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Security issues aren’t going away soonEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
According to the Department of Health and Human Service, patient data security breaches have increased significantly over the past two years. But while the spike is certainly cause for concern, it seems reasonable to suspect that the next few years will see even more. read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - September 9, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Jeff Rowe Tags: ARRA/Stimulus California Department of Health massachusetts massachusetts General Hospital Palo Alto Stanford Stanford Hospital Source Type: blogs

Vermont Information Technology LeadersEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Today I'm in Vermont, meeting with the stakeholders of Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), the federally designated Regional Extension Center and Health Information Exchange for Vermont. read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - September 7, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: John Halamka Tags: Connecticut David Cochran Harvard Industry News information technology Maine massachusetts New England New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont VITL Electronic Health Records Policy and Legislation Source Type: blogs

Pharmalot… Pharmalittle… The Weekend NearsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. To celebrate, we are rolling in the sidewalks very early to get a jump on the long holiday weekend. Our plans, though, are modest. We hope to take in some tennis with one of the short people and, otherwise, catch up on some reading. But what about you? Those of you affected by the storm, no doubt, can use a spot of rest. Elsewhere, this may be an opportunity to enjoy a day outside, spend time with someone special or simply count your blessings. Whatever you do, be safe and have fun. See you soon… FDA May Get Two More Months To Review Drugs (Reuters) Pfizer To Mo...
Source: Pharmalot - September 2, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Cambridge Eli Lilly EU FDA jobs massachusetts Merck Novartis Osteoporosis PDUFA Pfizer Reclast Roche Saphris Tarceva Vaccines Source Type: blogs

The Features Of A Bundled Payment For Care Improvement ProjectEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many health care provider organizations have not been overly eager to jump onto the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) bandwagon, citing high startup costs and uncertain returns on investment given the complexity of the program.  Well, recently, the CMS Center for Innovation has announced the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement initiative.  This initiative incorporates elements of earlier CMS demonstration projects — the gainsharing demos and ACE (acute care episode) bundled payments demonstrations which the HealthBlawger has helped a number of clients around the country qualify for in the past — and builds...
Source: Better Health - September 1, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: DavidHarlow Tags: Health Policy News Accountable Care Organization ACO Bundled Payment Care Improvement CMS Fee-For-Service System FFS Health Reform Hospitals massachusetts massachusetts global payments Pay For Performance Physicians Source Type: blogs

Sharp Focus RoundupEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I've been thinking about the Strategic Health IT Advance Research Projects (SHARP) Program lately and plan to give an update soon on some of the progress being made. SHARP has four major efforts underway at major collaborative efforts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Texas at Houston, Harvard University, the Mayo Clinic of Medicine, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The websites for each of these projects are: read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - August 26, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Brian Ahier Tags: Harvard University Illinois massachusetts massachusetts General Hospital Mayo Clinic of Medicine Sharp Texas University of Illinois University of Texas University of Texas at Houston University of Texas, Houston Editorial & Comme Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts Bodybuilding ContestEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Eugen Sandow, our honored father of the massachusetts bodybuilding contest in the massachusetts bodybuilding contest of ample amino acids and the massachusetts bodybuilding contest to achieve it, thus, overloading your system in order to tone, sculpt or build different muscle groups and parts of your body. The bulk up stage of bodybuilding started out when they were right or wrong. It is this intangible spirit that in many ways demonstrates the massachusetts bodybuilding contest of athleticism. Although these physically and mentally challenged individuals may not be aware that there is no proven physiological mechanism by ...
Source: Cosmic Watercooler - August 16, 2011 Category: Nurses Tags: massachusetts Contest Bodybuilding Source Type: blogs

Partners Health Care acquiring Neighborhood Health Plan: The 800-Pound Gorilla and the Fig Leaf?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Partners Health Care (the dominant provider network in Greater Boston) and Neighborhood Health Plan (a local mostly-Medicaid HMO) just announced that the former intends to acquire the latter, and maintain it as a separate operating entity.  No money will change hands between the parties, but an unspecified amount of money will be given by Partners as grants to community health centers where NHP members receive much of their health care services. Gary Gottlieb, CEO of Partners, graciously allowed that it would not seek to interfere with the current referral patterns of NHP members to the two local safety-net hospitals (whi...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - August 14, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Accountable Care Organization Health care policy Health Law Health Reform Hospitals Managed Care massachusetts Medicaid Medicare Physicians Source Type: blogs

J&J To Settle Criminal Charge Over Risperdal Marketing, While 40 States Plan LawsuitsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
WE ARE REPEATING THIS ITEM FROM LAST NIGHT WHEN IT FIRST BROKE…As Johnson & Johnson attempts to resolve a raft of litigation and government investigations related to Risperdal marketing, attorney generals from approximately 40 states are deciding whether to pile on as they pursue a coordinated civil investigation into potential consumer fraud violations, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In order to make their case, the states and J&J reached a so-called tolling agreement, which essentially delays the expiration of a statute of limitation for filing a lawsuit. The disclosure...
Source: Pharmalot - August 10, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Consumer Fraud JJ Johnson & Johnson Louisiana massachusetts Off Label Marketing Pennsylvania Risperdal South Carolina Texas TMAP West Virginia Source Type: blogs

2 Ways Hospital New Construction Provides Long Term Growth StrategiesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
At a medical office conference I attended, influential hospital executives stated that investing their capital in infrastructure needs and health information technology (IT) took priority over building new or renovating existing hospital ancillary facilities. However, the many advantages to  new facility construction support hospital growth strategies and has the potential to help the long term viability of any health system. read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - August 8, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: James Ellis and Aaron Razavi Tags: California Facilities Are Industry News massachusetts Sacramento Hospitals & IDNs Network Infrastructure Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts Sues J&J Over Risperdal MarketingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Yet another state has filed a lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson illegally marketed its Risperdal antipsychotic to the detriment of its citizens. This time, Massachusetts alleges J&J promoted the drug to treat elderly dementia and various unapproved uses in children and adolescents. The state also claims J&J failed to disclose serious risks such as the possibility of excessive weight gain, diabetes and, for elderly dementia patients, an increased risk of death. “Manufacturers should not promote uses of their pharmaceutical products that have not been established to be safe and effective,” Massachuse...
Source: Pharmalot - August 1, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Antipsychotics Janssen Pharmaceuticals JJ Johnson & Johnson Louisiana massachusetts Off Label Marketing Risperdal South Carolina Source Type: blogs

Need Mental Health Treatment in 2 Weeks? Fat ChanceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study demonstrates quite the opposite. Read the full article: Medical News: Barriers High in Mental Health Care
Source: World of Psychology - July 25, 2011 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, PsyD Tags: General Policy and Advocacy Psychology Psychotherapy Treatment American Healthcare System Best Insurance Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield massachusetts Care Provider Emergency Department High Health Honest Truth Insu Source Type: blogs

At The Feet Of A Master: Biederman & His ProtegesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Earlier this month, three prominent psychiatrists from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital were sanctioned for violating conflict of interest rules. The trio received grant money from various drugmakers while studying their meds, but failed to report some of the outside income to the institutions while also receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health (see this). The move followed a long-running controversy over the interplay between academia and pharma, which was prompted by a high-profile US Senate Finance Committee probe over concerns that such undisclosed relationships may unduly influe...
Source: Pharmalot - July 15, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Conflicts of Interest Harvard Medical School Jeffrey Bostic Joseph Biederman massachusetts General Hospital Thomas Spencer Timothy Wilens Source Type: blogs

Health Insurance Exchange regulations are out, and they make me feel like a visitor from the futureEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Health Insurance Exchange regulations were released by HHS yesterday -- in a DC hardware store, for local color and homespun truths -- with a go-live date of January 1, 2014, per the Affordable Care Act, and a key interim approval deadline of January 1, 2013, by which date each state needs to demonstrate that it has its act together and is on a glide path to the go-live date.  Despite the rancorous opposition to the ACA (consider, for example, the views of the Virginia Attorney General -- who is leading a multi-state charge against the individual mandate -- expressed at the American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeti...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - July 12, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Health care policy Health Law Health Reform massachusetts Source Type: blogs

The Massachusetts Experiment Analyzed: Provider Payments Based On Their Negotiating Strength, Not Quality Of CareEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley released her office’s second annual report, An Examination of Health Care Cost Trends and Drivers (PDF; see also press release), which contains a wealth of critical data analysis — and also highlights how little we know about certain things — providing some important context for the discussion of the proposed Part III of Massachusetts health reform, a bill filed by Governor Patrick which would create all-payor ACOs and a system of global payments. At this late date, few would argue against a move a way from fee-for-service reimbursement for health care, or add...
Source: Better Health - July 6, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: DavidHarlow Tags: Health Policy Fee For Service Global Payments Health Insurance Health Reform HMO massachusetts medicaid Pay For Performance PPO Source Type: blogs

Harvard Docs Disciplined For Conflicts Of InterestEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Three years after they were fingered in a US Senate probe into the interplay between academics who receive grant money from both pharma and the National Institutes of Health, three prominent psychiatrists from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have been sanctioned for violating conflict of interest rules and failing to report the extent of their payments. In a mea culpa addressed to their colleagues, Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens wrote that “we want to offer our sincere apologies to HMS and MGH communities…We always believed we were complying in good faith with the ...
Source: Pharmalot - July 2, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Antipsychotics Bristol Myers Squibb Chuck Grassley Conflicts of Interest Eli Lilly GlaxoSmithKline Harvard Medical School JJ Johnson & Johnson Joseph Biederman massachusetts General Hospital Pfizer Thomas Spence Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts Keeps Drug Coupon And Gift BansEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
After months of contentious debate, the Massachusetts legislature reached accord on a state budget last night, but the many provisions failed to include a long-standing effort to repeal the 2008 law that bans drug and device makers from giving gifts to docs. And the budget also failed to overturn a Massachusetts ban on coupons - the only such state ban in the country (read the budget). The effort to repeal the gift ban had passed the House just two months ago in a bipartisan, 128-to-22 vote that reflected heavy lobbying by drugmakers and biotechs, which argued the law robbed the state of revenue from two medical convention...
Source: Pharmalot - July 1, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Coupons Freebies Gift Ban massachusetts Prescription Drug Coupons Source Type: blogs

David Harlow Presents Social Media Session at American Health Lawyers Association Annual MeetingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I am speaking today at the American Health Lawyers Association annual meeting on the uses of social media by attorneys. I am sharing two versions of my slides from this session: one that is text-rich and full of useful links, and one that is much nicer to look at and more engaging for a live audience. Enjoy one or both, and let me know what you think in the comments.  If you are off-site, please tweet a shout-out to me @healthblawg tagged #AHLABoston a little after 3 p.m. ET, so we can show the folks in Boston the reach of Twitter, and let us know where you're tweeting from. AHLA Annual Meeting 2011 Social Media Legal Ma...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - June 28, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Blawg Blawg Review Blog Carnivals Health 2.0 Health care policy Health Law massachusetts Social Media Source Type: blogs

FDA-Approved Drugs Are Not Always Effective: The Benefits Of Alternative MedicineEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
On Saturday, while thousands of Boston Bruins fans gathered at Government Center to celebrate the team’s recent Stanley Cup victory, a hundred or so true die-hards met a few blocks away at a Massachusetts General Hospital conference to talk about complementary and alternative medicine for psychiatric disorders. While I hated to miss the Bruins parade, I’m glad I attended the MGH conference. I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic about so-called natural therapies for one simple reason: they don’t have to go through the same rigorous testing in clinical trials that medications do. At the same time, I realize that FDA-ap...
Source: Better Health - June 25, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: AnnMacDonald Tags: Health Tips Research Alternative Medicine American Psychiatric Association APA CAM Complementary And Alternative Medicine Depression FDA FDA-Approved Drugs Harvard Maca Root massachusetts General Hospital Mental Health MGH Na Source Type: blogs

The Massachusetts Experiment Analyzed: Are We Ready for Global Payments?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley released her office's second annual report, An Examination of Health Care Cost Trends and Drivers (PDF; see also press release), which contains a wealth of critical data analysis -- and also highlights how little we know about certain things -- providing some important context for the discussion of the proposed Part III of Massachusetts health reform, a bill filed by Governor Patrick which would create all-payor ACOs and a system of global payments. At this late date, few would argue against a move a way from fee-for-service reimbursement for health care, or adding quality met...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - June 24, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Accountable Care Organization Health care policy Health Law Health Reform massachusetts Medicaid Pay for performance Source Type: blogs

Pan Mass Challenge 2011 - Please Support my Ride & Help Lick CancerEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It’s that time again – the Pan Mass Challenge is coming up the first weekend of August, and I will be riding for the eighth time along the 2-day, 200-mile route, as part of a village on wheels that comes together each year to fight cancer.  The 5000+ riders, and the volunteer bike mechanics, massage therapists, folks who prepare and serve food and drink, folks who come out in droves to cheer us on, and say “Thanks for riding,” all come together in support of a cause.  We need your help to support this cause -- the Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  Thanks in large part to the generosity of PMC cor...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - June 22, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: massachusetts Off-topic Source Type: blogs

Tweetup at the AHLA Annual Meeting in BostonEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Come join Bob Coffield (@bobcoffield) and me, together with other speakers, attendees and camp followers from the American Health Lawyers Association, for a tweetup next Tuesday, June 28, 2011, at 5:30 or so at BrasserieJO, at the Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, Boston.  We hope to introduce the AHLA to some members of Boston's Health 2.0 community and other folks interested in all (or some) things healthcare, legal and/or social media. Check out the TwtVite, let us know if you'll be joining us, and spread the word. As Bob posted earlier today: The TWEETup follows an afternoon of health care social media and th...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - June 21, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Health 2.0 Health care policy Health Law Health Reform massachusetts Source Type: blogs

The fate of 'Obamneycare': Social media reactionsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In early April of 2006, then Massachusetts Governor and current 2012 GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney signed the most influential bill of his political career. The law required that all citizens of Massachusetts have health insurance. When 2008 rolled around and President Obama took office, he did not support the individual mandate as part of his new healthcare reform plan. read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - June 16, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Kelly Mehler Tags: Industry News massachusetts Mitt Romney Republican Party Tim Pawlenty Policy and Legislation Source Type: blogs

Currently Available Drug Shown To Prevent Breast CancerEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A recent study, published by Dr. Paul Goss of Massachusetts General Hospital, has shown that taking the currently available drug Aromasin (exemestane) prevented the onset of cancer by 65% in study participants.
Source: Inside Surgery - June 5, 2011 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Medical News Wire Aromasin breast cancer exemestane massachusetts General Hospital Paul Goss prevention Source Type: blogs

HIT Lessons Learned from ScotlandEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
My trip to Scotland provided a remarkable opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. Scotland has nearly 100% adoption of electronic health records among general practioners and is making good progress in hospitals with innovative built/bought inpatient systems. As in most countries, health information exchange is still evolving, but novel databases supporting disease management at the community level and an emergency care summary exchange are already live. Here's what I learned while in Scotland: No sticky read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - June 1, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: John Halamka, MD Tags: Industry News massachusetts Scotland Business Intelligence Hospitals & IDNs Physician Practices Ambulatory Care Electronic Health Records Health Information Exchange (HIE) Network Infrastructure Source Type: blogs

What Ban? A Good Year For Massachusetts EateriesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Last month, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to repeal a 2008 law that bans drug and device makers from giving gifts to docs. The law, which you can see here and here, was seen as a way to limit undue industry influence over medical practice. But the ban has upset doctors, and pitted various consumer and patient groups against the state’s restauranteurs and drug and device makers ever since. Those in favor of repeal argue the ban stifled business seeking to expand in Massachusetts and robbed the state of revenue from two medical conventions that held their events elsewhere (back story)....
Source: Pharmalot - May 20, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Conflicts of Interest Freebies Gift Ban massachusetts Meals Source Type: blogs

Is the ACO DOA? Reasonable Minds Can Improve the Draft RegulationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In the current all-ACO, all the time, health care policy news cycle, we've been inundated with declarations that the ACO is dead, because a handful of big boys say they don't want to play. Today, CMS announced that it is... Read the full post on HealthBlawg.
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - May 17, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Accountable Care Organization CMS Health care policy Health Law Health Reform Hospitals massachusetts Medicare Pay for performance Physicians Source Type: blogs

Offering Written Language Preference to Patients Looms as Challenge for HospitalsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This is the second post in a multi-part series about the new Joint Commission standards on language access requirements for limited English proficient patients. When hospitals ask patients about their language requirements, it is very important they ask the correct questions. We’ve all heard these questions – “Do you speak English?”, “Where were you born?”, “Where do you come from?”, or “What language do you speak?” Unfortunately, each of these risks complicating matters even further. No sticky read more
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - May 6, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Oscar Arocha and Martin Conroy Tags: Industry News massachusetts Medicare pre-op Hospitals & IDNs Policy Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts House Votes To Repeal Gift BanEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
For the second time in less than a year, the Massachusetts House of Representatives has attempted to repeal a 2008 law that bans drug and device makers from giving gifts to docs. An effort last summer failed (read here). This time, however, a repeal is gaining traction. A bipartisan majority voted 128-to-22 yesterday to overturn the ban. The law, which you can read here and here, was seen as a way to limit undue industry influence over medical practice. But the ban has upset doctors, and pitted various consumer and patient groups against restauranteurs and the pharmaceutical and device industries ever since. Those in favor...
Source: Pharmalot - April 27, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Conflicts of Interest Doctors Freebies massachusetts Source Type: blogs

Ferraro developed pneumoniaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This is from the AP. Other reports mentioned only “complications,” which we now know to be pneumonia. It’s very common for myeloma patients to develop pneumonia. Ferraro died at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she had gone Monday for a procedure to relieve back pain caused by a fracture. Such fractures are common in people with her type of blood cancer, multiple myeloma, because of the thinning of their bones, said Dr. Noopur Raje, the Mass General doctor who treated her. Ferraro, however, developed pneumonia, which made it impossible to perform the procedure, and it soon became clear she didn’...
Source: beth's myeloma blog - March 27, 2011 Category: Cancer Authors: Beth Tags: Cancer Myeloma News blood cancer Ferraro fracture massachusetts General Hospital multiple myeloma pneumonia Source Type: blogs

Health Care Executives' Compensation: Head's, They Win, Tail's, You LoseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article made it seem that the substantial compensation received by these executives was related to the system's financial performance:[Senior Vice President of marketing and communication Jim] Tobalski said Novant will release its fiscal 2010 financial report in April. The system likely will report a better overall performance because of the stock market's surge in 2010.However, as reported eight days later again by the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, there are other ways to look at these executives' compensation. First, their bonuses can be compared to those given less exalted employees:Novant Health Inc. has paid two se...
Source: Health Care Renewal - March 17, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: Novant Health executive compensation University of massachusetts UMass Memorial Health Care Source Type: blogs

Some Dare Call It "Corruption" - the Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield Golden Parachute Scandal ContinuesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We have discussed many cases of health care organizations' leaders reaping rewards disproportionate to any concept of their performance, and especially to any concept of the effect of their conduct on patients' or the public's health.  Most of these cases have been pretty anechoic, but for some reason, the case of the huge golden parachute given to the outgoing CEO of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield despite a tenure  marked by financial losses and no particularly brilliant advances in patients' care or outcomes, (see this post) continues to generate responses.  One editorial suggeste...
Source: Health Care Renewal - March 14, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: executive compensation deception boards of directors Blue Cross and Blue Shield of massachusetts health insurance public relations conflicts of interest Source Type: blogs

The Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO's Golden Parachute - "'Have's' Greasing One Another's Pockets"Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We have frequently discussed the kind of compensation now frequently given to leaders of health care organizations.  Although often even the most disproportionately outrageous compensation only attracts transient interest, a recent regional story in this genre has really gotten legs.How Big the Golden Parachute?The story was about the severance package given to one Cleve L Killingsworth, the former CEO of not-for-profit health care insurance company Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield.  While first reported as being worth $8.6 million,(1) the estimate of his total severance was soon raised to $11 million.(2...
Source: Health Care Renewal - March 11, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: executive compensation Blue Cross and Blue Shield of massachusetts perverse incentives golden parachutes boards of trustees Source Type: blogs

Shingles Recurrence: Can The Vaccine Help?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This month’s Harvard Health Letter has an article about getting shingles a second or even a third time. (Click here to read the full article.) The bottom line is that recurrence is a) certainly possible and b) if some recent research is correct, much more common than previously thought and about as likely as getting shingles in the first place if you’re age 60 or older. I talked to Barbara Yawn, M.D., director of research at the Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., for the article and mentioned results that she and her colleagues first presented at a conference several years ago. Yawn reported a more co...
Source: Better Health - March 11, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: PeterWehrwein Tags: Health Tips Research Dr. Barbara Yawn Harvard Health Blog Harvard Health Letter Harvard Health Publications Harvard Medical School Harvard University Herpes Zoster HZ Journal Watch massachusetts Medical Society Mayo Clinic Proceedi Source Type: blogs

Insider Trading, Drug Stocks & Loose-Lipped DocsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Massachussets Secretary of the Commonwealth has filed a complaint that accuses a hedge fund of making profits on two pharmaceuticals stock by using insider information. Specifically, Risk Reward Capital Management was charged with using a so-called expert consultant to obtain advance info about an Ariad Pharmaceuticals clinical trial and a forthcoming abstract about a med sold by Questor Pharmaceuticals. According to the complaint, Risk Reward principal investment advisor James Silverman* retained Guidepoint Global for an $80,000 annual fee in exchange for obtaining alleged insider info. He hired the firm in early 2008...
Source: Pharmalot - March 9, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Acthar Gel Ariad Pharmaceuticals Guidepoint Global Insider Trading James Silverman massachusetts Questcor Pharmaceuticals Risk Reward Capital Management Source Type: blogs

Dr. Chad Gordon Develops New Patient-Doctor Communications AppEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Prominent plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Chad Gordon has developed a new electronic, HIPAA-compliant physician-patient communication tool dubbed MDconnectME. Gordon is now on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Source: Inside Surgery - March 6, 2011 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Medical News Wire Chad Gordon face transplant surgeon massachusetts General Hospital MDconnectMe Source Type: blogs

Romney Van WinkleEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
By Michael F. CannonIn 2006, then-Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) fought for and enacted a health care law now known as RomneyCare -- though the law is so nearly identical to ObamaCare that one could call it ObamaCare 1.0.  Romney is seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2012.  But since 84 percent of Republicans want ObamaCare repealed, the fact that he paved the way for ObamaCare is causing problems for Romney among the party faithful.  The most recent manifestation came in the form of a tongue-lashing from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R), whose book criticizes Romney both for enacting RomneyC...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 25, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Michael F. Cannon Tags: Cato Publications General Government and Politics Health, Welfare & Entitlements David Boaz health care reform massachusetts health plan mike huckabee mitt romney Obamacare romneycare Source Type: blogs

Mass General and HIPAA, or The medical records that never returnedEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
  OCR announced today that Massachusetts General Hospital settled a HIPAA violation claim, without admitting liability, for $1 million and an agreement to revamp procedures for taking patient records off premises.  The case involved a stack of paper records left on the T (Boston's subway) consisting of protected health information for a couple hundred patients, including patients on the HIV service.  (As an aside, HIV records are subject to super-deluxe Rube Goldberg-esque privacy protections in Massachusetts -- they need to be flagged so that patients can sign an additional release before they are shared, since even...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - February 24, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Health care policy Health Law HIPAA Hospitals massachusetts Physicians Privacy Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts Health Reform, Part IIIEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Today, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed health care reform legislation that, if enacted, will take the Commonwealth to the next level, taking the third step in the process that began in 2006 with the universal coverage law, and continued in 2008 with the legislation directed at containing cost and improving quality.  One of the provisions of the 2008 law established a special commission on the health care payment system that shall investigate reforming and restructuring the system to provide incentives for efficient and effective patient-centered care and to reduce variations in the quality and cost of care. ...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - February 17, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Accountable Care Organization Health care policy Health Law Health Reform Hospitals massachusetts Physicians Source Type: blogs

AQC to ACO: As goes Massachusetts, so goes the nation?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
About four years ago here in Beantown, survivors of the last big ill-conceived or poorly-executed (depends who you ask) wave of health care management and finance innovation were kicking around for a new approach to aligning payor and provider incentives, focusing on quality and cost containment. To hear Andrew Dreyfus, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, tell the story, the Blues wanted to address both quality and cost, and therefore (after looking in vain for a model elsewhere that could be transplanted to Massachusetts) developed the Alternative Quality Contract, or AQC, which features a global payment model...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - February 14, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Accountable Care Organization Anti-Kickback Statute CMS Health care policy Health Law Health Reform Hospitals Managed Care massachusetts Medical home Medicare Pay for performance Physicians Stark Source Type: blogs

Pan Mass Challenge 2011: The Training and Fundraising BeginEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
While things are still mighty cold and snowbound here in New England, and it's difficult to think about bicycling in this weather, I signed up a couple of weeks ago to ride in my eighth Pan Mass Challenge.  (It will be my second on a recumbent bike.)  For those of you not familiar with the PMC, it's the granddaddy of all athletic fundraisers, and last year alone raised over $30 million for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund.  Thanks to the ride's sponsors, every penny of every donation goes directly to the Dana Farber.  Over 5000 riders get out on the road for the first weekend in August, and ride a variety ...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - February 13, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: massachusetts Off-topic Social Media Source Type: blogs

Pharmalot… Pharmalittle… Good MorningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Helllo, everyone, and nice to see you again. A frosty morning is unfolding here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where the official mascots are barking and a cup of stimulation is at hand - our flavor today is Southern Pecan. As always, we are preparing for another round of meetings and deadlines, and assume you are doing the same. To help you along, we have gathered a few tidbits and hope your day is rewarding. Enjoy and do stay in touch… Teva Is Getting Ready For Another Big Acquisition (Bloomberg News) Sandoz Has 10 Biosimilars In Its Pipeline (Reuters) Momenta Wins Multiple Sclerosis Patent (Boston Business Jou...
Source: Pharmalot - February 9, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Antipsychotics Biosimilars Dementia FDA Genzyme massachusetts Pfizer Prescription Drug Shortages Sandoz Sanofi Aventis Teva Pharmaceuticals US Senate Worcester Source Type: blogs

Pfizer, Tax Incentives And Jobs: Worth The Price?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
What a difference a decade can make. Back in 1998, Pfizer was awarded some $60 million in grants and various incentives by the state of Connecticut in exchange for promises to maintain R&D sites in two locations - Groton and New London - and boost employment significantly. These awards included sales and use tax exemptions; construction and remediation grants, and corporate tax credits. There was also a property tax abatement in New London, which became famous thanks to an eminent domain case that went to the US Supreme Court. A neighborhood was cleared so that Pfizer could build a $300 million R&D facility which...
Source: Pharmalot - February 7, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Connecticut Groton jobs Layoffs massachusetts New London Pfizer Pharmaceutical R&D Source Type: blogs

Meditation: How It May Change The BrainEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Meditation sounds like a great idea from the perspective of a psychiatrist: Anything that calms and focuses the mind is a good thing (and without pharmaceuticals, even better). Personally, I tried transcendental meditation as a kid (more to do with my mother than with me) and found it to be boring. I have trouble keeping my thoughts still. They wander to what I want for dinner, and should I write about this on Shrink Rap, and will Clink and Victor ever eat crabcakes with me again, and did I remember to give my last patient informed consent, and a zillion other things. Holding my thoughts still is work. The New York Times W...
Source: Better Health - January 31, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: DrDinahMiller Tags: Health Tips Research Amygdala Anxiety Brain Changes Britta Hölzel Calming the Mind Dr. Dinah Miller Gray-Matter Density Harvard Medical School Healthy Mind Hippocampus Magnetic Resonance Imaging massachusetts General Hospital Source Type: blogs

Maryland Considers Banning Gifts To DoctorsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Once again, Maryland lawmakers are considering legislation that would ban drug and device makers from giving gifts to docs and other healthcare providers. The move comes after a sensational scandal in which a Baltimore cardiologist was allegedly influenced by Abbott Laboratories to perform numerous unnecessary stent procedures (see this and this about the parties at his house). Such laws already exist in Vermont and Massachusetts (read here and here), where payments to docs must also be disclosed. However, the bills caused considerable controversy, pitting drugmakers, doctors and restauranteurs against consumer and patient...
Source: Pharmalot - January 27, 2011 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Abbott Laboratories Gift Ban Mark Midei Maryland massachusetts Stents Vermont Source Type: blogs

Prevention Magazine Pushes Non-Evidence-Based Heart ScreeningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The February issue of Prevention magazine has an article entitled “Surprising Faces of Heart Attack” profiling “three women (who) didn’t think they were at high risk. Their stories are proof that you could be in danger without even knowing it.” No, their stories are not proof of that. The story is about three women in their 40s. The story varyingly states that the three should have had the following screening tests: – Advanced cholesterol test, carotid intimal medial thickness test ( CIMT) – Advanced cholesterol test and stress echocardiography – Cardiac calcium scoring and ...
Source: Better Health - January 26, 2011 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: GarySchwitzer Tags: Health Tips Opinion Cardiology Gary Schwitzer Harold Demonaco HealthNewsReview.org Heart Attack Risk Heart Health Inaccurate Health Reporting massachusetts General Hospital Media Inaccuracy Media Misinterpretation Medical Reporting Source Type: blogs

Massachusetts: Future Hotbed of Value-Based Benefit Design?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The high cost of public sector health insurance benefits -- the albatross around the neck of many a mayor or town manager around the Commonwealth of Massachsuetts and around the country -- has once again attracted the attention of Governor Deval Patrick.  Late last week, he announced that his SFY 2012 budget proposal will include a 7% cut in local aid (state payments to cities and towns), and that he will be looking for a legislative fix to the high cost of local government health insurance premiums.  He was short on specifics, saying he's learned his lesson about being too directive in such matters, and will wait to see...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - January 25, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Health care policy Health Law Health Reform massachusetts Pay for performance Source Type: blogs

David Harlow is Guest on Lawyer2Lawyer Podcast on Massachusetts Health Reform IssueEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I am a guest on the latest edition of Lawyer2Lawyer, a podcast talk show on the Legal Talk Network hosted by fellow Bay State blawger Bob Ambrogi and Golden State lawyer Craig Williams, discussing aspects of the Massachusetts health reform plan, national health reform, and the lawsuit brought by their other guest, Michael Merlina, who is representing himself in seeking to overturn the denial of his application for a hardship exception from the individual mandate portion of the Massachusetts law.  He and his wife are being fined a little under $2000 because he says they can't afford a policy that would cost them a little o...
Source: HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog - January 16, 2011 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Authors: David Harlow Tags: Health care policy Health Law Health Reform Interview massachusetts Podcast Universal Health Care Source Type: blogs

A Healthcare Information Services Provider Business ModelEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I've written previously about Healthcare Information Exchange Sustainability and the need for Healthcare Information Services Providers (HISPs) to serve as gateways connecting individual EHRs. How should HISPs be funded and how can we encourage HISP vendors to connect every little guy in the country? We've started to think about this in Massachusetts.
Source: Healthcare IT News Blog - January 5, 2011 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: John Halamka, MD Tags: Axolotl Covisint Industry News Israel Deaconess massachusetts Medicity New Hampshire New York City SureScripts Verizon Physician Practices & Ambulatory Care Vendors Electronic Health Records Network Infrastructure Source Type: blogs

Lab-On-A-Chip: Veridex & MGH Collaborate On Next-Generation Circulating Tumor Cell TestEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Veridex, LLC announces a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital to develop and commercialize a next-generation circulating tumor cell technology for capturing, counting and characterizing tumor cells found in patients’ blood. Yesterday, Veridex, LLC (Veridex) announced a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to develop and commercialize a next-generation circulating tumor cell (CTC) technology for capturing, counting and characterizing tumor [...]
Source: Libby's H*O*P*E* - January 4, 2011 Category: Cancer Authors: Libby's H*O*P*E* Tags: Diagnosis & Treatment Discoveries Early Detection nanotechnology BioMEMS Resource Ctr. CellSearch Circulating tumor cell Daniel Haber M.D. Ph.D. in vitro diagnostics Johnson & Johnson massachusetts General Hospital Mehmet Toner Ph.D. Source Type: blogs

New Blood Test Being Developed That Will Detect CancerEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Massachusetts General Hospital and the Veridex subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson are developing a new blood test that might be able to detect a single cancer cell in a person’s body. The hope is to have the test available for general population use within five years.
Source: Inside Surgery - January 4, 2011 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Medical News Wire Johnson and Johnson massachusetts General Hospital new blood test for cancer Veridex Source Type: blogs

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