Big Pharma Exploring and Moving Data to the Cloud – IT Execs Talk about How It is Being Done

<p> <strong>Amazon, Google and Microsoft</strong> are the 3 big players for now in the Cloud market.   For the purpose of this post, we are talking about <strong>external clouds.</strong>  There is also the <strong>internal cloud</strong> which is a virtual machine configuration.   The FDA already trusts secure external servers for e-mail communication of clinical trial data, and recently were testing their own internal or private cloud.  <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiCOdkg3CbI/AAAAAAAAP-A/P0VF-m88UZM/s1600-h/image%5B5%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="136" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiCOffiPpAI/AAAAAAAAP-E/6v19zFqFjtw/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="164" /></a> </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/fda-testing-clouds-disaster-recovery.html">FDA Testing the Clouds – Disaster Recovery With a Private Cloud</a></h6> <p>Some of the very interesting comments from the IT Heads from the Pharma companies listed below are really stated best from Lilly, when you look at what they were dealing with.  <strong>Scientists were having to wait their turn in line as capacity hit,</strong> so scientists were submitting and having to wait until the computing power was available.  Not only this issue, but the cost savings was huge, and to set up local servers and power,<strong> it would have taken 12 weeks to set up</strong>.  Basically the process is harnessing the power of the internet instead of the local data warehouses and server.  </p> <p>Also referenced in this article is <strong><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/deep-dive-into-microsoft-life-sciences.html">Michael Naimoli, Industry Solutions Director for Microsoft’s U.S. Health & Life Sciences Group</a> </strong>and a former <strong>biopharmaceutical scientist </strong>who recently sat down and discussed where Microsoft is today and the future of Life Sciences and the Cloud.    </p> <p>If you want to see <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-is-cloud-what-portable-data-center.html">what an external cloud looks like,</a> you can read a bit more here and see.  This is the same thing we do with our PHRs, they are stored in the clouds(grin).  BD</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.pfizer.com"><strong>Pfizer</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="http://www.lilly.com"><strong>Eli Lilly & Co.</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="http://www.jnj.com"><strong>Johnson & Johnson</strong></a><strong>, and </strong><a href="http://www.gene.com"><strong>Genentech</strong></a> are among the drugmakers that are piloting into an emerging area of IT services called cloud computing, in which large, consumer-oriented computing firms offer time on their huge and dispersed infrastructures on a pay-as-you-go basis. These drug companies are among the first to gauge the cost- and time-saving pros and the potential management and security cons in this largely uncharted territory.</p> <p>The concept of cloud computing, based on technologies that already support e-mail and search services, has burst onto the IT scene during the past year. Success stories have already been logged across a range of industries and government organizations, including the White House, which used Google cloud services to handle the questions sent to President Barack Obama during his March 26 town hall meeting. <strong>The White House was able to field a peak of 700 e-mail hits per second from 92,934 people submitting 104,073 questions and casting 3,605,984 votes in the 48 hours leading up to the meeting.</strong></p> <p><strong>And Lilly has demonstrated the viability of cloud computing in pharmaceutical R&D</strong>, according to Dave Powers, the firm's associate information consultant for discovery IT. "<strong>We were recently able to launch a 64-machine cluster computer working on bioinformatics sequence information, complete the work, and shut it down in 20 minutes,</strong>" he says, describing a project the firm executed using Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service. <strong>"It cost $6.40.</strong> To do that internally—to go from nothing to getting a 64-machine cluster installed and qualified—is a 12-week process."</p> <p><strong>The result is that for days at a time our clusters are at 100% of capacity.</strong> This means there are actually <strong>scientists who have work to be done that is literally sitting in a queue."</strong> Although exact cost savings are difficult to calculate, they are clearly significant, according to Powers and Kaczorek, as are the time savings.</p> <p><strong>“Pfizer is beginning to employ cloud computing in other research operations, but there are some downsides, Day says, one being that users must come up with their own programming to coordinate with cloud service providers.</strong> Pfizer is working with the <a href="http://www.bioteam.net">BioTeam</a>, a consulting firm, on connecting its work to the cloud. Lilly is using software and services from two suppliers, <a href="http://www.cyclecomputing.com">Cycle Computing</a> and <a href="http://sagebase.org/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="105" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sam0kgbQ2qI/AAAAAAAAOf4/zz9jH8tP4C4/image%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" title="image" width="188" /></a>RightScale, to access Amazon's network and manage the transfer of data onto and off of the cloud.</p> <p><strong>Merck, though, has not taken the plunge.</strong> The company has amassed a computer center at Seattle-based Rosetta, which it acquired in 2001, with about 10,000 processors and an elaborate Internet-based architecture allowing researchers working on thousands of projects anywhere at Merck to access data from storage. But that situation is about to change.</p> <p><strong>In the coming months, Merck will be handing the Rosetta computer cluster, and a majority of the data therein, to a nonprofit bioinformatics database called Sage Bionetwork being formed by Schadt and Stephen Friend</strong>, senior vice president and oncology franchise head at Merck Research Laboratories. The drug firm, which will have open access to Sage, will consolidate research computing at its new Center of Excellence for Molecular Profiling & Research Informatics, in Boston. Meanwhile, Sage will pursue partnerships with other public and private research centers in order to expand the database. Sage, as it develops, may well incorporate cloud computing, according to Schadt.</p> <p>In addition to cost and time savings, <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/deep-dive-into-microsoft-life-sciences.html">Mike Naimoli, director of Microsoft's life sciences business in the U.S.,</a> says cloud computing may also enable data sharing among drugmakers and contract research organizations and other partners. The company introduced its Azure Services Platform for cloud computing last year.</p> <p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/azure/services.mspx"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="32" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh3JoVXtL4I/AAAAAAAAP6M/xJIrrMHTl6A/image%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" title="image" width="146" /></a></p> <p><strong>"It is one thing to get the data up there, another to interact and work with it," he says. "</strong>That is done through applications hosted on <strong>Azure</strong>. Microsoft won't build those applications. <strong>We provide a framework and fabric that can host the user's applications. Anything users can do locally and adapt to the Internet can run on the cloud."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/87/8721cover.html">The New Computing Pioneers | Cover Story | Chemical & Engineering News</a></p> <p>Hat Tip:  <a href="http://www.fiercebiotechit.com/story/cloud-computing-meets-drug-r-d/2009-05-26">Fierce Biotech IT</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/fda-sentinel-initiative-information.html"><font size="1">FDA's Sentinel Initiative Information Revealed – Business Intelligence</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/microsoft-seeking-database-customers-to.html"><font size="1">Microsoft Seeking Database Customers to Test Synchronizing SQL Server with the Cloud</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/genomic-analysis-in-amazon-clouds.html"><font size="1">Genomic analysis in the Amazon Clouds…</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/beth-israel-deaconess-medical-center.html"><font size="1">Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Using an Internal Cloud for Virtualized Electronic Health Records for Private Physician Groups</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-is-cloud-what-portable-data-center.html"><font size="1">This is a Cloud? What a Portable Data Center Looks like…</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/grantsgov-website-is-getting-overloaded.html"><font size="1">Grants.Gov website is getting overloaded with traffic – Move to the “Cloud”?</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/genentech-embraces-cloud-computing.html"><font size="1">Genentech Embraces Cloud Computing subscription service from Google</font></a></h4> <p></p> <p></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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:82316455-0ae6-4829-9872-e98aee3671ea" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Genentech" rel="tag">Genentech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/software" rel="tag">software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biotech" rel="tag">biotech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Google" rel="tag">Google</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cloud+Computing" rel="tag">Cloud Computing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Oracle" rel="tag">Oracle</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/document+sharing" rel="tag">document sharing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/collaboration" rel="tag">collaboration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Amazon" rel="tag">Amazon</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pfizer" rel="tag">Pfizer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lilly" rel="tag">Lilly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pharma" rel="tag">Pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Merck" rel="tag">Merck</a></div>

Big Pharma Exploring and Moving Data to the Cloud – IT Execs Talk about How It is Being Done

  Amazon, Google and Microsoft are the 3 big players for now in the Cloud market.   For the purpose of this post, we are talking about exte...

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Homeland Security Working on a Device that Can Capture Vitals from up to 40 Feet Away – Is the Future of an Emergency Room at the Hospital Too?

<p>Vital signs would come from the carotid artery, the head, chest, abdomen, even a foot.  The technology being used for a device is Laser Doppler Vibrometry.   The device would be connected to a camera and coordinate with algorithms to converts those data points into measurements <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiB37HOfjfI/AAAAAAAAP94/5S_RommMLes/s1600-h/image3.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="164" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiB38W17XnI/AAAAAAAAP98/clEmxrUWZEc/image_thumb1.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a>emergency medical responders, <strong>so where do I think something like this would end up?  The emergency room</strong> might be one of the first places to think about, just imagine everyone’s vitals as soon as you walk in the door!</p> <p><strong>They hope to have proto-types out for testing this fall.</strong>  Again, it is for emergency responses, but what is the ER Room considered to be?  They could end up being a testing ground for the device.  I guess we might need to <strong>pair this up with the mind reading technology they are testing and</strong> we can get the full package.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/technology-that-detects-threats-by.html"><font size="2">Technology that Detects Threats by Reading Your Mind</font></a></h4> <p><strong><u>From a prior post:</u></strong></p> <p><em>When the sensors identify something suspicious they transmit warning data to analysts, who determine whether or not to deter passengers for further questioning. Micro-facial scanning is the next step, yes it scans your face and muscle movement.</em></p> <p><em>It will read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration.  The lab is mobile and can be set up anywhere like a stadium, shopping mall, etc.  Ok do we have privacy issues here, I think so.  If this is programmed to look for terrorists based on an algorithms and settings, what else could it look for?  Programmers know this as the basic code has been written, so it’s just a matter of some new SQL statements to query other factors, and maybe a little hardware update.  </em><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SNmMiNrUUgI/AAAAAAAAJGw/hJOoAawu7nY/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><em><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="275" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SNmMl6mvhFI/AAAAAAAAJG4/jusiFEE6-rs/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" title="image" width="251" /></em></a></p> <p><em>So, can you see this showing up at hospitals some day?  Scary thought overall.  It was tested in the DC area on just regular “Joes” who had no idea it was there.</em>   </p> <p>This type of technology has also intrigued DARPA as well.  BD</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/darpa-working-on-telepathic.html"><font size="2">DARPA working on telepathic communication for soldiers – Must Have Been Talking to Homeland Security</font></a></h4> <blockquote> <p>Because time is the most precious resource in a crisis, every second shaved can be a life-saver. With this in mind, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is trying to make a revolutionary leap forward in triage. Why not 30 seconds per person? And why not from far away? </p> <p>In partnership with the <a href="http://www.tswg.gov">Technical Support Working Group (TSWG)</a>, Boeing and Washington University’s School of Medicine, Tech Solutions is developing the Standoff Patient Triage Tool (SPTT), a device that classic Star Trek fans will recognize for its resemblance to the medical diagnostic tool known as the tricorder.</p> <p>Like the tricorder, SPTT takes key physiological readings necessary to any diagnosis —pulse, body temperature, respiration—from an injured person at a far distance. It’s triage at twenty paces.</p> <p>When connected to a camera, the vibrometer can measure the velocity and displacement of vibrating objects. An algorithm then converts those data points into measurements emergency medical responders can use in their rapid assessment of a patient’s critical medical conditions.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.dhs.gov/xres/programs/gc_1214511688798.shtm">DHS | Science and Technology (S&T) Snapshots</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/darpa-working-on-telepathic.html"><font size="1">DARPA working on telepathic communication for soldiers – Must Have Been Talking to Homeland Security</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/technology-that-detects-threats-by.html"><font size="1">Technology that Detects Threats by Reading Your Mind</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/britain-will-make-foreigners-carry-rfid.html"><font size="1">Britain will make foreigners carry RFID identity cards to include health information</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9048ba5a-bf47-486f-8500-9dd7fe1ac508" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Homeland+Security" rel="tag">Homeland Security</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SPTT" rel="tag">SPTT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ER+Room" rel="tag">ER Room</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Emergency+care" rel="tag">Emergency care</a></div>

Homeland Security Working on a Device that Can Capture Vitals from up to 40 Feet Away – Is the Future of an Emergency Room at the Hospital Too?

Vital signs would come from the carotid artery, the head, chest, abdomen, even a foot.  The technology being used for a device is Laser Dopp...

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Reader Comment: American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Is a Good Thing

<p>Yesterday I posted about the American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool and had a reader post the comment below, which I think is well worth <a href="https://circleofsharing.cancer.org/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="51" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68It71gdI/AAAAAAAAP78/ewRYVYJUdik/image%5B24%5D.png?imgmax=800" title="image" width="278" /></a>taking a look at.  There are multitudes of social networks on the web where patients can and are encouraged to share their medical information, information on how they are battling cancer and other diseases, etc. and I warn all to be careful where you post this information or use an alias.  There are others out on the web who mine this information daily on an automated query process, so be careful by all means so you are not putting something out there that could work against you later, <strong>we have all heard the stories of people finding information about you on My Space,</strong> potential employers check it all the time. </p> <p>My words of wisdom on this with social networks:<strong>  “what goes on the internet, stays on the internet”.</strong>  Even if you remove something you posted, it </p> <p><a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="77" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68T51t4eI/AAAAAAAAP8Y/9agYfLDDYzA/image%5B23%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="160" /></a></p> <p>only takes a second for someone else to read, cache it, and repost.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/american-cancer-society-circle-of.html"><font size="2">American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Unveiled – Microsoft HealthVault</font></a></h4> <p>The collaboration with<strong> HealthVault</strong> appears to be the <strong>“private” solution</strong> for this issue in the fact that “you” control who and where you share your information, and you can stop sharing it at any time.  As we are all entangled with information overflow, this will help you possibly keep a handle on who gets to see your personal information that you believe might offer value to someone else in the same or similar plight.  </p> <p><a href="http://www.getrealconsulting.com/casesudies.html">On a related note,</a> one of the HealthVault Partners is also working with Microsoft to create a direct to clinical application, in other words to enable importing information from HealthVault to perhaps an EMR or EHR that might be a tool for software companies in that business to investigate.  </p> <p>The comment below is from a reader who uses HealthVault and wished it had been around a few years ago when a member of their family was fighting cancer.  In the next few days the <strong><a href="http://www.asco.org/">ASCO convention</a></strong> will have more additional news released on with the war against cancer too, so be on the lookout.  BD  </p> <p><em><strong>“This is so outstanding! I wish it had been around while we were helping my father with his cancer fight. This is good for the patient, as well as for the patient's family and friends. Circle of Sharing is sure to help so many patients and their families. I use MS HealthVault for myself and my family, and this is just another reason why I am happy with my decision. Kudos to the group that developed Circle of Sharing. I have to go share the news with some friends who are currently dealing with cancer.”</strong></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="212" id="flashObj" width="286"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/15109341001?isVid=1&publisherID=14498944001" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=18133764001&playerID=15109341001&domain=embed&" /><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_f9/15109341001?isVid=1&publisherID=14498944001" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=18133764001&playerID=15109341001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="286" height="212" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/american-cancer-society-circle-of.html">The Medical Quack: American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Unveiled – Microsoft HealthVault</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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:815ed1c2-690b-40cc-a22b-8655f62db94e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personal+health+records" rel="tag">personal health records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Circle+of+Sharing" rel="tag">Circle of Sharing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer" rel="tag">Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ASCO" rel="tag">ASCO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/American+Cancer+Society" rel="tag">American Cancer Society</a></div>

Reader Comment: American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Is a Good Thing

Yesterday I posted about the American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool and had a reader post the comment below, which I think is well w...

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Tenet Announces Joint Venture with MED3OOO – Focus on Electronic Medical Records and Business Intelligence

<p>If you work with a Tenet Hospital, it looks like some possible changes and upgrades could be on the horizon.  Many of the ones I am familiar with have<a href="http://www.tenethealth.com/TenetHealth"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="125" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAeJMJDL9I/AAAAAAAAP9k/QdNxucBZz6o/image%5B16%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="107" /></a> used systems from McKesson, but that’s only a few that I am acquainted with locally. </p> <p>With the joint venture it appears there may be a handful of options with bringing in the technology of <strong><a href="http://www.med3000.com/M3EMR_ASP_Technology_-_IC-Chart_EHR.php">MED3000,</a></strong> which offers an <strong>EMR, data warehousing and business intelligence software.</strong>  Some facilities also work with Perot Systems for some of their data support as well.  </p> <p><a href="http://www.med3000.com/M3EMR_ASP_Technology_-_IC-Chart_EHR.php"><img alt="image" border="0" height="49" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAeJ9g5qdI/AAAAAAAAP9o/pPMC0nCEld4/image%5B19%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="186" /></a></p> <p><strong><u>From the Website:</u></strong></p> <p>“MED3OOO is national healthcare management and technology company devoted to making health care a better place for physicians to practice and patient to receive care. At MED3OOO, we provide solutions to physician groups, provider networks, and EMS ambulance organizations to allow them to reach their highest levels of operational, financial and clinical outcomes.</p> <p>MED3OOO empowers physicians, hospital, and health system clients to improve outcomes and results through our advanced knowledge, operations and technology resources.</p> <p>MED3OOO is focused on performance.  Our systems, services and people are dedicated to increasing revenue, growing medical practices, and ensuring the highest level of cost efficiency.  MED3OOO allows physicians and managers to focus on management, growth, and medicine, while we handle billing and information systems headaches.  Our success in improving practice performance has been achieved through the unique combination of practice management and information technology resource experts working together for the benefit of our clients.</p> <p>At MED3OOO, we bridge the gap between operational knowledge and technology to help group practices, provider networks and emergency medical services advance. We are focused on the provision of Evidence-Based Management and Evidence-Based Medicine to produce and document improved outcomes to <strong>better manage costs and care.”</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.igreat.com/index.cfm"><img alt="image" border="0" height="62" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAeKR5YU1I/AAAAAAAAP9s/dhxjb-d3iis/image%5B20%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="179" /></a></p> <p>As with every other healthcare vendor, there’s a <strong><a href="http://www.med3000.com/stimulus.php">Stimulus page</a></strong> if you need help in that area.  With the constant changing of both marketing and strategic partners, it may not always be clear on the exact services being offered, but it appears that <a href="http://www.allscripts.com/">Allscripts</a> and <a href="http://www.igreat.com/index.cfm">InteGreat</a> are two solid partners in the group and the <a href="http://www.med3000.com/Product%20Lines.php">mission statement is here.</a>  </p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAeLDUDrcI/AAAAAAAAP9w/C5-ZeqYvhIo/s1600-h/image%5B15%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="240" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAeMl7E-ZI/AAAAAAAAP90/0sChHYU4HP4/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="178" /></a> </p> <p><strong> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200905290837DOWJONESDJONLINE000577_FORTUNE5.htm">In related Tenet news</a></strong>, Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) began a tender offer to purchase as much as $1 billion of senior notes that mature in 2014, part of its efforts to improve its financial flexibility.</p> <p>As mentioned, MED3000 is a subsidiary of Tenet, so logic would tell me that there could be a large amount of support from Tenet in this direction which could lead to additional cost and care Health IT initiatives coming to a Tenet facility near you soon.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p><strong><a href="http://www.tenethealth.com/TenetHealth">Tenet Healthcare Corporation (</a></strong>NYSE: THC) today announced the creation of MED3OOO Practice Resources, LLC, a joint venture between <strong>MED3OOO, Inc. and a subsidiary of Tenet, which is a 20 percent minority owner</strong>. Founded in 1995, MED3OOO, Inc. is a national leader in providing advanced healthcare management and technology to physicians and physician networks.  </p> <p>The new joint venture will initially focus on providing services to physician practices in the 12 states where Tenet operates, including the majority of employed physicians at Tenet hospitals. MED3OOO Practice Resources will provide health information technology (including practice management systems, electronic health records and personal health records) and management services (including revenue cycle management, group purchasing and comprehensive practice and data management). </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://newsticker.welt.de/?module=smarthouse&id=895971">Tenet Announces Joint Venture with MED3OOO, Inc.</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/tenet-squeezes-profit-admissions-are.html"><font size="1">Tenet Squeezes a Profit -Admissions Are Down</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-hospitals-go-to-war-tenet-and-hca.html">How Hospitals Go To War – Tenet and HCA – It’s a Hedge War with Insurers</a></h6> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/tenet-healthcare-posts-33-million-4th.html"><font size="1">Tenet Healthcare Posts 33 Million 4th Quarter Loss – Charge on Sale of USC Hospitals</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/tenet-takes-hit-even-after-selling.html">Tenet Takes A Hit – Even After selling several hospitals this year</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/tenet-subsidiary-announces-closing-of.html">Tenet subsidiary announces closing of Irvine Regional Hospital – Orange County, CA</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/tenet-completes-sale-of-tarzana.html">Tenet Completes Sale of Tarzana Hospital to Providence Health & Services - California</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/tenet-not-renewing-lease-for-community.html">Tenet not renewing lease for Community Hospital – Los Gatos</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/providence-health-to-buy-tarzana.html">Providence Health to buy Tarzana Regional Medical Center from Tenet – Prime Healthcare buys the Encino branch</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/tenet-sells-north-ridge-medical-center.html">Tenet Sells North Ridge Medical Center for $20M - Florida</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/prime-healthcare-to-acquire-three.html">Prime Healthcare to acquire three hospitals from Tenet Healthcare - California</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/05/kaiser-permanente-members-targeted-in.html">Kaiser Permanente members targeted in hospital billing dispute</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/04/tenet-healthcare-to-sell-usc-university.html">Tenet Healthcare to sell USC University Hospital</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:616a758b-258f-4a6e-a428-794997112a30" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hospitals" rel="tag">Hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Insurance" rel="tag">Insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Transparancy" rel="tag">Transparancy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Vendors" rel="tag">Vendors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Debt+consolidation" rel="tag">Debt consolidation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Physicians" rel="tag">Physicians</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HCA" rel="tag">HCA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tenet" rel="tag">Tenet</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Med3000" rel="tag">Med3000</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthIT" rel="tag">HealthIT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/InteGreat" rel="tag">InteGreat</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EMR" rel="tag">EMR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EHR" rel="tag">EHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Allscripts" rel="tag">Allscripts</a></div>

Tenet Announces Joint Venture with MED3OOO – Focus on Electronic Medical Records and Business Intelligence

If you work with a Tenet Hospital, it looks like some possible changes and upgrades could be on the horizon.  Many of the ones I am familiar...

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Merck Issues Statement on Singulair Patent Challenge from Teva

<a href="http://www.merck.com/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="74" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAMYRHG0RI/AAAAAAAAP9c/lx-UFxjs_jo/image%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="125" /></a> <p> <a href="http://www.tevapharm.com/">Teva</a><strong><strong> </strong></strong>has certainly been busy with a number of legal challenges of late, yesterday one filed against Amgen too.  The challenge of intellectual property in the pharmaceutical business is certainly heating up.  Teva produces generic drugs for the most part and states their efforts are coming forth to keep pharmaceuticals affordable.   <a href="http://www.merck.com/">Merck</a> releases their statement on the issue below.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/teva-suing-amgen-over-intellectual.html"><font size="2">Teva Suing Amgen Over Intellectual Property Infringement – Sensipar for Kidney Disease</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/merck-and-teva-go-to-court-over.html"><font size="2">Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic</font></a></h6> <blockquote> <p>“Reexamination is an administrative procedure within the PTO that can be initiated by any person. Essentially, if a potential new issue of invalidity is raised, the PTO will examine this issue and determine whether it should take any further action regarding the current claims of the patent. In the event that the PTO decides further action is warranted, it may amend or revoke the claims in the patent.<a href="http://www.tevapharm.com/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="64" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAMY26eVmI/AAAAAAAAP9g/6gWG6pPYrnc/image%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="132" /></a></p> <p>The reexamination is under the direction of the PTO and we cannot speculate how long it will take.  According to the PTO website, the average time it takes the PTO to decide ex parte reexaminations is roughly 24 months.  The PTO's decision can be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit before it becomes final. </p> <p>Merck firmly believes that the SINGULAIR patent is valid and enforceable. We do not believe that the reexamination will affect the litigation currently pending in the U.S. between Merck and Teva.”</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2009_0529.html?src=rss">Merck News Item</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/healthcare-patents-how-long-and-how.html"><font size="1">Healthcare Patents – How Long and How Much is Becoming a Challenging Question</font></a></h4> <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:c5316c0b-3d3c-4cc7-ab41-82aa3045a2b1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Teva" rel="tag">Teva</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Merck" rel="tag">Merck</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sensipar" rel="tag">Sensipar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kidney+Disease" rel="tag">Kidney Disease</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patents" rel="tag">patents</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intellectual+property" rel="tag">intellectual property</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biotech" rel="tag">biotech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/generic+drugs" rel="tag">generic drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biosimilar+Drugs" rel="tag">biosimilar Drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Singulair" rel="tag">Singulair</a></div>

Merck Issues Statement on Singulair Patent Challenge from Teva

  Teva has certainly been busy with a number of legal challenges of late, yesterday one filed against Amgen too.  The challenge of intell...

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Push For Electronic Medical Records Must Slow Down - Howard Schmidt, Former White House Security Czar Advises for Secure Applications

<p> This is in fact a good question, are we rushing to get the money available and perhaps pushing matters a bit to fast.  I post enough<strong> security breach</strong> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAFpyZJSVI/AAAAAAAAP9U/-8hwgmRyV6I/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="136" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SiAFq2zzjrI/AAAAAAAAP9Y/HNloj-VS1Qw/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="132" /></a>stories on here that somewhat encourages me to agree with the basis of this.  Having written a bit of code myself, I know what happens when<strong> the pressure is on to meet client demands, code that is maybe not ready for prime time.</strong>  The focus from a developer is to keep the customer happy with functionality as this is what sells software, but then again there is the security issue and the 2 must go hand in hand.  Speaking only for me, I would address and create the functionality first, and then go back and look for <strong>security loopholes that were maybe missed or overlooked</strong>.  Ask anyone who writes and we all face this as nobody gets it perfect out of the shoot the first time.  <strong>That is why we have “beta” testers to find what the coders missed or did not foresee from their side of being the creator.</strong></p> <p>This happens all the time as the creator or programmers don’t really know how everything, even with a multitude of testing internally, until it is released for the outside world and customers to start working with it as there are so many variables that come up, things that a group misses as the different areas of focus from a creator and end user differ, not a bad thing, <strong>it’s just the way it is and has been for years,</strong> and not much will change there either, as it still humans writing code.<strong>  The good thing though is once software has gone through some extreme data testing, it gets better.</strong></p> <p>Today there are many additional variables to work with, Web 2.0 and all the areas need to come together, so now it really is a team effort all the way around.  As with anything in life, when things are rushed, and we are all still human, the margin for errors rises, so thus, this is a good area to ponder, are we perhaps moving a little too fast in some of these areas?  <strong> The comparison made on the creation of Vista used is a good analogy,</strong> sure it was delayed, but we are better off waiting to have a good product rather than one with too many bugs.  </p> <p>So again, in the pursuit of creating a medical records system in the US that talks and communicates, are we maybe moving a tad bit to fast in some areas and maybe <strong>not addressing security at the highest levels?</strong>   BD    </p> <blockquote> <p>Among the many new provisions the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is federal funding for <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/161678/doctors_say_effort_to_digitize_medical_records_is_not_worth_it.html">electronic medical records</a>. Known as HITECH, the law gives incentives to healthcare organizations to digitize personal health information before 2020. Lost in the rush, however, are the details. </p> <p>"I look forward to <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/162634/medical_records_on_the_iphone_debuts_at_health_it_expo.html">medical records going electronic</a>," said Howard Schmidt, the former White House cybersecurity czar, "but I have a tremendous amount of concern about building a really, really good healthcare infrastructure … and then securing it later." Schmidt spoke with PCWorld at RSA 2009.</p> <p><strong>Schmidt recalled how people faulted Microsoft, where he worked in the late 1990s, for delaying Windows Vista many times.</strong> "We would criticize [Microsoft] if they shipped [Vista] and it had more problems than it does now. So we have to remember that having a timetable is nice," but he cautioned that any timetable should also have some built-in limits and safeguards. <strong>That currently isn't the case with HITECH, which awards the bulk of its financial incentives within the first few years.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/165729/push_for_electronic_medical_records_must_slow_down_for_securitys_sake.html">Push For Electronic Medical Records Must Slow Down, For Security's Sake - Business Center - PC World</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/aetna-web-site-data-breach-employees.html"><font size="1">Aetna Web Site Data Breach – Employees and Former Employees Affected</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/if-you-take-time-to-encrypt-medical.html"><font size="1">If You Take the Time to Encrypt Medical Information – Don’t Tape the Passwords on the Container or Flash Drive – NHS Security Breach</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/update-hacker-demands-10-million-back.html"><font size="1">Update: Hacker demands $10 million – Back Ups Missing too</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/hackers-breach-uc-berkeley-data-base.html"><font size="1">Hackers breach UC Berkeley Data Base System</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/hackers-could-possibly-push-move-for.html"><font size="1">The Hackers Could Possibly push the move for PHRs – Medical Records Hacked in Virginia Department of Health Professions computers</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/hospital-mri-and-other-medical-devices.html">Hospital MRI and Other Medical Devices Infected with Conficker Virus – FDA Required 90 Day Notice before Windows Update Patch Could be Applied</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/malware-attack-department-of-defense.html">Malware attack - Department of Defense</a></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/security-tightened-over-data-loss-flash.html"><font size="1">Security tightened over data loss – Flash Drives Can be One of HealthCare’s Biggest Nightmares</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/healthcare-workers-sharing-music-and.html"><font size="1">Healthcare Workers Sharing Music and they could also be sharing Medical Records and Files</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/medical-records-turn-up-online-mrecord.html"><font size="1">Medical records turn up online – MRecord transcription services</font></a></h4> <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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4331cc1a-50aa-4c98-83ea-395d093e583b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security" rel="tag">security</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HITECH" rel="tag">HITECH</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/encryption" rel="tag">encryption</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EMR" rel="tag">EMR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EHR" rel="tag">EHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ARRA" rel="tag">ARRA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cybersecurity" rel="tag">cybersecurity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/breaches" rel="tag">breaches</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/programming" rel="tag">programming</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a></div></p>

Push For Electronic Medical Records Must Slow Down - Howard Schmidt, Former White House Security Czar Advises for Secure Applications

This is in fact a good question, are we rushing to get the money available and perhaps pushing matters a bit to fast.  I post enough secur...

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Teva Suing Amgen Over Intellectual Property Infringement – Sensipar for Kidney Disease

<p> Teva wants to sell a generic version of the product and claims Amgen is using it’s patented technology to create Sensipar and now it wants Amgen to pay and halt production.  This is unusual to somewhat see the tables turned here, usually it is the named brand going after a generic.  </p> <p>This case could end up with some interesting results if Amgen were ordered to stop making the medication, and of course Teva would have to be approved by the FDA to fill the bill by that time I would guess.  In the meantime, perhaps they could reach a financial agreement out of court.  </p> <p>Teva is also busy bringing Merck to court too over patent issues, a little different in the fact that the legality is being questioned, but one more legal case.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/merck-and-teva-go-to-court-over.html"><font size="2">Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic</font></a></h4> <p>More information on Teva in the related reading below.  BD</p> <p>And now a word from the Teva Marketing Department:</p> <blockquote> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:24a4596e-c640-4acf-ade0-dfdf2bf6e3b4" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="e343c96e-9582-43cb-acb1-c28c55f760ae" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIty1lW2q58" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('e343c96e-9582-43cb-acb1-c28c55f760ae'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"265\" height=\"198\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/zIty1lW2q58&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/zIty1lW2q58&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"265\" height=\"198\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh9wHEgW96I/AAAAAAAAP9Q/pR9SmLi4Erw/video19c22cd672b9%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div></div> <p>Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's largest generic-drug maker, claims in a lawsuit that biotechnology company Amgen Inc. is using its patented invention to make the kidney disease treatment Sensipar. Teva, which is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell a generic version of the medicine, filed the complaint yesterday in federal court in Philadelphia. It seeks a court order to halt use of its invention, plus cash compensation. </p> <p>Teva's patent covers a process to prepare cinacalcet, a type of compound used to treat certain complications suffered by people who have kidney disease and are undergoing dialysis. TEVA (Nasdaq) closed at $44.28, down 42 cents.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/teva-claims-amgen-uses-patented-invention/article1148115/">Teva claims Amgen uses patented invention - The Globe and Mail</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/sun-and-teva-announces-approval-and.html"><font size="1">Sun and Teva Announces Approval and Launch of Generic Topamax Tablets</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/generic-biotech-drugs-discussed-in.html"><font size="1">Generic biotech drugs discussed in Congress – Bio Similars</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-come-bio-similar-drugs-bill-in.html"><font size="1">Here Come the Bio Similar Drugs – Bill in Congress to allow Follow Me Provisions for the FDA</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/merck-purchases-insmed-biosimilar.html"><font size="1">Merck Purchases Insmed – Biosimilar Biotech Drug Company</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-source-of-generic-wellbutrin.html"><font size="1">A new source of generic Wellbutrin available soon</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/teva-pharmaceutical-raided-in-european.html"><font size="1">Teva Pharmaceutical raided in European Union antitrust probe</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/teva-mulling-75b-deal-for-barr-generic.html"><font size="1">Teva mulling $7.5B deal for Barr – Generic Pharmas on the move</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9febe1f9-cf09-4dfb-93ae-d92c5e5b78d5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Teva" rel="tag">Teva</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Amgen" rel="tag">Amgen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sensipar" rel="tag">Sensipar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kidney+Disease" rel="tag">Kidney Disease</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patents" rel="tag">patents</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intellectual+property" rel="tag">intellectual property</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biotech" rel="tag">biotech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/generic+drugs" rel="tag">generic drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biosimilar+Drugs" rel="tag">biosimilar Drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a></div>

Teva Suing Amgen Over Intellectual Property Infringement – Sensipar for Kidney Disease

Teva wants to sell a generic version of the product and claims Amgen is using it’s patented technology to create Sensipar and now it wants ...

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Need an RFID System at the Hospital – Plug it in to the Electrical Outlets

<p> The system can co-exist without interrupting other Wi-Fi services, so it appears that “dead zones” would not be an issue.  They also have devices <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh9hvFkvyWI/AAAAAAAAP9A/tYtmLXsqHh0/s1600-h/image%5B19%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="144" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh9hwRQs8_I/AAAAAAAAP9E/6kG0HZ01pns/image_thumb%5B11%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="67" /></a>that can be worn and sterilized too.  One the device is plugged in, ensuring you have a live plug too, it immediately becomes a node.  RFID technology is good for keeping track of those 13k stents.  BD   </p> <p>Awarepoint’s Active RFID technologies and real-time location systems (RTLSs) include its real-time awareness platform, firmware, RFID tags, sensors, and bridges.</p> <p>Awarepoint’s technologies collect raw sensor data and transform that data into high-value positioning information that can be used to add location awareness to a variety of healthcare and business applications.</p> <p>Awarepoint Real-time Awareness Solutions are used to map, monitor and measure the status and location of high-value assets, and to provide critical data needed to improve workflows and processes associated with these assets.</p> <p>Our <a href="http://www.awarepoint.com/intellectual_property.html">patented</a> asset and location tracking technology is a proven solution to improve hospital process management. For hospital administrators, Awarepoint’s rapid-impact implementation and fully managed service model supports healthcare business processes, reduces costs and increases revenue, while requiring no maintenance upkeep of hardware or software.</p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh9hzQsBYcI/AAAAAAAAP9I/gForwdWLLXw/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="214" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh9h1Ri_GRI/AAAAAAAAP9M/UhawtbeXnW4/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="404" /></a></p> <p>With Awarepoint, hospitals now have effective tools to improve patient safety, patient flow and operational efficiency while preventing theft, reducing equipment rental costs and increasing equipment utilization.</p> <p><a href="http://www.awarepoint.com/solutions.html">http://www.awarepoint.com/solutions.html</a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/long-beach-memorial-medical-center.html"><font size="1">Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Integrates RFID Automatic Tracking System With Epic Documentation Software</font></a></h4> <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:ade9f9a3-5ef0-4cfb-9899-5c8f3cedad55" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospitals" rel="tag">hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RFID" rel="tag">RFID</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security" rel="tag">security</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/assets" rel="tag">assets</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/wireless" rel="tag">wireless</a></div>

Need an RFID System at the Hospital – Plug it in to the Electrical Outlets

The system can co-exist without interrupting other Wi-Fi services, so it appears that “dead zones” would not be an issue.  They also have d...

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Deaconess hospital in Spokane Will No Longer Serve as Major Trauma Center

<p> Down in Orange County here, I am starting to see some of the same or similar with hospitals, the signs out front are changing.  I recently drove by a hospital owned by <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/california-and-balance-billing.html" target="_blank">Prime Health Care</a> and the sign out front listed the hospital name and underneath, it stated <strong>“limited emergency care”.</strong>  Prime Healthcare owns a number of hospitals.  Most of the hospitals would no longer be in business if not for the purchase, and on the other hand, Prime does not sign contracts with insurance companies, they just bill them.  The downside to this of course is the balance billing situation we have here in California.  If you want to see where they are in California, use the link below to find out.  BD</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/01/where-are-emergency-rooms-in-california.html"><font size="2">Where are the Emergency Rooms in California - How Many hospitals have closed in the last 10 Years</font></a></h4> <p>SPOKANE, Wash. -- Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane will stop serving as a major trauma hospital this year but keep its emergency room open for less serious injuries.</p> <blockquote> <p>The change will leave Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center as the only center in Spokane for people critically wounded in violent crashes, accidents and crimes.  The Spokesman-Review reports both hospital currently share the Level II trauma center designation under a 14-year joint operating agreement.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_spokane_trauma_care.html">Deaconess hospital to give up Spokane trauma care</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/01/er-doctors-in-orange-county-sue-state.html"><font size="1">ER doctors in Orange County sue state over low Medi-Cal payments – California</font></a></h4> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/hospitals-put-patients-debt-up-for.html"><font size="1">Hospitals Put Patients' Debt Up for Auction</font></a></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/california-and-balance-billing.html">California and Balance Billing</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/battle-of-medical-bills-where-nobody.html">The battle of the medical bills where nobody but the insurers win</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/california-sues-prime-healthcare-over.html">California sues Prime Healthcare over balance-billing practices</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9b1f91a7-dea5-407d-a9e1-5db814048d0f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospitals" rel="tag">hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/emergency+care" rel="tag">emergency care</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trauma+centers" rel="tag">trauma centers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ER+room" rel="tag">ER room</a></div>

Deaconess hospital in Spokane Will No Longer Serve as Major Trauma Center

Down in Orange County here, I am starting to see some of the same or similar with hospitals, the signs out front are changing.  I recently ...

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Microsoft HealthVault Device Logo Requirements 1.20 Available for Device Vendors

<p>If you have purchased a blood pressure or glucose device, you may have already seen the sticker on the devices, depending on what device you bought.  Devices will need certified drivers to work and the old 1.0 certification is up in June.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>Microsoft has released the latest set of requirements associated with its HealthVault Device Logo Program. By no means are the Redmond company's logo initiatives limited to the Windows platform. The HealthVault Device Logo Program is an illustrative example of this, evolved up to version 1.20 with the latest installment provided by the company. <strong><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/MicrosoftDownloadCenter/%7E3/SMeC3omoDGY/details.aspx">Works with Microsoft HealthVault Device Logo Program v1.20</a></strong> went live on the Download Center on May 26, 2009, and is now up for grabs for all users with a genuine copy of Windows.  </p> <p> <br />A member of the HealthVault device team <strong><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/healthvault_devices/archive/2009/05/25/the-works-with-microsoft-healthvault-device-logo-requirements-v1-20-are-now-available.aspx">enumerated</a></strong> some of the changes delivered by version 1.20: “There have been several packaging requirements added so the user has proper guidance on how to create a HealthVault account, download HealthVault Connection Center, Install the driver, Setup the device, Take a measurement, and upload the data to HealthVault. If the device ships with non-HealthVault software, it must not create a conflict with the HealthVault experience.”</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/healthvault_devices/archive/2008/07/08/healthvault-device-logo-program-is-now-available.aspx"><img alt="image" border="0" height="83" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh8jNXqdpxI/AAAAAAAAP88/YBbHZKLalM8/image%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="306" /></a> </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-HealthVault-Device-Logo-Requirements-1-20-Available-112536.shtml">Microsoft HealthVault Device Logo Requirements 1.20 Available - For download - Softpedia</a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:652f6106-299f-4c8b-b749-918fd4799bbd" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/developers" rel="tag">developers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/software" rel="tag">software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a></div>

Microsoft HealthVault Device Logo Requirements 1.20 Available for Device Vendors

If you have purchased a blood pressure or glucose device, you may have already seen the sticker on the devices, depending on what device you...

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Those Who Just Take What the Payers Offer May be Missing Out – Money Left on the Table

<p> This is an issue close to my own heart, as years ago and still even today it’s difficult for me to hopefully get the point across of how important business intelligence software is to mine and drill down to find where you may have been short changed and how to better manage what you have.  Years ago I told many physicians that those who run and use the software (the payers) will take your money and win this game as you are operating <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7swPBFSPI/AAAAAAAAP80/5dTGCqwFzt8/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="191" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7sxZvkitI/AAAAAAAAP84/jF_9d6p3_QE/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a>like a PC with no anti virus protection, something one could understand.</p> <p>When you are out there in the field trying to create solutions you see all kinds of things, like the “floating patients” on capitation lists when the EOB would arrive for one simple example.  The only way to say on top is to have the queries run against what you have been provided.  If you don’t, then again there’s money maybe being left on the table.  <strong>The payers have created the algorithms, which are complicated that run the payment business.</strong>  This makes me once more again refer to a post I made over a year ago:</p> <p> <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-new-hot-words-in-healthcare.html">The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers</a> </p> <p>Those 2 items are generating money, maybe not fundamentally correct in all areas, but it is what it is.  Some of these folks have some VC divisions to fund too.  Holding back on electronic records is one issue, but at least on the money side, don’t hold back on business intelligence software, even if it is very basic and simple in concept for a small practice.  BD</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/bluecross-blueshield-create-new-venture.html"><font size="2">BlueCross BlueShield Create New Venture Capital Organization</font></a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-does-crm-have-in-common-with.html"><font size="2">What does CRM have in Common with EHR/EMRs</font></a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/02/using-business-intelligence-to-bring.html"><font size="2">Using Business Intelligence to Bring out the Value of EHRs</font></a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/business-intelligence-provides-support.html"><font size="2">Business Intelligence Provides Support for Difficult Times – Hospitals</font></a></h6> <blockquote> <p>When hospitals and clinics get into disputes with payers regarding underpayment of claims, data can be a very powerful weapon, some financial managers have discovered. Armed with detailed information gathered using contract management systems, some providers are reaping multi-million dollar rewards. </p> <p>"If you do not have this kind of software to get down to the nitty gritty of a claim getting paid right, payers will run over you all day long," says Brian Marx, director of billing at Radiology Associates of Hollywood (Fla.). "Those who just take what the payers are paying them are missing out." </p> <p>The 10 hospitals in the Washington-Montana region of Providence Health System reaped an extra $8.3 million in payments last year as a result of its data-backed appeals of underpayments, says Matt Blackmore, manager of contract compliance for the region.</p> <p>"As long as you let payers get away with short-paying you, they'll continue to do it," says Tim Goodson, managed care director at Plano (Texas) Orthopedic, an 11-physician group practice. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you never send in a grievance and let them know you're watching them, the problems will continue."</p> <p>Providers load claims payment data from remittance advice into the application as well as the detailed terms of health plan contracts and later updates. Using data mining, the application then offers a comparison of anticipated payments based on the contract vs. actual payment, flagging for providers those claims that appear to have been underpaid. </p> <p><strong>The business intelligence functions of the software take into account extremely complex payment rules as well as bundled charges to pinpoint anticipated payments for a service provided.</strong>   "A lot of practices are just happy to get paid," Goodson adds, stressing that even the smallest clinics can appeal underpayments if they have the right data. "It's amazing how much money is left on the table."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/issues/2009_67/-28268-1.html">Fighting for Every Dime</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/medical-quack-on-fox-news-this-week.html">Medical Quack on Fox News this Week - Business Intelligence at the NHS (Video)</a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/microsoft-business-intelligence-in.html">Microsoft Business Intelligence in Healthcare – The NHS Solution</a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/insurance-rescission-case-to-go-to.html">Insurance Rescission case to go to Court – Business Intelligence Practices Used to Analyze and Deny Claims and Coverage at Bay</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-greed-lead-to-meltdown-of-health.html">Will Greed lead to Meltdown of the Health System?</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/senators-holding-closed-door-sessions.html">Senators Holding Closed Door Sessions Discussing 3 health-insurance plans – Why Are the Doors Closed?</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/sutter-hospitals-and-ingenix-working.html">Sutter Hospitals and Ingenix working together on Business Intelligence Software</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-this-case-for-new-law-illegal.html">Is This a Case for a New Law – Illegal Algorithms? How Do You Sleep at Night Rockefeller asked the CEO of United Health Care</a></h6> <p></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:f2ac1f08-269e-42e5-99e6-bfb6a8c22380" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+intellience" rel="tag">business intellience</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/physician" rel="tag">physician</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/accountability" rel="tag">accountability</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/claims" rel="tag">claims</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insuance" rel="tag">health insuance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algorithms" rel="tag">algorithms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/payers" rel="tag">payers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/greed" rel="tag">greed</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a></div>

Those Who Just Take What the Payers Offer May be Missing Out – Money Left on the Table

This is an issue close to my own heart, as years ago and still even today it’s difficult for me to hopefully get the point across of how im...

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Stand Up to Cancer Grants Go to 2 Arizona Doctors and Their Teams to Turn Science Into Cures for Cancer

<p>I have covered a few posts from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) which is where the grant money is going.  Joshua LaBaer formerly from Harvard heads up the bioscience lab at TGEN.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>PHOENIX (AP) - Two prominent cancer doctors and their team are getting an $18 million grant from a nonprofit group created by scientists and members of the entertainment industry.<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7mbpBZJfI/AAAAAAAAP8s/SgJPvF4bCak/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="132" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7mcMT7yII/AAAAAAAAP8w/rCzgwCQIqdI/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="231" /></a> </p> <p><strong>The grant is the largest going to five research teams from the nonprofit Stand Up to Cancer. The goal is to quickly turn scientific discoveries into better care and cures for cancer patients.</strong></p> <p>The five teams will focus on breast, ovarian, cervical, uterine, brain, lung, rectal, prostate and colon cancers.</p> <p>The team headed by Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, the physician in chief of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, or TGen, in Phoenix, and Dr. Craig B. Thompson, the director of the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center, will focus on new approaches to treating pancreatic cancer, 1 of the deadliest forms of the disease.</p> <p><a href="http://www.tgen.org/"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Se6KhZ5jKBI/AAAAAAAAPQ8/MxMiZ2rYWdE/image[4].png?imgmax=800" /></a> </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10429437&nav=menu613_2_6">Arizona cancer doctor to get $18 million grant - KSWT: Local News, Weather, Sports Yuma, AZ El Centro Imperial Valley, CA |</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/progress-report-on-stand-up-to-cancer.html">A Progress Report on Stand Up To Cancer</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/cancer-research-blog-carnival-stand-up.html">Cancer Research Blog Carnival - Stand Up To Cancer - A Combination of Bloggers Addressing Cancer and Cancer Research</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/stand-up-to-cancer-friday-september-5.html">Stand Up To Cancer - Friday September 5, 2008 - 8:00 EST</a></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/contributions-for-stand-up-to-cancer.html"><font size="1">Contributions for Stand up To Cancer – Tyra Banks Website Adds Support</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/cancer-research-blog-carnival-stand-up.html"><font size="1">Cancer Research Blog Carnival - Stand Up To Cancer - A Combination of Bloggers Addressing Cancer and Cancer Research</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/harvard-director-to-lead-asu-bioscience.html">Harvard director to lead ASU bioscience lab – Shopping for leaders at the “smart” store</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/stimulus-bill-to-compare-effectiveness.html">Stimulus Bill To Compare Effectiveness of Medical Treatments – But Let’s not Forget Science in the Process</a></h6> <h6></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/zietgeist-movie-that-discusses-future.html"></a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/translational-medicine-science-20.html">Translational Medicine – Science 2.0</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9ffa96c5-8f3c-4add-8697-21f69732ac3f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stand+Up+to+Cancer" rel="tag">Stand Up to Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/R+and+D" rel="tag">R and D</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AACR" rel="tag">AACR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/grants" rel="tag">grants</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/TGEN" rel="tag">TGEN</a></div>

Stand Up to Cancer Grants Go to 2 Arizona Doctors and Their Teams to Turn Science Into Cures for Cancer

I have covered a few posts from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) which is where the grant money is going.  Joshua LaBaer...

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Isotope Update – Nuclear Radiation Treatments Could be Delayed As Other Plants Close Down for Scheduled Maintenance

<p> No doubt there will be shortages if the reactor in Canada ends up being down for 8 months potentially.  It appears that France, Argentina and Belgium will be holding up the show with production as there are only 5 facilities in the world who manufacture the product.   If you are being scheduled for treatments, be aware there could be some delays as two other reactors are scheduled to be pulled off line for scheduled maintenance.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>Nuclear medicine specialists say the crunch for patients is coming after it was announced yesterday that the Canadian reactor responsible for one-third of the world's medical isotopes will be shut down for at least three months. </p> <p>The 51-year-old NRU unit at Chalk River, Ont., will be offline though July when the <strong>reactor in the Netherlands</strong>, which produces another third of the world's supply, is scheduled to <strong>shut down for a month of maintenance.</strong> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7bFN76lKI/AAAAAAAAP8k/LL-6k4w0djM/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="257" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7bG1jsPaI/AAAAAAAAP8o/FKrL4H8tta0/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="306" /></a> </p> <p>But the South African reactor that is providing additional amounts of the material to make up for the shortage caused by the loss of the NRU <strong>will shut down next week for required maintenance.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/chalk-river-shutdown-expected-to-last-three-months/article1156028/">Chalk River shutdown expected to last three months - The Globe and Mail</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related News:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/isotope-update-plant-could-be-down-for.html"><font size="1">Isotope Update: Plant Could be Down for Months – Nuclear Medicine Diagnostics Can Expect Delays</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/isotope-factory-shut-down-again-in.html">Isotope Factory Shut Down again in Canada – Surgeries and Procedures could Face Delays</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/medical-isotopes-will-there-be-enough.html">Medical Isotopes - Will there be enough, treatment delays through October possible at US Hospitals</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/03/rev-jesse-jackson-touts-medical-isotope.html">Rev. Jesse Jackson Touts Medical Isotope Technology</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2007/12/canada-set-to-order-restart-of-isotope.html">Canada set to order restart of isotope reactor</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:59516bcd-0b29-4277-a51d-c973e31dfe9a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer" rel="tag">Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Isotopes" rel="tag">Isotopes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer+Treatment" rel="tag">Cancer Treatment</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nuclear+Medicine" rel="tag">Nuclear Medicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cardiology" rel="tag">Cardiology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Parkinson's" rel="tag">Parkinson's</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MRI" rel="tag">MRI</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hospital" rel="tag">Hospital</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Radiation+Treatment" rel="tag">Radiation Treatment</a></div>

Isotope Update – Nuclear Radiation Treatments Could be Delayed As Other Plants Close Down for Scheduled Maintenance

No doubt there will be shortages if the reactor in Canada ends up being down for 8 months potentially.  It appears that France, Argentina a...

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We Deny Fewer Claims than They Do – Is this Necessary?

<p>Good news for Humana I guess, but when it comes down to the matter at hand, it makes no real difference unless it is YOUR claim, at least that is the way I tend to look at such matters with an industry that continues to struggle with transparency.  BD  <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7SgPxEmPI/AAAAAAAAP8c/G769sK4q_Ng/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="108" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh7ShEAFjuI/AAAAAAAAP8g/Pzoa-K_jaQg/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="149" /></a> </p> <blockquote>Pays Claims Fastest with the Fewest Denials in the Health Care Industry LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(Business Wire)-- Humana (NYSE: HUM) has been named the easiest payer for medical providers to do business with in a review of 2008 claims payment data conducted by athenahealth, Inc. and Physician`s Practice magazine. The latest annual PayerView Rankings were released today. athenahealth, a provider of billing and electronic health record services to medical groups, and Physicians Practice, a respected medical journal, conduct the ranking annually as a way of grading insurance companies on their business dealings with physicians. Humana was also the top ranked payer in the inaugural PayerView Rankings in 2005.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS107719+28-May-2009+BW20090528">Humana Named Top Payer in Annual PayerViewSM Ranking | Reuters</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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9ca21e78-b77c-4360-9618-b888b1131e01" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rankings" rel="tag">rankings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Humana" rel="tag">Humana</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PayerView" rel="tag">PayerView</a></div>

We Deny Fewer Claims than They Do – Is this Necessary?

Good news for Humana I guess, but when it comes down to the matter at hand, it makes no real difference unless it is YOUR claim, at least th...

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Aetna Web Site Data Breach – Employees and Former Employees Affected

<p> Have you had any spam from Aetna lately?  The article states this is how the breach was identified with individuals complaining.  If you applied for a job with Aetna, might we worth taking a look into this too.  Everyone gets a year of free credit monitoring.  One item of notice is that the site was maintained by an outside vendor, outsourcing?  They are looking into the matter with a forensic investigator.  Today, you really need the services of an outside party too that scans networks by the second that search for this type of activity, but whether or not this was in use is not stated in the article.  i guess the good news here is that it was not highly sensitive patient files at risk.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>Insurance company Aetna has contacted<strong> 65,000 current and former employees</strong> whose Social Security numbers (SSNs) may have been compromised in a Web site data breach.</p> <p>The job application Web site also held names, phone numbers, e-mail and mailing addresses for up to 450,000 applicants, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener said. SSNs for those people were not stored on the site, which was maintained by an external vendor.</p> <p>The company found out about the breach earlier this month when people began receiving spam messages that appeared to come from Aetna and complained to the company, Michener said. The spam purported to be a response to a job inquiry and requested more personal information.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/165655/aetna_contacts_65000_after_web_site_data_breach.html">Aetna Contacts 65,000 After Web Site Data Breach - Business Center - PC World</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:d276ba05-33f8-4eab-b1d0-145469012ef6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security+breach" rel="tag">security breach</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/websites" rel="tag">websites</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aetna" rel="tag">Aetna</a></div>

Aetna Web Site Data Breach – Employees and Former Employees Affected

Have you had any spam from Aetna lately?  The article states this is how the breach was identified with individuals complaining.  If you ap...

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American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Unveiled – Microsoft HealthVault

<p>Built on Microsoft HealthVault, Circle Of Sharing will allow sharing of medical information and resources from the American Cancer Society with a trusted circle of caregivers, family, and friends .  This is once again a great idea as all the information is centralized in one location.  Myself, I have<a href="https://circleofsharing.cancer.org/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="51" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68It71gdI/AAAAAAAAP78/ewRYVYJUdik/image%5B24%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="278" /></a> my mother with her account and it is easy for both of us to access too.  I just happen to have an 84 year old Mom that likes to scan, so even her document entry is not a problem.  </p> <p>With more medical devices now connecting and adding information, the HealthVault makes it a one stop gathering location for all data.  We could even begin to see devices that are specific to cancer treatment in the future connecting to add data, but again the big feature here is being in control, in other words you are in control by giving access with sharing.  There’s a linked   connection on this blog to get started with a HealthVault account on the right hand side under resources.</p> <p>As the delivery methods of medications are evolving, so are the devices as <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/smart-inhaler-with-blue-tooth-and.html">I recently wrote about with inhalers</a> for one example, so one day soon, all of this could be incorporated into the <strong>HealthVault</strong> and who knows we could see cancer treatments delivered in this fashion with inhalers or other types of <strong>devices that will be able to supply data</strong>, especially in healthcare with cancer treatments, tracking this type of information relative to evaluating how a treatment plan is working will be vital, not only to the patient, but offering such information to clinicians and those conducting <strong>clinical trials</strong> to evaluate and create real time information.  </p> <p>Having timely information available in family and friends networks will also help all individuals involved in the education processes taking place and why and how certain treatments have been selected for various types of cancer.  It’s a step in the direction of educating all about treatments and the evolution of personalized medicine and it is shared with who the patient selects.  If you were receiving treatment as an example through the <strong><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/mayo-clinic-and-microsoft-healthvault.html">Mayo Clinic for a simple example they too are a HealthVault participant</a></strong> so you could already have one level already established and ready to go.  BD</p> <p><b><u>From the website:</u></b></p> <p>Circle Of Sharing™ works through Microsoft^® HealthVault™, a Web tool that allows you to store personal health information for yourself and your family on the Internet. All personal information you enter into the Circle Of Sharing™ is stored in HealthVault™.</p> <p>To get started, you'll need a HealthVault™ account and a Microsoft Live ID. If you don't have these already, you'll be able to create them on the following screens. </p> <p><b>ORLANDO, Fla. — May 29, 2009 —</b>The <strong>American Cancer Society today unveiled its Circle Of Sharing™ social web application</strong> designed to help cancer patients, their families, and their friends better coordinate support and cancer information as they move through treatment and beyond. Built on Microsoft HealthVault, a privacy and security enhanced platform designed to put individuals in control of their personal health information, Circle Of Sharing enables users to share reliable medical information and resources from the American Cancer Society with a trusted circle of caregivers, family, and friends for a more holistic approach to managing their disease. The Society, the leading voluntary cancer fighting organization and largest non-government funder of cancer research, made the announcement at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68LQt4wAI/AAAAAAAAP8A/PwJBnfp_uoY/s1600-h/image%5B20%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68MxkdDzI/AAAAAAAAP8E/2MHq8BDpIUA/image_thumb%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="359" /></a> </p> <p>“A cancer diagnosis can be very scary and may very well be the hardest thing patients and families have ever faced, and coordinating care and communications can be a real challenge,” said Terry A. Music, chief mission delivery officer at the American Cancer Society. “The American Cancer Society provides a variety of resources to help cancer patients get well, and The Circle Of Sharing tool will provide medical information, support and status updates through the security of HealthVault to help patients and their trusted circle through this challenging time. The Society and Microsoft HealthVault entered into this strategic collaboration to create and deliver a tool that lets people with cancer organize their health information and gain insight to help them make informed health decisions.”</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68PHk4jaI/AAAAAAAAP8I/cpSezzEJZlc/s1600-h/image%5B21%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68QBPaY0I/AAAAAAAAP8M/igh4TslHXic/image_thumb%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="359" /></a> </p> <p>The <strong>Circle Of Sharing</strong> promises to help cancer patients and their support networks better manage their disease and treatment plans. Patients can organize and access critical details about their diagnosis, medications, other treatments, and side effects all in one secure location, making it easier to keep track of this information and share it with healthcare providers as they move through the different phases of their treatment.  </p> <p> In addition as people record the details of their health, the Circle Of Sharing tailors the articles they receive to match their situation.  Cancer patients receive reliable information from the American Cancer Society specific to their needs to help them manage their care and prepare for what lies ahead. Patients can then share any of this information with members of their circle to help them better understand what the patient is going through.  The tool also allows patients and loved ones to send messages to one another to better coordinate support and care.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68SDeg_2I/AAAAAAAAP8Q/jqTWF0JT2fk/s1600-h/image%5B22%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="197" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68TIfafII/AAAAAAAAP8U/wB_-G7JQz8g/image_thumb%5B11%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="355" /></a> </p> <p>“Empowering patients by providing them with information and resources can support them in their fight against cancer,” said David L. Cerino, general manager of the Consumer Health Solutions Group at Microsoft. “We are proud to support the American Cancer Society’s vision of creating an online community that will allow cancer patients to securely connect their health records digitally and decide which data they want to share with loved ones and their health providers in order to best manage their care.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img alt="image" border="0" height="104" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh68T51t4eI/AAAAAAAAP8Y/9agYfLDDYzA/image%5B23%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="216" /></a> </p> <p>Consumers can learn more about the Circle Of Sharing tool and create accounts at <a href="http://www.cancer.org/circleofsharing">www.cancer.org/circleofsharing</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/washington-and-oregon-health-banks.html"><font size="1">Washington and Oregon Health Banks – HealthVault and Google Health PHRs Provided</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/smart-inhaler-with-blue-tooth-and.html">The Smart Inhaler with Blue Tooth and Wireless Capabilities</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/personal-health-records-whos-in-know.html">Personal Health Records – Who’s in the Know and Who has one?</a></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/patients-want-access-to-all-their.html"><font size="1">Patients Want Access to all Their Medical Records Survey Says – How to Help the Patients on how to do this</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/microsoft-and-google-driving-for-same.html">Microsoft and Google Driving for the Same Outcome with Personal Health Records – Could DPHRs Be in the Picture</a></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/quest-diagnostics-and-microsoft.html"><font size="1">Quest Diagnostics and Microsoft HealthVault – Connect to get your Lab Results in your PHR</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/fda-clears-and-certifies-myglucohealth.html"><font size="1">FDA Clears and Certifies MyGlucoHealth to Integrate with Electronic Health Records and Personal Health Records</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/telus-in-canada-licenses-microsoft.html"><font size="1">TELUS in Canada licenses Microsoft HealthVault Personal Health Records</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/mayo-clinic-and-microsoft-healthvault.html"><font size="1">Mayo Clinic and Microsoft HealthVault Partner for Personal Health Records Solution</font></a></h4> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></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-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:7e7c9358-d529-426f-b527-62119fae10fd" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personal+health+records" rel="tag">personal health records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Circle+of+Sharing" rel="tag">Circle of Sharing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer" rel="tag">Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ASCO" rel="tag">ASCO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/American+Cancer+Society" rel="tag">American Cancer Society</a></div>

American Cancer Society Circle of Sharing Tool Unveiled – Microsoft HealthVault

Built on Microsoft HealthVault, Circle Of Sharing will allow sharing of medical information and resources from the American Cancer Society w...

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United Health Care Says Cheaper Efficient Doctors and Reducing Hospital Visits by the Elderly Would Help Reduce the Cost of Healthcare

<p> It is nice to make statements to somehow convey helping but for some reason it’s the<strong> lack of transparency with the company</strong> that I think tends to give them a tarnished reputation.  Last I looked,<strong> Senator Rockefeller was still waiting to see if any of the federal employees were hit with the Ingenix overcharge situation</strong> and then the AMA and several states still have filed lawsuits in that area too.  </p> <p><strong>Basically all I interpret from reading this is just to cut back and not offer healthcare to a portion of our society</strong>, which anyone could do, so where’s a solution that could be viewed positively?  After what is currently happening I wonder how the company could effectively position themselves with a legitimate positive posture as there are very little offerings of transparency.  BD  </p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-this-case-for-new-law-illegal.html">Is This a Case for a New Law – Illegal Algorithms? How Do You Sleep at Night Rockefeller asked the CEO of United Health Care</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh5CsW3syvI/AAAAAAAAP70/PPqn2j5uo6o/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="194" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh5CuxixfoI/AAAAAAAAP74/SL2zHVBxJ9Q/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="366" /></a> </p> <blockquote> <p>WASHINGTON - A major health insurer says the government can save big money on health care by sending patients to cheaper, more efficient doctors, reducing hospital visits by the elderly and cutting down on unnecessary care.</p> <p><strong>Those are among 15 suggestions made Wednesday by UnitedHealth Group Inc.,</strong> a Minnesota-based health management company that said the proposals could save $540 billion over 10 years, mostly through savings for the government's Medicare insurance program for the elderly.</p> <p><strong>Some of the proposals could be cast as attempts to ration health care — one of the attack lines some conservatives have been using against emerging proposals from the Democratic-controlled Congress.</strong></p> <p>Like other groups with an interest in the outcome, UnitedHealth is trying to position itself as a constructive voice in the debate — and avoid becoming a target itself as lawmakers try to reshape the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30964099/">Health insurer suggests ways to save billions - Health care- msnbc.com</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-stuck-with-united-healthcare-would.html"><font size="1">I’m Stuck with United HealthCare – Would Welcome a Change to Try a Public Health Insurance Option</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/insurance-ceos-get-rich-while-denying.html">Insurance CEOs Get Rich While Denying Health Coverage to Children – As Noted in the Senate Hearings</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-this-case-for-new-law-illegal.html">Is This a Case for a New Law – Illegal Algorithms? How Do You Sleep at Night Rockefeller asked the CEO of United Health Care</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/ingenix-inquisition-hearing-requested.html">The Ingenix Inquisition – Hearing Requested by Senator Rockefeller</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/andrew-cuomo-you-have-to-like-this-guy.html">Andrew Cuomo – You Have to Like This Guy – Healthcare Reform</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/prescriptions-risk-score-used-to-deny.html">Prescriptions risk score used to deny health insurance</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:40b16c8e-cc5d-4d6f-aed8-963e1c152763" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/legislation" rel="tag">legislation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/database+mining" rel="tag">database mining</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algorithms" rel="tag">algorithms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/formulas" rel="tag">formulas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/balance+billing" rel="tag">balance billing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Texas" rel="tag">Texas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rockefeller" rel="tag">Rockefeller</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Senate" rel="tag">Senate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UnitedHealthCare" rel="tag">UnitedHealthCare</a></div>

United Health Care Says Cheaper Efficient Doctors and Reducing Hospital Visits by the Elderly Would Help Reduce the Cost of Healthcare

It is nice to make statements to somehow convey helping but for some reason it’s the lack of transparency with the company that I think t...

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e-Zassi Marries Innovation and Collaboration in the Medical Device Industry – Interview with Peter Von Dyck

<p>I had the pleasure to speak with the guys over at <a href="http://www.e-zassi.com/">e-Zassi</a> recently. Bringing a medical device to market is very costly and time intensive process to properly vet.<strong> The e-Zassi team has a lot of experience bringing medical devices to market and they thought there must be a better way.</strong> So, these guys decided to assist fellow innovators and bring efficiency to the $40+ billon business of medical technology innovation. </p> <p>If you are a device manufacturer looking to collaborate, this could be the place to cut the search time down for prospective partners, or if you are a software vendor looking to collaborate with a device company the same would hold true. Anyone who reads this blog often enough knows there’s plenty of software and device information floating around. </p> <p>The company is led by CEO Peter Von Dyck, who has about <strong>30 patents to his credit</strong>. His vision was a platform that would bring together the latest trends in <strong>business intelligence software, Web 2.0 tools, online business networks and B2B communities</strong>. The result, after a lot of hard work, is e-Zassi.</p> <p><a href="http://www.e-zassi.com/"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="261" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh4bQRgcIwI/AAAAAAAAP7o/UxVA9acURKs/clip_image002%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px none ; display: inline;" title="clip_image002" width="363" /></a></p> <p>I recently sat down with the management team and viewed the system, and came away very impressed with what they had built. The solution brings together every industry sector in an online environment where<strong> innovators, academia, investors, doctors, lawyers can share and collaborate on new ideas and most importantly <u>protect their intellectual property</u> while doing so.</strong></p> <p><strong>When logged on I tried some sample searching projects and the potential partner listing worked quickly. Again, this can save a lot of time versus doing a general browser search and the information is mined for you with your specified targets. </strong></p> <p>The Innovation Assessment Software especially caught my attention. <strong>It lets users calculate the essential clinical and regulatory costs</strong> of new <strong>technologies that are important when attracting grants</strong>, research and development capital -- and in developing strong IP protection. In a process that takes no more than an hour, this data is delivered in a 30 – 40 page InnoVIsion Report. Here is a snapshot of the report:</p> <p><a href="http://www.e-zassi.com/"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" height="373" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sh4bRw8e6NI/AAAAAAAAP7w/uDou1fv4m28/clip_image004%5B5%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px none ; display: inline;" title="clip_image004" width="367" /></a></p> <p>According to the e-Zassi, the data contained in this report, if generated manually, would cost more than $25,000, require the services of a consultant and take weeks to generate. <strong>Once generated, the user can choose either to share the report with other members of the community, or can use the software to manage and triage an inventory of new technologies.</strong> </p> <p>I can see how this is a huge improvement in time and cost efficiencies for venture groups, tech transfer offices and medical device companies. </p> <p>To see an actual report, <a href="http://www.e-zassi.com/Resources/Samples/e-Zassi_Sample_InnoVisionReport.pdf">click here</a>.</p> <p>The company has also built an exclusive community ONLY for participants in the global device community and provides an enhanced means to search and identify fellow members for collaboration.</p> <p><strong>The company has just announced a new promotion to build awareness in the software. For a limited time, software trials can be purchased for $99, along with a three month membership in the community.</strong></p> <p><strong>__________________________________________________</strong></p> <p>I have worked with e-Zassi to develop a special <strong>Promotional Code</strong> just for readers of the <strong>The Medical Quack</strong> that can be used to get the $99 software <strong>trial <i>at no cost</i></strong>. To take advantage of this special offer simply input the </p> <p>Promotion Code<strong>: MedicalQuack,</strong> when prompted on the Registration page.</p> <p>Please take time to visit the site; I think that you’ll be impressed and view the video for a quick summary of how it all works.</p> <p><a href="http://www.e-zassi.com/">www.e-zassi.com</a></p> <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none;" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e3144bc0-914f-4b44-b590-faf499ce987c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/collaboration" rel="tag">collaboration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/research+and+development" rel="tag">research and development</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/science" rel="tag">science</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/e-Zassi" rel="tag">e-Zassi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intellectual+property" rel="tag">intellectual property</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patents" rel="tag">patents</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Web+2.0" rel="tag">Web 2.0</a></div>

e-Zassi Marries Innovation and Collaboration in the Medical Device Industry – Interview with Peter Von Dyck

I had the pleasure to speak with the guys over at e-Zassi recently. Bringing a medical device to market is very costly and time intensive p...

Read more »