GE, Mayo Clinic, others to develop health record technology

<p> This will be interesting to see which direction this may go, as today, we certainly have so many modules of code that have already been written and portions of one module could be combined with others.  Just earlier this year <strong>Mayo announced working with Microsoft Health Vault for Personal Health Records</strong> so you can almost guess which ever direction the project may lead, PHRs will be in the picture somewhere.</p> <p>Just earlier this week GE had announced a web based version of their Centricity EHR/EMR will be released soon as well as their new endeavor with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with a global focus, so it has been a busy week for GE.  <img align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSNi49_Lm6I/AAAAAAAAJ7c/c5EmraA7xqE/image[5].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" /> Johns Hopkins has signed up with <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/amalga/ourclients/default.mspx">Microsoft Amalga</a> for their hospital system, which of course will integrate with the <strong>HealthVault.</strong>  </p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/common-user-interface-update-and-walk.html"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="188" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSTw3gwpdSI/AAAAAAAAJ8o/6DcNY2be0sw/image%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="230" /></a> </p> <blockquote> <p>One other item that struck my curiosity was if any of the new development areas might just happen to include the <strong><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/common-user-interface-update-and-walk.html">Common User Interface?</a></strong>  Just one thought in that area since the code is already there for screens and it would sure beat starting from scratch to create something as dynamic.  </p> <p>As mentioned in prior posts, <strong>hospital branding is a hot ticket</strong> today as other facilities will want to usually follow and pay for the same technologies and sciences that were developed at the main facility, thus branded facilities open up bearing the health institute name globally and add to the bottom line of income in many instances, so working with a major branded health care facility usually can’t do any harm by any means.  BD  </p> <p>NEW YORK -- Industrial powerhouse General Electric Co. hopes a push into medical electronic records and information with some of the top health care institutions in the nation will put it at the front of what is expected to be a rapidly growing market. The Fairfield, Conn.-based company's health care unit plans to spend $200 million over the next five years to develop electronic systems for medical information and patient records. Its partners are among top medical institutions, including the Mayo Clinic and Montefiore Medical Center.</p> <p>GE's partners on the initiative include the Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare, Montefiore, and the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310ap_general_electric_health_records.html">GE, Mayo Clinic, others develop health record tech</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/ge-collaborates-and-will-offer-new-web.html"><font size="1">GE Collaborates and will offer new web based version of Centricity EHR</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/umpc-university-of-pittsburgh-medical.html"><font size="1">UMPC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) and GE going global</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/ge-to-market-home-monitoring-appliance.html">GE to Market Home Monitoring Appliance</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b42fa003-2e88-4631-a31e-a25ebeb775a3" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/GE" rel="tag">GE</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Healthcare" rel="tag">Healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mayo+Clinic" rel="tag">Mayo Clinic</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/integration" rel="tag">integration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UPMC" rel="tag">UPMC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pittsburgh" rel="tag">Pittsburgh</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Montefiore" rel="tag">Montefiore</a></div>

GE, Mayo Clinic, others to develop health record technology

This will be interesting to see which direction this may go, as today, we certainly have so many modules of code that have already been wri...

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Common User Interface – Update and walk through video

<p> Another updated video on the interface, again it would be nice to have the same visuals at every hospital and perhaps doctor’s offices with the existing programs still running in the background, only the user interface would need to change.  This video takes a little extra time to walk through the various screens, well done.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p><iframe height="325" src="http://on10.net/blogs/tina/23388/player/" frameborder="0" width="320" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SCmrYmUInpI/AAAAAAAAGqA/e2Zfau-nbuk/image_thumb7.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" /> <br /><a href="http://on10.net/blogs/tina/Silverlight-Medical/">Silverlight Application tackles the Medical Field </a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/ehrs-need-standard-templates-so-lets.html"><font size="1">EHRs need Standard Templates – So Let’s Look at the Common User Interface Project, a lot of the work is already in progress and partially completed</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/health-care-has-managed-to-avoid.html">Health care has managed to avoid the information-technology revolution, but it won't for much longer</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-electronic-records-reach-your.html">How electronic records reach your doctor – Integrated through the Hospitals</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/ehr-adoption-remains-off-in-distance.html">EHR Adoption Remains Off in the Distance – Getting way to complicated</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/microsoft-technology-centers-software.html">Microsoft Technology Centers – Software Solutions with Assistance and Guidance</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/common-user-interface-update-10-2008.html">Common User Interface Update 10-2008</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/common-user-interface-ehr-development.html">Common User Interface – EHR Development Work in Progress</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/possibility-of-national-electronic.html">Possibility of National Electronic Medical Records System Growing</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/05/microsoft-common-user-interface-for.html">Microsoft Common User Interface for Health Applications- Silverlight...and Windows Presentation Foundation</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2007/09/microsoft-health-common-user-interface.html">Microsoft Health - Common User Interface for the UK</a></h6> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://on10.net/blogs/tina/Silverlight-Medical/">Channel 10 - common user interface</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d8de1c09-6da8-4bae-94a0-ef49ce38d8c1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+Records" rel="tag">Medical Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Common+User+Interface" rel="tag">Common User Interface</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EHR" rel="tag">EHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EMR" rel="tag">EMR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/User+Interface" rel="tag">User Interface</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+Software" rel="tag">Medical Software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Templates" rel="tag">Templates</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HHS" rel="tag">HHS</a></div>

Common User Interface – Update and walk through video

Another updated video on the interface, again it would be nice to have the same visuals at every hospital and perhaps doctor’s offices with...

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American Well – Video Consults for Physicians

<p>If you are a participating physician, you just log on and wait for the patients to connect, pretty simple on that end.  Health plans pay <strong><a href="http://www.americanwell.com/index.html">American Well</a></strong> a license fee per member to use the software, as well as a transaction fee of about $2 a patient each time a patient sees a doctor.  This system also files the claim for the physician and compensation is somewhere between an office visit and a phone consult, so somewhere in the middle of the 2.  </p> <p>Malpractice insurance is from our old friend from Wall Street, AIG for the site and for the most part the insurers are covering it as the charge is pretty small, or at least it is for the time being. </p> <p>A webcam diagnosis is not for everyone, but I have posted along with many other bloggers about Jay Parkinson and the early success he had with consults via web cams and patients were happy!  Uninsured patients will be able to use the service as well and you get 10 minutes of webcam time with the doctor.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWOejG60I/AAAAAAAAJ8I/bdXo_CYvEtk/s1600-h/image%5B8%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="242" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWSCa_ULI/AAAAAAAAJ8M/e3bWsdyMreM/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="395" /></a></p> <p>One added benefit here too is the agreement with <strong>Microsoft HealthVault</strong> –<a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img align="left" height="40" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6TdZm-I/AAAAAAAAI90/u04OgRqDvPI/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" width="96" /></a> share any records with the physician while connected with a webcam consult, so if you needed to reference a lab stored in the Vault, you can by sharing, and you can also share any documents you choose as well even when offline, but doing it while connected when there is a need sure will make in convenient.  Shoot, for that matter if you have a device that does glucose or blood pressure readings you could connect the units via USB to your computer and share those as well through the Health Vault.  </p> <p>It appears there will be more forthcoming soon with feedback from Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Hawaii, since they have been the first to sign on for the service.  Not having to do your own billing is one big plus and the screens appear very user friendly, so we all need to get out web cams going, physicians and patients!  BD  </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWXT8tmXI/AAAAAAAAJ8Q/bN_15DyV51M/s1600-h/image%5B12%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="243" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWZwhOqQI/AAAAAAAAJ8U/8fWZNqxE8Wc/image_thumb%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="363" /></a></p> <p><em><font size="1">Hospitals and delivery networks partner with American Well™ to extend their services into patients' homes and the community at large. Typically, hospitals and delivery networks grow by building new care and treatment facilities. With American Well, hospitals and delivery networks can engage patients in a broader geographic area, and allow their patients access to more physicians.</font></em></p> <p><em><font size="1">In the new healthcare marketplace, hospitals and delivery networks can:</font></em></p> <ul> <li><em><font size="1">Expand their services and create a direct "retail" relationship with consumers </font></em></li> <li><em><font size="1">Build a widely recognized brand </font></em></li> <li><em><font size="1">Provide patients with convenient, high-quality care </font></em></li> <li><em><font size="1">Strengthen recruiting message to physicians and build a broader physician network </font></em></li> <li><em><font size="1">Offer delivery network physicians a flexible way to generate revenue </font></em></li> <li><em><font size="1">Optimize physician schedules with an innovative mix of online and office visits</font></em> </li> </ul> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWeRxLqgI/AAAAAAAAJ8Y/6WztJQfOixM/s1600-h/image%5B13%5D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="233" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSWgfcJntI/AAAAAAAAJ8c/MXFT3ZIXYxI/image_thumb%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="356" /></a></p> <p>Consumers whose health plans use American Well will log on to their health plans’ Web sites to access the service. <strong>The first plan to sign on is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaii, which starting in January will offer patients virtual visits with its doctors.</strong> Other states and health plans, yet to be announced, will also activate it in 2009. </p> <p>American Well has formed a partnership with <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/Personal/index.html">HealthVault</a>, Microsoft’s electronic medical records service, so patients can get access to and <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img align="right" height="40" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6TdZm-I/AAAAAAAAI90/u04OgRqDvPI/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" width="96" /></a>share their medical information with doctors while using American Well.</p> <p>Patients who are members of the health plan pay a co-pay, just like at the doctor’s office. Doctors hold 10-minute appointments, which can be extended for an optional fee, and can file prescriptions through the system. Uninsured patients can also use it, for a fee that the health plans choose but which will be less than $50, much less than a visit to the emergency room, which is where the uninsured often end up. Health plans pay American Well a license fee per member to use the software, as well as a transaction fee of about $2 a patient each time a patient sees a doctor. </p> <p><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/the-doctor-will-see-you-now-online/?partner=rss&emc=rss">http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/the-doctor-will-see-you-now-online/?partner=rss&emc=rss</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ed242ad7-acb0-44e3-a612-1fc2252fd280" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Webcam" rel="tag">Webcam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Physician" rel="tag">Physician</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/webcam+consultations" rel="tag">webcam consultations</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctor" rel="tag">doctor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/physician" rel="tag">physician</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/remote+consults" rel="tag">remote consults</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlh+insurance" rel="tag">heatlh insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personal+heatlh+records" rel="tag">personal heatlh records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/American+Well" rel="tag">American Well</a></div>

American Well – Video Consults for Physicians

If you are a participating physician, you just log on and wait for the patients to connect, pretty simple on that end.  Health plans pay Ame...

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Wound V.A.C Medical Device Helps Wounds Heal After Cancer Surgery

<p>This technology is amazing.  I have included a video from YouTube that is home made and not related this this patient or case,  but shows the procedures used with the machine and how the unit and dressing is changed.  The cancer was so rare that it has only been seen twice at the M.D. Anderson Center where he spent 6 weeks.  </p> <p>The funny part about the story is the fact that the patient had purchased some stock in the company a while back for actually needing the device to help with the surgical recovery from his operation. BD  </p> <p>A few years ago, Steve Bayless bought some stock in an upstart biotechnology firm that brought him a handy profit when he sold it a few <img align="right" alt="Steve Bayless and his cello" border="0" height="159" hspace="0" src="http://www.mdanderson.org/images/cw_stevebayless.jpg" width="123" />months later. Little did he know the company one day would play a major part in his recovery from a rare type of cancer.</p> <p>After complex surgery to remove tumors caused by a type of appendix cancer called pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), Bayless was left with a 13-inch incision wound reaching from his bladder to his breastbone. Then, he suffered a wound infection that required his entire incision be opened.  </p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:13544194-033a-436a-9b62-0e1c1d39f3ee" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="b61c8d20-047b-4166-8fdc-aaa67052dac0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYb5HzA0tEw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('b61c8d20-047b-4166-8fdc-aaa67052dac0'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"235\" height=\"176\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/AYb5HzA0tEw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/AYb5HzA0tEw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"235\" height=\"176\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSSBLz0PAZI/AAAAAAAAJ8E/NvitIiDNp2M/video88e8dd6cd3b0%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div></div> <strong>To help the healing process progress faster and more smoothly, Bayless’ medical team used wound vacuum-assisted closure (Wound V.A.C.^®). This technology is manufactured by the company Bayless held stock in years before.</strong></p> <p>With Wound V.A.C., a foam surface dressing is applied and sealed with a plastic tape-like sheet. A pump applies negative pressure to the wound, removing fluids and other materials that might enable infection to progress. It maintains optimum moisture level for healing, draws the edges of the wound together and, most importantly, encourages more rapid growth of new blood vessels. </p> <p>When Bayless was released, he was given a portable Wound V.A.C. that worked on rechargeable batteries. Sponge changes were required three times a week. When the unit was removed three months later, the wound was almost completely healed. </p> <p><a href="http://www.cancerwise.org/November_2008/">http://www.cancerwise.org/November_2008/</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:6c34aa9b-abc7-4fda-8ff3-4d48403d5c67" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/wound+VAC" rel="tag">wound VAC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/surgery" rel="tag">surgery</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/M+D+Anderson" rel="tag">M D Anderson</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tumors" rel="tag">tumors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/incision" rel="tag">incision</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Wound+care" rel="tag">Wound care</a></div>

Wound V.A.C Medical Device Helps Wounds Heal After Cancer Surgery

This technology is amazing.  I have included a video from YouTube that is home made and not related this this patient or case,  but shows th...

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FDA Scientists Allege Coercion In Medical Device Approval Process

<p> All I can say here is that this goes back to a earlier post:</p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-new-hot-words-in-healthcare.html">The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers</a></p> <p>In this case we have a bit of both, algorithms created by the scientists, but a requested change by the clinical side of the table?  Sounds a bit like the algorithms run on Wall Street?  Algorithms will produce and reveal what the code is programmed to do.  Read the paragraph below in bold and it somewhat alludes to this statement.  </p> <p> <img align="right" src="http://lh4.google.com/DucknetServices/R5BeRi6VIGI/AAAAAAAACJc/WpyKde_4edU/image_thumb[1]?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" /> There have also been reports in the news of recent relating to some potential faulty software operations and perhaps the 2 items are or are not related, but as we all know you just can’t get enough beta testing today to get 100% of the bugs out of software, and this can cause some real areas of concern with implanted devices in particular.  BD  </p> <p>The <a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/">House Energy and Commerce Committee</a> on Monday launched an investigation into allegations by at least eight <a href="http://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a> scientists that agency managers coerced those in the medical device division into approving products despite serious safety and effectiveness concerns, <cite>CongressDaily </cite>reports (Edney, <cite>CongressDaily</cite>, 11/18). Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and <a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/ovin.shtml">Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee</a> </p> <p>Chair Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said that the investigation was prompted by an Oct. 14 letter "written on behalf of a large group of <a href="http://www.fda.gov/CDRH/">Center for Devices and R<img align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SOB9jx6bMRI/AAAAAAAAJMQ/64wGI7oAFF8/image_thumb[7].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" />adiological Health</a> scientists and physicians who state that CDRH managers have 'corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices'" (Reichard, <a href="http://corporate.cq.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=95"><cite>CQ HealthBeat</cite></a>, 11/17). The letter to the committee, released publicly on Monday, did not include the names of the FDA scientists or information on which device approvals the scientists questioned (Harris, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/health/policy/18fda.html?scp=2&sq=FDA&st=cse"><cite>New York Times</cite></a>, 11/18).  </p> <p> <br /><strong>The scientists claim that they were threatened with removal or negative performance reviews if they did not modify their scientific data to obscure unscientific clinical and technical data submitted by device companies and legal violations, including a lack of informed consent from study participants.</strong> "This misconduct reaches the highest levels of CDRH management including the Center Director and Director of the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ode/index.html">Office of Device Evaluation</a>," the scientists wrote (<cite>CongressDaily</cite>, 11/18).</p> <p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/129945.php">FDA Scientists Allege Coercion In Medical Device Approval Process, House Panel Investigates</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/beware-of-geeks-bearing-formulaswarren.html"><font size="1">Beware of Geeks Bearing Formulas</font></a></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-greed-lead-to-meltdown-of-health.html"><font size="1">Will Greed lead to Meltdown of the Health System?</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-wall-street-lied-to-its-computers.html">How Wall Street Lied to Its Computers – Software and Programming</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ddfd8988-2026-41c0-9f36-7f8b46ca64bc" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Algorithms" rel="tag">Algorithms</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Whistle+Blower" rel="tag">Whistle Blower</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Healthcare" rel="tag">Healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Data" rel="tag">Data</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medications" rel="tag">medications</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/prescriptions" rel="tag">prescriptions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Data+Base" rel="tag">Data Base</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Drugs" rel="tag">Drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a></div>

FDA Scientists Allege Coercion In Medical Device Approval Process

All I can say here is that this goes back to a earlier post: The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers In this c...

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Microsoft Releases New Robot-Building Software

<p><strong> Do you want to build a robot for use in healthcare,</strong> well here’s some software that might be of help.  Also from the website, check out the RoboChamps Urban Challenge, very similar to DARPA’s Urban Challenge, the creation and use to Autonomous Cars, so in time we may just be having vehicles that will be capable of driving those folks home to have had too much to drink for a simple example.<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/robotics/default.aspx"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="85" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRxI6ZvSfI/AAAAAAAAJ8A/x80Mh8A5qV8/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="244" /></a></p> <p>Check out the related reading below and see what Los Angeles/USC County hospital is doing with robots.  BD  </p> <p>(PhysOrg.com) -- As part of its belief that robotics is an important emerging technology, Microsoft has released Robotics Developer Studio 2008, a software program that enables users to create applications for robots.  </p> <p>The new software, which Microsoft unveiled at the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., this week, is the third edition of the company´s robot-building platform. Microsoft says previous versions of the software have been downloaded 250,000 times, and more than 60 companies currently use the software for developing commercial robots. </p> <p><a href="http://adms.physorg.com/openads/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a649a0c4&cb=%n"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://adms.physorg.com/openads/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=8&n=a649a0c4&ct0=%c" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/bb648760"><strong><font size="1"><em>Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008</em></font></strong></a> <br /><font size="1"><em>Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is released. You can </em></font><a href="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=134518"><font size="1"><em>download the Express Edition</em></font></a><font size="1"><em> at no cost, or </em></font><a href="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=133310"><font size="1"><em>purchase the Standard Edition</em></font></a><font size="1"><em>. The Academic Edition can be obtained through MSDNAA. The release contains a number of exciting new features as well as many new samples and tutorials. For a complete list, please see </em></font><a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/cc998522"><font size="1"><em>What’s New</em></font></a><font size="1"><em>.</em></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/ccrdss/"><strong><font size="1"><em>CCR and DSS Toolkit 2008</em></font></strong></a> <br /><font size="1"><em>Microsoft has announced the availability of the CCR and DSS Toolkit 2008. Originally part of the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (RDS), the CCR and DSS Toolkit can now be purchased as a separate product. The Toolkit is a set of high-performance class libraries that enable developers to write concurrent and distributed applications. CCR and DSS will still be distributed as part of RDS, but this new product enables the Toolkit to be licensed for non-robotic scenarios. </em></font><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/ccrdss/"><font size="1"><em>Read more</em></font></a><font size="1"><em> including Case Studies.</em></font></p> <p><a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/robotics/dd153758.aspx"><strong><font size="1"><em>RoboChamps Urban Challenge</em></font></strong></a> <br /><font size="1"><em>Microsoft recently announced the launch of the RoboChamps Urban Challenge, sponsored by KIA Motors. Similar to the real-world DARPA Urban Challenge, participants will be tasked with programming a robotic car to navigate to a series of checkpoints in an urban environment. The vehicles must obey traffic lights, avoid other cars and stay on the road. The cars must drive autonomously using only the available sensors, i.e. no human intervention is allowed. The first prize is a real car - a KIA Soul! Second prize is $10,000 and third prize is $5,000.</em></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news146295165.html"><font size="2">Microsoft Releases New Robot-Building Software</font></a></p> <p><font size="1">Related Reading:</font></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/robot-vendors-get-more-funding-robotics.html"><font size="1">Robot Vendors Get More Funding – Robotics playing a major role in hospitals today</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/lacusc-hospital-new-facility-to-open.html"><font size="1">LAC+USC Hospital – New Facility to Open Soon - Los Angeles</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:04faa9ad-fb4c-4c61-8bc9-0cd351c30987" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Robots" rel="tag">Robots</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Robotics" rel="tag">Robotics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hospitals" rel="tag">Hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USC+Medical+School" rel="tag">USC Medical School</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LAC%2bUSC+Medical+Center" rel="tag">LAC+USC Medical Center</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Technology" rel="tag">Technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Healthcare" rel="tag">Healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Software" rel="tag">Software</a></div>

Microsoft Releases New Robot-Building Software

Do you want to build a robot for use in healthcare, well here’s some software that might be of help.  Also from the website, check out the...

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Geospiza Cuts Deal With Illumina, To Help Scientists Cope With Information Overload

<p>FinchLab is the name of the software product to be used.  We are all overwhelmed with data and sequencing is a huge amount of data to be interpreted, so the combination of the software along with the genetic machine produced by Illumina stand to make a good combination for not only speed, but also the cost of sequencing the entire human genome.  BD  </p> <p><a href="http://www.illumina.com/dna/"><img align="right" height="69" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SAZN6TH4qBI/AAAAAAAAFPE/NiJI6hC7QbA/image[4].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" width="290" /></a>Geospiza, a Seattle-based maker of software to support biological research, said today it is hitching its wagon to San Diego-based <a href="http://www.illumina.com/">Illumina</a>, a rising star in next-generation gene sequencing. Geospiza is joining Illumina Connect, a sort of referral service in which researchers who buy Illumina’s gene analysis machines are advised that Geospiza software can help them sift through the resulting piles of data. It’s not guaranteed cash flow, but it’s a source of promising sales leads for privately-held Geospiza. <a href="http://www.geospiza.com/"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="55" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRqOIqS9lI/AAAAAAAAJ78/PGCOgR48aQA/image%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="153" /></a> </p> <p>The Illumina Genome Analyzer is competing with devices from Applied Biosystems, Roche, and Cambridge, MA-based <a href="http://www.helicosbio.com/">Helicos Biosciences</a>, Arnold said. Geospiza is confident that researchers will start turning to software that can help them cope with information overload from machines like Illumina’s.</p> <p><a href="http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/06/24/geospiza-cuts-deal-with-illumina-to-help-scientists-cope-with-information-overload/">http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/06/24/geospiza-cuts-deal-with-illumina-to-help-scientists-cope-with-information-overload/</a></p> <p><u><strong>Related Reading:</strong></u> </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/helicos-launches-open-access-web-site.html"><font size="1">Helicos Launches Open Access Web Site With Microbial Genome Data</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-hot-is-genomics-and-sequencing.html">How Hot is Genomics and the Sequencing Machines?</a></h6> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/clc-joins-illumina-bioinformatics.html"><font size="1">CLC Joins Illumina Bioinformatics Partnering Program – Sequencing Software</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/deciphering-genetic-code-work-in.html"><font size="1">Deciphering the genetic code - Work In Progress Companies</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/genetic-counseling-foundation.html"><font size="1">Genetic Counseling Foundation - References and information for Genomics in Healthcare</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/those-incredible-men-and-their-gene.html"><font size="1">Those Incredible Men and their Gene Machines..Personalized Medicine in the making…</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/04/illumina-launches-iscantm-system-dna.html"><font size="1">Illumina Launches The IScan(TM) System - DNA</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:0492571d-b2df-4e8d-9e6f-69382179cd42" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/genomics" rel="tag">genomics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sequencing" rel="tag">sequencing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/software" rel="tag">software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Science" rel="tag">Science</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DNA+Testing" rel="tag">DNA Testing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personalized+medicine" rel="tag">personalized medicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Illumina" rel="tag">Illumina</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FinchLab" rel="tag">FinchLab</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Geopiza" rel="tag">Geopiza</a></div>

Geospiza Cuts Deal With Illumina, To Help Scientists Cope With Information Overload

FinchLab is the name of the software product to be used.  We are all overwhelmed with data and sequencing is a huge amount of data to be int...

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Doctors transplant windpipe with stem cells

<p> Instead of removing a lung, the windpipe transplant was the solution, and this occurred in Spain.  Once the donor was located the physicians went to work with stripping off all its cells, leaving only a tube of connective tissue and next used a device to put the new cartilage and tissue in place.  The nice part is that the patient is not having to take any immune-suppressing drugs too.  </p> <p>Stem cell research at it’s best for the patient who has been suffering from tuberculosis for years. BD  </p> <blockquote>(AP) -- Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. "This technique has great promise," said Dr. Eric Genden, who did a similar transplant in 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. That operation used both donor and recipient tissue. Only a handful of windpipe, or trachea, transplants have ever been done. If successful, the procedure could become a new standard of treatment, said Genden, who was not involved in the research. The results were published online Wednesday in the medical journal, The Lancet.<a href="http://www.physorg.com/news146297595.html"><img alt="image" border="0" height="224" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRlYy83DsI/AAAAAAAAJ74/INMm1yzW9eQ/image%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="389" /></a> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news146297595.html">Doctors transplant windpipe with stem cells</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:df1f34cd-db53-40a8-8dea-ab8d3837ff78" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tuberculosis" rel="tag">tuberculosis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stem+cells" rel="tag">stem cells</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/R+and+D" rel="tag">R and D</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/breatkthrough" rel="tag">breatkthrough</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/surgery" rel="tag">surgery</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/transplants" rel="tag">transplants</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/windpipe" rel="tag">windpipe</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a></div>

Doctors transplant windpipe with stem cells

Instead of removing a lung, the windpipe transplant was the solution, and this occurred in Spain.  Once the donor was located the physician...

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Stolen Maine hospital records found

<p>One advantage to having electronic medical records, you won’t find them washing up on shore, wet, and potentially destroyed, and they are backed up usually in more than one location. BD  </p> <p>MACHIAS, Maine — Records that were stolen from the Down East Community Hospital have been found after washing up on a riverbank.</p> <p>An official for the Machias hospital says a local resident stumbled across bags of documents along the side of the Pennamaquan River in Pembroke and notified police.</p> <p><a href="http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081117-NEWS-81117005">http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081117-NEWS-81117005</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f106a7a7-7caf-4bb2-bc01-43655d4c4c34" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security+Breach" rel="tag">security Breach</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hospital" rel="tag">hospital</a></div>

Stolen Maine hospital records found

One advantage to having electronic medical records, you won’t find them washing up on shore, wet, and potentially destroyed, and they are ba...

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First US FDA office unveiled in Beijing

<p>Here’s the ribbon breaking ceremony picture.  Let’s all hope this is a success and hopefully some new technology will enter the picture as well with remote batch monitoring of products manufactured in China and other locations in the world.  There is only so much an in person visit can cover, so perhaps some nice remote monitoring can be set up to not only keep daily track, but serve to subsidize in person visits to the factories.  <strong>Data management can do it as a less expensive cost once set up.</strong>  </p> <p><a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/19/content_7221094_2.htm"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="285" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRYkaTJiJI/AAAAAAAAJ7s/llt-2mbq-5s/image%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="300" /></a><strong>We meet remotely and have have web meetings today so why not some web monitoring of the factories where product is made, and for that matter the same could be set up for all our factories here too as nobody is beyond fault these days.</strong>  When chemical content is reported back by data systems, an alert to both the FDA and the factory would be initiated.  As we all know there should already be some quality controls somewhere along the line in place and by have an automated data function provide some intelligence, it would also serve to make the in house visits by members of the FDA more meaningful as well.  </p> <p><strong>We have the technology and the question I am guessing at this point is whether or not plans will be made to institute quality control for food and drug products manufactured around the world.</strong>  </p> <p>When it comes to financial data, such as Wall Street, no barriers were barred <strong>there as far as having reporting functions and the algorithms to produce desired results, so to do something healthy with technology that will benefit all would truly be once welcome addition</strong> to our global economy and food and drug safety programs.  I am growing very tired of having to post tainted food and drug products that a little technology could have possibly served to avert the entire situations when technology and reporting functions with business intelligence stand to make us not only better consumers, but better producers as well.  In the related articles below there are also some references to clinical trials and drug developments between partners here in the US and those in China as in the one example, data from Chinese R and D scientists were immediately accepted by the FDA, one item that was a bit of a surprise for all.  BD  </p> <p>（From L to R) Mike Leavitt, US Health and Human Services Secretary, Shao Mingli, head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), Andrew von Eschenbach, FDA Commissioner and the US Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt Jr. cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the FDA Beijing office, November 19, 2008. The US FDA will open three offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai this week to help ensure export safety while China is also preparing to station offices in the US. [Asianewsphoto] </p> <p><a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/19/content_7221094.htm">http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/19/content_7221094.htm</a></p> <p>Hat Tip:  <a href="http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2008/11/fdas-china-office-first-pic.html">Pharmagossip</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong>  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/chinese-pharma-and-us-clinical-trials.html"><font size="1"><strong>Chinese Pharma and US Clinical Trials Partnership– HUYA, San Diego and Chipscreen, China</strong></font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/fda-to-detain-food-shipments-from-china.html"><font size="1"><strong>FDA to detain food shipments from China – Why not add some technology to the inspection processes?</strong></font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/mayo-clinic-says-goodbye-to-clinical.html"><font size="1">Mayo Clinic Says Goodbye to clinical services in the US</font></a></h4> <p></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/melamine-nightmare-needs-to-be-fixed.html"><font size="1">The Melamine Nightmare Needs to be Fixed – Business Intelligence Could Help</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/mike-leavitt-and-fda-commissioner.html">Mike Leavitt and FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach go to China for consultations</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/fda-to-detain-food-shipments-from-china.html">FDA to detain food shipments from China – Why not add some technology to the inspection processes?</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/china-wants-to-make-bricks-from-toxic.html">China wants to make bricks from toxic milk - melamine</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/business-intelligence-for-fda-on-way.html">Business Intelligence for the FDA on the way</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/broken-agency-china-and-fda.html">A Broken Agency – China and the FDA</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/medicine-is-low-tech-business-clinical.html">Medicine is a Low Tech Business - Clinical Studies still done on paper too!</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/fda-will-open-inspection-office-in.html">FDA will open inspection office in China this year</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/chinese-drug-firm-recalls-all-injection.html">Chinese drug firm recalls all injection products after deaths</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/fda-tiny-bit-of-melamine-ok-in-most.html">FDA: Tiny Bit of Melamine OK in Most Foods But we Still need better labeling and shipping documentation</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:26f7821b-30f6-487c-859c-0bd6f8626873" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tainted+food" rel="tag">tainted food</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/import%2fexports" rel="tag">import/exports</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/food+contamination" rel="tag">food contamination</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/server+banks" rel="tag">server banks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/food+safety" rel="tag">food safety</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA+inspections" rel="tag">FDA inspections</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/busines+intelligence+software" rel="tag">busines intelligence software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/China" rel="tag">China</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/outsourcing" rel="tag">outsourcing</a></div>

First US FDA office unveiled in Beijing

Here’s the ribbon breaking ceremony picture.  Let’s all hope this is a success and hopefully some new technology will enter the picture as w...

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Removable Medical Device Results In Substantial Weight Loss And Glucose

<p>The reports on the device state that it contributes to both weight loss and normalization of blood glucose levels.  In the trials the device was in place for 12 weeks, and then removed.  <strong>The procedures takes around 30 minutes or so and is done endoscopically through the mouth</strong>.  The report stated that participants lost triple <a href="http://www.gidynamics.com/about_gidynamics"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="121" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRA3G9V33I/AAAAAAAAJ7k/zlIB4HGKto0/image%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="244" /></a>the amount of weight normally lost with diet programs.  </p> <p><strong>The patients with diabetes 2 experienced decrease in blood glucose levels and a reduction in diabetic medication.</strong>  This appears to be some exciting news on the war against obesity with a temporary device to help individuals lose weight and could be a viable alternative to the more invasive bypass surgery.  </p> <p>The product is in clinical trials at present time and represents one more example of the move toward devices versus drugs in healthcare.  The fact that glucose levels drop and a reduced need for diabetic medication also is certainly very promising.  When seriously obese patients need an MRI for example, sometimes the procedure can’t be done due to patient size and weight.  BD  </p> <p><em><font size="1">“Because it is designed to mimic the effects of gastric bypass surgery, the same metabolic control of diabetes documented after surgery may be realized with the EndoBarrier™. Eighty-four percent of patients immediately resolve diabetes with gastric bypass surgery, a phenomenon found to occur as a primary, specific, and direct effect of this surgery, not secondary to the weight loss. “</font></em></p> <blockquote><a href="http://www.gidynamics.com/about_gidynamics"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="129" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSRA35pC7KI/AAAAAAAAJ7o/goHnNXFaqhY/image%5B11%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="366" /></a>GI Dynamics, a medical device company pioneering the development of new approaches to treat obesity  and type 2 diabetes, announced today a paper appearing in the advance online publication of the journal Obesity, which demonstrates that  implantation of an innovative endoluminal sleeve mimics key, beneficial effects of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, inducing substantial weight loss and improved metabolic function in rats with diet-induced obesity. The dramatic effects of the removable device on blood glucose levels in this animal model suggest an important role for the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) and jejunum (the central part of the small intestine) in the regulation of this metabolic function. GI Dynamics is developing an endoluminal sleeve, known as the <strong><a href="http://www.gidynamics.com/endobarrier_technology">EndoBarrier" Gastrointestinal Liner</a></strong>, and is currently in late-stage clinical trials.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/130008.php">Noninvasive, Removable Medical Device Results In Substantial Weight Loss And Glucose Normalization In A Preclinical Model Of Obesity</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:77e467b1-8c6e-45b0-9b89-01b7f9f50bbf" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/obesity" rel="tag">obesity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+devices" rel="tag">medical devices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diet" rel="tag">diet</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/weight+Loss" rel="tag">weight Loss</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/glucose" rel="tag">glucose</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diabetes" rel="tag">diabetes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diabetes+2" rel="tag">diabetes 2</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clinical+trials" rel="tag">clinical trials</a></div>

Removable Medical Device Results In Substantial Weight Loss And Glucose

The reports on the device state that it contributes to both weight loss and normalization of blood glucose levels.  In the trials the device...

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And now a word from the CEO of Complete Genomics

<p>There are big companies investing in genomics as well, but as time progresses we could see a combination of efforts and some melt downs  occur.  Cerner healthcare just recently made the news by adding genomics capabilities to their lab software.  </p> <p><strong>Complete Genomics</strong> has a little different business plan, not to sell the machines, but to run the DNA sequencing wholesale, in other words<img align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SOsTS64tcVI/AAAAAAAAJXU/ZdiVYKx8aQE/image[4].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" /> run the queries, but no interpretations.  Another company would then take the results and prepare the appropriate interpretation for the consumer/patient or physician.  </p> <p>The company has claimed soon that the price will be around 5k to run a complete DNA sequence based on their technology.  Good article from Venture Beat written by the CEO of Complete Genomics to acquaint you with and describe how genomic sequencing is going to impact healthcare and the treatments and cures for disease. BD  </p> <p><em>“[Editor's note: As </em><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/18/2008/11/17/cancer-drug-developer-chemocentryx-cancels-ipo/"><em>we've reported</em></a><em>, the economic downturn and frozen IPO market have been especially tough on health care companies. But that doesn't mean innovation has slowed across the board. Below, Clifford Reid, chief executive of genome sequencing company </em><a href="http://www.completegenomicsinc.com/"><em>Complete Genomics</em></a><em>, discusses the financial concerns and direction of one of the most buzzed about life science sectors.]  </em></p> <p><em>Genetics are no longer the mystery they once were. Regular people can now have their genomes read to determine their susceptibility to illnesses like diabetes, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. This has given them unprecedented power to take preventative steps.</em></p> <p><em>My company, Complete Genomics, is working to make large-scale genome studies a reality. With the proper sequencing tools at their disposal, biopharmaceutical firms and research institutions will be able to advance diagnostics, drug discovery and clinical trials by years if not decades. In turn, this will lead to the creation of better, more personalized therapies and treatment strategies.”</em></p> <p><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/18/the-genomic-frontier-personalized-medicine-in-action/">http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/18/the-genomic-frontier-personalized-medicine-in-action/</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/complete-genomic-sequence-5000-next.html"><font size="1">Complete Genomic Sequence $5000 Next Year – Wholesale</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/genome-database-will-link-genes-traits.html"><font size="1">Genome Database Will Link Genes, Traits in Public View – George Church</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/05/100-human-genome-sequencing-within.html"><font size="1">$100 Human Genome Sequencing Within Sight?</font></a></h4> <p><font color="#669966" size="1"></font></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/04/zs-genetics-joins-chase-for-10m-x-prize.html"><font size="1">ZS Genetics joins chase for $10M X Prize -The Journal of New England Technology</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/03/testing-for-disease-could-be-easy-as.html"><font size="1">Testing for disease could be easy as spit</font></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-complete-personal-genome-sequence.html">Is a complete personal genome sequence worth $350,000?</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/future-of-personal-genomics.html">The Future of Personal Genomics</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/bt-and-x-prize-foundation-team-up-to.html">BT and the X PRIZE Foundation Team Up to Inspire World Changing Innovations – Personalized Medicine Sequencing</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/those-incredible-men-and-their-gene.html">Those Incredible Men and their Gene Machines..Personalized Medicine in the making…</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/05/polonator-dna-machine-for-150000.html">The Polonator - the DNA Machine for $150,000</a></h6> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:15503b43-6697-4e6c-8eaa-b74f2c8315d2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Genomics" rel="tag">Genomics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Personalized+medicine" rel="tag">Personalized medicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/George+Church" rel="tag">George Church</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/X-Prize" rel="tag">X-Prize</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Personal+Genomics+Project" rel="tag">Personal Genomics Project</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Polonator" rel="tag">Polonator</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sequencing" rel="tag">Sequencing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DNA+Testing" rel="tag">DNA Testing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+Insurance" rel="tag">Health Insurance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Complete+Genomics" rel="tag">Complete Genomics</a></div>

And now a word from the CEO of Complete Genomics

There are big companies investing in genomics as well, but as time progresses we could see a combination of efforts and some melt downs  occ...

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Edwards Hospital in Chicago to Supply Practice management and EHR software for physicians

<p> One more hospital provided integrated services for physicians on staff and 40 with practice management software from the hospital.  </p> <blockquote>Edward Health Service Corporation Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management CHICAGO and <a href="http://www.allscripts.com/default.asp"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="61" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSNfzTwapaI/AAAAAAAAJ7Y/5UKxa7-wKQ4/image%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="113" /></a> NAPERVILLE, Ill., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts announced today that Edward Hospital & Health Services (Edward) will implement the company's Enterprise(TM) (formerly TouchWorks(TM)) Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solution to automate and connect clinical and administrative processes for more than <strong>50 physicians</strong> and mid-level providers. Another 40 providers affiliated with the health system will implement Practice Management, initially without the Electronic Health Record component.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://investor.allscripts.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112727&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1227812&highlight=">Allscripts Investor Relations - News Release</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:474dad43-3d6e-4142-83c5-75c4a85aad82" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EMR" rel="tag">EMR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EHR" rel="tag">EHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Integration" rel="tag">Integration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+Records" rel="tag">Medical Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Practice+Management" rel="tag">Practice Management</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Allscripts" rel="tag">Allscripts</a></div>

Edwards Hospital in Chicago to Supply Practice management and EHR software for physicians

One more hospital provided integrated services for physicians on staff and 40 with practice management software from the hospital.  Edwar...

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The Economy – One more Reason to think about a Free PHR

<p>This is just one more thought here and with IT budgets being back burnered and cut at the upper levels, if you are in a medical practice, some of the technology may be put on hold, so if you want to have credible records at the office for no cost, try the PHR and educate patients. </p> <p>Even if you do not have an electronic medical records system, you can still view, print and even transfer information to a Word document to get you by until an EHR or EMR is affordable. It sure beats the heck out all the paperwork too of having to ask patients to fill all of that information in over and over. <a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=health&nui=1&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&rm=hide"><img align="left" height="38" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGRPjPR9NVI/AAAAAAAAH30/dA55nv_qrf4/googlehealth%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="95" /></a></p> <p>When you think about it,<strong> wouldn’t it be nice to have an entire records of a patient’s medications that have been imported from one of the drug stores?</strong> Sure it would and also, wouldn’t it be nice to have the information sent to a specialist too with the patient opting to share? Sure that would be great also. <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img align="left" height="40" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6TdZm-I/AAAAAAAAI90/u04OgRqDvPI/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="96" /></a>Wouldn’t it also be nice to see a record of blood pressure readings or glucose readings that have been added by a device you can buy at the drug store that is certified to work with MS HealthVault? <strong>Again, credible information for free.</strong> </p> <p>If you are waiting for your place of work to begin with an integrated medical record system and things are put off, help yourself and patients too, and again it is free for all. The pilot Medicare program for Arizona and Utah seniors starts January 1st, so there is one big push here, why, <strong>it is free</strong> and just costs a little time to learn how to use it and benefit, you will be miles down the road and it will help avert medical errors with credible information at your fingertips. BD </p> <p></p> <p></p> <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none;" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c395538a-78b6-4402-b663-208dbea65f88" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR+Pilot+program" rel="tag">PHR Pilot program</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Personal+Health+Records" rel="tag">Personal Health Records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/economy" rel="tag">economy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a></div>

The Economy – One more Reason to think about a Free PHR

This is just one more thought here and with IT budgets being back burnered and cut at the upper levels, if you are in a medical practice, so...

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Clinical Trials in the US – Begin involving the physicians and patients at the point of care to achieve greater success and participation with Personal Health Records

<h6 style="font-family: arial;"> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">There are many companies out there who have some very elaborate data bases and software to connect participants and investigators; however, what appears to be <strong>missing here is the patient and physician involvement at the point of care.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">When looking for new participants it makes perfect sense to use real time updated information and for this to be a success and done quickly, <strong>instituting this information at the point of care</strong> will serve to increase the number of available participants and also create an awareness for physicians as to what is available, something that is missing with bringing electronic medical records together with clinical trial information. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><a href="https://trialx.org/"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="64" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6i3IgjI/AAAAAAAAI94/XSTIHld2Ht4/image%5B13%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="244" /></a>This also brings to light, the need for clinical trial companies to help promote and embrace the use for personal health records,</strong> again, one more facet of bringing the point of care, physician and patient all to a technology “roundtable” at once. Once this is promoted and accomplished, the job of locating qualified candidates and bringing the knowledge to all at once, it should stand to increase awareness as well well as participation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">One vendor is working in this area called <strong> </strong><a href="https://trialx.org/"><strong>Trialx.org.</strong></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> Their up and coming service will allow you t connect with investigators from both Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault. The dashboard give both the patient and investigator a common dashboard and makes communication between both areas simple and easy, plus, if the patient’s other data changes, i.e. a new medication, just update the TrialX record with a new set of imported data, makes sense and is done with a few clicks and there are also alerts one can set up to alert of new trials and messages from the investigator. The patient here has the control to initiate the communication with an investigator, thus from a trial standpoint,<u> potential clients are contacting the investigators</u>, thus putting aside figuring out how to get in touch with patients with some type of marketing plan, <strong>in other words the interest is already there from a patient to inquire about participation. </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=health&nui=1&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&rm=hide"><img height="38" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGRPjPR9NVI/AAAAAAAAH30/dA55nv_qrf4/googlehealth%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="95" /></a> <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img height="40" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6TdZm-I/AAAAAAAAI90/u04OgRqDvPI/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="96" /></a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><u>In short, it comes back around to the education processes</u>, so if we could align ourselves better with a bit more education processes, perhaps we could see the benefit of using real time information and at the same time further both physician and patient involvement in clinical trials before we end up losing more to other countries. This is especially important with cancer trials as we all know. BD </b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Below are a couple of trial companies in the news of late, for a simple comparison.</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><a href="https://www.acurian.com/sitesloveacurian.html">Acurian Fast Fact:</a> </b>Sites call Acurian weekly and ask about buying patient recruitment from us directly. As a clinical trial manager, you can <b>feel confident </b>that bringing Acurian on board for patient recruitment will be well received by your sites. And that means your patient recruitment investments won't be wasted.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><a href="http://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Clinical-Development/etrials-sees-losses-escalate-names-new-CEO">eClinical specialist etrials Worldwide</a></strong> saw its losses quadruple in the third quarter on the back of a dip in revenues and financial charges, including a $4m asset impairment charge related to goodwill. </span></p> </h6> <p><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >etrials, which makes software for electronic </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/content/search?SearchText=data+capture" style="font-family: arial;">data capture</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> and interactive voice response technologies, posted an operating loss of $6.1m – four times the year-earlier figure - on net service revenues of $3.7m for the quarter, which outgoing CEO Chuck Piccirillo described as “</span><i style="font-family: arial;">disappointing.</i></span>”</span> </p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/drugmakers-seek-to-cut-red-tape-to.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">Drugmakers Seek to Cut Red Tape to Speed Cancer Trials</span></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/healthvault-personal-health-records.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">HealthVault Personal Health Records gets a Facelift - Match records and find clinical trials</span></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/google-health-online-services.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">Google Health Online Services – Connections Beyond Medications – Personal Health Records</span></a></h4> <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none;" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3507f467-fee3-4259-a43b-0909ad77d836" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personal+health+records" rel="tag">personal health records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Google+Health" rel="tag">Google Health</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Healthcare" rel="tag">Healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Technology" rel="tag">Technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+2.0" rel="tag">Health 2.0</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+records" rel="tag">Medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Clincal+Trials" rel="tag">Clincal Trials</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft+HealthVault" rel="tag">Microsoft HealthVault</a></div>

Clinical Trials in the US – Begin involving the physicians and patients at the point of care to achieve greater success and participation with Personal Health Records

There are many companies out there who have some very elaborate data bases and software to connect participants and investigators; howeve...

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New Technology could diagnose cancer in 10 minutes at patient bedside

<p> It keeps getting smarter out there, and this looks to be something that I hope moves along very quickly, so instead of waiting days or weeks for blood tests, this could be done at bedside at the hospital, or for that matter even at the office perhaps down the road.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>When you're sick, getting blood work done can be a long, expensive process. The current method involves a doctor or nurse <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMS7MbBSAI/AAAAAAAAJ7Q/o-nlJLUdajY/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="149" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMS8e9zIPI/AAAAAAAAJ7U/DOmjwpFRL6E/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="153" /></a>drawing 10 to 15 milliliters of blood into several vials, multiple technicians analyzing that blood for many hours, and an end cost  of about $500 per test. With that in mind, how does this sound? A new chip can do the same work in <strong>10 minutes with one drop of blood, and it only costs "a nickel a protein," according to one of its developers.</strong> </p> <p>The micro fluidic chip is being developed by James Heath, a chemistry professor at Caltech, and Institute for Systems Biology founder Leroy Hood. The chip performs the entire test, separating cells and proteins, and tagging the proteins so that they'll light up under a microscope if anything is found. The technology, they say, will make it possible for doctors to give a bedside diagnosis based on blood analysis, rather than having to wait a week. <strong>Even better, it analyzes blood when it's fresh, rather than letting the quality of the sample degrade, making it far more accurate.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://dvice.com/archives/2008/11/new_blood-analy.php">DVICE: New blood-analyzing chip could spot cancer in 10 minutes from only one drop</a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Hat Tip:  <a href="http://www.medlaunches.com/cancer/fastest_cancer_detection_in_mi.php">Medlaunch</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:02c43b7e-3946-4578-a038-c4acbeb073b5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blood+test" rel="tag">blood test</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/R+and+D" rel="tag">R and D</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/genomics" rel="tag">genomics</a></div>

New Technology could diagnose cancer in 10 minutes at patient bedside

It keeps getting smarter out there, and this looks to be something that I hope moves along very quickly, so instead of waiting days or week...

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Physicians are not a real happy group today - survey

<p>Healthcare and the way it is practices has certainly changed over the last few years, no doubt about it.  Technology though is not the reason to blame in it’s entirety though, it’s the other stuff that goes along with others initializing technology and software benefits that <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMNQqCr3sI/AAAAAAAAJ7A/4gb6OvuglbU/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="128" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMNR3ig_6I/AAAAAAAAJ7E/6wn90DMwvho/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="124" /></a>hits below the belt to a degree.</p> <p><strong>Non-clinical paperwork and red tape is right up there</strong> and from consulting over the last few years and seeing what occurs on the back side of offices, it is continuously going in in upwards spiral with no relief in site.  I try to use technology to make of of these processes easier, thus I am examining this issue from a technical side all the time.  Processes change quite frequently too, and that adds one more left hook.</p> <p>Compensation rates are not going up, but their malpractice insurance certainly has over the years and the new algorithms created there to be eligible and approved have changed.  <strong>Health insurance algorithms have changed</strong> and what is covered and not covered for patients has changed tremendously and just the idea of helping a patient get either a referral to a “in network” specialist, or get a drug that is covered under the complicated tiering programs is another area of research that takes time.</p> <p>Another issue is the decision making processes with <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/court-blocks-white-house-push-on.html">Medicare feeling they should be able to make the decisions</a> on what a patient can receive as far as medications and treatments, only to be stopped by a federal judge.  This definitely impacts and intrudes upon the decision making process here of the physician being able to prescribe a line of treatment and/or drug that he/she feels is appropriate for the patient.</p> <p><strong>Those using electronic records may be finding it a bit easier</strong> by taking advantage <strong>of filtering and algorithms</strong> to sort some of the information out for them to have at the point of care and those with paper records may find the the information almost impossible to locate without sometimes hours of research time.  Take a look at the post below and it may help make some sense as to <strong>why I consider algorithms one of the hottest issues in healthcare today,</strong> software sorts, evaluates and does so much with healthcare today and by not automating some of the processes, you have an information nightmare, both doctors and patients included. </p> <p><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-new-hot-words-in-healthcare.html"><font size="1">The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers</font></a></p> <p>In short, there are so many elements today tugging and pulling at the profession with daily changes and procedures, how does on feel confident with decisions made today,<strong> only to find a new algorithm in place that may have a tendency to nullify the decision made yesterday</strong> based on information available then, as it does change in some areas day to day.</p> <p>Lawsuits and drugs impact physician’s decisions, something they need to be aware of as the threat of lawsuits and malpractice continuously hang over their heads.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMNSrg36OI/AAAAAAAAJ7I/DRu2agXIWxc/s1600-h/image%5B7%5D.png"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="97" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SSMNTZ-TJ7I/AAAAAAAAJ7M/4xj5F8QL5ls/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="117" /></a> </p> <p><strong>The coding processes have become so very complicated as well, I</strong> just heard a comment yesterday from a patient who visited a surgeon’s office, which was fairly new and the office staff asked him to bear with him as far as billing as they were just getting started and were not real familiar with all the codes to properly bill his procedure and to let them know if he was billed for something they thought should be covered, and<strong> that happens all the time as codes change and new diagnosis codes are introduced every quarter and some are dropped.</strong></p> <p>Where’s the education processes to help support the processes?  The doctors do need a little bit of time to consult somewhere along the line with us too.  We all have need a feeling of accomplishment, especially in healthcare when we rely on physicians to guide us with treatment and healthier lifestyles, but <strong>the brick has hit the wall for</strong> many with keeping up with the demands of healthcare today.  Being an informed patient certainly can help too in working with your physician as a team, <strong>but keep in mind the algorithms and layers of information flowing at physicians today is huge and there seems to be little or no relief coming soon</strong>.  BD  </p> <p>Doctors sure seem unhappy these days. Just take a look at the downbeat results from a <a href="http://www.physiciansfoundations.org/news/news_show.htm?doc_id=728872">survey</a> out from the Physicians’ Foundation.</p> <p>Here are some of the bracing findings from 11,950 primary care docs and specialists who responded to the survey:</p> <p><strong>94%</strong> said the time they’ve devote to non-clinical paperwork in the past three years has increased. <strong>63%</strong> said the paperwork has meant they spend less time per patient.</p> <p><strong>82%</strong> said their practices would be “unsustainable” if proposed Medicare pay cuts were made.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/11/18/doctors-feel-gloomy-financially-strapped/">http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/11/18/doctors-feel-gloomy-financially-strapped/</a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong> </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/medical-quack-on-wall-street-journal.html"><font size="1">Medical Quack on the Wall Street Journal – November 2008</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/court-blocks-white-house-push-on.html"><font size="1">Court Blocks White House Push on Medicare Expenses</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/ehr-adoption-remains-off-in-distance.html"><font size="1">EHR Adoption Remains Off in the Distance – Getting way to complicated</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/doctors-fight-balance-billing-ban-on.html"><font size="1">Doctors fight balance-billing ban on out-of-network costs to survive</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-greed-lead-to-meltdown-of-health.html"><font size="1">Will Greed lead to Meltdown of the Health System?</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/beware-of-geeks-bearing-formulaswarren.html"><font size="1">“Beware of Geeks Bearing Formulas”…Warren Buffett</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-new-hot-words-in-healthcare.html"><font size="1">The 2 New Hot Words in Healthcare: Algorithms and Whistleblowers</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/health-care-issue-valley-of-unknown.html"><font size="1">Health Care Issue - The Valley of the Unknown</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c1b8536d-73a9-4ac4-bccc-8a300df07b0e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicare" rel="tag">Medicare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Healthcare" rel="tag">Healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medicaid" rel="tag">Medicaid</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Patient+Advocacy" rel="tag">Patient Advocacy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+insuance" rel="tag">health insuance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/software" rel="tag">software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Physician+Overload" rel="tag">Physician Overload</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Point+of+Care" rel="tag">Point of Care</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Technology" rel="tag">Technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+Records" rel="tag">Medical Records</a></div>

Physicians are not a real happy group today - survey

Healthcare and the way it is practices has certainly changed over the last few years, no doubt about it.  Technology though is not the reaso...

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Leavitt warns against losing health IT momentum

<p> Understanding A2 is a big issue, as stated below, perhaps many do not understand the progress being made.  I agree with the statement made that this group’s findings and recommendations are important and the issue that education is important.  When it comes to medical records and interoperability, there is a lot to know and with the slow adaptation of medical records, the knowledge and recommendations that go along with it are lagging, PHR information included, thus I do hope the new administration goes full force to help educate consumers and healthcare on what the rewards can offer and a big part of this process begins in Congress.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>The post-election political tide sweeping through Washington, D.C. threatens to wash out a newly-formed foundation for promoting health IT, Mike Leavitt, outgoing secretary of Health and Human Services, warned. In their zeal to reform health care, the incoming administration and the next Congress could abandon progress made in recent years in adopting interoperable health IT standards, suggested the secretary.</p> <p>AHIC Successor, known as AHIC 2.0 or A2, succeeds the American Health Information Community, a federal advisory body established in 2005 to make recommendations about how best to accelerate adoption of interoperable health IT in a smooth, market-led way. </p> <p><strong>“A2 is probably the most important group in health care that nobody knows,” the secretary said. “What we’ve done here could be unsettled if people don’t understand it.”</strong> </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350682-1.html?GHITNL=yes">Leavitt warns against losing health IT momentum</a></p>

Leavitt warns against losing health IT momentum

Understanding A2 is a big issue, as stated below, perhaps many do not understand the progress being made.  I agree with the statement made ...

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Hospital Operator Demos Health Care Application For Microsoft Surface

<p> Not too long ago I spent a few minutes doing some protein folding on a Microsoft Surface unit, was pretty awesome.  Easy enough to disinfect too with spray and you can wear gloves too.  </p> <p>Of course this could also be used to view records as well as images.  Well as much as I have been talking about PHRs of late, you could even log in to the HealthVault for that matter and check and re-arrange records as needed too.  There is a demo unit for the<strong> <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/">HealthVault</a></strong> on Surface, but I did not have time to go everywhere I wanted with the unit, perhaps next time.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p> Often, patients have a difficult time envisioning the complicated medical procedures doctors are trying to explain. A large <img align="left" height="59" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SO7_00Hy7SI/AAAAAAAAJcY/kUNnQip9O6g/Surface 1_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" width="83" />Texas health care provider is hoping that Microsoft's tabletop touch-screen Surface <img align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SKpY85N51gI/AAAAAAAAIl0/r3ImUTMGan4/image_thumb[5].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" />computers can help patients better understand their doctors. Texas Health Resources, which operates 13 hospitals in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, is working with Microsoft to build health-care applications for Microsoft's multiuser, multitouch Surface computers. Among the first Surface applications being co-developed by THR and Microsoft is a <strong>patient-doctor relationship tool</strong> that's being demonstrated this week in San Diego as <strong>a "proof of <img align="left" height="115" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SO7_5moWn5I/AAAAAAAAJcg/VGLjHX2TUIU/Surface 2_thumb.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" width="157" />concept" during a Gartner health care summit.  </strong></p> <p><strong>The proposed application will allow doctors to share with patients all kinds of digital content, including medical images like MRIs, X-rays, EKGs, radiology reports, and also streaming media content, such as video of coronary angiogram procedures</strong>. The goal is to help patients better understand their medical condition, doctor recommendations, and potential medical procedures so that they can in turn make better decisions about their health.  </p> <p><strong>The Surface table devices would be used in THR doctor offices and possibly in patient consultation areas of its hospitals.</strong> </p> <p>The team is also considering ways to make this digital content available via the Internet to patients after they leave the health care providers' offices, said Marx. "We'd like to make this portable."  </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterpriseapps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212002188"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SLYBnYYnUEI/AAAAAAAAIto/_RS30_gEa-4/image_thumb[2].png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" /></a></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/protein-folding-on-microsoft-surface.html"><font size="1">Protein Folding on Microsoft Surface</font></a></h4> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/health-blog-microsoft-technologies.html"><font size="1">Health Blog - Microsoft Technologies - Clinically Related</font></a></h4> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9062384c-0512-4a37-b145-ff03f17554c0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Micorsoft" rel="tag">Micorsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Surface+Technology" rel="tag">Surface Technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hospital" rel="tag">Hospital</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/heatlhcare" rel="tag">heatlhcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Health+IT" rel="tag">Health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Software" rel="tag">Software</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Imaging" rel="tag">Imaging</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthVault" rel="tag">HealthVault</a></div>

Hospital Operator Demos Health Care Application For Microsoft Surface

Not too long ago I spent a few minutes doing some protein folding on a Microsoft Surface unit, was pretty awesome.  Easy enough to disinfec...

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Why Use a PHR – Because It is there and it stands to help decrease medical errors

<p>We all long for the day that all practices and hospitals can transmit medical records and talk to each other, but as we all know it is not there yet and will continue to evolve, and add on today’s economic crisis, something that is already slowing down the wheels of progress here. </p> <p><strong>But, the PHR is here and ready to use,</strong> get credible information to hospitals and physicians though the PHR, as most are now being populated with credible data from vendors, hospitals, drug stores, Minute Clinics, you name it. </p> <p><a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=health&nui=1&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhealth%2Fp%2F&rm=hide"><img height="38" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGRPjPR9NVI/AAAAAAAAH30/dA55nv_qrf4/googlehealth%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="95" /></a> <a href="http://www.healthvault.com/"><img height="40" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SM3q6TdZm-I/AAAAAAAAI90/u04OgRqDvPI/image%5B14%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="96" /></a></p> <p>Read up and sign up for an account and see the power of how information could potential save your life by having it available when seeing a physician out of town, out of network, or in an emergency. PHRs are using Web 2.0 technology, something that was not around when EHRs and EMRs were being created years ago. If EMRs and EHRs were being created from scratch today, you would probably see a much different picture out there, but we need to make use of the technology we do have today <strong>and the PHR is a good way to get credible records on file to share and use you you choose. </strong></p> <p>Again, it is an education process and even medical offices and their staff have no idea what a PHR is or how it can benefit them in the information department as well as getting consumers educated too. </p> <p><strong>So in short, use a PHR, because it is there and won’t cost you any money,</strong> and the bigger hospital networks and practices will follow with their end of the medical record in time. <strong>The PHR you put off today, stands to only increase your chances of medical errors,</strong> as without credible documented information<strong>, it’s a bit like shooting from the hip if you are going from memory and forget a condition, treatment or medication. BD </strong></p> <p><strong><u>Related Reading:</u></strong></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/military-to-unveil-early-version-of.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">Military to unveil early version of personal health record – December</span></a></h4> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/health-cloud-personal-health-records.html">The Health Cloud – Personal Health Records</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/healthvault-personal-health-records.html">HealthVault Personal Health Records gets a Facelift - Match records and find clinical trials</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/healthvault-has-new-features-including.html">HealthVault Has New Features Including Fax Services for $9.00 a year – Fax to the Vault!</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/at-covisint-microsoft-healthvault.html">AT&T, Covisint, Microsoft HealthVault Create Health Information Exchange</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/microsoft-healthvault-and-relayhealth.html">Microsoft HealthVault and RelayHealth (McKesson) to Connect Doctors and Patients</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/approval-for-wireless-transmitter-that.html">Approval For Wireless Transmitter That Monitors Implanted Cardiac Devices</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/american-heart-association-and.html">American Heart Association and Microsoft HealthVault Unite</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/getting-organized-with-online-medical.html">Getting Organized With Online Medical Records – Personal Health Records</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/patients-can-order-up-their-own-lab.html">Patients can order up their own lab tests on line with MyMedLab.com with a referring physician and you get a free PHR to boot</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/aetna-and-microsoft-join-forces-members.html">Aetna and Microsoft join forces – Members will now be able to transfer health records to Microsoft Health Vault</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/healthline-interview-with-ceo-health-20.html">Healthline – Interview with the CEO – Health 2.0</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/healthcare-leaders-favor-personal.html">Healthcare leaders favor personal networks (Personal Health Records) to RHIOs for data exchange</a></h6> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/google-health-online-services.html">Google Health Online Services – Connections Beyond Medications – Personal Health Records</a></h6> <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none;" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f4a0b590-ae49-4747-b749-d928dd736d84" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PHR" rel="tag">PHR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/personal+heatlh+records" rel="tag">personal heatlh records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Google+Health" rel="tag">Google Health</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+records" rel="tag">medical records</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health+IT" rel="tag">health IT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/VA" rel="tag">VA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Department+of+Defense" rel="tag">Department of Defense</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Military+Health+Records" rel="tag">Military Health Records</a></div>

Why Use a PHR – Because It is there and it stands to help decrease medical errors

We all long for the day that all practices and hospitals can transmit medical records and talk to each other, but as we all know it is not t...

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