Medical Quack

Health Fitness Corporation Screens 40,000 Workers in First Six Months of 2007

Going to work for a fortune 500 company?  You could be hearing about this organization and be working with a health coach soon to manage your health care.  BD <blockquote> MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health Fitness Corporation (HFC) announced today that it screened nearly 40,000 workers across the country during the first half of 2007 -- an increase of 77.4 percent over the same period in 2006. What's more, the 39,853 workers screened between January and June 2007 represent a jump of 167 percent over the same period in 2005, the first year HFC began to manage comprehensive health screenings for its corporate clients. The company will manage roughly 750 screening events this year at client work sites in nearly every state. Health Fitness Corporation (HFC) is a leading provider of employee health improvement services to Fortune 500 companies, the health care industry and individual consumers. Serving clients for more than 30 years, HFC partners with employers to effectively manage their health care and productivity costs by improving individual health and well-being. HFC serves more than 300 clients globally via on-site management and remotely via Web and telephonic services. HFC provides a complete portfolio of health and</blockquote> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/DCTU00807082007-1.htm">Health Fitness Corporation Screens 40,000 Workers in First Six Months of 2007</a>

Health Fitness Corporation Screens 40,000 Workers in First Six Months of 2007

Going to work for a fortune 500 company? You could be hearing about this organization and be working with a health coach soon to manage you...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Underinsured Risking Debt to Pay Health Bills

First we had the uninsured, now the underinsured posing a risk, what is the next group to add to the system?  With being underinsured, at least the effort is being made to have some type of insurance coverage, but will this progression continue to soon blend both groups into the same undesirable category and continue to wreak havoc with just trying to get healthcare services when you need it?  BD <blockquote> TUESDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- One in four Americans with health insurance are still underinsured -- meaning they are often using up their savings or turning to credit cards to cover medical expenses, according to a survey in the September Consumer Reports. And overall, the survey of 37,000 people found, 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 have inadequate access to health care.  "Because health care is so expensive, it's coming up to bite ordinary people." "Four out of 10 Americans can't count on having health insurance when they need it," said senior project editor Nancy Metcalf, the article's author. "This includes people who don't have health insurance, but also the 3-in-10 people whose health insurance is so bad or so costly to them that are having trouble accessing and paying for medical care." This means that some 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 have inadequate access to health care. Most employers are struggling to keep their employees insured, even as large health insurance companies continue to reap huge profits, the report said.  "Employers, too, are feeling the strain of rising costs. In 2000, the average employer contribution for a family plan was $135 a month; by 2006, the cost was $248," Metcalf said.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/08/07/hscout607092.html">Underinsured Risking Debt to Pay Health Bills - Forbes.com</a>

Underinsured Risking Debt to Pay Health Bills

First we had the uninsured, now the underinsured posing a risk, what is the next group to add to the system? With being underinsured, at le...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

All Australians deserve free health care - Opinion

A viewpoint from down under...one person's opinion relative to the private insurance in a country where they have a public health system and feels private insurance is eroding the system.  BD <blockquote> HOW can anyone not agree with free universal high-quality health care? How can anyone think that our current public/private marriage of political convenience is beneficial to all Australians both now and in the future? How can anyone think that our nation is getting value for money? It's not. Private health insurance is a rip-off. Public health needs the $3 billion government subsidy that is propping up the private health insurance industry. And a truck-load more. People don't need a 30 per cent rebate on their private health insurance premiums. They need not to feel terrified into having to pay the premiums in the first place. My solution? Make it mandatory that politicians and their families are forced to use only the public health system.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/all-australians-deserve-free-health-care/2007/08/07/1186252704557.html">All Australians deserve free health care - Opinion - theage.com.au</a>

All Australians deserve free health care - Opinion

A viewpoint from down under...one person's opinion relative to the private insurance in a country where they have a public health system...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Fat Is The New Normal-Changing Perceptions Of Body Weight Feed Rise In Obesity

Fat Is The New Normal-Changing Perceptions Of Body Weight Feed Rise In Obesity

Good news for women...we can carry a few extra pounds...not be obese but maintain a normal weight instead of being too thin....BD American...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Doctors accused of using faith to violate gay bias laws

Doctors accused of using faith to violate gay bias laws

Strange legal case here...will be interesting to follow the outcome. BD The California Supreme Court is being asked to answer that questi...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

AHA Criticizes CMS' Plan To Reduce Inpatient Medicare Reimbursements

<blockquote> AHA Officials' Comments AHA President Richard Umbdenstock in a statement said, "In its final rule, CMS cut more than $20 billion in Medicare payments for hospital inpatient services, further depleting scarce health care resources." He added, "CMS struck an unnecessary and demoralizing blow against hospitals' ability to care for patients across America." Umbdenstock said, "This misguided policy wrongly assumes major changes in how hospitals categorize patients for payment purposes, penalizing hospitals in advance based on a 'guess' by CMS." AHA says that payment adjustments should be made only after any upcoding activities have been observed. Don May, AHA's vice president for policy, said the group would pursue legislation to block the coding adjustment but did not specify by what legislative vehicle (<cite>CQ HealthBeat</cite>, 8/2).</blockquote> <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78789.php">AHA Criticizes CMS' Plan To Reduce Inpatient Medicare Reimbursements</a>

AHA Criticizes CMS' Plan To Reduce Inpatient Medicare Reimbursements

AHA Officials' Comments AHA President Richard Umbdenstock in a statement said, "In its final rule, CMS cut more than $20 billio...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

A strike for better healthcare

This is scary...has it come to this with HMO care...if you have an alcohol addiction problem you can get help, but only 3 days...and then advised by the representative to go out and get drunk again so you can be admitted for another 3 days if you still need care....one doctor speaking out on managed health care today....BD <blockquote> SOON AFTER HMO/managed care came to Massachusetts in the late '80s, I got a call from a patient I had admitted to the 28-day alcohol unit at the hospital. He said that he was being discharged after three days because that was all that the HMO would now pay for alcoholism. He said the HMO representative told him to go out and get drunk again and they would readmit him. How did this happen? Managed care let it be known through massive advertising that either doctors join up, or be left out -- we would lose patients to HMO doctors. This seemed strange: Doctors did the work; without us, there was no "care" to manage. If we stuck together, we could get what we wanted from the insurance industry. Instead, doctors elbowed each other out of the way to make sure they would "get in." We lost our clout in setting standards for good care for patients, and a work environment that would allow it. Their doctors are rushed, mistakes are made, good care is hard to find. Private health insurance spends about 30 percent on administrative costs; government-run Medicare spends 3 percent. The single-payer national model seems inevitable.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/05/a_strike_for_better_healthcare/">A strike for better healthcare - The Boston Globe</a>

A strike for better healthcare

This is scary...has it come to this with HMO care... if you have an alcohol addiction problem you can get help, but only 3 days...and then a...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Hospitals struggle over who can afford to pay

At what point is it a charity case, or simply a matter of someone who can't afford to pay...even making 100k a year and receiving a bill for the same amount can be difficult for one to afford...BD <blockquote> CHICAGO (Reuters) - For-profit hospitals, which are blaming unpaid medical bills for tamping down profits, are struggling with a simple question: Which patients have the ability to pay their hospital bills? Driving that issue to the top of their financial agenda is the rising health care tab patients are being asked to shoulder by private health insurers, putting U.S. hospitals increasingly in the undesirable role of debt collector. "For some people making above $100,000, when they get a hospital bill for $100,000, they may not have the ability to pay," said Gerard Anderson, director of the Center for Hospital Finance and Management at the Johns Hopkins University public health school. Health Management, which posted an 85 percent plunge in second-quarter profit last week, citing rising bad debt, said it is struggling with when to write off bills as charity care, and when to try to collect even a tiny share of its costs.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN0333186320070806">Hospitals struggle over who can afford to pay | Reuters</a>

Hospitals struggle over who can afford to pay

At what point is it a charity case, or simply a matter of someone who can't afford to pay...even making 100k a year and receiving a bill...

Monday, August 06, 2007

MetLife to Acquire SafeGuard - Forbes.com

MetLife to Acquire SafeGuard - Forbes.com

Insurance company MetLife Inc. said Monday it agreed to acquire Dallas-based SafeGuard Health Enterprises Inc., expanding its dental an...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Fewer young doctors choose primary care-Colorado

One more state predicting a shortage of physicians and less entering primary care.  BD <blockquote> One-third of Colorado physicians are 55 or older, and retirements will soon create a shortage of care for aging residents, according to a new report. "We have a whole generation of practicing physicians who are now on the cusp of retirement, and we don't know who is coming in behind them," said Pamela Hanes, president of the Colorado Health Institute, or CHI. The Colorado figures reflect national trends, said Tim Fry, manager of government affairs at the National Rural Health Association in Alexandria, Va. "We're facing a workforce issue nationwide in rural and urban areas, but the physician shortages are going to show up earlier and more acutely in rural areas," Fry said.  "We see a continued movement to specialty care and to urban areas," Fry said.  "We don't see a lot of young physicians choosing primary-care practice," Hanes said. Durango residents new to Medicare - the federal insurance program for people 65 and older - can no longer find a doctor willing to take them, Murphy said. The Valley-Wide Health Systems clinic in Durango closed this year, Murphy said, leaving a large number of residents, possibly more than 1,000, without doctors. "At the same time, a lot of people are saying having health insurance is not enough if you don't have the providers," she said. </blockquote> <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_6503312">The Denver Post - Fewer young doctors choose primary-care</a>

Fewer young doctors choose primary care-Colorado

One more state predicting a shortage of physicians and less entering primary care. BD One-third of Colorado physicians are 55 or older, a...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Tablet Kiosk Sahara i440D Review

Nice review on the new Sahara I440D tablet.  The site has a detailed review with more specifications and some additional great pictures.  We will have one soon that will focus on both hardware and software soon at this site, the in meantime, check out the review from Chris De Herrera....BD The Sahara i440D represents a significant step forward for Tablet PC technology. It incorporates an Intel Core Duo processor and PCI Express video card which make Windows Vista come alive for Tablet PC users especially with Aero Glass. <img border="1" height="328" src="http://www.tabletpctalk.com/reviews/Tablet_Kiosk/Sahara_i440D/CIMG2237%20%28Small%29.JPG" width="496"> Front - The Sahara i440D <img height="371" src="http://www.tabletpctalk.com/reviews/Tablet_Kiosk/Sahara_i440D/CIMG2253 (Small).JPG" width="499"> For a complete set of pictures see <a href="http://www.tabletpctalk.com/reviews/Tablet_Kiosk/Sahara_i440D/pictures.shtml">Sahara i440D Pictures</a> <a href="http://www.tabletpctalk.com/reviews/Tablet_Kiosk/Sahara_i440D/index.shtml" title="Sahara I440D review from TabletPCTalk.com">http://www.tabletpctalk.com/reviews/Tablet_Kiosk/Sahara_i440D/index.shtml</a>

Tablet Kiosk Sahara i440D Review

Nice review on the new Sahara I440D tablet. The site has a detailed review with more specifications and some additional great pictures. We...

Monday, August 06, 2007

World’s Highest Resolution HDTV Surgical Camera

Surgical cameras now going HD as well.  Good article and reading.  Also to be featured on a National Geographic TV special.  “JPEG XR,” HD Photo was introduced with the release of Windows Vista and this is the format being used.  New high quality video for the OR coming of age.  BD <blockquote> <a href="http://docinthemachine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/kseahd.jpg"><img alt="hdksea" height="191" src="http://docinthemachine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/kseahd.jpg" width="208"></a> I have previously posted about my research on the use of high definition TV (HDTV) for surgical endoscopy.  I am honored to have participated in the evaluation of the highest resolution surgical system ever created which I used to capture the footage showcased in the amazing upcoming National Geographic HD special “Inside The Living Body” which will be the first surgical procedure broadcast in HD.    What’s also new is that this system allowed me to record footage that will be seen by the lay public in their living room that is higher resolution and quality than virtually any surgeon has ever seen in the OR!<img align="right" height="197" src="http://docinthemachine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/wideview.jpg" width="307"> In this post I want to review the system used and how it differs from other surgical systems.   This will also give me a chance to review many of the failings of HD systems in use in the OR today as well as provide surgeons with important caveats in choosing a system.  I’ll also provide you with some photos and stills from the system and further details of the National Geographic TV special.</blockquote> <a href="http://docinthemachine.com/2007/07/31/hdsurgery/">World’s Highest Resolution HDTV Surgical Camera - Ever! - First Exclusive Evaluation » docinthemachine</a> Hat Tip:  <a href="http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2007/08/doc_in_the_hidef_machine.html" target="_blank">Medgadget</a>

World’s Highest Resolution HDTV Surgical Camera

Surgical cameras now going HD as well. Good article and reading. Also to be featured on a National Geographic TV special. “JPEG XR,” HD P...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Under the influence

Nobody is immune. BD <blockquote> FOR many Americans, a doctor's decision to prescribe medication is something of a sacred transaction. A physician considers the patient and symptoms and chooses the best drug for the job, drawing upon years of training and clinical experience. It is an exchange conducted in a hushed sanctuary, far from the heat and noise of the marketplace -- a place where cool judgment reigns. That sanctuary has been breached. Today, drug manufacturers do everything in their considerable power to ensure that their brand-name prescription medications are on the lips of patients and in the minds of physicians every time the two meet across an exam table. A growing chorus of critics says their efforts have begun to rewrite the dialogue between patient and doctor, influence physicians' judgments and open the act of prescribing to forces more profit-minded than sacred. "There is nothing fundamentally wrong with advertising products," Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, told a Senate committee recently. "But when financial incentives yield inappropriate or dangerous care, when they inordinately raise the cost of care, when they risk patients' lives in clinical trials, and when they damage the profession, they have gone too far."</blockquote> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-drugintro6aug06,1,6647049.story?coll=la-headlines-health&ctrack=1&cset=true">Under the influence - Los Angeles Times</a>

Under the influence

Nobody is immune. BD FOR many Americans, a doctor's decision to prescribe medication is something of a sacred transaction. A physicia...

Monday, August 06, 2007

California To Launch Ratings for Preferred Provider Plans

One more program to rate insurance companies and physicians. BD <blockquote> The Department of Insurance on Monday plans to announce a new health care report card program for six of the state's largest preferred provider organizations as part of an effort to help consumers compare plans, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insure6aug06,1,6081040.story"><cite>Los Angeles Times</cite></a> reports. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (R) said, "This is the first time in the country that ... people with PPO plans will be able to get data on how good their policy really is." Poizner said the report cards will measure how physicians in each PPO network follow best-practices guidelines, including providing childhood immunizations and giving at-risk patients regular cancer screenings. Physicians also will be rated based on patient satisfaction surveys. The report cards also might include clinical outcomes, which could help determine how well physicians are improving care. <ul> <li>Aetna; <li>Blue Shield of California; <li>Cigna; <li>Health Net; <li>WellPoint; and <li>UnitedHealth Group.</li></ul></blockquote> <a href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2007/8/6/California-To-Launch-Ratings-for-Preferred-Provider-Plans.aspx">California To Launch Ratings for Preferred Provider Plans - California Healthline</a>

California To Launch Ratings for Preferred Provider Plans

One more program to rate insurance companies and physicians. BD The Department of Insurance on Monday plans to announce a new health care ...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Intel chief targets health industry

More IT help on the way for the Health Care industry.  I can totally agree with the comment that this is the "slowest moving industry in the world" as relates to technology, and yet the advances are so critical to better health care for all.  The bank too will soon be broken as technology continues to evolve and we are already seeing some of this with the shortage of physicians, some of which may have chosen to just bow out and retire instead of working with new methodologies.  Lack of technology and using old paper processes, which require the need for additional staff and supplies to accommodate the requirements for billing, charting and pay for performance are already taking a toll not only with efficiency, but with compensation.  The demands from insurers to receive data versus paper information is already eating a big hole in the practice budget as generating this information manually instead of using technology is becoming a major cost function and almost to the point of being prohibitive to allot staff time to dedicate to the reporting side of things, thus  compensation is at stake due to the inability to timely generate the information needed for payment in some areas, such as pay for performance.  BD  <blockquote> Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, the world’s biggest semiconductor company, has attacked the healthcare industry for its resistance to technological change. “It is the slowest moving industry in the world,” he told the Financial Times. “And one indicator of that is, of all the major industries in the world, it is the least penetrated by IT.”  Mr Otellini said the health sector was a “longer hike” than other Intel initiatives aimed at emerging markets and the digital home. He sees technology helping by providing systems for people to monitor their health at home and allowing remote monitoring, diagnosis and treatment through telemedicine. Intel has made little progress in penetrating the healthcare industry with its chips since it reorganized and created a Digital Health division in 2005. “The current projections in healthcare will break the bank of most mature economies if we don’t do something about it,” he said. </blockquote> <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e7144d24-4371-11dc-a065-0000779fd2ac,_i_rssPage=9a36c1aa-3016-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html">FT.com / Companies / IT - Intel chief targets health industry</a>

Intel chief targets health industry

More IT help on the way for the Health Care industry. I can totally agree with the comment that this is the " slowest moving industry ...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Medicare foul-ups continue

<blockquote> WASHINGTON - Nearly two years after it was launched, the Medicare prescription drug plan is still plagued with confusion and computer foul-ups, costing seniors money and complicating their access to the benefit. Among the thousands who have had problems is Clarence Saalfeld, a 67-year-old Florence resident, who enrolled in the Medicare Part D plan in December 2005. But he had to fight Social Security and Medicare for 11 months before they stopped charging him for two separate prescription drug plans. Before Saalfeld's plan went into effect in January 2006, he switched plans to pay his third-party provider directly. That's when his problems began.  Both Medicare and Social Security repeatedly told the caseworker in Davis' office that Saalfeld's plight was someone else's problem or that it had been resolved. The first plan provider told the caseworker in April that it had stopped receiving Social Security payments.  However, Social Security continued to withhold premiums from Saalfeld's check. Premiums of about $14 were withheld from Saalfeld's February Social Security check for his canceled Medicare plan. He also got a bill from his new provider for $22. That went on for months. "I live on a fixed income, so I couldn't make that up," Saalfeld said. "Luckily I had some savings, but I'm sure other people have been very hurt by it." Seniors nationwide are experiencing problems like Saalfeld's, which have arisen since the federal government launched the Medicare Part D prescription drug program in January 2006. The program has been troubled with computer errors and a confusing array of choices that are only beginning to be straightened out.</blockquote> <a href="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070806/NEWS01/708060370">The Cincinnati Post - Medicare foul-ups continue</a>

Medicare foul-ups continue

WASHINGTON - Nearly two years after it was launched, the Medicare prescription drug plan is still plagued with confusion and computer fo...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Windows Vista and Office 2007Test Drive

Windows Vista and Office 2007Test Drive

If you are not sure whether or not to upgrade and want to try out either Vista or Office 2007 this is your best bet. Nothing is installed o...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Teeth Whitening Experience With The Launch Of LISTERINE WHITENING® Quick Dissolving Strips

Teeth Whitening Experience With The Launch Of LISTERINE WHITENING® Quick Dissolving Strips

One more way to whiten your teeth...and freshen you breath at the same time. BD The makers of LISTERINE® invented the mouthwash category ...

Monday, August 06, 2007

DePuy Launches New Software For Computer Assisted Hip Surgery

DePuy Launches New Software For Computer Assisted Hip Surgery

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. has announced the launch of computer software designed to significantly enhance the field of computer-assisted ...

Monday, August 06, 2007

Cytori Therapeutics -natural alternative to breast implant technology

Fascinating new technology with tissue restoration, especially related to breast cancer patients and the potential alternatives with using fat tissue from your body instead of other implanted material for reconstruction.  BD <blockquote> Cytori's European Celution™ System standardizes and automates a process that releases regenerative cells residing naturally within adipose (fat) tissue. The adipose tissue is taken from the patient using a minor liposuction-like procedure, placed into the system and, with the touch of a button, the processing begins.  Cytori was informed of the completion of enrollment in 2006 of an 11 patient investigator-initiated study in Japan using adipose-derived regenerative cells to treat complications of tumor removal and radiation damage in breast cancer patients. The administered cells were extracted and concentrated from the patients' own adipose tissue using Cytori's Celution™ System. About an hour later, following a tissue wash, cell separation and concentration by the Celution™ System, a prescribed dose of regenerative cells may be delivered back to the patient. This system is designed to fit seamlessly into the existing hospital workflow. The Celution™ System makes cells available in about one hour. <img alt="Celution System overview" src="http://www.cytoritx.com/images/products/cs_overview.jpg"> Cytori also has begun development of its U.S. Celution™ System, designed to process a patient's own blood cells. The company wants to begin investigating potential applications for these cells in the future to enhance its product pipeline.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.cytoritx.com/products/cs_overview.html">Cytori Therapeutics</a>

Cytori Therapeutics -natural alternative to breast implant technology

Fascinating new technology with tissue restoration, especially related to breast cancer patients and the potential alternatives with using f...

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Pharmacy benefit managers push Medicare e-prescribing ...

The latest on e-prescribing...don't forget the free NEPSI link on this page, available free for any physician who wants to enroll....BD <blockquote> Washington -- The trade group representing pharmacy benefit managers has launched a campaign urging Congress to require physicians to use electronic prescribing in Medicare. Switching from paper-based drug orders to e-prescribing would be the right move from both a financial and safety standpoint, says the Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn. In a PCMA-commissioned study, the Gorman Health Group concluded that requiring doctors and pharmacies to handle all Part D prescriptions electronically by 2010 would reduce federal health care costs by $29 billion and avoid 1.6 million adverse drug events over the next decade. "Physicians are eager to adopt new technologies that have the potential to increase patient safety and quality of care, but hitting doctors with an unfunded e-prescribing mandate at the same time the government plans to cut Medicare physician payments 10% next year is untenable," he said.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/08/13/gvsd0813.htm">AMNews: Aug. 13, 2007. Pharmacy benefit managers push Medicare e-prescribing ... American Medical News</a>

Pharmacy benefit managers push Medicare e-prescribing ...

The latest on e-prescribing...don't forget the free NEPSI link on this page, available free for any physician who wants to enroll....BD ...

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Flex appeal: It's all in the planning ...

Flex appeal: It's all in the planning ...

Planning for and allowing medical staff to work flexible schedules...BD "I don't see any reason why somebody should be miserable ...

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Intel Co-Founder Donates $100M For Nursing School

Nice story and a wonderful contribution...Betty Moore getting an insulin shot that was not for her created the movement for the donation to fill the huge need for nursing education.  Medical errors of such do cost lives and education is part of the process to eliminate or reduce.  BD <blockquote> The co-founder of Intel and his wife are giving $100 million to the University of California, Davis to establish a nursing school. The gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is the largest donation ever to the university and is believed to be the largest gift in the nation for nursing education. The money will be donated over 11 years and will go to create the school at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. 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.   Ken Moore, the couple's son, said the donation grew out of his mother's own poor care during a hospital stay. A nurse gave her a shot of insulin that was supposed to go to the patient in the next bed. "They nearly had two deaths out of one medical error. That was the start of her really being interested in nursing care," Ken Moore said.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.topix.net/content/cbs/2007/08/intel-co-founder-donates-100m-for-nursing-school">Intel Co-Founder Donates $100M For Nursing School</a>

Intel Co-Founder Donates $100M For Nursing School

Nice story and a wonderful contribution...Betty Moore getting an insulin shot that was not for her created the movement for the donation to ...

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Hip resurfacing may delay hip replacement

Hip resurfacing may delay hip replacement

The new technique has several advantages over standard total hip replacement (THR) and is an attractive alternative to many people, said...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Many Patients Don't Pursue Referrals

All those time consuming administrative functions for a practice and better health care...the long term relationship with the patient from the primary care MD made the difference in the study...a level of trust and something you may not have with seeing different doctors at different locations when having to change physicians due to contract coverage.  BD <blockquote> FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- About 20 percent of patients don't follow up on their doctor's referrals to specialists, new research shows. According to Forrest, patients are more likely to go to a specialist if their primary care doctor makes the appointment. "Patients who left the office with an appointment were more likely to attend," he said. In addition, insurance coverage was also a factor in whether or not patients saw a specialist. Patients on Medicaid were less likely to follow through on the referral and more likely to be denied coverage by their health plan, the study found. "And patients who did not have health insurance were less likely to be referred at all," Forrest said. "If they were referred, they had more difficulty finding a specialist who would give them an appointment," he said. "Having a long-term relationship seemed to make a difference," Forrest said. "It makes a difference whether you have a strong relationship with your primary care doctor or a weaker relationship," he said. "That is an important factor in trusting the recommendation of the doctor."</blockquote> <a href="http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/08/03/hscout606874.html">Many Patients Don't Pursue Referrals - Forbes.com</a>

Many Patients Don't Pursue Referrals

All those time consuming administrative functions for a practice and better health care...the long term relationship with the patient from t...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Man finds discarded medical records

Man finds discarded medical records

Patient record story of the week....another paper mishap this time too, it seems like the paper folks are getting to be more careless than t...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Doctor accused of working while high

Doctor accused of working while high

SAN ANDREAS -- The Medical Board of California filed a formal accusation against a doctor who allegedly treated patients while high on p...

Friday, August 03, 2007

More arrests expected in doctor probe

Doctors flunked certification exams more than once and had results falsified...BD <blockquote> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Federal authorities hunted for nine suspects Friday amid an operation against dozens of "doctors" accused of obtaining their licenses through fraud — and the father of one of them allegedly threatened to kill anyone who cooperated with investigators. Gilberto Rodriguez, who is himself a doctor, was jailed on a witness tampering charge. A notice taped to the door of his shuttered medical practice in a San Juan strip mall said he was away "on vacation" until Monday.  The Caribbean territory's licensing board said states including Florida, New York and Texas recognize Puerto Rican medical licenses, but the local Health Department said none of the suspects were known to have practiced medicine on the U.S. mainland. A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted 91 people, including a former director and a secretary of the licensing board and Rodriguez. A total of 88 people were accused of having obtained medical credentials by fraud.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/5026297.html">More arrests expected in doctor probe | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle</a>

More arrests expected in doctor probe

Doctors flunked certification exams more than once and had results falsified...BD SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Federal authorities hunted for n...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Ask your doctor, is Sicko right for you?

With managed care getting larger by the minute, it seems like it is almost starting to resemble a single pay system of some sort...except for what we pay...as the saga continues on our broken health system...BD <blockquote> Michael Moore's documentary, "SICKO" now playing at our local theatres is proving to be an excellent sales pitch for a "single-Payer System, " in the ongoing campaign for universal health care for Americans. Like Michael Moore's other movies, SICKO has a point of view: To encourage Americans to revamp our failing health-care system. Today much of the public remains confused by the on-going debate over government's role in medical care. The confusion is fostered by an insurance industry which, determined to hold onto its expensive share of the medical dollar, can only do so by misrepresenting itself. By massive lobbying, both in Washington and in all the state capitals, the industry has kept its hand in the till where it extracts at least a third of the medical dollar while providing, in addition to misinformation, reduced treatment options and added expense to an unwary public.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.coastalpost.com/07/08/26.html">Coastal Post Online Article August, 2007</a>

Ask your doctor, is Sicko right for you?

With managed care getting larger by the minute, it seems like it is almost starting to resemble a single pay system of some sort...except fo...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Woo Suk Hwang, Who Faked Research, Made Spectacular Breakthrough

Do we believe him this time?  BD  <blockquote> It has emerged that Woo Suk Hwang, the South Korean scientist who was named and shamed for faking his research, made an amazing breakthrough. According to Cell Stem Cell, he may have managed to create stem cells solely from human eggs, without fertilization with sperm. This breakthrough is possibly much more valuable than his original false claims about his work. Hwang's work at Seoul National University was famous worldwide - he became a national hero and possibly the most esteemed stem cell scientist in the world. In 2005, his status came crumbling down when it was revealed he had faked much of his claims. He had said that he and his team created cloned human embryos by putting a cell's nucleus into an empty human egg, and then used the stem cells for those embryos. It was later found that the embryos had originated from the eggs of female members of his laboratory team - in other words, not from cloned embryos. He was fired and then charged with fraud and misappropriation of funds (embezzlement).</blockquote> <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78745.php">Woo Suk Hwang, Who Faked Research, Made Spectacular Breakthrough</a>

Woo Suk Hwang, Who Faked Research, Made Spectacular Breakthrough

Do we believe him this time? BD It has emerged that Woo Suk Hwang, the South Korean scientist who was named and shamed for faking his re...