As pioneers in the EHR and PMR industry, we have the unique perspective and opportunity to be involved in the "revolution" of healthcare delivery... Are we too early? or Are we too late?
Healthcare is a large continuum that snags and encircles many components from the business end to institutional interests, government, payors, providers, internet "dot commers", web 2.0 , and ultimately consumers... For all of these interested parties to change the accountability, delivery, recording, accuracy, safety, efficiency, there has to be market profitability. The best business minds will win this battle. The best business models understand the unique interactions and behavioral patterns of both physicians, patients, hospital administrators, and third party payors...Physicians with a business acumen may be the most appropriate to head these initiatives...
How does the internet and the digital age impact doctors and patients at the end of the day? How should it impact doctors and patients?
Will doctors adopt and will patients utilize?
How can we make doctors more rapidly adopt? And equally important how can we get patient "buy in" and utilization?
What needs to be done.....
1. Decision support capabilities with alerts and reminders
2. Using clinical data to support research and P4P
3. Phasing in personal health records
4. Improving access, connectivity, data entry, data retrieval and utilization for docs, patients and payors
5. Incorporating medication management
6. Remove cost barriers and time barriers
7. Better interoperability amongst data systems
8. Incentivize, Incentivize , and Incentivize
Monday, May 07, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
did you do your cosmetic surgery homework?
A woman having a procedure performed in a California beauty salon died after being injected with "cooking oil" according to American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recent issued warning about the need to do "homework" before having a cosmetic procedure done.
I just heard recently how a "nurse" injected a patient with a "filler" at a bathroom at a car dealership in Florida.
Excessive numbing creams , like that used after laser hair removal, has been reported to caused deaths of 2 twenty year old women. The FDA has issued a warning about excessive use of this cream as in can lead to irregular heartbeats, seizures, and even death.
With "quick fix" cosmetic surgery on the rise... more and more fraud amongst practitioners is happening...
what stories or advice can you give to others?
I just heard recently how a "nurse" injected a patient with a "filler" at a bathroom at a car dealership in Florida.
Excessive numbing creams , like that used after laser hair removal, has been reported to caused deaths of 2 twenty year old women. The FDA has issued a warning about excessive use of this cream as in can lead to irregular heartbeats, seizures, and even death.
With "quick fix" cosmetic surgery on the rise... more and more fraud amongst practitioners is happening...
what stories or advice can you give to others?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Breast Cancer Myths
According to a recent article by Mindy Bohrer, MD in Good Health News, here are 5 myths regarding the most common non skin cancer in women and the second most deadly, Breast Cancer.
Myths about Breast Cancer
1. Having Breast Cancer means Death. Actually 80% of women will live at least 5 years with this diagnosis.
2. Breast Cancer is preventable. Actually, Breast Cancer is not preventable and early detection is critical.
3. Need a family history to develop breast cancer. Actually 80% of women with breast cancer have no family history.
4. A lump in the breast means breast cancer. Actually, 80 % of lumps in breasts are not cancer.
5. Abnormal calcifications on a mammogram means cancer. Actually, 80-90% of biopsies for abnormal calcifications are benign but biopsies are still necessary to rule this out.
Myths about Breast Cancer
1. Having Breast Cancer means Death. Actually 80% of women will live at least 5 years with this diagnosis.
2. Breast Cancer is preventable. Actually, Breast Cancer is not preventable and early detection is critical.
3. Need a family history to develop breast cancer. Actually 80% of women with breast cancer have no family history.
4. A lump in the breast means breast cancer. Actually, 80 % of lumps in breasts are not cancer.
5. Abnormal calcifications on a mammogram means cancer. Actually, 80-90% of biopsies for abnormal calcifications are benign but biopsies are still necessary to rule this out.
Obesity tends to rise and at what costs? What is the thinnest state in the country? Is obesity "all in the family"?
According to a recent article, in HealthLeaders Medica, the cost of obesity extends beyond the condition itself as obese individuals have a increased risk of multiple medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
Translation: Increased health care services and higher costs on a wide scale.
Interesting Notes about obesity:
1. The thinnest state in the country is Hawaii yet more than half of adults are considered overweight or obese.
2. Medicaid children have six times the rate of obesity as compared to private insurers... leading some to speculate that obesity disproportionately affects those who are least able to afford care.
3. Four times as many obese adults report a family history of obesity as compared to non obese adults.
Translation: Increased health care services and higher costs on a wide scale.
Interesting Notes about obesity:
1. The thinnest state in the country is Hawaii yet more than half of adults are considered overweight or obese.
2. Medicaid children have six times the rate of obesity as compared to private insurers... leading some to speculate that obesity disproportionately affects those who are least able to afford care.
3. Four times as many obese adults report a family history of obesity as compared to non obese adults.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Advice to your Grandkids when Skateboarding
Here are some simple "dos and donts" from the American Academy of Pediatrics that make your grandkids slightly safer when "sidewalk surfing"...
when skateboarding...
1. do wear a helmet, knee pads, wrist braces
2. do wear closed toe , slip resistant shoes
3. do ride on smooth surfaces, avoid dirt and gravel
4. Dont ride skateboards during night, dusk or bad weather
5. dont ride near traffic
6. dront practice tricks unless in designated skateboarding areas.
when skateboarding...
1. do wear a helmet, knee pads, wrist braces
2. do wear closed toe , slip resistant shoes
3. do ride on smooth surfaces, avoid dirt and gravel
4. Dont ride skateboards during night, dusk or bad weather
5. dont ride near traffic
6. dront practice tricks unless in designated skateboarding areas.
Health Savings Accounts by American Express?
Now American Express is getting in the act.
What do you think of their new "high deductible health plan"? Is this the answering to our growing problems associated with the cost of our healthcare delivery system?
American Express HealthPay Plus is a payment solution from American Express that works alongside a health plan and includes, surprise, surprise, a "low interest" optional credit line with "no annual fee" from American Express.
Is this a solution or part of the problem?
Ultimately, I think that when market forces are allowed to really dive into our healthcare delivery system.. we will have a better shot at fixing it.. there is no doubt it is broken now.. with 46 million uninsured and corporations unable to continue to afford to foot the bill of increasing costs for their employees..
health savings accounts are growing and may represent a partial fix, let me know your thoughts?
What do you think of their new "high deductible health plan"? Is this the answering to our growing problems associated with the cost of our healthcare delivery system?
American Express HealthPay Plus is a payment solution from American Express that works alongside a health plan and includes, surprise, surprise, a "low interest" optional credit line with "no annual fee" from American Express.
Is this a solution or part of the problem?
Ultimately, I think that when market forces are allowed to really dive into our healthcare delivery system.. we will have a better shot at fixing it.. there is no doubt it is broken now.. with 46 million uninsured and corporations unable to continue to afford to foot the bill of increasing costs for their employees..
health savings accounts are growing and may represent a partial fix, let me know your thoughts?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Medical Identity Theft , A Real Issue
Medical theft - an underreported aspect of identity theftAccording to Mark Stalcup, staff writer at the Daily World...he writes
"Imagine a trip to the hospital gone horribly wrong: a patient given the wrong blood type because information is stored incorrectly on his medical records.That scenario has happened, the result of identity theft that allowed thieves - often illegal aliens - to procure medical treatment by assuming someone else's name.Typically, scams begin when someone's driver's license or Social Security card are stolen, then duplicated and sold on the black market. The buyers then assume those identities illegally.Often, these sales are made to foreigners living in the country illegally, said identity theft expert Scott Jennings, who visited Linton this week in an effort to make residents more aware of the dangers that their good name could be stolen.The buyers of these illicit identifications may not even know they're doing something illegal, Jennings said.The altering of medical records is a life-threatening and underreported aspect of identity theft, and strikes victims in the one area where they may believe their personal information is better protected than anywhere else."
This is a real issue and companies like PassportMD are committed to protecting your identity, whether it be medical or anything else. In either case... or scenario, identity theft is a growing , serious and scary reality...
keeping track of your doctors notes, hospital records, physician visits, etc.. makes it easier to protect against this growing threat. Thus mechanisms, like PassportMD or KeepSeniorsHealthy.com, that automate this process make it easier to track and discover if you should fall victim...
"Imagine a trip to the hospital gone horribly wrong: a patient given the wrong blood type because information is stored incorrectly on his medical records.That scenario has happened, the result of identity theft that allowed thieves - often illegal aliens - to procure medical treatment by assuming someone else's name.Typically, scams begin when someone's driver's license or Social Security card are stolen, then duplicated and sold on the black market. The buyers then assume those identities illegally.Often, these sales are made to foreigners living in the country illegally, said identity theft expert Scott Jennings, who visited Linton this week in an effort to make residents more aware of the dangers that their good name could be stolen.The buyers of these illicit identifications may not even know they're doing something illegal, Jennings said.The altering of medical records is a life-threatening and underreported aspect of identity theft, and strikes victims in the one area where they may believe their personal information is better protected than anywhere else."
This is a real issue and companies like PassportMD are committed to protecting your identity, whether it be medical or anything else. In either case... or scenario, identity theft is a growing , serious and scary reality...
keeping track of your doctors notes, hospital records, physician visits, etc.. makes it easier to protect against this growing threat. Thus mechanisms, like PassportMD or KeepSeniorsHealthy.com, that automate this process make it easier to track and discover if you should fall victim...
Monday, March 26, 2007
Look Before You Leap...Medicare HMO's
HMO's are advertising machines... appealing to the desperate need of the healthcare consumer and preying on the vulnerability of fixed income, financially strapped seniors.... Universal Healh care has a medicare HMO plan advertised as "Any, Any, Any"...advertised that so that it appeals to every senior and apparently claims that they can visit any participating provider and that accepts Medicare. These claims just are not true and physicians are very reluctant to participate with this program.
Last year, Bob Archer, then Pasco-Pinellas coordinator for a program that advises Medicare beneficiaries on insurance options, was so frustrated with Universal's handling of one member's problem that he took the unusual step of reporting the case to the Florida Department of Elder Abuse.
"Universal is light years ahead of everybody in terms of the quantity of complaints," said Archer, who was unable to get Universal executives to return his calls directly. "We seldom get complaints about other Medicare HMOs."
Universal currently needs to ante up additional funds by March 23 2007 or the state will suspend this medicare plan.
If Universal fails to come up with the required reserves, the subsidiary that operates the Any, Any, Any plan will be liquidated and put into receivership by the state sometime next week. State and Medicare officials emphasized that in such an event, members would have the option to move to another private Medicare plan or back to traditional Medicare.
Even without state mandated liquidation, this example speaks to the very cautious nature seniors must approach what appears to be a HMO fix to a broken healthcare system... seniors may go from bad to worse...
so tread carefully if choosing to opt out of a health plan that seems to be working reliably for you or your family members... thoughts?
Last year, Bob Archer, then Pasco-Pinellas coordinator for a program that advises Medicare beneficiaries on insurance options, was so frustrated with Universal's handling of one member's problem that he took the unusual step of reporting the case to the Florida Department of Elder Abuse.
"Universal is light years ahead of everybody in terms of the quantity of complaints," said Archer, who was unable to get Universal executives to return his calls directly. "We seldom get complaints about other Medicare HMOs."
Universal currently needs to ante up additional funds by March 23 2007 or the state will suspend this medicare plan.
If Universal fails to come up with the required reserves, the subsidiary that operates the Any, Any, Any plan will be liquidated and put into receivership by the state sometime next week. State and Medicare officials emphasized that in such an event, members would have the option to move to another private Medicare plan or back to traditional Medicare.
Even without state mandated liquidation, this example speaks to the very cautious nature seniors must approach what appears to be a HMO fix to a broken healthcare system... seniors may go from bad to worse...
so tread carefully if choosing to opt out of a health plan that seems to be working reliably for you or your family members... thoughts?
Saturday, March 17, 2007
PassportMD
As a physician and founder of PassportMD, Inc. (http://www.passportmd.com/ ) , I remain committed to creating a free site and service so that people of any age and any economic status can participate. The free service helps people through the often-tedious process of creating a very valuable, and potentially life saving tool, the personal health record. We are committed to simplifying this process, giving people, seniors, adults, children, particularly with a history of at least one chronic medical disease, on multiple medications, or with a history of allergies the ability to communicate their critical information reliably to their health care provider. Doctors need to have access to reliable information that is legible and accessible and PassportMD provides this needed function.
Medical Mistakes are common, hospital errors are responsible for over 100,000 deaths per year and these could be preventable. Information about drug interactions and cross reactivity combined with allergy alerts lead the way in being critical to every healthcare provider before initiating care.
The doctors are very slowly adopting electronic health records. This adoption is way too slow and is very complicated. It has many factors in play as it relates to the economics of medicine. Although privacy is considered an issue, the true issue is cost, implementation and maintanence costs to the physician practice are too burdensome in light of decreasing reimbursement. Thus, only 7.5 % of physician practices are currently adopting electronic health records. Though, if you poll the remaining 92.5% of physicians, probably all would agree that electronic health records are better for medicine and for the patient. Adoption is inevitable but the pace and time period for adoption is dependent upon many factors.
Medical Mistakes are common, hospital errors are responsible for over 100,000 deaths per year and these could be preventable. Information about drug interactions and cross reactivity combined with allergy alerts lead the way in being critical to every healthcare provider before initiating care.
The doctors are very slowly adopting electronic health records. This adoption is way too slow and is very complicated. It has many factors in play as it relates to the economics of medicine. Although privacy is considered an issue, the true issue is cost, implementation and maintanence costs to the physician practice are too burdensome in light of decreasing reimbursement. Thus, only 7.5 % of physician practices are currently adopting electronic health records. Though, if you poll the remaining 92.5% of physicians, probably all would agree that electronic health records are better for medicine and for the patient. Adoption is inevitable but the pace and time period for adoption is dependent upon many factors.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Stages of Grief, After we have lost a loved one, Yearning peaks in 4 months
A recent study at Yale University published in JAMA fuound that the initial dominant grief item was not disbelief but yearning. Yearning peaked at four months after the loss. All negavie grief indicators are in decline by six months post loss.
Acceptance the final stage of grief increased over a 2 year period.
To recap the conventionally accepted stages of grief are :
disbelief, yearning, anger , depression and acceptance.
In my experience, I have seening yearning and depression for approx 6 mos to a year, and acceptance around 18 months.
Acceptance the final stage of grief increased over a 2 year period.
To recap the conventionally accepted stages of grief are :
disbelief, yearning, anger , depression and acceptance.
In my experience, I have seening yearning and depression for approx 6 mos to a year, and acceptance around 18 months.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Facts about "Roadkill", how safe are our roads?
1. 43,000 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2005
2. 2.7 million people injured in car crashes in 2005
3. half of passenger vehicle occupants killed were unrestrained.
4. 6,964 fatal crashes involved young drivers
5. 472 children under age of 4 died in car crashes in 2005
6. 6.2 million crashes cost an estimated $230 billion in porperty, productivity and medical bills in 2005.
Point: Wear seatbelts, do not drink and drive, be cautious of other drivers, make sure car has airbags and safety features up to date standards.
2. 2.7 million people injured in car crashes in 2005
3. half of passenger vehicle occupants killed were unrestrained.
4. 6,964 fatal crashes involved young drivers
5. 472 children under age of 4 died in car crashes in 2005
6. 6.2 million crashes cost an estimated $230 billion in porperty, productivity and medical bills in 2005.
Point: Wear seatbelts, do not drink and drive, be cautious of other drivers, make sure car has airbags and safety features up to date standards.
New Passport Requirements
Effective January 2007, passports are now required for all travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
To obtain a passport, visit a passport acceptance facility with 2 photographs of yourself, proof of US citizenship, and a valid drivers license.
Photographs and applications can also be found through any local AAA branch office.
To obtain a passport, visit a passport acceptance facility with 2 photographs of yourself, proof of US citizenship, and a valid drivers license.
Photographs and applications can also be found through any local AAA branch office.
4 facts about protecting your home
Four important facts:
1. 75% of all presidentially declared disasters in US are flood related
2. 1 of 4 flood insurance claims are filed by homeowners in low to moderate risk areas
3. flooding is most common widespread of all natural disasters
4. homeowners insurance does not pay for damage caused by rising water
1. 75% of all presidentially declared disasters in US are flood related
2. 1 of 4 flood insurance claims are filed by homeowners in low to moderate risk areas
3. flooding is most common widespread of all natural disasters
4. homeowners insurance does not pay for damage caused by rising water
Parenting Blog at Sunsentinel
A new blog has been created for sharing stories about raising children of all ages.
You may visit it at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/transparent
You may visit it at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/transparent
Grandparents: Are your grandchildren going to Summer Camp?
Summer camp season is approaching and as a parent and physician, we are getting our children ready to go away for a few weeks to sleep away camp. I have created a free service for parents with children going to summer camp with medical problems, conditions, medications and allergies. It is a free service and allows parents to easily set up a record of their child's medications, allergies or problems..so that if, while at camp, they were to get sick, this information would either be immediately accessible by camp nurses via the internet or the child can carry it with them in their wallet.In a true emergency this information would be invaluable, particulary with the number of increasing medical errors, medication cross reactions and inadvertent allergic medical reactions. Having information at your fingertips for your child and his camp nurses, is critically important. All parents in this situation should take advantage of this preventive free service at http://www.CampMedic.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Medical Identity Theft: Tips for Prevention
So, our tip(s) for today to prevent medical identity theft from happening to you or an elderly loved one are:
Get copies of everything in your medical file
Request the disclosure of who's accessed your records
Look for any treatments you did not personally recieve
Get a list of all payments made using your medical insurance
Monitor your credit report for signs of un-paid medical debts
Finally, make sure you ask your doctor's office how they secure your medical information file containing your social security number according to the provisions of the federal HIPAA & FACTA laws.
posted by http://idtheftsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/10/medical-identity-theft-causes-man-to.html
You may ask why this is important... well if you are one of the 250,000 victims per year of medical identity theft... then , you will understand when you get denial for needed surgery due to "previous conditions", inability to purchase disability or life insurance, or you will receive the wrong medications or treatments
Get copies of everything in your medical file
Request the disclosure of who's accessed your records
Look for any treatments you did not personally recieve
Get a list of all payments made using your medical insurance
Monitor your credit report for signs of un-paid medical debts
Finally, make sure you ask your doctor's office how they secure your medical information file containing your social security number according to the provisions of the federal HIPAA & FACTA laws.
posted by http://idtheftsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/10/medical-identity-theft-causes-man-to.html
You may ask why this is important... well if you are one of the 250,000 victims per year of medical identity theft... then , you will understand when you get denial for needed surgery due to "previous conditions", inability to purchase disability or life insurance, or you will receive the wrong medications or treatments
Saturday, February 10, 2007
New Years Resolution: What do people resolve to do pay off debt or lose weight?
According to http://www.truecredit.com/, TransUnion's true credit.com..
more people made their number 1 New Year's resolution priority to lose weight and eat healthier versus paying off credit card bills . It appears that 4 in 10 Americans say getting better eating habits is more important than paying down their debt.
Obviously , both of these issues are important, I really think that this example speaks to control. In other words, people may feel they have greater control over their diet and hence, the ability to lose weight, while others may feel that their sky rocketing credit card debt is out of control, and just simply cant be corrected no matter how hard they try. For sure, in any case, a sense of lost control or inability to fix one's circumstance, can be very dangerous.
more people made their number 1 New Year's resolution priority to lose weight and eat healthier versus paying off credit card bills . It appears that 4 in 10 Americans say getting better eating habits is more important than paying down their debt.
Obviously , both of these issues are important, I really think that this example speaks to control. In other words, people may feel they have greater control over their diet and hence, the ability to lose weight, while others may feel that their sky rocketing credit card debt is out of control, and just simply cant be corrected no matter how hard they try. For sure, in any case, a sense of lost control or inability to fix one's circumstance, can be very dangerous.
Kids and Identity Theft
According to recent data from FTC, the percentage of identity therft victims under age 18 has moved up 5 %, and that represents 500,000 children. Most people did not find out about their identity being stolen until they open a bank account or get a driver's license.
This is a scary issue and protecting your children's identity is critical so be very cautious in handing out their personal information.
A great resource for identity theft is , Identity Theft Resource Center, http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
This is a scary issue and protecting your children's identity is critical so be very cautious in handing out their personal information.
A great resource for identity theft is , Identity Theft Resource Center, http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Little things you can do to reduce medication errors in hospitals
According to Institute of Medicine, an estimated 400,000 medication errors harm hospital patients.
How PassportMD can help to Prevent medication errors and other things you can do to help prevent medication errors:
1. Create and bring a personal health record with you upon admission. PassportMD offers a free service to create your record in minutes.
2. Tell your doctors the medicines, vitamins and supplements that you take to avoid negative interactions. (Or just give him the page from your PassportMD health record that you printed off for free from your computer.)
3. Ask about the drug's purpose and side effects when the doctor prescribes it. Get instructions for taking drugs after you go home.
4. Check the label of IV drug before it is given (or ask a friend or family to do that).
5. Find out how long it should drip before running out.
6. Speak up if you think you are getting the wrong drug, dosage or drip speed.
Many of these tips were generated from the Sun Sentinel Help Team at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/helpteam
How PassportMD can help to Prevent medication errors and other things you can do to help prevent medication errors:
1. Create and bring a personal health record with you upon admission. PassportMD offers a free service to create your record in minutes.
2. Tell your doctors the medicines, vitamins and supplements that you take to avoid negative interactions. (Or just give him the page from your PassportMD health record that you printed off for free from your computer.)
3. Ask about the drug's purpose and side effects when the doctor prescribes it. Get instructions for taking drugs after you go home.
4. Check the label of IV drug before it is given (or ask a friend or family to do that).
5. Find out how long it should drip before running out.
6. Speak up if you think you are getting the wrong drug, dosage or drip speed.
Many of these tips were generated from the Sun Sentinel Help Team at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/helpteam
Nail Salon Safety
There was a recent article in Sun Sentinel ( http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-hlpnails21jan21,0,3907127.story ) found dozens of South Florida nail salons have been cited during the past three years for failing to maintain health and saftey standards.
To find out if your local salon has been cited, visit Sun-Sentinel.com/nails.
There have been over 4000 complaints lodged against south Florida nail salons and over 150 citations issued since 2003.
Infections in the nail plate, called paronychia, can be caused by either bacteria or fungus. Fungal infections of the nail plate is called onychomycosis and is very common but also very difficult to treat and can result in destruction of the nail plate. There are topical and oral treatments for onychomycosis and you can ask your dermatologist about this if you have it.
To find out if your local salon has been cited, visit Sun-Sentinel.com/nails.
There have been over 4000 complaints lodged against south Florida nail salons and over 150 citations issued since 2003.
Infections in the nail plate, called paronychia, can be caused by either bacteria or fungus. Fungal infections of the nail plate is called onychomycosis and is very common but also very difficult to treat and can result in destruction of the nail plate. There are topical and oral treatments for onychomycosis and you can ask your dermatologist about this if you have it.
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