MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'blumenthal'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:06:17 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008146&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD05UyuVj7sQ%2F By Justin LoganYesterday, AEI scholars Dan Blumenthal and Michael Mazza authored an interesting op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with a perplexing title: “Asia Needs a Larger U.S. Defense Budget.” There are a couple of more sensible arguments you could make: For instance, that Asian countries need larger defense budgets, or that U.S. interests in Asia require larger military expenditures that Asian countries can’t or won’t make themselves . Blumenthal and Mazza gesture at both of those arguments but don’t really make either one. As such, the piece is an emblem of what’s wrong with the Asia policy discussion–to the extent it exists–in Washington today. In the opening paragraph, the authors state that “it is…difficult to assess how ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008146 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:07:16 +0100 5008146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813259&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfnX39ECsn84%2F By Jim HarperAs I noted earlier, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law held a hearing this morning entitled: “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy.” In it, Sentor Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) engaged in a fascinating colloquy with Google’s Alan Davidson. Blumenthal pursued Davidson about the year-old incident in which Google’s Street View cars collected data on the location of WiFi nodes and mistakenly gathered snippets of “payload data”—that is, the data traveling over open WiFi networks in the moments when their Street View cars were passing by. Some payload data may have contained personal information including passwords. Google has meekly been working with data protect... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813259 Tue, 10 May 2011 18:36:13 +0100 4813259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758819&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Ffailure-information-exchange As part of its response to the PCAST report, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) charged a review committee to analyze the PCAST recommendations. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) called for greatly accelerated health information exchange and development of an increased focus on population health objectives. The report also recommended technologies for a Universal Exchange Language (UEL), Data Element Access Services (DEAS) and granular access controls. No sticky read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758819 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:41:25 +0100 4758819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719959&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmostasharis-onc-wont-be-easy-run-blumenthals Farzad Mostashari, the newly-appointed and fourth leader of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is going to face some stiff challenges his predescessor David Blumenthal did not have to face. No sticky read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719959 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:53:06 +0100 4719959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693353&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FoUdTkjhGhb4%2F Farzad Mostashari, M.D. has been named the new national coordinator for health IT, effective today. Though HHS has not put out a press release or other statement, it appears this is a permanent rather than an interim appointment. I had been hearing since February that Mostashari, who previously was deputy national coordinator, would be in charge of ONC at least on an interim basis when David Blumenthal, M.D., returned to Harvard. UPDATE, 3:25 p.m. CDT: The appointment is permanent. You can find this and more details in the story I wrote for InformationWeek today. Related posts:Blumenthal named national coordinator Poll for new national coordinator is rather laughable Kolodner named interim HIT coordinator (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693353 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:43:20 +0100 4693353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670078&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fcommon-sense-on-side-effects-lacking-in.html At my Mar. 27, 2011 post "Those Who Dismiss Healthcare (and Healthcare IT) Adverse Events Reports as Mere "Anecdotes" Have Lost - Supreme Court-Style" I wrote that the SCOTUS decided in MATRIXX INITIATIVES, INC., ET AL. v. SIRACUSANO ET AL. (link to PDF) that:... We conclude that the materiality of adverse event reports cannot be reduced to a bright-line rule ... Because adverse reports can take many forms, assessing their materiality is a fact-specific inquiry, requiring consideration of their source, content, and context.Wall Street Journal author and "Numbers Guy" Carl Bialik adds to that point in an article today "Making a Stat Less Significant" where he writes:To determine whether a medical side effect is significant in an experiment requires knowing that every incidence of that side ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670078 Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:47:00 +0100 4670078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636523&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthit.hhs.gov%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fdocument%2F954074%2Ffederal_hit_strategic_plan_public_comment_period The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology today opened a four-week comment period on proposed revisions to the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (pdf). Last updated in 2008, the plan spells out ONC’s strategy for meeting national health IT goals for the five-year period beginning in 2011. The HITECH Act requires this revision. According to a blog post by national coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal: Some components of the Plan may already be familiar, including the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs and the grant programs created by the HITECH Act, which are creating an infrastructure to support meaningful use. However, the Plan also charts new ground for the federal health IT agenda: In Goal I, the health information exchang... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636523 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:29:28 +0100 4636523 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592500&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fneed-ehr-best-practices-lessons-learned-validated Health Affairs published results of an analysis of 154 recent studies on the implementation of health IT. The conclusion: 92 percent of the studies found health IT to be beneficial to patient care. Researchers at ONC, which conducted the peer review and included outgoing national coordinator David Blumenthal, MD, also found areas that need attention. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592500 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:09:14 +0100 4592500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570607&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2Fci3mKyd-Tpc%2F Leave it to those in the ivory tower of Modern Healthcare to screw up something as simple as an unscientific poll about who should be the next national coordinator for health IT.  The poll lists a whopping two dozen names, ranging from the obvious—Dr. John Halamka, Dr. Paul Tang, current deputy national coordinator Dr. Farzad Mostashari—to the dark horse—Dr. Robert Hitchcock of T-System, Paula Gregory of the “Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicince” (sic)—and even a few laughable listings. For one thing, Dr. David Brailer is on the list. The first national coordinator (2004-06) left Washington because he wanted to be with his family in San Francisco. He’s currently running a $700 million equity investment firm and couldn’t possibly want to get back in... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570607 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:35:02 +0100 4570607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560388&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FYrKGAWy5afw%2F The policy journal Health Affairs has just put out a media advisory noting that the March issue, which comes out tomorrow, will have at least three articles devoted to health IT. From the advisory (verbatim): Studies on EHR: Neil Fleming and colleagues shed light on the financial and nonfinancial resources a small practice needs to implement an EHR system. Using data from  a physician network in north Texas, the authors estimate that the average cost to implement EHRs is $46,659 per physician. Use of EHRs will be accelerated because more than four in five office-based doctors are eligible for federal “meaningful use” incentives, says Brian Bruen of George Washington University and colleagues. Their analysis also highlights gaps in eligibility that must be addressed to further incre... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560388 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:49:09 +0100 4560388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540612&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F5OLZ-GMuEHw%2F I just ran into Dr. Robert Kolodner at the HIMSS conference. As you know, Kolodner was the second national coordinator for health IT, serving from 2006 to 2009. While he doesn’t have any insight on who might be the next head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology—or if he does, he’s not sharing—he did put the decision into perspective. The first coordinator, Dr. David Brailer, was kind of the entrepreneur, starting up the office with little money and no statutory authority, just what President George W. Bush delegated to him in an executive order. Kolodner was the one who “made it real” in terms of hiring permanent staff and setting up programs to assure the long-term viability of the office. The current coordinator, Dr. Davi... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540612 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:53:09 +0100 4540612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495267&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraffic.libsyn.com%2Fnversel%2FSteve_Lieber_-_HIMSS11.MP3 The 2011 HIMSS conference gets underway this weekend in Orlando, Fla. For the fifth year in a row, I interviewed HIMSS President and CEO H. Steven Lieber to preview the annual conference. Check Health Data Management’s HIMSS microsite now and MobiHealthNews next week for write-ups of parts of this interview, but this is the only place you can hear the whole thing. The audio is pretty clear, but you may hear faint music in the background. The recorder seems to have picked up some radio interference. That’s not entirely unexpected in a downtown Chicago office building, namely HIMSS headquarters at 230 E. Ohio St. Ah, well. Enjoy the podcast, and I’ll see you in Orlando. Podcast details: Interview with HIMSS CEO Steve Lieber. MP3, stereo, 128 kbps, 30.6 MB. Running time 33:26 0... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495267 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:50:17 +0100 4495267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477859&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FjE0h7Xrkccg%2Fblumenthal-will-return-to-harvard-in.html According to former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.), national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal will return to Harvard in April, and Blumenthal, as has been widely rumored, is leaving to keep his tenure.So far, Blumenthal and HHS have been saying he would leave his current post at an unspecified point in the spring. But, as Durenberger writes in his weekly commentary about health policy, "David told me he was planning an April return to Harvard when his two year leave to serve the new administration is up. ... David's departure to keep his tenure at Harvard apparently came as a surprise in D.C. where he'd become widely respected for aligning the Office of National Coordinator with the 'meaningful use' of health IT."Durenberger also notes that Blumenthal is the brother of Sen.... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477859 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:46:41 +0100 4477859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4438881&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fharsh-farewell-to-david-blumenthal-of_4184.html Well, from me actually, but she agrees with my assessment.I believe one unfortunate "legacy" of Blumenthal's tenure is the near total absence of consideration of HIT risk.Risk to patient life and limb.As I wrote here, the PCAST report itself reflects the same systematic Pollyanna attitude.My comments about the PCAST report are simple and twofold:1. The term "risk" is absent from the PCAST report in the context of risk to patients from clinical IT. Instead, the context is largely about the risk to patients of NOT having health IT.2. The term "safety" is similarly absent in the context of adverse effects of HIT, and only present in the context of how HIT will improve safety, except for one reference (indeed, the match to my search for the term "safety" was in the cited URL itself) ...... I... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4438881 Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:11:00 +0100 4438881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436717&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fharsh-farewell-to-david-blumenthal-of_4184.html Well, from me actually, but she agrees with my assessment.I believe one unfortunate "legacy" of Blumenthal's tenure is the near total absence of consideration of HIT risk.Risk to patient life and limb.As I wrote here, the PCAST report itself reflects the same systematic Pollyanna attitude.My comments about the PCAST report are simple and twofold:1. The term "risk" is absent from the PCAST report in the context of risk to patients from clinical IT. Instead, the context is largely about the risk to patients of NOT having health IT.2. The term "safety" is similarly absent in the context of adverse effects of HIT, and only present in the context of how HIT will improve safety, except for one reference (indeed, the match to my search for the term "safety" was in the cited URL itself) ...... I... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436717 Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:11:00 +0100 4436717 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433058&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fdavid-blumenthal-to-resign-as-director.html From NextGov.com - TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT Blumenthal Calls It Quits By John Pulley, March 3, 2011 Dr. David Blumenthal, who has pushed the country's health care providers to give up paper files in favor of electronic medical records, announced Thursday that he is stepping down as the country's de facto health IT czar after almost two years on the job. He will return to Harvard University, according to news reports. Blumenthal served as National Coordinator for Health IT during a period of tremendous change. In 2009, Congress allocated billions of dollars to expand the Office of the National Coordinator's authority and to make available incentive funds intended to encourage mass adoption of electronic medical records. The first of those incentives payments were di... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433058 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:12:00 +0100 4433058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433159&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2F2011-predictions-mu-goes-tactical-aco-strategic In the Healthcare IT (HIT) market, 2010 was the year of meaningful use (MU). Healthcare organizations (HCOs) of all sizes developed plans, began making IT modifications and began adopting the technology they needed to meet Stage One MU requirements and subsequently receive incentive payments, some of which began being disbursed in late 2010. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433159 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:53:35 +0100 4433159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424300&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FNfqJ8rWZReQ%2F The other day I came across an interview with David Blumenthal. I didn’t find anything all that meaningful in the interview itself. However, in the comments, someone provided some really interesting commentary on what Blumenthal said in the interview. Dr. Blumenthal says we need operability before we move to interoperability. Yet if you don’t design your systems from the start to interoperate, you’ll inevitably wind up with operable systems that do not interoperate – at all. Having accomplished this, we’ll then have to develop and impose an after-the-fact standard to which all systems must comply. This will mean redesign, retrofit, and plastering all kinds of middleware layers between disparate systems. It may even result in retraining tomorrow all those provi... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424300 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:12:03 +0100 4424300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298695&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Faffirming-flexibilitywith-certified-ehr-systems On our FAQ page, we posted a revised Question and Answer regarding an issue that has recently caused confusion in our meaningful use regulations: namely, the flexibility that providers have to defer performance on some Stage 1 meaningful use objectives; and how that squares with the requirement that providers must nonetheless possess fully-certified EHR systems.  (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298695 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:17:15 +0100 4298695 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203205&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F19%2Fmeaningful-use-exceptions-for-specialists%2F Neil Versel at Fierce EMR recently did a post talking about the meaningful use exceptions that are available for specialists. In it he quotes David Blumenthal, national health IT coordinator, and Dr. Derek Robinson, medical director for HHS Region V. They provide an example of an exception to the meaningful use criteria that a specialist might be able to use: For example, three of the “core” measures of meaningful use that all providers must be able report on are blood pressure levels, whether patients over 13 use tobacco products and adult weight screening. “You may say that one of these or all three of these may not be part of your scope of practice,” Robinson said, amednews reports. It is possible to report zero as both the denominator and numerator for the quali... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203205 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:25:06 +0100 4203205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294765&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F1D-_uPfvY48%2Fblumenthal-talks-e-prescribing.html As you may have already heard, Surescripts today gave its annual update of progress in e-prescribing. About one-third of office-based clinicians now write at least some prescriptions electronically and the overall e-prescribing rate is up to 12 percent.Surescripts had a transcription service present and provided these remarks from featured speaker Dr. David Blumenthal:Well, thank you, Mr. [Harry] Totonis [president and CEO of Surescripts]. I appreciate your kind words. And it's a pleasure to be here. It's a pleasure to be part of the recognition of these ten states, who are pioneering and meeting on a very important contribution to the health and welfare of Americans.As I go down the list, I can't help noticing that my home State of Massachusetts is at the top. (Laughter.)And I want you to... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294765 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4294765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987014&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fhealth-it-on-anecdotalism-and.html At the article Blumenthal on EMRs: Debate "raging" over competition vs. standards (http://www.massdevice.com/news/blumenthal-emrs-debate-raging-over-competition-vs-standards), ONC czar David Blumenthal is cited as saying several interesting things: ... EMRs make him a better physician, he said, recounting personal anecdotes of discovering patients' allergies through automated EMR alerts and using stored image date to more quickly get a diagnosis for a patient without subjecting them to more radiation and toxic radiation agents ... It's the EMR "anecdotalists" (as opposed to the "Markopolists") who say that "anecdotes" of HIT-related injury are meaningless. They deem reports of safety issues and HIT-related misadventures and risk as simply "anecdotal", and that "anecdotes don't make evid... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987014 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:05:00 +0100 3987014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3933156&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fblumenthal-its-just-beginning-beginning I don't normally blog on Fridays, but after speaking with Dr. David Blumenthal, head of ONC, yesterday after the announcement of the final two Beacon communities, I didn't want to wait to post until Tuesday. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3933156 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:32:04 +0100 3933156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907779&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FcM2IWP5I044%2F Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal claims Rite Aid pulled a fast one on consumers when it raised some prices, but then turned around blamed the state. And so he has issued a subpoena seeking information about how Rite Aid decided to charge what it does on numerous meds. To be specific, a new state law requires pharmacies to provide the same discounts to Medicaid and other state programs that are offered to consumers. However, the AG charges Rite Aid instead simply increased prices and made other changes to its Rx Savings discount drug program in the state. And then the pharmacy chain posted signs blaming its higher prices and program changes on the new law. What sorts of changes? Blumenthal cites an increase in the cost a 30-day supply of some generics from $8.99 to $10.99; el... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907779 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:32:26 +0100 3907779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885299&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2010%2F08%2Fthree-wishes.html By ROB LAMBERTS, MD So I was walking down the hallway in my office, mildly distracted, when I kicked something. It was a USB “thumb drive.” I picked it up and inspected it, trying to figure out who had dropped... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885299 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3885299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880944&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F1OYcnjqulm8%2F The HITECH Law Blog had a post recently titled “Commercial Payors Implementing EHR Meaningful Use Criteria in P4P Programs.” Here’s a short excerpt: On August 5, 2010, four major commercial health insurance payors participated in the Health Industry Forum in Washington, D.C., to discuss private industry collaboration with the United States Health & Human Services Department (HHS) to support providers in the adoption of certified electronic health records (EHRs). Leading the Forum’s panel discussion was David Blumenthal, M.D., Chief of the Office of National Coordinator of HIT. All four payors will include the Meaningful Use criteria in their pay for performance (P4P) programs. The 4 insurance groups identified are Aetna, Inc and its subsidiary, ActiveHealth Managen... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880944 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:29:56 +0100 3880944 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822870&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmore-on-huffington-post-investigative.html Being that my "HIT-injured anecdote of a mother" is very disoriented and delirious today two and a half months after her iatrogenic cerebral hemorrhage, and I cannot have a conversation of any kind with her, I decided to write some substantive comments on today's Huffington Post Investigative Fund article "FDA, Obama Digital Medical Records Team at Odds over Safety Oversight."(I'd written some preliminary comments at an earlier post entitled "Huffington Post Investigative Fund: FDA, Obama Digital Medical Records Team at Odds over Safety Oversight.")First, some relatively obvious questions about the Cerner health IT crashes at the Trinity Health System chain of hospitals featured in the story:How many patients were affected? Is the number actually known?Were affected patient charts correcte... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822870 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:58:00 +0100 3822870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822873&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fhuffington-post-investigative-fund-fda.html (Note: also see my followup post "More on Huffington Post Investigative Fund: "FDA, Obama Digital Medical Records Team at Odds over Safety Oversight")The Huffington Post Investigative Fund has published a remarkable expose of health IT difficulties and the Big Politics that surround them regarding safety and efficacy:FDA, Obama Digital Medical Records Team at Odds over Safety OversightAug. 3, 2010By Fred Schulte and Emma SchwartzComputers at a major Midwest hospital chain went awry on June 29, posting some doctors’ orders to the wrong medical charts in a few cases and possibly putting patients in harm’s way.The digital records system “would switch to another patient record without the user directing it to do so,” said Stephen Shivinsky, vice-president for corporate communications a... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822873 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:50:00 +0100 3822873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784246&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FozgMmywe9Mg%2F By Ilya ShapiroOur friends at the Competitive Enterprise Institute have released a new report on the worst state attorneys general in the country.  Despite Eliot Spitzer no longer being eligible for consideration, six attorneys general comprise the worst-in-the-nation list: 1. Jerry Brown, California 2. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut 3. Drew Edmondson, Oklahoma 4. Patrick Lynch, Rhode Island 5. Darrell McGraw, West Virginia 6. William Sorrell, Vermont The report, authored by Hans Bader (who will be contributing an article to this year’s Cato Supreme Court Review), uses several criteria for determining who made the list of shame: ethical breaches and selective applications of the law; fabricating law; usurping legislative powers; and predatory practices (such as seeking to regula... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784246 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:42:31 +0100 3784246 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784341&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fofficial-onc-and-cms-conference-call-on-ehr-stimulus-programs%2F The “Official” ONC/CMS Audio conference call on the EHR stimulus programs. Don’t want to miss this one! ONC Certification and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Final Rules How will they impact you? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) together with The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) invite you to join us for an Audio Training on the Final Rules for ONC Certification and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Learn about: • The Benefit of HIT • Summary of the final rules o ONC temporary certification process o ONC initial set of standards and implementation specifications o Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentives Programs including the initial definition of meaningful Use • W... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784341 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:11:18 +0100 3784341 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767077&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmeaningful-use-does-what-you-do-qualify%2F2010.07.19 One doesn’t usually look to the Federal Register to define meaning or purpose (philosophers, yes, but bureaucrats?), but the federal government has officially ruled on what constitutes “meaningful use” — for the purposes of distributing dollars to clinicians for electronic health records. The Wall Street Journal’s health blog has an excellent synopsis of the rule and the reaction from different interest groups and experts, and the New England Journal of Medicine has a very clear explanation and summary of its key elements by David Blumenthal, M.D., F.A.C.P., the federal government’s coordinator of health information technology. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767077 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0100 3767077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784345&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fmeaningful-use-final-rule-thoughts%2F As you can imagine my inbox has been kind of blown up with all the people talking about the final meaningful use rule. It’s going to take a bit to really digest what the final rule will mean for healthcare and EMR in general. I’m still trying to digest everything that’s been said and the 864 pages of the meaningful use rule (seriously, that’s longer than most books I read). Later today I’ll be posting a list of links to the various meaningful use articles and summaries I find on EMR and EHR. I think that will become a really valuable resource since a lot of people have done a lot of digging into the rule already. While I still have some concerns about how doctors will or will not take to the meaningful use rule and the EMR stimulus money, I have to admit that ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784345 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:21:46 +0100 3784345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753769&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fnew-england-journal-on-meaningful-use.html In the NEJM article "The 'Meaningful Use' Regulation for Electronic Health Records", David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P. (ONC Chair) and Marilyn Tavenner, R.N., M.H.A. (10.1056/NEJMp1006114, July 13, 2010) available at this link, the opening statement is (emphases mine): The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States is inevitable. EHRs will improve caregivers’ decisions and patients’ outcomes. Once patients experience the benefits of this technology, they will demand nothing less from their providers. Hundreds of thousands of physicians have already seen these benefits in their clinical practice. I think it fair to say those are grandiose statements and predictions presented with a tone of utmost certainty.(My 84 year old mother must be the sole exception to t... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753769 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:22:00 +0100 3753769 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784346&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fmeaningful-use-final-rule-published%2F This morning HHS held a live webcast (I guess it’s a news conference?) announcing the final meaningful use rule. Unfortunately, it was a little early for me on the west coast (the life of a blogger), but I caught the second half of the webcast. Seems like they have made some changes to the meaningful use program. The most notable I think are the drop in percentage of ePrescriptions that are required (now at 40% I believe) and the mandatory and ala carte meaningful use requirements. I’m really interested to look into how they’ve implemented the second option. I believe this is how they’re trying to deal with the problems of meaningful use and specialties. So, hopefully the mandatory meaningful use requirements will be those that apply to ALL specialties and then the ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784346 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:29:13 +0100 3784346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706759&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fonc-hold-hearing-privacy-enhancing-technologies ONC is making history tomorrow with the first-ever federal government sponsored hearing on privacy-enhancing technologies. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706759 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:10:31 +0100 3706759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607627&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-it-journey-stories-road Across the country, in practices large and small, urban and rural, general and specialized, health care providers are beginning their journey towards the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Some practices are in the preliminary stages of learning about health IT, while others have already implemented systems and are using them to the benefit of patients. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607627 Fri, 28 May 2010 13:34:53 +0100 3607627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529880&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fonc-pushed-multiple-directions Since the passage of the HITECH provisions of last year’s ARRA, the Obama administration has taken significant steps in several directions toward hastening the implementation of new HIT across the healthcare sector.  But while it seems safe to say those steps will bear considerable fruit in the years ahead, a series of recent stories raises the question of how many directions policymakers can go in at once and still be effective. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529880 Tue, 04 May 2010 14:54:28 +0100 3529880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529730&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fdavid-blumenthal-on-health-it-safety.html At "FDA on Health IT Adverse Consequences: 44 Reported Injuries And 6 Deaths In Two Years, Probably Just Tip of Iceberg" I wrote about a meeting of the HIT Policy Committee, Adoption/Certification Workgroup on February 25, 2010. The topic was "HIT safety." The agenda, presenters and presentations are available at this link.At this meeting FDA testimony was given by Jeffrey Shuren, Director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Dr. Shuren noted several categories of health IT-induced adverse consequences known by FDA. This information was striking.He wrote:... In the past two years, we have received 260 reports of HIT-related malfunctions with the potential for patient harm – including 44 reported injuries and 6 reported deaths. Because these reports are purely voluntary,... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529730 Mon, 03 May 2010 22:26:00 +0100 3529730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515492&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Frisks-and-flaws-nhin-development Everyone who cares about the privacy of their PHI should read Latanya Sweeney’s written testimony on the NHIN flaws (PDF).   Her criticisms of the proposed models National Health Information Network are sorely needed.   HHS has been charging ahead full steam without paying attention to the risks and flaws of the models they are funding.   (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515492 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:23:09 +0100 3515492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508289&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Faddressing-digital-divide For those concerned about the digital divide growing wider and deeper with the push for EHR adoption among providers, have no fear. The plan that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has laid out takes very seriously the need for leveling the playing field for EHR implementation. If rural and disadvantaged communities across the country in every state don't have broadband or the expertise to deploy EHR systems, the vision will not be realized. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508289 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:01:33 +0100 3508289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3504987&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fgovernors-healthcare-it-conference Although healthcare reform has its supporters and detractors, healthcare IT reform - the use of technology to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare throughout the country - has broad support from all stakeholders. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3504987 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:24:46 +0100 3504987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403980&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmarch-hit-standards-committee-meeting Yesterday's HIT Standards Committee included important discussions about NHIN Direct and a new Interoperability Framework supported by several ONC RFPs. We began the meeting with a summary of the work in progress. The Clinical Operations Workgroup is focused on vocabulary starter sets and ensuring implementation guidance is available. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403980 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:00:44 +0100 3403980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370525&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fkey-step-toward-nationwide-health-information-exchange Yesterday Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the awarding of over $160 million in new grants to help states advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. This completes the final set of awards as part of the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program, which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The first wave of 40 awards was released in mid-February. Through this final round of awards, every U.S. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370525 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:27:23 +0100 3370525 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366292&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fonc-i-trust It's my nature to question authority. Whether it's religion, politics, or even my local administrative leadership, authority figures must earn my trust. Earning that trust is not easy. As folks who work closest with me know, I believe that much of Dilbert is based on true case studies. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366292 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:36:52 +0100 3366292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335435&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F03%2F03%2Fhimss-2010-day-4%2F Once again, you can go and check out many of the tweets I did during my various activities at HIMSS on my two twitter accounts: @techguy and @ehrandhit. The day started with the Blumenthal keynote. I can’t say that he really said anything earth shattering. It was a bit interesting to hear an overview of his perspectives. However, my favorite part of his speech was his opening story about how he got involved in healthcare IT and the time when he was a doctor and his EMR saved him from making a major medical mistake. It was really smart of him to tell a story like this. He also had some really good one liners (see my twitter accounts) that indicate his goals. So, I guess the David Blumenthal HIMSS keynote wasn’t completely meaningless. Then, the rest of the afternoon was fantasti... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335435 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:20:51 +0100 3335435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3327068&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fproposed-rule-establishment-certification-programs-health-information-technology Today the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlining the proposed approach for establishing a certification program to test and certify electronic health records (EHRs). The HITECH Act mandates the development of a certification program which will give purchasers and users of EHR technology assurances that the technology and products have the necessary functionality and security to help meet meaningful use criteria. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3327068 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:49:37 +0100 3327068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322630&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FDPDzdMVRf_E%2F For the second time in the past two years, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is urging legislation requiring strict limits and disclosure of gifts from drugmakers to doc that may influence health care decisions. His proposal was made during testimony on the legislation. “This proposal recognizes that health care providers and pharmaceutical companies should interact and exchange ideas and experiences - but in the sunshine of transparency and disclosure,” Blumenthal says in a statement. “Addicted to profits, drug companies focus relentlessly on practitioners, seeking enhanced sales and profits. While certain pharmaceutical drug companies may be taking steps toward self-reform, we cannot rely solely on such efforts to break an industry attraction - some might say addi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322630 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:58:45 +0100 3322630 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316147&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fonc-himss Health IT professionals from around the country will be convening in Atlanta at the beginning of March for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) Annual Conference. HIMSS will provide a unique opportunity for ONC to speak to, learn from and interact with 27,000 leaders in the health IT field. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316147 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:28:06 +0100 3316147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3302406&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F02%2F23%2Fmy-major-himss-10-event-plans%2F I’ll admit that I’m having an interesting challenge figuring out how to manage all of the various things I can do at HIMSS. I’m sure that many others have the same problem. Not to mention managing the mix of all the content that’s coming out and planning my own visit to HIMSS. A great problem to have I think. For those who are interested in meeting me, here’s a couple places where you will be sure to find me at HIMSS 10: HIMSS Meet the Blogger Panel – I’ll be on the panel on Monday, March 1st from 3-4:30. This is an incredible panel of people that I highly respect. This should be a really lively discussion. New Media Meetups at HIMSS 10 – These events are shaping up to be really incredible events. Looking through the list of people who have R... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3302406 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:01:20 +0100 3302406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3280055&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Freducing-meaningful-use-criteria-good-move The meaningful use workgroup, which reports to HHS' Health IT Policy Committee, recommended a reduction in the number of measures providers would need to meet in order to qualify for federal incentive funds under CMS. From the overall feedback CMS has received since the meaningful use criteria was released at the end of December 2009, it's the right thing to do. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3280055 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:11:47 +0100 3280055 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3251276&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fehr-redux It's time to revive the discussion of electronic health record software in light of the new federal regulations that define criteria for meaningful use and also set criteria for the EHR technologies that must be implemented by doctors and hospitals in order for them to become, and be paid for being, "meaningful users of certified EHR technology." (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3251276 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:36:01 +0100 3251276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3185458&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fpublic-comment-period-open The Meaningful Use NPRM and the Initial Set of Standards and Certification Criteria IFR have now been published and are available for public comment. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3185458 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:47:00 +0100 3185458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105277&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FUuPe3ZdgOnE%2F The most influential person in the world of business ethics is someone who blew the whistle on Pfizer. John Kopchinski, a former sales rep whose lawsuit led to the record breaking, eye rolling, jaw dropping $2.3 billion settlement, was given this honor by the Ethisphere Institute, a think tank that is dedicated to what it calls “the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.” The choice, of course, would appear to be a determined reminder for Pfizer, and the pharmaceutical industry, in general, that corporate behavior matters. Kopschinski exposed the drugmaker’s illegal sales and marketing efforts to promote its Bextra painkiller. Federal prosecutors, you may recall, announce... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105277 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:32:31 +0100 3105277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3092776&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fextormity-throws-down.html I just received the following e-mail from Extormity: Electronic health records vendor Extormity, dismayed at the ambitious scope of ARRA meaningful use criteria, is challenging National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal to a "rumble.""This call for physical confrontation is an extension of our 'Whine into Water' lobbying initiative, where we have joined with other large and inflexible EMR vendors to raise concerns about the difficulty of achieving meaningful use as currently defined," said Extormity CEO Brantley Whittington. "If enough of us bellyache about these aggressive criteria, we are hoping they will be watered down such that meaningful use is effectively rendered meaningless.""However, in the event our campaign is unsuccessful, I would like to engage Da... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3092776 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:49:00 +0100 3092776 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3067158&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmarking-road-ahead At ONC, we’re making tremendous progress to achieve our goals and today, I wanted to provide a quick update and an important new announcement. Although I’m often out front in communicating our goals and progress, there is an entire organization – plus numerous collaborating agencies, our federal advisory committees, and other stakeholders – behind me working harder, and faster than ever, to get the right pieces in place to meet very aggressive timelines. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3067158 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:44:13 +0100 3067158 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075610&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FCwqWGMxbzrA%2F The MGMA sent a letter to David Blumenthal warning that if done poorly the ARRA’s EMR stimulus money could result in “the needless squandering of resources and significant disruption to the nation’s healthcare system.” The bNet Healthcare blog gives a summary of MGMA’s recommendations to avoid this situation: The meaningful use criteria should be easily adoptable in a wide range of practice settings, including small practices and rural practices. Between the date of the final rule and the 2011 start date of the incentive program, the government should conduct a pilot to ensure that “the process of demonstrating meaningful use is achievable and practical.” Instead of using a “pass/fail” structure, the government should inform physicians of whether they mee... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075610 Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:17:54 +0100 3075610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023239&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fcontinuing-our-conversation-about-health-it-new-onc-blog-kicks There are lots of great ideas about how to use health IT and exchange electronic health information to improve outcomes and reduce costs in our health care system.  The recent, unprecedented commitment of our nation to support the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) has accelerated the pace of conversation.  ONC and others have been listening. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023239 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:03:47 +0100 3023239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996029&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FKSZ-CmIQqbU%2F Abbott Labs’ Niaspan appeared safer and more effective that Merck’s Zetia as a secondary cholesterol treatment, according to a study released Sunday night. Funded by Abbott and called Arbiter-6, the study measured thickness of the carotid artery leading to the brain in 208 patients, who were given simvastatin along with either Niaspan or Zetia over 14 months. The study only looked at patients who had already lowered their LDL cholesterol to the recommended level by taking a statin. The upshot: Niaspan patients had reductions in artery wall thickness, while those on Zetia had no change. Docs view artery thickness as a way of predicting heart attack and stroke risks (here is the abstract). There were nine heart attacks among Zetia patients but just two in the Niaspan group. Rese... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996029 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:08:57 +0100 2996029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2981059&cid=t_234094_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fh4X6tW4plBo%2F Justin Logan beat me to the punch, but Robert Kagan and Dan Blumenthal’s op-ed in the Washington Post warrants more than just one comment. Kagan and Blumenthal fret that the Obama administration’s policy of “strategic reassurance” is sure to fail. Aimed at encouraging Russia and China, especially, to cooperate with the United States in dealing with a number of common threats, the two predict that the policy will succeed only in making “American allies nervous.” Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Not that we should go around making our allies nervous just for the heck of it, but I worry that our allies have grown, well, too comfortable with the current state of affairs in which American taxpayers and American troops bear a disproportionate ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2981059 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:32:27 +0100 2981059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954800&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FpIV5VhcUHF4%2F The state is investigating complaints of price fixing and preferential treatment in the distribution of seasonal flu vaccine. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s office told reporters it has written to 13 manufacturers and distributors of seasonal flu vaccine, requesting details on price, supply levels and distribution methods by Nov. 15, Reuters writes. Seasonal flu vaccine is in short supply, in part, because distribution has swung to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Blumenthal said his office has received complaints of seasonal flu vaccine being offered at many times the normal price, and of distributors and manufacturers reneging on previously negotiated price agreements. The vaccine makers contacted by Blumenthal’s office about alleged price gouging were Sanofi-Pasteur, a uni... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954800 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:45:27 +0100 2954800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2899042&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Foctober-hit-standards-committe-meeting As I discussed in yesterday's blog, the focus of the October HIT Standards Committee was Standards adoption and implementation.   (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2899042 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:39:39 +0100 2899042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2899200&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FnsCMrkEEIsg%2Fdr-david-blumenthals-view-on-medical.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2899200 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0100 2899200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737836&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F1lwbOB24wjg%2F David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has been putting out some letters about HIT and EHR in particular. In his latest letter he talks about the recent announcement of the HIT Regional Extension Centers designed to assist and help with the implementation, selection and use of EHR software. Here’s a portion of his letter: Key to the successful adoption and meaningful use of EHRs is the assurance that providers have the help and guidance they need to select, implement and maintain a certified EHR system. In addition, we need the various and often disparate local, statewide and regional systems to work together, regardless of location and differing state and federal standards or policies, to enhance patient care. Toward that end, the first grant progr... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737836 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:00:35 +0100 2737836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2716053&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Ffirst-from-onc.html Perhaps it's part of the Obama administration's new PR offensive on health reform, or perhaps he just wants to update the health IT community, but National Health IT Coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal has sent out an open letter to everyone on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's mailing list. Here's what he says:In my role as National Coordinator for Health IT, I have the privilege to be part of a transformative change in health care that will help to extend the benefits of health information technology (HIT) to all Americans. With the passage earlier this year of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, we have the tools to begin a major transformation in American health care made possible through the creation of... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2716053 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:05:00 +0100 2716053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691574&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fgoogle-ceo-eyes-national-ehr-database Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, warned members at a Thursday meeting of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology that the Obama administration's health IT plan relies too heavily on outdated database technology. The current plan stifles innovation and encourages the use of proprietary, copyrighted databases that cannot easily duplicate or share information, according to Schmidt. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691574 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:24:43 +0100 2691574 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2670905&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Ffinally-reasonable-plan-certification-ehr-technologies  A caution to readers: This post is about methods for certifying Electronic Health Record (EHR) technologies used by physicians, medical practices, and hospitals who hope to qualify for federal incentive payments under the so-called HITECH portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2670905 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:20:47 +0100 2670905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2580274&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmeaningful-use-vs-meaningless-adoption-electronic-health-records Dr. David Blumenthal, the new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has stressed that  the goal of the ARRA/HITECH initiative is to improve patient care, not to mindlessly adopt health information technology. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2580274 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:23:00 +0100 2580274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2561370&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FWh9le0AJha8%2F Blumenthal gave a recent speech at the HIT Symposium at MIT. I must admit that as I’ve heard Blumenthal speak I’ve grown pretty fond of what he’s trying to do within the bounds of what’s available to him. Here’s a quick look at some things he said with my thoughts. “I found that (information technology) changed me as a physician. I thought it was going to change practice. That was 10 years ago,” Blumenthal said. “I think that reality will be realized within a few years.” I’ve heard Blumenthal say this before. I guess given the number of speeches he gives it’s ok for him to repeat on occasion. That said, this is something that physicians hate to hear, but need to hear it. An EMR will change the way you practice. It won’... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2561370 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:43:03 +0100 2561370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553116&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2009%2F06%2F24%2Fmeaningful-use-matrix-from-hit-policy-committee%2F As I first looked over the meaningful use matrix (PDF) that was created by the HIT policy committee I thought that the requirements listed were reasonable and doable. Then, I realized that I was only looking at the first page of a seven page document. For now, I’ve focused on looking at the 2011 objectives. I wanted to really focus on it since that’s the bar with the most stringent timeline for those wanting to get the EHR stimulus money from ARRA. I’ll talk in more detail about the various items in a future post. However, as I look through the list of objectives to show meaningful use for 2011, I don’t think any of them sound unreasonable. On their own, each objective listed seems to be something that is completely doable. I might question why some are on the list,... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553116 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:07:10 +0100 2553116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511370&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fsecond-meeting-hit-standards-committee   Today, Jonathan Perlin and I ran the second meeting of the HIT Standards Committee. Here's a report on presentations and the work ahead. Jamie Ferguson presented the work of the Clinical Operations Working Group. There are three major threads of effort (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511370 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:23:20 +0100 2511370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511371&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fonc-meet-potential-cchit-alternatives Here's a juicy rumor from the first day of the sixth annual Healthcare Unbound conference: the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is planning a July meeting with several people considering starting up certification bodies to compete with the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511371 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:25:55 +0100 2511371 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511375&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmeaningful-use-hits-streets-tomorrow ...or at least the first draft of meaningful use.  As just about everyone who has not had their heads in the sand for the last four months knows, the definition of meaningful use is critical to future ARRA funding distribution for “certified EHR” adoption. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511375 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:48:05 +0100 2511375 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2469644&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fnational-hit-organizations-how-it-all-works Several blog readers have asked me to take a fresh look at all the organizations related to ARRA and explain how it all works. Here's my understanding: Office of the National Coordinator (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2469644 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:20:49 +0100 2469644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441858&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-much-would-it-cost-facebook-sign-11-million-people Dr. David Blumenthal, how much would it cost Facebook to sign up all 11 million Healthcare workers in America and let them use their very powerful architecture for healthcare delivery? How about then investing in third parties to build apps on top of this “Facebook for healthcare?” I guarantee it’s nowhere near the $20 billion you want to handout to the industry stuck in 1986. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441858 Thu, 21 May 2009 17:49:04 +0100 2441858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2390015&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FlTTJzcTDQuQ%2F We’re all still sitting here waiting for the government to finally decide two key terms in regards to gaining access to the $18 billion in stimulus money in the HITECH act (ARRA). I’ve been interested in the subject myself since before it was even settled that we’d call it meaningful use as opposed to meaningful EMR user. From the looks of that post back in February, there was still a lot of confusion about “meaningful use” and “certified EHR.” Turns out that a few months later, we still have very little clarification about what these two terms mean. Certified EHR discussion has really revolved around CCHIT certification or some other alternative. We’ll try to leave that discussion for other posts. What has been interesting is in just the pas... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2390015 Tue, 05 May 2009 13:19:39 +0100 2390015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2387030&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FpO91XPAtk-U%2F About a month ago I read an interesting post by Will Weider, CIO of Ministry Health Care and Affinity Health System, where Will is the first to announce delays in the HITECH Act (ARRA) EHR stimulus money. To make his case he gives two reasons for his belief: In my experience, government mandates delays are the rule This EHR deadlines are completely unreasonable HHS finally has Kathleen Sebelius in as secretary and so that should help move things along. However, I have to agree with Will that the EHR stimulus money will be delayed. I’m not really blaming HHS or ONC or any other government organization for this. The HITECH Act (ARRA) guidelines are so vague that they should take their time and make sure the $18 billion is spent wisely. Luckily, I feel like David Blumenthal seems to u... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2387030 Sun, 03 May 2009 15:12:10 +0100 2387030 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2381361&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fh_A_3byeLUM%2F I’m sure that most of you in healthcare saw that Kathleen Sebelius was finally sworn in as the new HHS secretary. You can read the reuters report on the confirmation and swearing in of Kathleen Sebelius. From the report, there’s no doubt that a lot of Kathleen Sebelius’s first job will be to work on this swine flu. No doubt a very important thing for her to keep an eye on and do what she can to protect us from having a major outbreak. However, I must admit that I get the feeling that were going to hear very little from this new HHS secretary about EMR and EHR. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see her getting really involved in all the discussions of EHR implementation and the $18 billion of EHR stimulus money as part of the HITECH Act (ARRA). Certainly she’l... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2381361 Fri, 01 May 2009 06:43:36 +0100 2381361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2365200&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2009%2F04%2F23%2Ffake-hit-and-emr-twitter-accounts%2F Many people know that I’m quite fascinated by Twitter. I love it and I love connecting with people on Twitter. However, today I came across a clearly fake twitter account. At least to me it was easy to see it was fake. It was a twitter account supposedly for Dr. David Blumenthal. Yes, the name might be familiar to many people here. How did I know it was fake? It linked to some awful news site. Plus, the tweets were just odd and so you could tell it wasn’t really Blumenthal at all. What scares me is that many people in IT and healthcare won’t know that it’s not him. In fact, that’s why I’m not going to add a link to the fake account. I guess there’s no harm in someone following a fake account. Some of the fake accounts on twitter are really funny. I... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2365200 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:51:45 +0100 2365200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2580288&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2Fo1yx5yJT8jI%2F Sometimes laws are passed and the statute itself represents 95% of the work — there aren’t many details to figure out or loose ends to tidy up. That isn’t the case with HITECH. The HITECH statute is just the beginning. Whether you’re a cat or a dog, you’ll have hopes and fears about aspects of HITECH that are unclear or yet to-be-determined (TBD). These include: (more…) Article Series - The Dog Manifesto: A Disruptive Innovator's Guide to Health ITWill HITECH Lead to Innovation? The Continuing Cat/Dog DialogueDogged Optimism: Five Innovative Aspects of HITECHFeline Foot-Dragging: Three Non-Innovative Aspects of HITECHWait and See: What’s Unclear or To-Be-Determined (TBD) About HITECH.Can Cats Think Outside the Box? Here’s a Role Model.Stand for Quality G... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2580288 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:09:06 +0100 2580288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2314640&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2Fo1yx5yJT8jI%2F Sometimes laws are passed and the statute itself represents 95% of the work — there aren’t many details to figure out or loose ends to tidy up. That isn’t the case with HITECH. The HITECH statute is just the beginning. Whether you’re a cat or a dog, you’ll have hopes and fears about aspects of HITECH that are unclear or yet to-be-determined (TBD). These include: (more…) Article Series - The Dog Manifesto: A Disruptive Innovator's Guide to Health ITWill HITECH Lead to Innovation? The Continuing Cat/Dog DialogueDogged Optimism: Five Innovative Aspects of HITECHFeline Foot-Dragging: Three Non-Innovative Aspects of HITECHWait and See: What’s Unclear or To-Be-Determined (TBD) About HITECH.Can Cats Think Outside the Box? Here’s a Role ... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2314640 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:09:06 +0100 2314640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2314600&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fsiloed-tethered-phrs-are-dead-end The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a good one. First, is but another paper, this one authored by many including our new head of ONC, Professor David Blumenthal, regarding the abysmal adoption of EMRs. At least it appears that Blumenthal is fully aware of the challenges he faces in implementing the HITECH Act to drive greater EHR adoption. (Note: There is a separate, shorter “Perspective” article authored solely by Blumenthal, which we'll review later.) (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2314600 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:47:45 +0100 2314600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2288996&cid=t_234094_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fblumenthal-named-national-coordinator.html Well, Robert Kolodner, M.D., won't be keeping his job as national coordinator for health IT after all. That's because the Obama administration today named Harvard University medical informaticist David Blumenthal, M.D., to lead the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.Blumenthal, director of the Institute for Health Policy at Partners HealthCare System in Boston, was a senior advisor to Barack Obama during the presidential campaign and years ago was an aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), so this sounds like a clear political move. Kolodner was a career professional at the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to taking over at ONC in 2006, and Healthcare IT News reports that he likely will be going back to the VA. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Bl... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2288996 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:31:00 +0100 2288996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2202581&cid=t_234094_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F20%2Fendocyte-begins-phase-ii-clinical-trial-of-ec145-for-treatment-of-women-with-platinum-resistant-ovarian-cancer%2F “Endocyte Inc. has announced the initiation of a randomized Phase II clinical study of the company’s investigational drug EC145 in women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The phase II trial, also called the “PRECEDENT study,” will evaluate the efficacy and safety of EC145 when administered in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). …The PRECEDENT study will [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2202581 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:35:15 +0100 2202581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013830&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F474816952%2F For the past month, a favorite sport among some Washington insiders and, certainly, the pharmaceutical world has been trying to figure out who will succeed the unflappable Andy von Eschenbach as FDA commissioner. Would it be the FDA’s own Janet Woodcock? Baltimore health commissioner Josh Sharfstein? Duke’s Robert Califf? Harvard’s David Blumenthal? Or maybe Cleveland Clinic’s Steve Nissen? Now, US Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, is nominating several candidates for the post and one of them is…. drumroll…. Peter Rost, the former marketing exec who is embroiled in a whistleblower lawsuit with Pfizer (look here) and gained notoriety for stumping in Washington DC - with Brown at his side - in favor of importing lower-cost drugs from Canada. Brown’s l... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013830 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:48:10 +0100 2013830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939689&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F444339445%2F Who might succeed Andy von Eschenbach at the agency? This is fast becoming a favorite game now that the election is over. Last week, former FDA commish Mark McClellan demurred when asked whether Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and Barack Obama adviser Steve Nissen should be a likely choice (many pundits say he is, but our reader poll suggests otherwise; please see below). Whoever is chosen has a tremendous task to accomplish, given repeated crises involving the food supply and drug safety, and the lack of consistent and assertive leadership. “What’s important is that the agency has credibility…that’s important not just for consumers but also for industry,” Joshua Sharfstein, who oversees the Baltimore Health Department and has been mentioned as a possible conte... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939689 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:59:59 +0100 1939689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1561426&cid=t_234094_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F01%2Fthe-situation-of-affective-forecasting-and-the-law-abstract%2F Discussion turns on the appropriateness of various emotions for the substantive law, and on attempts to model the place of the emotions in the law. Implicit in some of these theories, however - and explicit in others - is the assumption that emotions are predictable, manageable, and (for some commentators) under conscious control. This assumption is belied by psychological research on affective forecasting that demonstrates individuals’ inability to accurately predict future emotional states, both their own and others’. Such inaccuracy has surprisingly broad implications for both substantive and procedural aspects of the legal system. The research findings also demonstrate the implausibility of some theoretical models of the emotions; if these models are flawed, then the normat... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1561426 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:57:30 +0100 1561426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1478215&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F300711541%2F The attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, filed the lawsuit over allegations the big distributor illegally inflated wholesale costs for hundreds of brand-name meds, including Celebrex, Lipitor, Flonase, Prevacid, Nexium and Valium. The move comes one week after San Francisco did the same thing. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Boston, accuses McKesson of violating federal racketeering and state consumer protection laws by conspiring with First DataBank, which publishes prescription drug prices, to inflate average wholesale prices for pharmaceuticals. The lawsuit, however, doesn’t name First DataBank as a defendant. Here is the lawsuit. McKesson’s “illegal and deceptive practices” caused consumers and state-funded health care programs to overpaying by... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1478215 Thu, 29 May 2008 18:25:23 +0100 1478215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1392576&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F275686734%2F In formal testimony before the state’s Legislature yesterday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked for help against influence wielded by drugmakers, Legal Newsline reports. Blumenthal wants to make it illegal for drugmakers to give gifts or other benefits to docs that may influence their health care decisions despite a code of ethics the industry has already adopted. In his view, the code is meaningless and unenforceable. “As multi-national, sophisticated, profit-driven companies, drug companies spend billions of dollars on relentless direct marketing to health care providers, seeking to increase sales and profits,” he said, according to the legal news site. Both PhRMA and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations passe... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1392576 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:10:59 +0100 1392576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1340919&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F261940423%2F Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a lawsuit in federal court to force the agency to act on his four-year-old Citizen’s Petition seeking stronger warnings on Purdue Pharma’s notorious painkiller. In a statement, he charges that “continued inaction by the FDA on OxyContin warnings…could be devastating because…abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin has become the greatest drug threat in the Northeast region.” This is the lawsuit. Blumenthal filed a Citizen’s Petition in January 2004 following an investigation the previous year into Purdue Pharma. Despite info on the package insert that the FDA recommends only 12-hour dosing, Blumenthal found Purdue Pharma had strong evidence showing shorter dosing is “rife with hazard” and a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1340919 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:48:15 +0100 1340919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1294722&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F249687328%2F Yet another state is suing the drugmaker over allegations of illegally marketing the antipsychotic and concealing side effects such as weight gain and diabetes. Between 1996 and 2006, state Medical Assistance Programs spent more than $190 million on Zyprexa, and millions more were spent to treat injuries caused by Zyprexa. “Through a complex series of illegal rackets and lies, Eli Lilly built a multibillion-dollar drug enterprise at the expense of taxpayers, consumers and patient lives,” says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in a statement in which he accused Lilly of promoting the drug for anxiety, depression and ADD in children even though the med was never approved by the FDA to treat those ailments. “…This scheme involved payments to public officials,... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1294722 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:29:51 +0100 1294722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1186089&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F225189211%2F They’re lining up. First, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, then the Senate Finance Committee and then the New York Attorney General begin investigations into the handling of the controversial Vytorin trial. Now Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s attorney general, has joined the parade of lawmakers probing how Merck and Schering-Plough handled the study data and the marketing of the expensive cholesterol med. “We are investigating whether state funds were spent on false assurances about the safety and effectiveness of these drugs,” Blumenthal tells The Wall Street Journal. He’s referring to Vytorin and Zetia, which Merck and Schering co-market in a joint venture. The state’s Medicaid program was the main public source of money spent on the drugs, a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1186089 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:41:15 +0100 1186089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1156043&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F217741153%2F Last night, the American College of Cardiology issued a statement urging docs and patients not to panic over the results of the controversial Vytorin trial, which found no statistical difference in plaque in arteries being measured. The findings generated tremendous publicity this week because Merck and Schering-Plough delayed releasing the results for two years and then, briefly, changed the primary endpoint - without consulting the lead researcher. Congress is investigating the delay. Steve Nissen called for a moratorium on Vytorin. Investors sold Merck and Schering-Plough stock. Here’s a curious side note - the ACC statement was issued in response to numerous queries from docs, nurses and the media, according to an ACC spokeswoman. It was drafted by an unnamed group of ACC leaders... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1156043 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:18:54 +0100 1156043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=873929&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F156847082%2F The drugmaker argues the problem is all about inappropriate prescribing. So Cephalon sent letters to docs this week warning that several deaths have been linked to Fentora, a highly addictive narcotic used to treat acute cancer pain. Here’s the catch - Fentora and its predecessor, Actiq, are approved only for use in cancer patients, but are often prescribed off-label for headaches and back pain. Cephalon has always denied any off-label marketing, but its being investigated by the US attorney in Philadelphia and the Connecticut attorney general (see page 11 of the latest SEC filing), and a congressional probe into off-label treatments. (In the wake of the OxyContin scandal, this shouldn’t come as a surprise). A Cephalon press release wasn’t specific about the number of de... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=873929 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:04:48 +0100 873929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=797219&cid=t_234094_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F143830787%2F The drugmaker is quickly coming to resemble The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Two months ago, Pfizer suffered an enormous embarassment after revealing that personal data, including social security numbers, belonging to 17,000 former and current employees was compromised after unauthorized file sharing software was used by an employee’s spouse on a laptop. Now, Pfizer is ‘fessing up to another incident. This time, two Pfizer laptops were stolen from a locked car, The Day reports. The laptops, which disappeared May 31 in Boston, included the names, addresses, social security numbers and cell phone numbers of health-care professionals who “were providing or considering providing contract services for Pfizer,” according to a letter sent to Connecticut attorney genera... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=797219 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:11:23 +0100 797219