Medical Quack

Sequencing on a Bus–Ion Torrent Desktop Sequencer On Tour in the US

Life Technologies keeps things rolling literally with their bus to promote the Ion Torrent desktop sequencing machine.  <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="151" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ed9u8FPyx8w/UEBPK4sKo7I/AAAAAAAA9Uc/VzVXWfts-cg/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="136" />The sequencing business is getting a lot of attention and we are also seeing some stiff competition and a couple months ago Life purchased Navigenics.  Back when this first started Helicos was a hot company and now it looks like they are shrinking down to a very small size.  Here’s a couple back links that will tell you what the Torrent machine is all about.  It travels around to perform training classes on how to use the machine and said it will be seen in the future at conferences.  BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/life-technologies-debuts-ion-torrent.html">Life Technologies Debuts Ion Torrent Machine-Cheap Genes at $500 for Single Sequence</a> </h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/ion-torrents-dna-desktop-machine-walk.html">Ion Torrent’s DNA Desktop Machine Walk Through- How Semi Conductor Sequencing Works (Video)</a> </h4> <iframe style="width: 439px; height: 254px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IatKFOWOG18?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> The Ion Bus is a vintage 1976 model year bus converted into a mobile sequencing lab. Would you like to learn more about the scalability, simplicity, and speed of Ion Torrent sequencing? Have an idea for an interesting experiment to run on the bus? Send a note to ioncommunity@iontorrent.com with your sequencing experiment ideas or requesting the bus to stop at your laboratory. Follow the bus as it travels North America at www.lifetechnologies.com/ionbus. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IatKFOWOG18&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IatKFOWOG18&feature=relmfu</a>

Sequencing on a Bus–Ion Torrent Desktop Sequencer On Tour in the US

Life Technologies keeps things rolling literally with their bus to promote the Ion Torrent desktop sequencing machine. The sequencing busin...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

FDA Approves InWave Medical Device for Treating Female Incontinence

There was a similar type product approved earlier this year for the same thing so now there are two products to choose from to best fit the need of the patient when this one comes on the market. I am guessing it also uses the TENS technology as well.  BD <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/fda-clears-female-incontinence.html"> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/fda-clears-female-incontinence.html">FDA Clears Female Incontinence Device–Therapy for Bladder Leakage To Build Up Pelvic Muscle Tone for Greater Control</a></h4> </a> LONE TREE, CO -- (Marketwire) -- 08/30/12 -- Zynex, Inc. (OTCBB: ZYXI), a provider and developer of non-invasive medical devices for electrotherapy, stroke rehabilitation, neurological diagnosis and cardiac monitoring, announced that it received FDA 510(k) clearance on its<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="80" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SGqqNmX4mGk/UEA7R4Jd8dI/AAAAAAAA9Ts/yA0oEhNGmVc/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="138" /> InWave medical device. The InWave device is the newest product in the Zynex portfolio, and will be manufactured, marketed and sold through our Zynex Medical subsidiary. This device is used primarily for treating female urinary incontinence. Incontinence is defined as the involuntary loss of bladder or bowel control. According to the National Association for Continence, urinary incontinence affects 200 million people world-wide, and it is believed that 80% of those sufferers are women. <a href="http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-08-30&val=431112&cat=hcare">http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-08-30&val=431112&cat=hcare</a>

FDA Approves InWave Medical Device for Treating Female Incontinence

There was a similar type product approved earlier this year for the same thing so now there are two products to choose from to best fit the ...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Hospitals To Get E-Mails From Department of Justice To Examine Questionable Defibrillator Surgeries With Medicare Patients–What A Waste As DOJ Time Is Better Spent With Analytics For Wall Street/Banker Crimes

This is where something hits the wall.  What’s next go repossess the units?  This comes back to the coding once more and again 3rd parties are involved with some of these evaluations.  Give me a break as this is where it goes too far and granted there probably are analytics in place today that set the scenarios<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="140" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_g2sxfuIHFw/UEAZe41rLeI/AAAAAAAA9S8/HHBQ6vCxfss/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="113" /> for Medicare coverage but to go back like this is a complete waste of taxpayer money.  Hospitals have enough to do right now and some are not doing well financially so again what a waste of time and bean counter effort here.  Again I agree on all present and future defibrillators going under the proper scrutiny but how far is all the billing in healthcare going to go with digging back.  It’s a waste as the algorithms just come in and shift some more money around.  Everything in the past does not have to be picture perfect and the general public as has been stated in many surveys would love to see more criminals in the financial district brought to task.  We already have this going on in the re-admissions area so now we add another task on and for how much recovery.  Any more unless at least $10 million is going to be recovered forget it as this is just a working hardship on everyone and again computer science folks are much quicker to look at an ROI than attorneys for cases as such.    BD <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/medicare-re-admissions.html">Medicare Re-Admissions Penalties–Algorithms Keep Money Shifting and Make It Difficult for Realistic Budgets to be Met Along With Good Patient Care–Algos Keep the Money Moving In One Direction or Another</a> <hr /></h5> <h4></h4> In what experts say is a novel legal tactic to resolve hundreds of ongoing investigations simultaneously, the Justice Department is e-mailing hospitals across the country today with instructions to examine questionable implantable defibrillator surgeries on Medicare patients and estimate potential penalties under the False Claims Act.<img align="right" height="63" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="159" /> Hospitals face a wide range of potential damages. At up to $40,000 apiece, the implanted devices that regulate irregular heart rhythms are among the most expensive devices healthcare providers can bill Medicare for, and lawyers say hospitals with high volumes of such surgeries have been asked to provide information of hundreds of cases each. For more than two years, prosecutors with the Justice Department have been using data-mining technology, civil investigative demands and collaborative meetings with experts to investigate the question of whether some Medicare patients received implanted defibrillators outside of strict CMS rules on when such devices can be used. The “resolution model” document, which <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/assets/pdf/CH81623830.PDF">Modern Healthcare obtained copies of Thursday (PDF)</a>, says each questionable ICD case will be evaluated individually. Hospitals are being told to self-audit the cases and estimate damages, with the severity of penalties based on whether the hospital had medical reasons to violate CMS rules; if patient harm resulted; if the hospital had prior knowledge or a statistical pattern of non-guideline implants; and if a hospital compliance program was in place. <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120830/NEWS/308309943?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMVGJYUDRCRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVqNUh3WUpiaWk=&utm_source=link-20120830-NEWS-308309943&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh-alert#">http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120830/NEWS/308309943?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMVGJYUDRCRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVqNUh3WUpiaWk=&utm_source=link-20120830-NEWS-308309943&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh-alert#</a>

Hospitals To Get E-Mails From Department of Justice To Examine Questionable Defibrillator Surgeries With Medicare Patients–What A Waste As DOJ Time Is Better Spent With Analytics For Wall Street/Banker Crimes

This is where something hits the wall. What’s next go repossess the units? This comes back to the coding once more and again 3rd parties ...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

FIOS Reboot for the Medical Quack Today–My Attack of the Killer Algorithms And Verizon Support Handled Successfully Via Twitter

Nothing surprises me anymore today as complexities grow.  I happen to have my phone service via FIOS and today I had the second and strangest issue I have seen.  A few weeks ago I was in the middle of a <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="104" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WGEuDZiHwwo/UEAG88a6LYI/AAAAAAAA9SE/6WJtuzQ-0nY/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="124" />conversation and the phone went dead and I got in touch with support and it was elevated up to the engineers and it was dead about 12 hours but it was on a weekend so I was not too concerned.  I never did pursue what happened but it was involved to a pretty high level and this stuff happens everywhere today and with my phone services through FIOS, it happened here, twice.  I work with a lot of new technologies and understand that things happen sometimes and I may never know the exact cause but as long as it gets fixed I move on.  Last night I had incident number two arise to where folks calling me from their land lines were getting a recording saying my number was no longer in service.  Some of the same people that call me also have my cell phone or email address and let me know. Ok so picked up my cell phone and dialed my FIOS number and it rang and worked…strange I thought as how does a cell phone caller get through and someone on a land line gets told my number has been disconnected.  Best I could figure was that some SQL statement wasn’t running correctly but not my system and only a guess. As it got later I didn’t give it a lot of thought as I somewhat thought it would be fixed as big companies like Verizon monitor this stuff with reports all the time and stuff like shows up and without any interaction from me it’s gets fixed.  I don’t bother them unless it’s big and relative to my work urgency.  Sometimes you would be amazed to know how much trouble shooting has been automated too with big companies. Well this morning I tried to make some out going calls and the situation was reversed in the fact that every number I called, including cell phones I got the recording that the number had been disconnected.  Well of course I <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="133" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hBCso_rALXI/UEAG9eAYusI/AAAAAAAA9SM/IMTv5s8TzIE/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="136" />knew this was an error as there would not be a huge series of folks with disconnected numbers arise like this.  Ok so off to Twitter I go and it worked well to get a hold of Verizon Support and it took a while but all was repaired.  As mentioned now I could get incoming calls but had the outgoing issue with everyone else fictitiously “being disconnected” with the recording.    As systems get more complex and integrated, expect more of this and this is not a Verizon problem it happens everywhere so there more roller coasters on the way and we don’t when, why and where all the time but the rogue and killer algorithms will appear when you least expect it.  If you want another example, look at Wall Street with the Knight story…there you go but human error with letting these algorithms loose. I have clients that I have worked with that don’t get this and think as I am in the middle that I can fix everything and it’s hard for the average person to comprehend some of this, but it happens. <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-pity-for-knight-capital-as-code-made.html">No Pity For Knight Capital As Code Made the Markets and It Will Also Destroy the Markets–Let The Quants Choke As They Should Run No Code Before It’s Time For Sake of Greed and Money To Be First To Grab a Dollar–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 37 </a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/complexities-in-data-systems-growing.html">Complexities in Data Systems Growing Beyond Control –“Algo Duping” Society Combined With A World of Rogue Algorithms & Flawed Data Continues In Markets As Seen With Knight Capital This Week-Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 36</a></h4> <h4></h4> <h4></h4> Everyone also picks on the FDA wanting faster device approvals and so do I like everyone else but I want one with software that works and is<img align="right" height="85" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6HDDm04lOwA/Ts0zq-EuFHI/AAAAAAAA4d8/nMT-KL0JEDY/image_thumb%25255B12%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="174" /> fully tested and if you push developers to release any kind of product before it’s time, well the results can be disaster.  This is why the FDA needs more engineers like everybody else any one in Congress that thinks there’s another type of fix for this with a law is not dealing with reality.  Give it up in Congress with laws and get them the people they need.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/fda-and-medical-devices-who-doesnt-get.html">FDA and Medical Devices-Who Doesn’t Get This, They Are Looking for Engineers Just Like Technology Companies Are Doing- Get Some Congressional Digital Literacy in Place</a> </h5> Sure today I was not happy and fell behind in some of the work I wanted to get done but nobody at Verizon got their head bit off nor had to hear any profanity or screaming but I worked through Twitter and it was fixed.  I mentioned I was a blogger and talk about algorithms and perhaps they might have expected a big rage but there’s no scape goats with humans today when it comes to dealing with machine technologies, just work with the programmers and engineers until it’s fixed as human algorithm intervention is needed sometimes.  These are the nutcases (some quants-link below) one needs to be concerned about and WIRED magazine did a very good article on this a short while back: <h4><a href="http://www.wired.com/business/2012/08/ff_wallstreet_trading/all/">Wall Street used to bet on companies that build things. Now it just bets on technologies that make faster and faster trades</a></h4> Is there any way I can think of to explain the strange activity on my line…nope..but it happened and was fixed and again when you have a lot of machines working together and algorithms interacting with each other and my FIOS line is right in there with it, stuff happens.  All I can say here is that this is a communication issue and not one like on the markets with Facebook and Knight so we don’t have millions to deal with as far as back tracking to see who’s algorithm did what.  I will say though, Twitter was the absolute right call and saved both ends a lot of time on the phone.   Kevin Slavin and Sean Gourley in the videos below do a pretty good job with talking about algorithms, physics and how they affect our lives and some of it is good and some of it is maybe not so good, especially when making money comes in to the picture.  So today was my day with the Verizon algorithms that maybe went rogue or reacted strangely with some other algorithms.                                             Algorithms are not stable. <iframe style="width: 440px; height: 243px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TDaFwnOiKVE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <iframe style="width: 440px; height: 237px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V43a-KxLFcg?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Here’s some real examples of how algorithms make decisions about you and I and how a lot of the machine activity today created the entire “Occupy Movement” even though they may not have understood what was happening behind the scenes but it comes back to the use and ethics of how algorithms work in the world today.  BD  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">Attack of the Killer Algorithms–Digest & Links for 35 Chapters–on How Math and Crafty Formulas Today Running on Servers 24/7 Make Life Impacting Decisions About You–Updated 6-24-2012 </a></h4>

FIOS Reboot for the Medical Quack Today–My Attack of the Killer Algorithms And Verizon Support Handled Successfully Via Twitter

Nothing surprises me anymore today as complexities grow. I happen to have my phone service via FIOS and today I had the second and...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Two LAPD Police Officers Being Investigated for Body Slamming Nurse During a Routine Traffic Stop–Video Shows the Entire Account

You can watch the video and there’s no sound but it looks pretty brutal with the two officers actions.  She was in a parking lot and <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="104" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hL_BdU2wTwA/UD8IwNhvN6I/AAAAAAAA9RU/RiRoR3k3fMg/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="116" />was pulled over for talking on her cell phone and this all takes place in a parking lot.  You can see her being handcuffed but when the one officer takes her over and slams her to the ground, yikes.  That doesn’t make any sense at all.  The attorneys representing her state the video tells all and just watching it kind of gives you that impression.  We need nurses so don’t beat them up.  Perhaps she was not happy about being pulled over but there’s nothing that justifies this with being over powered and slammed to the ground.  There’s also a mention in the video of a “high five” fist meeting of the two officers and you can see that in the video.  BD  <div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="345" id="FiveminPlayer" width="429"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://embed.5min.com/517458589/" /> <param name="wmode" value="opaque" /> <embed name="FiveminPlayer" src="http://embed.5min.com/517458589/" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="345" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="opaque"> </embed> </object> </div> Two LAPD police officers are under investigation after they were caught on camera repeatedly body-slamming a woman during a routine traffic stop in Tujunga last Tuesday. <a href="http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Rough-Arrest-Prompts-New-LAPD-Complaint-167769605.html">Surveillance footage of the incident</a>, first obtained by NBC LA, shows that after the officers pushed her into a cop car and then exchanged what seems to be a congratulatory fist bump. The woman is <a href="http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lapd-excessive-force-investigation,0,1085956.story">Michelle Jordan, a 34-year-old mother and registered nurse</a> from Sunland, Calif. She stepped forward Tuesday to speak out about her experience, and has filed a personal complaint against the officers, reports KTLA. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/michelle-jordan-lapd_n_1840440.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/michelle-jordan-lapd_n_1840440.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003</a>

Two LAPD Police Officers Being Investigated for Body Slamming Nurse During a Routine Traffic Stop–Video Shows the Entire Account

You can watch the video and there’s no sound but it looks pretty brutal with the two officers actions. She was in a parking lot and was pul...

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

FDA Approves Teva’s Generic Version of Amgen Drug Neupogen–Drug Given With Chemotherapy That Boosts White Blood Cells–But Not Available in US Until Late 2013

It won’t be available to market in the US though until the patent expires <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="127" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-sloU9v0ZCgA/UD64kb8KQ-I/AAAAAAAA9Qk/i62jiAcKHvI/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="100" />which is November of 2013 so there’s a little more than a year to wait; however n Europe Teva already sells the drug.  The drug helps chemotherapy patients recover faster and deals with the side effects of the treatment.   Teva also has a generic version of the Amgen drug Neulasta which is a longer lasting version of the first drug and it too has the same date of November of 2013 before marketing in the US.  It was back in December of 2009 that Teva asked the FDA for approval of their bio similar drug, so a long haul on this one.  BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/teva-asking-fda-for-approval-for.html">Teva Asking FDA for Approval for Biosimilar Drug To Provide the Same Therapy as Amgen Product</a></h4> <h4></h4> <hr /> (Reuters) - Drug regulators gave the nod to a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries drug that boosts the production of infection-fighting white blood cells in certain cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Teva's medicine is similar to Amgen Inc's biologic drug Neupogen, which faces the expiration of its U.S. patent next year. "While approval at this time is somewhat unexpected, we note the two drugs are not substitutable, and it will require a launch ramp and extensive marketing efforts by Teva to gain share," RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee said in a research note. Amgen's U.S. sales of Neupogen were $959 million last year, while sales of Neulasta, the biotech company's longer-lasting white blood cell booster, were $3 billion. "Teva is prohibited by court order from marketing this product in the U.S. prior to November 10, 2013," Amgen said in a statement. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/us-teva-idUSBRE87S1CV20120829">http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/us-teva-idUSBRE87S1CV20120829</a>

FDA Approves Teva’s Generic Version of Amgen Drug Neupogen–Drug Given With Chemotherapy That Boosts White Blood Cells–But Not Available in US Until Late 2013

It won’t be available to market in the US though until the patent expires which is November of 2013 so there’s a little more tha...

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute Receives 8.9 Million Dollar Grant To Design And Focus On Harm Free Hospital Care For Patients From The Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

Patient safety is on the minds of the Moores as you can’t help but think about Betty Moore’s own experience a number<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="50" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-wc0doeb_S_g/UD4yIVBNNTI/AAAAAAAA9P4/Bzf8Ibg4VNc/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="145" /> of years ago when she was given a shot of insulin which was meant for the patient in the other bed in her hospital room.  They almost had two deaths due to this error and Betty Moore survived.  In addition the foundation has partnered with the Hughes Medical Institute to further research back in 2010.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/howard-hughes-medical-institute-and.html"> Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Partner to Fund Plant Research To Further Human Health as Well as Environmental Issues</a> </h5> Going back to 2007 the foundation also donated $100 million for a nursing school in northern California, again this was after Betty Moore’s own experience.  Gordon Moore is co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel, the Santa Clara-based chip maker.  He is best known for "Moore's Law," his 1965 prediction that the number of transistors on a chip should double about every two years.  With all the new emerging and “good” technology in hospitals today sometimes we forget about the safety and one such item that has been in the news is alarm fatigue for one, so again the alarms are there for safety but when is too much and how should they all work together?  BD <h4></h4> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2007/08/intel-co-founder-donates-100m-for.html">Intel Co-Founder Donates $100M For Nursing School</a> <hr /></h5> <h4></h4> Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awards first installment of half-billion-dollar grant to design better way to provide harm-free hospital<img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKOIVL28a7I/AAAAAAAAhxE/AOKkmP98p9k/image%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" /> care Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality has received an $8.9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the first award given as part of an ambitious new $500 million, 10-year program designed to eliminate all preventable harms that patients experience in the hospital. Established in September 2000, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation seeks to advance environmental conservation, scientific research and patient care — around the world and in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it is based. Gordon Moore is the co-founder of Intel Corporation and chairman emeritus of the corporation's Board of Directors. Steve McCormick, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, says the new Patient Care Program is focused on working with partners to create meaningful change within the U.S. health care system. <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/johns_hopkins_armstrong_institute_receives_89_million_patient_safety_grant">http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/johns_hopkins_armstrong_institute_receives_89_million_patient_safety_grant</a>

Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute Receives 8.9 Million Dollar Grant To Design And Focus On Harm Free Hospital Care For Patients From The Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

Patient safety is on the minds of the Moores as you can’t help but think about Betty Moore’s own experience a number of years ago when she ...

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wellpoint CEO and Chairman Angela Braly Steps Down Effective Today–Time for the Next Batter Up To Deal With Company Complexities and the Algorithms For Profit–Machines Running A Lot of the Business Today

She steps down from a pressure cooker that’s for sure <img align="right" height="93" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VkQMwERY3BQ/T8xeHt1fe0I/AAAAAAAA7Q0/V47SAsViScE/image%25255B9%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="169" />and just recently the board had publicly given her support in a couple of media articles.  We are going to see a lot of this occur as the powers of the CEOs become less and less as the decision making processes get more difficult, it is what it is and it is not limited to health insurance.  They just recently bought Amerigroup if you missed those headlines.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/wellpoint-to-buy-amerigroup-for-49.html">WellPoint to Buy Amerigroup for $4.9 Billion As the Battle for Medicare and Medicaid Management Contracts/Exchanges Continues Between Two Major Health Insurers–Subsidiary Watch</a></h5> <h4></h4> I really can’t blame anyone today for stepping down as it’s hard and with Wellpoint especially they are on a full on frontline technology attack from United Healthcare.  You don’t see it and hear a little in the news but it comes right back to those algorithms for profit.  Here’s a couple examples below on the contract wars of the carriers.    <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/blue-cross-and-united-healthcare-duking.html">Blue Cross and United Healthcare Duking It Out In Nebraska Over State Health Insurance Contract–We Have More Subsidiaries My Cost Algorithms Are Better Than Yours?</a> </h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/blue-cross-protesting-award-of-texas.html">Blue Cross Protesting Award of Texas Employee Retirement Health Plan to United Healthcare–Price Cut by $25 Million With Little or No Out of Network Coverage for Members</a> </h4> Take the Tri-Care contract here and this was a tough battle that Wellpoint subsidiaries lost as that’s where most of the real <img align="right" height="160" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TdYNiZF0RQI/AAAAAAAAxks/UEJVJ2qMb7Y/image%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="133" />profit action is taking place today in subsidiaries and you may not even know they are owned by an insurance company as their number has increased so much in the last few years.  The link below kind of goes into some of the lingo with the contracts as one Blue Cross subsidiary is set to go out of business and United who probably needs the current IT services gives the other subsidiary a contract and who knows if they will buy them at some time.  United has an advantage that other insurance companies don’t have and that is having the former HHS executive who crafted the healthcare reform bill on their staff as a VP and we could probably safely say the GOP has even recognized that fact yet.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/united-healthcare-awards-contract-to.html">United HealthCare Awards Contract to One Blue Cross/Blue Shield Subsidiary to Process Tri-Care Claims While The Other BlueCross BlueShield Company Lost the Over All Tri-Care Bid To United In the West</a> <img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MdcQ51oZRKs/UDz9pcW4fBI/AAAAAAAA9PM/5H-RdgxYtf8/image%25255B11%25255D.png?imgmax=800" /> </h4> Again we will see a lot more CEOs step down as they can’t deal with the algorithms and in some cases nobody else can either and make any sense of “shifting money” today, i.e. Jamie Dimon.  You know what, back 3 three years ago I said “Do We Need A Department of Algorithms”…nobody got it or laughed…anyone laughing now:)  From August 25, 2009…. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/08/department-of-algorithms-do-we-need-one.html">“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?</a></h5> <h4></h4> If you are then check out the links for the Attacks of the Killer Algorithms…scary and I’m up to Chapter 41 now.  These tactics and comprehension  of the algorithms are also way over the head of HHS director Sebelius, just the way the world evolved and you can add on Shapiro at the SEC while we are at it, news folks needed their too with a little computer science in their backgrounds so we don’t sink.  BD <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"></a> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">Attack of the Killer Algorithms–Digest & Links for 35 Chapters–on How Math and Crafty Formulas Today Running on Servers 24/7 Make Life Impacting Decisions About You–Updated 6-24-2012 </a> <hr /></h4> <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"> </a> INDIANAPOLIS--(<a href="http://www.businesswire.com/">BUSINESS WIRE</a>)--WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced that it is actively searching for a candidate to succeed Angela F. Braly as the President and Chief Executive Officer of WellPoint, who has stepped down from those positions today. The Board of Directors has established a search committee to consider both internal and external candidates, with the assistance of a search firm. In the interim, John Cannon, the Company’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Public Affairs Officer, will serve as interim President and CEO. WellPoint also announced that Jackie M. Ward, WellPoint’s Lead Director, has been named the Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors effective immediately. <a href="http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120828006665/en/WellPoint-Chair-CEO-Angela-F.-Braly-Steps?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120828006665/en/WellPoint-Chair-CEO-Angela-F.-Braly-Steps?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter</a>

Wellpoint CEO and Chairman Angela Braly Steps Down Effective Today–Time for the Next Batter Up To Deal With Company Complexities and the Algorithms For Profit–Machines Running A Lot of the Business Today

She steps down from a pressure cooker that’s for sure and just recently the board had publicly given her support in a couple of media articl...

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

HealthGrades CEO Founder Joins WorldOne Board–Flawed Data And Broken Algorithms On the Move to Advise Market Research? Algo Duping Society?

If you read here often enough then you know I like accurate data and when I find obscene examples of folks not keeping up, I post it.  I have no problem with listings of doctors and patient comments; however, the ratings game is skewed anymore as we have credible and non credible data being combined and the accuracy is not always there.  <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TFZl6I03WII/AAAAAAAAgJ8/t9v94DqoaG0/image%5B13%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" />Any doubts on this topic, check out the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">“Attack of the Killer Algorithms”</a> series where I have listed over 40 chapters on how this is playing out in real life.  Obviously being on the board will increase income.  A few months ago I talked about the same topic and have run not run across many doctors in my travels who are happy with any of these ratings and it in the news, you can read the same with some hospitals, so again other than a listing with comments, these are getting to be pretty useless.  In the PR WorldOne states they have over 1.7 million fully verified  healthcare professionals so maybe they should be sitting on the HealthGrades board you think?  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/healthgrades-puts-out-top-hospital.html">HealthGrades Puts Out Top Hospital List–Time to Drop All the Hospital Ratings Sites As Nobody Cares, Many Don’t Have Time To Read and Too Much “Flawed Data”</a></h4> I got on to this a couple years ago after finding my former MD,<img align="right" height="56" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="141" /> who has been deceased for 8 years still listed and honoring HeatlhNet insurance.  That post got some real attention to include a nice little chat with the AMA a couple years ago after I blogged it.  Below is the link to the AMA article.  There are other sites too such as Avvo and Vitals that don’t get it right as well.  <h4><a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/10/18/bica1018.htm">Dead doctors stubbornly alive on physician-finder sites</a> </h4> Last November there was the announcement about HealthGrades merging with CPM marketing and I see of late to where they are looking to hire a social media expert.  Somebody has to talk about credible and non credible data on the web and I guess it’s my turn today.  <h4> </h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/11/healthgrades-to-merge-with-cpm.html">HealthGrades to Merge with CPM Marketing–Will Their Data and Questionable Algorithms Will Be Improved For Consumers?</a> </h4> So far has the data been improved?  This doctor is on the HealthGrades Honor Roll too. That’s a good question as here’s the HealthGrades image I took today of with Dr. Gary Michelson who won a landmark patent case against Medtronic still on their list as a practicing Orthopedic surgeon?  I have covered the doctor’s wonderful efforts here and what he is doing with grant money to improve the lives of pets, and he’s been on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_K._Michelson">Forbes Millionaire list,</a> but did this not cross somewhere at HealthGrades?  Don’t they have an algorithm that searches out current news or even old news in this case to keep their listings accurate?  Here’s a link to the LA Times that talks about <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/23/business/fi-doctor23">his settlement with Medtronic in 2005.</a>  <h4><img alt="image" border="0" height="254" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-obcJBMljkho/UDz9nzUYKoI/AAAAAAAA9O8/SPKSg3gvTB8/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="373" /></h4> I’m asking what is the big deal here with this board position I guess going over to WorldOne.  Also remember these types of companies make a lot of money selling data and they should be taxed as a lot comes from state government servers to where the mining bots pay a small license fee and clog up the pipelines so we have a hard time getting in.  North Carolina threw out CoreLogic over that practice and some states such as Arizona and a few others have had to make purchases of additional software to limit the bot activity so what little states make on licensing they end up paying it out again with governing software.  Is this private equity at work?  Algorithms shift and make money and you don’t see it.  In March the latest hospital report came out and MDs and hospitals from Massachusetts were very upset as they didn’t make any of the top rankings.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/healthgrades-hospital-report-is-out-and.html">Healthgrades Hospital Report is Out and Still Think Their Algorithms Needs Work…</a> </h5> So again, what’s the purpose of this big move to sitting on the board, is it an effort to “sell” more data with new marketing techniques?  It’s all about the money and I don’t disgrace anyone from making money but stop the “Algo Duping” and be responsible for what it put out on the web.  If you want to know more about the duping and how math and formulas can deceive and make money, check out this link below.  I would hope one day we have lawmakers that in some way or fashion get smarter otherwise we are all sunk.  <img alt="image" border="0" height="65" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AaYQKcHzhco/UDz9o00Rg9I/AAAAAAAA9PE/I7xBBRDrWTI/image%25255B15%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="407" /> ”Hey dude let’s crunch some numbers and see if we can come up with some analytics to sell” <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/congress-to-investigate-data-sellers.html">Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles</a> <img alt="image" border="0" height="79" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MdcQ51oZRKs/UDz9pcW4fBI/AAAAAAAA9PM/5H-RdgxYtf8/image%25255B11%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="429" /></h5> <h4></h4> By the way, here’s a blog post about the wonderful efforts of Dr. Michelson if you want to see what he’s doing today.  He’s on smart doctor who beat the system when a big corporation violated his patents and now see what he’s doing, good stuff and maybe HealthGrades will also become aware of his efforts via this post:) BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/75-million-prize-for-way-to-sterilize.html">$75 Million Prize for a way to sterilize pets – a one-time non-surgical means to sterilize male and female cats and dogs</a></h4>   <hr /> NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- <a href="http://www.worldone.com/">WorldOne</a> (<a href="http://www.worldone.com">www.worldone.com</a>), the global leader in healthcare insights and intelligence, announced today that HealthGrades founder, Chairman of the Board, and former CEO, Kerry Hicks has joined its Board of Directors. <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthgrades-founder-kerry-hicks-joins-worldone-board-167665315.html?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=_&utm_expid=43414375-18">http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthgrades-founder-kerry-hicks-joins-worldone-board-167665315.html?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=_&utm_expid=43414375-18</a>

HealthGrades CEO Founder Joins WorldOne Board–Flawed Data And Broken Algorithms On the Move to Advise Market Research? Algo Duping Society?

If you read here often enough then you know I like accurate data and when I find obscene examples of folks not keeping up, I post it. I hav...

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

While Waiting for FDA Approval for an IPhone ECG Company Launches Popular Veterinary Version–Cats and Dogs Get Heart Attacks Diagnosed

This is pretty neat, not the FDA timeline but the fact that cats and dogs can get an ECG done simple and easy.  The video is neat and I can see why a vet would want one as it makes it simple and dog wags<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="79" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-St-ZAkgNdQU/UDxRQoW7CvI/AAAAAAAA9OQ/HZB1Z7HIBnc/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="156" /> his tail during the entire process, so no problem there.  It’s a case that fits over the IPhone and does the work and the information can be sent to a pet’s medical records.  Sometimes I swear from past experience that our pets get more care than we do. Below is a link to another cell phone cardio app in the works, so it looks like the phone has it, or will have it.  BD   <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/stethoclouda-20-stethoscope-attachment.html">StethoCloud–A $20 Stethoscope Attachment for a Smartphone to Diagnose Pneumonia In the Works</a></h5> <iframe style="width: 427px; height: 279px" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2NsN1f0vXjE?rel=0" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> What do you do if you’re a medical technology startup while waiting for the FDA to approve your flagship iPhone-based product? If you’re AliveCor, you launch a veterinary version of it. The product in question is <a href="http://www.alivecor.com/">AliveCor’s iPhone ECG</a> heart monitor, which the company showed off nearly two years ago, at the CES in 2011. The device allows a medical professional to assess a patient’s heart rhythm, providing more data than a stethoscope or manual check of their pulse. Although the device has broad potential, it has yet to be approved by the FDA. The device isn’t a replacement for the 12-lead ECG used in hospitals to assess patients and diagnose conditions like acute myocardial infarction (more commonly referred to as a heart attack), but it does provide what AliveCor’s founder Dr. David Albert calls “clinical quality” data. <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/187231/waiting-for-fda-approval-for-humans-this-iphone-heart-monitor-is-helping-pets-instead-video/#MGLD6IrAg4FXKqVp.99">http://www.cultofmac.com/187231/waiting-for-fda-approval-for-humans-this-iphone-heart-monitor-is-helping-pets-instead-video/#MGLD6IrAg4FXKqVp.99</a>

While Waiting for FDA Approval for an IPhone ECG Company Launches Popular Veterinary Version–Cats and Dogs Get Heart Attacks Diagnosed

This is pretty neat, not the FDA timeline but the fact that cats and dogs can get an ECG done simple and easy. The video is neat and I can ...

Monday, August 27, 2012

Nurse Diagnosed With Rare Condition, Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder Which Is Incurable

I seem to remember something like this in the news a while back but it sounds like there’s another case.  This issue seems to strike <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="101" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WaCKmX8p-HQ/UDxMbfI0qII/AAAAAAAA9Nk/z6RumFCu0nE/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="115" />women and would be a major inconvenience if a man developed it or maybe one has?  Too much of anything is not a good thing and specialists are on the case with no answers so far.  100  orgasms a day is quite a number and as she is quoted saying, “its exhausting”.  The woman took a tumble down some stairs and that coupled with a cyst on her spine seems to be the area of focus as far as the cause.  She said bumpy train rides for her are no fun.  BD <hr /> A New Jersey woman says she is in constant pain due to a rare medical condition that causes her to have as many as one hundred orgasms per day. 44-year-old Kim Ramsey, a nurse from Hertfordshire, England, who now resides in Montclair, was diagnosed with Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder — an incurable disease <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2194160/Woman-100-orgasms-DAY-left-agony-doing-housework-trigger-climax.html">that results in prolonged periods of genital arousal</a> unrelated to sexual desire. "Other women wonder how to have an orgasm," <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4506151/Nurse-has-100-orgasms-a-day.html">she is quoted as saying</a>. "I wonder how to stop mine." Specialists are at a loss on how to help, but Ramsey hopes a Persistent genital arousal disorder expert in London can finally find a solution to her problem. "Both women and men just don't seem to get it," she said. "They seem to think it's a great thing and, believe me, it's really not. <a href="http://gawker.com/5938105/rare-medical-condition-causes-woman-to-experience-dozens-of-unwanted-orgasms-per-day">http://gawker.com/5938105/rare-medical-condition-causes-woman-to-experience-dozens-of-unwanted-orgasms-per-day</a>

Nurse Diagnosed With Rare Condition, Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder Which Is Incurable

I seem to remember something like this in the news a while back but it sounds like there’s another case. This issue seems to strike women a...

Monday, August 27, 2012

In China Doctor-Patient Relationships Get Violent As Government Cuts Funding, Costs Soared, Doctors are Over Worked & Patients Pay More and Don’t Get Good Care

If you read the entire story at the link this sounds pretty bad with a lot of frustrations and perhaps some misunderstandings by patients on <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="104" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-G6BZ2c2RJ0Q/UDxJULheBfI/AAAAAAAA9M4/FqJQuMfHa6c/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="117" />what can be cured and treated, the article reflects that.  China has an admission problem too but as suggested it was self created with adding insurance to their economy as more could afford care but is this really an answer?  As the articles goes on it seems to be leading to a lot of frustration and more people getting care is a good thing for sure, but was the methodology right? The violence has increased 70% since 2004 and there’s examples of cancer patients stabbing doctors so the government has some work cut out.  40 to 100 patients a day is not out of the ordinary.  Hospitals have had to beef up security.  The insurance they do have does not cover a lot of major illnesses such as AIDS and guess what, same thing that happens here, it wipes out family savings.  Some doctors and hospitals earn kickbacks and prescribe additional care and treatments that makes extra money  and the government is trying to put a lid on that but very hard to enforce I would think.  At any rate frustration exists all over it appears with healthcare.  BD <hr /> HENGYANG, China (AP) — Dr. Chen Yuna had just eaten her lunch and was seated at her desk updating patients' medical records when a masked man entered her office. He pulled out a dagger and stabbed her 28 times in her neck, chest, stomach and elsewhere. Then he left her to die in a pool of blood. He knew the hospital well enough to slip out easily: Before he became Chen's killer, the man had been her patient. Chen's murder in central Hunan province is one of thousands of violent attacks in recent years by patients that have crystallized public discontent with China's health care system, the largest in the world. Despite an injection of more than $240 billion in government funding into health care over the past three years, the doctor-patient relationship has continued to break down. Doctors are overworked and underpaid, and many push drug sales or charge extra for services such as deliveries to make more money. Patients are faced with high medical expenses, brief consultations and often poor quality care. The anger built up over years is now exploding into violence, with doctors, nurses and interns around the country stabbed, punched or otherwise assaulted by patients or their relatives over the past year. A few have died. Although official data is unavailable, state media reports say there were more than 17,000 "violent incidents" at health care facilities nationwide in 2010, a 70 percent increase from 2004. The government cut funding to hospitals. They were allowed to make hefty profits from new drugs and technologies instead, and doctors' bonuses were tied to these revenues. So doctors had an incentive to sell more drugs and tests even if they weren't needed, and expenses skyrocketed. In general, the government's expansion of health insurance coverage — from 30 percent of the population in 2003 to 96 percent last year — has made it more affordable for people to seek health care. As one result, hospital admissions have surged by two and a half times over the same period. At many top city hospitals, patients line up overnight for consultation tickets or are gouged by scalpers for them. The government has also announced a code of conduct barring doctors from seeking bribes and accepting kickbacks from medical companies. It is also testing different models of funding at many hospitals to reduce reliance on drug profits, but the situation is not expected to improve soon. <a href="http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/international/Chinas-chaotic-health-care-drives-patient-attacks_43211111">http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/international/Chinas-chaotic-health-care-drives-patient-attacks_43211111</a>

In China Doctor-Patient Relationships Get Violent As Government Cuts Funding, Costs Soared, Doctors are Over Worked & Patients Pay More and Don’t Get Good Care

If you read the entire story at the link this sounds pretty bad with a lot of frustrations and perhaps some misunderstandings by patients on...

Monday, August 27, 2012

Nurse Accidentally Throws Away Kidney That Was To Be Used for a Transplant

<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="125" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Ugeu_NLN7aA/UDwMhE2PJvI/AAAAAAAA9MM/5YSuVGmMi9Y/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="151" />I want to hear the updates on this one as how does this happen?  It’s not like a kidney is mistaken for some other body part.  The kidney was from a “living'” donor too and the surgeon had just removed it to be transplanted in the donor’s sister.  What does happen next for the sister as now we have one person minus a kidney and a patient that still needs a transplant.  I would hate to be the nurse in error here,  and how did the kidney get left unattended?  They tried to revive the kidney after taking it out of the garbage but to no avail as it could not be used.  This is a sad story and the hospital has suspended transplants for the time being.  Was it a clean up crew that came in?  I guess we will hear more about this as they focus to find out how it occurred and come up with a system on avoiding this type of situation again.  BD <hr /> A kidney removed from a Toledo man at the University of Toledo Medical Center that was supposed to be transplanted into his older sister was instead thrown away with medical waste by a nurse -- a rare accident that medical experts said is probably a one-of-a-kind incident in the United States. Hospital officials on Wednesday talked about the Aug. 10 incident that rendered the donated kidney ruined, but they refused for a second day to confirm multiple reports about how the removed organ was damaged beyond repair. Toledo-Lucas County health commissioner David Grossman, whose office is not involved in the investigation, confirmed along with other sources that the kidney was accidentally disposed of by a nurse. Sources with knowledge of the botched surgery said the kidney was removed by a surgeon and then inadvertently thrown away by a nurse. It took about an hour or more to find the discarded kidney, which was among medical waste. Dr. William Harmon, director of kidney transplantation at Boston Children's Hospital, said kidneys have been removed in the past elsewhere in the nation and have been unusable for various reasons, but the kind of accident that happened at UTMC is unheard of in organ transplant centers. <a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2012/08/24/UTMC-nurse-tossed-out-kidney-ruined-it.html">http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2012/08/24/UTMC-nurse-tossed-out-kidney-ruined-it.html</a>

Nurse Accidentally Throws Away Kidney That Was To Be Used for a Transplant

I want to hear the updates on this one as how does this happen? It’s not like a kidney is mistaken for some other body part. The kidney wa...

Monday, August 27, 2012

FDA Approves Stribild from Gilead Sciences as Once A Day Treatment to Control HIV Virus

The results showed pretty good against older AIDS drugs with<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="66" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5cO1Uw11D2g/UDvtq2hx3FI/AAAAAAAA9Lg/yctblpe4_a4/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="123" /> keeping the HIV virus under control.  Part of the approval process requires additional studies with interactions with other drugs as well as studies to test safety with giving the drug to women and children.  This is the drug Truvada combined with two more new drugs and I hope it’s affordable.  BD  <hr /> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved a new anti-HIV pill that combines four medicines to combat the virus in patients who have not previously been treated for infection. The agency approved Gilead Sciences' Stribild as a once-a-day treatment to control the virus that causes AIDS. <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FDA_HIV_COMBINATION_PILL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FDA_HIV_COMBINATION_PILL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT</a>

FDA Approves Stribild from Gilead Sciences as Once A Day Treatment to Control HIV Virus

The results showed pretty good against older AIDS drugs with keeping the HIV virus under control. Part of the approval process requires ad...

Monday, August 27, 2012

MMRGlobal Creates A Team of Former NFL Celebrities to Educate Consumers on the Benefits of Personal Health Records–Free Trial Offer For Those Signing Up With a Team Member At MyMedicalRecord.com

Ron Brown, the current Director of business affairs for retired NFL players in southern California will lead a team to recruit athletes and celebrities to join the MMRPro Sports Team.  MMRGlobal team members will be the ambassadors in a campaign to educate on the importance of having a personal health record today and will be making appearances at hospitals and other named locations.  If you read at the Medical Quack often enough then you may have stumbled on to the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/search/label/Personal%20Health%20Records">400 plus posts I have on PHRs</a> that date back to the beginning days and it has progressed tremendously since that time.  Below is one example of the special pages created where a message is given by a team member and their mission and message about PHRs.  <h4> </h4> <a href="http://mmrprosports.com/ronbrown/"><img alt="image" border="0" height="277" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-krsdqAToMZ4/UDutq7XTkPI/AAAAAAAA9Kc/a3JHkNcpONo/image%25255B19%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="402" /></a> <a href="http://mmrprosports.com/ronbrown/"><img alt="image" border="0" height="90" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-igGOaqMdL00/UDutrC40pYI/AAAAAAAA9Kk/s8BkbrjNAiE/image%25255B20%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="411" /></a> A short while back I had an article to where even at Walter Reed systems go down and this officer was able to give the doctor his medical information when the IT system at the hospital went on the blink with his cellular connection and his PHR and this also makes a case for the “Blue Button” which can also be obtained and stored in MyMedicalRecord PHR.  <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/strong-case-for-veterans-affairs-blue.html"> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/strong-case-for-veterans-affairs-blue.html">A Strong Case for the Veterans Affairs “Blue Button”–Patient Access To Their Medical Records–Role Model Employee From the Navy Recounts His Experience At Walter Reed Hospital–We Need to Hear More Like This</a></h4> </a> For physicians there’s also the <a href="http://www.mmrprovideos.com/">MMRPro product</a> which allows for doctors to sign up and have the ability to securely communicate with patients and you both phone and text capabilities here.  <h4><img alt="image" border="0" height="129" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ybv_-my191o/UDutrzpVIQI/AAAAAAAA9Ks/U9tLu4Csk0w/image%25255B25%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="404" /></h4> MMRGlobal is a sponsor at the Medical Quack and you can always find the <a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/">link to MyMedicalRecords</a> at the top of the page.  This is good thing as I see it as it sounds I have some good credible help out there besides just this blog on promoting the use and benefits of having a PHR <grin>. BD <hr />     <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=178404&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1728882&highlight=">Highlights from the Press Release:</a> Sports Legends and Former NFL Players Team with MMRGlobal for Joint Sales and Cause-Related Marketing Campaign on Personal Health Records Los Angeles, CA (August 27, 2012) - <a href="http://www.mmrglobal.com/">MMRGlobal, Inc.</a> (OTC: MMRF) (MMR) today announced it has entered into an agreement with <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="84" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-oLIsbZaA5zI/UDutsZqEEtI/AAAAAAAA9K0/rFPyV8v0oVg/image%25255B18%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="165" />Ron Brown, Olympic Gold Medalist and former NFL wide receiver for the Los Angeles Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, who is currently Director of Business Affairs for the Southern California Chapter of the NFL Retired Players Association (RPA), to recruit athletes and entertainment personalities to join the “MMRPro Sports Team.”  Team members will represent MMRGlobal as ambassadors of health in a campaign to educate the public on the importance of having a <a href="http://www.mmrvideos.com">Personal Health Record</a> (PHR), particularly in families where children are active in sports.  MMR is a leading provider of Personal Health Records for consumers and electronic document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals through its <a href="http://www.mmrprovideos.com">MMRPro</a> product offerings. Team members will sign up fans for 15-day free training trials of the Company’s <a href="http://www.mymedicalrecords.com/">MyMedicalRecords</a> Personal Health Record (<a href="http://www.mmrvideos.com">www.mmrvideos.com</a>), a secure, easy-to-use online tool that enables individuals and families to safely store all their medical records and copies of other important documents, such as copies of insurance policies, photo ID and immunization records, and access them anytime from anywhere, especially in an emergency.   Team members will be asked to participate in presentations on the importance of having a Personal Health Record at children’s hospitals, regional health fairs and other events where they are scheduled to appear. Former NFL players currently participating on the MMRPro Sports Team include David Hill, tight end for the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, Anthony Miller, All-Pro wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers, and Mike Harden, who played safety for the Los Angeles Raiders and Denver Broncos. Other players will be announced as they are added. Each MMRPro Sports Team member will have<a name="_GoBack"></a> a landing page where their fans can go to sign up and begin the process of setting up a MyMedicalRecords account that is bilingual in English and Spanish and covers up to 10 family members, including pets (<a href="http://mmrprosports.com/ronbrown/">http://mmrprosports.com/ronbrown/</a>). <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=178404&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1728882&highlight=">http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=178404&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1728882&highlight=</a>

MMRGlobal Creates A Team of Former NFL Celebrities to Educate Consumers on the Benefits of Personal Health Records–Free Trial Offer For Those Signing Up With a Team Member At MyMedicalRecord.com

Ron Brown, the current Director of business affairs for retired NFL players in southern California will lead a team to recruit athletes and ...

Monday, August 27, 2012

What Happened to Freedom of Academic Speech–UC Davis Threatens Professor for Writing about PSA Testing Which Was Published in a California Newspaper

<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="123" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jJcnPhAMauE/UDrw3jTh2rI/AAAAAAAA9Jw/X2VyJsTeqfo/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="140" />This is just so bizarre and the fact that it has not been completely rectified yet is even stranger.  I get tons of emails with press releases and so forth on PSA tests and all kinds of other matters and I don’t understand this at all especially since they facility voted 52-0 that the doctor’s rights for academic freedom has been violated.  The professor has been a medical reporter for the New York Times, ABC News and more and is a recognized expert on Prostate Cancer.  The newspaper also did their editing which sounds like it played into the way it read and was interpreted.  This goes back to the year 2010.  Perhaps he could leave and return to UCLA where he came from as an option and this certainly would stand to quiet additional academic information and lectures.  They didn’t even address the editing with the newspaper either and for the school to take “legal” action on this is unreal.  The event was sponsored by the NFL so was this to be an infomercial type of presentation where the doctor’s opinion differed a little?  We all want the truth and honesty and this whole situation seems to be a bit more political than anything else in <a href="http://phylogenomics.blogspot.com/2012/06/report-on-egregious-academic-freedom.html">what I have read.</a>  No more PSA articles on this blog as most of the time when it comes to those types of articles and press releases I refrain from them anyway as it goes back and forth as far as opinions.  BD <hr /> When UC Davis announced a seminar on men’s health back in October 2010, it sounded like a typical educational event. But UC David professor Michael Wilkes investigated and learned that the seminar was primarily a sales pitch about the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, and that its main message was that men should get tested regularly beginning at age 40. Prof. Wilkes, an expert on prostate cancer screening, came to the same conclusion almost two years ago.  In response to the UC Davis seminar, he and USC professor Jerome Hoffman <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/PSA-tests-can-cause-more-harm-than-good-3172165.php">wrote an opinion article</a> for the San Francisco Chronicle.  They made basically the same argument that the USPSTF made in their lengthy, thoroughly researched report: that the PSA test often does more harm than good. The story would end there, if not for what UC Davis then did to Prof. Wilkes.  Within a few hours of the publication of the newspaper article, the Executive Associate Dean at the UC Davis medical school informed Wilkes that he would be punished in two ways.  First, he would lose his position in the doctoring program, and second, he would lose the funding support for a Hungarian student exchange program that he organized.  Dr. Wilkes, it is worth noting, was recruited to UC Davis from UCLA because of the innovative program in doctoring (how to be a doctor) that he developed. This summer, the UC Davis faculty senate <a href="http://thefire.org/article/14811.html">voted 52-0</a> that the university had violated Prof. Wilkes’ academic freedom, and called for the university to apologize and withdraw its threats, which UC Davis has not yet done <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2012/08/25/uc-davis-threatens-professor-for-writing-about-psa-testing/">http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2012/08/25/uc-davis-threatens-professor-for-writing-about-psa-testing/</a>

What Happened to Freedom of Academic Speech–UC Davis Threatens Professor for Writing about PSA Testing Which Was Published in a California Newspaper

This is just so bizarre and the fact that it has not been completely rectified yet is even stranger. I get tons of emails with press releas...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

StethoCloud–A $20 Stethoscope Attachment for a Smartphone to Diagnose Pneumonia In the Works

This was presented at the Microsoft Imagine Cup in Australia<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="172" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-EPkPFruZCig/UDrKId-bHDI/AAAAAAAA9JE/LCDehfmjbQ4/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="173" /> recently and it won the Final of the 2012 Imagine cup.  The <a href="http://www.istartedsomething.com/20120707/imagine-cup-2012-team-australia-stethocloud-diagnoses-pneumonia-with-windows-phones/">Imagine Cup</a> is where students compete in regional areas around the world and the winners advance to the overall finals and I would say this one has great chance.  It uses standards developed by the World Health Organization and uploads the test results to a server which within a minute will return the results with interpretations.  The group is working with a Children’s Hospital in Australia to develop protocols for testing and they have sent the stethomics to hospitals in Malaysia and Ghana and they hope to have it in use there within a year.  They are estimating that the microphone will be a 10th of the current cost of those already on the market as a specific device.  Watch the video to see how it works.  This could certainly work in developing nations and for that matter right here in the US as it doesn’t require a medically trained individual to operate.  BD <iframe height="326" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41682163?color=3d96d2" frameborder="0" width="400" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <hr />What do you get when you combine smartphones, cloud computing, and digital medicine? A new era of healthcare that is bringing powerful technological innovations rapidly to the world. For example, take <a href="http://www.istartedsomething.com/20120707/imagine-cup-2012-team-australia-stethocloud-diagnoses-pneumonia-with-windows-phones/">StethoCloud</a>, a cloud-based service that turns a Windows smartphone into a digital stethoscope. Created by four students from the University of Melbourne, the goal of the team is to enable early diagnosis of an overlooked childhood killer: pneumonia. Using a specially designed microphone called a “stethomic” that plugs into the smartphone’s audio jack and an app that guides users through the proper method for listening to a patient’s breathing, early testing shows promising at accurately detecting the disease. And it’s expected to cost only $20. As an ailment, pneumonia is complicated by the fact that it is caused by a host of culprits, like viruses, bacteria, and fungi, as well as substances like dust and gases. So diagnosis comes after the onset of symptoms, which often must become severe before the condition is recognized as life threatening. Hence, early detection has the potential to save many lives. <a href="http://singularityhub.com/2012/08/10/stethocloud-the-20-stethoscope-attachment-for-smartphones-to-diagnose-pneumonia/">http://singularityhub.com/2012/08/10/stethocloud-the-20-stethoscope-attachment-for-smartphones-to-diagnose-pneumonia/</a>

StethoCloud–A $20 Stethoscope Attachment for a Smartphone to Diagnose Pneumonia In the Works

This was presented at the Microsoft Imagine Cup in Australia recently and it won the Final of the 2012 Imagine cup. The Imagine Cup is wh...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

House Committee On Oversight & Reform Chairman Darrell Issa Demands Documents & Communication From IRS Relative to Healthcare Reform Law–Another Big Time Waster As States Who Refuse Exchanges Can or Cannot Tax Credits? Go Figure On This One…

Oh my gosh, did some states out there get some tax credits they don’t deserve?  How long is this going to take to mull through all of this? <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="144" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NsUxJdoz_M0/UDp_vHiQE3I/AAAAAAAA9II/lTh9TZTZDtc/image%25255B9%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="119" /> Some folks sure find ways to waste enough time out there and I can bet the IRS loves being pulled into this mess as well as they said earlier that they can distribute the tax credits.  So what is the point here, to take away the credits for the few states that are refusing to to create exchanges or let the the feds do it for them?  First of all an answer that needs to be clarified for all insurance exchanges is the e-credit scoring that you and I don’t see as this is above and beyond “normal credit agencies” and was the latest post here in “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms”.  Companies like this sell your data too and make millions and/or billions.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/e-scoring-credit-algorithms-invisible.html">E-Scoring Credit Algorithms Invisible To Consumers Used to Market and Evaluate, Does Not Fall Under Federal Law And Such Are Used by Insurance Companies - How Will This Work With Exchanges –Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 42</a> </h5> When are we going to levy some excise taxes on these data miners anyway..been talking about it for a while here.  They get their data for nothing and the profits for free just about.  By law the normal credit agencies who compile information for consumers are available, but not these folks that sell <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="109" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LAS69AunB3M/UDp_vfIo9wI/AAAAAAAA9IQ/_fzDc00sLRA/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="122" />data and make millions and who know what data is being used, i.e. Facebook trending, prescription data…just a couple examples and of course if there’s “flawed data” in there then “you “ become the “data chaser”.  Issa seems ok with more of this type of activity as long as they get to say “no” for insurance exchanges…see how out of touch these folks are!  There’s a section on this in the links for one of the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">Killer Algorithm chapters</a> too that I wrote a few months back as we become “data fixers” that have to do this on our own time too, otherwise we get screwed for someone else's flawed data that they compiled on us and that they sold for money.  <h5> </h5> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/congress-to-investigate-data-sellers.html">Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles</a></h4> <h4></h4> Those states refusing to set up the insurance exchanges with the complexities of the current day laws is another potential item on the agenda that would be second only to women’s health for a lot of talk and maybe a new filibuster.  I agree that setting up the exchanges and what is entailed has changed since the law was passed but technology does that and we don’t have all member of Congress up to date in this area, just read the news and it’s there everyday.  Issa has a long way to go when it comes to understanding algorithms and maybe the folks at the IRS can help him out.  This tweet kind of says it all when it comes to the power of numbers and algorithms. <a href="http://www.holgentech.com/"><img alt="image" border="0" height="81" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tlAz1i6CKhM/UDp_v0LIyoI/AAAAAAAA9IY/HZhj-_B9hCY/image%25255B16%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="427" /></a> Frankly by the time they get done with modeling all of the exchanges they might end up being too difficult for the average consumer to use and at the same time be able to get all the information needed for an intelligent decision if they leave out all the “spun marketing” that creeps in every where you turn today.  Just the fact please would help consumers in the creation of these “monster exchanges”. I’m not saying<img align="right" height="115" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KuhSzq6izWo/UDEQbXLJXDI/AAAAAAAA86w/Sn6gdvvwX7k/image%25255B30%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="103" /> we don’t need these but if you look around there are commercial sites that sell the same thing and of course on those types of sites “you do have to expect spun data” and manipulated substantiation to sell the software that keeps the sites going.  If you want to read the back link below, more on this topic and I even had some nice comments on this one from some folks at the Nielsen company.  The sooner lawmakers get in touch with “Algo Duping” the better we all stand as consumers for sure, and this might be one of the reasons the public has such a low approval of how they function today, living in denial can do that.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/big-data-flawed-data-business.html">Big Data, Flawed Data, Business Intelligence, Where’s The Future and What Has Been Our Past…A World With ”Algo Duping” of Society and Consumers</a></h4> So back on track here the IRS has the lovely obligation now to pull up all the information so some lawyers along the way can make some money now too with interpreting the complexities and if that doesn’t work another judicial route of extensive time will probably challenge this whole mess as well. Some out there still think the entire healthcare law can be repealed but no way…nobody has enough money to totally gut out and re-do the IT Infrastructure and write truckloads of algorithms required to do such or enact anything like Ryan's proposals…denial big time here on the cost and feasibility for sure.   This is just one more issue that will produce nothing but a waste of time and energy in my opinion with digital illiterate lawmakers and so it’s probably back to abortion talk again as that seems to be the “default” topic when digital literacy is needed to make laws.  A new law that would excise tax the data sellers making billions in profit would be much more productive and even the IRS I’m sure would like to collect some of that revenue too.  BD <hr />  (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of a House of Representatives investigatory panel sought documents on Wednesday from the Internal Revenue Service in a battle with the White House over the Democrats' controversial healthcare law. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa demanded all documents and communications between the IRS and President Barack Obama's White House after the healthcare overhaul law was signed into law in March 2010, in a letter released on Wednesday.  Issa has challenged the Obama administration's authority to administer the healthcare law in states that are refusing to cooperate. A handful of Republican governors have opted not to establish health insurance exchanges that are required by the law. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/22/us-usa-tax-irs-healthcare-idUSBRE87L16M20120822">http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/22/us-usa-tax-irs-healthcare-idUSBRE87L16M20120822</a>

House Committee On Oversight & Reform Chairman Darrell Issa Demands Documents & Communication From IRS Relative to Healthcare Reform Law–Another Big Time Waster As States Who Refuse Exchanges Can or Cannot Tax Credits? Go Figure On This One…

Oh my gosh, did some states out there get some tax credits they don’t deserve? How long is this going to take to mull through all of this? ...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

FDA and CDC Issued Recall of Tattoo Ink Contaminated With Bacteria

This has nothing to do with the people who create tattoos of course <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="142" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jf94JNKI_dY/UDo43hP9CpI/AAAAAAAA9Hc/PVztYyIyJPw/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="121" />but rather one supplier of the permanent ink used.  It does recommend to perhaps inquire though and see what products are used in case this bad lot is among the supplies.  CDC began watching this when a person in New York had a skin infection and a dermatologist diagnosed the condition  The ink manufacturer upon learning recalled the batches in question when they learned of the contamination and it appears it went back to a tradeshow  and thus about 12 cases so far have been diagnosed, not a large number but again awareness for those supplying and getting tattoos today.  Last year we had the huge “wipe” recalls from Triad so again just something to be aware of as information becomes known as it’s out there among us at times.  BD <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/recalled-wipes-from-triad-still-out.html">Recalled Wipes From Triad Still Out There in Consumer Medicine Cabinets and Possibly At Some Retail Locations-Manufacturers and FDA Need To Do A Better Job-Bar Codes</a></h5> <h4></h4> <hr /> Bad <a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/tattoo">tattoo</a> ink is behind a rash of infections in several states. The FDA and CDC issued a recall of ink traced back to an Arizona trade show and manufacturer. Non-tuberculosis Mycobacteria (NTM) has been diagnosed in over a dozen cases across the country. Thursday, <a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/08/23/bad-ink-leaves-newly-tattooed-with-infection-risk/">CBS </a>News in Denver reported that health officials are cautioning the public and anyone who has gotten body artwork done in recent months about the tainted samples. Some are causing skin infections and outbreaks. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/bad-tattoo-ink-behind-infectious-outbreak">http://www.examiner.com/article/bad-tattoo-ink-behind-infectious-outbreak</a>

FDA and CDC Issued Recall of Tattoo Ink Contaminated With Bacteria

This has nothing to do with the people who create tattoos of course but rather one supplier of the permanent ink used. It does recommend to...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Diabetes Stand Up Comedy Captain Glucose and Meter Boy, Getting A Good Message Across With A Taste of Humor–Video From the “Comedy Syringe”

This is cute and very well done with a bit of humor.  The bad guy here<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="87" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xb7yjDSvqFI/UDoyymL2O0I/AAAAAAAA9Gw/vhEVOsQCEVo/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="121" /> is Blood Sugar Maniac.  Captain Glucose is played by Bill Kirchenbaurer.  I’m not a diabetic but could appreciate the humor and message and awareness.  The presentation could not have been better names either, “The Comedy Syringe”  BD <iframe style="width: 420px; height: 251px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pgcY6jSj2wY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> It’s hard to make it seem like stabbing yourself in the finger several times a day is fun, but <a href="http://www.captainglucoseandmeterboy.com/">Captain Glucose and Meter Boy</a> are doing their best. Captain Glucose has Type 2 diabetes while Meter Boy suffers from Type 1. With a little assistance from D-Girl, they battle a Batman-esque bad guy named the Blood Sugar Maniac – when they’re not honing their stand-up routines, that is. <a href="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/123030#ixzz24cKHpjy4">http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/123030#ixzz24cKHpjy4</a>

Diabetes Stand Up Comedy Captain Glucose and Meter Boy, Getting A Good Message Across With A Taste of Humor–Video From the “Comedy Syringe”

This is cute and very well done with a bit of humor. The bad guy here is Blood Sugar Maniac. Captain Glucose is played by Bill Kirchenbau...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

FDA Approves First First Wireless Remote Control Device for Back Pain Relief Using TENS Technology–One Device For Over the Counter and Pro Model To Be Available by Prescription–Hollywog

First off you have to kind of like this name as it’s not your typical name for a device company and actually it’s one you can somewhat <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="99" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DaDD59zlGFs/UDmF-y30y_I/AAAAAAAA9F8/Dhj6i0vWMTk/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="163" />remember as it stands out.  TENS units have been out for a number of years and I remember using one years back and they keep getting better.  The Wi-Touch devices that focus on back pain are exactly that, an improvement.  It has a wireless device to control the unit and it is small enough to wear under clothing.  The battery life is not bad either with 150 30 minute treatments before it needs a re-charge.  It also states that the coverage area is much larger and just looking at the images you do notice that and it has replaceable gel pads.  The <a href="http://hollywog.com/witouch/#">Wi-Touch</a> will be available over the counter for a cost of $150.00 and the Pro version will need a prescription.  The company does manufacture and create standard TENS products as well.  Both the Pro and OTC versions of the product are wireless and it appears the Pro version has a bit higher output than the one over the counter.  This sure look like a treatment that can help to avoid taking a lot of pain medications for patients if their body reacts positively to the treatment.  I would guess that anyone who uses a TENS technology product would be a good candidate for this product.  Right now the company only has 7 employees and they plan to release additional products in the future geared towards pain management.  BD <iframe style="width: 432px; height: 243px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hEBp8eVdKNU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <hr />Hollywog, a seven-person medical equipment startup on Amnicola<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="117" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-IonnP9rJOiU/UDmF_OPSe3I/AAAAAAAA9GE/eHOLlfpS1qw/image%25255B12%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="97" /> Highway, starts domestic distribution of its one-of-a-kind back pain relief product next week and will begin worldwide distribution in the next two months. Government regulators approved the WiTouch and the WiTouch Pro earlier this week, and the devices soon will appear at chiropractor and physical therapy offices and independent drugstores. The basic WiTouch, usable only on the lower back, will be available over the counter for less than $150. The WiTouch Pro is for use on the lower and upper back and will be covered by some insurance plans, but will require a prescription.  "For a small startup, we have probably the most experienced staff globally for product development and marketing," Thomas said. "I was real fortunate to be able to have them come work directly for Hollywog." <a title="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/aug/25/chattanooga-companys-device-targets-back-pain/" href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/aug/25/chattanooga-companys-device-targets-back-pain/">http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/aug/25/chattanooga-companys-device-targets-back-pain/</a>

FDA Approves First First Wireless Remote Control Device for Back Pain Relief Using TENS Technology–One Device For Over the Counter and Pro Model To Be Available by Prescription–Hollywog

First off you have to kind of like this name as it’s not your typical name for a device company and actually it’s one you can somewhat remem...

Saturday, August 25, 2012

SCAN Agrees to Pay $320 Million to Resolve Over Payment Allegations to California Medi-Cal Program–Billing and Audit Algorithms Busy Again Shifting Money Back and Forth…

This case was brought about by a whistle blower and goes back to records dating to 1985, a long time back.  California doesn’t get all the money though as the Feds get some too as this is a joint plan between California and the Feds.  As usual no admittance of wrong doing here <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="86" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PdXTAnoJgbo/UDl5rZDGlnI/AAAAAAAA9FQ/8b4A2RRHh_0/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="168" />was admitted; however, the prosecutors didn’t find any wrong doing either so human error with input or the algorithms created this one as it was a coding error with reimbursing SCAN at the wrong levels, as if all patients were under the care of a nursing home which is a higher level.  The whistle blower though says the case was at the fault of SCAN and the case was filed in 2009.  One more item worth mentioning here was the use of a 3rd party by SCAN that was involved with the billing codes.  So was this gaming the system in fact?  We don’t know for sure but someone will be looking at the algorithms and codes used for risk assessment you can bet.  Here we have yet one more case of the algorithms moving money back and forth.  Mayo Clinic just settled on of these types of cases, again a whistle blower and it’s worth a look too as Mayo refunded the money right away upon finding the error.  Some of the time invested in these cases going way back such as this are software generated.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/08/mayo-clinic-agrees-to-settle-doj-legal.html">Mayo Clinic Agrees to Settle DOJ Legal Suit Dating Back to 2007 Under Whistleblower Provisions–One More Example of Algorithms Shifting Money in Healthcare As Cost of the Lawsuit Had to Far Exceed the End Results With Time and Money–A Waste</a> </h5> I said myself that the Mayo case was a big waste of time to keep it moving as once they saw the error they refunded the money but the legal part of it keeps moving on and on.  I can see where a big case of “real fraud” is definitely worth pursuing for obvious reasons but how many <img align="right" height="70" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="176" />“coding” suits will keep appearing and shifting money?    Again it’s the involvement of the 3rd parties that sell their analytics and coding software based on the promise that they can cut expenditures and save money as well as not leave any money laying on the table at the same time, and the latter is where the coding comes in.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/10/bad-algorithms-in-healthcare-payment.html">Bad Algorithms in Healthcare Payment Systems and Risk Assessments–Did the Hospital Bill Fraudulently or Were They Sold Formulas That Did Not Conform</a> </h4> So one does have to wonder as to how much time will be spent on using algorithms and coding errors to keep shifting money back and forth and back and forth?  There will be more forthcoming you can bet and SCAN will look to see where they have opportunities to replace lost revenue as that’s the way business functions today, healthcare or otherwise.  Maybe SCAN will find a little more profitable data to sell?  Who knows.  BD <hr /> A Long Beach health plan agreed to pay $320 million to resolve allegations that it was overpaid by the state's Medi-Cal program going back to 1985, government officials said. Federal officials called the settlement from SCAN Health Plan the largest of its kind from a single provider in Medi-Cal, the state's <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/government-health-care/medicaid-HEPRG00001.topic">Medicaid</a> program for the poor and disabled.  Separately, the United States attorney's office in Los Angeles said SCAN paid an additional $3.8 million to settle a whistle-blower's allegation that the nonprofit company was overpaid by <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/government-health-care/medicare-HEPRG00002.topic">Medicare</a> because of withholding of information about patients' diagnosis codes.  Medi-Cal is a joint state-federal program. Under the settlement announced Thursday, California will receive $190.5 million and the federal government will get $129.4 million. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medi-cal-settlement-20120824,0,4746289.story">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medi-cal-settlement-20120824,0,4746289.story</a>

SCAN Agrees to Pay $320 Million to Resolve Over Payment Allegations to California Medi-Cal Program–Billing and Audit Algorithms Busy Again Shifting Money Back and Forth…

This case was brought about by a whistle blower and goes back to records dating to 1985, a long time back. California doesn’t get all the m...

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Bavarian Nordic In Denmark At Risk of Having to Fire 100s of Workers if the US Doesn’t Place Order for Smallpox Vaccine by January

Normally the order is received around June of every year and HHS so<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="124" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mak3toQFJKU/UDkKFQW4c9I/AAAAAAAA9EU/SByhFJxxKlY/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="114" /> far this year has not placed the order.  The vaccine, called Immune is 95% of the company revenue.  There are other vaccines produced that are also a single treatment but vaccines from other companies are not necessarily safe for individuals with compromised immune systems and thus this is where the drug comes in to play.  Again this is the only company that makes the vaccine for those at risk and without an order it could run out of money and go away and we don’t want that.  Other sources of funding I’m sure would also be entertained as well.  BD <img alt="image" border="0" height="175" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cQ8oz2dv5h8/UDkKFzUN8BI/AAAAAAAA9Ec/YGX7wb5BZkM/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="229" />By looking at the pipeline you can see there are also some oncology drugs such as the one in trials for prostate cancer as vaccine.  BD <hr /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BAVA:DC"> Bavarian Nordic A/S (BAVA)</a>, the largest vaccine maker in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/denmark/">Denmark</a>, will need to fire hundreds of workers and shut down a factory if it doesn’t receive an order for a smallpox vaccine from the U.S. government by January, the company’s chief executive officer said Bavarian Nordic relies on the vaccine, called Imvamune, for 95 <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="70" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-D0ugq8ImzZg/UDkKGOTyAHI/AAAAAAAA9Ek/Iswu4VfuVWg/image%25255B8%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="138" />percent of its revenue, said Anders Hedegaard, CEO of the Kvistgaard, Denmark-based biotechnology firm. It was awarded a $500 million U.S. health contract for 20 million doses in 2007. Without the new order, the impact on the company “would be dramatic,” he said. The firm already has begun firing workers and scaling down production. While government laboratories in the U.S. and <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/russia/">Russia</a> hold the only known samples of smallpox, federal agencies stockpile the vaccine amid concerns about bioterrorism. The virus is ranked as one of the greatest potential threats to public health because of its high mortality rate and capacity to spread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/bavarian-nordic-at-risk-as-u-s-weighs-smallpox-order.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/bavarian-nordic-at-risk-as-u-s-weighs-smallpox-order.html</a>

Bavarian Nordic In Denmark At Risk of Having to Fire 100s of Workers if the US Doesn’t Place Order for Smallpox Vaccine by January

Normally the order is received around June of every year and HHS so far this year has not placed the order. The vaccine, called Immune is ...

Saturday, August 25, 2012

I’ll Take My Licorice Unleaded Please, FDA Alert American Licorice Company Recalling Black Licorice Twists–Discard and Do Not Eat

I love this licorice and hopefully I am not poisoned as I ate a bunch <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="84" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-w1vZt-nYKjk/UDgfhqYE7GI/AAAAAAAA9Do/OIyAZ51m1jY/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="123" />of it a couple weeks ago so I assume I’m fine.  The candy has elevated levels of lead and I am curious as to how it got there.  Lead poisoning is hard to detect.   At any rate, don’t eat the stuff and wait until a new batch comes out.  Where’s those bar codes I say to identify them?  Maybe one of these days we might get there.  BD <hr /> American <a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/licorice/articles">Licorice</a> Company is recalling the 16 oz. bags of Red Vines Black Licorice Twists. The recall is due to the discovery of elevated levels of lead contained in the licorice. The one pound bags are affected by this recall. American Licorice is notifying consumers and customers to discard this product and to not consume. Lead poisoning can be hard to detect — even people who seem healthy can have high blood levels of lead. Signs and symptoms usually don't appear until dangerous amounts have accumulated. Pregnant women and those with children who may have consumed this candy should consult with their physician or health care provider. This may help determine whether further medical testing is required. For more information about lead poisoning contact your local childhood lead poisoning prevention program or local public health department. For further questions regarding this product contact American Licorice Consumer Support at 886-442-2783 for further information. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/fda-health-hazard-alert-recall-on-black-licorice">http://www.examiner.com/article/fda-health-hazard-alert-recall-on-black-licorice</a>

I’ll Take My Licorice Unleaded Please, FDA Alert American Licorice Company Recalling Black Licorice Twists–Discard and Do Not Eat

I love this licorice and hopefully I am not poisoned as I ate a bunch of it a couple weeks ago so I assume I’m fine. The candy has elevated...

Friday, August 24, 2012

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Sequencing on a Bus–Ion Torrent Desktop Sequencer On Tour in the US

FDA Approves InWave Medical Device for Treating Female Incontinence

Hospitals To Get E-Mails From Department of Justice To Examine Questionable Defibrillator Surgeries With Medicare Patients–What A Waste As DOJ Time Is Better Spent With Analytics For Wall Street/Banker Crimes

FIOS Reboot for the Medical Quack Today–My Attack of the Killer Algorithms And Verizon Support Handled Successfully Via Twitter

Two LAPD Police Officers Being Investigated for Body Slamming Nurse During a Routine Traffic Stop–Video Shows the Entire Account

FDA Approves Teva’s Generic Version of Amgen Drug Neupogen–Drug Given With Chemotherapy That Boosts White Blood Cells–But Not Available in US Until Late 2013

Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute Receives 8.9 Million Dollar Grant To Design And Focus On Harm Free Hospital Care For Patients From The Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

Wellpoint CEO and Chairman Angela Braly Steps Down Effective Today–Time for the Next Batter Up To Deal With Company Complexities and the Algorithms For Profit–Machines Running A Lot of the Business Today

HealthGrades CEO Founder Joins WorldOne Board–Flawed Data And Broken Algorithms On the Move to Advise Market Research? Algo Duping Society?

While Waiting for FDA Approval for an IPhone ECG Company Launches Popular Veterinary Version–Cats and Dogs Get Heart Attacks Diagnosed

Nurse Diagnosed With Rare Condition, Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder Which Is Incurable

In China Doctor-Patient Relationships Get Violent As Government Cuts Funding, Costs Soared, Doctors are Over Worked & Patients Pay More and Don’t Get Good Care

Nurse Accidentally Throws Away Kidney That Was To Be Used for a Transplant

FDA Approves Stribild from Gilead Sciences as Once A Day Treatment to Control HIV Virus

MMRGlobal Creates A Team of Former NFL Celebrities to Educate Consumers on the Benefits of Personal Health Records–Free Trial Offer For Those Signing Up With a Team Member At MyMedicalRecord.com

What Happened to Freedom of Academic Speech–UC Davis Threatens Professor for Writing about PSA Testing Which Was Published in a California Newspaper

StethoCloud–A $20 Stethoscope Attachment for a Smartphone to Diagnose Pneumonia In the Works

House Committee On Oversight & Reform Chairman Darrell Issa Demands Documents & Communication From IRS Relative to Healthcare Reform Law–Another Big Time Waster As States Who Refuse Exchanges Can or Cannot Tax Credits? Go Figure On This One…

FDA and CDC Issued Recall of Tattoo Ink Contaminated With Bacteria

Diabetes Stand Up Comedy Captain Glucose and Meter Boy, Getting A Good Message Across With A Taste of Humor–Video From the “Comedy Syringe”

FDA Approves First First Wireless Remote Control Device for Back Pain Relief Using TENS Technology–One Device For Over the Counter and Pro Model To Be Available by Prescription–Hollywog

SCAN Agrees to Pay $320 Million to Resolve Over Payment Allegations to California Medi-Cal Program–Billing and Audit Algorithms Busy Again Shifting Money Back and Forth…

Bavarian Nordic In Denmark At Risk of Having to Fire 100s of Workers if the US Doesn’t Place Order for Smallpox Vaccine by January

I’ll Take My Licorice Unleaded Please, FDA Alert American Licorice Company Recalling Black Licorice Twists–Discard and Do Not Eat

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