57 kg).

Doctors remove 57 kg fat from a Russian woman's belly - Medlaunches.com

HealthBlog : The Doctor's Channel

Last week I had posted about Ozmosis and the Doctor's Channel and the teamwork between both sites to bring together a discussion forum where everyone knows who everyone is...in other words physicians talking with physicians.....if you have not visited the the Doctor's Channel site it's well worth taking a stop over and watch some of the videos...it's open for anyone to view. Just uploaded was a set of three videos with Dr. Crounse from Microsoft...the format is polished and edited for a very nice professional delivery. BD

"On another front, while I was away I received an e-mail that a series of interviews I did a few weeks ago for The Doctors Channel were now live on the web. If you're a clinician, you'll want to check out The Doctors Channel; what some are calling "the YouTube for doctors".

HealthBlog : Microsoft Health at Med-e-Tel

http://www.ozmosis.com

Are Men Facing Extinction? The Y Chromosome is "Fatally Flawed"

Well from the female side of things we have known for years that something has been flawed along the way...but for our lifetime we won't have to worry about life without men...just the flaws and a world of men trying to get their "groove" back....and as the article states, Hooters has a number of years before they might have to worry about going out of business..more predictions from the study of genetics....BD

This isn't just an unlikely sci-fi scenario. This could be reality, according to Bryan Sykes, an eminent professor of genetics at Oxford University and author of "Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men."

"Men are genetically modified women," explained Sykes. But unlike other chromosomes, the Y chromosome can't repair itself and will, says Sykes, disappear altogether in about 125,000 years.

It's a long time, 125,000 years. But we men have a far more immediate problem: sperm counts have fallen by an incredible 20 percent in the past 50 years. Stress? Alcohol? Environmental pollution? Who knows, but it's deeply concerning for those of us with a vested interest in the survival of the male. But Sykes says the technology for women to procreate without us is just around the corner. Maybe our only hope as men is that women decide to keep us alive for their own amusement. For the pop music, perhaps, or maybe the dancing. We can be good at that.

ABC News: Are Men Facing Extinction?

Health Care In America: Pay To Play Isn’t Working…

A great story on Remote Area Medical...lives on donations....treated 17,000 patients last year...on one day they treated 600 people on Saturday....and Sunday there was a repeat of the same...the program relies on donations, very few from any big companies or big industries...originally his system was designed for 3rd world countries, but now 60% of his efforts are focused on taking care of citizens in the US....the video will open your eyes....this was both the under insured and non insured....there were more people than who could be cared for in the 2 days...there were 400 people who were turned away....this is absolutely one good charity worth a donation and paints a good picture of the reality of how our own system is not working for our citizens...BD

At a time when the bean counters on Wall Street are finding the health insurance industry a bad risk, I have to ask how much longer the Beltway crowd is going to keep looking the other way.
The insurance companies, of course, think the system is just fine, and they spent heavily to keep the status quo.

According to this CJR report, regarding a series of studies from Health Care Week and other industry groups, the health care industry, drug manufacturers and other related industry groups are doing everything they can to insure there are no changes to their current profit margins:

Firedoglake » Health Care In America: Pay To Play Isn’t Working…For Anyone

Volunteers needed for chocolate study - Women only

Volunteers need to be women who are past menopause and have diabetes type 2...chocolate and coffee....are there benefits and is there in fact good coffee and good chocolate? Time will tell, but I wonder how it tastes...the bad guys are looking to become the good guys with diet and nutrition as studies continue...BD

LONDON (Reuters) - Calling all chocoholics: British researchers recruiting volunteers willing to eat a bar of chocolate daily for a year, guilt-free and all in the name of science.
The trial starting in June will explore whether compounds called flavonoids found in chocolate and other foods can reduce the risk of heart disease for menopausal women with type 2 diabetes, the researchers said on Monday.The next step will be recruiting 150 women past menopause with type 2 diabetes. The researchers will look at whether the compounds help reduce blood pressure, cut cholesterol levels and improve the condition of arteries.
Half the women in the year-long study will eat a super-charged chocolate bar containing 30 grams of flavonoids found in soy, cocoa and other fruits and vegetables. The others will get chocolate without the active compounds.

Tough job: Volunteers needed for chocolate study - Yahoo! News

An OxyContin That Addicts Can’t Abuse?

Interesting concept...a no crush pill? BD

Purdue Pharma, which makes the controversial painkiller, is racing to introduce a tamper-resistant version ahead of three other drugmakers that are developing their own versions with rival technologies designed to prevent abuse, Bloomberg News writes.
Next week, an FDA panel will meet to review Purdue’s new OxyContin formula, which is supposed to prevent someone from crushing the pill or dissolving it in alcohol to release several hours of narcotics at once

Pharmalot » An OxyContin That Addicts Can’t Abuse?

Prescription for loss - California

There's no fix in sight...with the budget cuts coming July 1st and the smaller independent pharmacies are feeling the pinch...Medical prescription benefits being cut by 10%...but the one statement that is strange is the fact that the state does not use generics? BD

On top of the planned cuts, pharmacists face a more immediate threat. Medi-Cal sends reimbursement checks to pharmacies twice a month. The state already has informed them that it will delay writing the June 19 check until July 2.
Many pharmacists might have to take out loans just to make their payroll, since Medi-Cal is such a significant part of their business. "The bottom line is they want to take 10 percent of the drug cost. ... When the average scrip is $108 in California, and they want to pay us $97 for that, you can't do that," Sherman said. "And oddly enough, the state doesn't use (cheaper) generics, they use the most expensive (brand name) stuff."
The national and regional chain pharmacies are just as concerned with the state's plans as the independent pharmacies, since most are working at capacity, according to Rolston.
There is a petition drive under way, and a group of Southern California pharmacies filed a lawsuit last week against the state on behalf of patients who they say will have a harder time getting access to prescription drugs. More lawsuits are possible.

Recordnet.com: Prescription for loss

Fewer certified EHR programs on the market...

This is a hot topic for a couple reasons, EMRs already have the tag of being expensive for the physician and number two, the speed of technology and what is available in the market is adding to the task...with the addition of technologies such as Silverlight with a much dynamic interface and the ability to work with Microsoft Server 2008 to data bind information to a SQL server data base with both products enhanced tremendously with security, how long before the software could be deemed "outdated". I say this from a programmer's standpoint as the software side of things is also riding one big roller coaster...as stated in the article it is also a costly venture for smaller EMR companies to invest the money to carry the certified stamp of approval.

The CCHIT task force is also actively looking for Work Group Volunteers as posted last week...so theoretically is the technology simply outdated as soon as it is certified? New potential security risks appear almost daily, so in view of the passage of a year since the initial process, is the product up to date with everything one needs for the needed environment...software companies are great and work very hard at issuing software updates, but after the initial stamp of approval, how does this affect the certification process...and then there are cases of hospitals jumping right on the bandwagon with new technology such as the Vanderbilt story that is using the most up to date software technology to save lives, and granted this case study does not necessarily fall under the certification process for medical records, it simple shows how eager health institutions are for new technology in software...to save lives...I wrote a short post a short time back about the challenges faced by the Medical Records software companies here...in summary I feel even the larger EMR companies are feeling the pinch here with both being able to offer a certified product, but yet along the same line, be able to offer the latest technology that both hospitals and physicians are demanding...it's just like anything else out there in the world, if there's something new and better out there...we all want it....and now....so it will also be interesting to see if perhaps the process might experience some acceleration in the credentialing process along the line, in other words a speedier solution to get the newest technology out to the market...BD

Certified EHRs are supposed to be the best, and the kind the feds want you to buy, but the number of programs attaining this status has tailed off big-time.
EHR certification is part of the federal push for a nationwide health information network. The US Department of Health and Human Services contracts with a private group called the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology to certify EHR programs that can perform basic tasks such as creating and displaying problem lists, checking for drug interactions, and issuing reminders about overdue tests. The feds won’t let a hospital subsidize an EHR for you unless it has this stamp of approval.

Fewer certified EHR programs could mean higher prices

GE Healthcare Completes Acquisition Of Whatman Plc

With this acquisition, GE appears to make a big investment in the DNA market....they have a multitude of products, mostly for lab testing and filtering on one hand...but also have some products related directly to storage and transport of DNA...and one product will allow for faster DNA data mining...BD

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Whatman Plc, a global supplier of filtration products and technologies.
The acquisition expands GE Healthcare's offering for life science research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, a key area of growth for the company. GE Healthcare's Life Sciences business is a world-class provider of technologies for cellular and protein science research, and tools used in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines, cell therapies and antibodies.
"In order to meet and anticipate the unique needs of our customers, Whatman is organized into three business development units: LabSciences, which focuses on the preparation of non-cellular samples prior to analysis; BioScience, which focuses on the preparation of cellular samples prior to analysis and storage for study of nucleic acids or proteins; and MedTech, which focuses on filtration components for manufacturers of medical devices and clinical diagnostic tests. "

Plasmid DNA can be eluted or used directly on a punch to transform bacteria either by electroporation or heat-shock methods.

GE Healthcare Completes Acquisition Of Whatman Plc

Hospital records in the wrong hands - patient given his records and those of 4 others

In Florida, man was given his own records and those of 4 other patients...he called the 4 others patients, and one was still in the hospital, but he had everything on the records...social security numbers, history of MRSA, and much more....video at the source....sound like someone simply did not double check their work before handing out the paperwork...BD

A Bay Area man says a local hospital may have committed a serious breach of patient privacy. Eddie Covington says he was given very personal and private medical records when he left University Community Hospital last week, and they weren't even his.

MyFox Tampa Bay | Hospital records in the wrong hands

How can insurance companies find out if you have a pre-existing condition - The MIB

If you are not aware of the MIB when it comes to health insurance, read this...BD

I have heard people mention the MIB as a source, but where do they get their info? I thought medical records were strictly private, how do they find out your past medical info?
Records are private between you and your insuring company and any company you apply for coverage with. Your prescription history is also reported to the MIB.
Insurance companies keep databases of claims experience that they upload to the Medical Information Bureau. So for example, if Anthem has claims experience on you, they upload it to the bureau and United healthcare can then access your claims experience data.

How can insurance companies find out if you have a pre-existing condition??-The Commerce Journal

Remote-Presence Robot Attends Patients at Ryder Trauma Center

One more facility gets "Robo-Doc". If you have never seen one of these in motion, it is a little different when standing in a hallway and the machine says "excuse me, can I get by"...bedside consults can be done when the doctor is not at the facility by simply logging in and using a joy stick to control the device...and it's as tall as I am...it just doesn't open doors or push the elevator buttons by itself...yet...BD

ICU Nurses at the Ryder Trauma Center at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center have a new high-tech colleague. CHICO (computer hospital intensive care operator) is a roving telemedicine robot that whirs quietly from bay to bay on the busy trauma unit looking in on patients with its digital monitor “face,” while uploading and transmitting patient data via secure Internet connection technology.
CHICO, priced at $250,000 from InTouch Technologies, is the only remote presence robot in a civilian trauma center in the country. Looking like an upright vacuum canister with a computer monitor for a head, topped off in CHICO’s case with a jaunty cap, the robot allows an off-site physician to access patient records electronically, listen to a heart rate with the built-in stethoscope, and consult with other healthcare providers, patients, and patients’ families. The patient sees the face and hears the voice of the physician who is operating the system.

Nurse.com - Remote-Presence Robot Attends Patients at Ryder Trauma Center

VitalJacket heart monitoring shirt

You have 2 choices with the shirt, store the information on an SD data card to read with a PC later or use a live online PDA phone to collect data in real time...BD

The Vital Jacket is a wearable vital signs monitoring system that joins textiles with microelectronics. It was designed and developed to be a usable pragmatic approach for different clinical and normal life scenarios, in hospitals, home or on the move, that need continuous or frequent high quality vital signs monitoring from the patient or healthy subject.

Two versions are currently available - the HWM100 that stores all its data on an SD memory card for further analysis on a PC later on, while the HWM200 boasts on-line visualization using a smartphone/PDA.

VitalJacket heart monitoring shirt » Coolest Gadgets

Source: MedGadget

Surgeon Creates Portable Ultrasound for Telemedicine...

Using telemedicine, this physician is monitoring the conditions of those climbing Mount Everest..he created a 10 pound ultrasound tool and plans to use the tool for the Olympics...BD

On Monday, he linked with his subjects through his laptop. Using video, Dulchavsky showed the climbers how to move the ultrasound wand over the right and left side of the chests. His task was to check for a pulmonary condition that often surfaces in low-pressure environs. The climbers, who at the time were nearly two-thirds their way to the summit, used a portable ultrasound machine -- about the same size of a laptop -- to scan parts of their body and send the images to Dulchavsky.
A Detroit native, Dulchavsky got his start investigating the use of ultrasound images in orbit when he linked up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the early 1990s. There, he devised a system that allowed astronauts to conduct their own scans using the ultrasound wand and sending those images back to earth for doctors to view.

Pioneering long-distance care

Tablet PCs Being Used by Outpatient Physicians...

One particular note of interest in the survey is that integrated software is definitely pushing the sales of Tablet PCs...as well as other medical devices that use a tablet, such as a portable EKG for reporting purposes...physicians are mobile and thus their information they need has to be mobile...BD

The survey found that 77 percent of outpatient physicians, working in office and clinic environments, believed tablet PCs were a suitable mobile computing device for accessing multi-function clinical applications at the point of care. The referenced applications enable outpatient physicians to access patient electronic medical records, generate structured patient documentation, initiate medical orders, view radiological images and capture patient billing charges.

Physicians are independently purchasing mobile devices with stand-alone clinical solutions to retrieve accurate, up-to-date information to help diagnose illness, determine treatment protocols and prescribe medication, he said. Physicians are using a number of different mobile devices including PDAs, smartphones and tablet PCs.

The physicians in the outpatient settings were, "quite bullish about the prospects for the tablet PC devices in their environments," Malkary noted. Many of them, who may not have an electronic medical record system today, are considering investing in one in the near future. "They see tablet PCs as the one key element that can integrate EMR data with practice management system data. I think a lot of this has to do with the device's maturity in the industry, because products that are coming to market now are integrated with the tablet devices," he said.

ADVANCE for Health Information Executives | Editorial

Hair-razing devices for the home

There will be limitations compared to units used in a professional office, but lasers are coming to the home front...both products receiving FDA approval...not inexpensive though...but perhaps over time would save money over a professional treatment...BD

Coming soon to doctors' offices and retail stores: personal handheld lasers and other expensive medical devices for cosmetic treatments at home.
The first products to be pitched for consumer use are for long-lasting removal of unwanted hair, one of the most popular cosmetic services, which typically costs thousands of dollars in spas and dermatology offices. A device called Tria, which is being rolled out next month for $995, is the first personal cosmetic laser to be sold in the U.S. The device, made by closely held SpectraGenics Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., uses the same diode-laser technology that became the gold standard in professional hair removal more than a decade ago. SpectraGenics has been selling a version of the Tria, called i-Epi, in Japan since 2005.
A rival device, called Silk'n, will be launched at the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery meeting in Kissimmee, Fla., this week. Priced at $800, it incorporates a different technology, known as pulsed light, that is also found in professional systems. An Israeli company called Home Skinovations Ltd. is behind the device.

Daily Herald | Hair-razing devices for the home

How to Be Like Mike? Is it in the Genes to be an athlete

Could this be an end to the proverbial football scout and is this going too far...I think so...but it is happening...public or not public...perhaps has not hit the US in big force yet and then there are the legal issues, but how do you stop someone showing up with their DNA report to qualify for a try out.. DNA information is going to need some real guidelines...if that is possible...as it becomes more mainstay in society...just look at where we are with steroids...BD

Something new is going on with the use of DNA that could make a very few lucky people rich, and devastate the hopes and dreams of many others. And it raises huge ethical issues for most of us, on top of the DNA issues we already worrying about.

Of course this idea of predestined achievement by a few, and conversely predestined under-achievement by the many, goes against the teachings of a lot of philosophers and self-improvement gurus who say that most of us are capable of greatness. But, it seems, the lab boys disagree. But what you may not realize is that DNA profiling, which in scientific terms is off shelf technology, is now being used to identify a pre-disposition to "enhanced athletic performance." In Australia, one genetics company reportedly offers a $90 test the lab claims will identify whether customers have the fast-twitch muscle function gene called ACTN3, which is said to be found in leading sprinters.

ABC News: How to Be Like Mike? Gotta Be the Genes