Quest Diagnostics And HP Partner to Bundle Care 360 EHR Services With Financing and Training Packages

<p>Partnerships and alliances in healthcare are growing and we have seen a similar <a href="http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/connect/physician.html"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="93" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKtZAVomJkI/AAAAAAAAh3o/JgHLrSFUHEU/image%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="188" /></a>arrangement with Dell for one more example of a bundled support system of hardware and software and now <strong><a href="http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/w1/en/solutions/health-life-sciences-overview.html?jumpid=ex_r2858_w1/en/large/tsg/go_Healthcare">HP</a> </strong>and <strong><a href="http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/connect/physician.html">Quest Diagnostics</a></strong> enter the arena.  Last year I had the opportunity to interview and talk to Rohit Nayak from Quest/MedPlus.  MedPlus is the Health IT arm of Quest Diagnostics.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/07/quest-diagnostics-and-health-it.html"><font size="2">Quest Diagnostics and Health IT – Interview with Rohit Nayak, Vice President of Sales, Clinical Information Solutions Group, MedPlus</font></a></h4> <p>Having the right hardware is becoming increasingly important today too with much of the services running from the web, upgrades to have a full successful experience may be needed.  Labs offer very rich information and below is an image on how that information can be placed into a PHR as well, just by going through a set up procedure and your doctor giving permission.  </p> <p>HP is the financing partner here and much of what is offered from Quest is software as a solution and there are downloads for mobile applications as well.  Quest is also a participating member in many HIE projects across the US.  I noticed on the website today that the 90 offer for e-prescribing still stands for any provider wanting to give it a try.  Over the last 3 years I have written about Quest often and you can use the 2nd Google search box to find older archives posts.  BD  </p> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SnIJavm1KOI/AAAAAAAAZLY/7Er5wkddrtQ/image63.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" /></p> <blockquote> <p><strong><u>Press Release:</u></strong></p> <p><strong>MADISON, N.J.</strong>, October 5, 2010 – Quest Diagnostics’ (NYSE: DGX) health information technology subsidiary <a href="http://www.medplus.com">MedPlus</a> and HP today announced they are partnering to facilitate and simplify <a href="http://www.care360.com">electronic health record (EHR) </a>adoption for physician practices nationwide.<img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SnIJLjoq6KI/AAAAAAAAZKs/G_eApAK0kDM/image50.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></p> <p>Quest Diagnostics’ web-based <a href="http://www.care360.com">Care360™ EHR </a>software and services coupled with HP hardware, services and financing, bring a unique offering to physicians. A key part of this relationship is offering preconfigured bundles designed to enable physicians to leverage their technology investment for faster access to patient information and improved office efficiency. Physicians can receive a personalized onsite assessment of both their technical environment and practice workflow to better understand their unique practice needs.<a href="http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/97688-0-0-0-121.html"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="48" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKtZAj6GutI/AAAAAAAAh3s/ymENNwJvI9s/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="230" /></a> <br />To help educate physicians on EHRs and meaningful use, Quest Diagnostics and HP will launch a nationwide tour in Baltimore, MD on October 28th. Additional cities and dates will be announced shortly. <br />HealthDynamix, the healthcare division of PC Mall (NASDAQ:MALL) and an HP PartnerONE Healthcare Elite Partner, will deliver the solution, providing hardware implementation and support services across the United States. <a href="http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/w1/en/solutions/health-life-sciences-overview.html?jumpid=ex_r2858_w1/en/large/tsg/go_Healthcare"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="47" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKtZBK4999I/AAAAAAAAh3w/2wf37NoN9Ws/image%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a> <br />Approximately one third of U.S. physicians—and many of the country’s leading hospitals, health plans, and regional health exchanges—currently rely on health care information solutions developed by Quest Diagnostics to document, analyze and monitor diagnostic, prescription and clinical data to provide better patient care. Because Care360 EHR is completely web-based, the only requirement is Internet access, which reduces the time and costs of implementing the solution. Coupled with HP’s network connectivity, physicians can access more secure patient information, from a fixed or mobile Internet browser. <br />“Combining our Care360 EHR solution with HP’s hardware and services creates a comprehensive platform for small to medium-sized physician practices to easily and cost-effectively transition to an EHR system,” said Richard A. Mahoney, Quest Diagnostics’ vice president of Healthcare Information Solutions and president of its MedPlus healthcare information technology subsidiary. “The joint solution is designed to deliver the tools physicians need to improve overall clinical outcomes and realize the many financial incentives of EHR adoption.”</p> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SnIJlMjwJGI/AAAAAAAAZLo/g0PucEIHPIg/image_thumb29.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" /></p> <p>HP is an industry leader in healthcare technology innovation with tablet PCs, notebooks, desktops, workstations and thin clients, as well as digital signage and smartphones, designed for the rigors of patient care settings. HP’s broad product line will be integrated into the Care360 EHR offering to provide customers the flexibility to choose the right product and solution for each unique healthcare environment, making it easy for physicians to buy an EHR solution. <br />HP will also offer special financing solutions, through <a href="http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-financial-services/index.html">HP Financial Services </a>-- the company’s leasing and lifecycle asset management services division that provide physician practices monthly payment options prior to receiving financial incentives from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for implementing a qualified EHR.</p> <p>“The vision of a completely secure, wired and interoperable electronic healthcare system is rapidly becoming a reality, yet many physicians are struggling to find the optimal balance of hardware and software as they migrate to EHR adoption,” said Chris Mertens, vice president of the Healthcare Business in the Personal Systems Group at HP. “Our collaboration with Quest Diagnostics will help medical practices find that optimal balance with a custom solution flexible enough to meet their current and future healthcare IT needs.”</p> <p>Visit <a href="http://www.Care360.com">www.Care360.com</a> for more information about Quest Diagnostics’ Care360 solutions.</p> <p>Additional information about HP healthcare offerings is available at <a href="http://www.hp.com/go/healthcare">www.hp.com/go/healthcare</a>. <br />About HP <br />HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at <a href="http://www.hp.com/#Product">http://www.hp.com</a>.</p> <p><u>About MedPlus</u> <br />MedPlus, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the healthcare information technology subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics. MedPlus is a leading developer and integrator of clinical connectivity and healthcare information exchange solutions designed to foster better patient care and improve business performance for health care institutions, physicians and patients. The company's Care360 EHR™ is used by more than 160,000 physicians in more than 70,000 locations. The company's Centergy™ and ChartMaxx® solutions efficiently and securely collect, store, manage and integrate clinical information within an organization, enterprise, practice or community. Centergy enables clinicians to access patient data in a centralized view aggregated from multiple care sites. ChartMaxx®, the company's award-winning DMI and electronic patient record system, has been implemented in more than 140 hospitals and integrated health care delivery networks and has more than 400,000 users. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.MedPlus.com">www.MedPlus.com</a>.</p> <p><u>About Quest Diagnostics</u> <br />Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at <a href="http://www.QuestDiagnostics.com">www.QuestDiagnostics.com</a>.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.medplus.com/news/Quest-Diagnostics-and-HP-Simplify-Electronic-Health-Records-for-Physician-Practices.cfm">Quest Diagnostics and HP Simplify Electronic Health Records for Physician Practices</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c0ce923a-8a5a-413d-a434-0261e45e2fa0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Quest+Diagnostics" rel="tag">Quest Diagnostics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MedPlus" rel="tag">MedPlus</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Personal+Health+Records" rel="tag">Personal Health Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lab+results" rel="tag">Lab results</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HL7" rel="tag">HL7</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/informed+patient" rel="tag">informed patient</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HP" rel="tag">HP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meaningful+use" rel="tag">meaningful use</a></div>

Quest Diagnostics And HP Partner to Bundle Care 360 EHR Services With Financing and Training Packages

Partnerships and alliances in healthcare are growing and we have seen a similar arrangement with Dell for one more example of a bundled supp...

Read more »

US Coast Guard Awards $14 Million Dollar Contract to EPIC for New EHR As Current System Does Not Meet Federal Standards

<p>There’s certainly no problem with being compliant with Epic as this is the system used by Kaiser Permanente, Cedar Sinai and many other large medical centers.  </p> <p>The contract began on September 30th and will include all the necessary capabilities to share records.  The coast guard has 43 ambulatory clinics and <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrXQs2c2DI/AAAAAAAAh3c/SqvzhurYAGo/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="201" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrXRAFlTSI/AAAAAAAAh3g/ecG5xrwOttc/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="250"></a>remote sick bays on land and on water.  The Epic system will connect the sick bays and allow for sharing via CCR standards and the system will support the VLER (the virtual lifetime electronic record which is a project working with the DOD and VA.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p><strong>The Coast Guard’s current EHR system does not meet federal requirements for a standards-based electronic medical record capable of exchanging health data,</strong> according to the announcement. It also lacks basic EHR features such as clinical decision support, population health reporting, and patient scheduling portals, the announcement said.</p> <p>“(The) current environment is inefficient, experiences poor user satisfaction, and has no wireless user interfaces,” the Coast Guard said.</p> <p>The Coast Guard’s current EHR system does not meet federal requirements for a standards-based electronic medical record capable of exchanging health data, according to the announcement. It also lacks basic EHR features such as clinical decision support, population health reporting, and patient scheduling portals, the announcement said.</p> <p>The Coast Guard operates 43 ambulatory clinics across six time zones and remote sickbays on land and afloat. All land-based clinics and sickbays are connected to the Coast Guard Digital Network (CGDN) through which they access the Medical Information System.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=74780">http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=74780</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8e396963-5681-4501-9afb-1b66593e074c" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Coast+Guard" rel="tag">Coast Guard</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EPIC+Medical+Records" rel="tag">EPIC Medical Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EHR" rel="tag">EHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthIT" rel="tag">HealthIT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/portals" rel="tag">portals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/wirelss" rel="tag">wirelss</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clincis" rel="tag">clincis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/VLER" rel="tag">VLER</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DOD" rel="tag">DOD</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/VA" rel="tag">VA</a></div>

US Coast Guard Awards $14 Million Dollar Contract to EPIC for New EHR As Current System Does Not Meet Federal Standards

There’s certainly no problem with being compliant with Epic as this is the system used by Kaiser Permanente, Cedar Sinai and many other larg...

Read more »

HHS Gives Approval for More Companies and Unions to Participate in Federal Program to Support Early Retiree Health Insurance–Aetna and Cigna Signed To Fund Their Retirees

<p>There’s a few big healthcare companies in here who got in line, to include insurance companies themselves to take advantage to join in.  The program runs until 2014 and this fills in the blanks for those who retire but are not of age yet to participate in <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-early-retiree-reinsurance-program"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="54" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrPvobOH9I/AAAAAAAAh3U/wsWorNlurWk/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="286" /></a>Medicare.  <strong>The part with the insurers is interesting in the fact that they are ones insuring but not going to miss out on some free funds here, so they be able to have the government footing the bill for their own retirees. </strong> You can read more at the <strong><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-early-retiree-reinsurance-program">White House website</a> </strong>for additional information.  </p> <p>The program is called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. BD </p> <blockquote> <p>Nearly 3,000 employers and unions have been approved so far to participate in a federal program supporting early retiree health insurance coverage, according to the HHS. </p> <p><strong>Participants as of Oct. 1 include Aetna, Cigna Corp., Eli Lilly and Co., General Electric Co., McKesson Corp., Medco Health Solutions and Medtronic, according to the HHS.</strong> </p> <p>The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care that provides a total of $5 billion in temporary financial assistance to employers and unions to maintain health benefits for early retirees ages 55 and up who are not yet eligible for Medicare. The program sunsets in 2014. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20101004/NEWS/310049944/1010&rssfeed=rss01">HHS OKs more companies, unions for early retiree support - Healthcare business news from Modern Healthcare</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5b58a360-32f5-483d-b59b-08c2bd684837" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Early+Retiree+Reinsurance+Program" rel="tag">Early Retiree Reinsurance Program</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/White+House" rel="tag">White House</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HHS" rel="tag">HHS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Patient+protection+and+affordable+care" rel="tag">Patient protection and affordable care</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/grant" rel="tag">grant</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a></div>

HHS Gives Approval for More Companies and Unions to Participate in Federal Program to Support Early Retiree Health Insurance–Aetna and Cigna Signed To Fund Their Retirees

There’s a few big healthcare companies in here who got in line, to include insurance companies themselves to take advantage to join in.  The...

Read more »

Biodegradable Heart Stent Used With Clinical Trials in the UK–Begins to Dissolve and Is Gone in a Year Or So

<p>The stent is made from cornstarch and every year many patients should return to have stents removed and some never do, so this is a solution on that horizon.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrCyj2F40I/AAAAAAAAh3A/dSYbT7McDwQ/s1600-h/image%5B14%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="132" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrCy0eIwCI/AAAAAAAAh3E/_qi4a_qPGBs/image_thumb%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="197" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrCzGNSK_I/AAAAAAAAh3I/Ecfqt3odIws/s1600-h/image%5B13%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="131" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKrCzt2RtgI/AAAAAAAAh3M/x6rmEjeAJUg/image_thumb%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="206" /></a></p> <p>It opens the blocked artery via using a catheter to insert like any other type stent procedure.  The mesh scaffold turns into carbon dioxide and water in a year.  This is an international trial.  BD</p> <p><object height="400" width="412"><param name="movie" value="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/external/player.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplaylists%2Ebbc%2Eco%2Euk%2Fnews%2Fhealth%2D11431816A%2Fplaylist%2Esxml&config_settings_language=default&config_settings_showShareButton=true&config=http%3A%2F%2Fnews%2Ebbc%2Eco%2Euk%2Fplayer%2Femp%2Fconfig%2Fdefault%2Exml%3F2%5F26%5F20959%5F21121%5F2%5F20100816104246&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter=true&config_settings_skin=silver&config_settings_showFooter=true&config_widget_settings_widget=empstandard&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType=eav6&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showPopoutCta=false&config_settings_addReferrerToPlaylistRequest=true"></param><embed src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/external/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="412" height="400" FlashVars="playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplaylists%2Ebbc%2Eco%2Euk%2Fnews%2Fhealth%2D11431816A%2Fplaylist%2Esxml&config_settings_language=default&config_settings_showShareButton=true&config=http%3A%2F%2Fnews%2Ebbc%2Eco%2Euk%2Fplayer%2Femp%2Fconfig%2Fdefault%2Exml%3F2%5F26%5F20959%5F21121%5F2%5F20100816104246&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter=true&config_settings_skin=silver&config_settings_showFooter=true&config_widget_settings_widget=empstandard&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType=eav6&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showPopoutCta=false&config_settings_addReferrerToPlaylistRequest=true"></embed></object></p> <blockquote> <p>For years patients suffering from angina have been treated with stents, tiny metal structures, that keep arteries clear and blood flowing. </p> <p>But now a new biodegradable stent has been produced. </p> <p>It dissolves over time whilst releasing chemicals to lower the risk of the artery narrowing. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11431816?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">BBC News - Dissolving heart stent trialled</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b9b66d57-9aa1-4a53-bf41-53f5641c6596" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stent" rel="tag">Stent</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cardiology" rel="tag">cardiology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heart+disease" rel="tag">heart disease</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cornstarch" rel="tag">cornstarch</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clinical+trials" rel="tag">clinical trials</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biodegradable" rel="tag">biodegradable</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/angina" rel="tag">angina</a></div>

Biodegradable Heart Stent Used With Clinical Trials in the UK–Begins to Dissolve and Is Gone in a Year Or So

The stent is made from cornstarch and every year many patients should return to have stents removed and some never do, so this is a solution...

Read more »

A Day in the Life at an ER Room in Brooklyn (Video)

This was a nice write up in the New York Times about a day in the life, the types of patients they see, the questions and treatments the doctors prescribe and the talk between nurses and doctors.  <a href="http://www.maimonidesmed.org/Main/Home.aspx" linkindex="46"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="60" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKq-uP7IbEI/AAAAAAAAh2w/FzIund83LiU/image%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="145" /></a><br /> The writer from the Times stated what he saw was incredible with people being brought back to life on such a regular basis.  There’s also a <b><a href="http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/photos-of-survival-in-an-emergency-room/" linkindex="47">full slide show</a></b> here from his report.  BD  <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" height="373" id="nyt_video_player" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/bcvideo/1.0/iframe/embed.html?videoId=1248069120130&playerType=embed" title="New York Times Video - Embed Player" width="420"></iframe><br /> <blockquote>There never seems to be a particularly good time to go to the emergency room, but nearly every American will pass through one at some point. Most will take home harrowing memories or gratifying ones. They will remember inefficiency or expert care. Almost always, the experience is often clouded in stress or, as time goes by, embellished by a Hollywood lens. <br /> Despite years of health-policy debates lamenting the expense, and <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKq-uuHNc2I/AAAAAAAAh20/VPJVdERrQ2k/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png" linkindex="48"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="175" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKq-u-8eztI/AAAAAAAAh24/7qZSYFFzfOo/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a>predictions that the rise of managed care would thin the crowds, the nation’s emergency rooms are busier than ever. Maimonides, a Borough Park hospital known for its cardiac and <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/stroke/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" linkindex="49">stroke</a> care, has the fifth-busiest one in the nation. It saw 109,925 patients in 2009 — the year of <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/the-flu/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" linkindex="50">the flu</a> pandemic — up from 97,613 in 2008 and 81,931 in 2005. Mr. Hazaz, who repeatedly told anyone who would listen he had last seen a doctor in 1979, was one of 294 people treated there that Thursday, one of 1,511 during a typical end-of-summer week. <br /> <b>There are few windows in the emergency room, and the hum is incessant. In the nonurgent wing, patients typically see a doctor within 20 minutes. But they can lie on gurneys a long time waiting for tests and re-examinations</b> — the median emergency room stay last year was 3.72 hours. The room is so packed that nurses, doctors and technicians squeeze past quadrupled-up gurneys in each bay, colliding in a dance of you first; no, you first. </blockquote><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/nyregion/03emergency.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1" linkindex="51">A Week Inside a Brooklyn Emergency Room - NYTimes.com</a><br /> <div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:02d2ee9e-6394-40a1-9c0e-8fd708844bf2" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Maimonides+Medical+Center" linkindex="52" rel="tag">Maimonides Medical Center</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brooklyn" linkindex="53" rel="tag">Brooklyn</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ER+room" linkindex="54" rel="tag">ER room</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" linkindex="55" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/nurses" linkindex="56" rel="tag">nurses</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" linkindex="57" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patients" linkindex="58" rel="tag">patients</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/New+York" linkindex="59" rel="tag">New York</a></div>

A Day in the Life at an ER Room in Brooklyn (Video)

This was a nice write up in the New York Times about a day in the life, the types of patients they see, the questions and treatments the doc...

Read more »

UCLA Food and Drug Allergy Care Center Opens

<p>This is a brand new are of the medical school and will be developed  to be a world class center in the Los Angeles area.  The focus here is the patient, education and disease monitoring.  </p> <p>Each patient receives a personalized treatment plan and children are as well as adults are welcome.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p><strong>The UCLA Food & Drug Allergy Care Center is the culmination of a fundamental interest and desire by the UCLA allergy community, to help patients with food-and drug-allergy issues.  Our vision is to offer our patients world-class patient care and access to promising clinical research.<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKq63sBLjJI/AAAAAAAAh2k/6bpR09PC_ME/s1600-h/image%5B2%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="69" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKq63yhQnFI/AAAAAAAAh2o/VkvRUVmN_hE/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a></strong></p> <p>Our commitment to excellence reflects the UCLA Health System tradition of international leadership in patient care, biomedical research, medical education and training.</p> <p>We tailor our diagnostic work-up to each patient's clinical needs, and perform allergy testing judiciously. We provide each patient with an individualized treatment plan and easy access to our doctors when this plan needs to be revised.</p> <p>As part of <a href="http://www.uclahealth.org">UCLA Health System</a>, we offer integrated care with other outstanding UCLA physicians. This enables us to treat complex patients as part of a medical community providing care for these individuals.  As part of this philosophy, our center works closely with an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Primary Care practice to ensure that the underlying health conditions of our allergy and clinical immunology patients of all ages can be met seamlessly.  This is part of the innovation driven by by <a href="http://www.uclahealth.org/AlanFogelman">Dr. Alan Fogelman</a>, chair of Medicine, to provide age-appropriate, family oriented care to the Los Angeles community.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://fooddrugallergy.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=33">About Us | UCLA Food and Drug Allergy Care Center</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:02a3144b-2b6f-473b-810f-5b907b4db259" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UCLA" rel="tag">UCLA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/allergies" rel="tag">allergies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/food" rel="tag">food</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drug" rel="tag">drug</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Los+Angeles" rel="tag">Los Angeles</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Biomedical+research" rel="tag">Biomedical research</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/physicians" rel="tag">physicians</a></div>

UCLA Food and Drug Allergy Care Center Opens

This is a brand new are of the medical school and will be developed  to be a world class center in the Los Angeles area.  The focus here is ...

Read more »

Collagen Matrix Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Collagen Dental Membrane–Regenerative Dentistry (Medicine)

<p>If you have ever had any dental implants done, then you will appreciate this as sometimes the bone is not strong enough to support the implants and using collagen like this helps a lot with re-growing bone.  </p> <p>With little tiny scaffolds of collagen, it can make the difference of a successful implant or one you may have trouble with.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>/PRNewswire/ -- Collagen Matrix, Inc., the leader in collagen- and <a href="http://www.collagenmatrix.com/index.htm"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="60" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKohwsBZQnI/AAAAAAAAh2Y/tfQu7bBBDhU/image4.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="260" /></a>mineral-based matrix engineering, announced today that it has received FDA's 510(k) clearance of a new Collagen Dental Membrane derived from porcine dermis indicated for use in oral surgical procedures involving guided tissue and bone regeneration.   </p> <p><a href="http://www.collagenmatrix.com/products-oralmaxillofacial.htm"><img alt="image" border="0" height="240" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKohw3nrROI/AAAAAAAAh2c/nAlcQaqGSAs/image9.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="353" /></a></p> <p>This new Collagen Dental Membrane is a nonfriable, conformable, resorbable, membrane matrix consisting of highly purified type I and III collagen derived from porcine dermis.  The proprietary purification process results in a purified intact collagen tissue membrane with negligible non-collagenous materials. As the area of regenerative medicine in the dental market continues to expand, the demand for collagen membranes has increased worldwide.  Each of Collagen Matrix's six distinct Collagen Dental Membranes has features that distinguish one from the other.  These distinguishing features have been driven by the needs and input from the clinicians.  Design requirements such as handling, in vivo stability, shape, conformability or rigidity, have been optimized and adjusted for each dental membrane based on clinical feedback and specific treatment needs.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.bradenton.com/2010/10/01/2620993/collagen-matrix-inc-receives-fda.html">Collagen Matrix, Inc. Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for New Collagen Dental Membrane Based on Porcine Collagen Platform Technology - PRNewswire - Wire - BradentonHerald.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4d9bbe86-eefc-41ef-b88e-fd1365009f94" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Collagen+Matrix" rel="tag">Collagen Matrix</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/colligen" rel="tag">colligen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dental" rel="tag">dental</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/teeth" rel="tag">teeth</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/regenerative+medicine" rel="tag">regenerative medicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/research+and+development" rel="tag">research and development</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/membranes" rel="tag">membranes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/scaffolds" rel="tag">scaffolds</a></div>

Collagen Matrix Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Collagen Dental Membrane–Regenerative Dentistry (Medicine)

If you have ever had any dental implants done, then you will appreciate this as sometimes the bone is not strong enough to support the impla...

Read more »

Health Insurers Sending Big Dollars to the GOP–The Folks Who Largely Lack General Consumer Digital Literacy And Health IT Literacy As Relates to the Power of Algorithmic Formulas

<p>When you give this some thought, when you send money to those who tend to <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKoQg27de1I/AAAAAAAAh2E/2gFJpIqedso/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="196" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKoQhTUBrzI/AAAAAAAAh2I/TX0uJZJ48n8/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="143" /></a>be lost in the world of how technology and algorithms impact today’s world,  they don’t mess with your business.   <u>Money going in this direction to the IT illiterate, who have no “Algo Man” to back up and research their promises is a safe bet as it buys time and folks who are perhaps not as on top of things as they should be are easier to manipulate.  </u>This is not something new as the last 2 meetings of the HIMMS conventions have featured speakers saying the same thing, so not a big revelation from me at all, it’s just becoming more visible as time marches on. </p> <p><strong>Unfortunately when we hear a lot of promises today, and without the full knowledge from an Algo Man on what it would take to put such promises and plans of action in place, we end up with a lot of potential lip service that goes nowhere,</strong> and thus the <u>consumer confidence will in time drop to an even lower level as these empty promises emerge</u>, again simply due to the fact of a big “denial” factor living a big delusion today.  Last week, Rachel Maddow did an excellent<strong> video on some flat out proof on this topic in showing how the top leaders were not aware of a simple application to remove personal information from a pdf?</strong>  Ok, you take it from here, this is the knowledge base and again with <strong>non participants who are not dialed in here, it is easier for folks as such to be manipulated so thus send the money here. It is scary</strong> that the top leadership was caught in this display of digital illiteracy but keep in mind that’s what’s at the top of the ladder and boy they sure need some Algo Mans to advise them and create promises that stand a chance of seeing any type of fulfillment.  <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJzXFoKfdEI/AAAAAAAAhoQ/KKwaX31O2m0/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/properties-of-adobe-pdf-document-rachel.html"><font size="2">The Properties of an Adobe pdf Document -Rachel Maddow Rips the GOP on Lack of General Consumer IT Knowledge And Exposes the Input and Authors of the Content–Lobbyists</font></a></h4> <p>If you watch the video you can see where the entire pledge was written by a staff member and a former lobbyist for AIG, Pfizer and a few more.<strong>  She has her names and images right there.  <u>It is what it is.</u>  With transparency, stumbles like this do not go unnoticed.  Some of the stands we hear of late call for privatizing Social Security and the VA, <u>well one bad role on the stock market and there goes the money in short.</u> </strong></p> <p><strong><u>The less literate in this area will tend not to poke around too much as they don’t understand it</u></strong> and go about some of the same old methodologies they used way back when, see that on the news every night and some of it makes for some additional OMG stories.  <strong>Big business sees dealing with IT illiterates as a big opportunity in this respect, unlike dealing with our current executive branch that asks questions and is working diligently to create a stronger IT infrastructure</strong>.  </p> <p><strong>To big businesses, this gets in the way of the “algorithms for profit’ and they have had a free hand for years with consumers and other not being up to par, remember all this runs in the background and you cannot institute any kind of program today without the IT infrastructure to support it,</strong> some just have not come to terms with this yet and thus we hear a lot more empty promises.  </p> <p><img border="0" height="202" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJzXHAClcmI/AAAAAAAAhoY/PDeyT1cMRbA/image_thumb%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" width="325" /></p> <p>How do you think Goldman was so successful, it’s those algorithms for profit.  There’s a new book out there and I think it is worth a read as it addresses the spoofing of the public with displays of numbers created with algorithms to show “desired” results and everybody jumps on this band wagon and seems to “believe it must be so” but the news is, it’s not always so, and telling the difference is a challenge today.  I think this is a good book for anyone to read as this is the reality of what is happening today, and in large part not acknowledged it appears by the GOP, the news tells us this every day, not me.  BD  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/proofinessthe-dark-side-of-mathematical.html"><font size="2">“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms–New Book Coming Out Soon</font></a></h4> <p>Wendell Potter, who worked with these algorithms has been working diligently to <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJOaCLGDeLI/AAAAAAAAhbk/I5eYl2idw_k/image%5B12%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />educate and make us aware of what is happening in the background as he did that job for years, and yet when speaking to the folks who are non participants in general consumer digital literacy, how do you get through that wall, and he pretty much says the same things I am saying here, <strong>the illiterate are huge prey for big business so that’s where the money goes.  </strong></p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/wendell-potter-tell-all-bookdeadly.html"><font size="2">Wendell Potter Tell All Book–Deadly Spin–One to Put On My List as “He Knows Algorithms and How they Create Profits”</font></a></h6> <p><strong>So again be ready for some additional soap operas and antics here as digital illiteracy will continue to light up our news media stories on the folks that for the most part are pretty well stuck in the 70s value system</strong> which does not work today as technology is throwing us a new left curve every day and those that don’t’ admit to this and have at least some element of curiosity to learn, will be the ones who grant big business the opportunity to keep rolling those algorithms for profit as the erosion of the middle class will continue to slide. <strong>It won’t be their fault however, as they are non participants and It illiterate and will more than likely end up with having to compound yet one more empty promise until they wise up and get an Algo Man, all the banks have quite a few Algo Mans</strong> and look where the power lies.  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKoQhkD0i1I/AAAAAAAAh2M/LObmipV_tcc/s1600-h/image%5B6%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="89" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKoQiJ7-nzI/AAAAAAAAh2Q/Vp2kEPDRq1c/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="196" /></a></p> <p>This is just a flat out reality check here and hopefully bringing about an awareness of how mathematical formulas and their use and abuse is running the world today and non participants are completely lost and vulnerable and we pay price with antiquated values of the 70s being used as smokescreens of sorts.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>Oct. 04---- Faced with wide-ranging new requirements in the health care law, the insurance industry is pouring money into Republican campaign coffers in hopes of scaling back regulations while preserving the mandate that Americans buy coverage. </p> <p>Since January, the nation's five largest insurers and the industry's Washington-based lobbying arm have given three times more money to Republican lawmakers and political action committees than to Democrats. </p> <p>That is a marked change from 2009, when the industry largely split its political donations between the two parties, according to federal election filings. </p> <p><strong><em>The largest insurers also are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobbyists with close ties to key Republican lawmakers who could be shaping health policy in January, records show.</em></strong> </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=228577&type=lifehealth">Insurance News - Health Insurers Infuse GOP with Cash</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:772f9b7c-fb55-465a-a392-da2332888d4b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Security" rel="tag">Social Security</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/VA" rel="tag">VA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Veterans+Administration" rel="tag">Veterans Administration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pledge+to+America" rel="tag">Pledge to America</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/GOP" rel="tag">GOP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/non+participants" rel="tag">non participants</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algorithms+fraud" rel="tag">algorithms fraud</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/digital+literay" rel="tag">digital literay</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/participants" rel="tag">participants</a></div>

Health Insurers Sending Big Dollars to the GOP–The Folks Who Largely Lack General Consumer Digital Literacy And Health IT Literacy As Relates to the Power of Algorithmic Formulas

When you give this some thought, when you send money to those who tend to be lost in the world of how technology and algorithms impact today...

Read more »

TriZetto Creates Portal to Connect Providers and Payers– Algorithms To Hasten Transaction Fees With Processing Claims That “Score Patients And Authorization Requests”

<p>This really is not rocket science as there has to be a carrot for programmers and companies to keep creating methodologies for payment expedition.  It is no secret <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TD5uwHqEO8I/AAAAAAAAfpU/kb6TtuhCefI/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />today that the payers and those outside the clinical side of healthcare are the financial beneficiaries; however learning new software techniques and having yet one more place to go takes time.  I wonder why the folks that keep dishing out more applications and portals don’t recognize this fact.  <u>Software in itself is not going to be the cure all for care but it does generate faster profits if the providers us it.</u>  This portal could even make it easier to facilitate the possibility of moving some of this functionality overseas as the company purchased another company that does this.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/trizetto-owned-by-apax-partners-pe-firm.html"><font size="2">TriZetto (Owned by Apax Partners PE Firm) Buys Tela Sourcing And Gains IT Resources to Outsource Claim and Other Transactions To India With US Medical Billing</font></a></h4> <p>Even some of the folks who have been on the medical record side of the business are crossing over to the payer side as the ex CEO of Cerner is now in charge over here.  A while back, another data intense algorithmic software company, Ingenix who is part of United Healthcare made some efforts to purchase TriZetto.</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/07/ex-cerner-president-hired-by-trizetto.html"><font size="2">Ex Cerner President Hired by Trizetto as CEO – More Money on This Side As Payment Algorithms Are Not Certified and Held Accountable as is EHR Software</font></a></h6> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SuHe239GTzI/AAAAAAAAaoU/lzCJbuH0FnI/image_thumb%5B3%5D.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" /></p> <p>Granted, using a portal is more efficient that reams of paper and faxes but it also makes the processes easier for outsourcing here so we get a double edge sword of sorts and<strong> again the third parties here with supplying all types of software and algorithms are the ones who cash in big time with profits as those transaction fees just keep on growing</strong>.  As a patient, is this just not wonderful to know that you are yet one more number here with a “score” that is assisting in determining what care you will get,  makes one fee like just one more “score” or “brick” in the wall.  <strong>The purpose of looking at all angles here is to hopefully create an awareness for the patients to create a greater understanding of the processes that work in the background that they may or may not be aware </strong>of as they run 24/7 and as humans we still need to sleep.  </p> <p>As you can see from this article, this process is<u> making it easier to “score” the patient with a risk assessment to let the provider know, based on new algorithmic formulas</u> on whether or not authorizations will be approved.  As a patient you are scored right and left these days to see if your health and needs can fit into the formulas they have determined to be authorized with the algorithms set forth.  <strong>All profits here eventually go to the parent company, a private equity firm in the UK so it’s a good idea to see who owns and manages who these days at with new contracts and acquisitions, it changes quickly.  BD</strong></p> <blockquote> <p>GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – One of the pain points in the payment of healthcare bills is the process of gaining approval from insurers for medical procedures. The TriZetto Group is looking to ease that pain by introducing a better means of communication between providers and payers.</p> <p>The Greenwood Village, Colo.-based developer of healthcare IT solutions last week announced the upcoming launch of <strong>CareAdvance Provider, the newest component of its CareAdvance Enterprise care management suite. The new automated authorization portal is designed to enable direct communication between providers and payers</strong> through Web portals that providers already use, allowing them to determine more quickly which treatments will be covered by the patient’s health plan.</p> <p>According to TriZetto officials, when a provider submits an authorization request through the new portal, a CareAdvance Provider solution replies with a pre-determined set of questions.<u> The provider’s answers to those questions generate a score based on the patient’s benefit plan,</u> enabling the provider to determine whether the authorization will be approved, denied or filed for additional review.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/new-trizetto-portal-link-providers-payers">New TriZetto portal to link providers with payers | Healthcare Finance News</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:bca63ea9-b1cd-4899-9f71-8f78873ada22" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Trizetto" rel="tag">Trizetto</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/records" rel="tag">records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/payers" rel="tag">payers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/claims" rel="tag">claims</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/reimburements" rel="tag">reimburements</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EOB" rel="tag">EOB</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+intelligence" rel="tag">business intelligence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+cost" rel="tag">healthcare cost</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ingenix" rel="tag">Ingenix</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tela+Sourcing" rel="tag">Tela Sourcing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/India" rel="tag">India</a></div>

TriZetto Creates Portal to Connect Providers and Payers– Algorithms To Hasten Transaction Fees With Processing Claims That “Score Patients And Authorization Requests”

This really is not rocket science as there has to be a carrot for programmers and companies to keep creating methodologies for payment exped...

Read more »

3M To Stop Offering Health Insurance Plans to Retirees Effective in 2013

<p>Last week we had McDonalds and this week it is 3M.  As healthcare reform keeps moving it’s getting more difficult to project for companies to identify if they can or want to afford employer based insurance as we can see from this latest move.  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKn2BeEKctI/AAAAAAAAh14/MN1Ub0ZnIgw/s1600-h/image%5B5%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="181" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKn2BhVeZSI/AAAAAAAAh18/kMxDwIMF0h8/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="220" /></a>Perhaps we are eventually going to end up with a single pay plan by default if we keep seeing efforts going in this direction.  For employers too, the employee benefits area of human resources is becoming an administrative nightmare too.  It doesn’t seem to appear that anyone likes the complexity and algorithmic formulas today that are required for even the processing of the smallest claim submitted.  </p> <p><u>This is pretty much what we are looking at today with our bodies and risk assessments to see if they fit the model that has been laid out and those who are not perfect fits are problems</u>.  We all know as we get older, we have more things that can go wrong and thus we get more expensive to have on the rolls.</p> <p>A good example on how complicated issues get is the City of Buffalo to where they paid over 2 Million dollars worth of premiums for “dead” employees, so here we go back again to the data.  You also wonder why in that amount of time that the insurer did not see anything as well, but kept collecting the money.  I am surprises that none of those dead employees were flagged for missing their mammograms and psa tests, it does make you wonder.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/city-of-buffalo-has-paid-over-2-million.html"><font size="2">City of Buffalo Has Paid Over $2 Million to Provide Health Insurance for Hundreds of Dead People-Some as Many as 4 Years</font></a><img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TGXoDxmtlZI/AAAAAAAAghg/kWJQc2TjiD8/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></h4> <p><strong>All of this would have happened anyway with or without healthcare reform as the current economic conditions and technology influence would have demanded this anyway and plans as such are outside the walls and rules of reform anyway, so can’t blame this on reform, it’s the flat out economy and saving money.</strong>  </p> <p><u>It looks like all of us just can’t get healthy fast enough to meet those cost algorithms</u> and there needs to be additional concessions here too on drug and device pricing to make all of this work too.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=MMM">3M</a> Co. confirmed it would eventually stop offering its health-insurance plan to retirees, citing the federal health overhaul as a factor.</p> <p>The changes won't start to phase in until 2013. But they show how companies are beginning to respond to the new law, which should make it easier for people in their 50s and early-60s to find affordable policies on their own. While thousands of employers are tapping new funds from the law to keep retiree plans, 3M illustrates that others may not opt to retain such plans over the next few years</p> <p>"In addition, health care reform has made it more difficult for employers like 3M to provide a plan that will remain competitive," the memo said. The White House says retiree-only plans are largely exempt from new health insurance regulations under the law.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859204575526953379583836.html?KEYWORDS=medicare">3M to Change Health-Plan Options for Workers - WSJ.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e27efa79-5353-48bf-9ba1-8750c43638aa" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/3M" rel="tag">3M</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/retirees" rel="tag">retirees</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/benefits" rel="tag">benefits</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+resources" rel="tag">human resources</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical" rel="tag">medical</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/employees" rel="tag">employees</a></div>

3M To Stop Offering Health Insurance Plans to Retirees Effective in 2013

Last week we had McDonalds and this week it is 3M.  As healthcare reform keeps moving it’s getting more difficult to project for companies t...

Read more »

Texas Pharmacies Files Lawsuit Against CVS–Privacy Misuse Cited With Patient Information Relating to Marketing Via RX Review Plan

<p><u></u></p> <p>The data bases created by pharmacy chains have been an issue for quite a while and there has been some effort made on protecting privacy, <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKlxjUEfHjI/AAAAAAAAh1s/1q-yP9Tv_OI/s1600-h/image%5B2%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="106" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKlxj46j8sI/AAAAAAAAh1w/H3RuI3Ws_hM/image_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="205" /></a>but it has not gone far.  The information gathered originally was for use by pharma sales reps and has been around for years.  As time evolved, the medication record use has now become a portion of medical records, and PHRs with having the ability to import, so now as what is occurring all around us today, the data has a different meaning and use and with fewer pharma reps there is less use in that area and more interest with <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SnOGF9CEl4I/AAAAAAAAZNE/A76TyTmfQm8/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />companies being able to sell this data.  </p> <p><strong>Prescription records are bought from insurers for underwriting purposes</strong> and firms make money at this and this appears to be one of the challenges with the pharmacies in Texas, and not a bad one at that.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/data-mining-marketing-amendment-on.html"><font size="2">Data Mining Marketing Amendment on Senate Health Bill – So Our Medication Records Can Still Be Sold Just not Marketed, Huh?</font></a></h4> <p><em><strong>“HIPAA does not give the </strong><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/03/AR2008080302077_2.html"><strong>Department of Health and Human Services</strong></a><strong> the ability to directly investigate or hold accountable entities, such as pharmacy benefit managers or companies such as Ingenix and Milliman, who are not covered by HIPAA.”</strong></em></p> <p>You can read the statement from <a href="http://www.rxhistories.com/faq.html">Milliman about Intelliscript here</a>.</p> <p><em><strong><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SkL9DUUpfpI/AAAAAAAATeQ/DhEQoCk9-RE/s1600-h/image%5B15%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="85" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SkL9EgMQ4bI/AAAAAAAATeU/wYXysErXZ8k/image_thumb%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="227" /></a> </strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>“Does this process make it more difficult for consumers to get insurance?</strong> <br />No.  There is nothing new about consumers authorizing the release of their medical records, including prescriptions, to insurers.  This standard process has been in place for decades, helping insurers make good decisions about rates and insurability.”</em></p> <p>You can read more about <a href="http://www.ingenix.com/Products/Payers/UnderwritingActuarial/UnderwritingActuarialSolutions/MedPointPrescriptionProfiling/">Ingenix MedPoint here.</a></p> <p>There’s also a flash presentation where you can view the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/06/">process here.</a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SkL9FAV0PXI/AAAAAAAATeY/F-pnmOj8008/s1600-h/image%5B11%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="88" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SkL9GOgy_rI/AAAAAAAATec/4yxb2jf7CV8/image_thumb%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="214" /></a></p> <p><em>“By increasing understanding of potential disease conditions and relative risk, MedPoint enables underwriters to more accurately project future claims costs on a case-by-case basis.”</em></p> <p><strong>Pharmacy companies are in possession of a lot more data these days too and we are seeing some partnerships in marketing that we have not seen before.</strong>  One thing to keep in mind too is all<u> the mergers and acquisitions we are seeing today and this means sharing and analyzing data together as one company could be violating laws or rules with certain activities but another subsidiary in a related business could without violating laws</u>.  Sometimes some wellness programs are vital partners in <img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TFio_VwE9xI/AAAAAAAAgPg/x3318JPuWVs/image_thumb%5B21%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" />marketing efforts as well as performing reminders and care information for patients and sometimes keeping track of what both sides are doing is a challenge and where the data trails lead to who’s making money through algorithmic formulas on transactions selling this information,<u> so yes you are for sale with your medication records kept by pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers</u>. This appears to be the direction of this lawsuit.  Hopefully the White House will be exploring some of these practices as well.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/white-house-task-force-on-unfair.html"><font size="2">White House Task Force on Unfair Business Practices - A Department of Algorithms To Allow Enforcement Would Be Nice…</font></a></h4> <p>Caremark is not the only chain into marketing today as other big chains have their marketing plans and everyone is collecting and combining data on you the patient today.  This does make it difficult too for the smaller pharmacies to compete in some areas and who knows perhaps we might see a return of the small pharmacies based on trust and not being mass marketed one day.  Once a company like  Ingenix as an example has paid for your medical information, who knows which other data bases it could be combine with and whether it is for marketing or better care, it gets a little gray out there today as subsidiaries are working to increase their data intelligence from every angle.  From what I read here this appears to be part of what the pharmacies in Texas are contesting and as patients there’s good reason we should also question some of the business practices we see today if you want privacy.  BD   </p> <blockquote> <p><strong>A group of Texas pharmacies has filed a lawsuit against CVS Caremark, the nation’s largest pharmacy health care provider, saying it violates racketeering and privacy laws.</strong></p> <p>“The practice of CVS Caremark in violating the privacy of patients and unfairly competing with its rivals is well-documented,” the lawsuit alleges. </p> <p><u>The Texas lawsuit accuses CVS Caremark of gaining too much control over patient information, including files from the independent pharmacies that have to hand over patient information for insurance disputes.</u></p> <p>CVS Caremark had nearly $100 billion sales in 2009 and is the nation’s 18th largest corporation, according to the 2010 Fortune 100. It grew out of a $26 billion merger of a pharmacy chain and a pharmacy benefits company in 2007. The company has already disclosed it is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and more than 20 states.</p> <p>The lawsuit also says CVS uses that information for direct marketing to patients and doctors at the behest of pharmaceutical companies. That program is called Rx Review.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/texas-pharmacies-sue-cvs-caremark/?src=twt&twt=nytimeshealth">Texas Pharmacies Sue CVS Caremark - NYTimes.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b1f57d71-9f81-40b1-b2a0-ddd05f109ce0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Senate" rel="tag">Senate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medications" rel="tag">medications</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Milleman" rel="tag">Milleman</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ingenix" rel="tag">Ingenix</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/prescriptions" rel="tag">prescriptions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharmacy+benefit+managers" rel="tag">pharmacy benefit managers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drug+reps" rel="tag">drug reps</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Texas" rel="tag">Texas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharmacies" rel="tag">pharmacies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/privacy" rel="tag">privacy</a></div>

Texas Pharmacies Files Lawsuit Against CVS–Privacy Misuse Cited With Patient Information Relating to Marketing Via RX Review Plan

The data bases created by pharmacy chains have been an issue for quite a while and there has been some effort made on protecting privacy, ...

Read more »

Mad As Hell Doctors Makes a Stop in the OC in Irvine, CA

<p>This was quite a large showing with physicians in Orange County participating, one an ER room physician from Kaiser Permanente.  Many consumers also attended to find out more about what a single payer plan would entail.  As I have mentioned <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKkgBMuY7tI/AAAAAAAAh1U/33s8N16bM38/s1600-h/image%5B1%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="187" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKkgBSs9CuI/AAAAAAAAh1c/fzI3b9F0TRQ/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="277" /></a>before this would be a big undertaking and change.  The insurers have so much of the data and infrastructure so for this to occur in a large fashion there’s a lot of work to be done for setting it up, although a public plan would be a good start to set the wheels in motion.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/mad-as-hell-doctors-hit-road-for.html"><font size="2">Mad As Hell Doctors Hit the Road for California Tour</font></a></h4> <p><u><strong>From the Website:</strong></u></p> <p><em>Mad As Hell Doctors are physicians and other advocates who in August 2009 decided that we were indeed mad as hell about the cruel and inefficient system of health care that we have in the US.  Last September, as the healthcare debate raged in Congress, we embarked on three week road trip through the heartland of America, speaking at single payer rallies and town halls in churches and union halls,  universities, public parks and arts centers in 30 towns and cities in 15 states.  We attracted 6,000 participants and interviewed hundreds of Americans on camera.  We carried the message of their suffering under our current health care system to our Congress members in Washington, D.C.</em></p> <blockquote> <p>IRVINE – Bill Honigman, an emergency-room doctor at Kaiser Permanente <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKkgB13QzeI/AAAAAAAAh1g/lLZ3Oy4d_Ag/s1600-h/image3%5B1%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="209" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKkgCeOCHxI/AAAAAAAAh1k/1GmdBUjDkvE/image3_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="295" /></a>in Anaheim and Irvine, says the only way to make real progress on a health care overhaul is to get rid of private insurance companies altogether.</p> <p>"Ultimately," he says, "we're going to have to muscle them out of the system."</p> <p>The event is was held at the Irvine United Congregational Church.</p> <p>Honigman shared the stage Saturday night with three other doctors – two from Corvallis, Ore., and another from the Bay Area – who have been touring California for the past week and a half addressing crowds both big and small about the inefficiencies of the current system. They don't think much of the Obama administration-backed bill that became law six months ago, saying it was written by and for insurance companies.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/news/payer-269330-single-honigman.html">Touring doctors make case for single-payer system | payer, single, honigman - News - The Orange County Register</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:72b3b358-612d-4096-af81-a4954432f631" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Madashelldoctors.com" rel="tag">Madashelldoctors.com</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Obama" rel="tag">Obama</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/physicians" rel="tag">physicians</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Irvine" rel="tag">Irvine</a></div>

Mad As Hell Doctors Makes a Stop in the OC in Irvine, CA

This was quite a large showing with physicians in Orange County participating, one an ER room physician from Kaiser Permanente.  Many consum...

Read more »

Gov. Schwarzenegger signs New Healthcare Laws for California and Creates Insurance Exchanges (Video)

<p>In case you missed the live cast this morning, which was sent via Twitter as he always does, here’s the information and official signing of the new laws for California and an exaptation of what is changing.  I do like to hear our governor speak as he talks in real terms and is a participant with technology too.  This was land mark legislation signed into effect today.  </p> <p>California is the first state to proceed with health insurance exchanges.  BD</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/radiation-safetycalifornia-governor.html"><font size="2">Radiation Safety–California Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Law to Help Enforce Safety and Require Any Overdoses To Be Reported to Patients, Physicians and the Department of Public Health</font></a></h4> <p><embed src="http://tweetcast.in/player-licensed-viral.swf" height="324" width="380" bgcolor="DFDFDF" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="&autostart=false&backcolor=DFDFDF&dock=false&file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dot.ca.gov%2Fgovflash%2F20101001_sign.flv&frontcolor=3F3F3F&icons=false&lightcolor=3F3F3F&plugins=viral-2d&stretching=fill" /></embed></p> <p>Not to be left out, you can also see what Maria Shriver, Mrs. Arnold is doing next month in Long Beach with a free clinic for women in conjunction with the Women’s <img align="right" border="0" height="93" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKT6XNW2kdI/AAAAAAAAhx4/3uJ7sJ3LFBQ/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" width="92" />Conference 2010.  BD</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/modern-house-call-for-women-announced.html"><font size="2">“Modern House Call For Women” Announced by Maria Shriver for a 3 Day Clinic in Long Beach–Free Medical and Financial Services for Women In Conjunction with the “Women's’ Conference 2010”</font></a></h4> <blockquote> <p>The Governor will be joined by Assembly Speaker John Pérez and Senator Elaine Alquist for the ceremonial bill signing of AB 1602 and SB 900, creating the California Health Benefit Exchange, an entity that will help California consumers and small businesses shop for and buy affordable health insurance.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://tweetcast.in/">Watching Gov. @Schwarzenegger highlight health care reform legislation - live at http://tweetcast.in/1380</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:0985af98-75d2-483c-97ac-18a5234eb98f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Schwarzenegger" rel="tag">Schwarzenegger</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insurance" rel="tag">health insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare+reform" rel="tag">healthcare reform</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/legislation" rel="tag">legislation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/laws" rel="tag">laws</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/insurance+exchanges" rel="tag">insurance exchanges</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/California" rel="tag">California</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Affordable+Heatlhcare" rel="tag">Affordable Heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HHS" rel="tag">HHS</a></div>

Gov. Schwarzenegger signs New Healthcare Laws for California and Creates Insurance Exchanges (Video)

In case you missed the live cast this morning, which was sent via Twitter as he always does, here’s the information and official signing of ...

Read more »

More Congressional Testimonies About Health IT–Members of Congress Could Entertain Getting an “Algo Man” on Staff As Wall Street and Health Insurers Have Them–Don’t Leave Home Without One

<p><strong>So what it the world is an “Algo Man”?</strong>  For that matter it could be a woman too but these are the folks with the brains that know how to put technology to work.  <strong>Brokers on Wall Street don’t hardly ever go to a heavy meeting without their “algo man”</strong> as they realize some of the details and technological discussion are pretty heavy and involved today, so they go prepared.  <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXG6KUhII/AAAAAAAAh04/hGcEuHEUfAQ/s1600-h/image%5B9%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXHZtRtYI/AAAAAAAAh08/JEh0k3oyPec/image_thumb%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="246" /></a></p> <p><strong>When putting any process in place today your need those algorithms and that is part of the reason I focus on this to bring this awareness to the layman's level to hopefully answer some questions as to “what is going on and what is causing these things to occur”.</strong>  We all know computers are here to stay and the layers of intelligence created are rapidly growing too, this is why lawmakers need that “algo man” to help make sense of all of it.  <strong>Could we have a “flash crash” in healthcare, you better believe we could, </strong>and with health insurance being traded on the market, their “algo men” are all over it and this is what creates profits as the mathematical processes run 24/7 and as humans we still need sleep.  </p> <p><strong>The Securities and Exchange Commission has learned a very hard lesson too in the last year with not being on top of the algorithms and</strong> the processes they run and create so no more will there be bored employees chasing porn anymore as algorithm illiteracy is something that can in fact bring down the entire economy, and thus regulations are needed to ensure rogue algorithms are not running wild.  <strong>I realize this is news for a lot of folks out there but we need to deal with it and get our intelligence up to the same levels, otherwise we end up with what we have today with algorithms carving out processes for profit where they did not exist before and everyone scratching their heads wonder, how did this happen?  Check out this new book that talks about formulas and why you can’t believe everything you are told with statistics.</strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/proofinessthe-dark-side-of-mathematical.html"><font size="2">“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms–New Book Coming Out Soon</font></a></h4> <p>Anybody that reads this blog knows how I talk on this subject as algorithms giveth <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Proofiness-Dark-Arts-Mathematical-Deception/dp/0670022160"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="206" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGnalIlcI/AAAAAAAAhe8/0Paat1zfY1E/image%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="134" /></a>and taketh away.  Health insurance companies live and die by the algorithms that create their mathematical formulas for their business decisions.  This book is on my list as I found someone who can speak the same language and acknowledges that this goes on day and night.  We sleep as humans but the algorithms run 24/7, available to you at almost any time you want to consult them.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/10868976/1/sec-focusing-on-high-frequency-traders-algos.html">Today on “The Street” the SEC talks about regulating high frequency algorithms</a></strong> and the same types of mathematical processes are used when analyzing your health assessment you fill out or by insurance companies that already have data on you<u>.  It still kind of haunts me a bit to use that terminology on Wall Street of calling safety algorithms a “circuit breaker” as that is what hangs on the side of my house and how consumers see it too, but I realize this is someone’s way to try to translate the word algorithm to make some sense for those not up to par on general consumer IT literacy</u>.  </p> <p>In healthcare we are lucky to have individuals like Wendell Potter who worked with algorithms for years and is sharing some knowledge on how insurers use them.</p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/wendell-potter-tell-all-bookdeadly.html"><font size="2">Wendell Potter Tell All Book–Deadly Spin–One to Put On My List as “He Knows Algorithms and How they Create Profits”</font></a></h6> <p><strong>THE SEC HAS FOUND OUT TOO THAT THOSE ALGOS ARE NOT PERFECT.</strong>  Algorithms are created that bring about “accurate” results and then there are those formulas written to create “desired” results and the 2 of them are not the same all the time, know this.  </p> <p><strong><u>Anyone today proposing massive policy and law changes without the help of that “algo man” is lost</u></strong> as it helps to find out what processes are going to be required before one goes and speaks publicly and has no concept of the work behind such proposed rules and laws and then comes the old proverbial “egg on the face” when someone with some tech knowledge calls you on the carpet.  </p> <p><strong><u>We see politicians stumbling around today with consumer IT literacy and</u></strong> last week this appeared on the Rachel Maddow show with the GOP not understanding how to at least conceal the authors of their new document on their quest for America.  <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXILfDDtI/AAAAAAAAh1A/2NdZAx5WKO4/s1600-h/image%5B14%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="68" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXIZ_S9aI/AAAAAAAAh1E/pHJvxO_uZl4/image_thumb%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="66" /></a>Need more proof on this?  These folks just needed an Adobe <strong>pdf person who works with Acrobat to tell the how to remove the author’s information, I do that all the time when creating documents if it is not going to be my personal creation and something for a client.</strong>  What gives here when we see a former lobbyist for big corporations wrote all of this?  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/properties-of-adobe-pdf-document-rachel.html"><font size="2">The Properties of an Adobe pdf Document -Rachel Maddow Rips the GOP on Lack of General Consumer IT Knowledge And Exposes the Input and Authors of the Content–Lobbyists</font></a></h4> <p><strong>So when you stop and think about this, who has all the money today, banks and folks that keep an “Algo Man” tied to the hip as they realize technology and mathematical formulas create profits.</strong>  This is a balance though with healthcare as some of those algorithms may be slided over for profit only and we need the advocates out there too watch this so it doesn’t slide too far to where patient care gets denied. <strong> Does that happen, of course it does as it’s in the news all the time as the algorithms make decisions on who gets care, what kind of care and where, depending on who wrote them and how your body fits into the formulas, and all formulas are not accurate and fair</strong>.  </p> <p><strong>It has to be increasingly hard today too for people testifying to try to break down some terminology into a presentation that all will comprehend too.</strong>  I look at Bill Gates who’s been testifying for years and it doesn’t appear a lot of what he had said sinks in.  Good reason below to get one of those “Algo Men”.  </p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/health-plans-offer-comprehensive-reform.html"><strong><font size="2">Health Care Insurers Suggest Algorithms and Business Intelligence solutions to provide health insurance solution</font></strong></a></p> <p>We had this in the news today too with studying best policies and practices for Health IT related to safety – <strong>THEIR LOT IN LIFE – STUDY THOSE ALGOS.</strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/10/institute-of-medicine-to-study-best.html"><font size="2">Institute of Medicine To Study Best Policies and Practices for Health IT Relative to Improving Healthcare Safety aka Those Algorithms</font></a></h4> <p>For the last 2 years HIMMS has made open statements at the annual conventions about the lack of <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXIkA74AI/AAAAAAAAh1I/sNW4kkPzPIs/s1600-h/image%5B13%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="52" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYXI9HNaQI/AAAAAAAAh1M/7da7_nnWx-c/image_thumb%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="263" /></a>knowledge with our lawmakers relative to technology and healthcare, and for some reason or another I feel it probably has not improved much as most of those folks still seem to be stuck on the paradigm of <strong>“it’s for those guys over there” sadly instead of seeing us all in the same boat. </strong>  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>WASHINGTON – In testimony Sept. 30 before a congressional committee, Joyce Sensmeier, vice president, informatics for HIMSS, called for more streamlined and timely health information technology standards – and warned that without them the government risks creating marketplace confusion.</p> <p>Sensmeier spoke before the The House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, at a hearing called "Standards for Health IT: Meaningful Use and Beyond."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/himss-calls-better-more-timely-health-it-standards">HIMSS calls for better, more timely health IT standards | Healthcare IT News</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4b4cd7ad-620b-4980-8655-a7a68e89307b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algoirthms" rel="tag">algoirthms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Its+for+Those+Guys+Over+There" rel="tag">Its for Those Guys Over There</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Algo+man" rel="tag">Algo man</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HIMMS" rel="tag">HIMMS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT+literacy" rel="tag">Health IT literacy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/budgets" rel="tag">budgets</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/testimonies" rel="tag">testimonies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEC" rel="tag">SEC</a></div>

More Congressional Testimonies About Health IT–Members of Congress Could Entertain Getting an “Algo Man” on Staff As Wall Street and Health Insurers Have Them–Don’t Leave Home Without One

So what it the world is an “Algo Man”?   For that matter it could be a woman too but these are the folks with the brains that know how to pu...

Read more »

Institute of Medicine To Study Best Policies and Practices for Health IT Relative to Improving Healthcare Safety aka Those Algorithms

<p>This is to be a one year study on safety and Health IT is the algorithms that we use <a href="http://www.iom.edu/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="73" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYGY6aevOI/AAAAAAAAh0g/gRVdp4UvM0s/image%5B15%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="262" /></a>today for most of our decision making processes.  This is a tough project too as all software at some stage has bugs, so this could in actuality be a full time committee that could stand to remain for more than a year as we have technology throwing us a new left curve every day.  When I was writing I experienced this too with always looking for new bugs.  Big corporations go through this too as we are reminded every Tuesday with our Windows updates.</p> <p>Software and algorithms solve a lot of problems but they also create their own <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYGZEMQsHI/AAAAAAAAh0k/nCyxh_z9mjY/s1600-h/image%5B14%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="100" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYGZQgErRI/AAAAAAAAh0o/sxe3PFrHg3w/image_thumb%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="266" /></a>problems too.  In California our governor recognizes that as he’s a hip guy that uses and participates in technology, i.e. Twitter broadcasts, and signed a new law into effect yesterday relative to radiation treatment software and staying on top.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/radiation-safetycalifornia-governor.html"><font size="2">Radiation Safety–California Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Law to Help Enforce Safety and Require Any Overdoses To Be Reported to Patients, Physicians and the Department of Public Health</font></a></h4> <p>We also have CMS and the FDA collaborating on medical devices as wireless has now entered the picture to clearance for devices that report data has become a bit more complicated compared to past efforts and the FDA of all government agencies I feel is going to become the “most connected” of any agency out there.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/fda-and-cms-to-collaborate-on-reviewing.html"><font size="2">FDA And CMS to Collaborate on Reviewing Medical Products To Help Speed Up the Coverage Decisions–Big Thumbs Up On this Decision</font></a></h4> <p><strong><u>From the website:</u></strong></p> <p><em>T”he Institute of Medicine (IOM) is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public. </em></p> <p><em>Established in 1970, the IOM is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered under President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Nearly 150 years later, the National Academy of Sciences has expanded into what is collectively known as the </em><a href="http://www.nationalacademies.org/"><em>National Academies</em></a><em>, which comprises the </em><a href="http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer"><em>National Academy of Sciences</em></a><em>, the </em><a href="http://www.nae.edu/"><em>National Academy of Engineering</em></a><em>, the </em><a href="http://sites.nationalacademies.org/NRC/index.htm"><em>National Research Council</em></a><em>, and the IOM.”<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYGZyVWQBI/AAAAAAAAh0s/Hlnjob78edE/s1600-h/image%5B13%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="189" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKYGaCAh-EI/AAAAAAAAh0w/Dly_jVEUq4Q/image_thumb%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="189" /></a></em></p> <p>Again I think this committee’s work will go on for more than a year as the best practice today, could rapidly change tomorrow.  Once we can get Congress moving forward on being participants here and acknowledge some of this, the work of the committee will become more relevant and be able to influence creating better practices for Health IT, which now in some areas just runs wild as today’s marketing has a profound effect with sometimes interfering in areas where it may need to be toned down as it helps lead to areas of confusion and misinformation.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>            The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will conduct a 1-year study aimed at ensuring that health information technology (HIT) will achieve its full potential for improving patient safety in health care.  The study will be carried out under a $989,000 contract announced today by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), which is charged with coordinating federal efforts regarding HIT adoption and meaningful use.</p> <p>            “Since 1999, when the IOM published its ground-breaking study <i>To Err Is Human</i>, the Institute has been a leader in the movement to improve patient safety,” said David Blumenthal, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology.  “This study will draw on IOM’s depth of knowledge in this area to help all of us ensure that HIT reaches the goals we are seeking for patient safety improvement.”</p> <p>            The study will examine a comprehensive range of patient safety-related issues, including prevention of HIT-related errors and rapid reporting of any HIT-related patient safety issues.  It will make recommendations concerning the potential effects of government policies and private sector actions in maximizing patient safety and avoiding medical errors through HIT.  Highlights of the study will include:</p> <ul> <li>Summary of existing knowledge of the effects of HIT on patient safety; </li> <li>Identifying approaches to promote the safety-enhancing features of HIT while protecting patients from any safety problems associated with HIT; </li> <li>Identifying approaches for preventing HIT-related patient safety problems before they occur; </li> <li>Identifying approaches for surveillance and reporting activities to bring about rapid detection and correction of patient safety problems; </li> <li>Addressing the potential roles of private sector entities such as accrediting and certification bodies as well as patient safety organizations and professional and trade associations; and </li> <li><strong>Discussion of existing authorities and potential roles for key federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).</strong></li> </ul> <p>            “The IOM is pleased to have the opportunity to add its expertise and convening power in helping to achieve the goals of improved safety through HIT-assisted care,” said IOM President Harvey Fineberg, M.D.</p> <p>            Donald Berwick, M.D., CMS administrator and a national leader on patient safety, said, “Improving patient safety in health care depends on thoroughness in planning and execution, to find problems systematically and correct them decisively.  <strong>We have high expectations for patient safety improvement through HIT, but achieving those goals will require the same careful and vigorous approach that is needed to improve safety in any enterprise.  The IOM can help us identify a productive path to better patient safety with the help of HIT.”</strong> </p> <p>            Substantial funding under the Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will support the adoption and meaningful use of HIT, especially through incentives for the adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health records. In July, CMS announced regulations outlining the initial requirements that eligible health care providers must meet to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology for the Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments program, which CMS will administer.  Also in July, ONC announced regulations completing the adoption of an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria to enable the testing and certification of EHR technology for meaningful use Stage 1.  Earlier this month, ONC named initial testing and certifying bodies.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/09/20100929b.html">Institute of Medicine will study best policies and practices for improving health care safety with health information technology</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:56b1adf6-a6df-4ebf-9a8d-641a1ddb1249" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CMS" rel="tag">CMS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Don+Berwick" rel="tag">Don Berwick</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/safety" rel="tag">safety</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/patient+care" rel="tag">patient care</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ONC" rel="tag">ONC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/algoirthms" rel="tag">algoirthms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a></div>

Institute of Medicine To Study Best Policies and Practices for Health IT Relative to Improving Healthcare Safety aka Those Algorithms

This is to be a one year study on safety and Health IT is the algorithms that we use today for most of our decision making processes.  This ...

Read more »

Jon Stewart Asks Where’s the Billion Dollars Pledged by the US for Haiti-Held up in Senate by Tom Coburn

<p>Jon Stewart does it again with investigating where the US money went from the US <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKX6vlTYNbI/AAAAAAAAh0U/7HRtns-hKMo/s1600-h/image%5B5%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="96" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TKX6wLTMiHI/AAAAAAAAh0Y/w2RrY6nxvnw/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="173" /></a>and apparently it’s not there yet.  He states the money was anonymously held up but he finds out where the snag was and states in the video the senator saw it as a waste?  </p> <p>There’s also some humor here too on Sean Penn and his contributions too.  Jon also states that there’s also some lacking support for women’s interests too.  BD  </p> <table style="background-color: #f5f5f5; font: 11px arial; color: #333" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="360" height="353"><tbody> <tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5" valign="middle"> <td style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 2px"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com" style="color: #333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td> <td style="text-align: right; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 2px">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14px" valign="middle"> <td style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 1px; color: #333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; padding-top: 2px" colspan="2" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-30-2010/tom-coburn--international-a--hole-of-mystery" target="_blank"><a>Tom Coburn: International A**hole of Mystery<a></a></td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px" valign="middle"> <td style="text-align: right; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; width: 360px; padding-right: 5px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 2px" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">www.thedailyshow.com</a></td> </tr> <tr valign="middle"> <td style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" colspan="2"><embed style="display:block" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:360622" width="360" height="301" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowFullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 18px" valign="middle"> <td style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" colspan="2"> <table style="text-align: center; margin: 0px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" height="100%"><tbody> <tr valign="middle"> <td style="padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: 33%; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/" style="font: 10px arial; color: #333; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">Daily Show Full Episodes</a></td> <td style="padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: 33%; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="font: 10px arial; color: #333; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">Political Humor</a></td> <td style="padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: 33%; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/Rally%20to%20Restore%20Sanity" style="font: 10px arial; color: #333; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">Rally to Restore Sanity</a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/10/1/watch_jon_stewart_gets_haiti_news_from_democracy_now" title="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/10/1/watch_jon_stewart_gets_haiti_news_from_democracy_now">http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/10/1/watch_jon_stewart_gets_haiti_news_from_democracy_now</a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c231f521-3e97-4ea4-9a7b-0c1920881e99" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Jon+Stewart" rel="tag">Jon Stewart</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Senate" rel="tag">Senate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tom+Coburn" rel="tag">Tom Coburn</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Haiti" rel="tag">Haiti</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/money" rel="tag">money</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/donations" rel="tag">donations</a></div>

Jon Stewart Asks Where’s the Billion Dollars Pledged by the US for Haiti-Held up in Senate by Tom Coburn

Jon Stewart does it again with investigating where the US money went from the US and apparently it’s not there yet.  He states the money was...

Read more »