Medical Quack

Community Health Systems Suffers Big Data Breach as 4.5 Million Patients’ Personal Data Information Was Accessed Via Highly Sophisticated Malware

There’s one bright spot here in the fact that at least credit card data is being reported<img align="right" height="70" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--OyQbph60nc/U-GpHMs7nDI/AAAAAAABLBs/HgtDwHzGoEc/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" width="226" /> as being ok as well as the fact that no medical records data was accessed, but the attackers did get social security numbers as well as addresses and phone numbers.  It depends on what type of queries the hacker runs to identify additional information and yet that could be done, and again it depends on how much money can be made for those additional types of efforts.  It’s all about selling data for money today. This happened back in April and we are now just hearing about it.  Recently in the news, Community Health just agreed to pay $98 million to settle charges for systematically over admitting patients.  The malware has now been removed from the system.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/community-health-system-to-pay-98.html">Community Health System To Pay $98 Million For Charges of Systematically Over Admitting Patients</a></h5> Here’s more folks that will get identity theft protection services for a year and I wonder how long that business will be able to protect our data at the rate breaches are occurring today.  Again it comes back to once again, selling data and the epidemic in the US is sadly alive and well to the point to where like this case, even those outside the US want access to sell our data.  The US built this system of data for nothing and profits for free you could say.  BD  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/07/could-you-imagine-world-with-stock.html">Could You Imagine a World With Stock Brokers, Real Estate Brokers, Etc. Not Having to Be Licensed? How Would We Know Who They Are? Data Sellers Need To Be Licensed Too, So We Know Who They Are..</a></h5> <hr />The company said it is notifying affected patients and regulatory agencies as required by law. The data transferred, which was nonmedical patient identification data related to the company's physician practice operations, affected about 4.5 million individuals who were referred for or received services from company-affiliated physicians in the last five years. The data includes patient names, addresses, birth dates, telephone numbers and social security numbers, but not patient credit card, medical or clinical information. Community Health Systems said it would offer identity-theft protection services to those affected by the attack. The intruder has typically sought valuable intellectual property, such as medical device and equipment development data, according to federal authorities and cybersecurity firm Mandiant, the company said. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/community-health-systems-says-its-suffered-criminal-cyberattack-1408365259">http://online.wsj.com/articles/community-health-systems-says-its-suffered-criminal-cyberattack-1408365259</a>

Community Health Systems Suffers Big Data Breach as 4.5 Million Patients’ Personal Data Information Was Accessed Via Highly Sophisticated Malware

There’s one bright spot here in the fact that at least credit card data is being reported as being ok as well as the fact that no medical r...

Monday, August 18, 2014

Prime Healthcare Bids for Daughters of Charity Hospitals in California Chain in California, While Two Former Employees File Suit Against the Company in Kansas Who Were Laid Off Without Promised Severance Packages

In January the 6 hospital chain of Daughters of Charity were put up for sale and now it’s<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="133" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-nr7_lGelhVc/U_GICb_TCaI/AAAAAAABLHM/UvTxQ9tre38/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="232" /> drawing protests.  Daughters of Charity have 2 hospitals in the Los Angeles area and the others are in the bay area.  Hospital workers are protesting the the proposed purchase and there’s no additional details on the proposal from Prime.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/01/hospitals-feeling-aca-crunch-in.html">Hospitals Feeling The ACA Crunch In California As Financially Strapped Daughters of Charity Health System Put Six Hospitals Up For Sale</a></h5> Now we can cross over into Kansas where tow former employees were laid off and are filing a lawsuit.  It appears now that Prime will own 4 hospitals in Kansas once the current deal goes through and already operates two other hospitals.  Employees who worked at the first two hospitals bought by Prime says 49 workers were laid off and were not provided promised severance benefits.  Prime now owns 27 hospitals and is known for coming in and buying up distressed hospitals.  BD  <hr /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hospital-protest-20140816-story.html">Prime Healthcare Services Inc.,</a> a hospital chain that has come under fire for billing and patient privacy issues, is facing opposition over its potential acquisition of six California hospitals, including two medical centers in Los Angeles County. On Friday, hospital workers, union representatives and elected officials protested against Prime outside St. Vincent Medical Center near downtown Los Angeles, one of the six hospitals put up for sale this year by the Daughters of Charity Health System. Daughters of Charity began seeking offers in January. Issai said there are seven buyers interested in purchasing the six-hospital system. He declined to provide any further details. Issai said the chain has struggled financially as medical costs continue to rise and reimbursements from Medicare and Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, have fallen. He said the chain hopes a buyer will "breathe new life" into the hospitals, but also retain their mission of serving the poor and providing quality healthcare. <hr /> Just days after <a href="http://kcur.org/post/ex-employees-kc-area-hospitals-sold-prime-healthcare-sue-over-severance-pay">Prime Healthcare Services</a> agreed to buy two Kansas City-area hospitals, laid-off employees of two other area hospitals owned by Prime sued the company, claiming they were not provided with promised severance benefits.  The suit seeks class-action status on behalf of other terminated employees. It says 49 workers were let go immediately after Prime bought Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., and Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth, Kan., from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System in April 2013. <hr />

Prime Healthcare Bids for Daughters of Charity Hospitals in California Chain in California, While Two Former Employees File Suit Against the Company in Kansas Who Were Laid Off Without Promised Severance Packages

In January the 6 hospital chain of Daughters of Charity were put up for sale and now it’s drawing protests. Daughters of Charity have 2 ho...

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Senator Schumer of New York Calling for Privacy Protections With Sharing Data From Wearable Devices, As FTC Found Some Are Sending Data To 3rd Parties, Once Again Need To License the Data Sellers & Distributors

Of course this fell right into my backyard campaign once again and once again I’ll state tha<img align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FXEGyEhRSk8/U614j51gJoI/AAAAAAABKr0/oFC4pIILflo/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" />t we need an index on “who” all the data sellers and distributors are in the US. Now that additional “data flipping” is taking place to where you are sold, re-queried and then sold again when merged with another data base, you can’t fine the place to go as a consumer to correct errors.  Are there errors?  You bet there are, many of them and people use that data to “score” you and either give or deny you access to something.  The World Privacy Report says it well.  It’s the invasion of the data snatchers or as I call it, “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms”.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/world-privacy-forum-report-scoring-of.html">World Privacy Forum Report - The Scoring of America: How Secret Consumer Scores Threaten Your Privacy and Your Future - One Big Element that Fuels the Continued Attack of Killer Algorithms & Demise of the Middle Class Creating Profiteering And/Or Denial of Access</a></h5> Interesting too that the FTC did do some work here and found that some data was being shared with 3rd parties, which goes to show you never know what goes on behind closed server doors, and that’s the issue here.  Trust me in the data world just doesn’t work anymore and really hasn’t for a quite a while.  FTC found 12 mobile health and fitness apps sending user’s personal information to 76 different parties, so what the senator says here is correct with his fears.  It was interesting a couple weeks ago that Acxiom decided to reach out to me on Twitter after one of my other blog posts, and I gave them some “fair” food for thought and gave some other examples of flawed data for thought.  I have been in on this campaign myself with flawed data out there as it has happened to me, so thus I have some motivation here you could say.  <hr /> <a href="http://twitter.com/Acxiom">Acxiom</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">@MedicalQuack</a> We believe in ethical use of data & giving consumers transparency/choice – learn more about our stance: <a href="http://t.co/ooWpuGmRX3">bit.ly/PMf0ka</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/Acxiom">Acxiom</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">@MedicalQuack</a> Hi Barbara, important to note this type of data from Acxiom is used for marketing outreach only & NOT for medical purposes <hr /> <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> I understand it's not medical, I'm a former EMR developer myself and former query monster as I called myself <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> I took the same stance as most others on the web, not enough to just look up data on file for self <a href="http://t.co/JPY3XqCVw6">bit.ly/11X2LAN</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> I understand it's the hospital with their determination that there's value but too many flaws and people won't get that <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> This video says it better than anything "Context is Everything"-there's the danger <a href="http://t.co/hjKq53C7mt">bit.ly/wEAK4R</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> The data files on myself with your company and others is flawed, but people take that as the gospel for decision making <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> It's problem everywhere-Google even told me my "real name" was machine compliant-algorithm suspended me <a href="http://t.co/VdOUa2N0ch">bit.ly/TJT73y</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> When my data is bought and sold and requeried so many times I have no clue to the origins of the errors and can't fix it <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> You're not the only data seller out there, banks, companies you name it and data bases get requeried and sold a lot <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> When a consumer is "scored" based on data analytics-there's a new piece of data to sell about that consumer<a href="http://t.co/nm4dqShkEP">bit.ly/SWbIMq</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Acxiom">@Acxiom</a> With doctors, look at the flawed data that is on the web about them, Healthgrades/Vitals-same thing <a href="http://t.co/ntBjH8Uc3W">bit.ly/1kaY2nb</a> <hr /> Nobody except myself seems to want to mention the direct correlation with the data selling epidemic to inequality but you can read the link below and I spell it out there.  If there’s wasn’t all this money in it, there would not be a problem first of all.  Second of all insurers and others buy up all and any kind of data they can get a hold of.  Insurers are already buying your charge card records and are recording your voice on the phone at call centers to see what your current state is.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/data-selling-and-direct-correlation-to.html">Data Selling and the Direct Correlation To Accelerated Inequality - Epidemic Spreading Like A Virus Moving Money Keeping Corporations Cash Rich and Consumers Cash Poor</a></h5> Again I come back to my campaign that would require a law to license all data distributors as well as have them disclose what “kind” of data they sell (profiles or personal data) and who they sell too as this would drag a ton of data sellers out from under the carpet where many of them hide, not all hide, but there are plenty that do.   <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/oh-crap-now-hospitals-are-now-buying.html">How about this hospital that’s buying Acxiom data on their patients</a> as well as Master Card data?  Sure they would love to add more and this is a sad case here of more data that is not going to create better care.  As a matter of fact care is declining in the US as pretty much the over sell on too much data is alive and well and people don’t know when to stop or when they have enough information to make an intelligent decision.  In addition today a little bright spot out there with some Twitter chat with the CIO of the FCC agreeing with me (below) on the models too as far as calling “foul” on proprietary formulas where we have no clue if they are accurate or not.  It’s good to know someone else agrees with some of this in government for sure that we have a lot of broken software models that don’t work.  People don’t work like algorithms.    <hr /> <a href="http://twitter.com/fcc_cio">fcc_cio</a> Good question, will public press for more open data data & open algorithms so we can replicate their predictions? <a href="https://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">@MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BiIIDutton">@BiIIDutton</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/fcc_cio">fcc_cio</a> Hopefully we can do more open data models & resolve broken models on how humans behave in economics, psychology,++ <a href="https://twitter.com/MedicalQuack">@MedicalQuack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BiIIDutton">@BiIIDutton</a> <hr /> <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/somebody-needs-to-start-calling-foul-on.html">Somebody Needs to Start Calling “Foul” On Proprietary Predictive Algorithms When They Cannot Be Replicated For Accuracy As This Accelerates Inequality and Promotes Even More Data Selling For Profit</a></h5> <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0">So here’s the campaign for privacy and transparency</a> if you can kick in a few bucks, that would be<a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0"><img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pDkERQGCavs/U7CCFhJ-lRI/AAAAAAABKtI/kXyumQqvSoM/Privacy_GoFundMe%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" /></a> great as I’m a couple years into this already and I do update what I’m doing, did one one today.  Nothing will work until we do step one and that is to identify who we want to regulate.  At the campaign link there are links that tell you both about insurers buying your credit card data and some real details about how they record and analyze your voice at their call centers, which becomes yet one more item about you that they could potentially sell.  So yes, Senator Schumer is correct with his opinions here as it’s already occurring as the FTC found out, and they didn’t check everyone and we don’t’ know the extent of how they inquired or actually got proof either.  <hr />Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) <a href="http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/ftc-vendors-sharing-mhealth-fitness-app-data/2014-05-12">issued a statement</a> Sunday calling for federal protections against the sharing of personal data by makers of wearable fitness trackers. Schumer wrote that he sees a potential “privacy nightmare” if companies like FitBit (and he calls that company out by name) are allowed to profit from selling user biometrics data to third party data brokers like <a href="http://www.acxiom.com/">Acxiom</a>. He also worries that the data could even be shared with insurers, mortgage lenders, or employers. Schumer is calling for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to require wearables manufacturers to tell consumers if their personal information is being shared with third parties, and give them a chance to opt out. <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/11/senator-chuck-schumer-wants-the-ftc-to-regulate-data-from-fitness-wearables/?utm_content=buffer1e49e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/11/senator-chuck-schumer-wants-the-ftc-to-regulate-data-from-fitness-wearables/?utm_content=buffer1e49e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer</a>

Senator Schumer of New York Calling for Privacy Protections With Sharing Data From Wearable Devices, As FTC Found Some Are Sending Data To 3rd Parties, Once Again Need To License the Data Sellers & Distributors

Of course this fell right into my backyard campaign once again and once again I’ll state tha t we need an index on “who” all the data seller...

Sunday, August 17, 2014

MD Sunshine Act Pharma Payment Data - Big Media News That Most Consumers Could Care Less About- Flawed Data With Some Bad Query Matching Delays Some Of It Anyway, Whoopee…

Here we go again and this is only such big news because the media tells you it is:)  If it gets<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="167" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vkz24CRToz0/U_Ec57NkDjI/AAAAAAABLG8/QMy-3goOO-M/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="236" /> repeated enough then you become like the old mushrooms in the dark room and that’s kind of what we have here.  Well it’s a little bit better than what Healthgrades puts out with a 61% accuracy rate:) <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/doctors-with-serious-sanctions-running.html">Doctors With Serious Sanctions Running Clinical Trials in the US And Sites Such As Healthgrades and Vitals Show No Sanctions at All So You Can Get Fooled Easily</a></h5> Seriously myself, I could care less about digging through this data and sure there could be a couple nuggets found here as the doctors have also been allowed to review and log on ahead of time to see what will be reported, but again consumers have so many algorithms chasing them today, who has time for this?  It’s like the deal over CVS not going to sell tobacco products, tell us when they are actually putting the plan into action and stop with all the marketing stuff and we’ll give them a high five, but until then, just shut up please:) <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/07/cms-intends-to-remove-cme-in-open.html">CMS Intends To Remove CME In Open Payments Program, The CMS Is Very Concerned The Agency Might Appear to Be Giving the Impression They Endorse Corporate Sponsorships (Grin)</a></h5> We all know media is looking for stories today more so than ever and this is yet one more of those. I cared less when the the Medicare data was posted as well, never looked at it as I have too many things touching  me personally than to go out and see what else I could stick my nose into that would distract me and that’s what we have here.  You can differ with me if you like but I want data that touches me and impacts my life to review and data like this is just fluff as far as I’m concerned.  When private companies that sell and distribute data about me I’ll get more excited than this.  This is just about as useless to me as the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/cms-plans-to-begin-five-star-hospital.html">big 5 Star rating program.</a>  Just because you <img align="right" height="225" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3szEXZPRIqQ/U7qv_R169gI/AAAAAAABKxc/evT7Y_hxGEc/image121.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" width="339" />have data and can display it for consumer reference doesn’t make it a big deal.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/hhs-to-release-data-from-cms-on-what.html">HHS To Release Data From CMS On What Doctors Get Paid By Medicare, It’s Big Deal For the News Media And Journobots, But Whoopee, Not a Lot For The Average Consumer To Get Excited About</a></h5> Like I said when I have to look at a company like Healthgrades that puts out horrifically flawed data and is going to have an IPO, just shows were consumers are falsely marketed today.  Again why suck all of this up as being something big when it’s not.  As far as I’m concerned it’s just noise out there and besides some doctors are having other issues with secret insurance scoring that’s causing patients to lose their doctors, now that’s something to be called news versus the Sunshine list of pharma payments.  Over the last number of years there’s been so much publicity anyway on this topic, some of the abuses have either gone away or are very small.  Look at the number of administrators out there anyway compared to doctors and that really puts this in different perspective.  How about those administrators and their benefits?  It is time to talk about those too (grin).  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-secret-scoring-of-americas.html">“The Secret Scoring of America’s Physicians” - Algorithmic Math Models For Insurance Network Contractual Exclusions, Relating to MDs Who See Medicare Advantage Patients..</a></h5> Again with linking MDs to the wrong NPI numbers as what’s stated here as people rush to put such data out there so quickly today without adequate checks, who knows when the last 1/3 is added on how correct it will be.  BD  <hr />Next month, when the federal government releases data about payments to physicians from pharmaceutical and medical device makers, one-third of the records will be withheld because of data inconsistencies, an official told ProPublica. The issue is the latest hurdle for the federal government as it seeks to launch the already-delayed Open Payments database mandated under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, a provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Making this information public is a crucial step in promoting greater transparency about conflicts of interest in medicine. "CMS is returning about one-third of submitted records to the manufacturers and [group purchasing organizations] because of intermingled data, and will include these records in the next reporting cycle," CMS spokesman Aaron Albright said by email. These records won't be posted until June 2015. CMS didn't say how many records were involved, but the number of records withheld could be in the millions, if not tens of millions. Another electrophysiologist, Edward J. Schloss of Cincinnati, said that some seemingly legitimate payments attributed to him from Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Pfizer disappeared when he logged in yesterday. "It's a big change," he said. "Three of the four companies that have reported payments for me have now disappeared." <a href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/47247">http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/47247</a>

MD Sunshine Act Pharma Payment Data - Big Media News That Most Consumers Could Care Less About- Flawed Data With Some Bad Query Matching Delays Some Of It Anyway, Whoopee…

Here we go again and this is only such big news because the media tells you it is:) If it gets repeated enough then you become like the ol...

Sunday, August 17, 2014

US First Privacy Technology Officer Resigns After Only One Year - More Proof That Lawyers Fail Running High Tech Government Agencies, Nor Can They Advance Any Consumer Interests

Here we go again, another lawyer ignorant of the fact that you have no index on data sellers and distributors in the US, so up comes another white flag as there’s no “data mechanics logic” here once again.  They just keep falling as nobody will<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="186" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-94Y1GWYdifU/U_BdthXw8XI/AAAAAAABLGs/ECt6QyeaYGQ/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="187" /> push Congress to pass a law requiring licensing which would create an index on who the data sellers are.  She’s not alone as we have Richard Cordray, same thing yet another lawyer with no “data mechanics logic” to get moving toward step one.  Seems like lawyers are looking for algo fairies as well.  Look at her background, legal products at Twitter and general counsel at Google, not what you need to look after consumer interests.  Look at the link below, she didn’t do anything to address situations like this at all, companies just selling consumer data like it’s going out of style.  Again if people in such positions can’t visualize where the data travels, the types of queries and algorithms used, they are useless and we suffer as consumers once again.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/argus-analytics-produces-share-of.html">Argus Analytics Produces “Share of Credit Card” Data On Consumers - Digs Up The Dirt on Your Credit Card Behavior Patterns-US Consumer Protection Agency Is A Client-We Are Paying for Richard Cordray’s Slow Education Process</a></h5> Sadly I predicted Richard Cordray would be another “Algo duped” lawyer doing very little for consumers other than going after the low hanging fruit as that’s all he understands while code runs hog ass wild.  Event the <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/white-house-privacy-report-privacy-bill.html">White House report</a>, as weak as it was said Cordray needed to learn up in a lot of areas so why did they give him the job?  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/richard-cordray-yet-one-more-algo-duped.html">Richard Cordray Yet One More “Algo Duped” Government Executive Sucked In To Virtual Values and Unable to Locate the “Real World” Now Creating Huge Data Base Of All US Consumer Credit Information…</a></h5> I looked at Wong’s Twitter feed, nothing of interest and little about work. Again another fail as she could not take step <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0"><img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pDkERQGCavs/U7CCFhJ-lRI/AAAAAAABKtI/kXyumQqvSoM/Privacy_GoFundMe%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" /></a>one to create an index with data sellers and distributors as that’s what we need.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/transparency-and-privacy-campaign-need.html">Transparency And Privacy Campaign - Need to License All Who Sell Data So We Know Who They Are - Why All Privacy Laws have Failed, We Have No Index…Please Help..</a></h5> If you want to help me, I’m on it with a couple years work with communications with the FTC and Congress on getting a law passed to license data sellers and require disclosure on what kind of data they sell and who they sell to.  <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0">Use this link or click on the image</a> for more information as all we get is a big fail for those who have “no data mechanics” logic.  BD  <hr />U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Nicole Wong, who focused on privacy and big data issues, is leaving the White House a little more than a year after joining the Obama administration. Wong's last day is Friday; she will return to California where her family lives, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy said in a statement. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Wong was director of legal products at Twitter and deputy general counsel at Google. At Google, she earned the nickname "The Decider" — a reference to the role she took in helping to determine when to censor results on the company’s search engine or clips on its YouTube video service that governments claimed ran afoul of local laws. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/08/15/u-s-deputy-cto-nicole-wong-is-leaving-the-white-house/">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/08/15/u-s-deputy-cto-nicole-wong-is-leaving-the-white-house/</a>

US First Privacy Technology Officer Resigns After Only One Year - More Proof That Lawyers Fail Running High Tech Government Agencies, Nor Can They Advance Any Consumer Interests

Here we go again, another lawyer ignorant of the fact that you have no index on data sellers and distributors in the US, so up comes another...

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Patient Plays The Violin During His Surgery For Essential Tremors-Deep Brain Stimulation Saves the Career of a Concert Violinist

This is quite a video and the patient is a violinist and he was noticing he was having problems playing with the shaking that <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="187" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nP5oTMgSoYw/U-_4GrpiQnI/AAAAAAABLGc/sRMArdbvCw0/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="146">was developing.  It was difficult for the doctors to find the best possible places to place the electrodes in his brain.  So the engineering crew came in and worked with the surgeon to create a violin he could play during surgery.  An accelerator was placed on the violin so they could see the images of the signals on the machine. This was the first challenge with this type of surgery.  How nice though to hear the music during surgery.  When you listen to how he plays with the tremor and then the after effects when he plays with the electrodes turned on.  He would have los this career as a violist This is just totally amazing that the surgery was a success.  There was no guarantee and he began playing the day he got home from the Mayo Clinic.  BD  <object height="315" width="460"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/T3QQOQAILZw?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/T3QQOQAILZw?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="460" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> <hr> Concert violinist Roger Frisch’s career was in jeopardy when he was diagnosed with essential tremors in 2009, a mild condition in which abnormal signals are sent from the sections of the brain responsible for movement. It took a few years of convincing for the Minnesota Orchestra musician to agree to undergo an experimental procedure known as Deep Brain Stimulation. The procedure involves the implementation of a tiny electrode in the brain so that Frisch could control his tremors by the simple push of a button. According to Daily Mail, an accelerometer was put on the tip of Frisch’s violin bow, transmitting his tremors onto a graph on a computer screen. <a href="http://elitedaily.com/news/world/violinist-plays-surgery-video/704227/?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_facebook">http://elitedaily.com/news/world/violinist-plays-surgery-video/704227/?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_facebook</a>

Patient Plays The Violin During His Surgery For Essential Tremors-Deep Brain Stimulation Saves the Career of a Concert Violinist

This is quite a video and the patient is a violinist and he was noticing he was having problems playing with the shaking that was developing...

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Quant Run Investment Companies Cashing In With Congestion Contracts As Power Grids Are Overworked, The Hotter It Gets, Traders’ Profits Beat Out Power Companies With Models Causing Rising Electricity Rates For Consumers-Manipulating the Electricity Markets…

This is a bit of a complex story here and best off to read all of it at the New York Times to understand what’s going on fully and how this works.   When the demand for electricity rises and the immediate supply is out done, regional grid operators auction off what is called a Congestion models which are derivatives linked to thousands of locations that are not on the grid.  When electricity prices spike up, the contract holders collect the difference in price between  grid operators, and likewise if it goes down, they pay.  The contracts were created to help utilities hedge against sharp price swings caused by weather, failures<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="202" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-zyIdPJPoDpc/U-_WQYNJzAI/AAAAAAABLGM/kDLb4ofyens/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="286" /> or plant equipment problems and those lower costs were supposed to reduce consumer bills but that’s not exactly what’s going on here.  Other investors outside the grid are cashing in with Wall Street banks and they siphon off the money and one particular firm here is discussed in detail as they seem to be the winning party about 99% of the time.  The port officials in this area of New York would like to have that money of course.   Again the idea here was to eliminate monopolies and create competitive investment opportunities and lower rates for consumers, but it’s not happening.  Wall Street firms have stepped in with their quant created math models and figure out how to profit yet in one more way.  It’s big money as well.  “Power companies that buy or sell in the wholesale market can get hurt by sudden price spikes, but they can buy a financial instrument known as a congestion contract, which acts as a hedge against losses. Financial firms can also buy these contracts, and one of the most successful in New York is DC Energy, a Virginia-based trading firm that made $1.5 million on contracts between Northport and other points on Long Island over a 48-hour period.” “The utilities and power companies suggest they cannot win against trading outfits that employ math specialists, often called “quants,” to spot lucrative opportunities. With transmission contracts, there are tens of thousands of tradable combinations.” The utilities companies can’t win due to the mathematical formulas used by investors.  Here’s the background on the quants from the firm DC Energy who develops the models, one from Harvard with a master’s degree in artificial intelligence , a physicist from MIT for a couple examples so you can see where the folks are not working their fields but rather in financial models.   The trading market on electricity is yet one more example to where the technology is over the heads of regulators, just like high frequency trading, back to the same thing again and consumers lose once again.  We can barely expect any regulators to do squat anymore as the government won’t hire folks in that capacity to understand “what’s really going on with math”.  Again too we are seeing the same thing in healthcare to where Quant models are able to run circles around the regulators and that was my big fear in <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/02/kathleen-sebelius-kansas-governor-for.html">2009 with Sebelius running HHS and for good reason</a>, they walked all over here and you can review this article if you like to where the insurers just wrote themselves a raise with math models and collected over $70 billions over 5-6 years with complex formulas that on auto pilot just raised up risk with proprietary formulas.  An audit recently found this and so now what do they do?  HHS doesn’t look too sharp and again what I said would happen in 2009 as Sebelius absolutely had no data mechanics logic and <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/markets-are-not-rigged-spoken-like-true.html">we have same thing with Mary Jo at the SEC</a>, this is way over their heads and there’s no way they can function and always, we loose as consumers.  I know this is a little off the beaten path here with my blog but felt it was important as this is what you are seeing today with health insurers as well.  As you have read MDs in many states are being fired by United Healthcare and given no reason, well they are working a model, using their math and doing it because they can, and it’s darn scary that there’s <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-secret-scoring-of-americas.html">nobody around asking to see their models.</a>  BD  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/health-insurer-actuary-jobs-becoming.html">Health Insurer Actuary Jobs Becoming More Difficult In the Era of Killer Algorithms, Can’t Function Like They Used To As Information Changes Take Place Daily And Hourly, More Insurance Companies Are Seeking Quants to Create New Math Models, The Next Level Up From Actuary Calculations</a></h5> <hr />PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. — By 10 a.m. the heat was closing in on the North Shore of Long Island. But 300 miles down the seaboard, at an obscure investment company near Washington, the forecast pointed to something else: profit. As the temperatures climbed toward the 90s here and air-conditioners turned on, the electric grid struggled to meet the demand. By midafternoon, the wholesale price of electricity had jumped nearly 550 percent. What no one here knew that day, May 30, 2013, was that the investment company, DC Energy, was reaping rewards from the swelter. Within 48 hours the firm, based in Vienna, Va., had made more than $1.5 million by cashing in on so-called congestion contracts, complex financial instruments that gain value when the grid becomes overburdened, according to an analysis of trading data by The New York Times. Those profits are a small fraction of the fortune that traders at DC Energy and elsewhere have pocketed because of maneuvers involving the nation’s congested grid. Over the last decade, DC Energy has made about $180 million in New York State alone, The Times found. The Times examined 150,000 congestion contracts that have been auctioned since 2003 by the New York Independent System Operator, a nonprofit company that oversees the state’s transmission network. Under deregulation, system operators manage the nation’s transmission lines and run wholesale power markets where utilities like PSEG Long Island acquire power to sell to their customers. Using data made public by the company, The Times cataloged who bought the contracts and at what prices, and how much money was subsequently won or lost. “If traders are making money, then consumers are paying more,” Mr. Wolak said. “The money that these guys are making has to come from somewhere.” Inside DC Energy, teams of six to eight analysts search through data for trends or disruptions before bidding on contracts through auctions held by the New York Independent System Operator and its counterparts elsewhere in the country. “The message that was portrayed was, by doing this trading, we are making the markets more efficient,” said a former employee. “But there were people who got disillusioned and left because many of them aren’t finance people to begin with, and the focus is on making money and boosting the company’s bottom line.” DC Energy goes to great lengths to protect its winning formula. After one of its top traders, Jason Miller, left for Saracen Energy, another trading firm, DC Energy sued. The reason was that Saracen, based in Houston, had begun playing the New York congestion market, just like DC Energy. DC Energy said Mr. Miller violated confidentiality and noncompete agreements he had signed, and misappropriated trade secrets. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/business/energy-environment/traders-profit-as-power-grid-is-overworked.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/business/energy-environment/traders-profit-as-power-grid-is-overworked.html?_r=0</a>

Quant Run Investment Companies Cashing In With Congestion Contracts As Power Grids Are Overworked, The Hotter It Gets, Traders’ Profits Beat Out Power Companies With Models Causing Rising Electricity Rates For Consumers-Manipulating the Electricity Markets…

This is a bit of a complex story here and best off to read all of it at the New York Times to understand what’s going on fully and how this ...

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Express Scripts Cutting Off Access to Prescriptions for Compounded Drugs In September

One by one with pharmacy benefit managers the compensation for compounded drugs is going away.  This time it’s Express Scripts that is sending letters to patients and doctors with a mid September cut off.  Millions of patients<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="147" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pTiYR0mD3fQ/U-1kPtg_N6I/AAAAAAABLF8/cNZmvtfZZwU/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="141" /> benefit from compounded drugs.  Most patients using compounded drugs don’t have an alternative, why they are using compounded drugs to begin with.  So this is just great.  Already in July Optum/United Healthcare stated that compounded drugs will need a prior authorization in some parts of the country so they are not gone there yet but could be denied.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/in-july-united-healthcare-hmo-patients.html">In July United Healthcare HMO Patients Using Compounded Drugs Will Need To Have Doctor Submit Prior Authorization For Review In Western 3 States</a></h5> Over billing seems to be some of the reasons but in California, a compounded prescription can’t go over $600.  Probably one of the most publicized cases with compounded drugs goes back to NECC in Massachusetts with contamination where several people died.  That case was an extreme one and many compounded drugs are not used in IVs such as their products. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/10/meningitis-fungus-investigation-and.html">Meningitis Fungus Investigation and Research Continues With FDA Inspection While Massachusetts Hospitals Contact Cardiac Patients About a Heart Medication Also Created at NECC</a></h5> This controversy focuses on drugs that are not IV and are more or less blended creams to treat pain, etc.  The cost of the drugs supplied to compounders has risen also.  There are some legitimate complaints here with expensive diaper rash products, etc. that can be bought in another fashion but what about the rest of the drugs?  What are pharmacy benefit managers doing about expensive drugs that are not compounded too, and there’s a lot of those.  Many hormone replacement drugs are compounded to an specific mix for patients as well.  They should work on all of them as we are to the point to where drug companies and insurers need to work together as we are broke and there’s little the patient can pay any longer when it comes to expensive co-pays for high tiered drugs or those not covered at all.   Express Scripts also laid off 400 people as many moved over to United Healthcare who has their own pharmacy benefit management company and moved patients over to their own subsidiary.  BD  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/express-scripts-to-lay-off-400-people.html">Express Scripts To Lay Off 400 People Tampa As United Healthcare Moves Patients To Their Own Pharmacy Benefit Management Company-Subsidiary Watch</a></h5> <hr />FAIRHOPE, Ala., Aug. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Scripts, the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, is offering ambiguous and misleading reasons for ending coverage of customized prescription medications for 540,000 individuals in order to conceal financial motives, a Patients and Physicians for Rx Access said Thursday, Aug. 14. The organization is fighting to stop the unprecedented benefit cuts being made by Express Scripts and other pharmacy benefit managers. "In July Express Scripts began sending form letters to more than a half-million patients nationwide, saying it will stop paying for their compounded medications on September 15," said Jay McEniry, executive director of Patients and Physicians for Rx Access. "Patients are sharing those letters with us.  The letters are filled with misleading statements designed to confuse these patients while denying them access to important medications prescribed by their doctor."   Some Express Scripts patients have received letters that fail to tell them their compounded prescription coverage is ending, instead describing the cutoff as a "clarification" of coverage. Those letters mention nothing of the mid-September cutoff date. Both versions of the letter instruct patients to replace their customized prescriptions with mass-produced, FDA-approved medicines, but warn that Express Scripts may not cover the new medications either. In presentations regarding these benefit cuts, Express Scripts executives have told other audiences that the company's goal is to save hundreds of millions of dollars annually by ending coverage of essentially all compounded medicines before the end of 2014. When talking to patients, however, Express Scripts attempts to conceal its financial motives with misleading statements, McEniry said. <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/540000-patients-lose-compounded-prescription-coverage-says-patients-and-physicians-for-rx-access-2014-08-14">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/540000-patients-lose-compounded-prescription-coverage-says-patients-and-physicians-for-rx-access-2014-08-14</a>

Express Scripts Cutting Off Access to Prescriptions for Compounded Drugs In September

One by one with pharmacy benefit managers the compensation for compounded drugs is going away. This time it’s Express Scripts that is sendi...

Thursday, August 14, 2014

4medica Electronic Medical Records Creates First and Only Integrated Lab PHR Solution Licensed Under MMRGlobal Patent Portfolio

It’s been a while back but 4medica licensed the patent portfolio of MMRGlobal and you can read more at the back link<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="89" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9vsQgq7bG7Y/U-xxsvJax8I/AAAAAAABLFk/4IDJEH2rPcY/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="187" /> below for additional details.  As I read this the patient or “personal representative” will be able to access all labs to be compliant with new HHS rules that have now require patients have access to their labs.  The PHR is available as a stand alone solution or can be used with 4medica’s Lab4 portal solution.  As an added note next week <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/mmrglobal-files-3rd-brief-court-hearing.html">relative to MMRGlobal patents,</a> the final decision with current patents with Quest, WebMD and Allscripts are to be decided. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/4medica-electronic-medical-records.html">4medica Electronic Medical Records Company Signs Agreement With MMRGlobal (MyMedicalRecord) To License Health IT Patents</a></h5> The platform solution (link below) carries a patent in being the first of it’s kind in the industry with patient matching capabilities.  Again being a platform to work with EHRs and HIE systems one reference number would be able to span across various records to from  several “connected” sources to consolidate on one dashboard or screen for all relative patient information if they were seen or treated at different facilities and locations. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/03/4medica-introduces-master-patient-index.html">4medica Introduces Master Patient Index Engine Using Big Data Technologies and Algorithmic Processes In the Cloud</a></h5> The company also has their own <a href="http://www.4medica.com/faq.html">iEHR Software as a Service Platform</a> in the cloud that can connect doctors to hospitals and <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="75" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OGKRmg5xLeo/U-xxthPE4DI/AAAAAAABLFs/wG66iWPYrgQ/image%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="163" />works in the cloud and can be licensed and used  to connect with any medical records system.  The website also states that the iEHR platform will connect with other PHR services.  MyMedicalRecords.com states that prescription records and labs soon will be integrated into their PHR as well .  BD “Yes, healthcare providers can purchase the individual clinical integration modules of Inpatient4, Lab4, Imaging4, Path4 and Meds4, or they can purchase the fully integrated iEHR platform.” Press Release below: 4medica Releases First Fully Integrated Patented Patient Portal for Laboratory Compliance With HHS Rules LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 13, 2014) - 4medica, a leading provider of a cloud clinical integration platform and portal solution, has created the only laboratory personal health record (PHR) solution licensed under the MyMedicalRecords HIT patent portfolio, owned by MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTCQB: MMRF). The 4medica solution is the first fully integrated personal health record solution for laboratories and other healthcare organizations that meet the requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) amended Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act and final rules. The latest Amendment to the original 1988 CLIA regulations allow laboratories to give a patient, or his or her "personal representative," access to the patient's completed test reports on the patient's or patient's personal representative's request. 4medica is the only company of its kind offering a fully integrated laboratory personal health record (PHR) and patient portal solution which includes rights to MyMedicalRecords U.S. Patents. "Access to laboratory results is a mandatory step in HHS' ongoing effort to make patients informed partners with healthcare providers," noted Oleg Bess, M.D., 4medica's CEO. "4medica has always been ahead of the curve, and as a result, is the country's only licensed PHR that establishes a three-way clinical 'conversation' by creating a cost-effective way for labs to provide results, an efficient way for patients to access them, and an efficacious way for physicians to stay in the loop and provide the best patient counsel and support." The 4medica PHR offers several new features, including: 1. Fully certified and compliant for Meaningful Use Stage 2. 2. Patient-centric record provided by 4medica Big Data EMPI. 3. Ability to view clinical data from multiple physician practices. 4. Secure physician-to-patient and lab-to-patient messaging. 5. Patient forms available to collect required information for labs or physician practices. 6. Audit trail to monitor patients' activities within the PHR. 7. Family-based enrollment that allows the entire family to be set up under a single, family account. 8. Scanning of existing paper medical records, import images, and other forms from other physicians, hospitals, and labs into the PHR. "This new version of the 4medica PHR was designed specifically to help laboratories meet government regulations and meaningful use requirements by supporting secure lab sharing of HIPAA-sensitive, private patient data," said Dr. Bess. It also provides a multitude of useful features to assure patient's engagement and continued usage. Additionally, all 4medica clients and their patients receive protection under MMR's million dollar Cyber Liability Insurance Program. This includes protection from actual loss or damage caused in defending a violation of the expanded HIPAA regulations under HITECH. The underlying Cyber Liability policy is underwritten by an A-rated insurance company by A.M. Best and coverage extends to MMRGlobal's corporate clients and partners. A standalone solution, 4medica PHR can be used with 4medica's Lab4 -- the industry's only lab portal solution with fully integrated EHR and PHR modules -- or with solutions from other connectivity vendors. 4medica's Integrated Electronic Health Record (4medica iEHR(R)), the industry's leading cloud SaaS clinical integration platform, helps healthcare organizations of diverse types create a seamless view of the patient care experience and drive EHR adoption. 4medica connects over 100 institutional facilities including hospitals, health systems, physicians, laboratories and radiology and pathology clinics; more than 30,000 physicians use its products. About 4medica 4medica provides the industry's leading cloud SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) clinical integration platform, the 4medica Integrated Electronic Health Record (4medica iEHR(R)), to help healthcare organizations of diverse types create a seamless view of the patient care experience and drive EHR adoption. The intuitive iEHR platform design integrates with and builds upon disparate systems to facilitate interoperable data exchange across various care settings to promote care continuity. The cloud computing model is scalable, lower cost, maintenance-free, easy to use and deployable in a few months or less, eliminating large capital outlays or resource utilization. This is especially critical for small community and rural hospitals and physician heath organizations of all types and sizes striving to qualify for ARRA incentives and to demonstrate Meaningful Use. 4medica connects 100-plus institutional facilities including hospitals, health systems, physicians, laboratories and radiology and pathology clinics. More than 30,000 physicians use 4medica's products. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.4medica.com">http://www.4medica.com</a>.

4medica Electronic Medical Records Creates First and Only Integrated Lab PHR Solution Licensed Under MMRGlobal Patent Portfolio

It’s been a while back but 4medica licensed the patent portfolio of MMRGlobal and you can read more at the back link below for additional d...

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Burwell, HHS Secretary Hires A “Legal Banker” From CitiGroup To Do What? Fulfill It’s Mission To Serve the American People?

I’m sorry the words to this announcement are just a little thick here and just so cookie cutter:)  I’ll give her one thing, she knows the templated buzz words we all read over and over in the news today, same thing different article. Keven Thurm used to <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="224" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-O7ejPm8a2I0/U-xlEs_I8TI/AAAAAAABLFU/sgVvbQ_Stmk/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="186" />work as Deputy Secretary of HHS during the Clinton Administration, so what are we getting, another Nancy DeParle repeat?  How well did he negotiate with the government with CitiGroup financial sins?  Here’s a <a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/enforcement/enf20130326a1.pdf">legal document</a> he signed relative to compliance with CitiGroup with the Federal Reserve.  He took over as compliance officer at CitiGroup in 2011 after their record $10 million dollar penalty.  Burwell hired a legal banker in essence, great for healthcare.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/08/nancy-deparle-returns-to-what-she-knows.html">Nancy Deparle Returns to What She Knows, Private Equity-Technology Experience, Knowledge And Being In Touch With Reality Is What Government Needs Today</a></h5> It’s a different world than it was during the Clinton administration and it was long ago so big deal, we have just have banker working at HHS, long and short of it.  Why do these rich folks want these jobs at HHS?  You do have to wonder as we had the Wal-Mart Executive and then the United Healthcare Executive Slavitt who lives in a huge mansion as well.  Millionaires are not going to make HHS and Burwell is just another wrong person in the wrong job and one more figurehead that will eventually fail as well.  Not impressed so far.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/07/hhs-with-new-burwell-appointment-adds.html">HHS With New Burwell Appointment Adds A Little Splash of Wal-Mart to the United Healthcare Model Being Used for Just About Everything We See And Read Today…</a></h5> Well being Mr. Thurm has been in banking the insurance folks will probably be pretty happy.  Insurance and bankers have been out modeling HHS and CMS for years and it won’t change.  The math modelers at insurers used their Quant techniques to over bill CMS by $70 billion and it took over 5 years to auditors to find it.  It’s not any different than the math models that United Quants used to short pay doctors on out of network charges for 15 years, it’s all math.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/cms-discovers-that-insurers-offering.html">CMS Discovers That Insurers Offering Medicare Part D “Really Know To Sharp Shoot A Model With Adjusting Risk For Profit”, A Common Everyday Occurrence in Financial Markets…</a></h5> He only worked 5 years at HHS during Clinton administration and 25 years at Citigroup so we have a banker on board.  <hr />Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell named Kevin Thurm as a Senior Counselor, to further strengthen the HHS management team and help the agency fulfill its mission to better serve the American people. Kevin brings more than 25 years of business, executive management, legal and policy experience.  Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the ability to deliver meaningful results in both complex public and private sector organizations. “We’re continuing to build on the strong leadership team that exists at HHS and recruit top talent,” said Secretary Burwell.  “Kevin’s decades of broad experience spans business and government with the focus necessary to advance our goals.  He brings to the Department not only his proven abilities as a leader, but also a deeply-held commitment to our mission.” As a Senior Counselor, Thurm will work closely with the Department’s senior staff on a wide range of cross-cutting strategic initiatives, key policy challenges, and engagement with external partners. <a href="http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/08/20140813a.html?utm_source=HHS&utm_medium=news">http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/08/20140813a.html?utm_source=HHS&utm_medium=news</a>

Burwell, HHS Secretary Hires A “Legal Banker” From CitiGroup To Do What? Fulfill It’s Mission To Serve the American People?

I’m sorry the words to this announcement are just a little thick here and just so cookie cutter:) I’ll give her one thing, she knows the te...

Thursday, August 14, 2014

FDA Approves New Merck Drug for Insomnia

The drug is the first in it’s class to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.  As you can read there are 4 different strengths <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="55" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6OHYKhXM5bQ/U-w57lPcXmI/AAAAAAABLFE/Dma4fTcRWp4/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="187" />listed below.  BD  <hr />The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Belsomra (suvorexant) tablets for use as needed to treat difficulty in falling and staying asleep (insomnia). Belsomra is an orexin receptor antagonist and is the first approved drug of this type. Orexins are chemicals that are involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle and play a role in keeping people awake. Belsomra alters the signaling (action) of orexin in the brain. Insomnia is a common condition in which a person has trouble falling or staying asleep. It can range from mild to severe, depending on how often it occurs and for how long. Insomnia can cause daytime sleepiness and lack of energy. It also can make a person feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. People with insomnia may have trouble with attentiveness, learning, and memory. “To assist health care professionals and patients in finding the best dose to treat each individual patient’s sleeplessness, the FDA has approved Belsomra in four different strengths – 5, 10, 15, and 20 milligrams,” said Ellis Unger, M.D., director of the Office of Drug Evaluation I in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Using the lowest effective dose can reduce the risk of side effects, such as next-morning drowsiness.” <a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm409950.htm">http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm409950.htm</a>

FDA Approves New Merck Drug for Insomnia

The drug is the first in it’s class to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. As you can read there are 4 different strengths listed below. ...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Somebody Needs to Start Calling “Foul” On Proprietary Predictive Algorithms When They Cannot Be Replicated For Accuracy As This Accelerates Inequality and Promotes Even More Data Selling For Profit

Predictive analytics have been oversold in many areas.  I’m  not saying there’s not good use for looking for patterns and determining outcomes as there is but it is getting to the point to where anyone can create a model and claim “it works”.  When the models are proprietary, there’s no way to check for accurate outcomes and decisions are made on such models. <img align="right" height="70" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRp9TBlvWqtr16ku9oa-uGY_yLITLV9hYmtozmPi5XdbJ5RW7Sm" style="float: right; display: inline" width="178" /> There’s a lot of false positives and nobody questions that element and thus so people are getting hurt when that occurs.  In healthcare we have seen it for years with patterns that look for fraud with false positives when the parameters are nailed down too tight.  That has been going on for years. There is a direct correlation here with inequality as every time a score is made, and it can’t be verified, folks just assume well it must be right when in fact it is not.  It certainly allows for more data to be sold whenever a score is created as now you have some new data to sell to someone else to assist in their decision making.  I call the <a href="http://www.ducknet.net/attack-of-the-killer-algorithms/">Attack of the Killer Algorithms,</a> which it is when flawed data denies consumers access.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/data-selling-and-direct-correlation-to.html">Data Selling and the Direct Correlation To Accelerated Inequality - Epidemic Spreading Like A Virus Moving Money Keeping Corporations Cash Rich and Consumers Cash Poor</a></h5> It even gets worse as sometimes there’s no science at all with models and data scientists or quants just guess..and consumer is denied access, on a “guess” of a number component of a formula.  This FICO medication adherence is one of those as nobody can replicate the proprietary model.  So you just believe any numbers and stats tossed at you?  We sure have a lot of that today.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/fico-medication-adherence-scoring.html">FICO Medication Adherence Scoring Should Be Banned As It’s Quantitated Justifications for Profit That Hurts US Consumers Using Proprietary Algorithms That Cannot Be Replicated For Accuracy or Audited</a></h5> Almost a couple years ago I agreed with a banker too that due to this fact that half of the analytics purchased will be a waste of investment.  We have too many folks looking for “Algo Fairies” when they don’t exist.   A couple years ago I predicted this too and it’s <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/11/big-dataanalytics-if-used-out-of.html"><img align="right" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fpaB8yOE0io/USv18tNlXUI/AAAAAAABFxM/25MkrAmeTq8/AlgoFairy1%25255B11%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" /></a>here today with big data being used out of context with discriminatory practices against consumers as everyone just believes anything tossed at them.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/11/big-dataanalytics-if-used-out-of.html">Big Data/Analytics If Used Out of Context and Without True Values Stand To Be A Huge Discriminatory Practice Against Consumers–More Honest Data Scientists Needed to Formulate Accuracy/Value To Keep Algo Duping For Profit Out of the Game</a></h5> It’s an interesting world indeed that is ending up to be the undoing of what we have developed as our culture over the years, one side hiding risk and other parts exploiting it.  Is there any balance here when you bring in the error factors that are always there and fictional models?  Of course not and it is making everybody crazy and this give a lot people a big area of control and moves a lot of money to the direction of very few in the US so the land of opportunity tends to shrink a bit.  You have to deal with and try to make sense of the fiction that’s mixed in out here. Again I have written my share of SQL queries and have been a query monster in search of value in querying everything I could get my hands on and did I find value in everything I queried..NO.  There’s a lot of deception out there on where predictive analytics works and what context the numbers are used.  After the fact you can stir up up any old story just looking at data and really miss what occurred.  I just sat there with disbelief with the recent Facebook and OKCupid data scientist stories and scratched my head on how folks could think they could have any impact there at all.  Code runs hog ass wild and you have no control as it’s there to make money and knows how to grind you day in and day out. <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0">Here’s the cause to create a law to where every data seller would need to be licensed and disclose what kind of data they sell and to who.</a>  Scroll down and watch the 4 videos in the footer and the message in this post will become crystal clear as to what’s really going on behind closed server doors that you can’t see, touch, feel or talk to.  Be a skeptic when you need to be and that’s becoming more frequent today as if you don’t, well you’re “Algo Duped” at your own risk.  BD

Somebody Needs to Start Calling “Foul” On Proprietary Predictive Algorithms When They Cannot Be Replicated For Accuracy As This Accelerates Inequality and Promotes Even More Data Selling For Profit

Predictive analytics have been oversold in many areas. I’m not saying there’s not good use for looking for patterns and determining outco...

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Which Is It, A Free Standing ER Or An Urgent Care Center, Or Both?

This is getting to be challenging at times with consumers knowing which is which and for that reason some of them are <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="130" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rlSNu2bgU1Q/U-rshmT5sCI/AAAAAAABLE0/L2msh8ZcePM/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="187" />opening up next to each other or in the same building.  Folks are mistakenly going to a free standing ER, where they can get care but it’s going to cost a lot more than an Urgent Care Center.  Minor care needs should be referred to an Urgent care center but that doesn’t always happen and people get surprised with some very large bills.  Even a respiratory therapist made that mistake and she’s in the business.  The situation in Texas with a couple of firms seems to have caught quite a few people off guard and competition is driving it of course.  BD  <hr />COLLEYVILLE — A First Choice emergency medical center popped up here last year where a Blockbuster Video outlet once stood, near a strip center with an Albertsons supermarket, a Subway sandwich shop and a UPS store. Where customers once lined up to rent Finding Nemo, they can now be whisked before a doctor before even finishing their paperwork. The gleaming new facility has the latest equipment, from a CT scanner to a portable X-ray. An in-house lab provides quick test results. There are free snacks and a Keurig coffee machine, and a well-appointed children’s examining room that has an original undersea wall mural and cartoons on the TV. Critics of the doctor- and investor-owned ER centers recommend greater cost transparency to avoid sticker shock when the bill arrives. Patients who aren’t experiencing a life-threatening emergency should be told in advance that the facility is an ER, not an urgent-care center, said Stacey Pogue of the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, a nonprofit that analyzes healthcare and other issues affecting low- and moderate-income Texans. For many families, the decision to go to a free-standing ER is driven by convenience. <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/08/09/6031491/as-free-standing-ers-business.html?rh=1">http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/08/09/6031491/as-free-standing-ers-business.html?rh=1</a>

Which Is It, A Free Standing ER Or An Urgent Care Center, Or Both?

This is getting to be challenging at times with consumers knowing which is which and for that reason some of them are opening up next to eac...

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Wal-Mart Now Opening Primary Care Clinics in Texas and South Carolina With More To Come

What’s interesting is they don’t take insurance but will honor Medicare.  I guess there has not bee enough time yet and most will be in rural areas.  These clinics are set to monitor chronic care patients and do a bit more than <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="95" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xPZ8TiiU3Nw/U-rpmoe015I/AAAAAAABLEo/hOHMhWECMmo/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="206" />the average retail clinic provides.  In Texas United/Optum has now opened Urgent care clinics as well.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/01/united-healthcare-now-entering-urgent.html">United Healthcare Now Entering the Urgent Care Clinic Business To Help Keep Patients Out of the ER, Two More Opening In Houston–Subsidiary Watch</a></h5> The clinics will be overseen by a physician but that does not mean they will be treating patients and could be covering more than one location.  The primary care clinics will charge $40 a visit.   BD <hr />The company has opened five primary care locations in South Carolina and Texas, and plans to open a sixth clinic in Palestine, Texas, on Friday, with another six planned by the end of the year. The clinics, it says, can offer a broader range of services, like chronic disease management, than the 100 or so acute care clinics leased by hospital operators at Walmarts across the country. Unlike CVS or Walgreens, which also offer some similar services, or Costco, which offers eye care, Walmart is marketing itself as a primary medical provider. Like its competitors, Walmart is looking to grab a bigger share of the billions of health care dollars being spent in the United States and benefit from the shifting delivery system that has resulted from the Affordable Care Act. The primary clinic model could offer some new advantages over the more basic clinics, often referred to as "retail clinics." The limited list of minor illnesses that a retail clinic can treat -- the flu, for instance -- often peaks in the winter months, Charland said, and slows down significantly at other times of year. While it accepts Medicare, it does not currently accept third-party insurance, although it is exploring the option, a spokeswoman, Danit Marquardt, said, adding that it is starting to enroll some of its stores in Medicaid. <a href="http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140812/ARTICLE/308129994/-1/sports10?Title=Walmart-wants-to-be-your-doctor-s-office">http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140812/ARTICLE/308129994/-1/sports10?Title=Walmart-wants-to-be-your-doctor-s-office</a>

Wal-Mart Now Opening Primary Care Clinics in Texas and South Carolina With More To Come

What’s interesting is they don’t take insurance but will honor Medicare. I guess there has not bee enough time yet and most will be in rura...

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Want Privacy? Dump Your Smart Phone Says John McAfee And Stop Being So Lazy And Giving Out All Your Data

Google and laziness are the problems he says.  If anyone needs some privacy it has to be John McAfee<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="179" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uNRAZld8XHc/U-rRFyQtF7I/AAAAAAABLEY/LEo1bWkcujE/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="187" />.  He talks about the “free” apps and the trade off and the freedoms we have given up willingly, and he say’s that’s laziness.  He states Google needs to have another big way to make money.  They do own other companies and but their data is still their big business. Privacy is a very important right he says, and people need to be able to have affairs, and other things where folks tell little white lies.  We need to be able to keep things to ourselves, and I agree with that.  He said he used to change phones every week.  He has a new website, called <a href="http://www.brownlist.com/">brownlist.com.</a>  He states a place for the little guy to complain but you also have to add a solution which is not a bad idea as you never know what might come out of it.  The old saying goes if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.  He then goes off about his problems in Belize and will be putting it on the website himself.  He sounds like he’s coming back to earth here and he’s right on the privacy part though as it is a mess with all the data selling for profit that’s going on. I’m just amazed every day at the news over some new thing Facebook is doing as it is not it’s mandatory to use<a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0"><img align="right" border="0" height="107" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pDkERQGCavs/U7CCFhJ-lRI/AAAAAAABKtI/kXyumQqvSoM/Privacy_GoFundMe%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" width="138" /></a> the site and I can understand the data scientists getting full of themselves and wanting some press as it’s grueling work and things a normal human mind doesn’t do all the time and they want some attention.   I went over there and put the <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/auyxd0">privacy campaign on there</a> to license data sellers and require all disclose what kind of data they sell and to who.  Why not.  Anyway he’s right on privacy and what it is doing and the last of trust and I’ll leave the Belize story alone. If you can kick in a few bucks on the privacy/transparency campaign, that would be great.  We really need it.   BD  <object data="http://www.bloomberg.com/video/embed/m_NBADwgTsWDLonopLMLfw?height=395&width=440" height="330" style="overflow:hidden;" width="640"></object>

Want Privacy? Dump Your Smart Phone Says John McAfee And Stop Being So Lazy And Giving Out All Your Data

Google and laziness are the problems he says. If anyone needs some privacy it has to be John McAfee . He talks about the “free” apps and t...

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

“The Secret Scoring of America’s Physicians” - Algorithmic Math Models For Insurance Network Contractual Exclusions, Relating to MDs Who See Medicare Advantage Patients..

If you read here often enough then you have seen the references and addition information relative to the World Privacy Forum and their report on “The Secret Scoring of America” while the rest of the world watches.  This is right along the same lines here with physicians being eliminated from insurer networks with no reason given as to why, they have been “scored” somehow and it’<img align="right" height="235" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3szEXZPRIqQ/U7qv_R169gI/AAAAAAABKxc/evT7Y_hxGEc/image121.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" width="355" />s proprietary so nobody knows and United mostly and other insurers are not giving any explanations either, other than the fact there’s money being saved, but how.  Below is the World Privacy Forum report link if you have not read it.  It was a great and fair report with the discussion of “scoring”.  In it you will also find the Affordable Care Act explanation on how a score is used to determine eligibility and subsidy amounts.  The ACA score is right there as it’s part of government so they have to divulge how their scoring takes place.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/world-privacy-forum-report-scoring-of.html">World Privacy Forum Report - The Scoring of America: How Secret Consumer Scores Threaten Your Privacy and Your Future - One Big Element that Fuels the Continued Attack of Killer Algorithms & Demise of the Middle Class Creating Profiteering And/Or Denial of Access</a></h5> The report also makes the notations too about what is legitimate types of “scoring” and then relates to the whole underworld of “secret” scoring that we don’t even who, what or when we get scored as consumers.  You get the entire history on how credit scores began, as one time they were a secret as well, and parts of them still are today for consumers as you never get the full report sent to someone who is inquiring.  This is a big issue out there today as what happens when your score is not within certain designated parameters, you get denied access to something along the line and if you don’t know who’s scoring you or even a little bit about the parameters, heck you have no clue on what happened and this appears to be the same fate of the doctors that are being fired, probably algorithmically, based on some kind of scoring system.  You almost really have to assume this when no explanations are offered and that’s what all the doctors are getting as answers.  In addition you have scores like the FICO medication adherence “scoring” and how many people have ever been given that score?  I would guess probably none and they brag they have scored over 3 million people.  Now I assume the FICO medication adherence scoring is used more in the area of clinical trials, just common sense tells me that as they want adherence on a trial by all means but again as the World Privacy Forum points out in their report, FICO says all they need is a name and address to use a proprietary methodology to score anyone?  So what is their formula?  Nobody can replicate it since it’s proprietary so do you just say “well I guess it’s so”?  Not today I don’t with all the data selling going on and when a score is derived, well guess what, you have a new piece of data to sell about a consumer.  It’s the best racket in the whole world for making money as nobody gets a chance to replicate and see how accurate the proprietary score is as it’s compiled and just runs it’s magical formula. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/fico-medication-adherence-scoring.html">FICO Medication Adherence Scoring Should Be Banned As It’s Quantitated Justifications for Profit That Hurts US Consumers Using Proprietary Algorithms That Cannot Be Replicated For Accuracy or Audited</a></h5> Over the last few months we have been seeing one state after another firing doctors who take care of Medicare Advantage patients.  Doctors have been given no reason and sometimes not a lot of warning as well as the patients affected.  We know of course <img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GPn1iE76d3k/T5D3QJ8PWFI/AAAAAAAA6jk/kMvDzt1Smc0/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" />that insurers do analytics on a regular basis on every aspect of their business and this is no different.  Cost of course is what United has been stating as the cause, however when doctors state they will honor what ever rates needed to keep the patients under care, and nothing changes or there’s no allowance for conversation, we know there’s more to the analytics and decision making processes, in other words, doctors are getting scored.  Since the 90s doctors have been kept under a microscope relative to the drugs they prescribe for more than one reason and a lot of it goes back to the drug companies for sale use.  That’s been around for years.  Insurers also do big risk assessments on those they insure as well so there’s nothing stopping them from getting a mortality assessment on the doctors and for that matter <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/03/insurance-companies-are-buying-up.html">looking at their credit card expenditures since insurers are doing it to us anyway.</a>   The latest doctor firings in Tennessee features a video to where the doctor states he would honor whatever rates were needed to keep the patients and on top of that he specializes in geriatrics, but he got cut and that was that, no reason given. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/08/patients-in-tennessee-speak-out-about.html">Patients In Tennessee Speak Out About United Healthcare Firing Their Doctors As the Effort Continues To Reduce Their Own In House Overhead With Managing Fewer Doctor NPI Accounts, Contracts and Billing…More Killer Algorithms At Work Hurting Seniors</a></h5> So based on this and some other activities of the same types we could pretty much assume there’s quite a bit to the “scoring of the doctor” with United Healthcare, again just like we get scored from sources where we have no clue.  When the insurer fails to even want to give a reason, we can pretty much assume we have some quants working at United, building models to meet certain parameters based on the doctor him/herself as well as the scope of patients. Doctors like patients in the US are facing a huge amount of “scoring” and they doo have no clue on what kind of scoring takes place.  When it comes to P4P, there might be some information released on those parameters of course, as that’s something like a credit score that has to be up front but on the rest of it, a big mystery. Certainly by narrowing down the networks there’s fewer doctor NPI accounts to manage and claims coming from fewer sources so again United is notifying their own bookkeeping processes in essence, but nothing on the other side with patients and doctors other than more items and complexities to go look up all the time. Sometimes though their algorithms mess up as we had this situation in Maryland where United bid and won a contract but found out there were no providers in network for the contract they bid on, narrowed down just a little too tight.  Of course too you have to remember that United makes money on selling data and once a score is created, they have another stick of data to sell.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/01/howard-county-school-board-in-maryland.html">Howard County School Board in Maryland Rescinds United Healthcare Contract As Retirees Didn’t Want the Medicare Advantage Plan, No Providers Available..</a></h5> In summary, not only do we have to deal with “secret scoring” ourselves as consumers, this practice has now moved into the area of physicians to where they too are scored and some of it is a big secret, just like we deal with.  So as a patient and a doctor, “scoring”<img align="right" height="146" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TLZdsFwnFqI/AAAAAAAAiIY/NIhj9oaZrLo/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" width="119" /> is what insurers do and you have to rush and makes changes just like they are herding the cattle as the “algorithm says”…and you know what this is dangerous.  When people have to keep making changes as such, and I’m not the first one to say this, you are putting patients in harms’ way by all means with constantly shifting physicians and other things that come up.  So I might venture to say here too that along with firing the doctors, there could also be some “scoring” information that United might be selling as well, but again this is all secret and how many other insurers will begin doing the same thing with the same or similar methodologies?  When there’s no communication or at least a reason given, we can all all figure it’s their internal Quants creating the models for narrowed networks.  <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/07/aafp-says-were-not-going-to-take-it.html">Groups such as the AAFP have spoken up recently</a> as this has the potential to create harm with patient care.  Another real concern is again the fact that all of this is “secret” and in the example above you can see to where the algorithms went south and there were not doctors in the business area United bid, so again, what kind of algorithms are these and what kind of scoring are they doing?  We get no explanation other than to stop and quit and send patients away?  Is this the way to better care?  It certainly sounds like the way to bigger profits but how long can you keep doing this?  Patient care quality is going downhill and not up and this has to be be a contributing factor for sure.  Nobody is happy here except share holders and life for both patients and doctors becomes a big disruption and adds yet one more level to the lack of stability of healthcare in the US today.  What’s scarier yet is that HHS and CMS see no problem and have not addressed this and yet are stuck in their “stat rat” virtual frames of mind thinking numbers will create better care when in fact it’s failing, just as pay for performance is failing as that belongs in sales, not in healthcare.  I’ll leave you with one final thought and link “People Don’t Work That Way”….and trying to quantitate every area of a person’s life just won’t work.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.kr/2014/05/people-dont-work-that-way-world-of.html">People Don’t Work That Way” A World of Broken Software Models That Don’t Align To the Human Side,Too Much Push At Times With Only A Proof of Concept That Fails in the Real World..</a></h5>

“The Secret Scoring of America’s Physicians” - Algorithmic Math Models For Insurance Network Contractual Exclusions, Relating to MDs Who See Medicare Advantage Patients..

If you read here often enough then you have seen the references and addition information relative to the World Privacy Forum and their repor...

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Argus Analytics Produces “Share of Credit Card” Data On Consumers - Digs Up The Dirt on Your Credit Card Behavior Patterns-US Consumer Protection Agency Is A Client-We Are Paying for Richard Cordray’s Slow Education Process

Not too long ago we had the story of the hospital buying patient credit card data and sure they could buy it directly from Master Card and Visa but there’s also the “middle man” who has already processed analytics about you, and in<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="238" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-W9quXtamdGk/U-exY-P2fpI/AAAAAAABLEI/e5OHh-b_JkU/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="313" /> this case the price for the data sold about you goes up as you pay for the analytics services that digs out all the “dirt” on what you really do.  All I say here is yes, just one more reason to use cash if you want a speck of privacy out there. Again as with all data, context is everything (see video #1 in the footer) and when reconstructing a data story, the perception may not be what you think it is.  All you have to do for proof on that thought is think about a dating site, how’s that for perception and things not always be as they seem:)  As I have mentioned how weak our Consumer Protection Agency really is with having the wrong person at the helm before, we have to wait now until Richard Cordray learns how all this works.  Why not put someone in this office that understands data mechanics logic? He’s another one with the Sebelius Syndrome hanging out there in government today.  His agency spent about 2 million in 2012 with buying data and studies from Argus too,  so he’s an expensive student.  Again if we had the right people in the right jobs there’s 2 million saved right there. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/richard-cordray-yet-one-more-algo-duped.html">Richard Cordray Yet One More “Algo Duped” Government Executive Sucked In To Virtual Values and Unable to Locate the “Real World” Now Creating Huge Data Base Of All US Consumer Credit Information…</a></h5> Of course if you are paying for your doctor’s visits, your prescriptions, it’s all in the mix, so here’s one more company making money “selling data”.  Even the US government is sucking it up so cash is king for privacy.  You can read a couple paragraphs from the company website below and see how you get “scored” again.  As the World Privacy Report wrote in “The Scoring of America” this detailed nonsense is not happening to the extent we have it here so once again the US is the leader on exploiting their citizens and Cordray can’t even see the forest for the trees here.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/world-privacy-forum-report-scoring-of.html">World Privacy Forum Report - The Scoring of America: How Secret Consumer Scores Threaten Your Privacy and Your Future - One Big Element that Fuels the Continued Attack of Killer Algorithms & Demise of the Middle Class Creating Profiteering And/Or Denial of Access</a></h5> You know we reach a point of having when is “enough data enough data” if you will.  I used to be a query monster and know how this works as well as the additive process of those who build queries and yes it almost is like developers, data scientists, etc. being on “crack” as you dig an dig and dig to find some value.  In the course of this, there’s crap that gets sold and justified too, take a look at <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/quantitated-justification-for-believing.html">quantitated justifications for things that are not true.</a>   It’s not always going to play out the same in virtual worlds as it it does in the real world as the folks looking at the data more times than not will develop  a different perception that what occurs in the real world and poor old consumers with the wrong perception spin and marketing get “scored” and look horrific.  What we need here is some kind of index so we have access to claim some responsibility for the billions and millions made selling data with a total “hands off” approach for the perceptual values buyers will assess.  It’s ridiculous and hurts consumers.  I’m in there and have had it happen to me, and thus I do cash whenever I can as I know the data is getting more flawed all the time as now “data flippers” just keep it rolling and resell you again and again.  Old slow moving Cordray has not figu<img align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4dAaL3F8HHA/U6L3-VlNoGI/AAAAAAABKo4/_oLHb_h1n6E/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="float: right; display: inline" />red out yet what a “data flipper” is yet..augh…the time and money wasted with folks like that running high tech regulation agencies, all they can really do is catch some low hanging fruit.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/06/us-data-selling-epidemic-privacy.html">US “Data Selling Epidemic”-Privacy, mHealth and More Is Not Going Anywhere Until We Require All (Banks, Corporations, Insurers, Brokers, Etc.) To Buy A License to Distribute Data-You Need An Index Stupid To Identify Who to Regulate And Where…</a></h5> So yes would it not be nice to require folks like this to buy a license so we know who they are besides having to read it on this blog??  Activity like this is the direct correlation to the growth of accelerated inequality in the US, why it’s growing so fast.  Lawyers only focus on verbiage while code like this at Argus, runs hog ass wild.  BD  <hr />Today, credit card issuers are not only competing to gain qualified customers, they are competing to be their customer’s primary provider of payment services. As a result, financial institutions need to make some compelling offers to get more of their customers’ business. This is not an easy task if an issuer lacks insight about what’s happening in their customer’s wallet. Argus has created a unique cross-issuer solution that provides the full view of a customer’s credit card wallet. This information has been used by financial institutions to determine what “share of wallet” their credit card commands. <ul> <li>What is the “off-us” spend and revenue opportunity for the customer? What types of usage behavior is the customer exhibiting on her/his other cards? </li> <li>What type of product, pricing, and value-proposition are driving the customer’s “off-us” usage behaviors? </li> <li>What competitor actions (promotions and offers) are driving “on-us” account attrition — silent and closure?  </li> <li>How effective are the balance-generation and usage programs (investments) in capturing incremental spend and revenue share at the customer level? </li> <li>Are the customer’s payments a fair representative of the customer’s capacity to pay? If not, what are the drivers? </li> </ul> <a href="http://www.argusinformation.com/eng/our-services/product-solutions/customer-share-of-wallet/">http://www.argusinformation.com/eng/our-services/product-solutions/customer-share-of-wallet/</a>

Argus Analytics Produces “Share of Credit Card” Data On Consumers - Digs Up The Dirt on Your Credit Card Behavior Patterns-US Consumer Protection Agency Is A Client-We Are Paying for Richard Cordray’s Slow Education Process

Not too long ago we had the story of the hospital buying patient credit card data and sure they could buy it directly from Master Card and V...

Sunday, August 10, 2014

“Terrifying Doctor’s True Confessions” - True or False, Only The Shadow Knows…

You have to take this with a grain of salt of course as there’s no real way to tell if any of this is real,<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="86" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-14hqq0MZ9Rg/U-bXW64VAxI/AAAAAAABLD4/1iHPs9uNbv8/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="226" /> but it’s highly entertaining.  Some folks really got creative and and this is done by Buzz Feed and people lie all the time on the internet. I thought was amusing thus here’s the video and don’t take it seriously as this is probably a bunch of clinicians trying to think up the most outrageous lie they could think of.  This is a shoot off of an app called Whisper where people can make anonymous confessions and there’s a whole series of them with people in different occupations, like bartenders for one and just other crazy things people like to say.  <iframe style="height: 276px; width: 473px" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GbzvtzsNAJk" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> There’s no HIPAA here:)  BD

“Terrifying Doctor’s True Confessions” - True or False, Only The Shadow Knows…

You have to take this with a grain of salt of course as there’s no real way to tell if any of this is real, but it’s highly entertaining. ...

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Oracle Files Suit Against the State of Oregon For Non Payment of $23 Million Under State Exchange Project - As the “Sebelius Syndrome” Now Plays Out In Oregon As Well As It Did In DC

Of course everyone is concerned as this is taxpayer money, but on the other hand Oracle did spend the time and it comes back to nobody an integrator, just like HHS did at Healthcare.gov in thinking they could oversee the project.  Well the feds didn’t get off the hook and I doubt Oregon will either.  We need some folks in office that have some “data mechanics logic” as this is just one more example on how the “Sebelius Syndrome” lives on.  That syndrome keep rearing it’s ugly head over and over. I followed this story and there’s more to it than what is just stated here as Oracle was already in house working on another project that was for social services and then, and then, and then….the government decided to integrate the two and that<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="172" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ex0AtOZWHmc/U-W3vHe7JPI/AAAAAAABLDg/-NtveCLcaxM/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="264" /> was not a good decision as when it was announced Oracle got the additional contract as the other bidder withdrew and walked out.  The time frame was tight and the digital illiterates in Oregon were looking for “Algo Fairies”.  I think if the state government would have keep their mouths shut and worked with Oracle more instead of this very public witch hunt and had hired an integrator even later it would not have come to this.  As a company all you have to do is look at all the serious integration Oracle has done and and they don’t mess around and crank it out one integration after another.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/02/oracle-pulls-100-programmers-from-cover.html">Oracle Pulls 100 Programmers From Cover Oregon Insurance Exchange - Remember They Were the Only Contractor That “Did Not” Withdraw Their Bid When the State Upped The Anny With Additional Social Services Coding Added</a></h5> Even in what I do, I get novices that know nothing about data and it’s only their perceptions that are wrong, and they want to beat me up too and will argue with me on how do things and forget I was the coder, not them.  It still happens when I speak data mechanics logic too, people don’t want to believe me and they can’t win,  it’s like fighting with a car mechanics and telling him how to fix your car, but in the software world it goes on forever and that’s why I came up with the name <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/secretary-sebelius-at-hhs-resigns-wrong.html">“Sebelius Syndrome”</a> as she was just out there so often off the wall with wrong perceptions and statements that it was comical on some of the stuff she said as it flat was her weird logic perceptions which were wrong and she was always looking for Algo Fairies.  We have the same thing here and when digital illiterates come back with their non data logic and it’s not that way, well you just shake your head as you know when you develop and keep all your records, they are going to fall on their faces. So I guess at this point the FBI dog and pony show is done:)  What were they going to find?  Duh? <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/05/fbi-to-investigate-cover-oregon.html">FBI to Investigate Cover Oregon Exchange-I Would Guess the Findings Might Reveal Some Extreme Cases of Digital Illiteracy, Not Much Different Than What We Have Seen and Experienced With HHS and CMS</a></h5> It’s kind of sad that it all has worked out this way but the Governor should have handled this a lot different and you would have had a much better end result than this.  Oracle sent people to work on the fed’s system and that too was not Oracle’s products’ fault at all, it’s configurations and apps and integration.  These huge projects are not off the shelf data systems.  Well sadly this what you get when you have digital illiterates on old type witch hunts instead of approaching things with a bit more intelligence.  Again I see the point that yes this is taxpayer’s money, but on the other hand get some new politicians that understand just a tiny bit on how massive projects like this work and how they need to be handled.  There’s a lot of politicians like that, all the way up to the White House and in Congress.  <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/07/big-clinical-data-registries-next-why.html">Our Congress chooses to remain stupid in the most complex times that have ever existed</a> and won’t restore the badly need non partisan office of technology assessment.  If I were in Congress I would want it and would be hitting the others on Congress over the head until I was able to get that very badly needed agency back in place too.  Sounds like these folks came out of the same tomato patches that grow in DC  when it comes to technology.  BD <hr />The lawsuit also faults the state's decision not to hire a systems integrator, who works as a sort of general contractor to coordinate and direct the work of multiple technology vendors. With the state acting in that capacity, the lawsuit says, Oracle programmers were at the whims of indecisive and warring state managers.SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oracle Corp. has sued the state of Oregon in a fight over the state's health insurance exchange, saying government officials are using the technology company's software despite $23 million in disputed bills. Oracle's breach-of-contract lawsuit against Cover Oregon was filed Friday in federal court in Portland. It alleges that state officials repeatedly promised to pay the company but have not done so. The lawsuit seeks payment of the disputed $23 million plus interest, along with other unspecified damages. Oregon's health-insurance enrollment website was never launched to the general public. State officials have blamed Oracle, but the company says the state's bad management is responsible. "Oracle gave that help for many months, in spite of the public excoriation, because it was committed to helping Cover Oregon complete the project and because Cover Oregon repeatedly promised to pay Oracle for its services," the lawsuit says. "In the end, though, Cover Oregon reneged on its promises, thus prompting this lawsuit." <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/oracle-sues-oregon-over-health-insurance-exchange">http://bigstory.ap.org/article/oracle-sues-oregon-over-health-insurance-exchange</a>

Oracle Files Suit Against the State of Oregon For Non Payment of $23 Million Under State Exchange Project - As the “Sebelius Syndrome” Now Plays Out In Oregon As Well As It Did In DC

Of course everyone is concerned as this is taxpayer money, but on the other hand Oracle did spend the time and it comes back to nobody an in...

Friday, August 08, 2014

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