2007 OIG Work Plan

The HHS - Office of the Inspector General (OIG) posted the new work plan on September 25, 2006.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the OIG Work Plan the OIG provides the following description:

The OlG Work Plan sets forth various projects to be addressed during the fiscal year by the Office of Audit Services, Office of Evaluation and Inspections, Office of Investigations, and Office of Counsel to the Inspector General. The Work Plan includes projects planned in each of the Department's major entities: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; the public health agencies; and the Administrations for Children, Families, and Aging. Information is also provided on projects related to issues that cut across departmental programs, including State and local government use of Federal funds, as well as the functional areas of the Office of the Secretary. Some of the projects described in the Work Plan are statutorily required, such as the audit of the Department's financial statements, which is mandated by the Government Management Reform Act.

Tags: health care, health, law, OIG, compliance

Bob Coffield's Attorney Profile

Over the past few months my law firm has been working to update its website, including the format/content of attorney profiles. Since I serve on the IT and Business Development Committees of the firm I have been a test attorney to get an early revamp of my profile. I thought I would post copy that we are working on and get feedback from any readers about what they do and don't like on law firm website and in particular attorney profiles.

Robert L. Coffield
Member - Flaherty, Sensabaugh & Bonasso, PLLC

Robert L. Coffield focuses on providing legal counsel to a variety of business and health care clients. He provides counsel to hospitals, clinics, physicians and physician groups, home health providers and health care trade organizations.

Mr. Coffield represents health care providers involved in regulatory litigation, certificate of need matters, privacy and security complaints, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensure issues and OIG/DOJ investigations. Mr. Coffield advises clients on contracting issues, corporate HIPAA compliance, fraud and abuse, Stark, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, medical staff issues and risk management. He represented business clients on corporate matters, the establishment of limited liability companies and other corporate structuring, transactions, formulation and dissolution, licensing and information technology.

Governor Joe Manchin recently appointed Mr. Coffield to a four year term on the Board of the West Virginia Health Information Network (2006 - 2010), created to promote the design, implementation and operation of a fully interoperable statewide health network to facilitate public and private use of health care data. In addition, Mr. Coffield was selected to serve as the 2006-2007 Co-Chair for the American Health Lawyers Association’s Privacy and Security Compliance and Enforcement Health Information Technology Affinity Group. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Coffield held the position of Assistant General Counsel for the West Virginia Health Care Authority (1998 – 2001).

Mr. Coffield is the author of Health Care Law Blog, an analysis and commentary on a variety of health care law related industry news and information with a focus on West Virginia law.

Practice Areas

• Health Care/Regulatory Compliance
• Corporate Transactions
• Government Relations
• Medical Malpractice

Education

• J.D., West Virginia University College of Law (1993)
• B.A., cum laude, English, Bethany College (1988)

Court Admissions

• United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
• West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

Professional Involvement

• American Health Lawyers Association, Co-Chair, Privacy and Security Compliance and Enforcement Health Information Technology Affinity Group (2006 – 2007)
• West Virginia Health Information Network, Board Member, appointed to a four-year term by Governor Joe Manchin (2006 – 2010)
• West Virginia Health Information Security and Privacy Collaborative Project, Committee Member, Legal Working Group (2006 - 2007)
• West Virginia eHealth Initiative, Steering Committee Member (2005 – present)
• West Virginia Bar Association
• Kanawha County Bar Association

Representative Legal Work

• Represented a West Virginia hospital seeking a certificate of need involving the development of a comprehensive cancer center program.
• Represented a West Virginia nonprofit hospital in negotiations with a for profit hospital system to sell its facility in return for the construction of a new $80 million health care facility to serve the local community.
• Defended and settled a United States Department of Justice investigation involving two hospitals who allegedly allocated the market by dividing cancer and open heart related services to strengthen the provision of services in a rural setting and addressed related state action doctrine issues involving the West Virginia Health Care Authority’s certificate of need regulatory scheme.
• Represented and settled a class action involving a group of West Virginia hospitals who were alleged to be overcharging patients for copies of medical records under the statutory structure outlined in the West Virginia Code.
• Represented and advised multiple hospitals and physician groups on implementation of and compliance with the Privacy and Security Standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
• Represented a national home health care provider in a $4.5 million dollar acquisition of a West Virginia rural home health agency servicing a six county service area.
• Represented a national home health care provider in acquiring a certificate of need to acquire a West Virginia home health care provider for $4.5 million dollars.
• Represented a national home health care provider in for-profit and non-profit joint venture acquisition of hospital-based home health services.
• Represented and advised Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) on various state and federal issues involving Medicare and Medicaid quality and utilization review.
• Represented and advised an affiliated academic medical practice on privacy and security compliance, development of model policy and procedures and transitional issues under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
• Represented a regional emergency medicine provider on business and transactional issues, including formation of West Virginia entities, negotiation of various agreements and regulatory compliance matters.
• Represented a regional correctional medicine company on various litigation and compliance related matters, including compliance with the Privacy and Security Standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
• Sought and received an exemption from certificate of need review for a mobile ultrasound service provider in West Virginia.
• Represented physician in Medicaid related audit, investigation and settlement on billing and reimbursement issues.
• Represented a West Virginia ophthalmologist in the acquisition of an ophthalmology practice and eye care center.
• Represented nurse before the West Virginia Board of Registered Nurse on licensure and impaired provider issues.
• Assisted various hospitals, physicians and other health care clients with internal risk management and compliance investigations.
• Assist hospitals, physicians and insurance companies in seeking advisory opinion on proposed projects involving certificate of need approval.

Teaching and Lecturing

• Confidentiality and Privacy of Medical Information in West Virginia, Lorman Educational Services, Robert L. Coffield and Edward C. Martin, Charleston, WV (2006)
• Privacy & Informational Compliance Issues: HIPAA, FACTA, US PATRIOT Act and Workplace Legal Issues, West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants 14^th Annual Conference for Industry & Governmental Professionals, Charleston, WV (2005)
• Confidentiality and Privacy of Medical Information in West Virginia, Lorman Educational Services, Robert L. Coffield and Edward C. Martin, Charleston, WV (2005)
• The Impact of HIPAA, FERPA and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 on Higher Education, Marshall University Graduate School of Education, LS745 Higher Education Law, South Charleston, WV (2005)
• Confidentiality and Privacy of Medical Information in West Virginia, Lorman Educational Services, Robert L. Coffield and Edward C. Martin, Charleston, WV (2004)
• Breaches of Confidentiality – A West Virginia Mock Trial, Thirteenth Annual Winter Conference, West Virginia Society For Respiratory Care, Canaan Valley, WV (2004)
• HIPAA’s Impact On West Virginia Providers and Health Plans: Privacy, Security and the Preemption of West Virginia Law, Lorman Educational Services Seminar, Charleston, WV (2003)
• Mock Trial & Case Study: HIPAA, Privacy & Confidentiality Issues in West Virginia, West Virginia Office Managers Association, Mountaineer Conference Center, Chester, WV (2003)
• HIPAA: Practicing Good Privacy and the Impact on Access Rights by Law Enforcement, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner SART Conference, Marshall University Forensic Science Center, Huntington, WV (2003)
• HIPAA: Understanding the Impact on Law Firms, Southern & Northern Chapters of the WV American Association Legal Nurse Consultants (2003)
• HIPAA Compliance: Understanding and Implementing the Security and Privacy Regulations, Lorman Educational Services Seminar, Charleston, WV (2003)
• State Law and the New HIPAA Standards in West Virginia, Lorman Educational Services Seminar, Charleston, WV (2002)
• The Impact of HIPAA on West Virginia Physicians: Basic Understanding of the Standard Transactions, West Virginia State Medical Association, Privacy and Security Standards, Health Care Summit, White Sulphur Springs, WV (2002)
• HIPAA, Medical Compliance and the E-Revolution, Medical Education Services Seminar, Charleston, WV (2002)
• HIPAA: The Background and Basics of Administrative Simplification, Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield Group Health Plan HIPAA Awareness Meeting, Charleston, WV (2002)
• Administrative Simplification Section under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Lorman Educational Services, Charleston, WV (2001)
• Overview of HIPAA Privacy Standards and West Virginia Prompt Payment Act, CME Presentation – Mercer County Medical Society, Bluefield, WV (2001)
• HIPAA, Medical Record Compliance and the E-Revolution, Medical Education Services Seminar, Charleston, WV (2001)

Writings and Publications

• The Impact of the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act: Extra Time for Physicians to Comply with the Transactions and Codes Set Standards, West Virginia State Medical Association (2002)
• The Background and Basics of Administrative Simplification: The Impact of HIPAA on West Virginia Physicians, West Virginia State Medical Association (2002)
• The HIPAA Privacy Standards: Practical Guidance on Identifying Business Associates (Health Lawyers – Drill Down Series), American Health Lawyers Association – Robert L. Coffield and edited by Kristen B. Rosati (2002)
• Real Property: Leasing Land for Hunting and Other Recreational Uses, Cooperative Extension Services, West Virginia University; R.D. Publication No. 726; Thomas J. Allen, Dennis K. Smith and Anthony Ferrise (January 1985); Updated: Robert L. Coffield, David L. Yaussy and Timothy L. Pahl (August 1997)
• Real Property: Landowner’s Rights and Responsibilities in West Virginia, Division of Resource Management, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Services, West Virginia University; R.D. Publication No. 702; Dan Doyle, Anthony Ferrise and Dennis K. Smith (January 1985); Updated: Robert L. Coffield, David L. Yaussy and Timothy Pahl (August 1997)
• The Benefits and Protections of Reporting and Disclosing Policies, Second Annual West Virginia Health Care Conference (1996)
• Termination and Abandonment of Oil & Gas Leases: Duties, Responsibilities and Deep Pockets (A Survey of Statutory and Common Law in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia), Eastern Mineral Law Foundation, H.L. Snyder and Robert L. Coffield (1996)
• Mechanic’s Liens for Land Surveyors (A Review of the West Virginia Mechanics’ Lien Statute and 1994 Legislative Amendment), Philip A. Reale and Robert L. Coffield (1994)

Community Involvement

• CAMC Foundation Golf Classic, Planning Committee (2003 – 2006)

Tags: WV, West Virginia, attorney, lawyer, health care lawyer

HIP HIT Bling: Health IT Apparel

For all of you working on HIT issues -- get your latest HIP HIT Bling.

Thanks to Christina's Consideration for pointing out the new HIP health IT apparel.

Tags: HIT, health information, health care

Is It Healthcare or Health Care?

Tony over at Hospital Impact raises a great semantics question. Is it "health care" or "healthcare"?

I've always prefered to use "health care" as in "Health Care Law Blog." However, I often see it spelled the other way and often thought about the age old question he poses. Well, upon a quick search of online reasource I'm glad I found support for my use of the two-word version. Check out this and this and this. But see the American Heritage dictionary entry.

Going by Google hits -- "health care" is the more common usage. Healthcare (213,000,000 hits) vs. Health Care (325,000,000 hits).

Like Cobert maybe his post will start a national movement to change the Wikipedia entry for "health care" to show a preference for one spelling or the other.

As for HIPAA -- I always use whether someone spells it correctly to judge how knowledgeable they are about the subject. Per Google the stats are HIPAA (1,010,000 hits) vs. HIPPA (1,380,000 hits). It appears, based upon the results, that privacy officers and health care lawyers have a ways to go to educate the industry and public about HIPAA.

Tags: health care, healthcare, HIPAA

HIPAA: Nebraska Case Looks at No Private Cause of Action Issue

Jeff Drummond at the HIPAA Blog, provides details on a Nebraska case finding that there was no private cause of action for damages under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

In Diering v. Regional West Medical Center, 7:06CV5010 (Sept 15, 2006), the Nebraska District Court citing various other decisions found that HIPAA does not provide a private right of action. The case involved an ER Director who informed an employer who was considering hiring a phyisician about the physician's voluntary drug/alcohol treatment.

Like Jeff I have represented a number of health care clients who have been threatened with or had claims asserted against them for violating HIPAA. Most claims have utilized the HIPAA requirements to bolster claims for breach of confidentiality and privacy rights under West Virginia law. I've not seen a pure HIPAA based complaint or demand letter. It will be interesting to watch this area of law develop and mature. It's good to see a summary of cases on this point that I can use the next time this issue comes up.

Tags: HIPAA, privacy, security, health care, law, WV, West Virginia, Nebraska

Robert M. Kolodner, MD: New National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

News reports indicate that Robert M. Kolodner, MD, Chief Health Informatics Officer at the Veterans Health Administration, has been named the interim National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for for the Office of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr. Kolondner will be replacing David Brailer who left the position in May.

Click this Google News link for more current information.

Tags: health care, health, HIT, EMR, ONC, technology

New HISPC Project Website

The Health Information Privacy and Security Collaborative (HISPC) now has its own website through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The HISPC project is being coordinated by RTI International in conjunction with the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices.

West Virginia is one of 33 states participating in the grant project looking at the variations that exist in each state with respect to privacy and security practices and policies and the legal bases for such practices and policies. The new website allows you to get information and links on the other states participating in the grant project.

The goals of the project are to:

• identify both best practices and challenges
• develop consensus-based solutions for interoperable electronic health information exchange (HIE) that protect the privacy and security of health information
  
• to develop detailed implementation plans to implement solutions

I've previously posted about the HISPC project here and here.

Tags: HISPC, HIT, health care, health, law, West Virginia, WV, technology

HIPAA Decision: Findley v. Findley

Out of the State of Louisiana, Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, comes a decision examining the release of medical records in light of Louisiana law and HIPAA.

The decision, Larry L. Findley, Jr. v. Billie Findley , CW 06-266 (Supervisory Writs from the Fourteenth Judicial District Court, Parish of Calcasieu, No 2004-00401), issued by Judge Michale G. Sullivan affirmed the trial court's denial of a motion to quash and denied the writ.

The issues presented to the court were:

1) Does this court have jurisdiction to review Sister Depwe’s refusal to produce her records except as provided in 45 C.F.R. §§ 160 and 164?

The court found that it did have jurisdiction to address the issues presented under HIPAA.

2) Is Sister Depwe’s refusal to produce the records at issue justified by 45 C.F.R. § 164.524?

The court found that HIPAA does not preclude the disclosure of medical information in this case.

3) Does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA ), 42 U.S.C. 1320a-1320d-8, preempt Louisiana law?

The court found Loisiana law contrary to HIPAA since a health care provider would find it inpossible to comply with Louisiana law and HIPAA, but also finds that Loisiana law is more stringent because it allows an individual patient greater rights of access to his/her medical records.

For more background on the decision read the full opinion. Thanks to Kirk Nahra via the AHLA HIT listserve for alerting me about the decision.

Tags: HIPAA, health care, law, Louisiana

Viral Video Chart: Explosion of Internet Video

For some fascinating facts (blurbs) on the growth (explosion) of the online video market -- courtesy of the likes of YouTube, Google Video and MySpace -- check out Viral Video Chart. Viral Video Chart tracks the world's most talked about videos.

Over the last year I've watched with interest the growth of video social networking. I'm amazed by the stats (60,000 new videos uploaded and over 100 million viewed a day) and yet 75% of the people that I talk to have never heard of YouTube. Just amazing what the figures will show as more people explore this type of online medium.

Thanks to Denise Howell and Jeff Jarvis for the tip on Viral Video.

Some of the facts from the Viral Video Chart: Blurb:

The most viewed video on YouTube is currently The Evolution of Dance, which was watched by 10 million people during April 2006 and has now been viewed over 30 million times. The guy doing the dance medley, Judson Laipply, is now not merely a motivational speaker from Cleveland, Ohio, but an internet superstar.

According to Hitwise, the top 5 sites in the US for online video are YouTube (43% market share), MySpace (25%), Yahoo! (10%), MSN (9%) and Google (6%) (Hitwise, 24 May 2006)

Hitwise ranks YouTube the 42nd biggest website in the world (Hitwise, 24 May 2006)

Every day over 60,000 new videos are uploaded to YouTube and over 100 million videos are viewed - that's 3 billion videos a month (USA Today, 16 July 2006)

YouTube was founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings in February 2005, launched in September 2005, has taken $11.5m funding from Sequoia Capital, and is estimated to be losing about $1m a month in bandwith fees. (Wikipedia)

Speculation about YouTube's valuation is currently a favourite pastime of the blogosphere, with Techcrunch suggesting it could be worth as much as $2 billion (CNET, 24 August 2006)

For just one of the many examples of the creativity being released on YouTube check out this video, "Here It Goes Again".

Tags: YouTube, Google Video, Viral Video, social networking

Washington Post Article: Nonprofit Hospital Report and Hearings

Today's Washington Post article, "Hospital Charity Care Is Probed," provides a summary of some of the findings of the United States Senate Committee on Finance review of nonprofit hospitals. The report findings are part of the ongoing hearings on whether nonprofit hospitals provide sufficient community benefits to justify exemption from federal and state tax.

For more information on the Finance Committee hearings and the actual testimony at the hearings check out the hearings website. The hearings website includes the committee member statements and witness statements.

Thanks to Michele Grinberg for tip on this article.

Tags: hospitals, nonprofit, Washington Post, health care, health

West Virginia Hospital Association Announces New President & CEO

Today's Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail business briefs announced the new President and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Assocation. Joseph M. Letnaunchyn, previously the president and CEO of the Delaware Healthcare Association, will start in November. Mr. Letnaunchyn replaces Steven Summer who resigned this summer to take a similar position with the Colorado Hospital Association.

Tags: WV, West Virginia, WVHA, health care, hospital

News Rivers and Bloglines Mobile

Like Dave Winer I recently broke down and purchased a Blackberry to replace my aging cell phone. I've been taking Winer's News River feeds for a spin and find them user friendly and valuable to check in on the BBC and NYT news. However, in all the buzz about the River feeds I've seen little discussion on Bloglines Mobile and how it differs in application. I use Bloglines as my RSS reader of choice and I added the mobile version to my Blackberry. I've been very happy having the mobile version available to check feeds. There are a couple of annoying features that I have come across -- but otherwise it looks and operates great. I think both are valuable tools for mobile news consumption -- and they are suited for different purposes. Doc Searls hits on some good points about getting the publishing world to focus more on the needs of mobile cell phone news junkies.

My Bloglines Mobile contains the specific information that I want pushed to me to monitor, review and read. For example, I've set up news feeds to monitor particular news topics on clients that I do work for. I can use it to quickly monitor without wading through all the other news. Plus, the news isn't just from the NYT or BBC. On the otherhand, there are times that I just want to scan the news -- like looking through the local paper every morning. I not particulary interested in any specific item.

My analogy building off a quote of Dave Winer in a post by Kevin O'Keefe. Somedays I like to stand around on the bank all day long and watch all the boats go up and down the River -- but other times I only want to be alerted to specific ones (like the Delta Queen). I want to know when she is coming along so I can run down to the bank, watch her and hear her calliope.

UPDATE: A new feature added to Bloglines Mobile to make reading your favorite feeds easier. Bloglines has integrated Skweezer technology that optimizes web pages for use on mobile devices. I haven't had much of chance to try it out but I look forward to using the feature.

Tags: RSS, Blackberry, mobile, river, Bloglines, river of news, skweezer

Seinfeld Meets Jeopardy: I'd like mainstream technology for $1,000

Two interesting posts crossed my RSS feed this morning that I thought I would tie together in a third post. The first from Lee Kraus blogging over at Learning & Technology mentioning a recent Jeopardy episode where Alex said, "download a file and load it on an Ipod. . ." Response by the contestant, "What is a podcast?" The second by Kevin O'Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs who admits that he has been on Seinfeld rerun and was watching the episode where Jerry says, "what the hell is email?"

Both posts provide a perspective on how new technology often gets introduced into mainstream society. The posts started me thinking about the following questions. What TV show or movie first introduced the cell phone? Has RSS been mentioned in a TV show or movie? Has a blog been incorporated into a TV or movie plot?

Answers welcomed via comments.

Extra credit question: Who created Jeopardy? Answer.

Tags: Seinfeld, Jeopardy, podcasts, blogs, technology

WV Chamber Isssues 2006-2007 Health Policy Recommendations

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce issued its Policy Recommendations for 2006-2007. The twenty-nine different policy recommendations were developed by the Chamber's committees and adopted on August 29 by the Chamber's Board of Directors.

Included in the announcement are several health care related policies including: Decreasing The Prevalence of Unisureds, Expanding Health Insurance Availability, Health Care Funding and e-Health Technology.

Tags: WV, West Virginia, business, health care, health, e-health

WV Executive Order: Commitment to State's Efforts on Privacy and Information Security

On August 29, 2006, Governor Joe Manchin signed Executive Order No. 6-06 authorizes the state's Chief Technology Officer and Chair of the West Virginia Health Care Authority to oversee the implementation of additional privacy and security policy for state government. The goal of the executive order was to acknowledge and build on the state's continuing efforts to maintain a high level of information security and enhance the protection of private information.

The Executive Order requires the development of privacy and information security principles that will guide government agencies in their daily efforts to protect citizens' personally identifiable information. Sonia Chambers, Chair of the West Virginia Health Care Authority will be responsible for protecting the privacy of confidential and personally identifiable information collected and maintained by Executive Branch agencies, while the West Virginia's Chief Technology Officer, Kyle Schaffer, will be responsible for information security for all Executive Branch agencies. The Order also requires the development of privacy and information security programs and teams comprised of representatives from all Executive Branch department-level organizations that will develop and implement new policies and conduct audits of agency privacy programs.

Tags: wv, west virginia, information technology, privacy, security, state government, WVHCA

Charleston Regatta: AnythingThat Floats

CIMG1978
Originally uploaded by Coffield.

Photos from the 2006 Charleston Regatta Anything That Floats Race. My favorite entry were the employees from Kid Country Toys. They didn't know whether the Black Pearl would sail or sink -- but sail it did down the Mighty Kanawha.

We live only a few blocks from the boat launch and our family hasn't missed this the last couple of years. The best part are the skits that recount the antics and history of the Kanawha River Navy. All the entrants seem to be known for their bribery of the judges.

Although the Black Pearl was the best floating entry -- my vote for best skit went to the Shadys Meet the Bradys. Where the WV family met the Brady Family and the curse of the VW. While preparing this post I quickly googled the Kanawha River Navy and came across the group's website, including some great photos from last year's event.

Below are some more photos that I took along with a link to my Flickr photos with a few more.

Tags: WV, West Virginia, Charleston, Charleston Sternwheeler Regatta, regatta, kanawha river

West Virgina Medicaid Initiative: Policy Meets Practicalities

David Harlow's HealthBlawg provides very interesting commentary on West Virginia's Medicaid Redesign efforts to implement change to the West Virginia Medicaid program, including pointing out a New England Journal of Medicine article, Personal Responsibility and Physician Responsibility - West Virginia's Medicaid Plan.

The article examines the practical realities of implementing a Medicaid plan that includes implementing consumer driven and patient responsibility components into a program that serves the most vulnerable sector of the West Virginia health care population -- the poor, uneducated, young/aged health consumer. West Virginacategory. The article also raises interesting questions about the role physicians play in the redesigned program and the fact that physicians will be faced with policy and ethical issues under the program changes.

Tags: WV, West Virginia, Medicaid, health, health care

A little Nick: I'm a liberal and a conservative, that I am as complex as the universe and as simple as a newborn child's cry . . .

Don't miss reading this post by my favorite hospital blogging CEO, Nick Jacobs over at Nick's Blog. Much of what Nick has to say strikes a chord with me and this post is a great example of his creative, optomistic and insightful look at health care and life.

Nick's statement of "everything in moderation" is something that I have heard forever (prize to the first Coffield reader who can cite the originator of this quote) and believe in. It's applicable to everything from diet to politics to work to play.

Just a taste. Enjoy the post:

This week a person called me to criticize me, accuse me of misdeeds because we were supportive of Mr. Murtha, and then he said, "Let me guess, you're a liberal?" The label was placed. (There's a lot of labeling going on in this country right now.) It is my belief that everything is relative. It is my belief that I am a liberal and a conservative, that I am as complex as the universe and as simple as a newborn child's cry.

When I asked my critic why he was convinced that the truths that he espoused were accurate, he proudly boasted into the telephone. "I listen to Rush." Let me assure you that "I don't listen to Rush, EVER." Mom always said, "Everything in moderation." Not too Republican. Not too Democrat. Not to fatalistic. Not too utopian.

During an exchange at a board meeting this week, I started a string of comments directed toward my board that went something like this, "We have $750,000 coming from grants, right?" My Foundation Director said, "Yes, maybe," and my Chief Financial Officer said, "It's not here yet." To which our board chairman replied, "Perfect, the Optimist, the Realist and the ACCOUNTANT." The next day we received the first $350,00 of the $750,000. Hah.

Tags: health care, hospital, Nick Jacobs, CEO

Executive Order Impacts Health Care

President Bush signed an Executive Order on August 22 requiring federal agencies to do more to inform public health care consumers about the cost and quality of health care services.

The Executive Order: Promoting Quality and Efficient Health Care in Federal Government Administered or Sponsored Health Care Programs directly impacts the Defense Department (military health care system), DHHS (Medicare and Medicaid), Office of personnel Management (Federal Employees Health Benefits Program) and Departmetn of Beterans Affairs (VA Health System).

For more information be sure to read the Fact Sheet: Health Care Transparency Empowering Consumers to Save on Quality Care which is linked with the Executive Order. Also, check out the most current discussion via Google News.

Tags: health care, EMR, interoperability

The important lesson from sandcastle building

As I return to West Virginia after a week spent at the beach -- this post by Jim Carrol, Futurist, Trends & Innovation Expert, caught my attention. Much of my week on the sand was spent enjoying building sandcastles with my son, daughter and our friend's two children. All ranged in age from 2 to 6. I love the creative side of sandcastle building -- more so than most adults, I think. Jim's post titled, Why innovation thrives in sandcastle building," hit the mark for me.

I was also intrigued by Jim's recent comments on the 10 major health care and pharmaceutical trends. I'm not a regular reader of Jim's blog but have now added it to my RSS reader.

Thanks to Denise Howell for pointing me to this post. Don't move on until you click on the "sandcastle link" above highlighting some amazing sandcastle construction courtesy of Flickr.

Tags: sandcastle, beach