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 'healthcare'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:47:54 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182342&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F09%2Ffuture-of-pathology-jim-harrison.html This is a guest blog note by Jim Harrison, M.D., Ph.D. He is a pathologist and Associate Professor at the University of Virginia. It's a repost of a document that he circulated on the Association for Pathology Informatics (API) listserv earlier in the year and is, in part, a compilation of input from other pathologists about anticipated changes in AP and CP. Earlier this summer I posted a request to the API list for thoughts about key changes that might occur in AP and CP within the next five years and how those changes might be best supported by IT. A similar request was passed around in CAP's informatics-related committees, and the results were compiled for distribution to the CAP Pathology Transformation project. I did receive several responses from this list, so I'm summari... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182342 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:42:49 +0100 5182342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181958&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F2ScUo2cTw1c%2F Many of you might remember my recent post about EMR Performance Issues (ie. EMR Slowness). Turns out, the post had a pretty big impact on some readers of the site. In fact, it sounds like it was partially therapeutic for some to realize that they’re not alone. I asked permission to share one of the responses with you so you could get some more first hand perspective on the issue of EMR slowness. I share it in the hopes that others can be aware and avoid it. Plus, I hope the EHR vendors that read this will take it to heart and be fanatically focused on EMR speed and customer support. I’ve removed the name of the writer and the names of the vendors. Plus, realize that it was written originally in an email communication and not necessarily to be published. OMG…you hit the na... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181958 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:28:48 +0100 5181958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182150&cid=t_92628_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2Fy40e0ba2MBU%2F Jeanene Harlick, 37, was at 65% her ideal body weight and needed a feeding tube, but her insurance company wouldn’t cover inpatient care at an eating disorder facility. Harlick lives in California, which has one of the nation’s strongest mental health parity laws—laws that say insurance companies must provide the same coverage for mental illness as they do for physical illness). So she sued—and won, for now; the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco just said that her insurance company, Blue Shield of California, must pay for her residential care. The ruling could make a difference in how insurers in other states cover mental health treatment, too. Forty-nine states and D.C. have mental parity laws, but they vary in degree widely, according to the National Conf... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182150 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:51:32 +0100 5182150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181957&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F_VlWsGVP6dk%2F Normally this time of year, I’m making plans to attend the many fall conferences in health IT and related industries. This year, my decisions are harder. You see, it seems like everyone decided to schedule their events during the last week of October: AMIA 2011, Oct. 23-26, Washington MGMA Annual Conference, Oct. 23-26, Las Vegas TEDMED 2011 Oct. 25-28, San Diego CHIME11 Fall CIO Forum, Oct. 26-28, Austin, Texas Just for kicks, I’m scheduled to participate in the Institute for Health Technology Transformation’s Health IT Summit, Nov. 2-3 in Beverly Hills, Calif. All are worthwhile, and all will be great places to find relevant stories for this blog and my various media clients. It probably makes most sense to go west, hitting MGMA and TEDMED, then spending the weekend in ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181957 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:47:10 +0100 5181957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181800&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospital-ceo-is-diagnosed-with-cancer-while-building-a-new-cancer-center%2F2011.09.01 Pat Elliott, me and a HUGE cactus at Banner MD Anderson! I am just back from the Phoenix-metro area. It’s now the 5th largest in the United States and despite home foreclosures, there is still a feeling of growth in many areas. Gilbert, a nearby suburb, has expanded to over 200,000 people and a growing major medical center. I spent several days interviewing patients and staff about the soon-to-open, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. The hope is that by bringing MD Anderson’s world-renowned expertise, clinical trials and processes to this new center, cancer care around Phoenix and the southwest will be improved. Look for my video interviews coming soon. But, in the meantime, one interview stuck out for me; the one with the Banner Health President and CEO, Peter Fine. Peter is in his lat... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181800 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0100 5181800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182343&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F09%2Fnurses-and-physicians-as-exercise-role-models-for-patients.html Everyone seems to be in agreement that most Americans lead lives that are far too sedentary. The solution to this problem, and many of the problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle, is exercise. However, motivating people to pursue a more active life is enormously challenging. Perhaps a good place to start is understanding that nurses (and also physicians) often function as role models for patients. A recent article raises this issue (see: Calling Nurses to Exercise as Role Models for their Patients). Below is an excerpt from it: Nurses, just like many of their patients, struggle to find time and motivation to exercise. But a new study may give these all-important caregivers some additional pressure and responsibility: nurses’ attitudes can influence whether their patients commit to... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182343 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:15:56 +0100 5182343 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181943&cid=t_92628_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F09%2Fwhere-are-indian-medical-entrepreneurs.html The Indian healthcare industry has become sick and disruptive innovations are needed to heal it ! This is a huge business opportunity . We need to remember that healthcare spending in India today accounts for less than 4.2% of the GDP, whereas in most developed countries it is 6-9% and in the USA it is as much as 16%. This means there is immense growth potential in India in this sector ! Since doctors deal with patients daily, and see the problems and pain points firsthand, one would expect them to be leaders in creating fixes to heal the system. However, they are very few medical entrepreneurs in India today . I feel there are many reasons for this. For one, doctors are part of the problem themselves ! They are so used to making patients wait, that they don’t even realize that this u... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181943 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:58:00 +0100 5181943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181959&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FTHPZrzE1cCI%2F In a post on EMR and EHR about Social Media and EMRs, Andre Vovan, MD MBA from Mitochon Systems offered an interesting insight into the comparison between EMR and social media. Social media and EMR are a natural fit. Think about what social media really enables. The ablity to stay connected, following different strings of info/story weaved by connected people. Say for instance you and your friends went to the Grand Canyon, one person took pictures while the other did the cooking, planning, and was responsible for entertainment during the trip. When they try to retell the story to their friends, each will be able to add different aspect of the story and with social network platforms such as facebook, this is possible. Now take the story above, and insert 2 doctors and change the trip taken ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181959 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:44:38 +0100 5181959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182344&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fproject-costs-of-obesity-to-crush-us-and-uk-health-systems.html A recent article in Lancet discussed how the global obesity epidemic would "crush" the U.S. and U.K. health systems with its associated increased long-term, disease-associated costs (see: Obesity to crush health care systems globally: study). Although the use of the word "crush" may seem overly dramatic, I think that it's appropriate in this context. Below is a brief summary of the article: Rising prevalence of obesity is a worldwide health concern because excess weight gain within populations forecasts an increased burden from several diseases, most notably cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers....These trends project 65 million more obese adults in the USA and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by 2030, consequently accruing an additional 6—8·5 mil... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182344 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:53:20 +0100 5182344 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181741&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=36088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourbodiesourblog.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2Fexploring-the-health-needs-of-incarcerated-women The July/August issue of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing includes a series of articles on the health care needs of women in prison, including the need to address inequalities, provide thorough care for complex health conditions, and to attend to the end-of-life needs of female prisoners. In End-of-Life Care and Barriers for Female Inmates, the authors explore a little-discussed topic. For background, they explain that “end-of-life” in prisons does not typically occur they way we might think, and so health care, and especially end-of-life care, for incarcerated women is much more complex than we might be aware: Stereotypical images in the popular media promote a perception that prison death is due to suicide or homicide by fellow inmates. In reality... Our Bodies Our Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181741 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:21:17 +0100 5181741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181960&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FGFmRr9VJvx8%2F Chuck Podesta is Fletcher Allen Health Care’s chief information officer. ICD-10 would not be so daunting if the deadline was not occurring during the rush to get EHRs for meaningful use. Add in value-based purchasing, bundled payments and transitioning to ACOs, and you can see why many CIOs are retiring early or migrating to the vendor or consulting world. We are just over two years away from the October 2013 deadline, and there is much work to be done. ICD-10 contains 68,000 codes, as opposed to the 13,000 currently used in the ICD-9 world. There is a code for every condition that exists on the planet. The revenue cycle system, which includes registration, HIM and billing/AR, will be the lynch pin to ICD-10 readiness. Having a solid vendor partner and a strong product is key to a succ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181960 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:56:35 +0100 5181960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181979&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fsocial-media-reactions-top-5-worst-emr-myths Healthcare IT News Associate Editor Molly Merrill wrote a July 26 piece on the five worst EMR myths. Over the past month, there's been debate and discussion surrounding the list, via our social media outlets and in our reader comments posted on the Healthcare IT News site. Here are the five misconceptions Merrill included: read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181979 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:45:12 +0100 5181979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181790&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FFSpBgAwfDVs%2F By Mary Grealy. When we talk about people who don’t have access to healthcare, there’s a natural assumption that it’s because they can’t afford it.  A new study shows that’s not necessarily the case. According to the study published in the journal Health Services Research, 21 percent of American adults said they had delayed care for non-financial reasons compared to 19 percent that cited cost as the primary reason for not seeking healthcare. Those non-financial reasons included not being able to get to a doctor’s office during working hours, long commutes to the medical office, or not being able to get an appointment soon enough.  As the study’s lead author said, “In reality, there are all kinds of reasons why people can’t get the care they need when they need it.” Th... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181790 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:16:36 +0100 5181790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182345&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Ftulaboratory-based-genetic-counselors-reduce-the-cost-of-ordered-tests.html Appropriate test ordering by clinicians is a key aspect of clinical laboratory management. It can save time and money. One of the most obvious goals of this approach is to cull out duplicate test orders when the patient in question is clinically stable and the additional results are useless. The number of test cycles to arrive at a diagnosis can also often be reduced by immediately ordering a more specific test rather than repetitive groups of less-specific tests. The more specific test may be more expensive than the others but the total cost of testing may be less. In general, clinicians often require the most advice when ordering molecular and genetic tests. They tend to be the most expensive, most complicated, and require the most interpretive skill. ARUP Laboratories has published a wh... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182345 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:54:47 +0100 5182345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174703&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fg_faMvFVu7k%2F Lynn Scheps is Vice President, Government Affairs at EHR vendor SRSsoft. In this role, Lynn has been a Voice of Physicians and SRSsoft users in Washington during the formulation of the meaningful use criteria. Lynn is currently working to assist SRSsoft users interested in showing meaningful use and receiving the EHR incentive money. Check out Lynn’s previous Meaningful Use Monday posts. A great deal of work, discussion, and debate by the HIT Policy Committee and its Workgroup members went into developing the recommendations for meaningful use Stage 2 (discussed in the last two Meaningful Use Monday posts). Meetings were frequent and lengthy, but I tried to listen in on most of them to gain some insights into the thinking behind the decisions being made and the future direction of me... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174703 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:35:33 +0100 5174703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174625&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-update-08-29-2011%2F Also see the Satellite Edition of this week’s update over at ER Stories‘ resurrected blog. Patients gone wild goes international. High patient volumes and lack of adequate staffing cause patients to become “aggressive over lack of service” in Australia. “Five or six” nurses assaulted in one week. Note to patients: Assaulting nurses won’t get you faster care or better care. Trust me. West Virginia plaintiffs awarded $91.5 million after jury decides that dementia-stricken parent died from lack of sufficient food and water over a span of 3 weeks. Plaintiffs successfully argued that the nursing home was not properly staffed, leading to the patient’s death. Defendant nursing home vows to appeal, alleging that the state’s $500,000 damage caps should appl... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174625 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:07:34 +0100 5174625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174849&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhat-do-patients-share-online%2F According to a report from the Pew Internet Project 80% of U.S. internet consumers seek health information online, making it the third most popular activity after email and search engines. We have all seen the massive adoption of social media in patient education. The next step for healthcare marketer is to understand what patients are sharing online and how they are sharing it. A survey conducted in June 2011 by Minneapolis marketing research firm Russell Herder “Seeking Social Solace: How Patients Use Social Media To Disclose Medical Diagnoses Online” gives us some answers. 40%  of the medical conditions that were disclosed by patients online in 2010 were cancer-related, 16% diabetes and 5% were related to sexually transmitted diseases, according to a research study by Rus... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174849 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:24:43 +0100 5174849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174704&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FMJr4_oLHBIQ%2F Time to touch on a few popular topics that I found being discussed on Twitter. First, I’ll put the tweets and then a little but of my own commentary on these hot button issues in healthcare IT. @GovHIT Does a nationwide #EHR lower healthcare costs? Social media reactions | #GovHIT Blog http://ow.ly/64DL1 I always love when people talk about a nationwide EHR. I actually think that it’s a bad title by Government Healthcare IT, but that it’s a very good question. To me a nationwide EHR implies that there is one EHR for the entire nation. I think a number of other countries which are much smaller and less complex than the US have proven quite well that a nationwide government run EHR is a bad idea. I think the Government HIT article actually refers more to widespread adoption... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174704 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:20:12 +0100 5174704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174850&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fdoes-social-media-achieve-healthcare-marketing-objectives%2F We all try to market on social networking platforms. Some hospitals marketing departments even go so far as to invest resources into social media marketing! But does this social sharing actually achieve healthcare marketing objectives or is it just a passing fad? Acsys surveyed hospital marketers to find out with “Insights in Action”. According to the survey 55% of healthcare marketers believe their public website to be an above average or excellent patient user experience.  – Tremendous news for the web team! 33% of hospital marketers believe online videos are a very effective tactic to achieve the health systems marketing objects. Less than half, 15%, think having a Twitter presence is an effective way to market the hospital. On a negative note, 27% of marketers say th... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174850 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:41:03 +0100 5174850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169545&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-physicians-have-a-role-in-controlling-healthcare-costs%2F2011.08.27 The Role of Physicians in Controlling Medical Care Costs and Reducing Waste by the RAND Corporation and David Geffen, University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, Santa Monica was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  I do not think the JAMA should have published this article. 1.Why would the JAMA publish such an article? 2. Why are physicians blamed for all the waste in the system? 3. Why is it the physicians’ responsibility to eliminate waste when they are not the cause of the greatest percentage of the waste? “The amount of money spent on medical care is increasing faster than the gross domestic product (GDP), and the federal deficit is increasing.” The initial statement assumes that the government deficit is increasing because phy... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169545 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:05:19 +0100 5169545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169711&cid=t_92628_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FnEONkj1S2e8%2F A confusing controversy has broken out in the UK today over an unusual situation in which the Seroquel antipsychotic pill has been found in some packages of the Nurofen Plus painkiller sold by Reckitt Benckiser. And speculation has entered the media that the Nurofen packages, which are available only behind pharmacy counters, may have been sabotaged by animal-rights activists. So far, there is no evidence to suggest this is the cause, which was reported by The Daily Mail. The paper wrote that Reckitt uses animals to test some drugs, although not Nurofen Plus, and that an investigation is under way to determine whether a group or individual activist was behind the switch. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has asked pharmacists, meanwhile, to check their packages (read ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169711 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:20:30 +0100 5169711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174851&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fdo-physicians-receive-facebook-requests-from-patients%2F According to a recent Journal of General Internal Medicine study the answer is no! By specialty, the JIM study found 42% of family practice physicians, 38% of ob-gyns, 27% of pediatrics and 13% of general surgery physicians have received friend requests. The study found that 68% of respondents correctly identified that it was not ethically acceptable to interact with patients in online social networks with 80% stating that they had concerns about patient confidentiality. *** The source of this post is the Journal of General Internal Medicine: The Patient–Doctor Relationship and Online Social Networks: Results of a National Survey (Source: Nicola Ziady) Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174851 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 07:58:41 +0100 5174851 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169597&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FMv7wbsW1E7Y%2F Conclusion Don’t accept an EHR that’s slow. Make sure that the EHR performs at a satisfactory level. I know of nothing that frustrates a clinic more than a slow EHR. Related posts:Common EMR Implementation Issue – EHR Performance Issues We’re back again with our ongoing series on Common EMR... Common EMR Implementation Issues – Unexpected EHR Expenses This is the start of a new series of posts... Killer EMR Features According to EMR Vendors I previously posted a request to hear about the “killer”... (Source: EMR and HIPAA) EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169597 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:49:29 +0100 5169597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169553&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fgreat-clinical-care-and-excellent-bedside-manner-are-they-mutually-exclusive%2F2011.08.26 The New York Times recently published an article titled, Finding a Quality Doctor, Dr. Danielle Ofri an internist at NYU, laments how she was unable to perform as well as expected in the areas of patient care as it related to diabetes.  From the August 2010 New England Journal of Medicine article, Dr. Ofri notes that her report card showed the following – 33% of patients with diabetes have glycated hemoglobin levels at goal, 44% have cholesterol levels at goal, and a measly 26% have blood pressure at goal.  She correctly notes that these measurements alone aren’t what makes a doctor a good quality one, but rather the areas of interpersonal skills, compassion, and empathy, which most of us would agree constitute a doctor’s bedside manner, should count as well. Her articl... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169553 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0100 5169553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159861&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Ffepic-beaker-ready-or-not.html There is going to be a lot of money made as the result of the potentially large-scale deployment of Epic's immature LIS called Beaker. One of the first in line to shake this money tree will be KLAS. Here is their announcement of a report on this topic by the company (see: Epic Beaker: Ready or Not?): The laboratory market typically sees little movement. Because of the expense and complexity from a laboratory system’s deep penetration into a hospital, laboratory systems are not changed frequently. If providers do change, it is rarely from a more sophisticated solution to a more immature one. One product that seems to be bucking that trend is Epic Beaker, Epic’s newly available laboratory solution. Of surveyed Epic hospitals currently using other laboratory solutions, over half are p... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159861 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:19:45 +0100 5159861 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159862&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fdoes-epic-have-a-near-monoply-for-large-hospital-emrs.html Joseph Conn, who writes for ModernHealthcare.com, picked up on one of my blog notes about the Epic EMR dominance in larger hospitals (see: Not yet an Epic monopoly or conflict). Here is his note: Bruce Friedman, in a post on Lab Soft News says, "Epic has achieved a near monopoly of the (electronic health-record systems) installed in the largest U.S. hospitals." And writing in the Washington Examiner, Lachlan Markay, an investigative writer with the conservative Heritage Foundation's Center for Media and Public Policy, reveals that Epic Systems Corp. CEO Judith Faulkner not only has made campaign contributions to Democrats but also has served as a member of the federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which "holds in its hands the future of health informat... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159862 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:51:59 +0100 5159862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159278&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F6jLMN8ZSAok%2F We’re back again with our ongoing series on Common EMR Implementation Issues. Seems like readers really liked my first entry in the series about Unexpected EHR Expenses. To be quite honest, I was really happy with how that post turned out myself. It’s one of the most comprehensive and useful posts I’ve written in the 5.5+ years I’ve been writing about EMR and EHR. Hopefully we can continue that trend. Today’s Common EMR Implementation Problem: EHR Performance Issues I have to admit that this is a really tough problem to crack. However, it’s also incredibly common. The symptoms for this problem usually are described as, “THIS EHR IS SOOOOOO SLOW!” (This is appropriate use of ALL CAPS since they are often yelling this.) Followed by a *huff* and... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159278 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:44:49 +0100 5159278 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159792&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39273&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FD72_FKYrmDU%2Fbayer-healthcare-uk-discredited-uk.html The continuing saga of Bayer Healthcare's tweets continues to be a news story in the UK drug industry.  Last year, Bayer copied two press release headlines, then released them to the public as tweets.  In coordination with the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), Bayer Healthcare UK has violated their Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Code of Conduct (ABPI Code).  This has resulted in discrediting the Pharma industry in the UK according to the governing board. According to The Register, they have discreded the industry by violating these rules: - Companies are prohibits to release information about prescription-only medicines that would encourage the public to ask their doctor for the product- Bayer Healthcare Failed to maintain high... ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159792 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:20:00 +0100 5159792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159863&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fapathology-informatics-2011-conference-only-six-weeks-away-1.html The second annual Pathology Informatics 2011 conference is only about six weeks away. It will be held in Pittsburgh on October 4-7, 2011. It's the merged version of two prior, long-standing informatics conference, APIII and Lab InfoTech Summit. You can review the entire conference schedule as well as register on-line. Three separate content tracks are being offered: Clinical Information Management, System Support and Connectivity, and Digital Imaging. The 3 1/2 day conference with a venue at the Pittsburgh Wyndham Grand offers an opening day with three workshops, included in the registration fee, 10 plenary lectures, and 27 track lectures. A total of 43 faculty members will participate. Also presented will be about 40 scientific presentations and 15 e-posters that have been selected fr... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159863 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:47:29 +0100 5159863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158984&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fphysician-communities.html How would you describe the universe of online physician communities? Up until today, there were two historic categories, those  launched within the borders of one country and those, generally more recent, that were launched with a global perspective. This of course can change through acquisitions, and one such acquisition was posted today. One of the first communities to think beyond borders was DocCheck who created a multi-country network in Europe. This was followed by Medting  from Spain which integrates Google Translate,  Doc2Doc from BMJ in English, and most recently VoxMed which operates in 8 languages. We could also talk about specialties. Specialties tend to think more globally and work in English, even i... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158984 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5158984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159279&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FHNwIjbnhAi8%2F I recently had the great opportunity to go to breakfast with Valerie Migliore and Karin Eichler during my visit to my in-laws in the upstate New York area (Rochester specifically). Despite being very pleasant ladies I was also happy to see they could speak EMR speak with me. I’ve met a whole lot of different people over the years and far too often I go and meet with someone who is just getting into the EMR world and so they’re still learning the ways of the EMR (excuse the Star Wars reference). I still enjoy those types of visits, but I really enjoy meeting with people like Valerie and Karin who can share with me some other EMR perspectives. In fact, they often show me new ways that I hadn’t looked at something before. Turns out Val and Karin recently did a presentation a... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159279 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:43:18 +0100 5159279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159864&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fepic-as-a-victim-of-its-own-success.html Katherine Rourke, who blogs over at Hospital EMR and EHR picked up on one of my recent notes about Epic (see: The Feasibility of Using the Epic EMR as a "Platform" to Extend Its Functionality) and posted the following note: Could Epic End Up The Victim Of Its Own EMR Success? Here is a copy of her commentary with a few minor edits. Boldface emphasis is mine: In essence, the [recent Lab Soft News] post makes three key points: Epic is implemented, or soon will be, in virtually every large U.S. hospital Epic keeps very close control of how its system is implemented and developed in an effort to control performance Given this desire for control, Epic isn’t likely to let other vendors create software to interoperate with its EMR If the Lab Soft News author has his facts right, Epi... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159864 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:46:33 +0100 5159864 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158988&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Frebuilding%2Fmay-god-save-us-from-the-public-health-experts The “expert class” – the knowledgeable elites who are appointed by the Central Authority to establish the rules under which all of us in the great unwashed masses are to live our lives – will always (as a general proposition) tend to do great harm. Nowhere is this result more evident than in the policies promulgated in recent decades by the public health experts. In each of the following three articles, DrRich deconstructs one of the major initiatives with which public health experts have assaulted the general public in recent years.  Each of these three initiatives was launched with great fanfare, displaying all the arrogant certainty exuded by any religious zealot, but sadly, was based on what to any objective observer was clearly insufficient data.  So the rece... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158988 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:45:05 +0100 5158988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158985&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Finternet-evaluations-healthservices.html While internet rating sites for physicians in the US have been around for a number of years and a number of specialized sites are now part of the online health landscape (HealthGrades, RateMDs, and others), this is not the case in Europe in general, and France in particular, despite the presence of Yelp, GoogleMaps, and other US-based sites that allow for physician ratings. Health care professionals in France believe that physician rating will lead to either a) friendly reciprocal reviews amongst professionals (I'll evaluate you, you'll evaluate me, and we'll all evaluate each other) or b) unjustifiedly negative patient reviews. There is simply insufficient trust in crowdsourcing re docs. While French sites such as Le Guide Santé and Hôpital.fr do allo... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158985 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5158985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159655&cid=t_92628_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbattle-breast-cancer-with-the-best-research-medicine-and-doctors%2F In my family there are a number of people who are interested in and who have pursued alternative medicine. Sister knows a lot about it, and I have an aunt who has devoted her career and most of her life to exploring health food and alternative medicine and treatments. For my part, I research it extensively. While I am not professing to be an expert or even extremely knowledgeable, I am wary of any claims to curing or successfully treating cancer outside of conventional medicine. These methods are best considered as complementary treatments, and there may be excellent benefits to pursue healthful options during conventional treatment, but not by foregoing tried-and-true Western medicine. With regards to invasive breast cancer, I just do not know anyone who has been truly cured or successful... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159655 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:11:25 +0100 5159655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159895&cid=t_92628_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Fself-management-a-very-vexing-definition%2F Self management is one of those terms that is used to describe the aim of cognitive behavioural programmes for chronic pain. It’s even in my description of this blog! At the same time, it’s difficult to arrive at a definition of self management that “everyone” agrees upon. Self management can mean helping people to be “actively involved in their health care and to provide a variety of creative and individualized strategies to deal with their health problem in their daily life and ultimately to live as normally as possible despite their symptoms” (Zuffery & Schulz, 2009) – but the Devil is in the details! What exactly does being “actively involved” mean?  Can it mean accessing treatments like massage, injections, acupuncture &#8220... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159895 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:21:38 +0100 5159895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159280&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FTRWtDdOJM_4%2F Lynn Scheps is Vice President, Government Affairs at EHR vendor SRSsoft. In this role, Lynn has been a Voice of Physicians and SRSsoft users in Washington during the formulation of the meaningful use criteria. Lynn is currently working to assist SRSsoft users interested in showing meaningful use and receiving the EHR incentive money. Check out Lynn’s previous Meaningful Use Monday posts. In addition to the Meaningful Use Stage 2 recommendations discussed in last week’s Meaningful Use Monday, the HIT Policy Committee proposed a new framework for the reporting of clinical quality measures that was designed by its specifically-tasked Quality Measure Workgroup. The recommended concept is depicted in the graphic below—the intention is to broaden the scope of reporting to address a wid... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159280 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:19:08 +0100 5159280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159018&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-updates-08-22-2011%2F This article notes that overcrowding in Canada results in many who need to be admitted waiting on stretchers for up to two days. Most patients are seen by a doctor in 24 hours, though. I think that Pennsylvania’s Health Department would go into convulsions in Canada. I know the waits are long, but can’t you just read book or watch TV? Guy sitting in a hospital emergency department waiting room decides to flash his “business” to little girls. By the way, the newspaper needs to choose a different headline. “Man with history of exposing himself to children held“? That just conjures up the wrong images in my mind. What exactly was being “held” and who was “holding” it … er, um … him? I mean the guy. (Source: WhiteCoat's Ca... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159018 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:57:55 +0100 5159018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159865&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fsix-major-disruptions-still-to-come-in-halthcare.html Predictions about strategic shifts in healthcare intrigue me. There is always the question in one's mind about whether you agree with the list. A recent article was labeled as a list of healthcare "disruptions" but otherwise caught my attention (see: 6 Major Disruptions Still To Come In Healthcare). Here's the list stripped of the accompanying brief explanations: Conversion of physicians to electronic health records. Removing the responsibility of records-sharing from the patient. The rise of the genomic signature as part of the medical record. Moving the responsibility [for] care and outcomes from the provider location to the consumer location. The rise of health avatars. The change in physician compensation from fee-for-service to fee-for-outcomes. What interested me... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159865 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:15:33 +0100 5159865 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158989&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1739%2F0%2Fright-to-healthcare.mp3 Podcast: If we are ever to gain control of our healthcare spending, which is a necessity if we are going to avoid an economic catastrophe during the next couple of decades, we have to come to some agreement, as a society, on a few essential questions.  Chief among these questions is whether healthcare is something we must consider to be a right for all Americans. The question of whether healthcare is a right has become a very contentious one. One side passionately declares that of course it is a right, as healthcare is so critically important that how could it be otherwise? And the other side, with equal conviction, asserts that nothing can be a right that creates an involuntary burden on another. That is, advocates on either side of the argument maintain their respective positions as be... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158989 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:09:50 +0100 5158989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159281&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F_az5UonSHQ4%2F Discussion About EMR Study by Accenture One of the first people I talked with when I... Google Health Co-op (Making Google Health Portal Possible) This is a little late to be posting, but I’ve... (Source: EMR and HIPAA) EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159281 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:11:50 +0100 5159281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159282&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FU4K02LkFYNc%2F LinuxMedNews just posted the announcement that OpenEMR is now a certified EHR. Here’s the quote from their announcement: It’s official! OpenEMR has passed all ONC certification tests as a fully qualified emr that can be used to attest for incentive moneys. The official posting: http://onc-chpl.force.com/ehrcert/EHRProductDetail?id=a0X30000003mNwTEAU&retURL= appeared on the website 2011/08/19. Congratulations to all involved! OpenEMR 4.1 should be ready for download in a few weeks. This is a really big announcement for the open source ambulatory EHR community. A number of other open source EHR are certified, but they’re mostly for the hospital EHR space. So, it’s a great thing for OpenEMR to provide an open source EHR to the ambulatory space. Plus, I have to adm... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159282 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:32:11 +0100 5159282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159283&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F42OlfYrK2Vg%2F This is the start of a new series of posts that I plan to do over the next week or two. I’ll probably try and space them out so that they don’t overwhelm anyone. However, it’s going to be a series of common EMR implementation issues that I hear over and over again. This series was prompted by a post on HIStalk by Inga where she talked about her visit to the doctor and his complaints about his EHR implementation. As I read through the list of complaints, I realized that they were all complaints that I’d heard before. If I’ve heard them all before, then they must be pretty common and worth talking about more. Ideally the discussions in this EMR implementation series will help practices and doctors that are implementing an EMR to avoid these issues. I also know t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159283 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:45:47 +0100 5159283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139648&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fsafe-technology-factors-contributing-to.html Conclusions Duplicate medication order errors increased with CPOE and CDS implementation. Many work system factors, including the CPOE, CDS, and medication database design, contributed to their occurrence. Duplicate orders can result in over-medication, failure to discontinue, or other medication errors if not caught. They by definition increase risk. The questions are simple: Considering that this was a "Northeastern US community tertiary care teaching hospital", not a small hospital in a remote town somewhere lacking in HIT experience, and that "duplicate medication order errors increased with CPOE and CDS implementation", is CPOE: A safe technology, in a practical sense in the complex clinical setting (with complexities that are 'Hiding in Plain Sight'), in 2011?A technology ready f... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139648 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:50:00 +0100 5139648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139649&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Ffrom-senior-clinician-down-under.html A poster who wishes to remain anonymous, a Senior Clinician in the state of Victoria, Australia, added this comment to my March 2011 post on 'anecdotes.' (That post was entitled "Australian ED EHR Study: An End to the Line "Your Evidence Is Anecdotal, Thus Worthless?".)He makes a critical point I think has gotten lost in the HIT domain (emphases mine): Anonymous August 15, 2011 9:26:00 PM EDT said... Anecdote and Medicine. We are actually talking about two different things here. 1. Anecdotal reporting of a new and potentially exciting finding in Medicine is NEVER a reason to widely implement a new treatment or procedure. It represents the lowest category of evidence in any systematic review In any orthodox system of medicine in the developed world a new intervention would not be r... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139649 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:25:00 +0100 5139649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139650&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhy-bankers-need-to-stick-to-banking.html [Note: this post is very rich with hyperlinks. To fully understand the post, at least open the hyperlinks in a separate window and browse their material - ed.] In April 2011 I referenced a 2007 comment about health IT ROI, by then-Congressional Budget Office (CBO) head Peter Orszag, in a post entitled "Medicare/Medicaid Cuts? Spend Money on Patients - Not Computer Experiments": ... More on purported cost savings - Peter Orszag, former head of the Congressional Budget Office, said the use of electronic health records, without a major change in health care delivery, "would not significantly reduce overall health care costs" in the agency's 2007 report on long-term health care spending. He also said that according to data from the report, the return on investment for EHR's "is not going to ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139650 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:27:00 +0100 5139650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140334&cid=t_92628_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2Feducation-or-a-cognitive-behavioural-approach%2F In this study by Day, Thorn & Kapoor, the two approaches were used with a group of people from a rural area, with relatively low socio-economic status, and a reading grade level of about 8.  Both groups received a group-based programme of 10 sessions of 90 minutes.  They both received a workbook and additional reading material.  The CBT group had home-learning and also participated in behavioural activities such as relaxation in-session, while the education group did not. Interestingly, this study presents qualitative information on how participants experienced the sessions, rather than outcomes measures, so it’s difficult to establish whether pain, disability, mood or acceptance were influenced.  Instead it presents thematic analysis from in-depth interviews of the participa... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140334 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:35:42 +0100 5140334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139937&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FIJjkpBY92iI%2F Every couple months I like to take a bit of an inventory on EMR and HIPAA along with recognizing new advertisers to the EMR and HIPAA family along. Not to mention send out a big thanks to all those advertisers who have renewed during that time period as well. EMR and HIPAA is still doing more amazing than I ever thought it could. During the slow summer months we’re still averaging about 4500 pageviews per day. In fact, we’re inching ever closer to 5 million pageviews since we first started tracking the stats. I think I might have to celebrate the day we reach that landmark. This will be the 1,139th post on EMR and HIPAA and we’ve had 5,590 comments made. That’s roughly 5 comments per post. So thank you to all those who contribute to the amazing community that exists... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139937 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:49:39 +0100 5139937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140317&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fthe-most-important-iphone-app-for-pathologists.html In response to a blog note about iPhone ecosystems (see: The iPhone Effect: Smartphones and Their App Ecosystems Have Changed Everything), a reader, Christopher Metts, asked the following question as a comment: If [you] wanted to create an app for a practicing pathologist, what do you think it should do? It's an interesting question and, for me, the answer seems to be obvious.  However, I need to qualify my answer. First, it will encompass all smart phones and not just the iPhone as well as tablets such as the iPad. Secondly. my response will include two broad functions rather than specific app products. Various apps with these functionalities do exist but I don't want to single out any of them. The two functional categories that come to mind for smartphone/tablets that will ... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140317 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:42:01 +0100 5140317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139756&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-update-08-16-2011%2F Hey – ERP started posting again on his ER Stories blog. Go take a look for more posts from him and for the satellite edition to this week’s update. Deadly fungus infection adds insult to injury in Missouri tornado survivors. Thirteen patients were confirmed to have a cutaneous mucormycosis infection, ten required admission to ICUs and five patients died. All patients had open wounds and six required foreign body removal from the wounds. The fungus is typically found in the soil and in decaying wood. Mortality from the infection can be up to 80%! More patients gone wild. Patient under arrest brought to emergency department and given stitches, then, while being discharged, fights with police officer and tries to take officer’s gun. Nurse, doctor, and EMT jump on patient to assi... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139756 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:13:38 +0100 5139756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139938&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FYKYYdrcHm4s%2F I recently came across this really interesting Wall Street Journal blog post. In it a recent college graduate gives a nice rendition of the challenge of changing from student to employee. Turns out, this newly minted graduate has found work at the popular healthcare IT software company: Epic. Of course, the fact that Epic is hiring a recent college graduate should come as no surprise to anyone in the EMR and healthcare IT field. Epic has long been a haven for new graduates since their hiring practices seem to favor training new blood as opposed to hiring experienced EMR practitioners. However, reading the above post made me think back to when I first got hired for a job working with an electronic medical record. This part of the blog post really hit home (emphasis mine): Starting Aug 1, I ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139938 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:12:04 +0100 5139938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140318&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fcan-hospitals-become-more-health-outcome-oriented.html I have previously discussed some of the problems associated with fee-for-service and the need for hospitals and physicians to be more oriented to health outcomes (see, for example: Performing Procedures Can Be Lucrative for Physicians). I think that most people understand that the pursuit of outcomes is superior to fee-for-service but the challenge is revamping our reimbursement system to favor the former approach. A recent note by written by Dave Chase, the CEO of Avado.com, a health technology company, made this same point very eloquently (see: Making Newspaper Industry Mistakes).  Below is an excerpt from it: Now consider healthcare in the U.S.: There’s a clear understanding that the industry must shift its focus towards outcomes from “do more, bill more” orientation....Prev... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140318 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:41:41 +0100 5140318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130744&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffda-approves-ges-newest-ct-scanner%2F2011.08.15 GE Healthcare has received the FDA OK for its Optima CT660 computed tomography (CT) system. The CT660, which is already available in Europe, Latin America and Asia, distinguishes itself by its compact footprint combined with a modular design and low dose imaging. In addition, it is also one of the most energy efficient CT scanners available and has an “environmental design” that eases refurbishment and end-of-life recycling. The scanner itself is scalable from 32 to 128 slices through purchasable options and features automatic table positioning and a color 12-inch integrated gantry display monitor. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130744 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:05:47 +0100 5130744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5131063&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fdeclining-autopsy-rates.html Discussion About Reinventing the Autopsy; Reinventing the Autopsy: CT Imaging as a Routine Part of the Procedure; NYT Highlights the "Virtopsy" Used for All Military Autopsies). The virtopsy would undoubtedly be more accurate than the classic autopsy. It also could be performed less expensively and more quickly. You can refer back to my previous notes for more details about its advantages. It is currently the norm for the U.S. military and also widely adopted in countries such as Switzerland. As noted in the excerpt above, one of the major reasons for the decline in the autopsy rate is that it's time-consuming and thus expensive. It's also an uncompensated hospital service. Needless to say, family members are also often reluctant to allow the procedure on relatives withou... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5131063 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:40:33 +0100 5131063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130989&cid=t_92628_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fsupport-a-cure-send-your-bra-to-washington%2F The media coverage of the economic woes of the United States and the recent congressional battle over the deficit has been ad nauseam recently. Most of us have really had enough — and may even have become desensitized to the issues. This concerns me. The implication for women and especially breast cancer survivors is significant. If budget cuts for education, research, and health care continue, I worry that it will adversely affect any momentum gained over the past years in working towards a cure for breast cancer. Government’s involvement in finding a cure is paramount. Each of us needs to make an effort to keep breast cancer front and center, and I have a simple way that we can do it. I have sent e-mails to my representatives and senators about health care and breast cancer. Of... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130989 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:46:28 +0100 5130989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130856&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F7izZd7JZcgo%2F Lynn Scheps is Vice President, Government Affairs at EHR vendor SRSsoft. In this role, Lynn has been a Voice of Physicians and SRSsoft users in Washington during the formulation of the meaningful use criteria. Lynn is currently working to assist SRSsoft users interested in showing meaningful use and receiving the EHR incentive money. Check out Lynn’s previous Meaningful Use Monday posts. A few weeks ago, the HIT Policy Committee forwarded its Stage 2 meaningful use recommendations to CMS. CMS is expected to issue a Proposed Rule in early 2012 and the Final Rule in mid-2012.  The first recommendation—intensely debated, but overwhelmingly supported in the end—is to delay the start of Stage 2 until 2014, recognizing the unrealistic time pressure that vendors and providers would fac... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130856 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:43:35 +0100 5130856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130748&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-pros-and-cons-of-ipab-and-why-it-shouldnt-be-repealed%2F2011.08.15 In recent weeks, several Democrats and some health reform advocates including the AMA have joined Republicans in calling for a repeal of provisions in the new health law that create the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). For these people, IPAB represents the worst aspects of the new law–an unelected, centralized planning authority empowered by government to make decisions about the peoples’ health care. Arbitrary cuts to providers, short-sighted decisions that stifle innovation and rationing of care are sure to follow, they claim. While it’s true that the rules governing IPAB are flawed and should be fixed, eliminating IPAB altogether would be a mistake. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130748 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:44 +0100 5130748 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130743&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1714%2F0%2Fduty-to-wellness.mp3 Podcast: DrRich considers it his responsibility to point out to his readers certain truths related to modern American healthcare which may not be obvious to everyone, and which the fine people in the mainstream press choose not to mention. Be honest. If it weren’t for DrRich, would you be aware that the only reason Obamacare became the law of the land is that the private insurance companies needed it in order to have any hope of long term survival?  Would you understand that the Progressive healthcare system to which we are now legally committed inherently requires all of the following things (while loudly proclaiming the opposite): ending the classic doctor-patient relationship; preventing individuals from spending their own money on their own healthcare; killing off the practice ... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130743 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:26:01 +0100 5130743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130673&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fnational-programme-for-it-in-nhs-aug.html Conclusions and recommendations 1. The Department has been unable to deliver its original aim of a fully integrated care records system across the NHS. Poor progress since 2002 has meant the Department has had to reconsider what the expenditure can deliver. Many NHS organisations will now not receive a system through the Programme which will not provide for the transmission of individual case records across the whole NHS. The Department should review urgently whether it is worth continuing with all elements of the care records system, to determine whether the remaining £4.3 billion could be used to better effect to buy systems that work, are good value and deliver demonstrable benefits for the NHS. 2. There has been a substantial reduction in how many NHS bodies will receive new systems... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130673 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:38:00 +0100 5130673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125824&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraffic.libsyn.com%2Fnversel%2FVi_Shaffer_AMDIS_2011.mp3 Back in June, I covered the Wisconsin Technology Network’s Digital Healthcare Conference in Madison. That conference featured a panel with Vi Shaffer, research vice president and industry services director for healthcare providers at Gartner, Judy Murphy, vice president of information services at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, and Epic Systems CEO Judy Faulkner, based in nearby Verona, Wis. The panel discussed the question, “Is meaningful use a floor or a ceiling?” as I reported for WTN News. The conference also featured several sessions on how business intelligence and health information exchange can support Accountable Care Organizations. A month later, I saw Shaffer again at AMDIS Physician-Computer Connection meeting in Ojai, Calif. There, she presented preliminary ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125824 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:24:05 +0100 5125824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125825&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FU55DsRRCd6E%2F I was hit by this comment made by Ciro on a LinkedIn group that I’m apart of (You can find the HealthcareScene.com blog network on LinkedIn if you want to join). My patients are discharged from hospitals and are seen in different offices. I have no clue what changes have been made when I open the patient’s record in my emr. We have to call to have notes faxed to us all the time. Then we scan the documents into the emr and attach it to the patient record as a tif file. If a patient has a reaction to a medication and is seen at urgent care facility, I will not know about it unless the patient tells me. There is no integrity in my emr data since changes are made all the time. Our hospital recently spent millions on a emr that does not integrate with any outpatient emr. Where is th... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125825 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:47:51 +0100 5125825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130674&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fcongresswoman-renee-elmers-on-health-it.html A letter on Health IT from Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, (R) NC, Chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology was just sent to Secretary of the Dept. of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The themes in the letter will be familiar to readers of Healthcare Renewal. A PDF copy of the letter can be downloaded by clicking below, and the text follows. (click here to download PDF) Here is the text, along with several comments: August 11, 2011 The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 lndependence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 Via Facsimile: 202. 690.7380 Dear Secretary Sebelius: The House Small Business Committee, on which I serve, is required by the R... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130674 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:58:00 +0100 5130674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125698&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fcongresswoman-renee-elmers-on-health-it.html A letter on Health IT from Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, (R) NC, Chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology was just sent to Secretary of the Dept. of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The themes in the letter will be familiar to readers of Healthcare Renewal. A PDF copy of the letter can be downloaded by clicking below, and the text follows. (click here to download PDF) Here is the text, along with several comments: August 11, 2011 The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 lndependence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 Via Facsimile: 202. 690.7380 Dear Secretary Sebelius: The House Small Business Committee, on which I serve, is required by the R... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125698 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:58:00 +0100 5125698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125899&cid=t_92628_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F08%2F12%2Fthe-future-of-healthcare-presentation-on-video%2F Jonathan Richman at Dose of Digital published his presentation that focused on the future of healthcare. He included the personalized, direct-to-consumer genetic companies, e-health, e-patients and many more emerging topics. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125899 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 07:16:55 +0100 5125899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5119027&cid=t_92628_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F12%2Fnot-just-neural-plasticity-health-system-plasticity%2F In chronic pain management there seems to be a pretty consistent pathway for people to finally get to interdisciplinary treatment.  First a referral from the primary care physician or GP to one or more specialist medical people – maybe an orthopaedic surgeon, or a rheumatologist, or a psychiatrist, or a neurologist.  This person will carry out investigations, get the results, make a determination that the problem is “not theirs” – and suggest some kind of management, or a referral to another kind of orthopaedic surgeon, or a rheumatologist, or a psychiatrist, or a neurologist… who will repeat the same. Finally, after many investigations and referrals and consultations, around 3 years later, the person makes it to a chronic pain management centre.  (btw I am... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5119027 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:17:04 +0100 5119027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118831&cid=t_92628_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Feverything-takes-longer-with-ms%2F As I make final preparations for our annual camping trip to the San Juan Islands, I find myself behind the 8-ball. No matter how well I make lists, how ardently I schedule things and how prepared I think I’ve made myself; EVERYTHING just takes longer these days. I’m going to have to keep this post short, as I’m further behind this morning than when I went to sleep last night. This week has seen me muck up two meetings because I’d written them on next week’s schedule. I’ve needed at least as much time (sometimes more) to get tasks completed than I had expected — and I gave myself extra time! Physical ‘stuff’ has taken more out of me than I budgeted and the relaxing time ahead can’t seem to come into view as I look through the haze of what has yet to be done. My days ... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118831 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:26:53 +0100 5118831 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118635&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-socialmedia-internet.html At Doctors 2.0 & You, the "& You" referred  to the fact that the health care system is (or should be) a very, if not fully, interconnected world. However, this is still a work in progress. To connect  people within their own country, as most health care is still local, is already a challenge and to go beyond national borders presents an even greater challenge given language and travel requirements. Personal and collective resources both play a rôle. The advent of healthcare social media will help accelerate the connection, where basic resources are available. But much more needs to and will be done! However, the international language, despite  the improvement of automatic translation tools, tends to be English (or globish ;-) and, given as well, ... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118635 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5118635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118634&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fcatherine-cerisey-itw-patient-partner.html For today, Silber's blog presents Catherine Cerisey, a French patient advocate and author of her blog "after my breast cancer", « après mon cancer du sein ». Since we launched the health 2.0 chapter meetings, community, and blog in France, Catherine has been present  IRL and virtually via Twitter and tweet-ups #health20fr  #hcsmeufr #doctors20. This June, Catherine Cerisey participated in the French-language Doctors 2.0 workshop about patient expectations. Catherine and I had a rich exchange recently about the rôle of patients and I want to share with you her insights on "patient partner". Have as a well a look at this brief video animation called "Communicate" about the before and after of the Internet and its... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118634 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5118634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118746&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FQcpbBa3mVII%2F This is the next in a series of EMR and EHR interviews that will be done on EMR and HIPAA and EMR and EHR. The full EMR interview with Dr. Ho can be found on the new EHR and EMR interviews website. The following is a summary of that interview written by Kathy Bongiovi. After completing a family practice residency at the University of Rochester in 1989, Dr. Ho worked in a variety of settings before making her decision to open her no-staff “micropractice” in 2004. Ho defines micropractice as being “a small, low overhead, no staff, hightech-high touch practice.” Because Ho believes the current financing model of delivering primary care by cranking up the volume of visits in order to meet overhead and salary is broken she wanted to move to a model that would be better for patients and ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118746 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:18:04 +0100 5118746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5119007&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fethical-questions-posed-by-office-emr-by-epocrates.html Epocrates is a very successful smartphone app for physicians. The company recently announced the availability of an electronic health record (EHR) (see: Epocrates electronic health record raises new possibilities and ethical questions). Below is an excerpt from an article about this new product that may raise some ethical concerns: ...Targeted to small and solo physician practices, the [Epocrates EHR product] is a web-based software-as-a-service platform which will be offered on a monthly-subscription basis. At launch , it includes a native iPhone app that appears to include access to patient records as well as e-prescribing functionality, with iPad support reportedly in the works. Epocrates EHR will also include support for billing/coding, data analysis and reporting, and an interesting t... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5119007 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +0100 5119007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118747&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F-wzekic95sE%2F Patient Doctor Relationship It seems like this topic keeps coming up in my online and social media reading. Basically, the discussion usually centers around the role the patient plays in healthcare. Many people like to discuss what has been called the ePatient. I instead want to talk about the motivations of patients and their ability to influence the healthcare system. Patients in healthcare are unlike “customers” in many other industries. I can’t think of a single patient that wants to go and see a doctor. Ok, maybe they like the doctor and they want to get whatever’s ailing them fixed, but to a person I’m sure we’d say that going to the doctor is the last place we want to be. It’s not like going shopping for a new pair of shoes. There’s no... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118747 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:12:45 +0100 5118747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107514&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysician-discusses-the-confusing-aspects-of-medicare-part-d%2F2011.08.09 I have discussed Medicare Part B and Part F in recent blogs. A reader asked about Medicare Part D: Dr. Feld “Please discuss Medicare Part D, the drug benefit plan available to seniors. It is very complicated and completely confusing to me. My physician gave me a prescription for Levequin 500 mg once a day for 10 days. The pharmacist told me it would cost me $330 dollars. Medicare Part D would pay an additional $110 dollars for a total of $440 dollars. I asked the pharmacist if there was a generic equivalent. The answer was yes. It cost $10 dollars. This is unconscionable. It is highway robbery. Sincerely a.g.” Several issues are presented in this readers note. It is essential to understand these issues. The issues are an indictment against government “controlled” programs. (m... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107514 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:00:44 +0100 5107514 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118636&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fireland-uk-top-health-systems.html Some surprises from the latest publication of Pr Colin Pritchard in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine comparing  health system results of 19 "Northern" countries. The authors examined the reduction in mortality results between two periods of time and created a ratio taking into account health expenses as a percent of GDP.  The good news is that the study confirms the significant reduction of mortality for those between 15 and 74, the ages studied in this comparison of the period between 1979-1981 and 2003-2005, by the authors. 2005 is the most recent year for which data was available. First position goes to Ireland, second to the UK, and third to New Zealand. France is 13th and the US trails near the end of the list, for the high cost of s... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118636 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5118636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107512&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38805&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denisesilber.com%2Fehealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fireland-uk-top-health-systems.html Some surprises from the latest publication of Pr Colin Pritchard in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine comparing  health system results of 19 "Northern" countries. The authors examined the reduction in mortality results between two periods of time and created a ratio taking into account health expenses as a percent of GDP.  The good news is that the study confirms the significant reduction of mortality for those between 15 and 74, the ages studied in this comparison of the period between 1979-1981 and 2003-2005, by the authors. 2005 is the most recent year for which data was available. First position goes to Ireland, second to the UK, and third to New Zealand. France is 13th and the US trails near the end of the list, for the high cost of s... Denise Silber's eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107512 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5107512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118748&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FjLM8hRYzQbY%2F Lynn Scheps is Vice President, Government Affairs at EHR vendor SRSsoft. In this role, Lynn has been a Voice of Physicians and SRSsoft users in Washington during the formulation of the meaningful use criteria. Lynn is currently working to assist SRSsoft users interested in showing meaningful use and receiving the EHR incentive money. Check out Lynn’s previous Meaningful Use Monday posts. At last week’s HIT Policy Committee meeting, Robert Tagalicod, (the new director of the Office of E-Health Standards & Services), presented an analysis of the attestation experience to-date [See John's previous Meaningful Use Details post for the slides and report]. The results lend themselves to some interesting observations—admittedly preliminary findings, but revealing nonetheless:  The ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118748 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:58:10 +0100 5118748 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107909&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fwould-the-fda-swallow-an-over-the-counter-lipitor.html Pharmaceutical manufacturers are growing increasingly concerned because so many of their block-buster drugs are coming off patent and reverting to generics (see: Some Interesting Insights into the Use of Generic Drugs). One of Pfizer's responses has been to propose that its well-established Lipitor brand now be sold over-the-counter. This, of course, requires regulatory approval (see: Reader Consult: Would the FDA Swallow an OTC Lipitor?), Below is an excerpt from the article: Pfizer is hoping to milk even more dollars from its blockbuster Lipitor by introducing an over-the-counter version of the cholesterol-lowering drug, the WSJ [recently reported], citing people familiar with the matter. Whether Pfizer can get the FDA to swallow an OTC statin is another matter entirely. The WSJ repo... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107909 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +0100 5107909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107530&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-update-08-08-2011%2F You didn’t cure my kid’s vomiting over the phone and I had to take him to the emergency department two days later when the vomiting came back. Now give me my co-payments back. If services provided don’t perfectly meet expectations, those services should be free? Sorry, but life doesn’t work that way, ma’am. You didn’t please enough customers at work today. Now your boss wants back the wages he paid to you. Doesn’t sound so reasonable now, does it? Speaking about some peoples’ demand for perfect medical care … suppose that after undergoing surgery, your heart stopped beating. Multiple people rush to help you. They attempt to put a breathing tube down your throat to save you, but your airway is difficult and they can’t get the tube in place. Your life is slipping away. An... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107530 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:49:07 +0100 5107530 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118749&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FJZhjPfrltFs%2F Great counsel and advice for those still looking at various EHR software (especially specialists) @EMRAnswers Linda Lia Customizable content “offered”, doesn’t mean your specialty is available. Big difference. Ask for a “live” demo. #EMR #HITsm #healthIT EMR implementation in 6 weeks. Hospital EMR people will balk at this. However, it’s possible in the ambulatory setting. I wouldn’t recommend it, but one time I had to do it. @PediatricInc Brandon Betancourt New Post – Going from paper charts to EMR in 6 weeks; a summary http://bit.ly/npmSEH #EMR Everyone hates redundant work. So, this tweet caught my eye: @TheNerdyNurse The Nerdy Nurse In Case You Missed it: : Teetering Between EMR and Paper Charting: Frustration and Duplication – What ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118749 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:21:27 +0100 5118749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107632&cid=t_92628_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fhow-to-get-more-patients-by-remaining.html MDConsult training tutorialView more presentations from Aniruddha Malpani.MDConsult is the world's largest online medical library - and Indian doctors can now subscribe to this at a highly discounted price.Check out http://www.thebestmedicalcare.com/mdconsult/to make sure you are always uptodate and well-informed ! (Source: The Patient's Doctor) The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107632 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:39:00 +0100 5107632 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107458&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhy-ehrs-are-mission-hostile.html From "Revisiting E&M Visit Guidelines — A Missing Piece of Payment Reform" (free PDF as of this writing), Robert A. Berenson, M.D., Peter Basch, M.D, and Amanda Sussex, M.P.H., N Engl J Med 364;20 nejm.org May 19, 2011. Excerpt: ... Numerous problems have resulted. [From the CPT codes, Current Procedural Terminology codes used by physicians in billing, covering evaluation and management (E&M) services - ed.] The detailed guidelines often cause clinicians to overdocument, making the medical record an ineffective source of communication. ... A fundamental concern is that the office-visit descriptors and interpretive guidelines emphasize often-irrelevant elements of patients’ clinical histories and examinations, rather than decisionmaking and care-management activities. This is... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107458 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:35:00 +0100 5107458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103317&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fmedical-data-mix-up-major-system-error.html This from Down Under. Apparently an American IT system by Cerner was involved:Medical data mix-up, major system error Kate Hagan | August 5, 2011 MELBOURNE hospitals have sent incorrect patient records to GPs due to an error with Victoria's troubled health technology program over the past two months. The discharge summaries from Eastern Health and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital mixed patients' names with other patient data, including test results and diagnoses.[A major patient misidentification error - ed.] The data was faxed to GPs under the HealthSMART program, which Health Minister David Davis has described as ''the myki of health''.[I think 'myki' refers to the contactless smartcard ticketing system being introduced on public transport in Victoria, Australia. Did I mention I... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103317 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:15:00 +0100 5103317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103318&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhy-radiologists-should-review-reports.html Another way computers in medicine can lead to maimed and dead patients: .firefox .portlet-boundary_EXT_4_ #article-comments p sup { }.ie #article-comments table { margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: -8px; }#article-comments div { font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.7; text-align: left; }.ie .article-comments-date { margin-bottom: 5px; } Why Radiologists Should Review Reports CarefullyDiagnostic Imaging By Arun Krishnaraj, MD | August 2, 2011 Mrs. Anderson called her doctor and spoke with pressured speech: “I think there is a mistake. That cannot be my ultrasound. I don’t have a gallbladder.”Mrs. Anderson was accessing our hospital’s open EHR, which allowed her to view her radiology reports, and noticed a discrepancy. An ultrasound had been performed which identified “multip... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103318 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:56:00 +0100 5103318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096463&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fsharpening-your-job-hunting-skills Searching for a new job is almost a full-time job in itself. There are thousands of job boards to choose from and then there are the profiles you have on professional networking sites that need to be updated (LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc…). This is just the beginning. If you sign up for all of these resources, they need cultivation and frequent maintenance (plus, you need to remember the user names and passwords for them all).  read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096463 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:32:03 +0100 5096463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107648&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Fneil%2F2011%2F08%2F04%2Frandom-thoughts-emr-projects-decentralized-problems-persist-despite-solutions%2F Once in a while, I run out of Big Ideas to share and resort to a rundown of short items. This is one of those times. Often, though, that approach turns out to be more interesting than a well-thought-out commentary. (Thus, the popularity of Twitter, right?) Speaking of Big Ideas, I’m thinking that the age of the massive EMR project may be coming to an end. You may have seen my piece in InformationWeek today about the reported end of the national EMR in England. London’s The Independent reported earlier this week that the Cameron government will announce next month that it will scrap the national strategy in favor of allowing local hospitals and trusts to make independent EMR purchasing and implementation decisions. This news comes on the heels of a decision by the government of ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107648 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:22:35 +0100 5107648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096197&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38962&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbeatblog.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fus-rumor-and-hospital-report.html Introduction: Below a post by Paul Levy, the former President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. For the past five years he kept an online journal, Running a Hospital. He now writes as an advocate for patient-centered care, eliminating preventable harm, transparency of clinical outcomes, and front-line driven process improvement at one of my favorite blogs: Not Running a Hospital. Levy’s post originally appeared on The Health Care Blog (THCB).   I should add that, as a journalist, I have watched lists like this one being compiled at various magazines: “The Best Colleges in the U.S.”  “New York’s Best Doctors,”  “The Best Motels in America”. . ..  Who puts them together?  Young journalists who know no more than the rest ... Health Beat blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096197 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:14:49 +0100 5096197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096198&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=38962&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbeatblog.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fhospital-ceos-reveal-their-top-priorities-.html While reading Paul Levy’s post on hospital rankings, I couldn’t help recall an  American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) survey that he discussed on “Not Running a Hospital” back in March of 2010.  The ACHE asked hospital CEO’s about their top concerns. Below, a table shows the results: “Patient Safety” and “Quality of Care” ranked at the bottom of their list of priorities. Granted, from 2004 to 2007 these issues moved up in the rankings, but CEOs still were more likely to worry about “financial challenges,” “the cost of caring for the uninsured,” and “Doctor/hospital relations.”  They might as well have been the CEOs of auto companies, who worry about  first about profits, then costs, then labor relations, roughly in that orde... Health Beat blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096198 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:14:02 +0100 5096198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096148&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=36088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourbodiesourblog.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2Fthe-effects-of-birth-control-right-wing-version As previously reported, women with health insurance will soon have access to a host of preventive health care services, including contraception, without having to pay out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles. Not surprisingly, the news rankled some conservatives who refuse to acknowledge the long-term economic or health benefits. Take, for instance, Sandy Rios, a FOX News contributor and vice president of the Family-PAC Federal, a conservative political action committee, who likened women’s health needs to beauty services: ”We’re $14 trillion in debt and now we’re going to cover birth control, breast pumps, counseling for abuse? Are we going to do pedicures and manicures as well?” Once again, we turn to Stephen Colbert to explain the outrage... Our Bodies Our Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096148 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:09:01 +0100 5096148 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096109&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fdebt-ceiling-deal-could-endanger-health.html A story about the recent political deal to raise the Debt Ceiling entitled "Deal could endanger health care law" appeared in the Politico (hat tip Drudge Report):Deal could endanger health care lawBy JENNIFER HABERKORN | 8/3/11 11:28 PM EDT Politico.comThe debt ceiling agreement could jeopardize millions of dollars, and perhaps billions, in initiatives from President Barack Obama’s health care reform law if the super committee can’t come up with required spending cuts.Many of the pots of money in the law — one of the Democrats’ most prized pieces of legislation — could get trimmed by the debt deal’s sequestration, or triggered cuts. The funds for prevention programs and community health centers, grants to help states set up insurance exchanges and co-ops, and money to help sta... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096109 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:11:00 +0100 5096109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097117&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fhospitalists-add-to-the-cost-of-healthcare-according-to-recent-study.html This study should come as no surprise to anyone. Here's what I think may be occurring: Hospitalists work for health system CEOs who place a high value on a shorter length-of-stay (LOS) for patients. The will thus tend to discharge patients as soon as possible. CEOs have been conditioned over the past many years to relish shorter LOSs because the measure has attained the status of a quality indicator and also because shorter LOS patients are more profitable. I also assume that hospitalists tend to favor discharge of patients to rehabilitation or nursing facilities rather than to home because they do not know them well and also to ensure a speedier, medically supervised recovery. Almost everyone agrees about the solution to this problem. It is stated clearly in the excerpt above: &quot... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097117 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:35:03 +0100 5097117 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096110&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Ftime-for-summer-vacation-at-onc-and.html A Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN) blogger "Family Health Guy" a.k.a. Sean Nolan writes in a July 31, 2011 post entitled "Time for a summer vacation at ONC" that:I’ve spoken at some length about my enthusiasm for the current leadership at HHS and ONC. President Obama has both directly and indirectly engaged some really gifted individuals to help us address healthcare challenges through the use of information technology --- which is awesome ... I’ve had the good fortune to participate in a few of these, and it’s been some of the most rewarding work of my career. Truth is, I’m not used to seeing such great work out of government. So I’m a bit reluctant to throw out what could be perceived as a negative message --- but after my own two-week vacation thinking about it I’m convi... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096110 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:38:00 +0100 5096110 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096111&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fyou-saw-it-here-first-uk-nhs-pulls-plug.html You saw it here first. Or, at least well before the pundits admitted this.I've been predicting this event for quite awhile at this blog (e.g., see posts about the UK NPfIT at this blog query link). From the Independent:The Independent (UK)NHS pulls the plug on its £11bn IT systemAfter nine years and with billions already spent, doomed computer system is abandonedBy Oliver Wright, Whitehall EditorWednesday, 3 August 2011A plan to create the world's largest single civilian computer system linking all parts of the National Health Service is to be abandoned by the Government after running up billions of pounds in bills. Ministers are expected to announce next month that they are scrapping a central part of the much-delayed and hugely controversial 10-year National Programme for IT.Instead, lo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096111 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:20:00 +0100 5096111 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107649&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F08%2F03%2Feprescribing-controlled-substances%2F Back on September 13, 2009 I wrote a post titled, “FDA Approves Pilot Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances.” I’d link to the post, but unfortunately the news got sent to me prematurely and so I had to take the post down. It was unfortunate, since there was and still is a lot of interest in being able to ePrescribe controlled substances. In fact, I’d say that not being able to prescribe controlled substances electronically is the current Achilles heal of ePrescribing. Fast forward to the recent announcement that DrFirst’s announcement of the Nationwide Launch of their ePrescribing Controlled Substances product. Their latest ePrescribing product for controlled substances is called EPCS Gold and is fully certified to meet the prescription processing re... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107649 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:33:22 +0100 5107649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096844&cid=t_92628_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F08%2F03%2Fredesigning-waiting-room-in-healthcare%2F I’ve recently come across fuelfor a company focusing on redesigning the common processes of healthcare. They just launched a project in which they aim at creating a new concept for waiting rooms: Waiting is a common pain point in many health systems. As resources are increasingly overstretched, some degree of waiting is inevitable for most healthcare services. And yet hospital waiting rooms tend to be some of the most uncomfortable spaces to spend time, both physically and emotionally. Research shows that a well designed waiting experience has the potential to improve the overall perception of a health care service and to optimise care delivery processes. Gathering insights through site visits to several hospitals and clinics and discussions with care givers and patients, fuelfor h... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096844 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:26:05 +0100 5096844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097033&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F08%2Finternets-impact-on-healthcare%2F Fifty five percent of patients use the internet to find treatment information according to a 2010 U.S. Survey of Health Care Consumers According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey, fifty three percent  of seniors, fifty five percent of baby boomers, fifty seven percent of Generation X and fifty six percent of Generation Y research treatment information online. Patients are knowledgeable and informed The Deloitte survey found 25% of participants reported searching online for physician and quality information. Twenty percent of consumers want to access health records by a secure Internet connection. 1 in 5 patients say they would switch physicians to obtain access and would  use a mobile communication device to maintain these records .. however, contrary to this data &#821... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097033 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 03:55:32 +0100 5097033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096396&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FBMZN5rweIRY%2F I really would not want to live in Sarnia, Ontario. And not because it’s a hardscrabble Rust Belt town directly across the border from the equally hardscrabble—and very depressing—Port Huron, Mich. I wouldn’t want to live there because it might as well be the capital of physician resistance to technology. According to a story in Canadian Healthcare Technology’s Technology For Doctors, fully half of the 150 physicians in town will choose to retire rather than adopt EMRs. At least that’s what Dr. Kunwar Singh, president of the Lambton County Medical Society, predicts. (Needless to say, Singh is a “veteran” physician, someone who’s been in practice for 42 years.) The government of Ontario, which runs the single-payer health system in Canada’... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096396 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:55:11 +0100 5096396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097119&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F08%2Fsome-interesting-insights-into-the-use-of-generic-drugs.html We are obviously in an era in which most drug prescriptions will default to a generic product when available. A recent article discussed how drug prices are about to plummet on the basis of expiring pharmaceutical company patents. Most, if not all, of these patent-protected drugs will be replaced by generic equivalents (see: Drug prices to plummet in wave of expiring patents). Included in the article were some fascinating facts about generic drugs. Below is an excerpt from it: The cost of prescription medicines used by millions of people every day is about to plummet. The next 14 months will bring generic versions of seven of the world's 20 best-selling drugs, including the top two: cholesterol fighter Lipitor and blood thinner Plavix....Between now and 2016, blockbusters with about $2... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097119 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:31:50 +0100 5097119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107650&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fan-opposing-view-of-carecloud-ehr%2F Turns out David, who manages the Smart Phone Healthcare, EMR Videos, EMR Screenshots and EMR News websites, didn’t agree with some of the devil’s advocate positions I took in my Carecloud EHR post. He said that after reading Dr. Blackledge’s post, I missed a number of things. So, the following is his commentary on what I missed in my previous Carecloud post. Pretty much every company out there has some good and bad about it.  There are a few that are completely useless, and a few that think they are perfect, but for the most part every company has some worthwhile traits and some things they need to work on. Last week, John wrote about a new EHR, Carecloud that has been talked about for months, but finally was released last week.  He referenced a post that was written... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107650 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:48:52 +0100 5107650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096678&cid=t_92628_118_f&fid=39279&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffoxepractice%2F%7E3%2F1bSThS5Vojw%2F Data is great, and boy do we have lots of data from the millions of Twitter conversations we have in our healthcare social media database. However, data isn’t very useful or say user-friendly until after you’ve curated and analyzed it. The Healthcare Hashtag Project is now taking some small first steps into the realm of analytics. What are Healthcare Social Media Analytics? There are so many questions we can answer with all the data we have, but asking too many questions defeats the purpose of simplifying the data. That’s why we are starting very carefully with asking only a few questions. Our audience is the healthcare community at large consisting of physicians and other healthcare providers, as well as patients. How can we help them? We’ve decided to keep it simple and focus... Fox ePractice blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096678 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:34:53 +0100 5096678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086133&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=36088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourbodiesourblog.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2Fyes-hhs-approves-iom-recommendations-for-preventive-care-for-women Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is adopting the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for preventive care services for women. This will ensure that women have access to the following services under health insurance plans without having to pay a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible: well-woman visits screening for gestational diabetes HPV testing STI counseling HIV screening and counseling contraception methods and counseling breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling screening and counseling for domestic and interpersonal violence Coverage for these services is expected to begin Aug. 1, 2012. There is one caveat for some women regarding access to contraception without a co-pay — a provision that “Group health plans spon... Our Bodies Our Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086133 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:30:20 +0100 5086133 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097140&cid=t_92628_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fmore-managing-migraines-without-medication%2F Anyone familiar with migraine will know the first signs of an impending attack. What might be a little less familiar is the precursor to the “first signs”, and what may also be unfamiliar is the thoughts that accompany those first symptoms. Today I want to talk about ways to manage this phase of a migraine – without medication. As an aside, some people have suggested that there are ways to completely get rid of migraine, often suggesting that one of the problems could be around the numerous nerves that innervate the face, neck and scalp. One of the common suggestions is to have chiropractic or osteopathic treatment to “do something” to the nerves in this area. I put the “do something” in quotation marks because I really don’t know what the so... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097140 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:30:04 +0100 5097140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086185&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F08%2Fhealthcare-update-08-01-2011%2F Study on patients gone wild shows that 40% of emergency department employees in California had been physically assaulted in the previous year. More than 10% had been attacked in the prior week. What do hospitals administrators do? Tell employees things such as “If you are going to work for this hospital, you are not going to press charges.” Staff should press charges against administrators for saying things like that. Surprisingly, the comments section to the article makes it look like emergency department staff should expect the violence. “It goes with the job.” “ER staff get paid well.” “If you ever waited 5 hours in … pain, you’d think 40% was low.” Bet the commenters would be the first ones riled up in the comments section if there was a story about “ER... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086185 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:02:39 +0100 5086185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107652&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F31%2Fweekend-twitter-roundup%2F A quick look at some interesting EMR and healthcare IT related tweets I saw this weekend. This was timely after my recent posts about backup and disaster recovery. #bbpBox_96998476478558208 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0000ff; }#bbpBox_96998476478558208 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } Don’t know how computer (EMR) dependent you are until the office power goes out for 2 hrs. Sheesh! (we’re back on now)…. July 29, 2011 10:40 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite @drmikesevilla Mike Sevilla, MD Interesting comparison for sure. #bbpBox_97644147334320128 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_97644147334320128 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } Parallels w/paper vs EMR?? Fascinating MT @KentBottles: http://ow.ly/5Rrgi Paper calendar vs. electronic ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107652 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:10:59 +0100 5107652 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086312&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FyMY-qBt2Ugc%2F Rule No. 1 of blogging: post often enough to keep your audience. I seem to have broken that rule in the past eight days. The problem is, I’ve been doing so much (paying) work for others that I have neglected this site. For example, I have a new gig as a contributor to a fairly new, blog-style news site, EHR Outlook, published by Access Intelligence of Rockville, Md. (which just happens to be my home town). I’ll be writing weekly for that site, which provides fairly basic EHR-related information and advice for physician practices, a return of sorts to my roots in healthcare journalism. My first post went up last week, and a second should get posted Monday. I have a lot more to blog about, but for now, here’s another hilarious Xtranormal video about how all the mundane pape... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086312 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:45:43 +0100 5086312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107653&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F30%2Fhealth-tech-next-generation-conference-see-you-in-san-francisco%2F I haven’t been to a healthcare IT conference in a little while. Mostly, because I hadn’t seen one that I really wanted to attend. So, I’m excited that August 12th I’m going to the Health Tech: Next Generation Conference in San Franscisco, CA. I’m actually going to be there the whole weekend since there’s a WordPress conference happening that weekend as well. Plus, there are a number of people I’m planning to meet with while I’m there. If you’re in San Francisco that weekend, let me know so we can get together. I always love meeting readers of this site. I’m really excited for this healthcare IT conference. They have the amazing Guy Kawasaki as one of the keynote speakers. He’s a dynamic person and I can’t wait to see ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107653 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:29:28 +0100 5107653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077685&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ftake-an-active-role-in-your-own-health-it-can-save-more-than-just-your-life%2F2011.07.29 Sometimes you need a published study to tell you what should be obvious in the first place. This time, researchers have discovered that: When physicians have more personalized discussions with their patients and encourage them to take a more active role in their health, both doctor and patient have more confidence that they reached a correct diagnosis and a good strategy to improve the patient’s health. Really? But wait, there’s more. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at See First Blog* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077685 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:00:07 +0100 5077685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086317&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FsmTuqBa9c8M%2F This guest post was provided by Ed Fisher on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. More information: email archiving software. In today’s business environment, where litigation is an increasingly common way for disputes to be settled, compliance is included in every business plan, and regulations are reaching into business processes everywhere. Email admins must concern themselves with far more than just whether or not email is flowing. They must ensure that messaging meets the various regulations under which their business falls. They may also have to deal with legal holds, compliance reviews, discovery motions, and internal policy ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086317 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:34:26 +0100 5086317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5078059&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F07%2Fcancer-survivorship-and-the-role-of-pcps.html I have posted a number of previous notes about cancer survivorship (see: Cancer Survivorship, an Emerging Subdiscipline in Oncology; "Chemo Brain" Can Persist for Three to Five Years; Exercise Can Help Reverse; New Research Casts Spotlight on "Chemo Brain"). However, I have not given much thought to exactly which physicians would administer long-term care to cancer survivors. A recent article addressed this topic (see: Study: Doctors differ in how best to care for America's 12 million cancer survivors). Below is an excerpt from it: There are major differences between oncologists and primary care physicians regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices required to care for American's 12 million cancer survivors. That is the key finding of the first national... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5078059 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:00:12 +0100 5078059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077888&cid=t_92628_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fnew-study-questions-ms-drug-value%2F This study will surely be a part of my decision-making process. We all know that MS meds work better for some than others, that some MS meds work for each of us while others may not, and we know that we really don’t know if a drug was working unless we stop and see our disease kick back into pre-therapy mode. This study, however, makes me believe that it’s time for the price of MS medications to come down — WAY DOWN — and I think that it’s time that we get some regulators involved. Many MS meds have been on the market for nearly 20 years now. Those first drugs have well been paid for and their investors handsomely rewarded. It’s time that we start realizing that. While I’m not diminishing the importance of multiple sclerosis disease-modifying drugs, it is not good for Manyone... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077888 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:28:12 +0100 5077888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077966&cid=t_92628_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fyou-get-to-choose-your-doctors%2F I write often about how it is important to work with doctors you like and can trust. I was reminded of this last week when I had my four-month oncologist appointment. I love my oncologist, Dr. Khan. He has a gentle spirit, he is always cheerful, and he is always happy to see me. I spend much of the appointment asking about the chances of cancer returning and reviewing the effects of all the treatment I had. He in turn spends much of the appointment reassuring me and reminding me that although he can never say that breast cancer is completely cured, he is convinced that I will be around for a long, long time. He can be so confident because even his patients who have had cancer return or metastasize tend to live a long time with the chronic condition. Dr. Khan is very aggressive in treating ... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077966 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:22:26 +0100 5077966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077644&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=36088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourbodiesourblog.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F07%2Fiom-recommendations-also-support-screeningcounseling-for-violence Last week, we highlighted the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that birth control be covered without co-pays as a preventive service under health care reform. Several other aspects of women’s health were also covered by the Institute’s recommendations, including “screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence.” While the birth control prevention got a lot of attention online, we’ve seen less discussion of this and other recommendations, so thought we’d highlight it. An email we received from Futures Without Violence called it a “historic victory,” and explained, “This is not a requirement for screening for domestic violence. It does however, break down significant barriers to integrating comprehensive respo... Our Bodies Our Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077644 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:22:06 +0100 5077644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077816&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F27%2Femr-and-meaningful-use-books%2F I must admit that I’m not much of a book guy. Especially since there’s so much free information available on the internet about just about any subject you could want. However, I’ve been quite intrigued by the number of healthcare IT related books that I’ve seen coming out of late. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the ones I’ve seen. Getting to Meaningful Use and Beyond: A Guide for IT Staff in Health Care by Fred Trotter and David Uhlman – I’ve been a big fan of Fred Trotter for a while. So, I’m glad he’s working on this book. Turns out the book isn’t even published, but in Fred Trotter open source style fashion, the book is available for free online right now. Of course, they’re hoping you’ll provide feedback. ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077816 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:46:01 +0100 5077816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069474&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fimgs.xkcd.com%2Fcomics%2Fstandards.png Many people ask why the United States, unlike other countries, has no national system of electronic medical records. Here’s why: Insert the number 576 instead of 14, by the way. Each of which (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069474 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:36 +0100 5069474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069475&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhat-is-the-most-costly-healthcare-expenditure%2F2011.07.27 The National Institute for Healthcare Management Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on healthcare. The foundation just published an excellent report on the distribution of  healthcare costs in the population. The results indicate that reducing healthcare cost is all about reducing and managing chronic diseases. U.S. healthcare spending has sharply increased between 2005 and 2009 by 23 percent from $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion per year. This is a result of a combination of factors. Chief among them is the increasing incidence of obesity. Who spends the money? (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069475 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:00:54 +0100 5069475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077817&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F26%2Fnew-ehr-company-ready-to-launch-carecloud%2F Aaron Blackledge M.D., founder of Care Practice clinic in San Francisco, sent me a link to a post he did back in April about a new EMR company called Carecloud. The irony of this is that Carecloud had just reached out to me for information about advertising their EMR on my sites since they are getting ready to launch their product. Their impending launch was why Aaron decided to share his post with me. I think Dr. Blackledge’s post about Carecloud is summarized in his final paragraph: My recommendation is if you are about to give up and lay down some hard earned cash on an EMR that is just good enough I would urge you to wait a few more months and compare CareCloud’s first iteration with other emerging platforms now gaining a foothold in the marketplace. Since Carecloud is about to... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077817 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:11:03 +0100 5077817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069832&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F07%2Fbetter-quality-services-when-doctors-manage-hospitals.html I have most commonly worked in hospitals where the CEO's major strengths were in financial management -- they were not MDs. Once, in the Army, I worked in a hospital where both the commander and deputy commander were physicians. My general impression has been that the former executives tended to stress the need for quality of care but often had little real understanding about the processes for achieving quality or the true cost of these processes. A recent article caught my attention and asks the question whether hospitals should be run by physicians (see: Should Hospitals Be Run by Doctors?), Below is an excerpt from it: The conventional wisdom is that doctors should focus on patient care, and managers with a business or administrative background are better suited to running the day-t... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069832 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:15:43 +0100 5069832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069406&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fon-ehr-warnings-sure-experts-think-you.html I frequently mention what I call an "irrational exuberance" about health IT affecting the judgment of otherwise intelligent people.Here's an example where an expert's prescient warning about HIT problems was ignored.This letter of April 21, 2010 was FAXed to the CEO and CC'd to the CMO of the hospital where my mother was injured due to a May 19, 2010 EHR-related error.Incidentally, they have, to my knowledge, no postdoctorally-trained Medical Informatics specialists on staff, and possibly nobody with substantive formal training in the domain.Names of people and places have been redacted. To the best of my knowledge, the letter's concerns were ignored:April 21, 2010CONFIDENTIAL[name redacted]President and CEO[name redacted] Hospital[address redacted]Re: Electronic medical records observatio... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069406 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:39:00 +0100 5069406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069480&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-stories-in-medicine-that-need-to-be-told%2F2011.07.26 I can’t help but think that as time passes we’ll forget about how much medicine has changed with the introduction of the Internet.  We’re witnessing a transition that hasn’t been seen in generations.  We live with the end result but the memory of how we got here is fading quickly.  Like any kind of cultural shift, once we’ve arrived it’s hard to remember what it was like along the way. How did patients think before the information revolution?  And how did it go down when patients began to search?  How specifically did information clash with the old model of doctor and patient and how did we deal with it?  There are stories here that need to be told.  I think the real stories are in the small details of what went down between doctors and patients. But as early adopters, ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069480 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:00:15 +0100 5069480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069407&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fchilling-effects-to-blog-or-not-under.html On the travails of being a citizen journalist and medical watchdog:I must admit I almost gave up blogging recently.First, the death of my mother June 6, 2011 from an EHR-related medication continuity error has strained me severely. I took care of her at home since Sept. 2010 in a hospital bed rented for the living room, having promised her (and my father before he passed in 2000) that I would never put her in a nursing home. I kept my promise, but at great psychical cost. It was seriously distressing to watch her suffer and decline, cry, call out for her own long-deceased parents, and to have to administer hospice-supplied medications such as large doses of benzodiazepines, haldol (a major tranquilizer), and morphine in her final weeks to ensure she was as comfortable as possible.The effec... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069407 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:46:00 +0100 5069407 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062337&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fdownside-patient-centered-medical-homes-social-media-conversations Last week, Diana Manos, senior editor at Healthcare IT News, reported on the importance of patient-centered medical homes. She covered the annual National Health IT and Delivery System Transformation Summit, which displayed how PCMH can greatly reduce costs and improve care. One of her sources, James Dearing, DO, a family practice physician, outlined four benefits of a patient-centered home. Here is a recap: read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062337 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:34:37 +0100 5062337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062290&cid=t_92628_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=5069569&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fb5hGRxrAh3o%2F Lynn Scheps is Vice President, Government Affairs at EHR vendor SRSsoft. In this role, Lynn has been a Voice of Physicians and SRSsoft users in Washington during the formulation of the meaningful use criteria. Lynn is currently working to assist SRSsoft users interested in showing meaningful use and receiving the EHR incentive money. Check out Lynn’s previous Meaningful Use Monday posts. When selecting the 5 meaningful use menu measures on which to report—from the list of 10 possibilities—the only constraint is that the EP must include at least one of the two measures from the “public health” category: Perform a test of the EHR’s capacity to submit electronic data to immunization registries Perform a test of the EHR’s capacity to report electronic syndromic surveillance ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069569 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:46:09 +0100 5069569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062197&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fon-penalities-for-alteration-of.html I am increasingly hearing stories of alleged alterations occurring in electronic medical records.Since there is no permanent paper record in an increasing number of facilities, some might believe digital alterations might be easier to get away with.Not so, according to S. Sandy Sanbar, MD, PhD, JD, FCLM in a book chapter partly on advantages and disadvantage of electronic records (PDF) from the American Board of Legal Medicine, http://www.ablminc.org/:Alteration, Destruction, or Loss of Medical Records... no entry in the medical record should ever be altered or backdated.In the law of evidence, the loss, destruction, or significant alteration of evidence is termed “spoliation of evidence.” Thus, when medical records that have been altered, or had portions removed, or cases in which the... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062197 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:59:00 +0100 5062197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062489&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F07%2Frebecca-mackinnon-discusses-taking-back-the-internet%2F I came across this fantastic presentation by Rebecca MacKinnon as she discusses the future of the internet. I think this is something that effect both you, me and our children. Enjoy .. In this powerful talk from TEDGlobal, Rebecca MacKinnon describes the expanding struggle for freedom and control in cyberspace, and asks: How do we design the next phase of the Internet with accountability and freedom at its core, rather than control? She believes the internet is headed for a “Magna Carta” moment when citizens around the world demand that their governments protect free speech and their right to connection.  About the speaker :: Rebecca MacKinnon looks at issues of privacy, free expression and governance (or lack of) in the digital networks, platforms and services on which we a... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062489 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:46:03 +0100 5062489 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062253&cid=t_92628_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F07%2Fhealthcare-update-07-25-2011%2F What? MRSA infection? Get that patient a super mocha latte … STAT! That morning cup of Joe may decrease your risk of getting a “superbug” infection – by up to 50%. Prescription abuse kills. In 2010, more than 80 percent of the drug-related deaths in Oklahoma involved prescription medicines. Yet they’re still on the market and the pediatricians say nothing about it! Meanwhile pediatricians had a fit over cold medications that allegedly killed three children in 2005 and caused them to be largely removed from the market. More patients gone wild. This patient started out wild. He was brought to the emergency department for suicidal ideations, struggles with police, then tries to run from the department yelling at police to shoot him and to “aim for the head or the heart.” Pla... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062253 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:55:57 +0100 5062253 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062198&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fehrevent-and-national-database-of-ehr.html At my Nov. 2011 posts on a new entity called "EHRevent.org" that is supposed to be a health IT industry watchdog, I expressed various forms of skepticism. See my Nov. 2010 posts at the following HC Renewal links:November 15, 2010: EHRevent.org: Web Site to Collect EHR Safety Reports November 16, 2010: EHRevent: survey amateurism, bias, or something else?November 17, 2010: Some answers about new site "EHRevent.org" for health IT and drug adverse event reportingNovember 22, 2010: EHRevent.org CEO Edward Fotsch MD: The Real Challenge with EHRs is -- User Error? Now, approximately eight months later, I read this in the July 2011 EHREvent newsletter at this link, written by Michael Victoroff, MD, Editor in Chief:... The media has drawn our attention to the case of Genesis Burkett, a... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062198 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:58:00 +0100 5062198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062199&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Feprescribing-assuming-issues-like-this.html No surprise here to anyone with engineering sense (e.g., in my case, arising from my decades of experience in amateur radio, operating many different brands and types of extremely complex radio equipment):American Medical News (American Medical Association)Upgrading e-prescribing system can bump up error riskSome of those risks can put patients in jeopardy in the first few weeks of implementation, a study finds.By PAMELA LEWIS DOLAN, amednews staff. Posted June 13, 2011.Switching to new or upgraded electronic-prescribing systems may pose patient safety risks during the transition period, despite the advanced clinical decision support tools offered by the newly implemented technology.Let me translate this euphemism: "Patient safety risks" = risks that patients will be maimed or killed.Many ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062199 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:04:00 +0100 5062199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057719&cid=t_92628_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhy-im-afraid-for-anyone-to-enter-the-healthcare-system-ever%2F2011.07.23 Alright, I admit that the title of this post is a little dramatic. But it really does seem that most people I know socially have had a bad experience with the healthcare system lately. Take for example my friend whose 3- year-old went to the hospital for a common pediatric procedure – the little girl was overdosed on a medicine, aspirated, got pneumonia, went into respiratory distress (noticed first by her mom) and remained in the pediatric ICU for several days. The hospital staff swept the overdose under the rug, and outright denied it happened when faced with direct questioning. As outrageous as that all is, my friend chose not to pursue action against the hospital and staff for their error and behavior. She just “let it go” because no permanent harm had occurred. Anoth... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057719 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:18:24 +0100 5057719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057909&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fhealthcare-is-the-most-trusted-industry-by-consumers%2F Bingo for us healthcare marketing folks! According to a recent Harris Interactive poll the hospital and healthcare industry is the most trusted by consumers. Perhaps this data can help us the next time we have a HIPPA violation or regulation to uphold? Regardless, well done #hcmkg! A Harris Interactive report, from December 2010,  found that the hospital and healthcare industry are top of the short list of industries that consumers trust. 60% of consumers say they trust hospitals and the healthcare industry This is very beneficial to healthcare marketers – as some of us tend to question the high level of compliance required by HIPPA. The results from this survey show us that our dedication and observance of HIPPA is appreciated by the general public.  Harris Interactive posed the q... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057909 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:24:25 +0100 5057909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062324&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F22%2Ftop-5-ehr-contract-pitfalls-identified-guest-post%2F The decisions don’t end after deciding on an EHR system for your medical practice. An EHR contract is an important and legally binding document, and it’s absolutely essential to consider every line of fine print before accepting the terms. O’Toole Law Group founder William O’Toole strongly believes that contract terms should be one of the top criteria in the EHR selection process. Consulting with a lawyer before you sign is the best way to avoid difficult and expensive problems in the future. The following five issues arise frequently in EMR/EHR contracts, which are being rushed to execution by many practices that are aiming to qualify for federal funding under ARRA/HITECH. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it aims to shed light on a few of the most frequent contract issu... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062324 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:21:58 +0100 5062324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051234&cid=t_92628_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FSuPzOqs71VA%2F How is this for grave conditions in the workplace? A Baxter Healthcare unit was fined $371,250 for “deliberate and willful” safety violations that resulted in the death of a technician and serious injury to two others, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. All together, there were four willful citations issued, indicating intentional violation or knowledge of a violation. “We will not tolerate employers who intentionally sacrifice the safety of their workers,” California Department of Industrial Relations acting director Christine Baker says in a statement. “Our goal is to prevent these needless tragedies and ensure employers live up to their responsibility of protecting their workers.” Here’s what happened: On January 21, a 3... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051234 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:13:21 +0100 5051234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062326&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F20%2Fwhat-if-they-get-hit-by-a-bus%2F A little while back I asked my wife what she would do with all my blogs if I was hit by the proverbial “bus.” Her answer made me laugh. She said, she’d log into my blogs and post that I had passed away and that if readers of the site would like to support my wife and kids they could do so using the PayPal button below. I guess it’s a good thing I taught my wife how to blog. I hope she never has to post that PayPal button. However, I’ve always loved the question of “what are you going to do if they get hit by a bus?” The “they” can be replaced by all sorts of things. Each organization will have a different set of “they’s”. Remember that the buses can come in all sorts of ways: re-location, new job, injury, illness, chan... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062326 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:32:37 +0100 5062326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051262&cid=t_92628_155_f&fid=34629&url=http%3A%2F%2Flabsoftnews.typepad.com%2Flab_soft_news%2F2011%2F07%2Forchard-integrated-diagnostics.html Integrated diagnostics can be achieved by breaking down the sub-specialty silos in the diagnostic specialties like pathology, laboratory medicine, and radiology. The current standard of practice is to present the procedure and test-ordering clinicians with individualized reports from the various specialty labs (e.g., surgical pathology, immunology, microbiology) and radiology units like MRI and CT. This approach results from the super-specialization and subdivision of the diagnostics specialties. Under the integrated diagnostics mantra, the goal of integrating the diverse diagnostic reports is moved upstream and becomes the responsibility of the diagnosticians themselves rather than the clinicians. In my mind, the first major movement toward integrated diagnostics on the manufacturing side... Lab Soft News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051262 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:38:01 +0100 5051262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140266&cid=t_92628_147_f&fid=39273&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FoiJB1CCLFQo%2Fgoogle-health-is-being-shut-down.html According to its blog, Google is shutting down the “Google Health” personal health records project due to slow adoption. The Internet/IT Healthcare space is littered with successful entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies (Steve Case, Google, etc…) who have underestimated the complexities of healthcare as well as and their potential impact on the market. These are very smart people. I give them all credit for trying to come in a fix a system that is radically broken due to years of turf building and erecting barriers to entry by a wide array of players. It’s a shame our industry has a history of chewing up and spitting out highly charged and successful innovators, rather than capitalizing on their talents. The innovations and changes these entrepreneurs develop represent ... ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140266 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:57:00 +0100 5140266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062327&cid=t_92628_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F19%2Fipo-window-open-for-ehr-vendors%2F I’m pretty sure that many readers of this site haven’t found my new EMR related website called EMR and EHR Thoughts and so you might have missed the post I did about Greenway Medical filing to go public. This is obviously big news for Greenway, but I also think it’s a sign of things to come. I believe that Greenway is likely the first of many EHR companies that we’ll see go public over the next year or so. I’m sure that many of you haven’t followed the trends of tech company IPO’s and I’m far from an expert on this. However, the IPO window which was generally closed for tech companies now seems to be open after a number of successful public offerings from tech companies. I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize this, but I believe... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062327 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:31:27 +0100 5062327