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 'cross'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:51:20 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107644&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FbZl-aySdFfA%2F I’m rather shocked to hear tonight that Bernadine Healy, M.D., has died of a brain tumor. Dr. Healy, who turned 67 on Thursday, was the first woman to head the National Institutes of Health (1991-93). She also served as president of the American Red Cross, was  dean of the Ohio State University College of Medicine and was health editor of US News and World Report. Dr. Healy, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, was deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Policy under President Ronald Reagan. She was married to former Cleveland Clinic CEO Floyd Loop, M.D. I met Dr. Healy once, after she spoke at the Medical Group Management Association‘s annual conference in 2003. For someone as busy as she was, she couldn’t have been more gracious. I lost my job just a cou... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107644 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:53:11 +0100 5107644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096209&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Feven-with-insurance-childbirth-is-an-expensive-undertaking%2F2011.08.03 Childbirth hospital costs these days aren’t cheap. Some studies suggest the cost of raising a child exceeds $200,000, not including education expenses.   Most insurance companies charge women of childbearing age more for their insurance because the actuarial tables say so.  Mrs  Happy and I now have a 3 month old Zachary in our wings.  He is a cute little peanut.  His two brothers, Marty and Cooper adore him. Forty-two days after his April 21st, 2011 delivery, we still had not received our explanation of benefits from Blue Cross Blue Shield for the midwife charge.  I had previously received a statement from them saying the charge was under review.  Perhaps they believed that delivering Zachary was not medically necessary.  I can’t explain it. When I called to ask them w... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096209 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:00:00 +0100 5096209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062290&cid=t_101566_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F25%2Fneed-mental-health-treatment-in-2-weeks-fat-chance%2F This study demonstrates quite the opposite. Read the full article: Medical News: Barriers High in Mental Health Care (Source: World of Psychology) World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062290 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:15:01 +0100 5062290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050459&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fblood-money-at-border-red-cross-and.html Writing in our local Providence Journal, Felice Freyer reported on a story that becomes less bewildering when viewed in the context of how nominally not-for-profit health care organizations are now run.  The Border DisputeIt seems that two such non-profits are having a border dispute:Two local charities are fighting for your blood.The Rhode Island Blood Center, long the sole blood-collection agency in the state, is objecting to incursions by the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, which recently started holding blood drives here.A war of words has resulted, with the blood center accusing the Red Cross of a 'campaign of misinformation,' and the Red Cross calling the blood center 'hypocritical.' The Hospital Association of Rhode Island entered the fray with a letter to blood do... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050459 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:58:00 +0100 5050459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893454&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fscary-images-on-cigarette-packages-do-make-people-think-about-quitting%2F2011.06.02 The World Health Organization (WHO) says graphic health warnings on tobacco packages are a powerful “best buy” in decreasing tobacco use and its many health consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the research in the MMWR. The World Health Organization (WHO) created a treaty for tobacco product labels that many countries have ratified. Among other requirements, these warnings are expected to appear on at least 30%, and ideally 50% or more, of the package’s principal display areas, and preferably use pictures. To assess how cigarette package labels impact quitting smoking, researchers used data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 14 countries from 2008 to 2010 that had ratified WHO’s tobacco control treaty. Current smokers of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893454 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:00:00 +0100 4893454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872476&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fl6OCIRjRzwE%2F And so another working week is about to come to an end, which means we can daydream about weekend plans. Our modest agenda includes hanging out with the short people and catching up on some reading. What about you? Maybe a dip in the pool? A walk in the park? Perhaps gazing into the future? This side of the pond has a three-day break, of course, so there will be more time to indulge. Whatever you do, have a great time and see you soon… Novartis Found Not Liable For Jaw Disease (Reuters) Medco Loses Blue Cross Blue Shield Contract (Reuters) Trimeris Gets $5M In Roche Settlement (Triangle Business Journal) Pharma Protests UK Pricing Plan (Bloomberg News) AstraZeneca Confirms Endings Payments For Docs To Attend Meetings (Reuters) CMS Proposes Looser E-Prescribing Rules (Internal Medicin... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872476 Fri, 27 May 2011 12:09:07 +0100 4872476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820950&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F-gmzgCD_78g%2F I’ve just finished my latest post for EMR and HIPAA, based on a session I moderated this week at the the Institute for Health Technology Transformation health IT summit in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Here’s a taste: The panelists did great job of articulating some of these conundrums and strategies to overcome them, but none better than Kevin Maher, director of clinical innovations for Horizon Healthcare Innovations, a new affiliate of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey tasked with testing new care models, and Victor Freeman, M.D., quality director in the Health Resources and Services Administration‘s Office of Health IT and Quality. The patient-centered medical home is a great idea for managing care, promoting prevention and, ultimately reducing costs. “We view the ba... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820950 Thu, 12 May 2011 21:59:53 +0100 4820950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820952&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FD3BF4RAkszU%2F Healthcare and health IT are plagued by conundrums. Providers long have been the ones asked to make hefty investments in EMRs and other IT systems to help remove costs from the healthcare system, but payers and plan sponsors tend to enjoy most of the financial benefits. Clinicians wish their organizations would share data with others, but those in the executive suite have been reluctant to cooperate with competitors for fear of losing revenue. And, let’s face it, medical errors can be profitable if a routine procedure turns into an expensive inpatient admission. Portions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are intended to address these problems by providing financial incentives for “meaningful use” of EMRs (incl... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820952 Thu, 12 May 2011 21:45:30 +0100 4820952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758703&cid=t_101566_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fjournal-of-the-american-medical-association-2011-vol-305-no-12%2F The objective of this study is to test the efficacy of hydrocortisone therapy in trauma patients. The study concludes that in intubated trauma patients, the use of an intravenous stress-dose of hydrocortisone, compared with placebo, resulted in a decreased risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia. An NHS Athens password is required to access this article, alternatively contact the Library for a copy of this article. Filed under: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Cross Infection, Hydrocortisone, Intensive Care Units, Intubation, Patient Safety, Pneumonia, Randomised Controlled Trials, Trauma, Wounds and Injuries (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758703 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:50:27 +0100 4758703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742340&cid=t_101566_85_f&fid=34967&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fdocisinblog%2FwNlq%2F%7E3%2FUABws3Cvwso%2F Today is Good Friday. It has been my custom, on this extraordinary day, to post an old meditation on the meaning of the cross, called Three Men on a Friday. Today, however, I feel led to meditate on something rather different, though not unrelated. Good Friday, of course, is the Church’s remembrance of its most central truths: that God became man, was crucified to pay the price which we could not pay, and was raised victorious on the third day. Good Friday is a somber day, a day to remember that we individually are responsible for the torture and agony which befell Christ — that he hangs on the Cross in our stead. Yet, in the deep sorrow and humility which we bring to mind on this profound day, there is also an extraordinary hope: that in our greatest disasters, in our biggest ... The Doctor Is In blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742340 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:33:33 +0100 4742340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4724193&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2011%2F04%2F16%2Fmusic-4-japan%2F What a wonderful project! Independent musicians donated the songs — 46 tracks in all — and 100 percent of the money goes to Red Cross in Japan. Check out this song by the Mighty Oaks, a Berlin-based folk group: More information here: Music 4 Japan. From the project founder Wells Baum: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the submissions from musicians and labels across the globe to help support this campaign. As a result, you will hear 41+ diverse tracks, including Indie Rock, Electronica, Beats, Hip-Hop, Grime, and even a little Country.” Filed under: Music, Social Media Tagged: indie, japan, music 4 japan, red cross, tsunami (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4724193 Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:28:38 +0100 4724193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642780&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fiap-applied-psychometrics-101-report-10.html Should psychologists engage in the practice of calculating simple arithmetic averages of two or more scaled or standard scores from different subtests (pseudo-composites) within or across different IQ batteries? Dr. Joel Schneider and I, Dr. Kevin McGrew say "no."Do psychologists who include simple pseudo-composite scores in their reports, or make interpretations and recommendations based on such scores, have a professional responsibility to alert recipients of psychological reports (e.g., lawyers, the courts, parents, special education staff, other mental health practitioners, etc.) of the potential amount of error in their statements when simple pseudo-composite scores are the foundation of some of their statements? We believe "yes."Simple pseudo-composite scores, in contrast to norm-bas... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642780 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 20:13:00 +0100 4642780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615107&cid=t_101566_88_f&fid=35612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheknifeman.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2F30-dsc-day-9.html 9: A Song You Can Dance To.Well... I can't dance, not even for toffee, but I would HAVE to dance to this. Some of you will know why. (Source: The KnifeMan) The KnifeMan blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615107 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:11:00 +0100 4615107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592326&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fsome-dare-call-it-corruption.html We have discussed many cases of health care organizations' leaders reaping rewards disproportionate to any concept of their performance, and especially to any concept of the effect of their conduct on patients' or the public's health.  Most of these cases have been pretty anechoic, but for some reason, the case of the huge golden parachute given to the outgoing CEO of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield despite a tenure  marked by financial losses and no particularly brilliant advances in patients' care or outcomes, (see this post) continues to generate responses.  One editorial suggested that should the non-profit health insurance company continue to pay so lavishly, it should lose its tax exemption.  Another noted that the company should start put... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592326 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:50:00 +0100 4592326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4575025&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fmassachusetts-blue-cross-blue-shield.html We have frequently discussed the kind of compensation now frequently given to leaders of health care organizations.  Although often even the most disproportionately outrageous compensation only attracts transient interest, a recent regional story in this genre has really gotten legs.How Big the Golden Parachute?The story was about the severance package given to one Cleve L Killingsworth, the former CEO of not-for-profit health care insurance company Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield.  While first reported as being worth $8.6 million,(1) the estimate of his total severance was soon raised to $11 million.(2)This is a Way to Control Costs?Immediately, that amount was contrasted with the supposed emphasis of the company on controlling costs, and its recent poor performance: K... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4575025 Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:37:00 +0100 4575025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566308&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fslaying-dragons.html Sun don't go downpurple and scarlet and bluelet me pause herethese precious moments are fewWhen the moon has taken the sky's throneand turned all the land to shadowthat's when I dream of the little girlwho once was me.Twirl me around,and hold me tight,tell bedtime storiesand kiss me goodnightthen I'd return to the child I've beenThe princess who once was me.High heels, lace veils,dresses too long and too loose.In games I was grown up,a little bit taller than you.Now that I'm taller, I long to be smaller,like the gangly, brown-eyed girlwho once was me.A tattered shoeboxhouses my little girl thingsBits of writing,pearls, fake diamonds, and rings.A rose that my Mama once gave to meA picture of Papa by the sea - I open it sometimes to have a peakat the girl that once was me.Sometimes I go... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566308 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:56:00 +0100 4566308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560524&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fseeing-through-lies.html I believe it is He that sends the snow crystals floating on the swirling winds, cascading into piles of glitter, transforming our world and lighting the nights with reflection. I can credit Him with that mystery.Fire. Where did that come from? Just like the breath of life from His lips into our nostrils, it's lit by His miracles. I stare at fire for hours. And think about Him. I credit Him with that mystery.The sun rises a flame every morning.And sets in red and gold every night. And though I've searched science and I know enough physics to understand the earth spinning around the sun, I can't come up with any other beginning than a creation. A miracle. That I credit to Him.I see the figures of the monks and the apostles and the theologians and the saints of old, marching timeless through ... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560524 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:03:00 +0100 4560524 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544970&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcdc-campaign-hasnt-slowed-inappropriate-antibiotic-use%2F2011.03.03 High rates of inappropriate antibiotic use continued despite a 15-year campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at Michigan physicians and consumers on the dangers of antibiotic overuse. The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) released an issue brief detailing overall antibiotic prescribing for adult Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) members. (The project is a non-profit partnership between the University of Michigan and BCBSM.) While antibiotic prescribing in adults decreased 9.3 percent from 2007 to 2009, it increased 4.5 percent for children during the same time period. The studies found significant differences in prescribing patterns between rural southeast Michigan and the rest of the state, particularly for children. Chi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544970 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4544970 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4389317&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Flife-in-color.html You don’t have to ask me whyBecause I know you understandAll the treasures of my lifeAre right here in my handSuspended in a moment No more breath to catchIf you hold on to your endMaybe we can make this lastThis is the greatest time of dayWhen all the clocks are spinning backwardsAnd all the ropes that bind begin to frayAnd all the black and white turns into colorsI don’t want to build a wallOr draw a line across the sandBecause there’s room for one and allAnd this land is our landOh I hope this can go on and on and onBefore the skipping stone hits the surface of the pondOh I know that life is never very longOne second, then one minute, and then its goneYou want to sink into the colors on the wallBut all the while you are the brightest of them allThis is the greatest time of da... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4389317 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:03:00 +0100 4389317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4230189&cid=t_101566_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F05%2Fspirituality-and-bipolar-disorder%2F According to Kevin Culligan, O.C.D, manic depression can mimic the behavior of someone growing in her spiritual life. Hey, that’s great news for me! The next time I get manic and tell an inappropriate joke to a colleague, I can say that I’m just getting closer to God, that’s all. Here’s what he has to say, Keith Egan’s book, Carmelite Prayer: A Tradition for the 21st Century… The spiritual life can also easily mask a bipolar disorder or what has traditionally been called a manic-depressive condition. As a mood disorder, depression has usually been linked in systems of classifications of mental disorders with mania, an agitated mood that is at the other end of the affective continuum opposite a depressed or dysphoric mood. Manic symptoms are many: inappr... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4230189 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:57:18 +0100 4230189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214488&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fa9wDDRQ7was%2F Getting people to take their meds is always tricky business, but drugmakers should pay more attention to the colors of their over-the-counter salves, because color is a memory tag for compliance and can, not surprisingly, also be easily translated into brand loyalty, according to a paper in the International Journal of Biotechnology. After questioning 600 people who use OTC drugs, 75 percent cited color as an important way to remember specific meds, depending upon such variables as age, gender and religion (read the abstract). But “surprisingly little attention is paid to the sensory attributes of a vast majority of dosage forms in the pharmaceutical industry,” write the researchers from the University of Bombay, according to In-Pharma Technologist. “Unfortunately, a drug produc... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214488 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:46:34 +0100 4214488 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152234&cid=t_101566_149_f&fid=35790&url=http%3A%2F%2Forganometallics.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fbidentate-p-np-ligand-for-nickel.html JOCBidentate P, N−P Ligand for Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Aryl or Benzyl Chlorides with ArMgXRaju Ghosh and Amitabha Sarkar (Source: Organometallic Current) Organometallic Current blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152234 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 03:55:00 +0100 4152234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142716&cid=t_101566_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fstudy-suggests-red-meat-consumption-types-stomach-esophageal-cancer%2F A new study out by lead researcher Dr. Amanda Cross is suggesting an association between the consumption of red meat and the development of some types of stomach and esophageal cancer. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142716 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 03:14:39 +0100 4142716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152236&cid=t_101566_149_f&fid=35790&url=http%3A%2F%2Forganometallics.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fsynlett-gagnon-alexandre-albert-vincent.html SYNLETTGagnon, Alexandre; Albert, Vincent; Duplessis, Martin:Csp³-Csp² Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reaction of Trialkylbismuth Reagents with Aryl, Heteroaryl, and Vinyl Halides and Triflates (Source: Organometallic Current) Organometallic Current blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152236 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:39:00 +0100 4152236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082062&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0L1HfBXgumw%2F By Michael F. CannonObamaCare has touched off a battle between Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield and Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. From the commissioner’s press release: Kreidler orders Regence BlueShield to cover children OLYMPIA, Wash. – Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler ordered Regence BlueShield this morning to stop illegally denying insurance to children, effective immediately. “Regence is in clear violation of state law that prohibits insurers from denying insurance to people on the basis of age,” said Kreidler. “I was shocked and deeply disappointed when Regence announced its decision last week to stop selling insurance to kids.” The Affordable Care Act requires all health plans to cover kids with pre-existing conditions&#8230... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082062 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:11:59 +0100 4082062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082065&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F81XNKefd6eU%2F Conclusion: “The gutting of Medicare claim goes too far…What this means for seniors is a bit murkier.”  True enough: even if ObamaCare’s implausible Medicare cuts take effect, they clearly would not “gut” Medicare.  (BTW, click here or here for a politically sustainable way to restrain Medicare spending.)  The authors also note that Medicare Advantage enrollees would lose some benefits.  But when the article claims that ObamaCare will not eliminate any “basic” Medicare benefits, it neglects to mention that Medicare’s chief actuary estimates that the law could cause 15 percent of hospitals, home health agencies, and other providers to stop accepting Medicare patients.  If your hospital no longer accepts your Medicare coverage, is th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082065 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:02:13 +0100 4082065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4061047&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fare-you-willing-to-be-hated.html ...we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure. (I Corinthians 4:12)I think this is an interesting idea: willing to be reviled. I haven't thought about this for a while.  Most of my suffering is physical...like this woman's. Yet, she sees in her suffering a spiritual connection, beauty, and opportunity that I have not noticed in mine. Am I willing to be hated?  I remember reading as a child that for the sins of many, Christ was reviled. He was willing to be hated, willing to humble Himself to the lowest depths this fallen world could offer - to die an unjust but ever so necessary death. In I Peter 2:23-25, it says that when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting hims... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4061047 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:29:00 +0100 4061047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036628&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FER3SAYAz_MI%2F By Michael F. CannonIn this morning’s Charlotte Observer, I explain how ObamaCare is destroying consumer protections.  Exhibit A is Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s decision to refund $156 million to its policyholders: BCBSNC’s refunds show that ObamaCare is leaving seriously ill patients with less protection, not more. Health insurance was hardly perfect before ObamaCare, but BCBSNC’s policyholders had insurance that had pre-funded many of their future medical bills. Now, ObamaCare has effectively transferred those reserves from the sick to the healthy. Seriously ill policyholders now have less protection against BCBSNC reneging on its commitments to them. Competition used to discourage skimping; ObamaCare rewards it. Due to space considerations, the edi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036628 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:22:23 +0100 4036628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027316&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fon-leaving-home.html Break my heart, take my dreams, they’re only in the wayOf what’s better than I ask or imagineYou’re my home, You’re my place, each and every word You say~ from Burn for You by Steele Croswhite ~It is a yellow house on a windy hill.  It is the faces of my children.  It is the gray carpet and pewter walls of my church sanctuary.  It is Wisconsin.  It is the country.  It is my bed at night, with my husband's arms wrapped around.All of that, come October and November, is what I think about giving up.  And as the years pass, and I do it again and again, I am more and more sure that God is telling me to give it up.  Not to walk away from it, not to abandon missions here for missions elsewhere, or to forsake the responsibility of feeding and clothing my ... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027316 Sun, 03 Oct 2010 20:50:00 +0100 4027316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3998959&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmP4je9Jwvv4%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Two of Minnesota’s biggest health plans said Thursday they have temporarily suspended sales of individual health insurance policies because of uncertainty related to the new federal health reform law. The moves by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and HealthPartners came on the same day some of the federal government’s most-heralded consumer protections came into effect… The insurers that have suspended individual sales say they are awaiting guidance on new rules, including those around coverage of kids with pre-existing conditions… Pam Lux, a spokeswoman for Eagan-based Blue Cross, said she expects the suspension of individual sales to be brief but could not say if it would be days or weeks. (Source: Cato... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3998959 Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:09:13 +0100 3998959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987196&cid=t_101566_134_f&fid=35187&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDiabetesDaily%2F%7E3%2Fb6u9ykIdeSI%2Fcwd-friends-for-life---mountain-climber.php Sorry folks, I'm not done gushing about CWD Friends For Life.   I left off with Jay Hewitt on three TV screens, and some evening basketball with Gary Scheiner.I had just as much trouble choosing sessions on Friday as I did the day before.  I'm a big fan of Tom Karlya, also known as "Diabetes Dad", which made my morning decision that much easier.  He and Kimberly Davis, Director of Federal Affairs at Johnson & Johnson, did two great sessions on "How to Talk to Your Congressperson".  It was fantastic.  They were fantastic.Did you know that in Province, RI it is illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday?  Or that in North Dakota it is illegal to go to bed wearing shoes?  Or that in Kentucky it is illegal to transpo... Diabetes Daily blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987196 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0100 3987196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3980817&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7wLnv6a_8s4%2F By Michael F. CannonDuring the (initial) congressional debate over ObamaCare, President Obama vilified Anthem Blue Cross of California for a 39 percent rate increase.  On Wednesday, the Hartford Courant reported that ObamaCare itself may increase premiums by similar amounts: Health insurers are asking for immediate rate hikes of more than 20 percent in Connecticut for some plans, citing rising medical costs and federal health reform laws as reasons… In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent. The reason is that among all the plans, some already deliver the provisions required by health reform, while others do not… Anthem Blue Cross an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3980817 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:43:45 +0100 3980817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880944&cid=t_101566_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=3858384&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FiHdtUlcLcSo%2Ftop-10-reasons-why-you-should-attend.html The Multi Channel Pharma Marketing Event, taking place this October in Princeton, New Jersey, is the one event that brings together product managers and marketing operations under one roof to discuss cross-channel media plans that will build brand value and elevate top line sales.Here are the Top 10 Reasons you should join us at The Multi Channel Pharma Marketing Event:● Get the Most Out of Your Agency Partnerships From Contract to Execution● Prepare for the Paradigm Marketing Shift Created by the New Economic and Regulatory Environment● Enhance Patient-Provider Relationships to Achieve True Return on Engagement● Adopt Actionable Segmentation Techniques to Drive Market Growth● Improve Mission Critical Managed Care Partnerships to Secure Market Access● Take Value Add to the Next... ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858384 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:58:00 +0100 3858384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3831431&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fthree-more-understated-aspects-icd-10-part-two ICD-10 is a multi-headed beast. As such, there are many faces to the new code sets; some are well known while others, often just as important, are not so understood. In our first installment, ICD10Watch reported the facets that readers likely do not, but really ought to, know more about. That triptych has since proven to be something of a beginning. And so the list of understated ICD-10 aspects continues: (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3831431 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:54:35 +0100 3831431 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802551&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F29%2Fresearchers-identify-missing-link-underlying-dna-repair-platinum-drug-resistance%2F Researchers have discovered an enzyme crucial to a type of DNA repair that also causes resistance to a class of cancer drugs most commonly used against ovarian cancer. Scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Life Sciences Institute of Zhejiang University in China report the discovery of the enzyme and [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802551 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:45:58 +0100 3802551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706640&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Feco-friendly-family-mother-and-daughter-bike-for-land-conservation%2F photo via Planet Green You think your morning ride to work was rough? Try biking cross-country. Helen and Al Steussy, a mother-daughter team, are on day nine of 50 in their 3,630-mile journey from Oregon to New Hampshire. They’re doing it all in the name of land conservation. The Steussys aim to raise $20,000 to stop current trends of city sprawl. Each day, 5,000 acres of land are developed in the U.S. That’s a lot of land that could be an eco-friendly nature preserve, but instead becomes a parking lot, an office park, high-rise condos, a Target, or some other big box store. Money raised will be donated to Red-tail Conservancy, the Land Trust Alliance, and local land trusts the Steussys find along the way. Track their progress and donate on their website. via Planet Green Post... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706640 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:41:45 +0100 3706640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3678530&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmatch-devan-tatlows-blood-marrow-save-his-life%2F2010.06.17 Four-year-old Devan Tatlow’s struggle with leukemia has caused quite a stir on the Internet, prompting celebs like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to encourage people to donate their bone marrow. Dr. Jon LaPook talks with Devan’s family about their search for a match. Watch CBS News Videos Online Umbilical Cord Blood: Save It and Save Lives By Jon LaPook, M.D. Imagine throwing a lifesaving treatment in the garbage. That’s exactly what happens in the United States over ten thousand times a day because we do not routinely offer to collect precious umbilical cord blood at the time of birth. Thousands of Americans — many of them children — needlessly die annually because they cannot find either a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood match to help treat condition... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3678530 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:00:42 +0100 3678530 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3671693&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmatch-devan-tatlows-blood-marrow-save-his-life%2F2010.06.17 Four-year-old Devan Tatlow’s struggle with leukemia has caused quite a stir on the Internet, prompting celebs like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to encourage people to donate their bone marrow. Dr. Jon LaPook talks with Devan’s family about their search for a match. Watch CBS News Videos Online Umbilical Cord Blood: Save It and Save Lives By Jon LaPook, M.D. Imagine throwing a lifesaving treatment in the garbage. That’s exactly what happens in the United States over ten thousand times a day because we do not routinely offer to collect precious umbilical cord blood at the time of birth. Thousands of Americans — many of them children — needlessly die annually because they cannot find either a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood match to help treat condition... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3671693 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:00:42 +0100 3671693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644726&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fkind-of-blackmail-not-for-profit-health.html Here is another case in the annals of over-paid executives of not-for-profit health care organizations, this time from the Burlington (VT) Free-Press,Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont overpaid its former chief executive officer by $3 million over an eight-year period and has been ordered to pay the money back to its subscribers by 2012 in the form of reduced premiums, a top state regulator said Wednesday.The action by the state Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department follows last year’s disclosure that William Milnes, the nonprofit firm’s former CEO, received a $7.2 million payout when he stepped down in 2008.Furthermore, note that [Commissioner of the Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department Paulette] Thabault said h... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644726 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:49:00 +0100 3644726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599700&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fwhat-remains.html Elisabeth Elliot's prayer today: Lord, deliver us from smallness and self-pity. "Make us masters of ourselves that we may be the servants of others"(Sir Alexander Patterson).I have always been a very "in the moment" sort of person. The moment is the focus: if it's good, entertaining, sweet - then I am in a good mood; if it's bad, negative, draining, tiresome - then I am in a bad mood. Living with cancer, living with a child with new disabilities, requires that I step outside the moment.I started that process by developing a constant scale system, completely internally and inside my own head. My "inner monologue" often had to do with weighing the pros and cons - adding a pro here or a con there depending on the moment, and then evaluating the sum. A good day had more pros in it than cons. A... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599700 Tue, 25 May 2010 16:50:00 +0100 3599700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3595901&cid=t_101566_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2F23hT6UTUROU%2F As stated in our third tradition, the only requirement for membership in Marijuana Anonymous is a desire to stop using marijuana. There is no mention of any other drugs or alcohol. This is to adhere to the "singleness of purpose" concept, but many of us have found that the only way that we can keep our sobriety is to abstain from all mind and mood altering chemicals, including alcohol. When we give up the drug of our choice, a void is created. The initial struggle to abstain from marijuana use often leaves us vulnerable. To fill this void we may start to use, or increase the use of, other substances such as alcohol, cocaine, pills, or other self-prescribed drugs. Although we may not now be addicted to these substances, their use can lower our inhibitions, leaving us open to repea... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3595901 Tue, 25 May 2010 15:10:00 +0100 3595901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3589017&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbreast-cancer-survivors-can-donate-blood%2F I have been under the completely mistaken assumption that breast cancer survivors can’t be blood donors. Somewhere, I heard that if you had been diagnosed with cancer and then also had chemotherapy, you were not eligible to give blood. I think about giving blood often and urge family members and friends to give. I have often wished that I could contribute to blood banks and drives, but truly believed that having had breast cancer eliminated me. Yesterday I decided I really didn’t know for sure and that I should look into it. On its list of eligibility requirements for blood donation, the American Red Cross states that people diagnosed with cancer can donate if the cancer was treated successfully and at least 12 months have passed with no cancer recurrence. This is a change from their p... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3589017 Fri, 21 May 2010 21:09:01 +0100 3589017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581571&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fpaying-ceos-of-health-care-not-for.html Million dollar plus executives of not-for-profit health care insurance companies seem to be becoming a dime a dozen.  Late in April, Buffalo Business First reported the pay of executives of some western New York health insurance companies:The top local executives at the region’s three major nonprofit health plans received nearly $23 million in salaries and bonuses last year.More than 70 people received total compensation of $160,000 or more. That’s the level at which insurers are required to report in annual reports to the state Department of Insurance.When you include executives who work for those three health plans but are located outside Western New York, the total compensation for top-paid execs totaled $46.4 million last year.Among the local executives in the Western New York... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581571 Wed, 19 May 2010 21:32:00 +0100 3581571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560174&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmore-fat-bigots-in-leader-of.html I am amplifying a post by Roy Poses entitled "Why Pretend An Advertising Executive and Chamber of Commerce Leader Are Public Health Experts?".In that post, Dr. Poses noted a lack of relevant professional credentials in executives making profoundly misinformed and indeed cruel statements about the obese:Obesity as a public health problem has been the subject of considerable discussion. So that luminaries from the prestigious Partners Healthcare system and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield would weigh in on the issue at a public meeting should surprise no one. But see this report by the Boston Herald:When asked about rising health-care costs, Jack Connors - chairman of the Partners chain, which includes Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals - said yesterday, 'Taking care of yo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560174 Wed, 12 May 2010 11:54:00 +0100 3560174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556036&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmore-fat-bigots-in-leader-of.html I am amplifying a post by Roy Poses entitled "Why Pretend An Advertising Executive and Chamber of Commerce Leader Are Public Health Experts?".In that post, Dr. Poses noted a lack of relevant professional credentials in executives making profoundly misinformed and indeed cruel statements about the obese:Obesity as a public health problem has been the subject of considerable discussion. So that luminaries from the prestigious Partners Healthcare system and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield would weigh in on the issue at a public meeting should surprise no one. But see this report by the Boston Herald:When asked about rising health-care costs, Jack Connors - chairman of the Partners chain, which includes Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals - said yesterday, 'Taking care of yo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556036 Wed, 12 May 2010 11:54:00 +0100 3556036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549275&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fwhy-pretend-advertising-executive-and.html Obesity as a public health problem has been the subject of considerable discussion.  So that luminaries from the prestigious Partners Healthcare system and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield would weigh in on the issue at a public meeting should surprise no one.  But see this report by the Boston Herald:When asked about rising health-care costs, Jack Connors - chairman of the Partners chain, which includes Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals - said yesterday, 'Taking care of yourself starts at home.''What happened to individual responsibility?' Connors said at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Westin Boston Waterfront. 'Why is obesity such an epidemic (when) we all know that a big part of being healthy is exercising and eating the right fo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549275 Mon, 10 May 2010 16:07:00 +0100 3549275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538245&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Ficd-9-icd-10-crosswalks-theres-got-be-better-way At a time when industry bodies and consultancies are trying to figure out how providers and payers can best transform existing ICD-9 data into the imminent ICD-10 code schemes, and the word “crosswalk” keeps being batted around, Dennis Winkler at Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan is the curious case of an ICD-10 crosswalk contrarian, believing he's found a better path. Winkler, it seems, just might be onto something that appears revolutionary but in practice is not. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538245 Thu, 06 May 2010 12:21:54 +0100 3538245 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524432&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Ftired-of-singing-sad-songs.html Rosy's ballet slipper sparkling in the sun.The pavement is soaking wet, the snow hasn’t fallen yetI whisper your name and I can see my breathI’m tired of singing sad songsThe world’s fallen fast asleep and I’m walking down the streetI whisper your name without the heavinessAnd I’m tired of singing sad songsWhen the flowers bloom darling we will too After a hard cold winterAnd the birds fly home with a lighter load They’re singing a hymn of summerThe willow has lost her leaves naked she does not weepShe whispers “it’s finally time to breathe”And she’s tired of singing sad songsAll I have are memories and really that’s fine with meI whisper your name, smile and believeThat it’s time to sing a new songI found words of encouragement from my new discovery, Sara Beth G... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524432 Sat, 01 May 2010 17:36:00 +0100 3524432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3482987&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fdissertation-dish-extension-of-chc.html Structural extension of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll cross-battery approach to include measures of visual-motor integration by Brooks, Janell Hargrove, Ph.D., Georgia State University, 2009 , 117 pages; AAT 3401596Abstract In spite of the long-standing tradition of including measures of visual-motor integration in psychological evaluations, visual-motor abilities have not been included in the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities or its complementary cross-battery approach to assessment. The purpose of this research was to identify the shared constructs of a popular test of visual-motor integration and a test of intellectual functioning, and to investigate how a test of visual-motor integration would be classified within the CHC model. A large normative sample of 3,015 parti... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3482987 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:27:00 +0100 3482987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3480939&cid=t_101566_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FzTMCp0nR5j4%2F This article may help men with such desires. Many men accept cross dressing as normal Every year, several hundred traditional husbands, fathers and businessmen come together for parties, seminars and workshops exploring the thorny issue of how to buy the right wig and hide a 5 o’clock shadow with the foundation and blush-on. Heterosexual married men from suburbia with families who cross dress? What’s going on? Apparently a much more common practice than most people would imagine. It’s estimated that at least 1% of the male population cross dresses. And even as we approach the 21st Century, the idea of a heterosexual man in heels is still more than a little threatening. And confusing even for the cross dressers themselves. As JoAnn Roberts, founder of Renaissance, a Delawa... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3480939 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:47:44 +0100 3480939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424994&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fflanagan-ppt-slides-re-theory-and.html The PPT slides for Dr. Dawn Flanagan's Wiley Webinar on theory and research-based approaches to SLD identification is now available for on-line viewing (and downloading) at IQ's Corner SlideShare home.  Thank you to Dr. Flanagan for making this available for others.Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, special education, LD, SLD, learning disabilities, Wiley Webinar, Flanagan Webinar, CHC, Cattell-Horn-Carroll, WJ III, SBV, KABC-II, DAS-II, WISC-IV, WAIS-IV, neuropsychology, school neuropsychology (Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner)) Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424994 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:54:00 +0100 3424994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390722&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Feffort-to-make-health-insurance.html We previously discussed a legal settlement of charges that UnitedHealth's Ingenix subsidiary manipulated its database of payments to physicians so as to reduce its and other insurers' payments to "out-of-network" physicians.  One aspect of the settlement was a new initiative to better determine such payments.  Now that effort has been caught up in the web of conflicts of interests that has ensnared health care.  As reported by the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, [New York state Attorney General Andrew] Cuomo obtained $100 million in settlements from 13 insurers, including Excellus, that used the defective reimbursement data supplied by Ingenix, a subsidiary of United Health, the nation’s second biggest insurer. Cuomo’s investigation showed... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390722 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:50:00 +0100 3390722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358943&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fpay-it-forward-science-says-sure%2F If you’ve texted “Haiti” to the American Red Cross, babysat for a friend in a pinch, or helped a stranger carry her stroller up a flight of stairs, it might actually be contagious. A March 8 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that people who’ve benefited from the charitable acts of others are more likely to emulate the kind acts, a la Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey in “Pay It Forward.” Researchers modeled these findings in the drawing below from Wired.com. Who knew scientists could draw? "Kindness Network" Post from: BlissTree (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358943 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:26 +0100 3358943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3342829&cid=t_101566_134_f&fid=34841&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diabetesmine.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fkris-freeman-closing-thoughts-on-vancouver-2010.html Admittedly, I’m a bit tardy here in publishing the final installment of my Winter Olympics conversations with cross-country skier Kris Freeman.  He has type 1 diabetes and was America’s best hope for a medal in his sport in Vancouver this year — but alas, things did not go well for Kris this time around.  He [...] (Source: Diabetes Mine) Diabetes Mine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3342829 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:00:35 +0100 3342829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294756&cid=t_101566_134_f&fid=34841&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diabetesmine.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fkris-freeman-update-breaking-d-ground-in-olympic-endurance-sport.html I’m back today for my second exclusive check-in with Kris Freeman, world-class cross-country skier competing in the Winter Olympics this week. He’s the only athlete there with diabetes. And on Saturday, it caught up with him. A blood sugar crash killed his chances for taking a medal in the men’s 30K event, where he was [...] (Source: Diabetes Mine) Diabetes Mine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294756 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:00:35 +0100 3294756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3283775&cid=t_101566_134_f&fid=34841&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diabetesmine.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fchecking-in-with-kris-freeman-type-1-diabetic-going-for-olympic-gold.html This year, and among the thousands of ueber-athletes striving for Gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics, there’s one ueber-diabetic. His name is Kris Freeman, and he’s a star cross-country skier, poised to break the USA’s decades-old “Olympic medal drought” in that sport — and also the first-ever athlete with Type 1 diabetes to compete in [...] (Source: Diabetes Mine) Diabetes Mine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3283775 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:00:23 +0100 3283775 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3204821&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fsex-change-how-young-is-too-young%2F If your teen came to you and said that he or she felt that their sex was wrong, that they identified more with the opposite sex, how do you think you would handle it? Of course, such a question isn’t fair because it’s highly unlikely there weren’t any signs earlier in the child’s life. There have been stories in the news about children trying to attend school as a member of the opposite sex. Parents of these children have been both attacked and praised for their decisions to allow their cross-gendered children to live in the way they feel is right for them. But allowing a child to live as a member of the opposite sex and allowing him or her to have gender reassignment surgery are two different things. One is not permanent, the other is. So, that begs the question, i... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3204821 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:57:16 +0100 3204821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3178958&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F01%2F15%2Fthink-before-you-plunk-which-charity-will-use-your-haiti-donation-wisely%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up: Haiti earthquake survivors Compassion for the victims of Tuesday’s earthquake outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has prompted caring people to donate. I had planned to write a quick post discouraging donations to big, bloated, bureaucratic charities with overpaid CEOs and marketing budgets more appropriate for multinational oil companies than nonprofits. But I soon realized that by the time I separated rumors from facts and scandals from smear campaigns, Haiti would be fully rebuilt and I would be serving out my dotage in the Sarah Daft Home. So I’ll just suggest as a caution that readers check out Caroline Preston’s 2007 post on philanthropy.com, “What the Red Cross Scandal Says About All Charities,” in which she quot... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3178958 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:23:09 +0100 3178958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3175845&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fhaiti-disaster-relief-organizations%2F The devastating earthquake this week in Haiti again brings to the forefront the issue of infant feeding in emergencies. You might recall how dangerous it is for relief efforts to send artificial baby milk to disaster sites due to a lack of sanitary water, inadequate supplies, the increased risk of deadly respiratory infections and diarrhea in non-breastfed babies, and poor access to medical care. A man carries a baby among the debris in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 13 January 2010 after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the island on 12 January 2010; IMG: ZUMA Press So if you choose to donate to an organization involved in the relief efforts in Haiti, please consider choosing an organization that supports breastfeeding in emergencies. As a starting place to determine which agency in your ho... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3175845 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:33:58 +0100 3175845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105044&cid=t_101566_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Frule-of-twenties.html Heard from a local independent gerontologist tonight who does not accept Medicare or other insurance payments in our state: "When it comes to geriatrics, it's the rule of twenties: 20 problems20 medications20-minute phone calls20 minutes to take their clothes off20 minutes to put their clothes back on.With the initial physical exam, three follow-up visits, and one EKG that Medicare pays for, I would receive only $360 in total. I pay $40,000 per year in malpractice, yet have never had a judgement against me. Think how may patients I'd have to see to cover just that expense. (editor's answer: 111)You wonder why I am not a Medicare provider? I'd never survive at that their payment rate. And Blue Cross? They're no better and often pay less. Funny thing is, Medicare was only too happy to have m... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105044 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:54:00 +0100 3105044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3048076&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fbreastfeeding-news-for-december-1%2F In addition to the report of yet another breastfeeding discrimination incident that I discussed here, three stories caught my eye today. AIDS Awareness ribbons; Photo by Subhadip Mukherjee1. Tanya at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog presents some timely news for World AIDS Day. The World Health Organization announced big changes in the breastfeeding recommendation for HIV-positive mothers in developing countries. In general, HIV-positive mothers are advised to feed their babies breast milk substitutes only if it is “acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe.” If such feeding is not acceptable, feasible, affordable and safe, then mothers in developing countries were formerly advised to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and discontinue breastfeeding as... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3048076 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:52:12 +0100 3048076 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023147&cid=t_101566_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fwhen-insurers-dominate-market-share.html Prices rise:One factor that could be driving larger increases locally: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois, which historically has used its dominant 50%-plus marketshare to undercut competitors' prices, has been more aggressive with rates this enrollment season, brokers say."Blue Cross is the one company that is consistently coming in with higher renewal increases," says Rob Wilson, an insurance broker and president of Westmont-based Employco Group.A Blue Cross spokeswoman declines to comment.Funny that when hospital systems coalesce and raise prices to remain "competetive," the FTC cries foul, but when the insurance industry does the same thing, the FTC can't be bothered.But then, the government knows what's best for patients, right?-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysio... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023147 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:19:00 +0100 3023147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2995838&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fwais-iv-and-wia-iii-chc-test.html Flanagan et al. have now made available their CHC cross-battery assessment classifications for download at their XBA On-Line web site. Check 'em out here.   Click here for link to IAP AP101 report on WAIS-IV CHC analysis.Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, LD, special education, neuropsychology, CHC, CHC theory, Cattell-Horn-Carroll, XBA, cross-battery, IQ, IQ tests, intelligence, cognitive abilities (Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner)) Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2995838 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:29:00 +0100 2995838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2946956&cid=t_101566_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F10%2F31%2Fthis-halloween-i-will-face-my-greatest-fear%2F Yes, that’s Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Also my long time nemesis. I hate her. She stole my perfectly good name and turned it into a joke. On her About Me page she says, “When you hear the name Elvira only one person comes to mind…” Excuse me? And what does that make me? Chopped liver? You might be thinking, “Gee, Elvira, why would it scare you to be associated, even loosely, with a s.ty, Vampira wannabe in a cheap wig? [Yes. Before Elvira there was Vampira (circa 1953), the first ever late night horror film hostess. She was featured in that wonderfully campy Tim Burton film 'Ed Wood', with Johnny Depp as the cross dressing Mr. Wood.] Anywho… I don’t really mind that much…anymore…but once upon a time I dreaded hearing my name mispron... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2946956 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:54:16 +0100 2946956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2943954&cid=t_101566_125_f&fid=34820&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dentalblogs.com%2Farchives%2Fadministrator%2Fcranham-on-swine-flu-and-infection-control%2F This is a personal interest for me since my son was premature and is at high risk for flu and illness. We’re always on top of these things. The Swine Flu has been a little blown out of proportion by the media in my opinion, but whatever strain of flu exists, it’s good for professionals to think at a high level for infection control – from how we wash hands to always wearing gloves to covering surfaces to sterilizing handpieces and lasers. It’s a great time to review these procedures that prevent disease transmission. We don’t need to go crazy, but we need to prioritize infection control. I think staff vaccinations should be a personal decision for each individual, not mandated by the government. For me, I get the vaccine, but I haven’t yet gotten the H1N1 vaccine because it’s... dental blog for dentists about dentistry blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2943954 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:27:17 +0100 2943954 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642968&cid=t_101566_145_f&fid=35710&url=http%3A%2F%2Fksdescartin.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F28%2Ffloods-in-manila-capital-city-of-the-philippines-ways-to-donate%2F Typhoon Ondoy hits the capital city of Metro Manila, Philippines very recently. Maps via Google. Here are some links to the news: China View [with photos] New York Times [via Associated Press] Philippine Daily Inquirer [one of Philippines' national newspaper] Here’s a link to a video of the said floods in various areas of the the metropolis. [video via INITIATE 360 on YouTube] Ways to donate towards supporting work that assist Typhoon Ondoy victims in the Philippines: 1.  TXTPower [magbayanihan@yahoo.com.ph] This is a Philippine listed organization. There is a possibility that donations coming from the U.S. are not tax deductible, in case that is a concern. However, they have a Paypal account—thus, very convenient. Please do your own research about the organization. I did m... the story of healing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642968 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:42:38 +0100 4642968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2788493&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fmore-on-healthcare-management-by-domain.html Both Roy Poses and I have written on a plague of healthcare mismanagement and perhaps malfeasance in part due to leadership by domain amateurs, i.e., healthcare leadership profoundly lacking in biomedical education and experience.Examples of recent posts about the risks posed by domain neutral biomedical leadership are:"NY Times Proclaims Anyone Can Run a Health Care Organization with a Little Studying Up" (Poses)"Health Care Leaders: Don't Know Much About Health Care" (Poses)"On Optimal Expertise for Leadership in Biomedicine" (me)"Informatics, or Infomagic? Health IT Cannot Flourish When Everybody is an Expert" (me)and "Pfizer/Wyeth Merger And Sacrificing The Future: Laying Off Scientific Staff All Over The Place" (me).I have also written of a cross-occupational invasion of healthcare by... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2788493 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:38:00 +0100 2788493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737726&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fcross-occupational-invasion-of-medicine.html I have written on these pages about a cross-occupational invasion of medicine by IT personnel, wherein the IT personnel seem to forget that they are facilitators of healthcare, not enablers, with a primary purpose of serving the needs of clinicians.The HISTalk site recently posted an attorney's views on the "hold harmless" and "defects nondisclosure" controversy first reported on by Koppel and Kreda in JAMA, and amplified in my letter to the editor in the same publication. The attorney's views at HISTalk (link below) are quite reasonable regarding such practices.However, the user comments thread reveals some attitudes exemplifying the "invasion" of which I've written. Both the attorney's post and the responses by a poster under the nom-de-blog "Programmer" to others' concerns can be read a... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737726 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:15:00 +0100 2737726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2606168&cid=t_101566_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Frhinotillexomania-nose-picking.html I am busy picking my nose in a precious moment of privacy, when he bursts into the bathroom to use the facilities, “ooo what you are do?”I put down the tweezers to explain myself, “well I’m pulling off all the dead sunburnt skin from the tip of my nose.”“Rudolph!”“Yes……thank you. It’s very sore actually.”“Why it burn?”“The sun……when we were in England.”“It is being polite?”“Polite?”“Er…….English style nose pickin.”“!”If you like what you read, send it to someone in 'need.' (Source: Whitterer on Autism) Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2606168 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:43:00 +0100 2606168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556170&cid=t_101566_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F06%2F30%2Fstalking-irish-madness-an-interview-with-patrick-tracey%2F Today I have the honor of interviewing Irish author Patrick Tracey, who penned an amazing book, “Stalking Irish Madness Searching for the Roots of My Family’s Schizophrenia,” for which he has won the Ken Book Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness for “outstanding literary contribution to the understanding of mental illness,” a Slate best book of 2008, and the prestigious PEN New England/L.L. Winship Award for Nonfiction. “Stalking Irish Madness” is a dynamite, compelling read. It’s intriguing, informative, poetic, and captivating. 1) Correct me if I’m wrong. You began this search because you have been so devastated by the emotional toll that schizophrenia has already had in your family, which includes two of your sisters, ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556170 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:01:58 +0100 2556170 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415544&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fchc-theory-prior-cognitive-achievement.html The first attempt to summarize the cognitive-achievement relations research vis-à-vis a CHC lens (CHC COG-ACH) was presented in McGrew and Flanagan's (1998) Intelligence Test Desk Reference: Gf-Gc Cross-Battery Assessment (ITDR). The closest other effort of note is the blended CHC-neuropsychological research integration efforts of Fiorello and colleagues (Fiorello, Hale & Snyder, 2006; Fiorello & Primerano, 2005; Hale & Fiorello, 2004).According to Flanagan et al. (2006), studies were identified for potential inclusion in their CHC COG-ACH summaries via three search methods. First, research studies that investigated the relations between cognitive abilities and reading, math, and writing achievement were identified via a search of the PsycINFO electronic database. Second, an a... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415544 Mon, 18 May 2009 18:16:00 +0100 2415544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2414777&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fmachinery-behind-healthcare-reform-how.html In many past posts on Healthcare Renewal I have commented on a bewildering healthcare and IT industry blindness to a growing body of literature and experiences of those "in the trenches" that throw doubts upon Utopian views of health IT as a panacea for healthcare's problems. Those responsible for this literature advise caution and the highest levels of scientific rigor in the large scale adoption of clinical information technology if that technology is to actually improve healthcare, myself included. We know the risks. Bad healthcare informatics wastes money and distracts clinicians. Bad healthcare informatics can kill. "Primum non nocerum" is a critical ideology in health IT.I first wrote about these observations a decade ago and was merely standing on the shoulders of those who precede... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2414777 Sat, 16 May 2009 23:06:00 +0100 2414777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415549&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fchc-theory-emergence-test-instruments_15.html Contemporary Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) intelligence test development, interpretation and applied research can be traced to a fortuitous meeting of Richard Woodcock, John Horn, and John “Jack” Carroll in the fall of 1985, a meeting also attended by the first author of this web-resource ( McGrew, 2005). This meeting resulted in the 1989 publication of the first individually-administered, nationally standardized CHC-based intelligence battery, the Woodcock- Johnson- Revised (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 1989). This landmark event, which occurred 20 years ago, provided the impetus for the major CHC- driven evolution of school- based intelligence testing practice. Subsequent important CHC events followed during this 20 year period, and included: (a) the first set of CHC- organized joi... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415549 Fri, 15 May 2009 17:47:00 +0100 2415549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405573&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fbreaking-news-private-sector-health.html There's some fairly significant news coming out of Washington tonight: A CNN Money report via Yahoo! says that six key private-sector health industry groups have agreed to participate in the Obama administration's effort to reform healthcare by pledging to take $2 trillion in costs out of the system over the next 10 years. "Six trade associations representing unions, hospitals, insurers and the drug industry have signed on to the commitment," the story says. An Associated Press story says doctors are participating as well. Based on these stories, we can safely assume that coalition includes the AMA, AHA, AHIP, PhRMA and probably the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and the Service Employees International Union. We'll know for sure Monday when representatives from the six participatin... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405573 Mon, 11 May 2009 04:52:00 +0100 2405573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2382301&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fwas-google-lobbying-washington-for.html At "Should Google Seek the Resignations of Those Responsible for This Healthcare IT Debacle?" I expressed great concern about what I term the cross occupational intrusion of the IT industry into healthcare.My major concern in that post was how the information technologists at Google, even with nearly unlimited access to capital (and therefore to the world's informatics expertise) badly mismanaged a Personal Health Records (PHR) project through commission of a most fundamental biomedical information science blunder (quite distinct from IT; most IT technologists and MIS personnel really stink at biomedical information science). They tried to map relatively ungranular, imprecise, and often misused billing codes back to enduser-viewable diagnoses, resulting in easily predictable patient panic ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2382301 Fri, 01 May 2009 17:43:00 +0100 2382301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375957&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fupmc-pioneers-in-health-it-or-pioneers.html Hospitals as a "Proving Ground" for tests of unproven health IT - upon children?At my post "BusinessWeek on Health IT: The Dubious Promise of Digital Medicine" I began to discuss the responses made by health IT vendors and organizations regarding HIT problems and defects, raised in a very serious BusinessWeek article on these issues.In this post I address the following claims:[HIT vendor Cerner] faced more questions over its technology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In 2005 researchers there found that at the university's Children's Hospital [note that this is a Children's Hospital - ed.], patient deaths more than doubled, to 6.6% of intensive-care admissions, in the five months following the installation of a computerized order-entry system. The research on child p... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375957 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:38:00 +0100 2375957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2376497&cid=t_101566_130_f&fid=34938&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEvidenceInMotion%2F%7E3%2FXYZ4e4AYj6k%2Fa-physical-therapist-in-new-york-goes-public.html About 1 year ago, I attended the Michigan Physical Therapy Association spring meeting and brought up a very valid concern about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a non-profit insurance company that continually increases premiums, continually pays its administrators high annual salaries and by switching most of its insurance plans to PPO plans continues to pay less to providers.  Of course, I haven't heard a darn thing with regard to what the MPTA has done in researching how BCBSM can elevate premiums yet concurrently maintain or decrease the fee schedule.  Providing insurance coverage should be a risk... subscribers pay to reduce their financial medical bill risk and insurance companies should be somewhat gambling in determining their premium amo... MyPhysicalTherapySpace.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2376497 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:38:15 +0100 2376497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347934&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Feveryones-expert-in-healthcare-and.html (Note: be aware the "story" about Amazon.com below is a parody.)At "Informatics, or Infomagic? Health IT Cannot Flourish When Everybody is an Expert" I lamented that those lacking biomedical and healthcare informatics experience were growing bolder in their cross-occupational invasion of medicine, and were deluded about their own lack of knowledge in a very specialized domain. The IT specialties appear the most intrusive, followed by anyone who's made money with computers.I've written many times on a critical first principle: health IT applications are medical devices for complex clinical environments that happen to involve computers. However, consistent with the diminution of critical thinking skills that bought us our currently economically and culturally depressed society, the prevaili... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347934 Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:37:00 +0100 2347934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347938&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fhealth-it-vendor-blames-hit-problems-on.html Seen on the HisTALK blog:http://histalk2.com/2009/04/16/news-41609/#comment-3996Mythoughts Exactly Says: In my experience with EMR implementations, the big reason they are unsuccessful is because as Pete Potomus says “Drs are busy people” [busy with patient care activities and responsibilities - ed.], they want it to be flexible enough to conform to their individual standards and the customer doesn’t take ownership of the process of implementation and customization to the individual physician needs. It’s not that many of the EMRs don’t have the flexibility - it’s that the medical profession is too “busy” to take the time to learn the application [sure, doctors have all the time in the world to learn how to use tools like this - ed.], take advantage of all the functionalit... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347938 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:03:00 +0100 2347938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517183&cid=t_101566_101_f&fid=38975&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicblog999.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F14%2Fone-big-happy-pre-hospital-family%2F This post is in direct reply to a comment made by NickF on my recent post “Patient collapsed – First aider on scene”. If you haven’t read his comment, have a quick flick back and see he questions before you read on! Specifically, the point I want to discuss is : “I know some professional ambulance crews hate SJA, assuming all members are either well intentioned buffoons or failed/wannabe Paramedics. I would be interested in your opinion. I often wonder why when we are in trouble up a mountain or at sea we are happy to see a team of dedicated and well trained volunteers turn up and think them heroes (quite rightly) but if a SJA ambulance turns up it is seen as second rate service – I assume it is because there is a professional alternative but I still thi... Medic999 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517183 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:58:21 +0100 4517183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263911&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fhealth-care-ceo-who-didnt-put-his-own.html We recently posted about executives at two different not-for-profit health care insurance companies/ managed care organizations whose pay seemed to keep levitating, despite organizational financial losses, and commented on how the compensation of top executives of health care organizations seems always to go up, regardless of the financial fortunes, or quality of the products or services provided by their organizations. (Posts here and here.)Today's Boston Globe, however, provided a contrast. The background is that the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a renowned Harvard teaching institution, is facing a budget shortfall.Paul Levy, the guy who runs Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was standing in Sherman Auditorium the other day, before some of the very people to whom he m... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263911 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:17:00 +0100 2263911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2235747&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fculture-language-interpretive-matrix.html [double click on image to see enlarged and clearer image]How good are current models for evaluating the cultural loading and linguistic complexity of individual tests in individually administered intelligence batteries?To date, the most visible work has been based on the Flanagan, Ortiz et al. groups cross-battery work and their presentation of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) in which individual tests in IQ batteries are categorized in terms of their perceived linguistic demand and cultural loading.I've always believed that the C-LIM made logical and theoretical sense, but was in sore need of some empirical research evidence support.Previously I presented an attempt by myself and Jeff Evans to quantify the linguistic demands of individually administered tests. That researc... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2235747 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:09:00 +0100 2235747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232511&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2F43-million-dollar-ceo-for-not-for.html The US stock markets are at lows unseen for more than 10 years, unemployment is rising, around the world national deficits are increasing, and times are tough for ostensibly not-for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health care insurer/ managed care organization. Per the Boston Globe:Blue Cross-Blue Shield's business was affected by the stock market decline, the recession, and the increasing cost of medical care.Membership at the state's largest health plan declined about 40,000 to just over 3 million.'The decline in membership had an impact on results,' said chief financial officer Allen Maltz. 'In addition, many of our customers changed their benefits plans to products that have much lower margins.'Blue Cross-Blue Shield insures employees of national... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232511 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:12:00 +0100 2232511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2170628&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fwhy-clinical-groupware-may-be-next-big-thing-health-it What would you call health care software that: (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2170628 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:44:46 +0100 2170628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2168086&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FBreastfeeding123%2F%7E3%2FI7TlWG6HQco%2F Actress Salma Hayek took a humanitarian trip to Sierra Leone in an effort to fight preventable deaths from tetanus. Whether you are pro- or anti-vaccine, the piece is fascinating, in particular because Salma Hayek talks passionately about breastfeeding. ABC News reported: Hayek’s daughter, Valentina, turned 1 before the trip and the actress spoke about the importance of breast-feeding, especially in underdeveloped countries such as Sierra Leone. In fact doctors there say that because malnutrition is so rampant they would like to see women in Sierra Leone breast-feed for two years. But such behavior is rare. The reason? Men urge their wives to quickly stop breast-feeding because of cultural mores that forbid sexual intercourse with breast-feeding women. In the video coverage, Salma Ha... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2168086 Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:05:52 +0100 2168086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2147605&cid=t_101566_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FnqZEs6b_tto%2F Red hair is among the rarest of hair colors, with only 1% of the population having that natural hair. I personally think red hair makes heads turn. Check out these natural red-heads: Julianne Moore, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Ferguson, Marcia Cross and of course, Prince Harry (and great grannie Queen Elizabeth I). Auburn, ginger, bright orange, carrot-top:  they are all the same red hair, and most would be sharing the same gene. Some variants of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene are strongly associated with red hair. The gene codes for a receptor that is expressed on pigment cells in the skin (melanocytes). This receptor responds to a hormone that stimutats the production of the dark pigment eumelanin. So, if you have a variant of the MC1R gene that turns off the receptor, the pigm... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2147605 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:09:00 +0100 2147605 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2086898&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fto-whom-did-scorpions-in-bottle-owe.html In 2000, an important meeting took place between two men.The first was a member of the board of directors of Merck Inc, the global pharmaceutical company, and of the board of Charles River Laboratories, which helps "our global partners accelerate drug discovery and development by providing them with tailored research models and preclinical, clinical, support services." The second was a member of the board of IMH Health, which advertises that it provides "global information, analytics and consulting" to support "the life cycle of medicines," from "the earliest stages of research and development through product launch, product maturation and patent expiration," and on the board of BankBoston Corporation, a national and international bank holding company. What might they have talked about?It ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2086898 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:49:00 +0100 2086898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2079027&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F495728856%2F This article provides is a very good market overview. The reporter and I also discussed in depth the need for better consumer education and professional development, so people can make informed decisions, and for cognitive assessments to serve as independent baseline, help identify priorities and measure results. Please note that our market estimates do include revenues of computerized cognitive assessments, today mostly used in clinical trials, and wthin the military and sports teams. 2) Navigating the brain fitness landscape: do's and don'ts (McKnight's Long Term Care News) Comment: "Choosing the right cognitive fitness product or program for senior living residents is harder than it sounds. But understanding residents' needs, identifying your objectives and considering the total c... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2079027 Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:03:07 +0100 2079027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996398&cid=t_101566_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FOzZt3QVrsCU%2F I mentioned Alex Bain and Tyler McNeil and Jonathan Brunot, who’ve all run marathons, while encouraging Charlie to try the treadmill on Tuesday: Today’s Ventura County Star reports on 15-year-old Joshua Otani, who’s a member of the Pacifica cross country team. He competed in the Pacific View League Championships and is thinking of joining the track team, too. Guess we’ll have to keep at that treadmill to catch up! Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, cross country, disabilities blog, disability, Education, marathon, new york marathon, runner, running, trackShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996398 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:36:08 +0100 1996398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947960&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F447995271%2F My apologies for not writing in a few days...the Global Agenda Summit in Dubai has required all my attention - I will summarize the great experience when I land back in San Francisco tomorrow night. The concepts of night and day do become challenging when working for a few days in a place with a 12-hour time difference with one's home base. Sleep is indeed very important to maintain top cognitive shape...which leads me to a fascinating news announcement: Health insurance firms offering online cognitive therapy for insomnia (Los Angeles Times) - "helping consumers get a good night's sleep has become a priority for most of the top-tier U.S. health insurance companies, including WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente and several Blue Cross plans. Their new programs don't involve slee... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947960 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:52:44 +0100 1947960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1903473&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fwisc-iiiwj-iii-cross-battery-guttman-2.html One more WISC-III/WJ III cross-battery analysis--this time a 2-D Guttman Radex MDS model (click here).  As readers have noted, I've been on a bit of a data analysis binge this past week (in preparation for writing a manuscript---and after being refreshed by an actual 2+ week vacation) and have reported:  (a) WISC-III/WJ III cross-battery g+specific cog-ach relations SEM, (b) WJ III 2-D Guttman Radex MDS of WJ III norm sample ages 6-8, and (c) WJ III 3-D Guttman Radex MDS of ages 9-13 of norm sample.  It is hoped these analyses provide useful information in understanding the characteristics of the tests in the WJ III and Wechsler intelligence batteries.Unfortunately this analysis is based on the WISC-III and not the more recent WISC-IV.  Nevertheless, the results still provide useful in... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1903473 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:12:00 +0100 1903473 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1897016&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fwisc-iiiwj-iii-cross-battery-gspecific.html WISC-III/WJ III cross-battery g+specific abilities research reinforces "just say maybe" program of CHC g+specific abilities research.I'm just starting the process of drafting a manuscript to summarize the results of the IAP CHC COG-ACH Correlates Meta-Analysis project (click here).  In that on-line EWOK (Evolving Web of Knowledge) I list a McGrew (2007a) study in the reading and math summary tables.  That reference reflects unpublished re-analysis I completed (last fall) with the Phelps et al. (2007) joint (cross-battery) WISC-III/WJ III dataset.  In order to include the findings in the synthesis manuscript, I felt it appropriate to at least informally publish the final models for reference.  Two important caveats.  I'm a coauthor of the WJ III (conflict of interest disclosure).  The... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1897016 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:27:00 +0100 1897016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1883659&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FBreastfeeding123%2F%7E3%2Fny7Zbd8cRDg%2F In this video Dr. Jack Newman guides a woman in using the cross-cradle hold to latch her baby onto the breast. While there are many different breastfeeding positions, the cross-cradle hold can be particularly helpful for newborns. Note how the mother is not forcefully pushing the baby’s head onto the breast, but rather is simply supporting the head and bringing the baby tummy-to-tummy and using her arm on the baby’s back and hand under the baby’s face. This position also allows for breast compressions (using the mother’s thumb on top of the breast and four fingers underneath the breast to compress the breast when baby is just “nibbling” and not actively sucking and swallowing large mouthfuls). Tags: breastfeeding-video, cross-cradle hold, Dr. Jack New... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1883659 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:57:03 +0100 1883659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1871467&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fdissertation-dish-k-abc-ii-sb5-wj-iii.html Two new CHC-based dissertations I stumbled across this weekend.A joint-confirmatory factor analysis using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Ability and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales: Fifth Edition with high-achieving children by Williams, Tasha H., Ph.D., Ball State University, 2005, 206 pages; AAT 3176652 Abstract: A considerable about of research has concentrated on studying the performance of high achieving children on measures of intellectual functioning. Findings have indicated high achieving children display differences in performance patterns as well as in the cognitive constructs measured when compared to their average peers. The conceptualization of intelligence has evolved over time and contemporary theories of intelligence have described cognitive ability as c... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1871467 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:04:00 +0100 1871467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1852528&cid=t_101566_132_f&fid=35024&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblindscientist.genedrift.org%2F2008%2F08%2F25%2Fmendeley-a-very-short-review%2F Image by ! *S4N7Y* ! via Flickr I promised myself that I wouldnever use Mendeley, but I am not very good in keeping promises to myself and I decided to install it, after I got a comment from the co-founder (??) of the software/company. It seems that it is based on Qt, and a good point (maybe the only one) is that the program is cross-platform. I decided to give it a go and import around 700 PDFs that I have in one directory (I’m using it on Vista). It has been almost an hour already and the import hasn’t ended, and it is using one core of my AMD CPU. Process Lasso already lowered its priority 10 times, because it is taking too much cycles. For read a PDF file? Yep, uninstalling it soon. And not recommending it at all. I will keep using Citeulike, Zotero and the like. (Source: B... Blind.Scientist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1852528 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:17:38 +0100 1852528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1726323&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fmerger-mania-redux-combination-would.html The Philadelphia Inquirer published a story about what seems to drive merger mania in health care. In Pennsylvania, the two largest health insurance companies in the state, both not-for-profit, Highmark and Independence Blue Cross, have been pushing to mergeHighmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross would pay their top executives as much as $4.2 million more if they were allowed to merge.Kenneth Melani, the chief executive of Highmark, who is expected to have the same job at the combined companies, would get a 31 percent raise, to $3.9 million from $2.97 million, including incentives, according to documents filed with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.Independence Blue Cross' CEO, Joseph Frick, who is slated for the role of chief operating office after the merger, would earn $2.94 milli... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1726323 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:32:00 +0100 1726323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1675520&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F352747552%2F My brain is honoured to have been nominated to participate, together with the rest of my body of course, in a new initiative by the World Economic Forum. The Global Agenda Councils have a fascinating charter: - "Global Agenda Councils will challenge prevailing assumptions, monitor trends, map interrelationships and address knowledge gaps. Equally important, Global Agenda Councils will also propose solutions, devise strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of actions using measurable benchmarks." - "In a global environment marked by short-term orientation and silo-thinking, Global Agenda Councils will foster interdisciplinary and long-range thinking to address the prevailing challenges on the global agenda." The Inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai (November... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1675520 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:17:04 +0100 1675520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1661037&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FBreastfeeding123%2F%7E3%2F348909203%2F Good Morning America aired an interesting piece on cross-nursing this morning. I thought it was quite balanced. I liked hearing the well-spoken mothers who were interviewed and I appreciated seeing the La Leche League position presented. In addition to the video clip the article is available on-line. Tags: angela white, breast feeding, breastfeeding, breastfeeding blog, breastfeeding-video, cross-nursing, Good Morning America, lactation, wet-nursingShare This (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1661037 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:14:05 +0100 1661037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1715330&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fwechsler-arithmetic-test-measure-of-gq.html What does the Wechsler Arithmetic test measure? Why has it's interpretation been so variable over the decades? Why is it now classified (as per CHC theory) as a mixed measure of Gsm (Short-term Memory - Working memory; MW) and Gf (Fluid Reasoning - Quantitative reasoning; RQ) in the latest Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment book (Flanagan, Ortiz and Alfonso, 2007)? [Click here if you need more information on CHC theory and the major abilities, definitions, and abbreviations]While preparing for my recent presentation at the Third National School Psychology Neuropsychology Conference, I consulted the 2nd edition of the Essentials of Cross-Battery book. I noticed on page 310 that, in contrast to prior cross-battery classifications of the Arithmetic test as a primary measure of Gq (Quantit... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1715330 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:49:00 +0100 1715330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1582049&cid=t_101566_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F327576053%2F Green Our Vaccines-ista Jenny McCarthy has spoken about her boyfriend, comedian and actor Jim Carrey, as the “autism whisperer.” Carrey was lauded for marching and speaking at the Green Our Vaccines rally and putting on a Green Our Vaccines t-shirt. Autism, as Carrey said, “made me a man“—-certainly enough, it seems, recently to suit up in some quite feminine beach attire, courtesy of an aforementioned friend. (Not that anyone still knows what green vaccines are, not that we need to!) Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, beach, celebrity blog, cross-dressing, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, jenny mccarthy, jim carrey, malibu, Parenting, pdd-nos, swimsuitShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1582049 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:04:39 +0100 1582049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1537804&cid=t_101566_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Ffiercehealthit.html Just a quick note: I'm the guest host, as it were, of FierceHealthIT this week. I wasn't sure until it was too late if I was supposed to write a commentary, so I didn't, but four of the top five story summaries this week carry my byline:"Study: Physician adoption of EHRs continues to lag""MI, WI advance health information exchange""PHRs make inroads with health plans""WellPoint says e-prescribing could be a Trojan horse for HIE"The one I didn't write, "Top P4P hospitals to score $7m in bonuses from CMS," ran in the daily FierceHealthcare last Thursday. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1537804 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:10:00 +0100 1537804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1526780&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F314133177%2F After nearly a year of wrangling and public dueling, the two behemoths have struck a deal that allows both to continue using the iconic emblem they’ve shared for more than a century. The agreement comes after a federal judge last month booted most of the lawsuit filed by J&J, which claimed the Red Cross broke the law by licensing the ubiquitous symbol to other companies. Originally, J&J insisted the Red Cross stop using the emblem on health-care products sold to the public. Part of the suit was dismissed in November, but Johnson & Johnson continued to argue that the Red Cross violated federal law by licensing the symbol to other companies. “Johnson & Johnson brought the lawsuit very reluctantly only to protect what we believed were important trademark issues... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1526780 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:30:27 +0100 1526780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1454343&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F05%2F19%2Fmay-is-skin-cancer-awareness-month%2F Did you know May is Skin Cancer Awareness month? It surely is. And to draw even more awareness to what has become an increasingly pertinent issue, the Beauty & Style channel here at b5media (where I also write) will be hosting a Theme Day centered around this very issue. Tuesday, May 20, will see links from many of the wonderful blogs over at Beauty and Style, each offering up creative ways on how to protect your skin and raise awareness. Once the collaborative list is posted on the main b5 blog, I will come back here and add the link. Until then, enjoy this post focusing on two celebrities who have made skin cancer awareness a mission of theirs. And we hope to see you milling around Theme Day tomorrow for some great ideas to care for your skin in style. *** It’s true, sk... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1454343 Tue, 20 May 2008 02:11:40 +0100 1454343 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1446425&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F291179499%2F This is an embarassing defeat for the health care giant. A federal judge ruled today that the American Red Cross can continue using its iconic symbol, 10 months after J&J filed a lawsuit demanding the relief agency halt its use of the red cross emblem on products it sells to the public and licensed to others. Amid a flurry of negative publicity, J&J claimed the Red Cross violated its trademark and was barred from using the symbol for commercial purposes. The health care giant claimed a congressional charter issued to the relief agency in 1900 didn’t empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business. But US District Judge Jed Rakoff disagreed, noting that the Red Cross had used the emblem for more than a century and was authorized to... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1446425 Thu, 15 May 2008 20:30:41 +0100 1446425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1443243&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FBreastfeeding123%2F%7E3%2F290270784%2F Have you breastfed a nursling other than your own? Your sister’s baby or your friend’s? Cross-nursing, or “shared feeding,” continues to be a hot topic, and I have been contacted by a television producer for a major morning news outlet in the United States. Please email me if you are interested in being put in touch with her to discuss your experience. Tags: angela white, breast feeding, breastfeeding, breastfeeding blog, cross-nursing, lactation, shared-feedingShare This (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1443243 Wed, 14 May 2008 16:21:24 +0100 1443243 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1419287&cid=t_101566_115_f&fid=34680&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoolmristuff.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fthoracic-aorta-disection.html Aortic dissection is the most common catastrophe affecting the aorta. The aorta is the largest artery of the body through which blood leaves the heart to deliver oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. It occurs in about 24 people per million each year in the U.S. It is caused when the inner layer of the aortic wall tears and then peels or separates away from the next layer of the aorta. This creates two channels; the original aortic channel for blood flow (the true lumen) is still present while the peeling away of the outer layer in the dissection creates a new additional flow channel (the false lumen).Symptoms of Aortic DissectionLocation of Pain:Chest painBack painFlank painAbdominal painLeg painQuality of PainPain that is tearing or sharpAbrupt onset of painPain that migrates or radi... MRI LINKS AND OTHER COOL THINGS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1419287 Sun, 04 May 2008 13:54:00 +0100 1419287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1391299&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F275349371%2F Although the FDA increased inspections of foreign drug plants last year, the agency still checked only 11 percent of the sites that supply pharmaceutical ingredients to the US market. That’s what GAO health care director Marcia Crosse will tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning at a hearing to discuss the FDA’s oversight of foreign manufacturing, according to Reuters. Concern about FDA oversight has risen since the finding of a contaminant in some batches of Heparin that were made with raw ingredients from China, where officials are now are voicing doubts that a contaminant identified in Heparin was the root cause of 81 deaths and severe allergic reactions in hundreds of Americans. “FDA’s plans represent a step forward in filling the large gaps ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1391299 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:12:47 +0100 1391299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1363912&cid=t_101566_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Ffrequent-blood-donation-doesnt-increase-cancer-risk%2F I’m a regular blood donor and so I was pleased to read about the results of a study that should put to rest one of the myths about blood donation that keeps some people from giving. This is the false belief that frequent blood donation might lead to an increased risk of cancer. Proponents of this concept have argued that since the routine removal of blood leads to routine renewal of that blood, these extra cell divisions could lead to a higher risk of a mutation occurring in one of the new cells, which could, theoretically, lead to a blood cell cancer. But a large study has found the opposite to be true. The study was reported on April 8, 2008 in the online version of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It looked at about 11,000 regular blood donors who had developed a cancer d... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1363912 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:41:40 +0100 1363912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1338065&cid=t_101566_134_f&fid=35152&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsstrumello.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F03%2Fwill-cross-off-nepal-to-climb-another.html Sure, we've all heard about Team Type 1, and the media loves to depict them as the poster children for what people with diabetes should be. But to some extent, there is also a backlash, too. There are legitimate critics who claim that they are being exploited by the media and by drug and medical device companies looking to position their insulin or insulin pumps as somehow "enabling" their adventures, when the real enabler is their youth and motivation, not diabetes or their endorsed products.No doubt, the members of Team Type 1 disagree, but to some extent, when you use the media to call attention to your accomplishments, you also have to take the criticisms, too.But another adventurer is not quite the picture of youth, at 40 years old, and to a large extent, has shunned the spotlight (ex... Scott's Web Log blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1338065 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:05:00 +0100 1338065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1231811&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fblue-cross-of-california-wellpoint-to.html I commented on the "irrational exuberance" over healthcare IT here. Health IT is a double-edged sword. It can be used, and it can be misused. In the hands of the wrong people, it will "revolutionize healthcare" all right ... but not in the direction health informaticists and clinicians would desire.The title of this post seems the logical outcome based on the self-initiated debacle of Blue Cross of California, as posted at Wellpoint Halts Attempts to Have Doctors "Rat Out Patients":Blue Cross of California is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose 'material medical history,' including 'pre-existing pregnancies.''Any condition not listed on the ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1231811 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:35:00 +0100 1231811 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1215697&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F231123917%2F Not a day goes by without a significant depression-related announcement. Yesterday, one could read that Older Women More Likely to Suffer Depression (than Older Men; in the Washington Post). Today, we see that St. Jude Starting Trial On Brain Stimulation For Depression (CNN). A few days ago, Blue Cross of California Launched Maternity Depression Program (press release). Time to step back and ask ourselves questions such as, "What is going On", "What is Depression", "What Treatments Work, and What is the Latest Research". Fortunately, thanks to our collaboration with Greater Good Magazine, Jill Suttie offers a fascinating answers to those questions-and more. Enjoy. --------------------------- Closing the Circuit Helen Mayberg's research could revolutionize ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1215697 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:10:34 +0100 1215697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1198657&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fpoor-hygiene-its-not-just-hospitals.html And you thought you had to go into hospital to be a victim of cross infection.++++++I am grateful to Iain Dale for drawing my attention to this video. (Source: NHS Blog Doctor) NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1198657 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:43:00 +0100 1198657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1196710&cid=t_101566_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F02%2F02%2Fthink-social-networks-are-harmless-think-again%2F We’ve been beating the patient privacy drum here for years, and will continue to do so because we don’t think the message is being fully understood. When you share and disclose aspects of your personal health with the world, it is something very different than when you share and disclose your favorite books or hobbies or musical groups. They are not the same thing. Books, music and your favorite movie star can’t be used against you (well, at least not until Big Brother takes hold). But your personal health information can. Think we’re overstating things? Well, the New Jersey Law Journal published a story yesterday that might make you think again: Litigation over an insurer’s refusal to pay health benefits for anorexia or bulimia may turn on what is reveal... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1196710 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:20:38 +0100 1196710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1182766&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fmore-managed-care-management-mumbo.html A number of news items about managed care organizations/ health insurers published last week make for an interesting juxtaposition.Innovative Physician Reimbursement?First were articles about managed care proposals for innovative physician reimbursement. First, from the Boston Globe, an article about a proposal to resurrect capitation.Massachusetts' dominant health insurer is proposing to overhaul the way it pays doctors and hospitals, in what company officials said is an attempt to slow runaway healthcare costs and improve the quality of care.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts wants to stop paying doctors and hospitals for each patient visit or treatment, a common arrangement that most experts agree has led to unnecessary, inefficient, and fragmented care that is sometimes harmfu... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1182766 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:34:00 +0100 1182766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1181874&cid=t_101566_136_f&fid=36051&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FCancerCommentary%2F%7E3%2F224236772%2F ‘Desperate Housewives’ star Marcia Cross went to Capitol Hill last week, lobbying Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007 to end “drive-through” mastectomies for women forced to leave the hospital hours after surgery. Marcia Cross is campaigning to give women the choice to recuperate for at least 48 hours following a mastectomy and was joined by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Lifetime network executive Meredith Wagner. Lifetime has collected more than 20 million signatures for the petition on its Web site, according to the network. “It’s such a simple bill that it’s hard for me to understand why it’s been languishing in Congress for 10 years,” Cross said We... Cancer Commentary blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1181874 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:36 +0100 1181874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1093040&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F12%2Fanother-day-another-deferred.html As I mentioned earlier, a major impetus for setting up this blog was finding out that most physicians knew local examples of badly or corruptly run local health care organizations, and felt that their core values were threatened by the actions of these organizations. However, the doctors all felt they were peculiarly unlucky to practice in such a uniquely sleazy environment. They did not realize that things were likely just as bad in the next town, and thus, that the problems were systemic. When I have taken my Health Care Renewal talk on the road, only a few people in the audiences have ever heard of some of the most vivid examples of bad health care organizational governance, e.g., the collapse of the Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation (see post here).So it may be easy to... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1093040 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:32:00 +0100 1093040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1009608&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F180684237%2F The relief agency just scored a significant victory against the health giant in their fractious legal battle. A federal judge ruled that the American Red Cross never promised to refrain from using its emblem on first aid, health, safety and emergency preparedness products - including products that are sold by companies that licensed the famous symbol. [UPDATE: An earlier version of this post may have implied the case was largely decided, but other J&J claims are pending and product sales have continued]. “I appreciate the court’s decision and hope that Johnson & Johnson will reassess their actions and drop the case altogether,” Mark Everson, the agency’s ceo and president says in a statement. “As the recent wildfires in California demonstrated, the Red Cross has an... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1009608 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:33:35 +0100 1009608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=966548&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F168801838%2F Very intense week, and very fun. I will be writing more about this week's 3 speaking events, but let me say now that our key messages 1) our brains remain flexible during our lifetimes, 2) we can refine our brains with targeted practice, 3) good brain exercise, or "mental cross-training", requires novelty, variety, and increasing level of challenge (but without creating too much stress), are being very well accepted from both healthy aging and workplace productivity points of view. We have ONE brain: health and productivity are 2 sides of the same coin. If you want to make sure we learn more about our brains, you can help fellow blogger Shelley Batts get a college scholarship by voting here. She has a great neuroscience blog, is now finalist in a competition to win a nice sch... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=966548 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:43:59 +0100 966548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=944519&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fhealth-care-policy-found-to-be-holding.html This is a local Rhode Island tale, but one with some ramifications. Mike Stanton, the Providence Journal's well-known investigative reporter, just broke the story of yet another legislative leader pleading guilty to selling his office. In this case, he sold his office to prominent local and national health care organizations, for the purposes of influencing health policy.Gerard M. Martineau was the bag man of Blue Cross [and Blue Shield of Rhode Island] and CVS — but he was 8 million bags short.Now, the former Rhode Island House majority leader is the second ex-legislator, after John Celona, to admit to selling his office in the federal State House corruption probe known as Operation Dollar Bill.As part of a $900,000 corruption scheme that the longtime Woonsocket Democrat has admitted to... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=944519 Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:33:00 +0100 944519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=877509&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Fcaught-in-cross-fire-patients-doctors.html The New York Times just published a report that raised intriguing questions about the biggest US commercial dialysis provider, and, its relationships with a large biotechnology company on one hand, and the US government's Medicare system, on the the other. These questions thus end up being about how the power of big business and big government intersect within US health care.First, here is some background. In the US, nearly all dialysis for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is funded by Medicare, the government single-payer insurance system for the elderly and disabled. Yet nearly all such patients get their dialysis in commercially run clinics. We recently posted about allegations of anti-competitive practices by some of the companies that run such clinics.The NY Times focused ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=877509 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:16:00 +0100 877509 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=874752&cid=t_101566_158_f&fid=36018&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcaregiversbeacon.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Fdefining-quality-care-rosalynn-carter.html Ten measurements of quality care are listed by Richard C. Birkel, Ph.D., at The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving . In "Defining Quality Care in Long Term, Home and Community Settings" Dr. Birkel starts with discussing care that is (1) safe, (2) effective, and (3) personalized.Safe Care provides care that avoids injuries to the care-receiver or to the caregiver. I will add some examples for you:clearing the home of unsafe conditionssafe lifting procedures and lifting devices when neededcaregiver notes, emergency medical information, emergency contacts availabletraining for caregivers emergency procedures for home caregivers re: calling 911, rescue workers, ambulancesEffective care is based on scientific knowledge. Again, some examples I might add include:caregiver training from the ... The Caregiver's Beacon - Resources, Links, Ideas, News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=874752 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:34:00 +0100 874752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2510397&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34866&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecardioblog.com%2F2007%2F09%2F14%2Fexercise-of-the-week-the-boxing-workout%2F Filed under: Exercise, Exercise of the WeekThere's a workout, and then there's a Work Out. And THEN, there's a BOXING WORK OUT. Trust me, there's a reason why boxers are able to spend over a half an hour in a ring exchanging punches and not go into cardiac arrest. It's because these guys and gals have trained their butts off for months before ever stepping foot in that arena, let alone that ring. But, you don't have to be Rocky Balboa to get the benefit of a boxing workout, which is why I am this week highlighting some of the basic boxing moves that you too can add to your fitness routine. First of all, be sure to always maintain a proper stance. This means keeping your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, with your dominant foot in the back (in other words, if you're right hande... The Cardio Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2510397 Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:00:00 +0100 2510397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=862265&cid=t_101566_158_f&fid=36018&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcaregiversbeacon.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Fcaregiver-training-offered-by-american.html At redcross.org you can read about a Family Caregiving Program offered by the American Red Cross that covers hands-on practical caregiving skills such as positioning people in bed, personal care, and providing healthy eating for someone who is elderly, has a chronic illness or is disabled.The American Red Cross website says that 44 million American families are providing in-home care for a loved one.A Family Caregiving Reference Guide is also available that covers hands-on practical basics such as assisting with bathing, positioning and helping someone to move, safety, and caring for the caregiver.There is also a program for people who would like to become a Family Caregiving Leader or Provider.You can contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross for more information, or go to the ... The Caregiver's Beacon - Resources, Links, Ideas, News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=862265 Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:31:00 +0100 862265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=803818&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F144945117%2F The health care giant actually sought mediation before filing its controversial lawsuit. So it’s not necessarily accurate to say J&J is suddenly crying uncle. But given that its action against the American Red Cross is generating a lot of heat, it’s not surprising J&J wants to shift the dispute to a private venue instead of an open courtroom. “Johnson & Johnson is very interested in mediation,” a lawyer for the company told US District Judge Jed Rakoff during a hearing at the federal court in Manhattan, according to a Reuters report. For some reason, the report doesn’t name the attorney or any reaction from the judge. And there was no indication whether mediation will occur now or later, if at all. To recap, J&J filed the lawsuit to stop th... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=803818 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:13:09 +0100 803818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=795410&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F143627759%2F Last week, Johnson & Johnson filed a lawsuit against the American Red Cross, demanding the charity halt its use of the red cross symbol on products sold to the public. At issue is the trademark - a charter issued in 1900 didn’t empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business. And J&J began using the symbol in 1887. Until recently, they’ve cooperated. But J&J is “disappointed” the American Red Cross is licensing the trademark to other businesses for such products as baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers. J&J execs worry about confusion in the marketplace and infringing on their commercial reputation. Red Cross officials call the suit “obscene,” and accuse J&J of trying to “bully” th... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=795410 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:01:44 +0100 795410 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=790720&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F142362430%2F For those who aren’t aware, the health care giant, which uses a red cross as its trademark, yesterday filed a lawsuit against the American Red Cross, demanding the charity halt its use of the symbol on products it sells to the public. At issue is the trademark - a charter issued in 1900 didn’t empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business. And J&J began using the symbol in 1887. Until recently, they’ve cooperated. But J&J execs say they’re “disappointed” the American Red Cross is now licensing the trademark to other businesses for such products as baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers. In other words, they worry about confusion in the marketplace and infringing on their comm... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=790720 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:30:21 +0100 790720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=788405&cid=t_101566_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F142163709%2F This can’t be a good public relations move. The health care giant, which uses a red cross as its trademark, filed a lawsuit today against the American Red Cross, demanding the charity halt its use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public, the Associated Press reports. The suit, filed in US District Court in New York, marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes talks, and prompted an angry response from the Red Cross. “For a multibillion dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute…simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene,” Mark Everson, the Red Cross president, tells the AP. He goes on to accuse J&J of “bullying” the organization. Here’s the background: J&J began usin... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=788405 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:22:02 +0100 788405 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=782913&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F08%2Fafter-wellmark-college-of-public-health.html We previously posted, here and here, about a proposal to name the school of public health at the University of Iowa the Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield College of Public Health, or something like that, after that for-profit insurance company's foundation offered to donate $15 million to the school.The Des Moines Register is continuing to follow the story. And although the faculty voted against the naming rights, negotiations are underway to keep the idea alive, perhaps letting the school's name be shorted to just the "Wellmark College of Public Health," as if leaving "Blue Cross Blue Shield" off would conceal the ties to a large commercial health insurer with which the university's teaching hospital does considerable business.It is notable that this story, perhaps because of its vividness,... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=782913 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:32:00 +0100 782913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=747118&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F07%2Fnaming-school-of-public-health-after.html We previously posted about a proposal to name the new school of public health at the University of Iowa after a local health insurance company. But the faculty roundly rejected the notion of a "Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield College of Public Health," and that seemed to be the end of the idea.But maybe not. On Inside Higher Ed was a report that the faculty reconsidered.Earlier this month, professors at the University of Iowa decided that they’d rather not work at the 'Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield College of Public Health' — even if it meant potentially losing a donation of $15 million, which the insurance company’s nonprofit philanthropic arm promptly rescinded.But it looks like a significant proportion of the university’s faculty members are having second thoughts. At ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=747118 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:13:00 +0100 747118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676163&cid=t_101566_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fwho-are-bright-children-cultural.html Today I found this new Sternberg article, in Educational Researcher, Who Are the Bright Children?: The Cultural Context of Being and Acting Intelligent (click here).Excerpt:"How do you identify a schoolchild who is bright or who acts the way a bright child is expected to act? In North America, we might look at conventional ability or achievement test scores, or grades in school..."(In Chinese culture, the) Confucian perspective emphasizes the characteristic of benevolence and of doing what is right. As in the Western notion, an intelligent person spends a great deal of effort in learning, enjoys learning, and persists in lifelong learning with a great deal of enthusiasm. The Taoist tradition, in contrast, emphasizes the importance of humility, freedom from conventional standards of judgmen... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676163 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 676163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=601850&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F05%2F13%2Fin-memory-of-a-mom-in-search-of-a-cure%2F Filed under: Breast Cancer, Fundraisers, BlogsLast May, Lori Raimondo set off on a cross-country trek in search of one dollar for every day her mother Lorraine battled breast cancer. She called her 10,344-mile excursion Road to a Cure. Her goal was to raise $9,490. She ended up with nearly $14,000. She succeeded. She exceeded. And she donated every cent to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.Raimondo's driving journey is long over. But our collective breast cancer journey is not. And so Raimondo, in honor of her mother on this Mother's Day, asks friends and family and strangers alike to continue contributing to the breast cancer cause so that the road to a cure may one day come to an end.Raimondo is accepting donations on her website. She will continue to pass on everything she gathers t... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=601850 Sun, 13 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 601850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=592491&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F05%2F06%2Fthought-for-the-day-may-skin-cancer-awareness-soar%2F Filed under: Skin Cancer, Prevention, Thought for the DayIt's May. Summer is upon us. So is the hot sun. What a perfect time for an awareness month.May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. So now is the time to learn a thing or two about a disease that is largely preventable, extremely deadly, and almost 100 percent curable when caught early.Think about this:Someone dies of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- every 65 minutes. Women ages 20-29 are most at risk, with melanoma ranking as the second most common cancer in this age group. But anyone, regardless of skin color or age, can develop skin cancer. More than one million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year -- shocking considering the cause of the disease is no secret: skin cancer is caused mostly by too much s... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=592491 Sun, 06 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 592491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=501622&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34867&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thediabetesblog.com%2F2007%2F03%2F26%2Funique-travel-kit-for-people-with-diabetes%2F Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Lifestyle, Products, SupportHere are some fun travel facts about diabetes: an average Boeing 737 carries nearly 10 passengers who have diabetes. For every five cars on the road, there is one person with diabetes present. Whether you're going on a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime excursion across Europe, if you have diabetes, careful preparation is an essential component of getting ready for your trip. Accu-check has put together a free resource guide for people with diabetes to help them travel with ease and confidence. It offers some tips, lists and suggestions to help them prepare for the journey and enjoy the ride, worry-free. The diabetes travel kit includes: a brochure detailing tips like proper handling of test supplies and ... The Diabetes Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=501622 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 501622 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=478719&cid=t_101566_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F03%2F17%2Finstant-messaging-for-a-cure%2F Filed under: Breast Cancer, Cancer events, Fundraisers, Services, Daily newsHere's an easy way to make a charitable difference -- send an instant message.Students at 35 colleges and universities are doing it, and it's turned into a great way to create awareness and raise funds for nine nonprofit organizations.The organizations -- American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, National AIDS Fund, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ninemillion.org, Sierra Club, Stopglobalwarming.org, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and U.S. Fund for UNICEF -- receive a portion of advertising revenue every time a student has a conversation using instant messaging (or i'm). It's all part of a Microsoft-sponsored campus program, and students get to choose their recipient organization each time they send an... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=478719 Sat, 17 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 478719