Medical Quack

Botiful Android Robot You Use and Control With Skype Video Conferencing–Start Up Company At KickStarter–We Need This Robot for All Video Conferencing

Wait until you watch this video and best yet, it was created by a<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iV5U_UaL4KE/UBCKK-Q9O-I/AAAAAAAA8cI/w_cLNAn7WxY/image%25255B19%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="207" /> woman!  Yes! So far it only works with an Android phone and if the funding is reached an IPhone version is slated to come along as well.  I think this little robot has a real future for all Video Conferencing for that matter.  Just watch it follow you around and if you have ever done any video conferencing then you about keeping in front of the camera at all times.  This takes care of that problem and of course this has a healthcare use, ask any doctor or patient who wouldn’t mind using such a device, it’s a winner and is estimated to cost $199, a fair price for what it does indeed.  I have good feelings about her raising the money on this one.   I like the video where it shows sitting it on a table and it automatically senses and moves back and forth between talking individuals.  Microsoft has that for businesses and came out with it years ago with their device but this makes it possible for anyone with an Android cell phone.  About a year ago I made a post talking about Skype use for consultations and chats for visuals and called it Redneck Healthcare as you use what you have available for better communication and care.  BD   <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/and-now-word-about-redneck-telehealth.html">And Now A Word About “Redneck Telehealth” Brought to You by Skype and Microsoft</a></h4> <h4></h4> <iframe height="320" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1452620607/botiful-telepresence-robot-for-android/widget/video.html" frameborder="0" width="420"> </iframe> <hr />We’ve seen a few telepresence <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/08/anybots-arrington-robot/">in our day</a>, including the incredible <a href="http://techcrunch.com/tag/AnyBot">AnyBot</a>, but this little guy looks like it may make life at the office a little less weird and a little more bearable. It’s essentially a little telepresence platform for your Android phone (if the creator, Claire Delaunay, nets $100,000 <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="129" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-wSWylnKBYx0/UBCKLIno3dI/AAAAAAAA8cQ/1Hr7noAVigI/image%25255B8%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="137" />she’ll make an iPhone version) that roams around and lets you chat with people in the vicinity. Think of it as a little robotic dog wearing your face. The early bird robot price is $199 and it works with Skype. To interact with the bot, you simply call it via Skype after downloading the proper software. Motion controls allow you to move Botiful around the office, room, or under and around obstacles. Delaunay recommends using it to play remotely with pets and/or kids and to visit hard to reach places like a crawlspace or dungeon. <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/25/botiful-is-the-telepresence-robot-weve-all-been-waiting-for/">http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/25/botiful-is-the-telepresence-robot-weve-all-been-waiting-for/</a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:91537bc1-80cf-4ef8-9fdc-60e3e66b1b6b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/robot" rel="tag">robot</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Skype" rel="tag">Skype</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/telehealth" rel="tag">telehealth</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/video" rel="tag">video</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/conferencing" rel="tag">conferencing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Botiful" rel="tag">Botiful</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Android" rel="tag">Android</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cell+phone" rel="tag">cell phone</a></div>

Botiful Android Robot You Use and Control With Skype Video Conferencing–Start Up Company At KickStarter–We Need This Robot for All Video Conferencing

Wait until you watch this video and best yet, it was created by a woman! Yes! So far it only works with an Android phone and if the fundi...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Medical Device Recalls Involve Software Flaws in Almost 1/4 Cases–Why the FDA Needs Engineers Just the Rest of the World

This should be no big secret with the status of software today <img align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2ivNFIPXaj0/TieHa94aDzI/AAAAAAAA15w/JqcWW0J9tWg/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" />and it’s not always something overlooked at the manufacturer either as it could be new data platforms not performing a they should if the device connects to the internet or a computer.  I made one comment for a long time and I know it happens out there but it’s unspoken but sometimes you have marketing and executives of companies push the developers and mind you they are probably geared up working at 100% already, but they want certain deadlines met and in today’s world, you better not rush the developers. You can certainly push a developer to possibly release a product before “they” are satisfied and it works fine..until….and that’s a big until as it could mean anything.  I know I used to push myself to get updates out as fast as I could but luckily there was no executive group pushing me to do so, just me and my work ethics and I would slow things down as needed too.  When you have shareholders wanting their dividends and for the most part, digital illiterates company officers working with marketing, things get bent and pushed.  This is a software solution at the link below but it is exactly what happened at Allscripts, with too much code and not enough time and promises made to shareholders.  Sometimes in software development you never know what you are going to run in to.  Those algorithms came back screaming.    <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/05/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against.html">Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Allscripts For Misleading Investors With Merging Data Systems–Too Much Code and Not Enough Time – Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 30</a> </h4> Also to add a little more here this is why it is also important to have enough software engineers on staff at the FDA, they need them just like anyone else and even more so as they protect the consumers.  BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/fda-and-medical-devices-who-doesnt-get.html">FDA and Medical Devices-Who Doesn’t Get This, They Are Looking for Engineers Just Like Technology Companies Are Doing- Get Some Congressional Digital Literacy in Place</a> <hr /></h4> <h4></h4> <h4></h4> CDRH says about 24% of device recalls involve software flaws. “Many software platforms lack robust code validation”, the Center’s Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories (OSEL) says in its latest annual report. “In medical devices that contain software, it can be extremely difficult to assess if a firm follows their processes for design controls, especially in the areas of validation, risk/hazard analysis, and design changes”, the report says. <a href="http://www.mddionline.com/article/software-flares-cause-24-device-recalls">http://www.mddionline.com/article/software-flares-cause-24-device-recalls</a>

Medical Device Recalls Involve Software Flaws in Almost 1/4 Cases–Why the FDA Needs Engineers Just the Rest of the World

This should be no big secret with the status of software today and it’s not always something overlooked at the manufacturer either as it cou...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Thomson Reuters Partnering With SciELO To Host the Scientific Electronic Library Online Data Base Creating Additional Resources From Emerging Technologies

SciELO is supported by Brazilian funds and has been around since 1998 and is one of the earliest to have provided open access.  Research and information is truly an international effort today and this will allow access to additional scientific data under the Reuters umbrella of their Intellectual Property and Science division.  BD <hr />  Newswise — PHILADELPHIA, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="77" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YtEuiymOGW0/UBAZetdQ_wI/AAAAAAAA8bw/DZN0Jh7LmnQ/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="133" />The Intellectual Property & Science division of Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced it has partnered with Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) to host the SciELO database on Web of Knowledge(SM), the world's most powerful search and discovery platform. This partnership will help bring greater visibility and improved access to research from emerging economies, particularly Latin America, the Caribbean, South Africa, and developed Latin-language areas including Spain and Portugal. The SciELO database will be integrated into Web of Knowledge, enabling researchers to review and analyze relevant regional content alongside top-tier international literature. <a href="http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/591841/?sc=rsla&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NewswiseLatestNews+%28Newswise%3A+Latest+News%29">http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/591841/?sc=rsla&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NewswiseLatestNews+%28Newswise%3A+Latest+News%29</a>

Thomson Reuters Partnering With SciELO To Host the Scientific Electronic Library Online Data Base Creating Additional Resources From Emerging Technologies

SciELO is supported by Brazilian funds and has been around since 1998 and is one of the earliest to have provided open access. Research and...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles

Everybody knows this is favorite topic around the Medical Quack as we don’t seem to have anyone who is aware or who will talk about what a huge gold mine this is as billions and billions are made mining data.<img align="right" height="202" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TdYNiZF0RQI/AAAAAAAAxks/UEJVJ2qMb7Y/image%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="166" />  As a matter of fact we are basing a little to much of our economy on algorithms and forgetting about creating some addition tangibles so we have jobs..get that?  It’s funny as I don’t normally back much the GOP comes up with but singling out one industry for excise taxes, namely medical devices is dated.  When healthcare reform was written, the economy was different and the good old algorithms have made the shifts for us.  Now I’m not giving the GOP any real credit for research here as they don’t want any tax and this one just happened to fall into that category.  I am surprised the Medical Device business has not jumped all over this one.  Sure some device companies sell data and they would be in the group and could pay their share but the would hit a lot less than one tax centered on their market only.  I’m going to add some links here for additional reading since I have written about this so extensively that I’m going to save my hands a little keyboard action here as I have already written a rough suggestion on this topic many times.  In addition “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms” and flawed data enters in here too.  Some of the stuff they sell for profit is flawed! <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/start-licensing-and-taxing-data-sellers.html">Start Licensing and Taxing the Data Sellers of the Internet Making Billions of Profit Dollars Mining “Free Taxpayer Data”–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 17 - “Occupy Algorithms”– Help Stop Inequality in the US</a></h4> There are folks higher than me that have written <img align="right" height="110" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6HDDm04lOwA/Ts0zq-EuFHI/AAAAAAAA4d8/nMT-KL0JEDY/image_thumb%25255B12%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="226" />and agree with me on the flawed data side of this.  Just a few days ago I wrote a post about “Algo Duping” consumers and society and I guess that goes for lawmakers too as nobody seems to get the difference between formulas that are made for “desired” results and those that create “accurate” results and two should be the same, but not always.  All you have to do is listen to Jamie Dimon with “I don’t know” and there’s your answer as the CEOs have no clue either.  I was actually very flattered to hear some comments from the folks at Nielsen and Bloomberg on this one…the “Algo Duping” so I guess I said something of value and thank them for their comments:) <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/big-data-flawed-data-business.html">Big Data, Flawed Data, Business Intelligence, Where’s The Future and What Has Been Our Past…A World With ”Algo Duping” of Society and Consumers</a></h4> <h4></h4> Actually if more economists would collaborate with more mathematicians I think we might have a little better forecasting going on as many economists sometimes get those “flawed” reports and rely on antiquated methodologies of math too, so bump head guys and see what collaboration might do.  How much is that algorithm in the window?  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/04/devaluate-algorithm-and-tax-data.html">“Devaluate the Algorithm” And “Tax the Data Sellers”–A Cure for Both Healthcare and an Economy Based Heavily on Intangibles–We’ve Lost Our Balance</a> </h4> <h4></h4> We have government agencies that have been spoofed as<img align="right" height="73" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="184" /> well with some of the flawed data that results from the “intelligence” that emerges from business intelligence that is working for the “desired” results that may not be totally accurate.  Again it’s hard to tell the difference at times and when you spin some of the information multiple times and use the old methodology of repetition, we start believing that some of the flawed data is the truth until someone proves otherwise and thus we continue with the world of insanity to where it starts getting out of control as the claims are way beyond what is commonly known to be true.  Getting to the bottom of what really is the truth is becoming a big challenge.  Data mining leads to spun data in many areas and it hurts consumers as we are now getting credible data combined with non credible data and crunching numbers is fine but when you do something like<img align="right" height="76" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GaUf6l74-4Y/TgOm2J2CFdI/AAAAAAAAz5o/oDUXhwazIC8/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="230" /> FICO sells on the medication compliance analytics they sell, we have mismatched data as this is the perfect example of credible with non credible information being combined.  How do you combine such intelligence and then turn around and score people individually from zero to 500 and sell that analyzed data to insurance and drug companies as being credible?  It hurts consumers as we don’t have enough folks out there that know how to work with “flawed data” and take everything they see on the computer screen to the bank?  There’s the big part of the insanity today and when a naïve novice looks at such numbers a patient may get denied access to medications.  Duh?  ”Hey dude let’s crunch some numbers and see if we can come up with some analytics to sell” So I hope in this endeavor that the lawmakers see this for what it is with mining data and look at the huge potential pool it is for a quarterly excise tax.  This is part of the reason that inequality keeps getting worse.  If you have not figured it out yet, algorithms move and make money.  How do you think they did the big mortgage scam…they did it with “spun algorithms” and they sold that credit data, so let’s tax the banks and the corporations getting richer doing so.  How big is this pot, example, Walgreens in 2010 made just short of $800 Million, and that’s revenue from selling data only, none of their other business included here so you can figure out how many billions upon billions in profits are out there.  On my blog if you scroll down the “Killer Algorithms” has it’s own section and you can read 35 posts of things that happen to you or <img align="right" height="168" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TMyag2YVCWI/AAAAAAAAifU/D7YWgtndaQA/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="241" />others in every day life..it’s the algorithms and lawmakers and politicians don’t get this as it might be above levels of comprehension and that’s why so many of them are useless, talk is cheap but algorithms move and make money.  Here’s a good video from someone else who reads here once in while, context is everything and this video too has a permanent spot on the Medical Quack, so where’s the context with those data sellers?  How much data has been spun?  I was actually looking at my web stats and I’m seeing Google searches now for the “Killer Algorithms” and thank you to those that read the chapters too as we really are under math and code attack.  I don’t know when Chapter 36 will appear but on the look out for the next one.   It’s all about the algorithms Congress…please listen up.  BD    <iframe style="width: 432px; height: 286px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qiQwZ6inbOM?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <hr />Again if we want to get revenue from taxes this is it!  We can’t win with taxing the rich with Congress but we can certainly win here and those mining and selling data should be licensed and taxed.  Poor state servers slow down to a crawl with all the bots in there and they get paid pennies from the companies who access the data.  Some states have had to put in more software to keep some of the bots out, so we get hit again as taxpayers to pay for that expense.  In a move that could lay bare the inner workings of the consumer data industry, eight members of Congress have opened a sweeping investigation into data brokers — companies that collect, collate, analyze and sell billions of details annually about consumers’ offline, online and mobile activities for marketing and other purposes. Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Representative Joe L. Barton, Republican of Texas, co-chairmen of the<a href="http://markey.house.gov/issues/bipartisan-congressional-privacy-caucus-0"> Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus</a>, along with six other lawmakers, sent letters of inquiry on Tuesday afternoon to nine leading industry players. In the letters, the legislators requested extensive information about how the companies amass, refine, sell and share consumer data. Data brokers often collect details about people’s financial, retail and recreational activities to help clients like airlines, automakers, banks, credit card issuers and retailers retain their best customers and woo new ones. But Mr. Markey said consumers also needed greater access to data collected about them so they could make more informed choices. “You have to make sure that the values of the physical world accompany the transition to the virtual, digital world,” he said. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/technology/congress-opens-inquiry-into-data-brokers.html?pagewanted=all">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/technology/congress-opens-inquiry-into-data-brokers.html?pagewanted=all</a>

Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles

Everybody knows this is favorite topic around the Medical Quack as we don’t seem to have anyone who is aware or who will talk about what a h...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

MyMedicalRecord.Com–New Sponsor At the Medical Quack–Personal Health Records

Today I am welcoming MyMedicalRecord.Com as a new sponsor at the Medical Quack.  If you have been around here long enough then you might be aware of all the blog posts I have relative to personal health records.  If not, you can <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/search/label/Personal%20Health%20Records">find around 400 posts here</a>.  If you have not set up a PHR (personal health record) you might want to<a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="54" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oPXiMrsq2vA/UA5QFS4DJvI/AAAAAAAA8bc/1GNvaOjdmWI/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="206" /></a> visit <a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/">their website</a> and see how the system works.  In addition to the PHR, there’s also additional helpful information on various Health Topics and a pretty complete Prescription Drug Base and interaction look up section.  In addition if you are a Veteran or Medicare patient be sure to look at the Blue Button section to where you can download and import your medical records here as this way you have one place to go for all your records and can access them anywhere with an internet connection.  To find out more a visit to the FAQ page can also answer many questions about what their system does and provides or view the <a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/StaticContent/MMR/pages/en/MMR_Guide.pdf">MMR User Guide</a>.  You can also print out and keep a card in your wallet to allow doctors access to basic medical information in case of an emergency.  Recently in the news it was announced 4medica EHR systems will be collaborating with MyMedicalRecord to enable lab report sand prescription history.  <img alt="image" border="0" height="254" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ed0-WMto3Gc/UA5QFlOdKLI/AAAAAAAA8bk/yL8o2RkuZtY/image5.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="382" /> Check out <a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/">MyMedicalRecord</a> and get started with a PHR as it could save your life someday and you could also avoid  duplicated image and lab tests if you have them accessible and they are recent and watch for any potential drug interactions with the tools they offer online. Here’s an example of a past post where Mickey Fine Pharmacy works with their PHR system to promote personal health records in retail locations.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/05/mymedicalrecords-phr-30-day-account-to.html">MyMedicalRecords PHR 30 Day Account To Be Offered at Mickey Fine Pharmacy Chain in California</a> <hr /></h4> <a href="https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/">https://www.mymedicalrecords.com/</a>

MyMedicalRecord.Com–New Sponsor At the Medical Quack–Personal Health Records

Today I am welcoming MyMedicalRecord.Com as a new sponsor at the Medical Quack. If you have been around here long enough then you might b...

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

FDA Gives Approval to SoloHealth–Interactive Screening Kiosks for Retail Pharmacies

<h5>Back 2011 SoloHealth Wellness received funding and now it <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="128" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_hm_YuZyHsY/UA38V6-Et6I/AAAAAAAA8ao/UYVVtAAHqMc/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="112" />appears the product is ready to go with the FDA approval.  Ok folks that do advertising, it’s here on the Kiosks too, you can run from it anywhere:)  The company already had an eyesight kiosk and I understand all of those will be replaced.  The company also received a grant from the NIH to study the need for kiosks in healthcare.  When you sit down at one of the units you will get your eye sight evaluated for near and distance,<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="103" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XWUpRcByAe8/UA38WLAZJ9I/AAAAAAAA8aw/ZzKtpEQgcsw/image%25255B10%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="104" /> blood pressure, body mass and a listing of doctors and offers from healthcare partners (maybe this part of the advertising). You can have your tests emailed to you as well as a text message…even more exciting here, check out that bar code…nope we still can’t get these for FDA recalls for prescriptions and OTC products <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/p/healthcare-bar-code-posts.html">(more on that topic here)</a> …but you can get your results from this assessment that way.  BD<a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/03/solohealth-wellness-receives-investment.html"> SoloHealth Wellness Receives Investment from CoinStar And Is Developing a New Self Service Health Assessment Kiosk</a> <iframe height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_x0W3iBW1DQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" width="400" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h5> <h4></h4> <hr />Healthcare seems to be one of the fastest-growing digital out-of-home verticals, with new networks launching and existing networks expanding all the time. This week SoloHealth, which operates interactive screening kiosks in retail pharmacy locations, announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its new SoloHealth Station, which provides advertising opportunities in addition to its consumer health functions. Before granting the SoloHealth Station approval, in March of this year the FDA studied the potential applications for interactive kiosks, including education, self-diagnosis, dispensing drugs for certain chronic conditions, and recommending healthcare providers from local and national databases, all as part of a larger effort to improve access to pharmacy services and healthcare. In 2010 SoloHealth received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to study these needs and develop the kiosk format.  <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/176480/fda-approves-solohealth-kiosks.html">http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/176480/fda-approves-solohealth-kiosks.html</a>

FDA Gives Approval to SoloHealth–Interactive Screening Kiosks for Retail Pharmacies

Back 2011 SoloHealth Wellness received funding and now it appears the product is ready to go with the FDA approval. Ok folks that do advert...

Monday, July 23, 2012

Beth Israel Hospital Mobile Security Plan for Access–Bring Your Mobile Computer In and We Will Encrypt It For You Otherwise You Won’t Be Allowed Access Any More

This is from Dr. Halamka’s blog at Harvard Medical.  You may have read they lost a notebook recently and they had issues before with a 3rd party vendor over security I think about a year ago.  You know as a CIO and he’s one<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="129" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-A294hayWqFo/UA3L0u0B_GI/AAAAAAAA8aM/GQap_2SKw4g/image%25255B8%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="136" /> of the best out there when you have a second issue such as this one, time to buckle down and encrypt, lay the law down.  This applies to all staff and students who will be required to bring their devices in.  The first step are those owned by the school or hospital.  He has set up a depot where users can bring them in.  This is step number one and step number two will involve computers that are employee owned that connect and he will update us as it moves along.  This is mandatory so no ifs ands or buts on the new policy.  Good old active sync for Exchange email now requires a password and there will be more updates in the mobile phone area he states.  I like the “auto wipe” and that is a good thing for sure.  I remember when Microsoft <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="143" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-22Eu-lmVdoI/UA3L1d6nQFI/AAAAAAAA8aU/ohSTIVdCjHU/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="144" />brought that out with remote wiping for the IS folks, a very good thing if a phone is lost or stolen, IT does the remote wipe.  Ipads are right in here too as well as his reminder notice not to use a consumer cloud service for back up before bringing the unit in.  The following statement is of interest as well, users will have some level of responsibility for maintaining the security of the device, so time for everyone to learn up.   Stuff like this though is good as it is information that sometimes is also applicable and good education for maintaining one’s own person computer too.  “Pick Up the Device - Upon returning the device, depot staff will brief you on what work was done and your on-going responsibilities for maintaining the security of the device.” This is really a good idea though as the laptops will be scanned for any malware at the time and given an good overall check for anything else that may be wrong or need to be updated.  As far as connecting the IS folks will be monitoring and if anyone is found online with a device that has not been screened, they will be blocked.  Dr. Halamka will also share with us what he has learned about supporting personal device security that connect to networks as well.  Good article and I’m sure the time and loss of a unit for a day or a few hours will have a few moans and groans, but they are taking action to secure devices and data with encryption.  There’s a link in the usual spot to his entire post at the end of this post.  BD <hr /> "Information Systems will be conducting an aggressive campaign to ensure every mobile device is encrypted. This initiative applies to all staff and students. The program is mandatory and required for any mobile device used to access BIDMC-related systems, programs or documents, including email, clinical applications and administrative documents such as financial spreadsheets, grant information or staff lists. The first phase, beginning this week, focuses on institutionally owned laptops and iPad-type tablet computers.   Other versions of tablet computers will be addressed in a later phase.  Service depots will be set up in and around the main campus. The first location will be the Center for Life Sciences (CLS). This building was chosen because it has the largest population of laptops and iPads.   Prepare Your Device – Prior to dropping off the laptop or iPad<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="89" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-apI6frExOoM/UA3L1v0KXrI/AAAAAAAA8ac/eb9NxFHDRlM/image%25255B18%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="96" /> at the service depot, delete unneeded applications and data. All valuable data and important files, email, applications and other documents stored on the device should be backed up to your network home directory. Do NOT back up the data to an Internet cloud service such as Apple’s iCloud, or DropBox. Storing protected health or personal information on these sites is against corporate security policy. From this point forward, newly acquired laptop and tablet computers purchased from institutional funds cannot be used to access the BIDMC data network until their encryption status is verified by Information Systems. <a href="http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-bidmc-laptop-encryption-program.html">http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-bidmc-laptop-encryption-program.html</a>

Beth Israel Hospital Mobile Security Plan for Access–Bring Your Mobile Computer In and We Will Encrypt It For You Otherwise You Won’t Be Allowed Access Any More

This is from Dr. Halamka’s blog at Harvard Medical. You may have read they lost a notebook recently and they had issues before with a 3rd p...

Monday, July 23, 2012

Elton John Address at the AIDS 2012 Conference In Washington DC–We Need Compassion and Love

This is a very moving speech and what he says makes sense and also of note, this is the first time in over 20 years that<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="147" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2tbIKcvzaxs/UA24WugeEdI/AAAAAAAA8aA/3oiXszi6iJE/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="170" /> the International Aids Conference has been held in the United states.  Instead of judging people who are infected, let’s help them with love he says.  He talks about people being afraid to come forward due to fear.  He says to celebrate people who are willing to be tested.  He says America has shunned so many that are suffering and he points out to Washington DC where we have the contrast of the forgotten and of course the other folks who make laws or make a lot of money.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/unitaid-commits-140-million-to-increase.html">UNITAID Commits $140 Million to Increase Access To Affordable HIV Diagnostic Products To Help Bring Life Saving Point of Care Products to Market</a></h4> <h4></h4> There’s a lot of truth to what he says because there are folks who are just ill and some of our aging that don’t have HIV that have been abandoned but HIV sticks like a sore thumb as there are some in those groups with HIV as well.  Testing is the first part and it needs to be accessible and affordable to start the curing process.  Here’s one example that before he had healthcare reform we had an ‘HIV algorithm” run to cancel a policy and he was not the only one so again good cause for Elton John to address this.  BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/03/health-insurance-company-ran-hiv.html">Health Insurance Company Ran an “HIV” Algorithm To Cancel Consumer’s Policy –An Automatic Fraud Investigation Revealing “False Positives” Or “Unhealthy Patients”</a></h4> <h4></h4> <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" height="245" id="msnbc69e33f" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=48288612&width=420&height=245" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc69e33f" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=48288612&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> Visit NBCNews.com for <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com" style="border-bottom: #999 1px dotted; height: 13px; color: #5799db !important; font-weight: normal !important; text-decoration: none !important">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: #999 1px dotted; height: 13px; color: #5799db !important; font-weight: normal !important; text-decoration: none !important">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: #999 1px dotted; height: 13px; color: #5799db !important; font-weight: normal !important; text-decoration: none !important">news about the economy</a> Here’s an example at the link below , and I do consulting work for them of a company that is working hard to bring cheap, accurate testing to everyone worldwide.  There’s also the flipping book that tells more.  BD   <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/lifesaverttest-productsrapid-saliva.html">LiveSaver Products</a> <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48289435/ns/health-aids/?ocid=twitter#.UA21Z5iVCSp">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48289435/ns/health-aids/?ocid=twitter#.UA21Z5iVCSp</a>

Elton John Address at the AIDS 2012 Conference In Washington DC–We Need Compassion and Love

This is a very moving speech and what he says makes sense and also of note, this is the first time in over 20 years that the International ...

Monday, July 23, 2012

UNITAID Commits $140 Million to Increase Access To Affordable HIV Diagnostic Products To Help Bring Life Saving Point of Care Products to Market

If you are not aware the big AIDS international convention is taking place in Washington DC this week to focus on where we can move forward with both getting more people in the world tested to where the HIV virus <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="65" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-apIRw57d0Ig/UA1hKmak2LI/AAAAAAAA8Zs/jzdqjJF4gRs/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="143" />thrives and get point of care systems in place.  By getting such products to market it will allow for clinicians to have the ability to make decisions immediately rather than waiting to send specimens off to central locations and wait for the results to be returned and much of this requires some complex IT infrastructure to make it happen.  The targets are especially critical in countries where income is low and and thus access is affected.  Products need to be affordable to allow access and HIV treatment and diagnostics are a world wide project even in the US.  I read a comment yesterday that in Washington DC there has not been a baby born infected with HIV since 2009, so efforts are working both here and worldwide.  If you read here often enough there’s a presentation of a product (flipping book) I have posted about called <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/lifesaverttest-productsrapid-saliva.html">LifeSaver</a> which could be effective in making the initial diagnosis simple and affordable and the commitment with this project goes beyond to work with additional testing products being available at the point of care once an initial diagnosis has been made. BD <hr /> Press Release: [PRESSWIRE] WASHINGTON D.C. - 23.07.2012 -- UNITAID today announced the largest investment yet in “point-of-care” and decentralized HIV diagnostic products to bring life-saving technologies out of the drug development pipeline and into remote communities most affected by the epidemic.   UNITAID expects to commit more than US$ 140 million to projects implemented by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to increase access to affordable point-of-care HIV diagnostics adapted for use in low-tech settings. These technologies can revolutionize the HIV/AIDS response in low-income countries by moving essential HIV testing and monitoring away from centralized laboratories and closer to the site of patient care. <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="135" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-IOYKwc2LdXU/UA1hK_dT-fI/AAAAAAAA8Z0/FL8c3KiLCeI/image%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="99" />   With very few of these products approved for use, UNITAID will also use these committed funds to help new manufacturers with tests in late-stage development get over the hurdles to putting their products on the market. Accelerated market entry of these products will give developers the incentive to enter the market and compete and continue to innovate.   “While we’ve made progress in reducing life-saving antiretroviral prices for low-income countries, access to these medicines has been stymied by limited availability of diagnostics,” said UNITAID Executive Director Denis Broun. “Until we bridge this access gap for diagnostic technologies, it will be impossible to really turn the tide on HIV in low-income countries.”   UNITAID investments will target point-of-care products for three most critical diagnostic tests for HIV: CD4 Testing to determine when a patient should start treatment; Early Infant Diagnosis to determine antiretroviral eligibility for infants and Viral Load Testing to determine when to switch to alternative treatments. These tests all have limited access due to existing technologies that are expensive, require significant infrastructure and training, and are largely inappropriate for resource-limited settings.   The technology of point-of-care machines has improved dramatically in recent years. What was once a bulky machine carried on the bed of a truck is now a shoe-box sized unit that can be easily carried by hand.   In seven African countries, CHAI and UNICEF will catalyze a global market for new point-of-care diagnostics to expedite availability and access to these affordable breakthrough technologies. MSF will help countries, developers, and funders better understand how novel HIV diagnostics fit within a healthcare system, and drive needed policy change to allow products to be used in-country.   About UNITAID   UNITAID is a global health initiative launched in 2006 by the Governments of Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom to provide sustainable funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. About 70% of UNITAID’s funds come from a small levy on airline tickets. Through implementers, UNITAID finances the purchase of quality-assured drugs and diagnostics for patients in poor countries, using its market power to expand supply, promote development of new and better products, cut delivery lead times and reduce prices.   For more info: <a href="http://www.w9pog89yt84iyk.ReadNotify.com/tg/w9pog89yt84iylhttp/www.unitaid.eu">www.unitaid.eu</a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:07167707-a689-4e11-ad67-5d69106c6619" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UNITAID" rel="tag">UNITAID</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AIDS" rel="tag">AIDS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HIV" rel="tag">HIV</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/funding" rel="tag">funding</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Clinton+Foundation" rel="tag">Clinton Foundation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/treatments" rel="tag">treatments</a></div>

UNITAID Commits $140 Million to Increase Access To Affordable HIV Diagnostic Products To Help Bring Life Saving Point of Care Products to Market

If you are not aware the big AIDS international convention is taking place in Washington DC this week to focus on where we can move forward ...

Monday, July 23, 2012

A Broken Dental System in the US– An Overlooked Crisis in US Healthcare (PBS Video) Dollars, Dentists and Corporate Dental Clinics Investigated

This is a lengthy PBS video report on the state of dentistry in the US.  I have had my share of dental work and when it hurts, you can’t get away from yourself as it’s in your head.  Medicare doesn’t cover dental care. <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vX3FUOkMdCk/UAtR5JXPJiI/AAAAAAAA8ZY/BViaW0ULO1g/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="159" /> Right at the very beginning you see RAM USA (Remote Area Medical) headed up by Stan Brock and the free clinics they sponsor all over the US.  I have done quite a few posts that promote their events for reader awareness and at almost every free clinic they put on, they are begging for more dentists as they can never get enough.  People looking for dental care at the free clinics usually have jobs too but can’t afford the dental work.  The free clinics were in Oakland in March of this year and they had plenty of empty dental chairs, due to a lack of dental volunteers.  When RAM had their clinics in the Los Angeles area the USC dentistry school kicked in big time. <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/remote-area-medicalcalifornia-begins.html">“Remote Area Medical–California” Begins Four Day Free Medical Clinic in Oakland–Volunteers Needed</a></h5> <h4></h4>     1200 children a year get their dental care under general anesthesia in Florida every year and it is due to one of the lowest compensation rates in the US.  Only around 10% of the dentists in Florida will accept Medicaid.  Doctors look into getting enrolled in the system but reimbursement is 20% of what the dentist would normally get.  Half the kids in the US rely on Medicaid for dental care.  Corporate dental chains are offering some relief in some areas that take children that are on Medicaid only.  Kool Smiles is one that is backed by private equity.  One office manager said she enjoyed working there at the start but then it turned into a dollar system and the company computer system tracks production to the absolute minute detail.  The company survives on Medicaid reimbursements.  Some dentists said the chain encourages the use of crowns as they pay better, whether or not the child needs it or not. Part One <object height="175" width="366"> <param name="movie" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> </param><param name="flashvars" value="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="366" height="175" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object> With children under 9 the chain used 50% more crowns than normal when compared to other dental providers.  Critics say the Kool Smiles business model is at the root of some of the care problems.  It’s better than the alternative which would be zero but it’s cattle mill dentistry as dentists get bonuses based on how much revenue they bring in.  Part Two <object height="175" width="366"> <param name="movie" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> </param><param name="flashvars" value="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="366" height="175" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object> Small Smiles was another chain that was also backed by private equity and in Connecticut they were threatened with “malpractice” and things cleaned up a bit.  There’s an interview in the video with Grassley looking into the care.  When you listen to one of the folks interviewed about quality it sounds rehearsed about “how we care about quality”.  Watch and make your own opinion.  There’s a non profit group in Alabama that has 15 clinics who are<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="157" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mY7sk6Rv9zE/UAtR5arbkTI/AAAAAAAA8Zg/XdKH6DKHoLo/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="169" /> trying to help out and there’s no bonus system and dentists get paid a salary on whether or not they see zero patients or a number of the every day and they rely on Medicaid.  The bonus here is that children get preventive care here.  They hope to move the model to other states.  Alabama Medicaid seems to be enough for this group with their model as they don’t have to make a profit.  Similar to nurse practitioners the dental business in Minnesota is trying the same thing, they do fewer procedures than a full on dentist.  They go through training as does a dentist for the most part.  People are getting treated that would normally not get treatment and this is the only state with dental therapists.  Part Three  <object height="175" width="366"> <param name="movie" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> </param><param name="flashvars" value="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=3" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="366" height="175" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object> Adults are having to go to the ER room to get prescriptions for infected teeth.  Over a million patients a year end up in the emergency room.  Aspen dental is another corporate dental chain for adults.  They specialize in dentures and make them in the office and the office managers sell healthcare credit cards.  GE backs the credit cards and the dentist gets paid right away for the entire care once the patient signs the contract.  The credit cards are very high interest and it begins even before the dental work begins.  We are back to the parameters of the “algorithms” on how this kicks in.  29.9% is the interest rate if a payment was missed and they paid a 175k settlement and Andrew Cuomo was in the picture on this one as well.  Aspen has “pay for performance” on how much they convince patients to do with work and bonuses are paid monthly.  The question is are they doing the right things for care with big carrots hanging there?  Doctor’s get a percentage of the profit but the office manager bonuses are the ones doing the sales job and set up with credit cards.  Some offices have “quotas” and this sound like some hospitals who tried this with admitting quotas of sorts.  Part Four <object height="175" width="366"> <param name="movie" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> </param><param name="flashvars" value="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=4" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=366&height=175&video=2250628150&player=viral&chapter=4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="366" height="175" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object> There’s really no regulation of corporate dental practices so this makes it difficult.  Other than charity there are many with no solutions.  BD  <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dollars-and-dentists/">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dollars-and-dentists/</a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:856c2339-616f-46e6-8b3e-6a7ed68923b6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dental" rel="tag">dental</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/children" rel="tag">children</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicaid" rel="tag">Medicaid</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Florida" rel="tag">Florida</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/teeth" rel="tag">teeth</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RAM" rel="tag">RAM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/free+clinics" rel="tag">free clinics</a></div>

A Broken Dental System in the US– An Overlooked Crisis in US Healthcare (PBS Video) Dollars, Dentists and Corporate Dental Clinics Investigated

This is a lengthy PBS video report on the state of dentistry in the US. I have had my share of dental work and when it hurts, you can’t get...

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Skilled Nursing Homes and Getting a Power of Attorney Explained Via the Happy Hospitalist–Good Advice To Read Up On For Any Patient

I have just a <a href="http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2012/07/Can-Hospitals-Force-Patients-To-Go-To-SNF-Nursing-Homes.html">couple clips of his entire blog</a> post but you really should read his entire post on this topic.  I did and as always I learn from everyone and the question he answers relates to the question of whether or not a <a href="http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2012/07/Can-Hospitals-Force-Patients-To-Go-To-SNF-Nursing-Homes.html"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="71" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vJroQr2mGig/UAselDvLeKI/AAAAAAAA8ZE/DbQPjlx8SRs/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="135" /></a>hospital can force a patient to go to a nursing home and Medicare covering the visit.  I think this is especially good information for seniors to be aware of and what a palliative care consult is. He advises all to get a power of attorney as there are some avenues to go through to get one if a doctor or hospital needs one but a power of attorney will trump it, but almost any doctor can make a decision to send you to one if it is determined  you lack the capacity to make that decision.  Read the last comment regarding the time of death at the bottom of his clip, interesting and provokes a few thoughts for sure.  With the abbreviated jargon of SNF as he stated is pronounced sniff, this kind of gives a new meaning to sniffing one out if there’s a bit of slang chatter involved:) He also clarifies that nursing homes are not prisons either and that you can leave if you want if you have the capacity to make that decision and the power of attorney or court appointed guardian can also release you without penalty of Medicare paying.  Good stuff and well written.  I would say even if one is not a senior, the power of attorney is a good idea as you never know what could happen, especially when having any surgical procedure.  BD <hr />  Many elderly patients get admitted to the hospital with profound weakness due to their acute and chronic medical conditions. Many of them will<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="129" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FlN5uT4pmiI/UAseldKoXMI/AAAAAAAA8ZM/9PnNaQLW_6E/image%25255B10%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="136" /> leave the hospital with profound weakness from their acute and chronic medical conditions (and unfortunately without a <a href="http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2011/06/hospitalist-vs-icu-end-of-life.html">palliative care consult</a>). In many situations, these patients will be too weak to take care of themselves.  They will need extra help with their activities of daily living either from family or from trained home health care representatives. Patients who cannot safely return to the community often need to transition through a nursing home (with skilled nurses) before returning home.  These are called <a href="http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-does-snf-mean-its-secret-code-for.html">skilled nursing facilities</a>, or SNF for short (pronounced sniff). Can a hospital force a patient to go to a long term nursing facility or short term skilled nursing facility (SNF)?  The answer is no.  No doctor, no nurse, no physical, occupational or speech therapist anywhere in America can force you or your loved one to go anywhere they don't want to go. If a patient wants to go home, they have every right to go home, with one caveat.  They have to have the capacity to make their own medical decisions. I implore everyone to get a POA.  If you're in the hospital, you can get these from from the hospital. You can also find free POA forms off the internet.  Discuss your wishes with your POA so they will always make decisions for you that are consistent with your wishes should the time come someday that you can not.   Otherwise some family member may force your doctors to resuscitate your decomposing  body over and over again just to document your time of  death  past the  midnight hour  so they could collect one last VA disability check from your cold dead body.  Yes, that really happened to me. <a href="http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2012/07/Can-Hospitals-Force-Patients-To-Go-To-SNF-Nursing-Homes.html">http://thehappyhospitalist.blogspot.com/2012/07/Can-Hospitals-Force-Patients-To-Go-To-SNF-Nursing-Homes.html</a>

Skilled Nursing Homes and Getting a Power of Attorney Explained Via the Happy Hospitalist–Good Advice To Read Up On For Any Patient

I have just a couple clips of his entire blog post but you really should read his entire post on this topic. I did and as always I learn f...

Saturday, July 21, 2012

FDA Approves New Drug for Breast Cancer Afinitor from Novartis That Is Already Approved for Treating Kidney and Other Cancers

The drug is designed to be given in coordination with another drug Aromasin which is made by Pfizer.  This sounds like a good bit of research here to find the drug effective for breast cancer.  There are quite a few side effects listed on the <a href="http://www.afinitor.com/everolimus-2.jsp">website.</a>  The drug is also used to treat pancreas cancer.  The good news too is that it is a pill so there’s no trip for the treatment to the doctor’s office.  The drug is to treat tumors in patients who cannot have surgery.  BD <hr /> The drug is the first in a class known as mTOR inhibitors to be approved for post-menopausal women with advanced hormone-receptor positive<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="74" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iq8KLwv8hLI/UAn55HfOvpI/AAAAAAAA8Y4/-bZS3g2zOJ4/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="118" />, HER2-negative breast cancer. The European Medicines Agency in June also endorsed Afinitor as a breast cancer treatment. Afinitor, also known as everolimus, is designed to be given in combination with another drug, Aromasin, to treat women whose cancer has recurred or progressed after treatment with two other therapies. Aromasin is made by Pfizer Inc. "Afinitor is another example of the value of continuing to study drugs in additional types of cancer after their initial approval," said Dr. Richard Pazdur, head of the FDA's cancer drugs office. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-novartis-afinitor-idUSBRE86J18O20120720">http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-novartis-afinitor-idUSBRE86J18O20120720</a>

FDA Approves New Drug for Breast Cancer Afinitor from Novartis That Is Already Approved for Treating Kidney and Other Cancers

The drug is designed to be given in coordination with another drug Aromasin which is made by Pfizer. This sounds like a good bit of researc...

Friday, July 20, 2012

Carfilzomib From Onyx Gets FDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma For Patients Who Have Had Prior Treatments

Kyprolis is the name of the drug under which it will be marketed.  Melanoma is getting some real attention with both drugs and diagnosis devices as well.  At ASCO this year melanoma drugs were a big focus as well.  BD <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/melanoma-drugs-extending-lives-and.html">Melanoma Drugs Extending Lives and Working Better Than Chemotherapy–Focus at ASCO</a></h5> <h4></h4> <a href="http://www.onyx.com/clinical-development/carfilzomib">From the website:</a> Carfilzomib is a next-generation proteasome inhibitor that is being developed as a potential treatment for patients with multiple<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="47" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RM5qPH1ouyY/UAncx0YZMsI/AAAAAAAA8Ys/RxOxyj5OPZ4/image%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="101" /> myeloma and solid tumors.  To date, the agent has generated a positive efficacy signal in multiple clinical studies with an encouraging safety profile, including low rates of neuropathy. Onyx Pharmaceuticals just went from being a one-drug company, to a <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2011/09/28/onyx-turns-in-fda-application-for-second-cancer-drug/">two-drug company</a>. The South San Francisco-based cancer drug developer (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ONXX">ONXX</a>) won <a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm312920.htm">clearance</a> from the FDA to start selling <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2011/12/12/onyx-drug-effective-in-new-myeloma-patients-taking-aim-at-millennium/">carfilzomib</a> (Kyprolis) as a new treatment for patients with multiple myeloma, who have gotten at least two prior treatments. “The approval of Kyprolis provides a treatment option to patients with multiple myeloma whose disease has progressed despite use of available therapies,” said Richard Pazdur, the director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a statement. “We are encouraged by the continued progress in the development of drugs for multiple myeloma over the past decade, offering improved treatment of this disease.” <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2012/07/20/onyx-gets-fda-green-light-for-new-myeloma-drug/">http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2012/07/20/onyx-gets-fda-green-light-for-new-myeloma-drug/</a>

Carfilzomib From Onyx Gets FDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma For Patients Who Have Had Prior Treatments

Kyprolis is the name of the drug under which it will be marketed. Melanoma is getting some real attention with both dru...

Friday, July 20, 2012

Big Data, Flawed Data, Business Intelligence, Where’s The Future and What Has Been Our Past…A World With ”Algo Duping” of Society and Consumers

You see the items mentioned in the title in the news every day and granted there’s a lot of good stuff out there for sure that makes us smarter, but as you see in the news every day we are getting down to the core of how some of the business world, especially in the financial world has operated and profited from “flawed” data.  I called flawed data the information used by algorithms that were created for “desired” results versus “accurate” results. The two should be the same but they are not always.  What has been big news of late is the Libor scandal with the many flaws listed in how the rates were set. How many consumers, businesses were affected by this?  We really don’t know but in the pursuit of the truth we are certainly finding out how some benefited with millions or billions in profit. It is so “flawed” that banks don’t even loan to each other or trust each other and who knows better than those creating the formulas.  There are some very intelligent individuals in the US and those are the ones with the money and this took a lot of time to build as one scheme was never challenged, so others jump in with their own and again as we read today, nobody gets held accountable most of the time. Big data can really be a good thing but again we come back to the old saying of “garbage in and garbage out”. <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TLZdsFwnFqI/AAAAAAAAiIY/NIhj9oaZrLo/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" /> You can take credible data and really get some great information and knowledge if queried properly with information that has not been spun for marketing.  Does that data exist today, sure it does but the problem of figuring out what is “accurate” versus “desired” is a chore and a bit of work.  Programming is just like anything else in life on which path anyone chooses, you can work to create solutions and use credible data or you can choose the alternative route for those “desired” results and probably pocket billions of dollars.  The average consumer has no clue on how this has evolved over the last few years but algorithms move and make money.  You can’t see the algorithms, talk to them, etc. and some go rouge here and there.  We have government agencies that have been spoofed as well with some of the flawed data that results from the “intelligence” that emerges from business intelligence that is working for the “desired” results that may not be totally accurate.  Again it’s hard to tell the difference at times and when you spin some of the information multiple times and use the old methodology of repetition, we start believing that some of the flawed data is the truth until someone proves otherwise and thus we continue with the world of insanity to where it starts getting out of control as the claims are way beyond what is commonly known to be true.  Getting to the bottom of what really is the truth is becoming a big challenge.  It really gets interesting when a source of “flawed” data is challenged and we want answers.  What happens?  When the data and media spin it to the point of being out of belief, those folks go back and create more formulas and reports to substantiate the past and some of it does get down the the truth and some of it is just a further “spinning” of information to substantiate the original questions and of course this is the hot topic when formulas and algorithms have either denied consumers or made big profits on conclusions of data queried that are not accurate.  I think we all know too that journalists have to meet certain ratings to keep their jobs so again not to fault some of the reporting out there as they need their jobs too but does this impact what we get out there, sure it does and if I had to make sure I kept my job I would probably be doing the same thing.  We are seeing more and more of the second methodology being used as people and companies of course want save face and substantiate their actions. If you look at the entire financial mortgage business, none of it would have been possible without the use of technology and the pursuit of “desired’  results, which in that case made billions for banks and other businesses.  Predictive queries are of course all the rage and some of it is pretty good but some of it is garbage too,  You can read the post below on how data mined on the web that is perhaps not verified as credible from social networks and other areas hurts people as items get connected to create more “flawed data” and people are judged by this and don’t get jobs for one example and those very same folks have to spend hours, days, etc. cleaning up “flawed data” that they did not create.  <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/flawed-datamined-by-corporations-online.html">Flawed Data–Mined by Corporations Online Provides Background Checks Riddled With Errors–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Part 7 </a></h5> We all want transparency but do we want “flawed” transparency?  It certainly makes for big news headlines all the time when money is involved and yet it’s just one more case of “desired” results battling against “accurate” results out there.  Here’s one of the most notable examples of “flawed data” created to make a buck as well and even most consumers understood this process as not being in the pursuit of “accurate” results but rather “desired” to make money.   CoreLogic has formed a partnership<img align="right" border="0" height="69" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GaUf6l74-4Y/TgOm2J2CFdI/AAAAAAAAz5o/oDUXhwazIC8/image%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="209" /> with FICO who is already in the process of selling algorithms with mismatched data which connects public information about you and combines it with your credit score to tell if you as a medical patient will take your prescriptions.  Somebody needs to start calling some of these folks on “mis matched data” the discriminates as now we have “Discrimination by the Algorithm” and it’s showing in more places all the time.  As far as I am concerned the FICO Medication Adherence Scoring is nothing but mismatched data analytics created to sell software and is the work of some “underground” think tanks on how to generate more money and profits.  It makes one wonder how gullible the pharma and insurance business if if they buy into this and pay money for such analytics? ”Hey dude let’s crunch some numbers and see if we can come up with some analytics to sell” Reports and analytics for profit versus accuracy<img align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4m32xx9XwWI/TthUcPCO3xI/AAAAAAAA4jc/2rPI5IXC4MI/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" /> is something that is out there digging around in more ways than one.  Sure sometimes you can be crunching numbers and run across something has does have some real outstanding value when looking at groups of people but the weird part of some of this now is that folks are taking crunched numbers that offer some intelligence and bringing it down to the individual level to “score” and rate people and this is the problem as there’s data in there used for predictive forecasting that is not credible.  I became fascinated with all the “flawed data” out there a couple years back when I found my former doctor who had been dead for 8 years still listed on many of the doctor/hospital “compare” sites…yes how does a dead doctor stack up compared to peers…is this valuable?  I don't think so unless I would feel that my doctor could still function as a physician from the grave.  The AMA even chatted with me about this area of “flawed data”.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/healthgrades-and-other-md-rating-and.html">HealthGrades And Other MD Rating and Referral Sites List “Dead Doctors” on Their MD Information Pages And Even Include the Insurance Plans the “Dead Doctors” Honor</a> </h4> We see all the reports on ranking hospitals too.  Long and short of all of this is that it creates jobs for people to do this and a lot of it is still human generated and I see it as opinions as you are comparing apples to oranges.  While it is certainly acceptable for any hospital to blow their own horn on procedures, research etc. that they are doing, and they really should, but do we need the statisticians that create these opinions? <img align="right" height="74" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="186" /> In my opinion it makes for clutter confusion for the consumer on the web as it all depends on who’s opinion you want to buy in to.  Combining data for comparison is certainly ok but can leave out the rankings?  I had to laugh yesterday at all the articles out there about Johns Hopkins slipping to number 2 with all the additional opinion pieces this created.  A couple weeks ago I said the rating game is getting to be old news and somewhat useless as more “flawed data” enters the picture and it depends again on who’s opinion you want to buy in to. <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/healthgrades-puts-out-top-hospital.html">HealthGrades Puts Out Top Hospital List–Time to Drop All the Hospital Ratings Sites As Nobody Cares, Many Don’t Have Time To Read and Too Much “Flawed Data”</a></h4> <h4></h4> Did this report do anything..not really..just created a lot of chatter and took the focus off of the good and great things that hospitals really do.  What would happen if all the “rating games” went away?  Probably not much other than the fact that those who create the numbers would have to look for something else to do:)  When it comes to the business side of what Johns Hopkins does, stories like this link below are certainly contain a bit more of what I liked to read as it shows business and the healthcare world working together.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/johns-hopkins-center-for-population.html">The Johns Hopkins Center for Population Health IT Is Created to Improve and Expand Use of Medical Records</a> </h4> <h4></h4> <h4></h4> Now with big data making big moves, one has to wonder are there any levels of control here so we can keep some of the flaws out and get some real intelligence without the algorithms for “desired” results conflicting with the ones for “accurate” information?  It’s making people crazy and we have <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="136" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5OFAg2EGtwI/UAhv-ga6VrI/AAAAAAAA8X8/rTroFU76xgk/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" title="image" width="159" />heard the stories about brokers committing suicide, etc. when they are questioned as most of them don’t really understand the processes they used but they become millionaires doing it.  We had the man who did the drama queen case and took a poison pill on national TV and then yesterday I ran across this USB broker who used sling shots to deal with his stress.  What are we doing out there and what are we creating? <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/stress-on-job-usb-broker-takes-it-out.html">Stress On the Job, USB Broker Takes It Out With Sling Shots Breaking Windows in Beverly Hills and Encino Gets Arrested–No We Are Not All Mentally Ill, Just Those Who Have the Wrong Financial Algorithms Crawling Up Their Back Side</a> </h4> I think the truth of the matter relative to what we are reading is making us crazy as via repetition folks are in some areas trying <img align="right" height="117" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TMyag2YVCWI/AAAAAAAAifU/D7YWgtndaQA/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="167" />to sell us on what we know is not true as they created statistics, reports, etc. in order to sell some of this for money.  Remember when Colbert and Stewart had their big show about bringing back sanity?  Guess what that’s what their show was all about in the roots of what they were trying to say.  Shoot they did this show back in 2010. <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/10/rally-to-restore-sanitya-big-success.html">Rally To Restore Sanity–A Big Success With Some Real Straight Talk About The Disruption and Distraction We Live With Today</a></h4> <h4></h4> Read this book for some hints on what stats and numbers are all<img align="right" height="115" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJO7IY8lGrI/AAAAAAAAhcM/b43YZFUHoS4/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="92" /> about and ask yourself where you might have been sucked in, happens to all of us and it substantiates a lot of what I have said here as it does exist.  The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception are alive and well so try and figure out if or where you have been duped with formulas for profit that cross the line of ethics.  <h6></h6> <h6></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/proofinessthe-dark-side-of-mathematical.html">“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms–New Book Coming Out Soon</a></h4> Three years ago myself I said this, again seeing some of the insanity that has been created to make and take money.  I wrote this up during the Madoff discovery when the SEC has not appeared to appreciate math and computer formulas yet and the teeth that they have.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/08/department-of-algorithms-do-we-need-one.html">“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?</a> </h4> So in summary do I like technology?  Yes I love it and the good things it creates but I’m really tired of the “Algo Duping” that is taking place and that is somehow how I got on the case of writing my posts on the “Attack of the Killer Algorithms” to hopefully bring an awareness around.  Do all the rich folks and politicians understand this themselves?  Probably not but they have enough money to hire some “Algo Dupers” to keep their riches in place.  What happens when formulas go rogue and get out of control, look at the Facebook IPO for one example and items as such are not going away any time soon. <hr /> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">Attack of the Killer Algorithms–Digest & Links for 35 Chapters–on How Math and Crafty Formulas Today Running on Servers 24/7 Make Life Impacting Decisions About You–Updated 6-24-2012 </a></h4> <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"> </a> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/facebook-ipo-ultimate-attack-of-killer.html">Facebook IPO – The Ultimate “Attack of the Killer Algorithms” Chapter 32 - Nobody is Immune In the World of Complicated Computer Code and Formulas Today</a> <hr /></h4> <h6></h6> I thought I was the only one talking about this but recently was contacted by the <a href="http://nisla05.niss.org/indexnew.html">National Institute of Statistical Sciences</a> that told me to keep blowing the horn and that someone will eventually listen.  It’s all about the math, algorithms, data, and “flawed data” that creates markets sometimes where they don’t belong, so this is what I am doing.  <a href="http://nisla05.niss.org/indexnew.html"><img alt="image" border="0" height="92" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-8sYwYV7MzSY/T9DaREuTt1I/AAAAAAAA7VE/jMI6k8dj4kk/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="image" width="261" /></a>It’s really looking like “the world does belong to the geeks” as nobody else wants it in the words of Robert Scoble, the king of social networks.  BD <iframe style="width: 435px; height: 255px" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F1vpjD6djwI?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" width="640" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h4> </h4> As one more side note here’s one more post you might find of interest on how criminals are also using technology that will also make you <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AicLqTSNLaM/T_9g22k_9uI/AAAAAAAA8T4/OqB8MFNiuB0/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" />think and the same thing is said here, those who control the code control the world.  So again give this some thought as you live your life today and be aware of the “Algo Dupers” that live among us and they sometimes blend in too well with those who are trying to create good solutions for all of us.  When big profits and billions of dollars are up for grabs with creating “desired” versus “accurate” results, well you kind of see what we have out there today.  BD  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/07/vision-of-crime-in-futureted-video-by.html">A Vision of Crime in the Future–TED Video By Marc Goodman–”If You Control the Code You Control the World” And A Deep Look at DNA Use by Criminals</a> </h4>

Big Data, Flawed Data, Business Intelligence, Where’s The Future and What Has Been Our Past…A World With ”Algo Duping” of Society and Consumers

You see the items mentioned in the title in the news every day and granted there’s a lot of good stuff out there for sure that makes us smar...

Friday, July 20, 2012

HHS Office of Inspector General Learning Their Way Around Business Intelligence Algorithms to Detect and Find Fraud With An Analytics Approach

This is interesting as it is bringing the investigations down to a shorter time but learning the patterns and so forth with analytics kind of comes with experience to look for and identify patterns.  <img align="right" height="67" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TRvGvRlnXgI/AAAAAAAAmsI/LUiYGNHzkKk/image%5B45%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" width="197" />Granted there are some folks out there committing fraud but again each case is it’s own and there are some obvious ones that analytics can point out quickly and then there are those that due to patterns may give off some false positives.  Insurers have been doing this for years.  HHS Medicare Investigators are also using analytics to find potential fraud cases as well. <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/medicare-federal-investigators-getting.html"> Medicare Federal Investigators Getting Algorithms to Analyze And Find Fraud-Good Move as Contractors Efforts Are Weak With Risking Loss Of Transaction Revenue</a> </h4> Among other things found sometimes analytics find other interesting facts too such as the time that insurers who administer Medicare hold the money. <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/insurers-made-450-million-with-interest.html">Insurers Made $450 Million with Interest Income by Holding Medicare Funds for Around 46 Days Before Releasing Payment</a> </h4> <h4></h4> <img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TRvGyMqnbLI/AAAAAAAAmtA/2xVclOeivug/image_thumb%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" /> Acting quickly though is imperative so providers and patients are not left hanging in the wings until a case of fraud is determined and that is the rub with some of the investigations currently, as has been noted in Texas.  There can be tons of billing errors as we all know.  I have said myself, knowing that it’s all automated revenue cycling in many places on some of the fines, was it intentionally coded fraudulently or was the algorithm?  It’s a good question to ask as all the software people as part of their sales pitches do somewhat promise a return on investment with using their “expert” software systems and too there’s also the preferences as to how it is set up to run that enters in here. Sure we all like to catch fraud and for good reason but again with all the data out there today, and some of it becoming “flawed” relative <img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sp4UiF6tPpI/AAAAAAAAZtI/rXjZz5G-A2g/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" />to the financial ends of some areas of healthcare, getting to the root quickly to make a yes or no decision is important so patients don’t suffer and doctors don’t end up closing up shop or filing bankruptcy while the funds are cut off and decisions are made if they are practices that still take Medicaid.  One doctor had to cut staff and wages while waiting for the decision and this too tends to discourage even more doctors from not taking Medicaid patients so a balance is needed so the doctors are not assumed guilty pending the investigation and funds or at least part of the money flows.  In California many have already been through this routine with insurers and are familiar with what happens.  There was one big case in San Diego with United/Ingenix that had a huge impact and put doctors out of business and they are now suing United/Ingenix so again it’s fine line and if fraud is there, then it should be determined quickly and be almost 100% sure that it is not a false positive due to billing errors.  The dermatologists here had all the insurers quit paying them with little notice.  BD <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/09/skins-game-with-dermatology-offices-in.html">Skins game With Dermatology Offices in California – All Insurance Carriers Quit Paying For Treatment Within a 5 Day Period</a></h4> <h4></h4> <hr /> When it comes to finding cost savings in the state’s unwieldy <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/medicaid/about/">Medicaid</a> program, the <a href="http://oig.hhsc.state.tx.us/oigportal/">Office of Inspector General</a> at the <a href="http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/">Health and Human Services Commission</a> gets high marks. But O.I.G.’s dollar-recovery strategy — which includes an increased reliance on a rule that allows investigators to freeze financing for any health care provider accused of overbilling — has enraged doctors, dentists and other providers who treat Medicaid patients. They say an anonymous call to a fraud hot line or a computer-generated analysis of a handful of billing codes is enough to halt their financing without even a hearing, jeopardizing their practices and employees and leaving thousands of needy patients in a lurch while the state works to prove — or rule out — abuse. Together, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Stick have redirected the office’s resources to put a greater focus on investigations with the biggest potential monetary returns and on Medicaid providers, not recipients. They have cut the time it takes to work a case to eight weeks from three or four years with just a slight increase in budget. In the last fiscal year, the amount of money identified for possible recovery has increased by more than 1,200 percent. They have also increasingly used “payment holds.” In fiscal 2011, O.I.G. added 12 providers to the list of those whose financing was frozen; so far this year, they have imposed payment holds on an additional 88 providers. Rocky Wilcox, vice president and general counsel for the <a href="http://www.texmed.org/">Texas Medical Association</a>, said the only stunning thing is how little due process doctors targeted by Medicaid fraud investigations have. Right now, he said, the office can look at a handful of charts, turn thousands of dollars in questionable billing into millions of dollars in estimated fines and penalties, and pursue a lengthy investigation, all while the doctor’s financing and needy patients hang in the balance. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/us/medicaid-fraud-push-gets-results-but-angers-doctors.html?pagewanted=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimeshealth">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/us/medicaid-fraud-push-gets-results-but-angers-doctors.html?pagewanted=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimeshealth</a>

HHS Office of Inspector General Learning Their Way Around Business Intelligence Algorithms to Detect and Find Fraud With An Analytics Approach

This is interesting as it is bringing the investigations down to a shorter time but learning the patterns and so forth with analytics kind o...

Friday, July 20, 2012

Walgreens and Express Scripts Make Up–Should Make Some Blue Cross Consumers a Little Happier

This might stand to make some Blue Cross <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TLKhVbzCwFI/AAAAAAAAiCk/ADDkNdrDwb4/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" />members a little happier as this dispute affected their ability to use Walgreens that went into effect on January 2, 2012.  There was even talk about Walgreens selling health insurance one day so that’s a wait and see and I wonder if so, which insurer will be first:) <h5><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/10/anthem-blue-cross-members-will-no.html">Anthem Blue Cross Members Will No Longer Be Able to Fill Prescriptions at Walgreens After January 1, 2012</a> </h5> If you read the news today about United’s quarterly performance here’s an example of one of their subsidiaries which is now Optima that Express Scripts uses for their analytics to predict who may not be taking their medications, as through subsidiaries they get a little cut of the action everywhere you turn today.  <h5> </h5> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/10/express-scripts-new-program-to-contact.html">Express Scripts- New Program to Contact and Predict Patients Who May Not Be Taking Their Medicine Based On Ingenix Algorithms–We Want the Revenue Please Don’t Stop</a> </h4> Walgreens may have a bit of a battle to get some customers back as this article states that many moved on to CVS stores.  If that doesn’t work, there’ alcohol to sell too.  <h4> <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/06/walgreens-applying-for-and-getting.html">Walgreens Applying For and Getting Liquor Licenses Across the US – Be Healthy and Get Your Alcohol Here Too</a> </h4> A few weeks ago we had the story in the UK with Walgreens becoming an international drug store with the partial purchase of Boots and an option to buy in later for the entire chain.  <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/walgreens-to-invest-in-alliance-boots.html">Walgreens to Invest in Alliance Boots Drug Chain in Europe With Option to Buy in Full in 3 Years</a></h4> Walgreen also spent $438 million to buy a 144-store chain focused in the mid-South from the privately held Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc.  BD  <hr /> CHICAGO — <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/walgreen_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Walgreen</a>, the nation’s largest drugstore chain,<img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-s60ZglpXGWY/T_W6gQy5ydI/AAAAAAAA8Ow/Ar3-8bNV8Nk/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; float: right" /> agreed on Thursday to renew its relationship with the prescription benefit manager <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/express_scripts_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Express Scripts</a>, opening the door for hundreds of thousands of customers to return in September for discounts and related benefits from their Express Scripts drug cards. The dispute cost Walgreens more than $4 billion in annual revenue, analysts estimate, and set off a steep decline in Walgreen’s share price. Terms of the new agreement were not disclosed. The dispute over payments began in June 2011 and led to a parting of the ways at the beginning of the year. Customers had to switch to another pharmacy, or pay more for drugs if they continued to use Walgreen. Since the two parted ways, analysts say Express Scripts gained more leverage this year when it bought a rival drug benefit manager, Medco Health Solutions, bringing tens of millions more Walgreen prescriptions under Express Scripts drug management. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/business/walgreen-and-express-scripts-settle-their-dispute.html?_r=1">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/business/walgreen-and-express-scripts-settle-their-dispute.html?_r=1</a>

Walgreens and Express Scripts Make Up–Should Make Some Blue Cross Consumers a Little Happier

This might stand to make some Blue Cross members a little happier as this dispute affected their ability to use Walgreens that went into eff...

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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Botiful Android Robot You Use and Control With Skype Video Conferencing–Start Up Company At KickStarter–We Need This Robot for All Video Conferencing

Medical Device Recalls Involve Software Flaws in Almost 1/4 Cases–Why the FDA Needs Engineers Just the Rest of the World

Thomson Reuters Partnering With SciELO To Host the Scientific Electronic Library Online Data Base Creating Additional Resources From Emerging Technologies

Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles

MyMedicalRecord.Com–New Sponsor At the Medical Quack–Personal Health Records

FDA Gives Approval to SoloHealth–Interactive Screening Kiosks for Retail Pharmacies

Beth Israel Hospital Mobile Security Plan for Access–Bring Your Mobile Computer In and We Will Encrypt It For You Otherwise You Won’t Be Allowed Access Any More

Elton John Address at the AIDS 2012 Conference In Washington DC–We Need Compassion and Love

UNITAID Commits $140 Million to Increase Access To Affordable HIV Diagnostic Products To Help Bring Life Saving Point of Care Products to Market

A Broken Dental System in the US– An Overlooked Crisis in US Healthcare (PBS Video) Dollars, Dentists and Corporate Dental Clinics Investigated

Skilled Nursing Homes and Getting a Power of Attorney Explained Via the Happy Hospitalist–Good Advice To Read Up On For Any Patient

FDA Approves New Drug for Breast Cancer Afinitor from Novartis That Is Already Approved for Treating Kidney and Other Cancers

Carfilzomib From Onyx Gets FDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma For Patients Who Have Had Prior Treatments

Big Data, Flawed Data, Business Intelligence, Where’s The Future and What Has Been Our Past…A World With ”Algo Duping” of Society and Consumers

HHS Office of Inspector General Learning Their Way Around Business Intelligence Algorithms to Detect and Find Fraud With An Analytics Approach

Walgreens and Express Scripts Make Up–Should Make Some Blue Cross Consumers a Little Happier

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