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 'gag'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:48:42 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737726&cid=t_104803_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=2715946&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fon-hit-vendor-nondisclosure-of.html Seen at the HIStalk blog in News of 8/19/09:A couple of readers wisely suggested that I not consider running nondisclosure language from vendor contracts. Reasons: (a) it might identify the client since terms are often customized; (b) it might violate vendor privacy requirements and get a client or me in trouble; (c) clients might not want to share anyway since they may like the idea of being prohibited from sharing patient safety information. A couple of vendors e-mailed to say they don’t include such terms. I’d be very surprised if Cerner and Epic don’t based on my limited history with them.My response to the HISTalk blog owner, Tim, and other interested parties:Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:32 AM To: mr_histalk@yahoo.co... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2715946 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:46:00 +0100 2715946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712102&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fcchit-has-company.html It appears CCHIT, an offspring of the large HIT trade association HIMSS, won't get its wish for Health IT Certification hegemony. I think the outcome of a multidisciplinary HIT policy workgroup's deliberations on this issue reasonable: Aug. 17, 2009iHealthBeat.orgPolicy Committee OKs Plan To Establish Multiple EHR CertifiersOn Friday, the [HHS] Health IT Policy Committee adopted recommendations that called for multiple entities to certify electronic health record systems, Health Data Management reports.The committee's certification and adoption work group issued the recommendations (Goedert [1], Health Data Management , 8/14).To receive official certification, EHR systems must meet a minimum set of criteria and achieve the "meaningful use" objectives of the federal economic stimulus packa... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712102 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:53:00 +0100 2712102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2688649&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fshareholders-take-notice-that-patients.html At my Jan. 2009 post "Waste Feared in Digitizing Patient Records: Wall Street Journal" and others I have written about the illegitimacy and abuse of patient rights, as well as abuse of clinician trust committed by health IT vendors using patient care settings as an unconsented software development laboratory and beta testing site. I wrote:The IT industry uses hospitals, doctor offices and patients as alpha and beta test sites and subjects, unregulated by the FDA or other agency. When HIT fails, there is no central agency to report the failures to, only the vendor. Fixes go into a "queue" for remediation, with priority level decided by the vendor.Clinicians are also used by HIT vendors as a form of bank and insurance company. HIT vendors depend on (free!) physician and nurse ingenuity in f... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2688649 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:21:00 +0100 2688649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2667423&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fmaking-hospitals-safer-by-making.html At my July 24, 2009 HC Renewal post "Inquiry to Joint Commission on points raised in my July 22, 2009 JAMA letter on HIT", I reproduced a letter I sent to the Joint Commission seeking their opinions on the issue of Health IT "hold harmless" and "defects nondisclosure" contractual terms. (See "Health Care Information Technology Vendors' Hold Harmless Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians", JAMA 2009;301(12):1276-1278 and my HIT difficulties website essay here.)Those contractual terms cause hospital executives to violate Joint Commission safety standards and their own fiduciary responsibilities to people both providing and seeking care in hospitals. My inquiry was acknowledged, and I await a reply.In Making Hospitals Safer for Patients, New York Times, Aug. 2, 2009 , Mark R. Cha... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2667423 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:19:00 +0100 2667423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2637802&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Finquiry-to-joint-commission-on-points-i.html As I posted here, my letter "Health Care Information Technology, Hospital Responsibilities, and Joint Commission Standards" was published in JAMA on July 22, 2009. A preview of the letter can be seen here, or a full version here if you subscribe to JAMA.This JAMA letter covered some of the same points I addressed extensively at my Drexel HIT website essay "Hold Harmless and Keep Defects Secret Clauses", including the major point that hospital executives signing HIT "Hold Harmless" and "Defects Nondisclosure" contracts are in violation of Joint Commission standards for conduct related to safety, and in violation of their fiduciary responsibilities towards patient and employee safety and freedom from undue liability.I've sent the following inquiry to Paul M. Schyve, M.D., Senior Vice Presid... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2637802 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:08:00 +0100 2637802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389729&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fehrs-and-scarcity-of-public-reviews-of.html I recently downloaded the public beta (incomplete trial version) of Apple's new web browser Safari 4.I like its user experience and features, presenting a main page "posterboard" of most visited or user-selected sites, a searchable, flip-panel history of visited pages (using the Macintosh OS X Spotlight and Cover Flow paradigms), top located tabs, and other useful features. (Note: I use both Macs and PC's, and hold no financial stakes in Apple whatsoever.)What struck me was the vociferous online discussions and debates about every facet of the new browser version, down to the level of minutiae. The following review particularly struck me for its level of detail - Observations, Complaints, Quibbles, and Suggestions Regarding the Safari 4 Public Beta Released One Week Ago, Roughly in Order o... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389729 Tue, 05 May 2009 18:09:00 +0100 2389729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347937&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fcomplacency-and-hit-who-is-taken-more.html In this post I make a very shameful comparison. Shameful to the healthcare industry, that is, and coming from an unusual perspective due to my diverse professional background.I received quite interesting comments from a number of informatics colleagues regarding the linked patient's account of Health IT mayhem at "A Most Interesting Patient Account of Misery by EHR". The comments suggested that patient's account was not unusual.Example:Without being specific I can say from first hand information that this is not an isolated incident... the horrific experience is unfortunately in my direct experience typical. and this:... As you know, I’ve been in the HIT business, advocating for full integration of computing into clinical care, for more than three decades. The upshot, though, is that thi... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347937 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:52:00 +0100 2347937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306977&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fwill-true-incidence-of-healthcare-it.html The article Health Care Information Technology Vendors' "Hold Harmless" Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians, Ross Koppel and David Kreda, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2009; 301(12):1276-1278 (JAMA) has caused much discussion in healthcare IT circles.I have become aware of discussions centered on issues such as:The factors besides vendor design flaws and defects that contribute to the unsafe and ineffective use of health information technology,The degree of effect caused by end user organization customizations,whether a focus on legal or regulatory action is misplaced Whether such regulation could "stifle innovation", andOther interesting and stimulating related issues.These discussions miss the forest for the trees, unfortunately.They are all speculation.I cou... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306977 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:15:00 +0100 2306977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306983&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fhealth-it-hold-harmless-and-defects-gag.html Regarding healthcare IT "Hold Harmless" and Defects Gag Clauses as revealed by the JAMA article Health Care Information Technology Vendors' "Hold Harmless" Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians by Koppel and Kreda:Have hospital executives violated their fiduciary responsibilities by signing such contracts, and violated Joint Commission standards of hospital leadership conduct as well?Fiduciary (fidOO'shēe"rē), in law, a person who is obliged to discharge faithfully a responsibility of trust toward another. Among the common fiduciary relationships are guardian to ward, parent to child, lawyer to client, corporate director to corporation, trustee to trust, and business partner to business partner. In discharging a trust, the fiduciary must be absolutely open and fair. Certain b... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306983 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:16:00 +0100 2306983 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306985&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fhealth-care-information-technology.html Dear fellow physicians, nurses and other clinicians:You thought frivolous medical malpractice suits were a problem?Guess what:It's worse. Along with your patients you are nonconsented beta testers and experimental subjects of the health IT industry, and potential victims of the computer industry's arrogance and dysfunction.In the remarkable article Health Care Information Technology Vendors' "Hold Harmless" Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians, Ross Koppel and David Kreda, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2009;301(12):1276-1278, we learn that:Healthcare information technology (HIT) vendors enjoy a contractual and legal structure that renders them virtually liability-free—“held harmless” is the term-of-art—even when their proprietary products may be implicat... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306985 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:59:00 +0100 2306985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2128984&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F521391329%2Fobama-repeals-global-gag-rule.html One of the clearest things I remember about my time working at Planned Parenthood was the rejoicing that happened when Clinton repealed Bush, Sr's global gag rule order. Although I was no longer working for Planned Parenthood by the time W. re-enacted his father's gag order, I despaired at the number of women worldwide who were going to have their access to safe and legal information about abortion restricted or completely taken away. Checking the news before bed tonight, I actually scared my cats reacting to the news that Obama has overturned the Mexico City Policy.I realize that there are people in the reading audience who will be disappointed by this news, and will work to continue having it placed back into effect. And personally, my concern was never so much about the abortions being ... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2128984 Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:16:48 +0100 2128984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021555&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F477809466%2F10-gift-ideas-for-your-favorite.html 1. Motivational (or de-motivational, if you want to apply the precautionary principle) poster, to keep your priorities straight.2. Motivational mug (akin to the poster, the pessimistic's mug, fashioned by the perpetually miserable) 3. Fingerless Gloves, for your favorite bloggers or technophiles.4. A power tie, to keep you connected, or a Bio-scarf, that features your favorite doomsday scenario.5. From medical tourism abroad to cultural diversity, a Travel book (on the Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan)6. Computer accessories to make your desk more, umm, interesting?7. Genome family pack from 23andme.com (who could resist that?)8. If you were a fan of Indecision 2008, you might enjoy a Colbert Christmas Yule log. 9. More computer accessories, courtesy of your favorite IVF... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021555 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:34:34 +0100 2021555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951977&cid=t_104803_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E5%2F450141285%2F7-things-obamas-win-could-mean-for-womens-health.html [Tip of the hat to Rachel Walden over at Women's Health News Blog for alerting us to these headlines] Buh-bye Global Gag Rule! 7 Things Obama’s Win Could Mean for Women’s Health Condoms Trump Abstinence in Obama Global AIDS Policy (Update1) US health policy: we've fallen but we can get up ~ Yes, we can!: Dr Susan Wood appointed co-chair of Obama's advisory committee on Women's Health. (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951977 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:12:20 +0100 1951977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486425&cid=t_104803_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F102442197%2F Four Massachusetts men have been charged with attempting to tamper with DNA testing. They apparently tried to trade ID bracelets when having their blood drawn but was caught when their fingerprints didn’t match the samples. They could be sentenced up to five years in jail. This story got me curious. Is it possible to fake DNA test results? A simple search turned up this gag gift from FakeNewspapers.com. For just $17.95, their DNA Collection Kit from “DyNA Labs” allows you to fake the collection and mailing of DNA to the lab. A week or so later, you take the certificate that’s included and show your victim whether or not their DNA was a match. If you want NOT to be related to your little demon-spawn brother, show him the certificate proving he’s not of your ro... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486425 Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:22:23 +0100 486425