To contact us Click HERE
This blogger, who describes herself on her blog:
"My name is Jeanne and I'm a writer and artist living in VT. I worked as a peer supporter from 1995 til 2010. I survived psychiatric iatrogenic injuries and went on to sue for damages. I'm not a medical professional, if you want to taper from psych chemicals consult a professional. My dream is to have a small solar farm and to continue to be a pain in the neck to the arrogant everywhere."
Was Escorted out of the building when attempting to show support for ["support his work"] Robert Whitaker, author of 'Anatomy of an Epidemic' who was speaking at the Vermont Medical Center, in June 2012.
"She said it was private corporate property and I was trespassing. She said I was causing a disturbance. Then a Nancy T. showed up and got in my face about the situation. I had asked Ms. White for her last name and she was kind enough to tell me, but Ms. T. refused to tell me her name. I got out my handy iphone and asked if I could tape what they were saying to me. They said no. I was rolling up my posters when Ms. White yelled, “Call Security!”"
Take a look at her posters on her blog. Outrageous, that she was removed from the building.
30 Kasım 2012 Cuma
Whistleblowers and GSK's record $ 3 Billion dollar settlement: Paxil, Wellbutrin, Avandia
To contact us Click HERE
via PR News Wire:
PRESS RELEASE
July 2, 2012, 10:42 a.m. EDT
Whistleblowers played major role in Glaxo case, leading to Glaxo's record settlement
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Two whistleblowers represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP provided the government with overwhelming evidence that was at the heart of the government's case against GlaxoSmithKline GSK +1.34% and the record-setting settlement announced today.
The whistleblowers - Thomas Gerahty, a former senior marketing development manager for Glaxo, and Matthew Burke, a former regional vice president -- provided invaluable insider information that Glaxo was engaging in corrupt nationwide schemes to push sales of Advair, Wellbutrin, Imitrex and other popular prescription drugs for "off-label" (unapproved) uses, that it used improper financial inducements to market its drugs, and that it misrepresented the safety and efficacy of those drugs. Glaxo's illegal practices caused Medicare, Tricare - the healthcare program for the military -- and Medicaid to incur huge losses.
The civil settlement of Gerahty and Burke's whistleblower case and a separate whistleblower lawsuit filed in Colorado total $1.017 billion out of total settlement. It is the largest civil, False Claims Act (whistleblower) settlement on record. (Two other whistleblower lawsuits that alleged another improper practice concerning Advair marketing settled for $25 million, for a total of $1.042 billion paid under the settlement agreement for the four whistleblower cases.)
Gerahty, Burke and Phillips & Cohen worked closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston and the Justice Department since they filed their "qui tam" (whistleblower) case in early 2003 in Boston's federal district court.
Gerahty and Burke gave the government new and detailed information about Glaxo's nationwide improper marketing practices, including the use of financial inducements to doctors to prescribe Glaxo's drugs and the promotion of Advair, Wellbutrin, Imitrex, Lamictal, Zofran and Valtrex for off-label, unapproved uses. Unapproved use of prescription drugs can create significant risks to patients, and drug manufacturers are prohibited by federal law from promoting their drugs for unapproved treatments.
As the government investigation progressed, the whistleblowers and their attorneys made a significant difference in particular in the government's case against Glaxo for its off-label marketing of Advair for mild asthma. Gerahty, Burke and Phillips & Cohen devoted substantial effort and time preparing the legal case that helped demonstrate Glaxo improperly marketed Advair as a first-line asthma treatment and for asthma patients previously treated with only a short-acting inhaler.
As a result, Glaxo paid $686 million out of the total settlement to resolve claims involving the off-label marketing of Advair to treat mild asthma - by far the largest amount Glaxo paid to settle any of the civil charges. (See the settlement agreement at www.glaxowhistleblowers.com .)
Kelton and Phillips & Cohen also represented the whistleblower whose qui tam lawsuit against Pfizer alleging the off-label marketing of the prescription painkiller, Bextra, helped the government recover $1.8 billion as part of a record-setting $2.3 billion settlement in 2009.
"The gravity of Glaxo's conduct cannot be overstated," Kelton said. "The company's improper marketing practices extended across a wide range of its prescription drug portfolio. Given what we saw with Glaxo, Pfizer and other pharma companies, it's fair to conclude there has been almost no limit to what pharma companies have done to sell their products."
Read the rest here
More on the massive GSK fine
Here GlaxoSmithKline to pay $3 billion for health fraud.
Here (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges and pay $3 billion to settle the largest case of healthcare fraud in U.S. history.
The settlement includes $1 billion in criminal fines and $2 billion in civil fines in connection with the sale of the drug company's Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia products, according to filings in federal court on Monday.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole said at a news conference in Washington that the settlement "is unprecedented in both size and scope."
Also at Pharmagossip MONDAY, JULY 02, 2012--
GlaxoSmithKline to Plead Guilty and Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Fraud Allegations and Failure to Report Safety Data--
Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in U.S. History
Global health care giant GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) agreed to plead guilty and to pay $3 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of certain prescription drugs, its failure to report certain safety data, and its civil liability for alleged false price reporting practices, the Justice Department announced today. The resolution is the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history and the largest payment ever by a drug company.
And Pharmalot Biggest Deal Ever: Glaxo Pays $3B For Bad Behavior.
And Seroxat Sufferers Stand Up and Be Counted.
~~
GSK Press Release: CEO Andrew Witty nearly apologizes, but doesn't--uses word "regret" and read to part that says it is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing regarding the sales of certain drugs listed in the lawsuit settlement:
GlaxoSmithKline concludes previously announced agreement in principle to resolve multiple investigations with US Government and numerous states
"Commenting on the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: “Today brings to resolution difficult, long-standing matters for GSK. Whilst these originate in a different era for the company, they cannot and will not be ignored. On behalf of GSK, I want to express our regret and reiterate that we have learnt from the mistakes that were made.
“We are deeply committed to doing everything we can to live up to and exceed the expectations of those we work with and serve. Since I became CEO, we have had a clear priority to ingrain a culture of putting patients first, acting transparently, respecting people inside and outside the organisation and displaying integrity in everything we do.
“In the US, we have taken action at all levels in the company. We have fundamentally changed our procedures for compliance, marketing and selling. When necessary, we have removed employees who have engaged in misconduct. In the last two years, we have reformed the basis on which we pay our sales representatives and we have enhanced our ability to ‘claw back’ remuneration of our senior management.
“We have a vital role to play in bringing innovative medicines to patients and we understand how important it is that our medicines are appropriately promoted to healthcare professionals and that we adhere to the standards rightly expected by the US Government.”
Under the terms of the settlement, GSK will plead guilty to misdemeanor violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act related to certain aspects of the marketing of Paxil for paediatric use and of Wellbutrin for certain uses, and for failure to include information about the initiation or status of certain Avandia studies in Periodic and Annual Reports submitted to FDA.
The civil settlement reached with the Government does not constitute an admission of any liability or wrongdoing in the selling and marketing of Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent, Valtrex, Avandia or Advair products, nor in its nominal pricing practices. "
PRESS RELEASE
July 2, 2012, 10:42 a.m. EDT
Whistleblowers played major role in Glaxo case, leading to Glaxo's record settlement
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Two whistleblowers represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP provided the government with overwhelming evidence that was at the heart of the government's case against GlaxoSmithKline GSK +1.34% and the record-setting settlement announced today.
The whistleblowers - Thomas Gerahty, a former senior marketing development manager for Glaxo, and Matthew Burke, a former regional vice president -- provided invaluable insider information that Glaxo was engaging in corrupt nationwide schemes to push sales of Advair, Wellbutrin, Imitrex and other popular prescription drugs for "off-label" (unapproved) uses, that it used improper financial inducements to market its drugs, and that it misrepresented the safety and efficacy of those drugs. Glaxo's illegal practices caused Medicare, Tricare - the healthcare program for the military -- and Medicaid to incur huge losses.
The civil settlement of Gerahty and Burke's whistleblower case and a separate whistleblower lawsuit filed in Colorado total $1.017 billion out of total settlement. It is the largest civil, False Claims Act (whistleblower) settlement on record. (Two other whistleblower lawsuits that alleged another improper practice concerning Advair marketing settled for $25 million, for a total of $1.042 billion paid under the settlement agreement for the four whistleblower cases.)
Gerahty, Burke and Phillips & Cohen worked closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston and the Justice Department since they filed their "qui tam" (whistleblower) case in early 2003 in Boston's federal district court.
Gerahty and Burke gave the government new and detailed information about Glaxo's nationwide improper marketing practices, including the use of financial inducements to doctors to prescribe Glaxo's drugs and the promotion of Advair, Wellbutrin, Imitrex, Lamictal, Zofran and Valtrex for off-label, unapproved uses. Unapproved use of prescription drugs can create significant risks to patients, and drug manufacturers are prohibited by federal law from promoting their drugs for unapproved treatments.
As the government investigation progressed, the whistleblowers and their attorneys made a significant difference in particular in the government's case against Glaxo for its off-label marketing of Advair for mild asthma. Gerahty, Burke and Phillips & Cohen devoted substantial effort and time preparing the legal case that helped demonstrate Glaxo improperly marketed Advair as a first-line asthma treatment and for asthma patients previously treated with only a short-acting inhaler.
As a result, Glaxo paid $686 million out of the total settlement to resolve claims involving the off-label marketing of Advair to treat mild asthma - by far the largest amount Glaxo paid to settle any of the civil charges. (See the settlement agreement at www.glaxowhistleblowers.com .)
Kelton and Phillips & Cohen also represented the whistleblower whose qui tam lawsuit against Pfizer alleging the off-label marketing of the prescription painkiller, Bextra, helped the government recover $1.8 billion as part of a record-setting $2.3 billion settlement in 2009.
"The gravity of Glaxo's conduct cannot be overstated," Kelton said. "The company's improper marketing practices extended across a wide range of its prescription drug portfolio. Given what we saw with Glaxo, Pfizer and other pharma companies, it's fair to conclude there has been almost no limit to what pharma companies have done to sell their products."
Read the rest here
More on the massive GSK fine
Here GlaxoSmithKline to pay $3 billion for health fraud.
Here (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges and pay $3 billion to settle the largest case of healthcare fraud in U.S. history.
The settlement includes $1 billion in criminal fines and $2 billion in civil fines in connection with the sale of the drug company's Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia products, according to filings in federal court on Monday.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole said at a news conference in Washington that the settlement "is unprecedented in both size and scope."
Also at Pharmagossip MONDAY, JULY 02, 2012--
GlaxoSmithKline to Plead Guilty and Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Fraud Allegations and Failure to Report Safety Data--
Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in U.S. History
Global health care giant GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) agreed to plead guilty and to pay $3 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of certain prescription drugs, its failure to report certain safety data, and its civil liability for alleged false price reporting practices, the Justice Department announced today. The resolution is the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history and the largest payment ever by a drug company.
And Pharmalot Biggest Deal Ever: Glaxo Pays $3B For Bad Behavior.
And Seroxat Sufferers Stand Up and Be Counted.
~~
GSK Press Release: CEO Andrew Witty nearly apologizes, but doesn't--uses word "regret" and read to part that says it is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing regarding the sales of certain drugs listed in the lawsuit settlement:
GlaxoSmithKline concludes previously announced agreement in principle to resolve multiple investigations with US Government and numerous states
"Commenting on the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: “Today brings to resolution difficult, long-standing matters for GSK. Whilst these originate in a different era for the company, they cannot and will not be ignored. On behalf of GSK, I want to express our regret and reiterate that we have learnt from the mistakes that were made.
“We are deeply committed to doing everything we can to live up to and exceed the expectations of those we work with and serve. Since I became CEO, we have had a clear priority to ingrain a culture of putting patients first, acting transparently, respecting people inside and outside the organisation and displaying integrity in everything we do.
“In the US, we have taken action at all levels in the company. We have fundamentally changed our procedures for compliance, marketing and selling. When necessary, we have removed employees who have engaged in misconduct. In the last two years, we have reformed the basis on which we pay our sales representatives and we have enhanced our ability to ‘claw back’ remuneration of our senior management.
“We have a vital role to play in bringing innovative medicines to patients and we understand how important it is that our medicines are appropriately promoted to healthcare professionals and that we adhere to the standards rightly expected by the US Government.”
Under the terms of the settlement, GSK will plead guilty to misdemeanor violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act related to certain aspects of the marketing of Paxil for paediatric use and of Wellbutrin for certain uses, and for failure to include information about the initiation or status of certain Avandia studies in Periodic and Annual Reports submitted to FDA.
The civil settlement reached with the Government does not constitute an admission of any liability or wrongdoing in the selling and marketing of Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent, Valtrex, Avandia or Advair products, nor in its nominal pricing practices. "
How does this work? part 2 Grassley's question number 6
To contact us Click HERE
from page 13 of this document, that Dr Steve Balt placed on Twitter, in attempt to expose a colleague
Question 6
Have any of the prescribers identified to this Committee been referred to your state medical board?
Read the list of questions and ask yourself if Senator Grassley would be interested in the 2009 top 10 prescriber of Seroquel Dr Steve Balt, and his medical license being suspended (on probation) during the 2009 writing of over 1000 rx for Seroquel. Seroquel is known to be used off-label, and one must question the medical office setting where Balt worked at the time as being a player in the Medicaid, Medi-Cal fraud investigation. Were those patients rx'd Seroquel (antipsychotic) for indication use approved in 2009? or was it off-label? were the bulk of the recipients of the prescriptions Medicaid patients?
from page 13 of this document, that Dr Steve Balt placed on Twitter, in attempt to expose a colleague
Question 6
Have any of the prescribers identified to this Committee been referred to your state medical board?
Read the list of questions and ask yourself if Senator Grassley would be interested in the 2009 top 10 prescriber of Seroquel Dr Steve Balt, and his medical license being suspended (on probation) during the 2009 writing of over 1000 rx for Seroquel. Seroquel is known to be used off-label, and one must question the medical office setting where Balt worked at the time as being a player in the Medicaid, Medi-Cal fraud investigation. Were those patients rx'd Seroquel (antipsychotic) for indication use approved in 2009? or was it off-label? were the bulk of the recipients of the prescriptions Medicaid patients?
It's National VNA Week!
To contact us Click HERE
The following is from an email I just sent to our fantastic staff:
This week, we celebrate National VNA Week and acknowledge and celebrate the invaluable work we do to keep patients home, where they most want to be. It’s even more special this year because we also are celebrating 125 years of providing excellent care for our community. We have a proud history and we can look forward to our future…. the VNA of Boston & Affiliates is more relevant now than ever before.
We are there at the start of life and we are there at the end of life providing compassionate care so that patients have the best quality of life they can with dignity and independence. Here is a sampling of some of the comments we receive from our patients:
“VNA of Boston is consistently excellent! VNA has improved my quality of life & sense of wellness!!!”
“I was treated with the greatest respect and courtesy.”
“They made me feel safe and secure in helping me get better and made a good recovery in regaining my health back.”
“We have had multiple experiences - OT's, PT's, nurses - all have been great.”
“I was very impressed with the professionalism of all who helped me. Thank you very much!”
“The care was excellent and I would highly recommend the VNA to anyone. Everyone was great.”
Thank you all – to all the clinicians in the field and the staff in the office who support their work – for your expertise, your passion and commitment, and your contribution to the future of the VNA of Boston & Affiliates.
Rey
"It's what we do... we are nurses..."
To contact us Click HERE
For most of my career, I've been fortunate enough to work with clinicians who heal and who care. Who bring skill and experience, and a frequently unquenchable compassion, into situations that many of the rest of us would do nearly anything to avoid. I may be inclined to exit... while they rush in.
Meet Barbara, a nurse manager from the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston. And here are a few of her photos of her native Haiti. Idyllic and beautiful, as in the sunlit bay above. Tragic and devastating, as in what follows.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010. A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake with an epicenter only 25 kilometers west of capital city, Port-au-Prince. Ultimately... 316,000 dead. 300,000 injured. 1,000,000 homeless.
And Barbara rushed in.
Here's her story... from the beginning.
Barbara grew up in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, with her mom, a teacher, and dad, an owner of an auto repair business, and brother and sister. It was a happy, largely uneventful time... until her father became sick. Among his ailments, Barbara's father also suffered from decubitius skin ulcers, which then (and even still today in Haiti) were poorly understood. Barbara, then 13 years old, remembers being angry when her father, a proud man who resisted family pressure to move to the United States, told her "not to worry" and that he would be around for "another ten years". Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.
At the age of 16, Barbara and her remaining family members moved to Florida and then eventually to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Barbara and her sister, Beatrice, held a variety of jobs and when Barbara decided she wanted to become a nurse, Beatrice, then a medical assistant, helped her to pay for the training. When Barbara completed nursing school, she began working and then helped to finance Beatrice's nursing education. Barbara continued on to earn her bachelor's degree and is now studying for a master's in health care administration.
Barbara remembers well that day in January, 2010. Reports of an earthquake began surfacing, with no one fully aware of its magnitude or impact. Beatrice called Barbara and gave her an update. It was far worse than expected. Far worse.
Barbara recalls: "We were looking at the news. We couldn't believe it. Nobody knew what was happening. We started calling our family there but no lines were open. We were so worried. We couldn't sleep. We tried calling the UN but couldn't get through. We just didn't know what to do. I was desperate..."
The overwhelming emotion was helplessness. "People there were dying and I thought, I'm a nurse. I have to help." Partners in Health, an organization dedicated to improving the quality and access to health care services in poor and developing areas, called Beatrice on Saturday and asked to deploy her to Haiti on the following Monday. A month later, Barbara's call came.
It was a two week assignment. The lead time was limited. According to Barbara, "you just pack your bag and go."
She recalls departing the airport in Haiti. She remembers looking around at the rubble, the devastation, the places where buildings once stood. "It was tough to see a country you left and is no longer there."
Barbara was stationed at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince. "Once you got there, the gate was closed and you couldn't leave." And once there, she and her companions worked for 10 days straight, during 7PM to 7AM shifts. Barbara remembers being struck when she saw the former sight of a nursing school next to the hospital which she had seen as a child. "It was no longer there. It was completely flat. I wondered how many people were trapped underneath."
After a quick orientation from the physician-in-charge, Barbara was given a brief tour and was immediately "put to work." She described the first day as "one of the worst days of my life. There were 300 to 400 patients there all needing care... from TB to fractures to missing limbs to wounds... to people who were just dying. Just name it - it was right there looking at you..."
When asked how she responded to that, Barbara describes: "You start to work. Your forget about everything else. You just tried to save everyone you could. You just do whatever you can."
She remembers one young girl at the hospital. She had lost nine members of her family in the tragedy. "She was so thin. You could see only bones. She would not eat or drink... and she never spoke... except at night, she would scream out the names of her family who were now lost to her. I remember seeing a lady who stayed with her. She was from the local church and she slept on the floor, giving the girl a sip of water." Despite their efforts, the patient passed away.
Another patient, a 27 year old woman with renal failure and high blood pressure, was experiencing significant physical and emotional stress. Barbara knew the patient needed oxygen and fast, so she ran down the hall looking for a tank. A simple tank of oxygen. Plentiful in every hospital where Barbara has worked, but scarce in Port-au-Prince's General Hospital. Barbara called out: "This girl's going to die, her heart's going to give out soon... "... and remembers seeing the desperate look in the woman's eyes. The patient said to Barbara: "Please don't leave me. If you leave me, they're going to let me die." Barbara knew she was right.
The patient eventually received the oxygen and the vital dialysis she required and lived.
There was also an older woman patient who "could have been my mother." She had two wounds in her lower legs; "it looked to be a diabetic ulcer". Barbara watched this patient fade from an amiable, even joking, favorite among the nurses, to one who became more and more ill and despondent. At one point, she had no clothing or even sheets, leaving one of the nurses to donate some of her own clothing to the patient. The patient died, alone and in pain. Per Barbara, "there was no reason for her to die that way..."
Barbara looks back at the experience and feels that: "We didn't do enough. There's so much more to do there. And it's not over there. It's terrible what's happening in the tent cities there now. It's just horrible still... but I want to go back."
When asked why she wants to return, Barbara lowered her eyes and said, simply and solemnly: "It's what we do... we are nurses..."
If you're interested in learning more about Partners in Health, please click here.
If you'd like to help, click here.
Posted by Rey
29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe
UCSF Medical Center Reduced Readmissions With Heart Failure And It Was Not That Magical Flipping Algorithm Everyone Is Looking for That Did the Trick
To contact us Click HERE
According to McCarthy, the program consists of two heart failure program nurse coordinators, supported by a multidisciplinary team comprising a cardiovascular service line director, hospitalists, cardiologists, clinical nurse specialists, case managers, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, chaplains, educators, primary care physicians, skilled nursing facility staff, home care nurses and outpatient nurse practitioners.
“Not every hospital can hire coordinators but are there lower cost ways to create this approach? Communicating with post acute care providers is important. It’s something that everyone needs to work together on to focus on the entire care episode,” he said. “It improves quality of life for patients and saves money.”
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/ucsf-medical-center-program-slashes-heart-failure-readmissions
Everywhere you turn today you are slammed with analytics and not all of it is correct or related properly. If you read here often enough, this old data base person might offer a few words of wisdom in this area since I
used to write the stuff and work with doctors on software creation. The crap you hear is the news is just that when it comes to expectations sometimes. Also keep in mind this is only one element of the re-admissions puzzle, so we don’t know what happened in the other areas. It is also important to note that patient demographics play a role here as well with taking into consideration not only the level of education of the patients but also poverty levels as that makes a difference. I read this article and it’s a nice focus for a change as it was focused on the positive moves they made.
The hospital also had some nice grant money from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation who are constant philanthropists since Betty Moore a few years ago almost died due to a medical error with getting insulin shots she didn’t need as she’s not a diabetic. Sure they used some analytics but used them wisely but after that portion was initiated the human side came in to play with educating patients better on their conditions. Communication with email and phone calls, etc. was a big thing here and with the 2 nurse coordinators all could see at any time where the progress was.
People get sucked in to Algo Duping and former HHS secretary Leavitt appears to have had that happen as well as you have this $3 million dollar carrot going on looking for that magical “flipping algorithm” as 
a solve all problems. Don’t worry, he’s not alone as our current HHS Secretary gets drug in there too with that silly Facebook contest earlier this year and it happens when you have people in executive positions today that don’t know any different and have no IT or computer science background, they are like everyone else getting Algo Duped and then you have the media that builds all of this up like the next best thing to sliced bread and it’s hard.
So What’s Going on Over at the Heritage Health Prize Competition to Predict Who Ends Up Being Re-Admitted to the Hospital–A Lot of Mathematical Algorithms For One…
Here’s a screenshot of the $3 million dollar race for the algorithm…hmmmm..we have players over here…not developers per se as it looks you think? 
So how in the world do you expect people who hate math and fear it to make these types of decisions? You can’t and that's part of what’s going on. I said in a couple other posts this is why Wall Street wins all the time as they have no fear and I think anyone can attest to that. So, on this subject we actually have a PLOS One study that defines this. Yes you might want to
take it a little tongue and cheek but damn the MRI images and the extensive research they wrote seems to have a lot going for it as I do when I mention a little math watch all run away in groves. It is what it is. You know what though a little admittance here, I feel a lot of pain too when faced with some very complex coding but I don’t fear it:) This study stated the the neural regions of the brain got active when a math problem was introduced.
“Algo Duping” – PLOS One Journal Publication Explains Why The Fear of Math Plays a Big Role As One Underlying Reason We All Get Duped And Those Who Don’t Fear Math Take All the Money, Gradually, Using “Mathematical Formulas & Algorithms”
“This journal report was just an absolute “gift” of an explanation for me to include and look at the GOP these days with their interpretations…the 50 shades of rape and I guess when thinking math and experiencing pain for some reason or another and this is especially dangerous when creating laws or when campaigning, they go to something they can think about controlling and from what you have seen on the news and ridiculous statements made, I’m guessing “math” and this substantiated fear really had them running for the hills.”
Do you think I’m tired of the abuse and misuse of math by design or by accident? You’re right and nobody else has enough common
sense to ask questions sometimes…hmmmm…let’s see that formula has square root in it and few other important looking items…well gee it must be right”…wrong:) This is a good place again for the “Charlie” video, “it’s all about context” so keep that in mind because some of the stuff out there is nowhere near the proper context and some code is written just to make and move money. He tells you too in the first few minutes that Algo Duping (my word there) is so successful too as people don’t like math.
By the way he just sued and won a case to get “public” information from the NIH too, so a nice thumbs up there. Listen to him address the algorithm for the perfect butt:) How much nonsense have you soaked in with being Algo Duped. For those of you into anatomy, the perfect butt algo becoming national news will have you rolling on your side.
Now back on track, this worked for the UCSF hospital so why don’t we give some grants to other hospitals to see if we can make this work elsewhere to deal with that crazy readmission penalty algorithm that sucked in the government as a magical formula. Instead we are taking the money from the hospitals when they need it, does this make sense? Again there is not magical algorithm fairy out there. We get smarter with information but we also need to know how to use and apply the data.
Quantitative analytics are not always the complete answer. If you want to know more on that topic and how you get duped in other places, just watch the other videos in the left hand column of this blog or use this link to see all of them at Algo Duping 101. I have more articles relating to this topic and you can search and find them by keywords and please don’t be afraid of asking questions…and let that math give you physical pain if you can help it:) Here’s one more study to where a scientist wrote about how to figure out if in clinical and other medical studies if the authors “fiddled” with the P Values and if you watch the video above, Charlie explains enough of this in layman’s terms so you know what it is. We won’t be fooled again!
PLOS One Abstract–Methodology for Detecting Manipulation of “P Values” To Show Significant Statistical Value, “Inappropriate Fiddling” Which Can Lead to “Algo Duping” Situations And Numbers
So let’s be smarter about all of this and use the data we get in context and not look for that magical one stop shop algorithm because it’s not there and we certainly don’t want to grow to the extent that was demonstrated in Italy with the citizens convicting their scientists of manslaughter for not properly warning and predicting an earthquake as as that is Algo Duping deluxe if you will. I live in southern California and we have a lot of smart people here and believe me if that were the case someone long ago would have convicted Cal Tech scientists of manslaughter and wanted a lot of money for goodness sakes.
Digital Illiteracy and Algo Duping Alive and Well in Italy With Scientists Convicted of Manslaughter for Failure to Predict and Warn of An Earthquake…
I cite this incident in Italy as it is the absolute proof that people 
are being Algo Duped and sucked in to analytics and formulas that don’t fit the occasion or those that are designed to take your money. You don’t see it as they run on servers 24/7 and it’s the silent battle, but as mentioned above government gets sucked in as well and the construction of this re-admission set of algorithms and parameters doesn’t fit very well and it written to penalize instead of helping. Furthermore with people in executive or secretary positions without one stick of IT or computer science knowledge roaming around the US this further puts us as risk as they get duped, that is my risk assessment for the US right now and I think it’s a good one, it certainly is true. BD
According to McCarthy, the program consists of two heart failure program nurse coordinators, supported by a multidisciplinary team comprising a cardiovascular service line director, hospitalists, cardiologists, clinical nurse specialists, case managers, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, chaplains, educators, primary care physicians, skilled nursing facility staff, home care nurses and outpatient nurse practitioners.
“Not every hospital can hire coordinators but are there lower cost ways to create this approach? Communicating with post acute care providers is important. It’s something that everyone needs to work together on to focus on the entire care episode,” he said. “It improves quality of life for patients and saves money.”
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/ucsf-medical-center-program-slashes-heart-failure-readmissions
New Jersey to Tax Medical Marijuana–Last Roadblock to Launching and Opening Dispensaries
To contact us Click HERE
TRENTON — Medical marijuana will indeed be a cash crop in the Garden State.
It makes sense to tax and other states are doing it and it is 
noted that California who is always in the news on this topic will see just under $60 million in revenue. With those who use medical marijuana there’s usually not even so much as a concern about the tax and are happy to pay. We have heard that many times over in California. New Jersey can certainly use the revenue after Sandy. BD
TRENTON — Medical marijuana will indeed be a cash crop in the Garden State.
The Christie administration has determined New Jersey’s 7 percent sales tax will apply every time a pre-screened patient buys marijuana from an approved dispensary, state
Treasury spokesman Andrew Pratt said late today.
The decision could remove the last roadblock to launching New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.
The state has approved 318 patients to participate in the medical marijuana program so far, with 138 more in the application and screening process, Leusner said.
A study by the state Treasury Department in Vermont — which has four dispensaries — reported California was on track to collect at least $58 million in sales tax in 2012, and that Colorado collected $5 million last year.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/nj_to_tax_medical_marijuana_ch.html
MemorialCare in Southern California Buying Assets of an Existing HMO to Create It’s Own Health Plan Names Seaside Health Plan
To contact us Click HERE
OptumHealth (Subsidiary of United Healthcare) Takes Over Memorial IPA in California-Subsidiary Watch
The new plan will be names Seaside Health Plan and licenses have been applied for. In addition Seaside will also will participate in a state project that addressing the needs of children with
certain diseases and chronic conditions. Seaside will support managed care Medi-Cal members. It will be maintained as a subsidiary of MemorialCare. Universal Care will continue with it’s line of business that was not purchased by MemorialCare. This is one way to keep some of the HMO business from insurance company ownership, which has been big in the OC. Last year United bought the doctors group, Memorial IPA and most of the physician members there work at Memorial hospitals.
OptumHealth (Subsidiary of United Healthcare) Takes Over Memorial IPA in California-Subsidiary Watch
In addition back in 2010 they also opened up 3 retail clinics in the OC, one of which I see when I do my grocery shopping. BD
Memorial Care Health Systems Opening 3 “HealthExpress” Walk In Clinics Inside Albertsons/Sav-On Stores – Orange County
LONG BEACH and ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 — LONG BEACH and ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --MemorialCare Health System in Southern California today announced an agreement to purchase specific assets of Universal Care and the filing of an application for its newly formed Seaside Health Plan to become a California licensed health plan.
Seaside is organized to support managed Medi-Cal members and prepare for the California Children's Services (CCS) demonstration project that addresses the needs of children with certain diseases and ongoing medical conditions.
These developments enhance MemorialCare's mission of ensuring Southland communities have convenient access to high quality, evidence-based medicine, superior value, exceptional service and a network of integrated providers—top hospitals, physicians, outpatient services, ambulatory centers and preventive care for all ages.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/11/27/4443483/memorialcare-health-system-announces.html#storylink=cpy
Smith and Nephew Buy Texas Wound Care Firm Healthpoint Biotherapeutics–$782 Million
To contact us Click HERE
This seems to be a match of related and similar technologies. It was just earlier this year that the PICO system from Smith 
and Nephew received FDA approval which is a small device used either at home or at the hospital for therapy to help wounds heal. Just a couple weeks ago the company said they were looking for new acquisitions in the wound care business. Their knee and hip business is down a little and they have and distribute what has been called the 30 year knee.
FDA Clears PICO* Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy System–Instructions for Application Use Provided by a MS Tag (barcode) On Packaging
Healthpoint employs 460 people and has revenues of $150 million so is there something else in the works with new products to come out soon? Johnson and Johnson at one point also tried to acquire Smith and Nephew for more than 7 billion but that didn’t work out. I would guess their knee implant might have been a big motivator there with all the issues J and J had with theirs. You can view the products from Healthpoint here as relates to wound care and they also offer products that help control infection such as hand washes, etc. . BD
LONDON — British medical technology company Smith & Nephew PLC said Wednesday it is buying Texas-based Healthpoint Biotherapeutics for $782 million.
Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, founded in 1992, is a privately owned company that focuses on acute, chronic and burn-related wound care.
Travis Baugh, Healthpoint’s president and chief operating officer, said the acquisition “will enable us to accelerate 
many of the initiatives we wanted to pursue and will provide development and promotional opportunities to our employees that would not have been available to them had we stayed an independent company.”
Healthpoint, which has 460 employees, will continue to be based in Fort Worth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/uks-smith-and-nephew-buys-texas-based-wound-care-firm-healthpoint-biotherapeutics-for-782-ml/2012/11/28/646d5fc2-3949-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html
800 Medical Device Companies Send Letters to Congress Regarding Excise Tax on Devices–Suggested Alternative Has Been Here At the Medical Quack for Months..Tax the Data Sellers Instead
To contact us Click HERE
“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?
E-Scoring Credit Algorithms Invisible To Consumers Used to Market and Evaluate, Does Not Fall Under Federal Law And Such Are Used by Insurance Companies - How Will This Work With Exchanges –Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 42
Cook Medical Cancels Plans for Factory Expansions–We Need Companies That Create Tangible Products As They Create Jobs–Tax The Data Sellers/Brokers Who Make Billions With Data Mining “Killer Algorithms” And Give the Device Companies a Break
Quotes from the video: “with software you can do anything but not so in real life”…”you become so isolated from the real world”…”making money is like a drug”…”you are just so much better than anyone else”…” I used to be a computer programmer at a major player on Wall Street that is no longer among us for obvious reasons”…”I did the plumbing, not the model itself but the infrastructure surrounding the model”…”I could do it sleeping”…”why I decided to stay off camera and anonymous”…”we sold the software to all the investment banks”…”I left in 2000 and after that it went nuts”…”CEOs are actually fantastic instruments when they slice and dice”…”I have to apologize to the planet (said the quant)”..”I have the ability to see patterns and abstract mathematical symbols”…(most programmers do)…”the managers just have to believe the quants”…”if it’s a hedge fund they are taking a percentage of the money even if you go bankrupt, they don’t lose money it’s the client’s money that is lost”…”wait a minute (developer) these guys are out of control (Wall Street)”…”because I was a technologist I did not fully understand what was going on”…”you have to have some kind of responsibility”…”If people don’t complain now, it serves them right (quant)”…
”people that are in the business now refuse to talk to the press as they would probably be fired”…”you have to be perfect and you have to be right all the time, if the software fails you lose millions and billions”…”it’s a lot of stress”…(that goes for almost any software development, healthcare included)…”you wake up and you don’t know what day it is”…”banking has completely lost touch with it’s purpose”…”sometimes the real world is just dirty (quant)”…'”Quant back to the drawing board and re-do your numbers change the math and make it look less risky”….”hide the risk”…”once you have too much mathematics, it’s difficult to see where the mistakes are”…”banking has become so enormous it has outstripped all other businesses when it should be supporting”…”hedge funds get the black boxes as close as they can to the exchange”…”a black box has a secret or a formula inside, stock prices, etc. that tells you what to trade”…”Google search, trading on what people are searching for”…”people say Goldman itself is a black box, we don’t know how it makes all it’s money”…
So this is where the money went and we need to hang on to our tangible manufacturing business and not send it away and not be duped by the formulas and bad models that cause
“Algo Duping”. Place the tax elsewhere on those who are benefiting from data so we can regain some balance and not lose more jobs. Again after watching the video you may have a lot better idea as to how are arrived at where we are and that the need for key executives with some computer science and IT experience is mandatory or we go further down this road to recession and the dirty code and models for profit win and get more our money, leave the device people alone and look at other choices. 
Now that the time is getting closer, the heat is on. When the healthcare reform law was created things were different and the 
economy was better. Any business in the US making tangibles is having a hard time as Wall Street way over inflated the value of software algorithms, social algorithms you name it and the tangible side can’t keep up. You can blame Wall Street for their greed once more, but back on track this tax should be reversed and we don’t have enough folks in executive positions with enough computer science or even a tiny bit of IT experience. Big thumbs up though for Illinois who elected a physicist and I have great hope for him in helping bring some of the digital illiterates we elect up to speed as that’s about our only hope.
Physicist Elected to House of Representatives, Some of His Technology is Used in the Big Collider at CERN–Hopefully This is the Start of a New Trend..Bill Foster
Today reading the news about Darrell Issa proposing a 2 year ban on internet laws…this is sticking out like a huge sore thumb..does he not realize how foot in digital illiterate mouth looks? This is where they 
need to get on board and granted the media continues their somewhat strange reporting at times but those journalists have goals to reach as far as readers and they know sex, drama queen antics, and OMG get readers so that’s what we get and frankly if I were in their position with a boss wanting numbers, what do you do, you play the game or don’t have a job, so no personal attacks there at all. Actually it’s kind of good that they do that as they get the basic news out and then folks like me and others can dissect it and give you another view which is what I try to do with honesty.
I used to write code and so for the most part this blog gets away from the “magpie news formats” as best I can. We need journalists as they bring the story in and the support the bloggers too but yeah I do wish the OMG and drama queen crap were down to a smaller number as I know we need some of that to have a healthy mix. We do have Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert to bring us back to earth when the crap gets real bad and even the press themselves at some point makes fun of themselves too.
We have this entire billion dollar profit machine out there that nobody wants to see I guess that gets their data for nothing and their profits for free and those are the data sellers who “should” be paying an excise tax and be licensed. I keep reading over and over and over about the potential cuts to science, well this tax could fund a lot of 
science at the NIH, help the FDA and what ever else you might want to toss in there as the profits are huge when you bring in banks, companies you name it. You can read more about how it would help the NIH and FDA here. When you think of Walgreens in 2010 making short of $800 million, how big is that pot…HUGE! All business relies on it today and I think about this every time as a consumer when I have to pay an excise tax on a tire I need for my car to keep the highway infrastructure up. What pays for the government IT infrastructure? Nobody…and business benefits more than anyone else from it.
One More Good Reason to Tax the Data Sellers– Create Additional Funding for the NIH and FDA From Sources That Otherwise Are Too Greedy to Share & Contribute
In the meantime we are all somewhat Algo Duped on what data is important and what has value and there’s just flat out crap out there too, everyone knows that but they still seem to spin market crap. It’s totally amazing that corporate USA (this includes companies, banks, trading firms, social media and ton of other entities) are just flat out getting rich from 
selling data. In addition state governments who do license some of these mining bots are now having a new expense with it, software to limit the bots so you and I as consumers can still get access. A while back North Carolina tossed out Core Logic due to this and the fact that they were not updating and paying timely for updated information. Have you as a “consumer data chaser” had the experience of getting corrected information fixed and then wait and wait and wait until it gets updated? This is part of the reason. Here’s another back link of mine on the topic.
Congress To Investigate the Data Sellers - Need To Create a Law to Tax Them As The Algorithms Used For This Business Generate Billions of Dollars, Partly Why Corporate Profits Are So High - Remove the Medical Device Tax as They Produce Needed Jobs/Tangibles
This topic was also chapter 17 of my Attack of the Killer Algorithms series which depicts how math and formulas “get you” when you least expect it and it is due to flawed data or folks using unethical algorithms and formulas for profit. Instead of the Occupy movement as we see it, “Occupy Algorithms” for goodness sakes and let’s get some accurate queries and data out there instead of some of the ones designed for “desired” results. We end up with something along this line:
”Hey dude let’s crunch some numbers and see if we can come up with some analytics to sell”
Well we have one down with the SEC commissioner leaving 
and I hope we get a replacement in there soon with a tiny bit of computer science or IT in their background. Back when Sebelius was nominate I about got chastised when I suggested someone else and this is not personal but when you have written data you can visualize how this is going to play out and at that time I said Health IT was going to run her over and it’s about there with the way technology has evolved. Three years ago I said this below, meaning check the math, the formulas and lets clean things up.
“Department of Algorithms – Do We Need One of These to Regulate Upcoming Laws?
You also have this guy making millions selling our data and he operates outside the government’s jurisdiction, little over head other than maintaining the algorithms that mine the data he sells and you as a consumer have no access.
E-Scoring Credit Algorithms Invisible To Consumers Used to Market and Evaluate, Does Not Fall Under Federal Law And Such Are Used by Insurance Companies - How Will This Work With Exchanges –Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 42
So yes in view of all of this scamming going on, move the tax over here as the device companies are some of the last tangibles we have left in the US and they create jobs..what does Congress not see here? They have to negotiate too with insurance companies to cover a lot of what they 
produce and that’s another bunch who makes billions selling our data, tax them. Sure some device companies may sell data but they would be in there with everyone else and it would not be such a big chunk to absorb as the banks and the social networks I would guess would have most taxes to pay. License them so fines can be given out for selling without a license. Require all to update a federal website where they disclose what kind of data they sell and to who. We all talk about transparency so this would be part of the deal, a win for consumers too.
We need the device manufacturers and even some of them due to this tax have fallen into the area of selling data and not expanding
and do it over seas and why not if you can hire a few technologist to mine and sell data and move your job over seas. I’m not saying all have done this but some have and the US gets no no jobs. If they had to pay a tax on some of this that is stiff enough it could be just enough to where buildings plants and hiring employees looks good again. They didn’t create this issue but our government just sat back and let it grow as so many are digital illiterate to the changing world of technology. I hear the same thing from folks in the markets too that they are appalled at what the government allows to occur but they do things they think are morally wrong because the government allows it.
Here’s a story I did on Cook Medical and it proves exactly what I said in the above paragraph, they are not building a new factory in the US as they have to pay this excise tax. This is not showing favoritism but rather this reality and it’s happening more than what you think, get in to some math and do the numbers. I had people write and thank me for this article.
Cook Medical Cancels Plans for Factory Expansions–We Need Companies That Create Tangible Products As They Create Jobs–Tax The Data Sellers/Brokers Who Make Billions With Data Mining “Killer Algorithms” And Give the Device Companies a Break
Cook Medical claims the tax on medical devices, set to take effect next year, will cost the company roughly $20 million a year, cutting into money that would otherwise go toward expanding into new
facilities over the next five years. This was also one of my Attack of the Killer Algorithm stories, which is a year long grouping of how algorithms and formulas attack you in real life and the reality of all the flawed data arising out there as companies and banks combine credible data with non credible data to make a buck. Now I like data and what it does but I can also see when it gets stupid and formulas created only for money…more on that later..
“Devaluate the Algorithm” And “Tax the Data Sellers”–A Cure for Both Healthcare and an Economy Based Heavily on Intangibles–We’ve Lost Our Balance
I write this because I don’t think our lawmakers are aware of the words choices and options today and we have a lot of them and I tried to tell the device folks “suggest this” as an alternative because if you wait for them to come up with an alternative idea or suggestion, it’s not going to happen. I still have my House of Representatives person here in the OC still doing Town Halls using “robocalls” so I see it and don’t deny it:) My phone rings and he’s just so happy on the robocall recording to have me and all the others robocalled in his presence. Amazing is is not that I live in one of the most technology savvy areas of the US and that’s what I get….ok moving on..
I don’t very often stand by Fox but they have this one right and it could be by accident I don’t know but this is a sure way to send the US economy further down the tubes when there are plenty of other
alternatives and folks just won’t open their eyes. Now one more video and this video under several other posts I have done has been going like gangbusters. It’s on this page too on the left hand side so watch and learn. This is where the trouble begins with greed and fiction with math, codes and formulas. It doesn’t get any better than this when the folks aka quants tell you about their work and the fiction they are paid to write and they too tell you that if we let this continue it’s our own fault. We need to use some logic and drop the OMG and drama queen crap and take a look at the reality here. I just checked the views on this and the maker should be happy here as a couple months ago it only it had 3000 views and now its up over 400,000. I don’t see anyone else pitching it so a good thing as folks are getting educated.
Quotes from the video: “with software you can do anything but not so in real life”…”you become so isolated from the real world”…”making money is like a drug”…”you are just so much better than anyone else”…” I used to be a computer programmer at a major player on Wall Street that is no longer among us for obvious reasons”…”I did the plumbing, not the model itself but the infrastructure surrounding the model”…”I could do it sleeping”…”why I decided to stay off camera and anonymous”…”we sold the software to all the investment banks”…”I left in 2000 and after that it went nuts”…”CEOs are actually fantastic instruments when they slice and dice”…”I have to apologize to the planet (said the quant)”..”I have the ability to see patterns and abstract mathematical symbols”…(most programmers do)…”the managers just have to believe the quants”…”if it’s a hedge fund they are taking a percentage of the money even if you go bankrupt, they don’t lose money it’s the client’s money that is lost”…”wait a minute (developer) these guys are out of control (Wall Street)”…”because I was a technologist I did not fully understand what was going on”…”you have to have some kind of responsibility”…”If people don’t complain now, it serves them right (quant)”…
”people that are in the business now refuse to talk to the press as they would probably be fired”…”you have to be perfect and you have to be right all the time, if the software fails you lose millions and billions”…”it’s a lot of stress”…(that goes for almost any software development, healthcare included)…”you wake up and you don’t know what day it is”…”banking has completely lost touch with it’s purpose”…”sometimes the real world is just dirty (quant)”…'”Quant back to the drawing board and re-do your numbers change the math and make it look less risky”….”hide the risk”…”once you have too much mathematics, it’s difficult to see where the mistakes are”…”banking has become so enormous it has outstripped all other businesses when it should be supporting”…”hedge funds get the black boxes as close as they can to the exchange”…”a black box has a secret or a formula inside, stock prices, etc. that tells you what to trade”…”Google search, trading on what people are searching for”…”people say Goldman itself is a black box, we don’t know how it makes all it’s money”…
So this is where the money went and we need to hang on to our tangible manufacturing business and not send it away and not be duped by the formulas and bad models that cause
“Algo Duping”. Place the tax elsewhere on those who are benefiting from data so we can regain some balance and not lose more jobs. Again after watching the video you may have a lot better idea as to how are arrived at where we are and that the need for key executives with some computer science and IT experience is mandatory or we go further down this road to recession and the dirty code and models for profit win and get more our money, leave the device people alone and look at other choices.
If you want to see more on the algorithms visit Algo Duping 101 for additional videos. BD
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1995105037001/800-companies-demand-repeal-medical-device-tax
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