HMOs in Israel Score a Judicial Win Over Formulas Used For Funding–State Has 6 Months To Create New Methodologies to Measure and Project Medical Costs–HMOs Anticipate Greater Funding To Arise

<img align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-sricQBVaWok/Tx3x0FWeflI/AAAAAAAA5BY/aGIxJvSV9xc/image_thumb=2525255B1=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" />Sometimes it’s interesting to take a look at what’s happening in other countries relative to the rising cost of healthcare and when you read this it’s apparent that this is not only an US problem.  Granted Israel is a much smaller country but the problem are the same, money or lack of.  Just a couple months ago, doctors who work for the state received an order that they needed to punch a time clock.  How would that work in the US…I don’t think it would accomplish much here.  <br clear="all" /> <p> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/03/israel-judge-issues-court-order-for.html">Israel Judge Issues Court Order For Doctors To Punch A Time Clock</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" />To go a little further here, the country also realizes that allowing private care and selling supplementary insurance contributed to the problem.  The country has 4 HMOs and all are required to join one of the four and there’s always the option to pay for private care.  Some of the same doctors working in the government facilities have referred patients to their private practice or those of other doctors.  The government pays $59% of the cost for the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/09/officials-in-israel-blame-themselves.html"><img width="131" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-1vjgLMyGKBA/T-eueee3gwI/AAAAAAAA8G8/N52BxBbLovk/image=2525255B4=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="110" border="0" title="image" /></a>citizens, the lowest compensation percentage for a country with socialized medicine.  If you read further, the doctors are threatened with losing 20% of their pay checks.  The government pays $59% of the cost for the citizens, the lowest compensation percentage for a country with socialized medicine. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/09/officials-in-israel-blame-themselves.html">Officials In Israel Blame Themselves for Allowing Private Care and the Selling Supplementary Insurance For Degrading Their Public Healthcare System</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><font style="font-weight: normal">In addition medical students and state doctors have ongoing protests and strikes to draw attention.  It sounds as if the HMOs could stand to see an influx of funding.  Technology is great but we still need the over all doctor-patient relationship.  </font> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/medical-students-and-doctors-protest-in.html">Medical Students and Doctors Protest in Israel Demanding Improvements in the Healthcare System</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p>Two of the largest HMOs filed their complaints 9 years ago questioning the lack of hospitalization not being included. <strong> The court will not be creating a formula, but rather told the state and the HMOs to settle it.</strong>  Does this sound a bit similar to what we have in the US?  I think so and <strong>the cost of healthcare is a global concern for all economies</strong>.  BD <hr />  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The High Court of Justice handed down a major decision on health care funding Thursday. It took the state to task for inadequate government funding of the country's health maintenance organizations due to the formula through which it funds hospital stays by the HMOs' patients. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>"The right of the citizens of the State of Israel to health [care], as shaped and enshrined in the state health insurance law, is slowly being emptied of content in light of the systematic erosion of the health maintenance organizations' budgets," Justice Salim Joubran stated, ruling on a petition filed by the Clalit and Maccabi HMOs. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>The HMOs were challenging the mix of components the government has been using to calculate the cost of medical care. They said it did not accurately reflect the cost of hospitalization and, in the process, was eating away at their budgets. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>Justice Joubran, who was joined in the ruling by Supreme Court President Asher Grunis and Justice Hanan Melcer, gave the state six months to come to an agreement on a new method of measuring medical costs. In the process, the state is expected to provide the HMOs with hundreds of millions of shekels in additional funding each year. If adjustments were to apply retroactively, the sums would be in the billions of shekels. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.haaretz.com/business/hmos-to-receive-huge-cash-injection-after-high-court-rules-against-state-1.443423">http://www.haaretz.com/business/hmos-to-receive-huge-cash-injection-after-high-court-rules-against-state-1.443423</a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:35630a6d-787c-4cf3-a870-adb4ca35cb67">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Israel">Israel</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/HMO">HMO</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/medical+cost">medical cost</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/insurance">insurance</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/healthcare">healthcare</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/budgets">budgets</a></div></p>

HMOs in Israel Score a Judicial Win Over Formulas Used For Funding–State Has 6 Months To Create New Methodologies to Measure and Project Medical Costs–HMOs Anticipate Greater Funding To Arise

Sometimes it’s interesting to take a look at what’s happening in other countries relative to the rising cost of healthcare and when you read...

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US Captures The Top Number For the Most Powerful Computer in the World–First Time Since 2009 - IBM Sequoia At the DOE Lab In California

<p>This is a little break away from the normal healthcare blogs but it’s related as these supercomputers are in healthcare.  DOE even rents space <img width="164" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-6mF5o1_K-tE/T-aR0HvFvXI/AAAAAAAA8GM/g9XhRj-WVF0/image=2525255B17=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="114" border="0" title="image" />out for other agencies and I wrote about that a while back.  Too bad our Congress has not figured out that they too could maybe ask the DOE for some super computing space to figure out their data needs when making laws:)  Looks like we booted China out of the #1 spot, at least for now.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/17-billion-super-computer-hours-awarded.html">1.7 Billion Super Computer Hours Awarded by the DOE–Biomedical Research Projects Included for Parkinson’s and Cancer</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" />I have mentioned it a few times around here how Congress would benefit and get smarter and bonus points as with intelligence grows, the lobbyists efforts will drop a bit as our lawmakers could tell the difference a little better between marketing information an actual data.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/use-of-ibmwatson-technology-in-congress.html">Use of IBMWatson Technology in Congress Would Allow For Smarter Laws and Decision Processes With Bonus Points For Lowering Over All Impact of Lobbyists</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><font style="font-weight: normal">This is kind of an important computer too as it is used the understanding of weapons science as well as vastly improved estimates of uncertainty in predictions of weapons behavior, the nuke-puter that simulates and crunches numbers as a pace surpassing all others.  <font style="font-weight: bold">It has 1.6 petabytes of memory 96 racks and 1.6 million cores…that last number kind of blows me away and this is IBM engineering at work.  BD</font></font> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h4></h4> <p><img width="424" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-cqE8X0YrsiM/T-aR0dbUmGI/AAAAAAAA8GU/UH8HWm6YeCY/image=2525255B12=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="302" border="0" title="image" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The twice-a-year list of the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/top500.org">Top 500</a> supercomputers documents the most powerful systems on the planet. Many of these supercomputers are striking not just for their processing power, but for their design and appearance as well. Here’s a look at the top finishers in the latest Top 500 list, which was released Monday, June 18 was announced at the 2011 convention. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The new Top 500 champion is Sequoia, a Blue Gene/Q <img width="102" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-Hm-PCRHSpJE/Th-We2svzFI/AAAAAAAA1dg/kd1c89aEILo/image_thumb=2525255B2=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="133" />supercomputer built on IBM Power architecture at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The emergence of Sequoia has returned the U.S. to the top spot of the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.top500.org/">Top500</a> list for the first time since November 2009. <strong>Sequoia consists of 96 racks; 98,304 compute nodes, 1.6 million cores and 1.6 petabytes of memory, and hit an impressive new record of 16.32 Petaflops  on the Linpack benchmark</strong>. The National Nuclear Security Administration uses Sequoia to research the safety, security and reliability of the United States’ nuclear deterrent – replacing the need for underground testing. The Blue Gene/Q Sequoia is eight times more powerful than its predecessor BlueGene/L technology. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.datacenterknowledge.com/top-10-supercomputers-illustrated-june-2012/">http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/top-10-supercomputers-illustrated-june-2012/</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d277154c-1b3e-4964-bb78-b91b25ebf63c">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Supercomputers">Supercomputers</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Sequoia">Sequoia</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/BigData">BigData</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/DOE">DOE</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/IBM">IBM</a></div></p>

US Captures The Top Number For the Most Powerful Computer in the World–First Time Since 2009 - IBM Sequoia At the DOE Lab In California

This is a little break away from the normal healthcare blogs but it’s related as these supercomputers are in healthcare.  DOE even rents spa...

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Microsoft Back in the Tablet Business With Their Own “Surface” Units Coming Soon

<p>I do have to say from what I have seen the new Surface Tablets certainly look good and I’ll have to revive and add more to the “Tablet” section<img width="154" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-dfXmZx7JQhI/T-QCA22UPOI/AAAAAAAA8D4/NoPNwkCEa9c/image=2525255B14=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="112" border="0" title="image" /> of this blog.  I was one of the very first adopters of a tablet computer and I think that goes back to around 2001.  It’s been a long time and I currently have an Acer Windows Tablet.  The only thing that it lacks is enough battery life to make me happy but you can’t have everything.  I still have this particular tablet as well from Tablet Kiosk and you see it regularly on CSI New York, except they use a black one.  </p> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/sahara-slate-tablet-pc-i440d-from.html">Sahara Slate Tablet PC i440D From TabletKiosk with Core 2 Duo available to order – Sunlight Display included as a standard feature….</a> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2007/08/sahara-tablet-pc-graphics-and-dictation.html">Sahara Tablet PC Graphics and Dictation</a></h5> <h4></h4> <h5> </h5> <p>Way back when I was still writing my medical records program I had it working with tablets too and the tip input bar.  In 2008 I ran<img width="262" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-U7Tc_SqZeqc/T-QCBTF7bxI/AAAAAAAA8EA/IerqWP10j_8/image=2525255B4=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="179" border="0" title="image" /> around HMMS with my tablet and One Note and in those days one was considered a “goober” if you had it in tote as most vendors only showed and used them in the booths:)  Today all that has changed but the article below is still very applicable on using One Note as “intelligence files” and really work a convention and get everything covered that you set out to do.  I did it and had everything I needed and One Note did the queries for my information both before and at the show.  I talked and wrote my notes in One Note.  Everyone kept coming up and asking me what booth others were in as I had that too":)  Just think this is only 4 years later and how far we have come with tablets.  You can see a sample image as to how my rough files looked before I began with all the notes I took.  </p> <h5> </h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/03/himms-2008-summary-getting-organized-is.html">HIMMS 2008 Summary - Getting organized is the trick</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><font style="font-weight: normal"><font style="font-weight: bold">The little Acer Arconia does ok for what I need now but it’s not a digitizer and I do miss that with having the option to be touch or a full digitizer on the unit, and my TabletKiosk model does both and </font>I can switch back and forth.  If you have not caught a video of the new Surface Tablet you can view it below.  <font style="font-weight: bold">I’m one of the founding members of the Los Angeles Windows Mobile Group (Pocket PC) which has undergone a few other name changes too<img width="205" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-pBfqVkIeheQ/T-QCB__DiBI/AAAAAAAA8EM/UHgwMqrl2L4/image=2525255B9=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="249" border="0" title="image" /> and I remember the one night back in Santa Monica at our meeting at Microsoft where we all got to see one of the first tablets previewed even before they were released and a special employee from Microsoft arrived to give us the unannounced prior presentation</font>. I just wrote to a Microsoft Tablet MVP who made a video of it to see if he could dig it out for nostalgia purposes:)  The video quality is not what we have today but seeing this from 2001 would be fun to look back at.   <font style="font-weight: bold">I’ve mobile before it was cool to be mobile and Pocket PCs were not phones yet:)</font> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />I did the mini UMPC round of tablets as well and this is one of my clients, a doctor a few years back using the small <img width="259" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-iaZ4-aGKUFs/T-QCCUqiqFI/AAAAAAAA8EU/Cs6uI22OyZs/image=2525255B36=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="186" border="0" title="image" />tablet to enter data in his medical records program in 2007.  At any rate I hope before too long that I am able to get my hands on one of the Surface units and really check it out.  Little humor, this is far cry from a Mike Arrington Crunch Pad for those that remember:)  It’s been a while so time for a little friendly reminder of the project. <font style="font-weight: bold"> For your absolute utter enjoyment here’s a picture of a couple of tablets running my antiquated VB6 medical records system, although it was hot at the time and your screens could be any color you wanted:) </font> If that picture did anything for you, there’s more at this link of some screenshots of the antiquated coder/blogger at work.  Boy the formatting was tough to get right for the little tablet.  <br clear="all" /></font></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-does-antiquated-emr-electronic.html">What Does an Antiquated EMR (Electronic Record System) Look Like</a></h5> <h4></h4> <h5><font style="font-weight: normal"> <br clear="all" />The bigger unit with the Intel processor looks like the real <img width="150" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-a_1SLJElOzw/T-QCCsSVILI/AAAAAAAA8Ec/YMB-GhOw0Ds/image=2525255B19=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="111" border="0" title="image" />work horse and of course I will be interested to see what battery life is like as for years it seem as if you want more power you get less battery and even the IPAD with it’s wonderful engineering only does one program at a time and that’s how the battery can last so long.  They really did a good job on that design<font style="font-weight: bold">, however let’s see what Surface can do and for sure it stands to be a huge tool for the enterprise and healthcare world with medical records.  <font style="font-weight: normal">Tablets have come such a long way since that first little Acer I had years ago.  BD  </font></font> <hr /></font> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:aeef96ab-317a-4ac3-b538-8e0d0d822833"><div><object height="239" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dpzu3HM2CIo?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed width="425" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.youtube.com/v/dpzu3HM2CIo=3fhl=3den&hd=3d1" height="239" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="width:425px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Surface Tablet Video</div></div> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.youtube.com/watch=3fv=3ddpzu3HM2CIo&feature=3dplayer_embedded">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpzu3HM2CIo&feature=player_embedded</a></p></h5>

Microsoft Back in the Tablet Business With Their Own “Surface” Units Coming Soon

I do have to say from what I have seen the new Surface Tablets certainly look good and I’ll have to revive and add more to the “Tablet” sect...

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Recalls Have Gone to the Toilet, Really As Flushmate Recalls Exploding Toilets

<p>You don’t really get to take your toilet back but can get a repair <img width="119" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-Y_XVbQuSNO4/T-PbCoWK32I/AAAAAAAA8CY/Qcua7A2bQqE/image=2525255B2=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="42" border="0" title="image" />kit to fix it so it won’t blow up on you.  Over 300 tank explosions I guess made the case for the fix.  <br clear="all" />You can call Flushmate at (800) 303-5123 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern TIme or by visit their <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/recall.flushmate.com">recall site</a>.  BD <hr /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12201.html"> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Flushmate</a> is recalling its <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/flushmate.com/recall/">Flushmate III Pressure-Assist Flushing System</a> after it received 304 reports of toilets “bursting,” causing property damage and 14 “impact or laceration injuries.” <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The system is used in more than 2.3 million toilets in the U.S. and is sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s. It is also sold to toilet manufacturers that include American Standard, Crane, Eljer, Gerber, Kohler, Mansfield and St. Thomas. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/06/flushmate-recalls-2-3-million-bursting-toilets/">http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/06/flushmate-recalls-2-3-million-bursting-toilets/</a></p>

Recalls Have Gone to the Toilet, Really As Flushmate Recalls Exploding Toilets

You don’t really get to take your toilet back but can get a repair kit to fix it so it won’t blow up on you.  Over 300 tank explosions I gue...

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Larry Ellison The Full and Uncut Interview At the All Things Digital Conference–The Good Stuff - How Larry Thinks and and Works – “Men Who Know Code”

<p>I posted the highlights version of the interview which basically<img width="102" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-k4LnQtTCa8M/T-NmhSuXE7I/AAAAAAAA8Ao/ahSDgz_X0Ow/image=2525255B5=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="111" border="0" title="image" /> covered what was going on with Mr. Ellison and Oracle but when you hear the entire interview you get a real glimpse of how he thinks and works and we haven’t heard a lot of that as this goes beyond the media coverage you normally hear.  I like how he discusses the “cloud” technology and he’s right, it has been around forever and the opinion on how it became the buzzword we live by today is interesting.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Hardware is software he states and the complicated process is the software and he’s the “product guy” at Oracle.  Oracle is not a consumer business but they sell to consumer oriented companies, like Apple.  He’s been around for a long time and knows the players and their technologies.  It’s humorous to hear him talk about SAP and how they admitted to stealing patented technology.  “You want me to give HP advice”…classic and you have to hear the history he gives here.  You can read about his NIH award from last year.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/09/larry-ellison-announced-as.html">Larry Ellison Announced As Distinguished Medical Informatics Awardee for His Contributions to Health IT and the Ellison Foundation From the Friends of the National Library of Medicine (NIH)</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><font style="font-weight: normal">He’s also part of the “Giving Pledge” along with Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and others.  </font> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h4></h4> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/giving-pledge-call-for-philanthropy.html">The Giving Pledge Call for Philanthropy Continues to Grow–40 Billionaires Committed</a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" />He’s fascinated with technology and it shows how he tests limits.  If you read the news in the last couple days, he has is own island now in <img width="151" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-EyddSZ211CE/T-NmhmbY5HI/AAAAAAAA8Aw/ukGWK_CF_cM/image=2525255B20=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="132" border="0" title="image" />Hawaii too.  He has no limits:)  When asked about his image that is projected in the media, he’s extremely funny and candid.  He’s definitely one of a kind and has the left brain in gear and then some as he knows code as well as marketing and his company.  It took 6 to 7 years to re-write all the Oracle applications for the cloud, so keep this in check when you think about how we function today and the amount of coding and development it takes to move to the cloud with applications.   I said a while back when the President had his meetings with the brilliant men of code, he was there to learn, “<strong>aka men who write code”.  <br clear="all" /></strong> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/02/president-obama-meeting-with-tech.html">President Obama Meeting with Tech Industry Leaders–CEOs and Some of the Smartest CEOs (Algo Men) Who Write Code</a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />He discusses “Workday” and and how Salesforce and many others use “Oracle” and how “Workday” doesn’t use one.  He knows his engineering and infrastructure. <strong>In the question and answer session he is asked about what he is doing for healthcare and he talks about the Ellison Medical Foundation (and jokes about how long it took him to come up with that name) and how they are focused on  “diseases related to aging” “for obvious reasons he states”..funny.</strong>  The do both primary and applied research in this area with about a billion to support it.  They are also simulating molecular computational control and building chemical simulators so they can design and test drugs. <strong> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></strong>Oracle is bringing back manufacturing to the US as well and he also brings up the shortage of engineers in America.  He said we need engineers who are trained in the US to stay in the US and not leave<img width="158" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-Kyw0PEmsqcQ/T-NmiHuNqtI/AAAAAAAA8A4/UfGQaG9mY3Q/image=2525255B14=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="110" border="0" title="image" />.  He says it is madness that someone gets their PHD from Stanford and then get a note to “get out”.  We don’t have enough “trained engineers” in the US and finishes up the interview by saying “it’s insane” what we do.  I agree.  <strong>Great interview and nice insight into what makes “Larry” tick..he’s one of most valuable “hybrid” personalities and individuals walking the earth today and he has logic, marketing, engineering and humor all wrapped into one.</strong>  </p> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />I can hardly wait to see and hear what he does with <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ellison-lanai-20120621,0,1109467.story">his new island</a> too:)  BD   <br clear="all" /><iframe width="512" scrolling="no" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000101A/http/live.wsj.com/public/page/embed-BA19BA11_0CFC_4319_8537_7BFCC58214F8.html" height="288" frameborder="0"></iframe> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Perhaps more than any other tech figure in Silicon Valley, <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/allthingsd.com/20120530/oracle-ceo-larry-ellison-live-at-d10/">Larry Ellison</a> — now also trying to become the proud owner of Hawaii’s Lanai — is, for lack of a better word, the <em>man</em>. </p> <p>It’s a bit about endurance (he’s been at it since 1978, when he founded Oracle), a bit about success (the database giant still remains a very powerful force in the industry), a bit about spoiling for a fight (Hewlett-Packard, SAP, any small cloud company that irks him) and a lot about style (America’s Cup sailing, his gazillionaire Ironman persona and, <em>for goodness sake</em>, he is planning on buying an entire Hawaiian island, presumably for a lair). Ellison has the kind of long-term and powerful perspective that is rare in the app-happy Web 2.0 era of small ideas and too-big valuations. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/allthingsd.com/20120621/larry-ellison-tells-it-like-it-is-the-full-d10-interview-video/=3fmod=3dtweet">http://allthingsd.com/20120621/larry-ellison-tells-it-like-it-is-the-full-d10-interview-video/?mod=tweet</a></p>

Larry Ellison The Full and Uncut Interview At the All Things Digital Conference–The Good Stuff - How Larry Thinks and and Works – “Men Who Know Code”

I posted the highlights version of the interview which basically covered what was going on with Mr. Ellison and Oracle but when you hear th...

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PKC Clinical Knowledge Software Purchased by Sharecare Social Network Website Owned By Dr. Oz and WebMD Founder Jeff Arnold–Soap Notes For Patient and Doctor

<p>The full press release can be <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.sharecare.com/static/sharecare-announces-the-acquisition-of-pkc-corporation">read here.</a>  PKC founder Dr. Lawrence Weed is known as the founder of the SOAP note and any in medical <img width="186" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-05cSIbZlesI/T-NUN8SEPlI/AAAAAAAA7-4/I2aABZpFwPo/image=2525255B13=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="67" border="0" title="image" />practices knows what that is as it continued on from the original structure with paper charts right into electronic medical records and basically is the ground work to cover all the important items in a visit with a patient.  The PKC data base was created to give support for “meaningful use” as well.  What is interesting here is the access that patients will have to the data base of information and will be able to use it and forward to a physician and this way to put it in simple terms the doctor has the basis of the information he needs with contributions from the patient, and in the process the patient gets smarter too, so it sounds like this is a win-win.  When Sharecare first came out, I had some reservations as we all do until we see it in actual operation and how it is formatted for use on the web.  The big key here is to get “credible” information as the web is a jungle today.  <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-website-sharecarecomsome-health.html"> <br clear="all" />New Website Sharecare.com–Some Health Advice Will Be From Advertisers So the Line Between Professional Information and Marketing Could Get Just A Bit More Grey and Confusing</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p>I looked around the site a little bit today and you can join<img width="118" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-jz4oCQR38Kw/T-NUOLw_uoI/AAAAAAAA7_A/XTlvq86kLU8/image=2525255B7=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="104" border="0" title="image" /> networks and become friends, a little like Facebook in format and each physician or other professional contributor has a profile of how many questions they have answered and where they are so in essence it looks like it drives some potential business to them if they might happen to be in the area of an inquiring consumer. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>You can also explore the PKC website to see what services <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.pkc.com/software/profiler/index.aspx"><img width="144" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-dyZyw_VF8fM/T-NUOSbrxfI/AAAAAAAA7_I/Q2fgxAIP-5k/image=2525255B12=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="61" border="0" title="image" /></a>they offer and for the layman in looking it might be a little confusing as there’s a lot on there about the three specific services they offer but the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.pkc.com/software/profiler/index.aspx">Profiler option</a> is the one created to work with electronic medical record systems and the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.pkc.com/services/clinical-knowledge-management.aspx">Clinical Knowledge Management</a> is the data base of journal publications and more.  One thing to note here from the data side, look at how long it took to compile all of this, a long time.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><strong>So consumers get ready to learn about SOAP notes</strong> and how they come together to ensure that all subjectives of an office visit are addressed and you get to contribute, which this is what it’s all about with communication and having factual information to discuss.  You won’t be required to know all the details but the process will walk you through to get the information that will be best utilized by all.  Back about a year and a half ago I participated on a group interview over the phone with Dr. Oz when he announced his 11 weeks program.  You can read more a the link and I got a kick out of the use of “11” and the interest in numerology here birthday wise he’s an “11” and I’m an “11” too so it’s interesting on some of the topics he discusses and has some fun with it too.  It’s all his enthusiasm and non ending energy that makes him addictive, in a good way as that stuff is contagious.  BD     <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />  </p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/dr-oz-11-weeks-to-move-it-and-lose-it.html">Dr. Oz “11 Weeks to Move It and Lose It” Revolutionary Weight Loss Challenge to Launching Jan. 3, 2011</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <hr /></p> <br clear="all" /> <h4></h4> <p>A <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.informationweek.com/news/tech-center/gov-cloud/232300511">clinical decision support</a> company founded by medical informatics pioneer Dr. Lawrence Weed is now in the hands of TV host Dr. <img width="153" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TR9wMQob56I/AAAAAAAAnB4/UF4Okk55vg4/image_thumb1.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="56" />Mehmet Oz and WebMD founder Jeff Arnold. </p> <p><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/patient/232700289">Sharecare</a>, the Atlanta-based health and wellness social network started by Arnold and Oz, announced Monday that it has purchased <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.pkc.com/company/leadership.aspx">PKC</a>, maker of clinical knowledge management software for clinicians and consumers. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />PKC, of Burlington, Vt., gives Sharecare a clinical engine for its social media-oriented system and Sharecare provides the outlet to consumers that PKC had sought for years, according to Pierce. "This is actually going to plan" from the time he joined the company 20 years ago, "but I had to add 10 years to the plan," Pierce joked. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/patient/240002394">http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/patient/240002394</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:31d105ea-68e6-486c-945e-51fae95f58b2">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Soap+notes">Soap notes</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Dr.+Oz">Dr. Oz</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/healthcare">healthcare</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/HealthIT">HealthIT</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/data">data</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/doctors">doctors</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Sharecare">Sharecare</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/networking">networking</a></div></p>

PKC Clinical Knowledge Software Purchased by Sharecare Social Network Website Owned By Dr. Oz and WebMD Founder Jeff Arnold–Soap Notes For Patient and Doctor

The full press release can be read here.   PKC founder Dr. Lawrence Weed is known as the founder of the SOAP note and any in medical practic...

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Cellular Dynamics–World’s Largest Producer of Human Stem Cells Talks About the Value of iPS Cells and Their Contributions to Biotech Research and Development–Video

<p>The chief Operating Officer from Cellular Dynamics  take a few minutes to describe the value of iPS cells and how they are created.  iPS <img width="127" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-BmkoywNri5s/T-MyLZzgnWI/AAAAAAAA79Y/Wv6uAlZEtxs/image=2525255B4=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="126" border="0" title="image" />cells have huge value as they are the ones that can be converted to other stem cell types, in other words you can take skin stem cells and turn them in heart cells for an example with reprogramming the production process.  iPS cells were probably one of the biggest advances we have had with stem cell creation and what it enables science to accomplish.  Disease treatments, growing human body parts for example are all wrapped into this area of R and D. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />iPS gives you the opportunity to access every stem cell type in the human body. The whole mission here is provide cells for research and create biological models.  Cellular Dynamics makes thousands and thousands of stem cells day after day, and the video is worth listening to as the COO takes you through the processes and describes the many variations that they deal with.  BD  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:f6d86704-d968-4afc-8ebd-9cfb5f1b12f1"><div><object height="236" width="421"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D813VQK-swc?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed width="421" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.youtube.com/v/D813VQK-swc=3fhl=3den&hd=3d1" height="236" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="width:421px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">iPS Cell Cultures–What’s this all about?</div></div> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Emile Nuwaysir is Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Cellular Dynamics International, the world's largest producer of human cells derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. He is responsible for research and development, manufacturing, and quality systems and leads a team of 80 people. <br />In this short video, Dr Nuwaysir discusses the current challenges in iPS cell research, why reproducibility is so critical when working with iPS cells and how variability in cell culture media is impacting iPS cell culture performance. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.youtube.com/watch=3fv=3dD813VQK-swc&feature=3dem-subs_digest">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D813VQK-swc&feature=em-subs_digest</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:40818de4-5a88-469a-b7e9-3fd4ea9a8598">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/stem+cells">stem cells</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/LifeTechnologies">LifeTechnologies</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/iPS">iPS</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/research+and+development">research and development</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/biotech">biotech</a></div></p>

Cellular Dynamics–World’s Largest Producer of Human Stem Cells Talks About the Value of iPS Cells and Their Contributions to Biotech Research and Development–Video

The chief Operating Officer from Cellular Dynamics  take a few minutes to describe the value of iPS cells and how they are created.  iPS cel...

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Blue Shield Policyholders File Class Action Lawsuit Alleging the Company Is Gaming the System By Pushing Older & Sicker Consumers Into Lower Benefit and Higher Deductible Policies–“Death Spiral”

<p>I learned by reading this article what a “Death Spiral” is and didn’t realize that it was an “industry term”.  I think there could be some other insurers that could be included in this practice maybe from what I read in <img width="92" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-tCzq2llV1iQ/T-KPfz5FpLI/AAAAAAAA774/0IZPzEI-XdU/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="106" border="0" title="image" />the news with older policies being cancelled and new ones written.  Some may accomplish this via marketing efforts and the old policy rates go out of reach as far as being able to afford so consumers are kind of forced to make a decision at that point.  Those with pre-existing conditions sometimes can’t switch to a policy that is comparable or better and thus are trapped to take what they can afford and have to abandon their original policies as they can’t afford the premiums any longer. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Some consumers end up being uninsured the article states.  The lawsuit was filed by the the Consumer Watchdog group in San Francisco.  The lawsuit represents policies under both HMO and PPO types of plans.  Last year a similar suit with Blue Cross was settled.  BD <hr /> <br clear="all" />The lawsuit seeks to stop Blue Shield from shoving its policyholders into what is known as a "Death Spiral"–the industry term for what happens when a health insurer "closes" certain insurance policies to new customers, and later raises rates to those remaining in the closed policy until those enrollees can no longer afford coverage. Since consumers with preexisting conditions cannot switch to a comparable or better policy, consumers trapped in the closed policies must either accept greatly inferior coverage or face bigger and bigger premium increases. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>"Blue Shield closed my family's policy and then threatened us with a 23% premium increase. We had no choice but to switch to the only bare bones policy Blue Shield offered us. When Blue Shield canceled the original rate increase, the company refused to let us transfer back into our old, higher benefit policy. Then, Blue Shield raised the rate of our bare bones policy by 14.8%!" said Robert Martin of Gilroy, California, one of the Blue Shield customers representing other consumers in the class-action lawsuit. "It's just plain unfair. Blue Shield is pushing families like mine with pre-existing health conditions out of their health plans – either into higher deductible coverage or into the ranks of the uninsured." <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx=3fid=3d346046&type=3dlifehealth">http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=346046&type=lifehealth</a></p>

Blue Shield Policyholders File Class Action Lawsuit Alleging the Company Is Gaming the System By Pushing Older & Sicker Consumers Into Lower Benefit and Higher Deductible Policies–“Death Spiral”

I learned by reading this article what a “Death Spiral” is and didn’t realize that it was an “industry term”.  I think there could be some o...

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Lawsuit Against Accretive Healthcare Grows as More Patients are Coming Forward to Speak Out

<p> <p> <p> </p> </p> <p> <p> </p> </p> </p> <p> <p> <p> The list is getting longer with patients coming forward speaking about the company’s collection efforts, one on a morphine drip was approached to pay and another was told to pay up $1500.00 or they would not get the surgery needed to remove a tumor on their lung.  <img width="199" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-aIGZEpSs45o/TximcnMUReI/AAAAAAAA4_c/hycWLx7KTH0/image_thumb.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="64" />In case you missed it the link below has more information about the lawsuit and again all this was uncovered due to a stolen lap top where confidential information about patients was being shared with companies on Wall Street looking to invest.  BD <hr />  </p> <p> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/04/accretive-medical-collections-and.html">Accretive Medical Collections and Analytics Cited by Minnesota by Attorney General For Collecting from Patients At Bedside and Worse–Employees on Pay for Performance Too? Killer Algorithms Chapter 28</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" />The amended complaint includes more than two dozen additional patients who feared they would not get proper medical treatment if they did not pay their bill on the spot.</p> <p>Terry Mackel, one of these patients, spoke about a $363 hospital bill he owed. </p> <p>Mackel arrived at Fairview Hospital in Burnsville with a kidney stone and was put on a morphine drip when an Accretive Health Bill collector stepped into his room. </p> <p>In a similar situation, <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Amy Morris went to Southdale Hospital after being diagnosed with lung cancer. </p> <p>Before surgery to try and remove the tumor, Morris was told she needed to pay the estimated $1,500 bill. </p> <p>"They came out and said you have to pay this or you won't get the surgery," Morris said. </p> <p>Both Mackel and Morris joined a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's office six months ago, along with dozens of others.</p> <p><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18830924/more-people-speaking-out-over-accretive-health-care-complaints"> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18830924/more-people-speaking-out-over-accretive-health-care-complaints</a></p></p></p>

Lawsuit Against Accretive Healthcare Grows as More Patients are Coming Forward to Speak Out

    The list is getting longer with patients coming forward speaking about the company’s collection effor...

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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”

<p>Above in the title are 3 reasons to eliminate some clutter.  Back when this was novel and new, its had some impact, even back then though<img width="183" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-1F4WD-Cd5Kk/TrGQvURSFEI/AAAAAAAA4LI/mMjn8TPBjRM/image=2525255B2=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="97" /> the data reported was not accurate either, so why have it.  I’m sure it’s getting better as time moves on but I glanced through the list and guess what, not one hospital in Massachusetts was listed?  What’s up with that.  It might have something to do with the hospitals in that state contesting how Health Grades came up with their numbers, and they are right to question.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />If you read here often enough then you saw my experience with finding my former doctor on there who had been dead for 8 years and will still listed as being alive and well, so after life for doctors on the web seems to exist.  We might see better marketing of these reports now though as they merged with a marketing company.  The AMA even got interested in that one and we had a chat and interview on their processes.  <strong>Doctors were listed on staff at hospitals they had never foot in and there were other dead doctors in there too.  Here’s the original story I did a couple years ago.</strong> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/09/healthgrades-and-other-md-rating-and.html"><strong>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</strong></a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" />These folks didn’t do to hot either at Avvo and there were others.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/11/avvo-physician-rating-service-cant-get.html">Avvo Physician Rating Service Can’t Get Accurate Information Listed on Doctors - One OC Oncologist Sitting in Jail for Fraud</a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" />On some related issues here with flawed data here’s a couple links worth reading about and it will <strong>further substantiate the rise of flawed data both on the web and in healthcare</strong>. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/10/social-security-master-death-index-data.html">Social Security Master Death Index Data Flawed–Over 31,000 Living Found in the Index</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/city-of-buffalo-has-paid-over-2-million.html">City of Buffalo Has Paid Over $2 Million to Provide Health Insurance for Hundreds of Dead People-Some as Many as 4 Years</a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" /><strong>So let’s just hang these up as they are dated and don’t </strong><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/11/avvo-physician-rating-service-cant-get.html"><strong><img width="155" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJcGp1oHKzI/AAAAAAAAhfM/jyY8xKNrAKY/image_thumb=255B4=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="66" /></strong></a><strong>do much anymore and with marketing spins today it’s hard to see sometimes what is real and what is  not.</strong>  There was another rating group, Leapfrog which was out there and I saw some discussion on the web about how those listed had to “pay” I believe to use their ratings if they were one of the “best”?  Again more reason to just scratch these and focus on something else with more value as times have changed quickly and these rating “algorithms” don’t seem to be doing real well with evaluating “human” efforts.  This reporting borders dangerously on what I call the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"><strong>Attacks of the Killer Algorithms,</strong></a> again as marketing spins and numbers get flawed.  BD    <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />DENVER, CO – HealthGrades, a provider of consumer healthcare information, named America’s best 50 and 100 hospitals for 2012 in a <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.healthgrades.com/content/ratings_and_awards_2012_Americas_Best_Hospitals.aspx">report</a> issued today. </p> <p>These hospitals demonstrated superior and sustained clinical quality, ranking them in the top five percent of all hospitals in the nation, according to a press release issued by the company. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />As our nation seeks to elevate the quality of care at all hospitals, these elite facilities provide a roadmap for success," said Arshad Rahim, MD, HealthGrades director of accelerated clinical excellence, in a written statement. "Consumers increasingly are demanding greater transparency and quality when selecting healthcare providers. These hospitals are delivering. We commend them for their dedication to excellence in patient care." <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/healthgrades-names-americas-top-hospitals=3fpage=3d0,0&topic=3d19">http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/healthgrades-names-americas-top-hospitals?page=0,0&topic=19</a></p>

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”

Above in the title are 3 reasons to eliminate some clutter.  Back when this was novel and new, its had some impact, even back then though t...

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Political Integrity Day at the Medical Quack–Should Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Join Michael Bloomberg at CodeAcademy to Learn About The Algorithms That Make Him Rich And Better Yet The Ones That Go Rogue & Lose Everyone’s Money?

<p>I have not done a poll in a long time and if you read here often <img width="120" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-WPjkgZt0qbY/T-IzgWK1pbI/AAAAAAAA76Q/iCnttZnBtJ4/image=2525255B10=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="142" border="0" title="image" />enough then you know about “<strong><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html">The Attack of the Killer Algorithms”</a></strong> and they are out there with code that goes rogue and some queries that focus more on “desired” results than accuracy.  Some do both like they should, but look at the financial world today, how many “desired” queries exist versus the “accurate” ones?  I don’ t know but it would be interesting to find out:) <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />If you don’ t know about <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0"><strong><u>CodeAcademy</u></strong></a> visit their<a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0"><img width="119" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-nwcCtRpaBOo/T-Izg8b8RZI/AAAAAAAA76Y/2LM3f3OOuTI/image=2525255B9=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="64" border="0" title="image" /></a> website and they have something there for everyone to learn about computer coding and you can do as much or as little as you like but just being a part you’ll learn something and it will help you comprehend the algorithms that work behind the scenes with computer coding that you can’t see, touch or feel, but it’s there.  <strong>My next poll will be asking about the members of the Senate banking committee on whether or not they should enroll too:)</strong> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><em><font style="font-weight: normal">“Codecademy is the easiest way to learn how to code. It's interactive, fun, and you can do it with your friends.”</font></em></h5> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Before you vote though this video from Jon Stewart says it all….”I don’t know” so get some schooling to figure out a better answer on Dodd Frank:) <strong> If Michael Bloomberg makes the commitment, what’s wrong with Dimon getting a little smarter with evaluating “risk” models, which are not much more than a bunch of algorithms that give information so they can play with the millions and billions:)  BD  <br clear="all" /></strong> <br clear="all" /></p> <div style="background-color: #000000; width: 420px"> <div style="padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px"><iframe width="412" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000101A/http/media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:cms:video:thedailyshow.com:415378" height="288" frameborder="0"></iframe> <p style="text-align: left; padding-bottom: 4px; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 4px"><b><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-14-2012/bank-yankers---jamie-dimon-on-capitol-hill">The Daily Show</a></b> <br />Get More: <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>,<a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></p> </div> </div> <div> <br clear="all" /></div> <div style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 420px; letter-spacing: 0px; padding-right: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; height: 20px; font-size: 9px; padding-top: 0px"><a target="_blank" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.vizu.com"><span style="color: #999; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: underline">Online Surveys</span></a><span style="color: #999"> & </span><a target="_blank" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/answers.vizu.com/market-research.htm"><span style="color: #999; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: underline">Market Research</span></a></div> <p><embed width="420" allowscriptaccess="always" align="middle" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/wp.vizu.com/vizu_poll.swf" name="vizu_poll" height="348" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" scale="noscale" flashvars="js=false&pid=253119&ad=false&vizu=true&links=true&mainBG=ffffff&questionText=000000&answerZoneBG=ffffff&answerItemBG=ffffff&answerText=000000&voteBG=eeeeee&voteText=000000" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high"></embed> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Poll results can be seen here:  <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.vizu.com/poll-results.html=3fn=3d253119">http://www.vizu.com/poll-results.html?n=253119</a></p> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Also this is a great educational video about the rogue algorithms on Wall Street and worth watching as Kevin Slavin gives you some insight as how the algos and Wall Street work…if” you are an algorithm the future looks pretty bright but not so much if you are a person, he states.”  BD <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:73a3c202-7767-4a3a-98c7-30f1d0c7ec03"><div><object height="232" width="413"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TDaFwnOiKVE?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed width="413" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.youtube.com/v/TDaFwnOiKVE=3fhl=3den&hd=3d1" height="232" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="width:413px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Life looks good for the algorithms, not so hot for the humans….</div></div> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/jon-stewart-senate-jamie-dimon-video_n_1599689.html=3futm_hp_ref=3dcomedy">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/jon-stewart-senate-jamie-dimon-video_n_1599689.html?utm_hp_ref=comedy</a></p>

Political Integrity Day at the Medical Quack–Should Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Join Michael Bloomberg at CodeAcademy to Learn About The Algorithms That Make Him Rich And Better Yet The Ones That Go Rogue & Lose Everyone’s Money?

I have not done a poll in a long time and if you read here often enough then you know about “ The Attack of the Killer Algorithms” and they...

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Greenway PrimeSUITE Medical Records Integrates With Microsoft HealthVault

<p>The Greenway EHR medical records system is based<img width="155" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-ed0NzsRe9Sk/T-HuwTzoJgI/AAAAAAAA74g/JswrIhQysS0/image=2525255B7=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="64" border="0" title="image" /> on Microsoft .NET technologies so this makes sense to combine the technologies and Greenway is also a Microsoft Gold Partner so the relationship with their technologies has been long standing with remote access available for physicians with the EHR  and for the patients via a portal . <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />PrimeSUITE is the name of the medical records system <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.cchit.org/">that is certified</a> and falls under the stimulus rules that allows doctors to collect <img width="82" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-ibnXCvOZYRA/T-HuwvuR_zI/AAAAAAAA74o/89OoTh-DzsQ/image=2525255B14=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="87" border="0" title="image" />incentives for installing and using the system.  <strong>PrimePATIENT</strong> is the portion where patients can access their medical information via the portal.  It appears the integration makes the process quite simple with both the patient and physician establishing their own HealthVault accounts.  A Continuity of Care standard is used to import records into HealthVault.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The nice part about the integration here is that the patient maintains control over what is shared and what information they want in their PHR.  The PrimePATIENT portal already allows patients to go online to schedule appointments, pay bills and request refills on prescriptions.  As always I have a link to Microsoft HealthVault on this site to make it easy to learn more and there’s an entire section at the Medical Quack that covers a ton of information on PHRs with over 400 blog posts and you can <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/search/label/Personal=2520Health=2520Records"><strong>read more here.</strong></a>  You can also search the Medical Quack just by using the keyword “HealthVault” and there’s ton of posts that will come up for additional information.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />HealthVault also allows a patient to store images in their account </p> <p><img width="228" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TaatS2UMYCI/AAAAAAAAvO8/8gKLsIklfw8/image_thumb=255B11=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="155" /></p> <p>and you can read more at the link below on how this works with an “image reader” included with the desktop software.  The value here is let’s say you recently had some imaging screening or testing completed, once stored in your HealthVault account the patient has the option to share with their doctor and it’s all stored in the Azure cloud.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/04/healthvault-begins-storing-medical.html">HealthVault Begins Storing Medical Images (Dicom) Using Windows Azure Cloud Services With Full Encryption</a></h5> <br clear="all" /> <p><img width="81" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-JNBWCKFA4Yw/T-Huw1-JAXI/AAAAAAAA74w/uwnIIwl0-ZI/image=2525255B10=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="47" border="0" title="image" />It’s also worth mentioning that the HealthVault connector works on the Windows Phone as well so mobility and access are all present.  As mentioned above, this makes sense as Greenway is built on Microsoft technologies.  BD <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />CARROLLTON, Ga.--(<a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/eon.businesswire.com/">EON: Enhanced Online News</a>)--Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc., today announced pilot integration of <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT=3fid=3dsmartlink&url=3dhttp=253A=252F=252Fwww.microsoft.com=252Fen-us=252Fhealthvault=252Ftools-devices=252Foverview.aspx&esheet=3d50314935&lan=3den-US&anchor=3dMicrosoft+HealthVault&index=3d1&md5=3db95f8ff89d7192e7ddcf868a25a4b51a">Microsoft HealthVault</a> data aggregation and mobility to providers utilizing the company’s electronic health record (EHR), practice management and interoperability solution PrimeSUITE®. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Through PrimeSUITE’s integrated and secure online portal, <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT=3fid=3dsmartlink&url=3dhttp=253A=252F=252Fwww.greenwaymedical.com=252Fsolutions=252Fprime-patient=252F&esheet=3d50314935&lan=3den-US&anchor=3dPrimePATIENT&index=3d2&md5=3d5aaf748666eaa4596e52ca44bc81068e">PrimePATIENT</a>®, patients can create and access a HealthVault account to gather, store and manage centralized and sharable health information. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The combined data is sharable with other providers regardless of EHR systems if HealthVault integration is also present, or through permissible PrimeSUITE data exchange directly into EHRs and health information exchanges. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.greenwaymedical.com/solutions/prime-suite/">http://www.greenwaymedical.com/solutions/prime-suite/</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c7d7a6fa-6f7d-4530-914d-1e922c9883c7">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/PHR">PHR</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Microsoft">Microsoft</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/HealthVault">HealthVault</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/medical+records">medical records</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Health+IT">Health IT</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Greenway">Greenway</a></div></p>

Greenway PrimeSUITE Medical Records Integrates With Microsoft HealthVault

The Greenway EHR medical records system is based on Microsoft .NET technologies so this makes sense to combine the technologies and Greenwa...

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Digital Illiterate Congress Drops Drug Tracking System From FDA Bill–The One Part Needed Most By Consumers For Information and Drug Safety

<p>If you have hung around the Medical Quack long enough then you know I have had a little campaign on here for about 3 years now about using bar codes to find FDA recalls, whether it be prescriptions drugs, over the counter and medical devices.  It’s the same old story that they can’t come to an agreement on how to create the system so nothing gets done.  Did anyone think about bringing some data engineers to help with the building process or even a company like Microsoft who has the technology and has a patent for labels that can’t be compromised?  Duh?  Duh?  Duh?  <img src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/S_cYrKEcX-I/AAAAAAAAeOA/_Zre_9Hzr2w/image_thumb=255B22=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" /> <br clear="all" />Let me start off here and repeat this important article about how a man died as he was implanted with a device that had been recalled, except it was missed and not pulled from the inventory…sad story.  I realize that some of the bigger hospitals have some RFID systems in place but what about smaller hospitals, surgical centers and doctors offices that do some procedures?  Duh? <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a style="margin: 12px auto 6px; display: block; font: 14px helvetica,arial,sans-serif; text-decoration: underline; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.scribd.com/doc/56311471" title="View Micro-Cap FDA Recalls Never End on Scribd">Micro-Cap FDA Recalls Never End</a><iframe data-auto-height="true" width="100%" scrolling="no" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000101A/http/www.scribd.com/embeds/56311471/content=3fstart_page=3d1&view_mode=3dlist" data-aspect-ratio="data-aspect-ratio" height="600" frameborder="0" class="scribd_iframe_embed" id="doc_19043"></iframe> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Here’s a  screenshot of the patent that can make labels tamper proof too. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/02/microsoft-receives-patent-techniques-to.html">Microsoft Receives Patent-Techniques to Create Counterfeit and Tamper Resistant Labels Using Fiber Optic Strands-Bar Codes Getting Closer for Drug/Device Recalls? <br clear="all" /></a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" /><img width="406" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TVM9-o22-VI/AAAAAAAAq8U/_W6Phq9bF20/image=255B4=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" height="262" />What is interesting is to see the alcohol beverage industry jump in to this so you can read about the vodka you are about to digest but for something that could potentially have a deadly or bad side effect…nothing. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/skyy-vodka-using-microsoft-tags-we-can.html">Skyy Vodka Using Microsoft Tags-We Can Find Out More About What We are Drinking-Would Be Nice if Tylenol & Others Did This</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p>This is really the “shitty” deal for consumers as when you look at how mHealth and other mobile technologies are moving to where the phone is your best ally at times, to not have this in the “developed” country that we are is a shame.  </p> <h5> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-birth-control-pill-recallspatient.html">More Birth Control Pill Recalls–Patient Found This Error with Pills in Bubble Pack in Reverse Order–The “Shitty Deal” With No Bar Codes to Make Them Easier to Find…</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/07/recalled-wipes-from-triad-still-out.html"><strong>The nice folks over at the Journal Sentinel even took some time to interview me on the topic</strong></a> while the big Triad mess was ongoing with contaminated wipes and not too long after that I saw a “tiny” attempt from J and J with using barcodes on their wipes.  You can see the bar code in the image below.  Those can be easily changed with content in case of a recall too from giving general product information as an example.  Here’s a “tech tweeting on the topic below.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><img width="403" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/S_cYwHe9YVI/AAAAAAAAeOg/qA2j7MAdVtA/image_thumb=255B28=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" height="90" /> <br clear="all" /><strong><em>"It's alarming," said Mary Ann Beaumont, a Milwaukee resident who had a package of recalled swabs at home and only learned of the contamination months after the recall when she read a story in the Journal Sentinel in June.</em></strong> <br clear="all" />” <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/06/johnson-and-johnson-puts-microsoft-tag.html">Johnson and Johnson Puts Microsoft Tag Bar Codes on Baby Wipes But Can’t Do the Same to Give Consumers the Chance to Find Their FDA Recalls - BarCode Baby Steps?</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><img width="430" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-888ft_ZSx7M/TgD__H1Su2I/AAAAAAAAzqM/BzKvjFKF34g/image_thumb=2525255B4=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" height="215" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p><strong>Long and short of it, digital illiterates in Congress that couldn’t agree on this portion of the bill as they probably don’t use their phones to scan bar codes but a hell of a lot of other folks do</strong>.  What’s even more incredible too is to use a heat map to find the location of either recalled or stolen drugs once they are scanned too…oh well I gave my best to promote this to the “deaf” ears of our lawmakers.  Sad thing too is that when you look at the vote, it’s a huge bi-partisan in agreement, but they left out the real meat and potatoes that would help consumers.  BD  <hr />  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />WASHINGTON — A bill designed to beef up the safety <img width="202" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TXV46dS81PI/AAAAAAAAs8E/ujnPW5BnoFM/image_thumb=255B5=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="248" />of the nation’s prescription drug supply is poised to pass Congress, but without a tracking system that public health advocates say is critical to weeding out counterfeit pharmaceuticals.</p> <p>House and Senate lawmakers agreed late Monday on compromise legislation that helps supplement the Food and Drug Administration’s budget. The two chambers previously passed separate versions of the bill, which also increases safety inspections and penalties against drug counterfeiters. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The House is expected to vote on the compromise FDA legislation Wednesday afternoon. Lawmakers there previously passed the bill by an overwhelming 387-5 vote. A vote in the Senate is expected early next week. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/drug-tracking-system-dropped-from-fda-bill-aimed-at-bolstering-pharmaceutical-safety/2012/06/19/gJQATMqDoV_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/drug-tracking-system-dropped-from-fda-bill-aimed-at-bolstering-pharmaceutical-safety/2012/06/19/gJQATMqDoV_story.html</a></p>

Digital Illiterate Congress Drops Drug Tracking System From FDA Bill–The One Part Needed Most By Consumers For Information and Drug Safety

If you have hung around the Medical Quack long enough then you know I have had a little campaign on here for about 3 years now about using b...

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Walgreens to Invest in Alliance Boots Drug Chain in Europe With Option to Buy in Full in 3 Years

<p>Walgreens would stand to become the largest international <img width="135" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-StS1ps9oko0/T-FeFTW0TKI/AAAAAAAA73A/gm_u8SN-kxE/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="119" border="0" title="image" />retailer and wholesaler with this acquisition.  Boots is very similar to drug stores in the US with subsidizing income with products that are not drugs, so again like entering a typical US drug store like Walgreens.  <br clear="all" />Last year in the UK and I don’t know if this came through or not but the NHS put through a proposal for patients to receive their chemotherapy treatments at the retail stores.  <strong>“Chemo on aisle 7” at Walgreens in our future?</strong>  There also has been talk about the chain selling health insurance in their stores as well.  Not too long ago Steven Colbert jokes about pap smears at Walgreens in a humorous way with a news station, Fox misunderstanding some of the daily news.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/nhs-health-secretary-submits-plan-for.html">NHS-Health Secretary Submits Plan for Patients to Receive Chemotherapy at Local Retail Boots Store as Part of Reorganization</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h4></h4> <p>Boots also has their wholesale division with purchasing power.  A couple months ago we heard a little bit about that when a woman bought a box of tampons at a close out center, and I’m guessing these were items liquidated from Boots and found cocaine inside.  So again we might wonder how far integration will go with brands of drugs and other products sold by the chain.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/05/woman-buys-box-of-tampons-at-close-out.html">Woman Buys A Box of Tampons at Close Out Bargain Store and Finds Cocaine–Obviously Not for Internal Use On This Box</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h4></h4> <p>This is one to watch to see how it all unfolds and again I say everyone is selling data and making big money today all over the world and it’s time to tax some of those billions made from cheap data mining ride on the web and I also ask, how much revenue will Walgreens get from the availability of the data that Boots sells?  Walgreens made just short of $800 million in 2010 so there’s a lot of money out there to tax with “data grave robbers.  BD<a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html=3ftype=3ddjn&symbol=3dWAG"> <br clear="all" /> <hr /> <br clear="all" />Walgreen</a> <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html=3ftype=3ddjn&symbol=3dWAG=3fmod=3dinlineTicker">WAG -5.85%</a> Co. is spending $6.7 billion to buy nearly half of European pharmacy giant Alliance Boots GmbH, a bet by the largest U.S. drugstore chain that it can expand in Europe as it grapples with declining sales back home. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>In an interview, Walgreen Chief Executive <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/topics.wsj.com/person/w/gregory-wasson/U704182525107vYC">Greg Wasson</a> defended the deal—the largest in Walgreen's 111-year history. "We think this is about <img width="167" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TT8hX3RRBDI/AAAAAAAApco/UXQe30E_wG4/image_thumb=255B1=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="136" />bringing two iconic brands together... and creating something new to the world," he said.</p> <p><a name="U704182524945D3H"></a></p> <p>The 53-year-old executive, who joined Walgreen as a pharmacy intern in 1980 and rose through the corporate ranks and became CEO in 2009, said he has "every intention" of exercising the company's option to take full control of Alliance Boot. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />To Walgreen, the deal is a wager on a global pharmacy chain panning out as the company sees its U.S. sales slide. An unresolved contract dispute with pharmacy-benefit manager <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html=3ftype=3ddjn&symbol=3dESRX">Express Scripts Holding</a> Co. <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html=3ftype=3ddjn&symbol=3dESRX=3fmod=3dinlineTicker">ESRX +0.41%</a> forced millions of customers who had regularly filled their prescriptions at Walgreen to go elsewhere, as arranged through Express Scripts. Alliance Boots, based in Zug, Switzerland, operates more than 3,300 stores in the U.K., Europe the Middle East and Asia. Most of its stores are in the U.K., where its contract manufacturing is based. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303836404577476091902791460.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303836404577476091902791460.html</a> <br clear="all" /></p>

Walgreens to Invest in Alliance Boots Drug Chain in Europe With Option to Buy in Full in 3 Years

Walgreens would stand to become the largest international retailer and wholesaler with this acquisition.  Boots is very similar to drug stor...

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German Pharmaceutical Company Biotest To Stop Shipments to Greece in July–Bills Have Not Been Paid

<p> <br clear="all" />Biotest also has an office in the US in Florida.  According to this article<img width="85" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh4.ggpht.com/-j7qbR2ly0H0/T964fusn-FI/AAAAAAAA71g/t1Hq-L-wPVo/image=2525255B2=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="47" border="0" title="image" /> there are other medical issues with hospitals cutting off vital drugs and limiting surgical procedures that are owned by the state.  It continues on to talk about exhausted doctors and their lack of supplies as well.  BD <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />FRANKFURT/ATHENS (Reuters) - German pharmaceutical firm Biotest said it would stop shipments to Greece in July, becoming the first drugmaker to announce it would quit the debt-mired country's market because its bills had not been paid. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>Though a relatively small player in Greece, the company's exit sets an unwelcome precedent for a country whose healthcare system is crumbling under the weight of economic crisis and administrative deadlock. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Biotest's Ramroth said Greece had paid all its outstanding bills for 2010 but still owed the company - which makes products from blood plasma to treat severe burns, hemophilia or tetanus - 7 million euros ($8.8 million) for 2011. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Already, Greece's rundown state hospitals are cutting off vital drugs, limiting non-urgent operations and rationing even basic medical materials for exhausted doctors. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/news.yahoo.com/germanys-biotest-first-drugmaker-exit-greece-050833865.html">http://news.yahoo.com/germanys-biotest-first-drugmaker-exit-greece-050833865.html</a></p>

German Pharmaceutical Company Biotest To Stop Shipments to Greece in July–Bills Have Not Been Paid

Biotest also has an office in the US in Florida.  According to this article there are other medical issues with hospitals cutting off vi...

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Chief Medical Officer At Northwest Community Hospital in Chicago Leaves Position as CMO - He Was Not Licensed

<p>This is one of those somewhat embarrassing moments for the hospital as the Chief Medical Officer is usually in charge of physician credentials<img width="100" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-5Unrw6OKVYk/T96wpAObmeI/AAAAAAAA70A/Lz8puAPbfpc/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="84" border="0" title="image" />, and maybe he somehow forgot his own in the process?  His license expired in 1999 but the state of Illinois does not have licensing rules for CMOs, also a bit strange.  One doctor commented that they knew he was not licensed when he was hired eight years ago but money wise was not doing bad making a quarter of a million a year.  BD  <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The top doctor at Northwest Community Hospital wasn't licensed to practice medicine, an embarrassing setback for a medical center that has struggled after missing out on the health care merger boom. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>Dr. Leighton Smith left his position this month as chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at the 496-bed hospital, where his duties included setting policy and managing relationships with Northwest's physicians. <strong>He had held the post for nearly eight years, even though state records show his license expired in 1999.</strong> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>Dr. Smith denies that his employment ended because he is not licensed but declines to comment further, citing a confidentiality agreement. He was paid $785,000 in 2010, according to a hospital tax filing. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>Having an unlicensed chief medical officer could complicate the hospital's defense against some lawsuits, particularly if a hospital policy is alleged to have resulted in negligent care, says malpractice attorney Keith Hebeisen, </p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120616/ISSUE01/306169974/top-doc-lacked-medical-license">http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120616/ISSUE01/306169974/top-doc-lacked-medical-license</a>

Chief Medical Officer At Northwest Community Hospital in Chicago Leaves Position as CMO - He Was Not Licensed

This is one of those somewhat embarrassing moments for the hospital as the Chief Medical Officer is usually in charge of physician credentia...

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New York Subway Worker, Dubbed as a Hero Has Pension Reduced to $5.00 a Month–Retirement System Error–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 35

<p>Here we go again with checking the books and making a decision, but is this the right thing to do ethically?  <strong>People on pensions use this money to <img width="117" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh5.ggpht.com/-l5fQqTFB4do/T94BDkg859I/AAAAAAAA7yg/GgxKtkEvRsA/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="70" border="0" title="image" />pay rent, bills, etc.  As I have mentioned before on a few occasions, the middle class and I should add retirees are just becoming “data chasers”.</strong>  Was it his fault this mistake was made? <strong>No, but this “bad” consumer at the mercy of a retirement “algorithmic error” is going to pay the price…how analytics looks at us humans at times as we have very few folks that ethically know how to work with “flawed data” and this is a classic case.  Punish that “bad” consumer who on a couple occasions risked his life doing his job!</strong>  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><u>This was not just a short term error, it has gone on for 22 years and with more sophisticated Business Intelligence systems in use everywhere,<img width="133" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SpSgqIEmCRI/AAAAAAAAZmI/fo2DU8ZwcqQ/image_thumb=255B2=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="128" /> errors are being caught and again it was not due to any of the information entered by the retiree,</u> it’s the system finding errors within and incriminating the retiree, which all of this is not his fault and is purely one more example of the “Attack of the Killer Algorithms.  His case is not alone as we see businesses and others doing the same thing and where’ the ethics here?  <strong>When numbers and profit enter the picture folks who lack balance and accountability for “their” errors make the consumers the “bad guy”.</strong>  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />For this very reason I started this series called “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms” to bring this to light and make consumers aware of how servers that run 24/7 make life impacting decisions about them and this certainly fits the bill.  <strong>The link below has several other chapters with examples of how this occurs.  This important enough that it has a “static” place on the Medical Quack, along with some videos that also help explain how and why this occurs.</strong>  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></a></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/attack-of-killer-algorithmsdigest-links.html"><strong><font size="2">Attack of the Killer Algorithms–Digest & Links for All 30 Chapters–How Math and Crafty Formulas Today Running on Servers 24/7 Make Life Impacting Decisions About You–Updated 5-03-2012 </font></strong></a></h5> <p> <br clear="all" />I’m pretty active here with social networking and use<img width="185" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-6HDDm04lOwA/Ts0zq-EuFHI/AAAAAAAA4d8/nMT-KL0JEDY/image_thumb=2525255B12=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="90" /> it to try to educate as best I can and NYU Professor Siefe and I have had this conversation too on how we don’t have enough people educated in the US on “how to intelligently work with flawed data”.  He has tweeted about his own issues with trying to get information from HHS for a scientific article he wants to produce and you can see it all with the links on Twitter, all public.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />No more is this evident as with the Senate Banking Committee and the testimony of JP Morgan Dimon and <strong>Jon Stewart just absolutely nailed it in a humorous way. </strong>If you have not see it, watch this video as Dimon says “I don’t know” and yet if you watch the <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-power-wall-street/"><strong>PBS documentary about derivatives,</strong></a> JP Morgan invented them, but again “I don’t know”.  This video definitely is about the most absurd “frick and frack” routine that has been published on the web.  I also added my own commentary on the post I made earlier as well at the post.  <strong>The bets were on and due to lack of algorithmic knowledge with formulas, this retiree is the the “bad guy”.</strong>  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/06/person-hardest-on-jamie-dimon-was-jamie.html">“The Person the Hardest on Jamie Dimon Was Jamie Dimon” Testifying Before Congress This Week at the Senate Banking Committee Jon Stewart Video</a> <br clear="all" /></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><object width="400" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="336" id="+id+" codebase="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000101A/http/fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab"><param name="movie" value="http://embed.crooksandliars.com/v/MjQ3MjgtNTg1ODg?color=bfbfbf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed width="400" allowscriptaccess="always" align="middle" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/embed.crooksandliars.com/v/MjQ3MjgtNTg1ODg=3fcolor=3dbfbfbf" name="clembedMjQ3MjgtNTg1ODg" pluginspage="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" height="336" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high"></embed></object> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />So the witch-hunt goes on here with bad math and again those who are not qualified ethically or otherwise to deal with “flawed data” and they walk along and just destroy lives as in this example.  “<strong>Algorithm says”…where’s the ethics and intelligence with all of this today?</strong>  In the link I provided above you can see many examples of how consumers are hurt.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><strong>So where do we go from here I ask?  Do we keep destroying lives as we don’t have enough “accountable” and “intelligent” individuals that know how to ethically work with “flawed data”?</strong>  I have an answer to part of this to generate money and that is to tax “the data sellers” who make billions and this is part of business every day and with such a huge focus on intangibles is a big reason we can’t overcome the lack of manufacturing in the US as companies can hire a few geeks and with very little overhead start mining and selling data and thus once more the “greed” to sell formulas takes over with little regard for human ethics and turns consumers into “bad guys”. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />If you think about this as a whole, what do you think started the entire “Occupy” movement..you have it right here with the roots and even some of the protesters themselves may not understand it, but they know something is burning on the kitchen stove and the algorithms without a balance of ethics is what is behind all of this and goes to further grow inequality.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/start-licensing-and-taxing-data-sellers.html"><strong></strong></a></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/start-licensing-and-taxing-data-sellers.html"><strong>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</strong></a></h5> <p><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/start-licensing-and-taxing-data-sellers.html"><strong> </strong></a> <br clear="all" />If companies are smart enough to create “algorithms” for profit with <img width="194" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TSKAxGxckbI/AAAAAAAAnYI/vZFR_lUK8LA/image_thumb=255B1=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="140" />“desired” results, they should also be held accountable for their accuracy and we don’t’ have much of this as lawmakers and others, including bank executives sit in denial or kind of play dumb and it gets reported in the news as yet one more OMG story, but nobody digs to the bottom to find the “cause”.   Maybe I was ahead of myself here, but back in August of 2009 I asked the question, “do we need a department of algorithms” when the Madoff case was discovered.  He even figured out how to “fake” algorithms” he never had and created his Ponzi scheme based on the naïve nature on which lawmakers react today and look at the people who were  hurt there.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/08/department-of-algorithms-do-we-need-one.html">“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?</a></h5> <h4></h4> <p> <br clear="all" />The developer who worked for Goldman Sachs was recently<img width="117" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TPWhUGOEW-I/AAAAAAAAkGs/6s75xAxcsQQ/image_thumb=255B3=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="139" /> released from his sentence a smart judge through it out and I myself questioned the bulls run he received with his court case.  I’m not saying he was innocent or guilty but the dog and pony show done by Goldman played on the lack of education with high tech data today and again, luckily a judge finally came to terms with this and saw it for what it was and over turned the conviction.  You can’t get a jury of peers today with some of the very complicated algorithms we have working today just about.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/02/goldman-sachs-programmer-who-went-to.html">Goldman Sachs Programmer Who Went to Jail for Stealing Code Has His Conviction Overturned–You Can’t Get A Jury of Peers Off the Street for Crimes With High Tech Algos</a> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p>Here’s one of my original posts on the topic before he was tried in court.  </p> <h5></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/08/goldman-stolen-code-has-algorithmic.html">Goldman Stolen Code – Has Algorithmic Fraud Become A Business Model in HealthCare Too?</a></h5> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-we-ever-going-to-get-some-algorithm.html">Are We Ever Going to Get Some Algorithm Centric Laws Passed for Healthcare!</a></h5> <p><strong></strong></p> <p> <br clear="all" /><strong>So let’s continue to attack the naïve consumer for all the “bad algos” that were written by businesses and banks?</strong>  Not hardly an ethical answer by any means and <u>“</u><strong><u>algorithmic greed” still exists</u> and is on the rise and moves forward with a lot of “flawed data”.</strong>  Write some algos to fix this and protect the consumers that were bit, they can do that if they want and it might cost a little money but it certainly beats this story on how stupid and unethical this all is and again it will continue to contribute to inequality in the US until we come to terms with it.    <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2011/01/high-frequency-electronic-trading.html">High Frequency Electronic Trading Methodologies And Algorithms Work Their Way Into Healthcare With Human Bodies Losing Liquidity With the “Data Game”</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></h5> <p>As a short side note, I kind of wonder how Bloomberg is doing with his “coding” lessons as he said he was going to line up and learn.  That’s really a good thing as he will become compassionate and understanding too on how all of this transpires…hope we hear more about his efforts too:)  BD <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />In a 19-year career as a subway worker, Perry Kinard was almost killed twice. In 1978, a bandit stabbed him in the lung while he was mopping stairs in a Manhattan station. In 1990, he was shot in the chest and head by a crazed drunk in a Queens station. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <p>But New York has repaid Kinard’s sacrifices with a slap. </p> <p>The city’s biggest pension system — claiming it overpaid him for 22 years — has slashed his monthly allowance from $1,414 to $5. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>In March, the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) notified Kinard that his disability pension should have been “offset” by the $150 a week in workers’-compensation payments he has received. Instead of $1,414, he deserved only $762 a month, NYCERS said.</p> <p>On June 1, NYCERS informed Kinard it had overpaid him $163,422 since he retired because it didn’t deduct the workers’ comp. It cut his pension to $5 a month until 2030 to repay the money. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>But John Murphy, a former executive director of NYCERS, said the current administrators may be in error. He has already helped a transit cop, retired 28 years, whose pension was wrongly slashed 75 percent because he received workers’- comp payments for a different injury. The pension was reinstated. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.nypost.com/p/news/local/pound_of_flesh_HBIrKwyCY3oTkpxuMxMEgM=3futm_source=3dSFnewyorkpost&utm_medium=3dSFnewyorkpost">http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/pound_of_flesh_HBIrKwyCY3oTkpxuMxMEgM?utm_source=SFnewyorkpost&utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost</a></p>

New York Subway Worker, Dubbed as a Hero Has Pension Reduced to $5.00 a Month–Retirement System Error–Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 35

Here we go again with checking the books and making a decision, but is this the right thing to do ethically?  People on pensions use this mo...

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Man in Oregon Diagnosed With the Plague After Being Bitten by a Stray Cat

<p>Thank goodness for antibiotics as the current rate of death is <img width="92" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/-FYUHF67GSI8/T90_tOUM4II/AAAAAAAA7xA/71I7933Zgp4/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="76" border="0" title="image" />16% compared to over 60% before World War 2.  The man is in the hospital in critical condition and the cat that bit him is dead and has been sent off to CDC to study.  To be safe blood samples were collected from neighbors pets and from animals in the area to see if the plague is an issue.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />Several people are also being treated that had come in contact with the man taking antibiotics.  The man was trying to remove a dead rodent from the mouth of the cat when he was bit.    BD <hr /> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Health officials have confirmed that an Oregon man has the plague after he was bitten while trying to take a dead rodent from the mouth of a stray cat.</p> <p>The unidentified Prineville, Ore., man was in critical condition on Friday. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> He is suffering from a blood-borne version of the disease that wiped out at least one-third of Europe in the 14th century — that one, the bubonic plague, affects lymph nodes. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>The bacteria thrive in forests, semi-arid areas and grasslands, which plague-carrying rodents from wood rats to rock squirrels call home.</p> <p>Once a coin flip with death, the plague is now easier to handle for humans in the U.S. The national mortality rate stood at 66 percent before World War II, but advances in antibiotics dropped that rate to its present 16 percent. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/news.yahoo.com/plague-confirmed-oregon-man-bitten-stray-cat-171022591.html">http://news.yahoo.com/plague-confirmed-oregon-man-bitten-stray-cat-171022591.html</a></p>

Man in Oregon Diagnosed With the Plague After Being Bitten by a Stray Cat

Thank goodness for antibiotics as the current rate of death is 16% compared to over 60% before World War 2.  The man is in the hospital in c...

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Rosetta Genomics Terminates Deal with Chinese Diagnostic Firm Due to Breach of Agreement

<p> <p> <p> Basically it sounds like the Chinese company didn’t pay for the rights to market Rosetta’s diagnostic products.  Rosetta is an interesting <img width="116" alt="image" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh3.ggpht.com/-BvR3tKNvbX8/T90rLxlSidI/AAAAAAAA7vg/SnXj3AE-lYs/image=2525255B3=2525255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" 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" height="104" border="0" title="image" />company using mRNA and back a couple years ago I interviewed the company and learned about their test that determines “cancer of the unknown primary” which means that cancer in the kidney for example may not really be kidney cancer but rather a cancer that originated in another part of the body and treatments are very specific today for cancer types.  Medicare just announced a few days ago that they would cover Rosetta’s tests as well.  BD  </p> </p> </p> <p> <p> <p> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/01/rosetta-genomics-interview-microrna-for.html">Rosetta Genomics Interview – microRNA for Diagnosing Lung Cancer Tumors</a> <hr /></h5> <h4> </h4> <p> <br clear="all" />NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Rosetta Genomics said today it is terminating a licensing deal with Avatao Biotech, accusing the Chinese diagnostic firm of material breach of an agreement. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>The Israel-based molecular diagnostics firm said in a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it delivered notice to Avatao on June 12 of its decision to terminate an <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.genomeweb.com/rnai/rosetta-genomics-restructures-eliminating-35-positions">agreement reached by the two companies</a> in October covering China. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />The deal between the two companies gave Avatao exclusive rights to market Rosetta's miRview mets and miRview mets2 diagnostic tests in China. Avatao also had the rights to market an additional Rosetta product in China, to be chosen within one year. In addition to China, the deal covered Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.genomeweb.com/mdx/claiming-breach-agreement-rosetta-genomics-ending-licensing-deal-avatao">http://www.genomeweb.com/mdx/claiming-breach-agreement-rosetta-genomics-ending-licensing-deal-avatao</a></p></p></p>

Rosetta Genomics Terminates Deal with Chinese Diagnostic Firm Due to Breach of Agreement

Basically it sounds like the Chinese company didn’t pay for the rights to market Rosetta’s diagnostic products.  Rosetta is an inte...

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CareFusion Website That Distributes Software Updates for Vital Medical Devices Has Homeland Security Investigating - Site Was Riddled With Malware & Blocked by Google

<p>Wow now this is a shocker, and <strong>Google blocked the<img width="158" align="right" src="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TGMtKZ6hgHI/AAAAAAAAgao/4DUvTE962SI/image=255B4=255D.png=3fimgmax=3d800" style="display: inline; float: right" height="69" /> site</strong> after finding the malware.  This says one thing for Google in the fact that their web scanners were on the ball.  The company uses the site to distribute software for ventilators and respiratory products.  The site was pushing malicious software to visitors so if you have visited the site, in the past as I assume it has been fixed now as the site is up and running, better check out your computer.  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />A spokesperson from a hospital said he was shocked when he went to download software and a warning came up that said “visiting this site may harm your computer”.  He was going to download an update for ventilator software and not what one wants to see at this point in time for sure.  The last time I wrote about the company here they were laying of employees in San Diego back in 2010.  BD  <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /></p> <h5><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/08/carefusion-medical-device-company-in.html">CareFusion Medical Device Company in San Diego Announces Layoffs</a> <hr /></h5> <h4></h4> <p><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/software-update-site-hospital-respirators-found-riddled-malware-061412"> <br clear="all" />Threatpost's Paul Roberts</a> reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is investigating the compromise of a Web site used to distribute software updates for vital medical equipment. The site, Roberts says, was blocked by Google after it was found to be "riddled with malware." <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" />"The site belongs to San Diego-based <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.carefusion.com/">CareFusion Inc.</a>, a hospital equipment supplier," Roberts writes. "The infected Web sites, which use a number of different domains, distribute firmware updates for a range of ventilators and respiratory products. Scans by Google's Safe Browsing program in May and June found the sites were rife with malware. For example, <a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic=3fsite=3dwww.viasyshealthcare.com">about six percent of the 347 Web pages</a> hosted at viasyshealthcare.com, a CareFusion Web site that is used to distribute software updates for the company's AVEA brand ventilators, were found to be infected and pushing malicious software to visitors' systems. <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /><a href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/www.esecurityplanet.com/network-security/medical-device-software-update-site-infected-with-malware.html">http://www.esecurityplanet.com/network-security/medical-device-software-update-site-infected-with-malware.html</a> <br clear="all" /> <br clear="all" /> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4f95231b-c509-4a8c-ad9c-188c85d6b46d">Technorati Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/HealthIT">HealthIT</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/medical+devices">medical devices</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/Homeland+Security">Homeland Security</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/malware">malware</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/software">software</a>,<a rel="tag" href="http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/technorati.com/tags/download">download</a></div></p>

CareFusion Website That Distributes Software Updates for Vital Medical Devices Has Homeland Security Investigating - Site Was Riddled With Malware & Blocked by Google

Wow now this is a shocker, and Google blocked the site after finding the malware.  This says one thing for Google in the fact that their w...

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