Senator John McCain: Another Demonstration of Why Congress Should Reinstitute the Office of Technology Assessment, When Education Takes Place, Less Distractions With Boredom And More Respect for Consumers…

Yes it has been all over the news and yesterday when I saw the tweet, I tweeted and thought his Twitter account had been hacked..nope…it was him, bragging on how he got busted.  What a discourtesy to all of us and we keep seeing it but maybe not quite as outrageous as this, the response “bragging” is what the real impact was, like a kid who got busted, so what do we have in DC, a bunch of kids at heart?  Is this as good as it gets? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Office of Technology Assessment is non partisan tool that Gingrich and his bunch got rid of a number of years ago and now with complexities at an all time high and education being the focus, it boggles my mind why we have role models like this, you think?  This is why you can’t expect  more than “low tech partial band aid solutions” for high tech problems that need to be solved.  The folks are out of touch.  A good example of this is the Glass Steagall bill to bring it back and certainly it’s better than nothing but it’s low tech problem solving that is inadequate for high tech problems. These folks on the Hill are no competition for the thousands of Quants and Business Analytics experts out there modeling for profit, it shows big time.

Glass-Steagall Revival Presents a “Low Tech” Partial Solution for an Industry that Needs “High Tech” Regulation-Consumers Get 5 More Years of Bank Modeling For Inequality With Segmentation - No Real Regulation In Sight

Part of the issue too lies with what I call “non participation” and I have been using the term “non participants” for a number of years and it goes hand in hand with the old paradigm of “its for those guys over there”,  I read it loud and clear in the news all the time.  Might the fact that 84% of the Senators still use all paper methodologies for all their work when the Senate makes digital systems available?  I assume McCain is a “paper senator” from what I read.  This gets really interesting though when “Paper Senators” discuss doctors transitioning to electronic medical records…oh the gap shows big time:) 

We hear the conversation all the time about “paper doctors” who have not moved on to electronic medical records and now we have “paper senators” discussing “paper doctors” and how to improve things, sounds like big oxymoron to me:)

The Office of Technology restoration is a project of the Sunlight Foundation and boy have I written about it, tweeted it and more, because it’s needed and Congress could certainly entertain sharing it too with executive heads out there as it would be a huge tool to help educate those in DC.  Here’s where I first wrote about it back in February of this year.  Why overlook and discount such a valuable tool I ask? 

Congress Needs a Bigger Brain–Restore the Office of Technology Assessment And Truly Assess What is Useful And Remove The Algo Duping Permeating In Government–Fantasy Perceptions That Are Not Real Can Be A Dangerous Thing

I would like to see a government that doesn’t get Algo Duped as often as it affects all of us and the result is the Attack of the Killer Algorithms as I call it with every day examples of how it hurts consumers.  There is a reason for a lot this though as this PLOS One study pointed out and yes I published my opinion with a little satire in there just due to the nature of the study with math causing real physical pain to humans..full on study with MRI images and all.  I think there’s a lot of pain in Washington, do you?  I feel their pain everyday in how it affects me as a consumer:) 

“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 professor agrees with me about Algo Duping….a tweet…

If we could get some folks educated in DC maybe they would have a better understanding of how more sophisticated Algo Duping takes place..another PLOS One on the manipulation of “P” values with research…how many Senators know what a “P” value is..this explains a bit at the link below..do they need to know about what it is, sure they do as they make laws regarding such topics.

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

This entire scenario is really sad as it was like school child that got caught..I would like to think that mentalities are higher in DC, but stuff like this kind of sets me back with my perceptions.  Let’s embed one of the best education videos I have on the Algo Duping page and take a look at this will explain how it works and how all get duped…the old saying of “throw numbers at them” still prevails, whether the numbers are correct or skewed either on purpose or by accident.  The topic of the video is it’s all about context and the context in DC is pretty scary as the duping continues in way too many areas. 

I always say education is the best cure and what’ wrong with more of that taking place with lawmakers?  We might see more interests in many topics discussed on the floors of the House and Senate if they were armed with more education instead of having to guess or get bored as again most lawmakers are no competition for all the Quants, analysts and other mathematical model builders employed by the banks and corporate structures..boy does it show, again just read the title of this blog post:) 

A long time ago and there are several posts on this blog about the idea of Congress using IBM Watson to search and get the information they need.  They didn’t see it as a tool to help them either, but Citibank did and is making more money than ever-see any correlation here with how data is used?  This post was from 2012 and there several more before that one on the same topic.  Watson would allow for speech recognition to let the paper senators and representatives to also participate and get them up to snuff even though they are still stuck on paper.  This post was Chapter 22 of my Attack of the Killer Algorithm series.

IBM Watson Going to Work At Citigroup on Wall Street–Congress Didn’t See Big Data As A Tool (Hadoop Framework) When They Had Their Chance…For Consumers The Attack of the Killer Algorithms–Chapter 22

IBM Watson Capabilities Being Pitched to Financial Industry-Congress Must Not Have Felt They Needed This So Further Behind We Fall With Effective Intelligent Lawmaking

In the footer of this blog I feature some basic education videos that explain the IT infrastructures used today and when you read the news, hardly any journalists discuss this intelligently from the education side, we just get the OMG, witch hunts, drama queens/kings, and soap opera versions, which I get as journalists today are graded on the read they get and this sucks people in so they need their jobs to meet those “hit” goals on their stories for a lot of it. 

So in summary I guess this is as good as it gets, right?  In my own heart of trying to help consumers with education material I look at what I saw yesterday as a real set back and basically exposed some attitudes and paradigms that get hidden from us most of the time.

Would it be nice if Senator McCain after this would drive an effort for better education in DC?  Again he was not even embarrassed and bragged about it…big disappointment to me as that’s not what I expect from the people we elect and appoint to represent us…kind of a slap in the face and the reality of what’s there it appears.  So we can count on a future of continued “low tech solutions for high tech problems” I guess.

Sad it has to be this way but the role models we have not been very effective, and that is non partisan.  Math models that “behave badly” (his book)to quote Emanuel Derman (former Goldman Sachs quant, now a university professor) and the “Weapons of Math Destruction” (Cathy O’Neil former quant for Larry Summers” will continue to prevail. 

It’s a fixable problem, education but nobody seems to be interested.  (Videos in the footer)  BD

Sebelius Has Bees in Her Bonnet–Giving A Contract to Good Data to Mine HHS Employees Data So We Can See What They Think? Who Cares…Algo Duping Strikes Again…

HHS is using Yammer, a good internal social networking program for sure and it’s very helpful, but this is waste of time and if you want to know, why not use Yammer’s analytics…oh well such is life when you have someone in charge with little or no tech in their background. Wonder how the 75,000 employees feel about this…silly.  She’s been over taken by the NSA stories and hopefully she doesn’t want a little bit of the action (grin), right?

I read stuff like this in the news while the pressure is tremendous for doctors and hospitals today and when see this nonsense, all I can say is it time for a change?  Back in June of 2012 we had this…oh gosh technology is going to save us type of new article..

HHS Secretary Sebelius Still Looking for Tech Breakthroughs To Save the Day

I’ve said it before and time to say it again we have no substantial role models at HHS, the old paradigm of “its for those guys over there” still permeates.  Don’t these folks think about public perception and images?

A couple years ago we had this big deal Facebook contest…for a “disaster app”…I said bees in the bonnet there too and at that time I don’t think she had a clue what Twitter was but has told us now it took her long enough to learn in tweets:)  Everyone else was well into using Twitter for disasters…it’s not that hard to figure out.

HHS Seems To Be Confused on Social Networks–Facebook for Disaster Support Contest, Give Me a Break Use Twitter Like Everyone Else Does

Then we had this the request to “hurry up Health IT”…everyone wants to do that but it takes time, as HHS has now learned with IT projects with the health insurance exchanges.  There were a lot of IT vendors in healthcare that rolled their eyes that bit of brilliance as every programmer and data project manage want to get done sooner but you can’t water board them to speed it up.

Speed Up Rate of Change in Health IT?–“Short Order Code Kitchen Burned Down a Few Years Ago and There Was No Fire Sale”..IT Infrastructure Chance and Revisions Takes a Lot of ”Code”, “Time” and “ Most Importantly Money”

Then we had this letter sent out to all the hospital associations insinuating all were cheating on their billing just before the election..a lot of people took offense to that with even dragging Holder in there too, I guess to show more teeth, best I could figure but it was an over all slap in the face to the industry, so I guess they don’t think about perception and how people view things as such.  Even some folks at Harvard complained on that one.   No example was brought to the table either, just kind of saying “you all better not lie”…sad.  Holder had his own issues with digital Illiterate Lanny going too and all you had to do listen for 5 minutes to the Untouchables and you could see and hear the lack of confidence as he was over his head with not knowing how to investigate high tech crimes. 

HHS and DOJ Send Letters to Hospital Trade Associations Warning of Gaming Billing System Via Use of Electronic Medical Records–Hospitals Just Learned How to Bill Better & Hired Consultants–Case of Being Algo Duped With Numbers?

In the meantime we had HCA bragging about their billing and how it was gaining profits for them…but nobody looking around over there though..

How is HCA a For Profit Hospital Chain, Making All That Money–Billing in the ER a Contributing Factor for Reimbursements–The Algorithms Move Money and Created Some Very Large Profits And Others Generated ER Care Parameters for the Facilities

Here’s what I said with my tiny observations back in 2010…this how I saw it and still see it…”no role models at HHS”…it is what it is..

HS National Plan to Improve Health Literacy – Not Going To Happen Until We Focus on Using Technology (The Tool for Literacy) Which Includes Role Models at HHS And Other Places in Government

This is kind of sad as I call it a lot of Algo Duping here to where folks get mislead or basically are just addicted to collecting data.  I questioned these 2 back in 2009 (link below) wondering if they had enough or just a tiny bit of tech or business intelligence to be able t determine what has value and what does not and in addition to the quantified self today, we also have the over quantified self.  Good data, the company chosen for analytics markets the fact that they can give you better analytics than Yammer itself, which is owned by Microsoft.  We all need cheerleaders but we also need logic and business intelligence as well. 

Nancy-Ann DeParle and Kathleen Sebelius – Business Intelligence?

This is nothing personal and tech folks besides me sit and shakes their heads too and just don’t talk about it.   I thought this rather proved that point with wanting an app to help with addictions, well internets and apps are addictions too..there you go and algo duped oxymoron for sure.  There is not app for internet/app addiction and 65 to 69% of mobile apps are dead anyway.

Hospital in Pennsylvania Opens First Inpatient Treatment for Internet Addiction–Was I Correct Back in 2010 When I Stated “Data Addiction Was The Next Upcoming 12 Step Program”

Apps Aps Everywhere But Nobody Cares–Way Too Many Software Programs and Contests For Programs That Only Do “One Thing” In Healthcare

When you look at the hundreds of quants and professional folks doing analytics to cut costs and save money, creating math models to do so by the minute, this kind of nonsense looks silly as we all know that all models don’t tell the truth and they hurt consumers and again this kind of stuff just points to the fact that all of this seems to way over their heads. Watch the 4 videos in the footer if you want to understand more of how that works, it’s just the flat out truth and reality and a bit about how we all get duped.  Some folks think every query, or piece of code has value, it does not, and that’s where the easy duping comes in.

With the insurance exchanges too I guess Deparle didn't find enough fun in healthcare either and wanted to go back to PE where the fun was according to the interview given.  It was embarrassing to hear her state in the news that “the IT work is all done for the exchanges”…see how out of touch.  When you don’t know, better to be quiet as it hurts credibility. 

Nancy DeParle Returns to What She Knows, Private Equity-Technology Experience, Knowledge And Being In Touch With Reality Is What Government Needs Today

Yes Indeed a new focus here, let’s dig in here and find some data…and you can see how the epidemic of data selling has it’s impact too, everyone thinks they need all this data…and nobody seeing the real damage done.  This HHS thing is a prime example of a lot of Algo Duping going on.

We have had other blunders too like John Kerry saying we have the right to be stupid…sounds like a George Bush comment…laughable yes, makes sense..nope.  On the hill we can’t even get the folks to educate themselves..and we have this bragging tweet today from John McCain that he got busted playing poker on his phone during a Senate hearing.  Is it all just about games in DC? 

This is pathetic and I don’t even think they care about how they are viewed and what they all really do in public service today.  This is what we are somewhat stuck with.   84% which is 84 senators still use all paper methodologies for this reporting and McCain must be one of the cavemen I guess.  The link below has a lot to say too as good suggestion to help educate Congress.  BD

Congress Needs a Bigger Brain–Restore the Office of Technology Assessment And Truly Assess What is Useful And Remove The Algo Duping Permeating In Government–Fantasy Perceptions That Are Not Real Can Be A Dangerous Thing

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The Health and Human Services Department plans to mine data from its internal social network, including deducing employee’s emotions and sentiments, contracting documents show.

Health and Human Services began using the internal social networking site Yammer in late 2012, according to a department blog post. The Facebook-like network is open to all the department’s 75,000 employees, the post said. It’s focused on helping employees better engage with each other across divisions and informally crowdsourcing solutions to workflow issues.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ office plans to award a three-month contract to the California-based business intelligence company GoodData to sift through information posted to Yammer to determine employees’ sentiment on particular topics and to learn which topics are trending on the site.

http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2013/09/what-do-hhs-employees-really-think-agency-will-pay-data-miners-find-out/69864/

Cardiac Rhythm Bracelet Selling for $79 To Provide Digital Security for Computer Access, Opening Doors and More..

The bracelet uses Bluetooth and connects to your phone and you wear it around your wrist.  Wrists, necks, ankles, what’s next (grin) to be having some kind of visible device hanging on your body.

The video is very good and it even shows where transactions in the financial areas can be given solid ID protection.  Ok I’m going to mention this and probably everyone else will think of it too, what happens if you have heart issues…will it still work or what if you have a heart attack, do you get disconnected?  You can always have the passwords as a back up and I have not seen anything yet that replaces them fully as they still need to be around as a back up, interesting product. 

“The benefit of the Nymi's new and exciting ECG authentication is that it is highly secure without compromising convenience. The Nymi has a 3-Factor system ensures that you and only you have access to your Nymi, and control of your identity. To access the Nymi you must first have possession of the wristband. Second, you must possess your unique heart rhythm, and finally, you must have access to the secure application on a registered smartphone. Once you've authenticated, you will remain authenticated so long as the wristband is not removed.”

For their privacy policty they direct you to the website “Privacy by Design” which I looked at and will have dig a little deeper there as well.  You can see one of my favorite browsers on there as a supporter, Duck-DuckGo, which does not track your data. 

Here’s a little information on Privacy by Design and video that states their purpose. Just think if Edward Snowden would had one of these (grin)..just kidding.   BD 

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The sleek silicone bracelet you see above isn’t yet another fitness tracker. It’s a new “wearable authentication device” called Nymi, and its creators think it can replace your passwords and keys — or at least make them a whole lot more secure.

Clasp the Nymi around your wrist, press your fingertip to the sensor on the top, and it springs to life. Built-in LEDs and a vibration motor let you know it’s active, and you can also program them to deliver notifications from your smartphone (Nymi supports Bluetooth 4.0).

http://www.geek.com/mobile/79-nymi-bracelet-aims-to-replace-passwords-and-keys-with-your-heartbeat-1569351/

Microsoft Buys the Nokia Device Business for Over $7 Billion-My New Nokia WindowsPhone Lumina 928 Is Now Official Microsoft Hardware, Best Cellphone I Have Ever Owned

I just got my new phone less than a week ago and I do have to say this the best cellphone I have ever owned.  I’m with Verizon and the upgrade from my old Windows Phone didn’t cost a cent for the phone. So where can you not get a deal like this one.  I was going to do a blog post this week and talk a little bit about it but its seems a few words right now would be appropriate in post.

A full press conference is to be held Tuesday September 3rd EEST so if you are here in the US you will have to get up real early, especially California, or just stay up. 

“Nokia will host a press conference today, Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 11 a.m. EEST in Dipoli, Espoo (Otakaari 24). Registration will start at 10 a.m., and the doors will open at 10.40 a.m. Due to space constraints, only media who show valid press credentials at the registration will be admitted. Media are encouraged to watch a live webcast of the press conference at: http://press.nokia.com/”

This continues to affirm the Microsoft commitment to the hardware business for sure.  The Windows Phone has been a bit of a sleeper but I have stayed with them as I like security and it’s the best out there in that department.  32,000 employees from Nokia will become Microsoft employees world wide.  I guess with all the press about Ballmer retiring, he’s not doing too bad.  All companies go through cycles and I just read the other day in Germany that Windows Phones surpassed the number of IPhones, not here in the US yet by a long shot. 

I also read some reviews to where some people commented on switching from their IPhones.  If you like pictures the Nokia 928 has about the best camera on a phone out there and it works well.  I like too how the Windows software as integrated the camera with “tiles” to connect to other apps that use the camera, like the scanner.  I have used it a couple times, lines and works well.

Stephen Elop is stepping aside as Nokia CEO to become executive VP of devices and services. Nokia Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will serve as interim CEO

“As part of the transaction, Nokia is assigning to Microsoft its long-term patent licensing agreement with Qualcomm, as well as other licensing agreements.

Microsoft is also acquiring Nokia’s Mobile Phones business unit, which serves hundreds of millions of customers worldwide, and had sales of 53.7 million units in the second quarter of 2013. Microsoft will acquire the Asha brand and will license the Nokia brand for use with current Nokia mobile phone products. Nokia will continue to own and manage the Nokia brand. This element provides Microsoft with the opportunity to extend its service offerings to a far wider group around the world while allowing Nokia’s mobile phones to serve as an on-ramp to Windows Phone.”

Finland has been selected as the new data center for Europe and there’ more than a quarter of a billion dollars to be spent there. 

I go way back with Microsoft Mobile products to being one of the original Windows Mobile User Group members in Los Angles and we are the oldest group out there for over 15 years and we still meet. When I think back to the early days and scratching out a few of the old antique VB apps that the early phones had, boy have we come a long way.  A couple years ago Microsoft actually came out and did some pictures on the group. 

The Lumina 928 phone is bigger too and I like that as the older I get, the bigger screen I like and I’m sure a few share that sentiment with me no matter what phone you use.

The battery life is great and it’s now in the 4G area for Verizon coverage so speed is great with the data.  Of course on thing the WindowsPhone has that the others don’t is “Mobile X-Box” and I have never used a regular X-Box but being it is on the phone I have tried my hand at a few games when I have a few idle minutes.

On item I complain about once in a while is “app overload” and the phone didn’t come overloaded with useless apps so I appreciate that quite a bit.  I can access Drop Box, Sky Drive (and that mobile interface is pretty neat).  The Home Page program tiles are simple and easy to use and I like new “smaller’ tiles you can mix in with the big ones.

Email works great and again the fastest most responsive cellphone I have owned.  The only thing I have not tried yet is Skype (also owned by Microsoft) and that’s next on my list.  Nokia and Microsoft have built a good product hardware wise and software wise for the operating system. 

If you want a super 4G phone, the Nokia Lumina 928 is it!  BD 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/Sep13/09-02AnnouncementPR.aspx

Hospital in Pennsylvania Opens First Inpatient Treatment for Internet Addiction–Was I Correct Back in 2010 When I Stated “Data Addiction Was The Next Upcoming 12 Step Program”

I wrote that post to a degree with a little satire, but what do you know..folks that see how data mechanics work and are hybrid enough to understand humanity as the same time can see this stuff coming.  Everyone keeps telling me I’m ahead of my time and I’m not meaning to brag at all but I get that from readers all the time, so I guess this time I’ll take the feather.  Medical Quack where humanity and data meet and collide!   Here’s the original post.

Data Addiction and Abuse –The Up and Coming Next 12 Step Program Is On the Horizon–Side Effects Include Lack Of Data Quality, Integrity And Spasmodic Algorithms

I don’t have any hidden expertise to brag about either, it’s just the way I’m wired as I am a hybrid as before I learned how to code I spent 25 years in outside sale, the people business so I mesh the two together and that’s what you see here, common sense and lot of logic in how I blog.  Ok so now what are the insurers going to do with this, will they cover it?  The reason I ask is that so many want to gamify you to scrape your data, in other words keep playing while we scrape you data…here’s a couple posts to that effect..and hey are they contributing to this process (grin). 

For me anyway, the certainly insult my intelligence with these methodologies for sure.  We have a conflict of interest here and I wouldn’t expect to see a CPT code for this for a while (grin).   Time for a new model to scrape your data I guess. 

Aetna To Offer Online Game Social Game For Personal Wellness- Joins Humana As They Have An Online Game Called FamScape

Health Insurer Humana Introduces a New Game Called FamScape–Making It Fun to Get And Maybe Mine Your Data?

Here’s another old post where I asked the question as well if you have sucked in to play games…

Have You Been Suckered In by FaceBook to Play Games To Support Employer and Insurance Company Reform Initiatives?

The reason these games insult me is that my healthcare is not a game and I’m up there for education and spreading good word and technology but I do call foul on the games that are there to scrape data.  The data selling epidemic is so bad and so profitable it is an epidemic and that’s why you see these games..there’s even a game to exploit the games…great video at the link below..

Data Selling Game Now Exploits the Non Regulated Billion Dollar Epidemic–”Data Dealer” The Attack of the Killer Algorithms Gamified

Sure there are other games that are played against each other online too that don’t scrape data and that are just as addictive and the video again shows how corporate US uses it to get your data to copy some of this.  If you want to know more about Algo Duping and the Attack of the Killer Algorithms check the collection here and get educated.  This collection is a group of very smart folks, smarter than me that have taken the time to tell how it is, like I try to do.

To be fair we all have a bit of addiction to the web, self included but when does it become obsessive to where other things don’t get done.  Believe me with the time I spend on the web I’m doing a self check all the time to make sure I don’t wing out too:)  After all I can’t be the kettle calling the pot black either.

New term “digital detox”..no internet for 72 hours and believe this is a good idea here and there.  I recently had that experience when I was moving and no internet for a few days, felt great and then I had a better outlook when I came back as it reminded me not to forget the human world.  I try not too but we all become absorbed at times.  Marketers play on it to make money.  In addition though to the addiction process we also have another issue out there and that is the fear of math and it does make a difference on how your perception runs and those on Wall Street over came this fear a long time ago, why they have all the money.

I just wrote a post kind of blasting HHS on their new contest about an app for mental health and addictions, well this article substantiates that easily enough on where the focus need to be, there’s not an app to cure everything!  HHS has some folks as duped as anywhere else out there.  You can’t be the “over quantified” self by all means and maintain your sanity:)  As people address and fight their addictions, mobile apps become dead as “enough is enough” too much glut out there! 

ONC Has Another New Contest–Toss Another App Out to the Consumers, But Hey Around 69% of all Mobile Apps Have Just Been Reported “Dead”…

Let’s see how many other hospitals entertain this idea too as I think it’s a good idea and again it brings an awareness around on the duping side of things we have out there today.  A few years ago I kind of hinted around at this will PHRs too..like what are folks going to do, work on their personal health records or play World of Warcraft…from back in 2010…see I was tracking it then with logic and common sense…everyone has both so just us them and become a skeptic when things don’t seem right.  BD

What’s On the Agenda Tonight–World of Warcraft or Work on My Personal Health Record

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Roberts, now 44 years old, would sit eight to 12 hours a day in front of the pale blue glow of his computer, playing a videogame. During holidays, he "binged," spending nearly all his waking hours at his keyboard. Finally, a friend who had been through Alcoholics Anonymous told him he displayed all the same characteristics of an addict.

"Like most addicts, I went through a series of self-deception," said Roberts, who documented his struggle with addiction in his book, "Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap." 

The story of Roberts, who came to grips with his addiction through years of therapy and spiritual retreats, is not unique. Treatment facilities have sprung up in recent years, but a psychiatric hospital in central Pennsylvania is now set to become the country's first facility of its kind to offer an inpatient treatment program for people it diagnoses with severe Internet addiction.

The voluntary, 10-day program is set to open on Sept. 9 at the Behavioral Health Services at Bradford Regional Medical Center. The program was organized by experts in the field and cognitive specialists with backgrounds in treating more familiar addictions like drug and alcohol abuse.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/09/01/pennsylvania-hospital-to-open-country-first-inpatient-treatment-program-for/#ixzz2df9MhZEn

FTC Accuses Medical Lab Of Not Adequately Protecting Data-Lab Says Data Was Stolen–Why Is Data Stolen, To Sell, Duh! A Real Connection to the “Data Selling Epidemic” in the US

It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out why people steal data, to sell it, duh!  Now we have the FTC accusing this company of not adequately protecting patient data; however, the owner says it was stolen.  Duh again for the digital literacy of the FTC?  Data for 9000 consumers was put at risk.  This is the statement I keyed in on here…the owner says it was stolen so more information is needed to know if the cyber security firm was in fact looking for a list or data base of people to market for something else maybe. 

“He claims on his personal website that the document was stolen by a cybersecurity firm trying to sell LabMD services.”

Ok once again, data breaches…they steal because they want to sell the data or solicit the folks in the data for something else..duh!  What does it take to miss this correlation? 

I keep my campaign going for a law to require all data sellers to be licensed so if a law of such were in place and the data was stolen, law enforcement has a to leg to stand on, “stealing data to sell without a license”…and of course it would need to be proven which comes with investigating any case as such. 

Time Has Come to License and Tax the Data Sellers of the Web, Companies, Banks, Social Networks..Any One Making a Profit-Latest Microsoft/Google Privacy War Helping the Cause –Consumers Deserve to Know What Is Being Sold and To Who in a Searchable Format

Again, how can the FTC document this?  I guess we have to wait for more information to come out.  IT infrastructure runs everything today, no matter what business you are in and the FTC has done nothing so far to allow for any kind of regulation with the data selling epidemic we have in the US and I am not sure if this is yet another case of trying to find “low tech partial band aid solutions” for high tech problems?  In the financial areas, we have Glass Steagall as a prime example of a partial low tech solution for high tech intelligence problems, so it’s all over. 

FTC Tries to Bring Strong Case for Consumer Protections With Use of Data–But Nothing About Creating IT Infrastructure Path to Allow Regulation–Gov Can’t or Won’t Model?

I don’t know how many quants the FTC may have on the payroll but I hope they have some and maybe even entertain hiring a few from private industry that could catch them up on the power of modeling and how some use math models for profit and hide risk.  FTC is there to protect consumers so how about jumping up to the plate maybe? 

The only lame effort we have seen is this “Reclaim your data thing” which puts more efforts on the backs of consumers again to have to “fix” and on their own dime all the flaws out there with data selling, while those selling it have made billions selling the data, no accountability.  It’s a consumer dump once again with no protection and a low tech band aid with few teeth to it.  I was not the only one who wrote about it, others in security attacked it as well all over the web.  That’s the problem today with too may lawyers running government departments, they are out of touch and to have some dynamic technologists running government departments would be a huge help.

FTC “Reclaim Your Name Campaign” Not Good Enough–No Path for Regulation Identified–All Data Sellers Including Banks, Insurers, Etc. Should Be Required to Buy a License

Lawyers are basically “reactive” and they do research and that is what their job is for a lot of after the fact incidents but they can’t see the battle ahead with technology so again this makes yet one more case for having a technologist at the top of the helm, backed up of course with all the lawyers one would need to ensure that in identifying high tech problems, that they are pursued properly too. 

So again in this case, let’s see where the additional information comes from and find out what happened here and if we have some weak areas with digital literacy here at the FTC.  I’m not picking on the agency, just stating the mechanics as they are and how they get interpreted.  We don’t have enough folks trained out there today to work with “flawed data” for sure and way too many are still thinking everything that shows up in the news and on computer screens has value or is accurate. 

There’s a group of videos I collected that explains this phenomena and I call it “Algo Duping” and have had a lot of good comments here as the folks in the videos are smarter than me and take time to explain how this occurs and how you get duped.  Thanks much for the many readers I see that are taking time to educate themselves by watching the videos for a greater awareness of how this is functioning out there today, it’s not the same old world and combined in many areas this leads to “inequality by modeling with segmentation”. 

Algo Duping 101 and with the Attack of the Killer Algorithms Follow

So stay tuned here as this story evolves and I’m glad if in fact the data was stolen and the lab was taking the proper security precautions that they are making a case of this as someone needs to wake up the FTC when it comes to privacy and consumer protection. This is important more so today than ever because what we all worry about is data being used “out of context” against us and there’s plenty of history on that with health insurers that has been in the news over the years on their segmentation efforts.  BD 

Big Data/Analytics If Used Out of Context and Without True Values Stand To Be A Huge Discriminatory Practice Against Consumers–More Honest Data Scientists Needed to Formulate Accuracy/Value To Keep Algo Duping For Profit Out of the Game

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The Federal Trade Commission is accusing a small Atlanta-based medical lab that specializes in cancer detection of not doing enough to protect its patients' online records.

The federal regulators filed a formal complaint Thursday against LabMD alleging that the company's lax security controls led to a billing sheet being leaked to a public file-sharing network. The billing sheet contained the personal data on more than 9,000 consumers. The FTC says California police later discovered that identity thieves had acquired personal data from at least 500 LabMD consumers.

Reached by phone on Thursday, LabMD founder Michael Daugherty said he objects to the allegations and plans to release a full statement soon. He claims on his personal website that the document was stolen by a cybersecurity firm trying to sell LabMD services.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/aug/31/us-medical-records-privacy/

OrderMedicalRecords.Com–Company That You Can Hire to Get Copies of Your Medical Records & A Service for Retiring Doctors With Medical Record Transfers for Patients to New Doctors

I almost feel like this is somewhat of a public service post here as I have read so many stories about patients trying to get copies of their medical records and if they are still “paper” records, well that takes a bit longer as we all know.  Sometimes you luck out and it’s not that hard, but every office, hospital, medical entity is different, so if you get stuck here’s a company for what seems like a reasonable fee, will chase them down for you.

The company is a division of another company “Datafied” it appears and there’s a little more information on their website as well.  The company goes out and scans your records if needed and you can download them online.  You get an email when your records are available.  The web page states they are HIPAA compliant.  Do check to see which metropolitan areas for their coverage. 

What is also interesting here is their sister company called Retireddoctor.com where a physician can send off the patient records to make sure they are available for patients and how many articles have you read about paper medical record dumps, too many.  The records get scanned and they handle the transition to transferring to the new doctor for the patients.  I don’t have any idea what the cost is and it would depend on the number of files, etc. but  this sure beats getting fined or going to jail with trying to dump off paper medical records somewhere and everyone is happy. 

They have a web interface to where it looks like you can either do it all online or you can also reach them by phone.  BD 

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OrderMedicalRecords.Com, a leading company specializing in the release of information, recently launched a new website. The website facilitates the secure ordering of medical records over the internet through online submission and authorized record collection services. Corporate entities and professionals, as well as individuals and families, now have the option of online ordering.

As companies and professionals narrow down their business practices to very specialized activities, the need for high-volume medical records acquisition becomes more and more prevalent. At the same time, the volume of individuals requesting medical information for themselves or their loved ones is also increasing, as members of society become more assertive in their own medical care needs. To fill the gap, OrderMedicalRecords.Com (OMR) stepped forward to become a proficient procurer of records that require release of information.

In addition to other record ordering formats, including over the phone, mail, or fax, the new website now makes it possible to request medical records online. The new online format streamlines the ordering process making it simple and straight-forward. It can be used by corporate entities desiring bulk record acquisitions as well as individuals desiring their own records. Clients may also use the website to check the status of their orders. Data security policies are strictly adhered to and all processes and information that are handled through the website are protected using data encryption and other appropriate data security measures.

http://www.itbusinessnet.com/article/OrderMedicalRecordsCom-Launches-a-New-Website-Where-Clients-May-Order-Medical-Records-Online-2781487

“The Tax Free Tour” Documentary on How the Tax Havens Work, Who Runs and Owns Them, How Accountants Are Taking Over the Regulators And Not Held Accountable…

If you liked the video about the Quants, which is always located in the footer of this blog, this is another film they made and it does good a job of explaining how the big corporations get their tax havens.  Right out of the barrel they begin with Apple and interesting how they explain and the Netherlands has like no tax on intellectual property so the chain there is interesting on how it leads back to a US LLC.  See how the names don’t always identify who they are as well.  Wal-Mart is also covered in depth. 

According to this video, there are always 4 companies present, (screenshot at the right) with most tax havens, all names you probably recognize too.  Familiar advisers are why they are used and the constant feature.  Without one or all of the firms you really will not have a good tax haven.  Banks in there too, all of them.  Banks, lawyers and accountants are the 3 needed elements.  What is “neutral” taxation?  It means “no tax”.  Tax optimization is another term that means “no tax”.

The video shows the internal, secret world of where the billionaires live and travel.  They make themselves invisible from money, nothing has their name on it and they deal with “cash”…amazing as they try to push consumers away from cash.  The same laws and regulations don’t seem to apply to many of the billionaires. 

The process of "globalization" was organized by the banksters at the helm of multinational companies with a single purpose in mind, make money. Certainly 35% which is the rate for the US is large percentage but somewhere between 35% and zero would be a help. 

Intellectual property profits go to a Dutch “mail box” company for one example, where patents are held…so guess where the royalties go?  You got it, the mailbox.  Starbucks is identified as a mailbox company and the “trademark fees” flow back to the Netherlands so they are another one that hardly pays any tax.  The one man interviewed here said it’s hard to compete with “zero”, in other words no tax.

The Parliament meeting in the UK with asking Starbucks about their 15 year running streak of no profits is rich “why are you still operating here”…you show you are losing money here and we need a better explanation.  They hammer on Amazon pretty well too.  The woman leading it gets right to the point in her speech and then apologizes. 

It’s called working within the gaps of the law, why we digital centric types of laws soon that spell out the IT infrastructure and transaction paths.  Accountants have had a pretty good ride and nobody has really questioned them.  Why are the accountants no held accountable when banks failed?  Nobody judges them and in the UK they are taking over the regulators, so we are back the same 4 pictured above. 

What kind of models do these tax havens have, I guess we go back to the big 4 accountants for answers, right?  Markets get distorted with all this as well with share prices.  It’s the same old story with the middle class and the poor paying taxes.  BD 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4o13isDdfY&list=PL9ABD0BB3C3BEDE19

Walgreens Accused of Overcharging Customers-Algorithms-Drug Stores Have to Pay Penalties on Their Issues, Why Does Wall Street Skate When Their Killer Algorithms Attack?

You can read this report and it pretty much tells you that someone didn’t get the data input done on time or missed some to coincide with what was advertised…algorithms are also supposed to check and make sure both are in sync too besides a manual data entry operation alone.   You can read in the article about other settlements as such and that’s pretty much the mechanics of what goes on here.  It’s good though that it does come up as it keeps people on their toes.  Same stuff with those horrible consumer doctor and hospital rating sites.  I can go on there at any time and easily find errors and usually it’s stuff in the mainstream news that has been around for a while that they don’t scan and update.

HealthGrades CEO Founder Joins WorldOne Board–Flawed Data And Broken Algorithms On the Move to Advise Market Research? Algo Duping Society?

HealthGrades Puts Out Top Hospital List–Time to Drop All the Hospital Ratings Sites As Nobody Cares, Many Don’t Have Time To Read and Too Much “Flawed Data”

So if drug stores are held to such tight regulations what in the heck allows Wall Street firms to just walk?  It’s usually the digital illiteracy of the folks running the SEC that lack any real tech knowledge and thus their confidence levels will be dragging bottom too as that’s what happens when knowledge lack.   It was portrayed very well in the PBS documentary “The Untouchables”…DOJ man spoke with no confidence as voice and body language said it all.  I didn’t care what else everyone said, it was clear as day that this was the problem to me. 

“The Untouchables-Too Big to Jail” Frontline Documentary Shows Department of Justice’s Fear of Prosecuting Big Banks–No Confidence In Using Current Day Technologies To Investigate –Video

Everything today has an IT Infrastructure and there will be glitches…so again I call it the Attack of the Killer Algorithms combined with Algo duping.  You can watch videos on that topic here and you will be a much smarter person when you learn a tiny bit about how the mechanics works and the layman can completely understand these videos from folks smarter than me. Some of the attacking algorithms bite a lot worse than others.  

Attack of the Killer Algorithms – “Algo Duping 101″

Their data selling records are off too if the money you spent and is tracked by Walgreens is not accurate either, they make about a billion a year selling your data/data profiles too.  BD

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The country's largest drugstore chain, Walgreens, has been accused of overcharging customers.

The lawsuit filed by Missouri's attorney general alleged that “Walgreens has consistently and systematically displayed inaccurate sales tags, overcharged customers and used misleading or confusing in-store signs.”

It's not the first time Walgreen Co. has faced charges of inaccurate pricing. Earlier this year, the retailer settled suits with California and Wisconsin without admitting wrongdoing.

“This level of consumer deception is inexcusable from a corporation as sophisticated as Walgreens,” said Chris Koster, Missouri’s attorney general.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/beyond-the-headline-abc-news/lawsuit-alleges-walgreens-overcharging-customers-134850643.html

FTC Tries to Bring Strong Case for Consumer Protections With Use of Data–But Nothing About Creating IT Infrastructure Path to Allow Regulation–Gov Can’t or Won’t Model?

As you should be aware today everything requires an IT infrastructure to run and if you have not come to terms with that, well it is what it is.  It seems like we have the same old problem here with yet another attorney trying to make headway in a very high tech world with more low tech solutions and maybe just a lot of political talk?  Sure the issues are addressed but no real solution talked about at all.  It’s not just limited to the FTC as we have the same thing going on with reviving Glass-Steagall with a low tech partial solution for a very complex high tech problem.  Without an IT infrastructure to regulate, all this goes nowhere sadly.  I have full respect for Elizabeth Warren but again we have have “low tech” solutions out there that are merely band aids for big problems.  I keep blogging about restoring the Office of Technology Assessment for Congress and there’s never been a time when we have had such digital illiteracy with our Lawmakers and this would help them. 

Glass-Steagall Revival Presents a “Low Tech” Partial Solution for an Industry that Needs “High Tech” Regulation-Consumers Get 5 More Years of Bank Modeling For Inequality With Segmentation - No Real Regulation In Sight

Another good example of a real lack of any IT infrastructure back bone is the consumer financial agency run by Richard Cordray, yet one more lawyer trying to keep up with the high tech world.  Put some technologists in charge and back them up with a full force of lawyers for goodness sakes as they all seem to be swimming in a pool of neglect when it comes to the power of math models and algorithms as they function today in the business world.  Hire a few quants from the business world who know it functions and cut to the chase by all means.  I don’t mean any disrespect here for anyone but it’s time to get off the pot in so many words as current efforts are going nowhere and totally ignore the impact on how technology is being used today. 

Richard Cordray, Fail With Understanding Flawed Models and Algorithms -Big Case of“Algo Duping”With Big Data-Save Time, Hire Quants Who Know How Consumer Financial Models Are Built and Function…Geez

The agency, the FTC is 100 years old but we can’t use solutions that are that old by all means:)  When you read this you can see the “duping” effect here with just some of the statements “Ramirez noted that she is a big fan of big data”…please…duped and duped again to the most over used lingo out there.  Data is data.  A few other technologists of late have said the same thing.  Now her background is with intelligent property and that’s a whole different arena, did she ever write any code?  Probably not but having someone at the FTC who has or who had modeled would be wonderful to bring the real world of non accountability into focus and how models lie and deceive, most playing around with risk, and without it we end up with more “low tech” partial band aid solutions sadly.  Again, hired some professional experience quants and let’s get with it as the real world operates today. 

Not only myself but many other technologists pounced on the “Reclaim Your Name Campaign” which again fits under the “low tech” band aid topic as that’s what it is.  Any technologist will tell you that who knows what they are doing.  Again regulation efforts here are futile without establishing an IT infrastructure and path to regulate.  I suggest all who sell data should be required to purchase a license and top of that excise tax the banks and companies making windfall profits selling data.  Did you see the news yesterday that banks are reaching all time profits?  Data selling adds to their bottom line.

FTC “Reclaim Your Name Campaign” Not Good Enough–No Path for Regulation Identified–All Data Sellers Including Banks, Insurers, Etc. Should Be Required to Buy a License

Just yesterday another new venture on selling data with big pharma working with an insurer to sell more data and again what we all worry about is data used against us out of context and we have had years of that with insurance, just read the news for the last few years, all about profit.  I really don’t know where some of these folks are coming from to totally ignore or be oblivious of the data selling epidemic that is taking place in the US as it’s now affecting the economy.  Why would companies want to lay out capital expenditures when they can mine and sell data with some algorithms out there and put “easy” money to their bottom line with no concern on how it impacts the consumer. 

Actually the series of posts I called “The Attack of the Killer Algorithms” covers every day events of this happening and I have had my share.  The prior link is actually pretty entertaining as Google’s machine learning identified me as a real duck and cancelled my account with them due to that fact..see how it works…and I had to write to them..I was right so what now, “Duck is not a machine compliant name”?  It’s the one I have:)  MIT had a hay day with it as again they are technologists and understand how it happened and said “look at a big corporation attacking one little person here:)

Pharma and Health Insurance Companies Pairing Up, Humana’s Analytics Subsidiary and Lilly To Figure Out How to Save (Make) Money and Provide Better Patient Care–Selling Research Data That Competes With FDA Sentinel Initiative

If it sounds like I am frustrated, well I guess I am as when myself and others see what goes on behind the scenes that hurts consumers (me too) and the oblivious government efforts we have seen thus far, it’s scary.  We talk about inequality well it is designed that way with powerful math formulas and subsequent algorithms that move and take your money.  Cathy O’Neil has done a good job explaining this with her series called “Weapons of Math Destruction” and she was the former Quant at DE Shaw who modeled for Larry Summers.  List to the Q and A for the bonus section there and the dangers of him running the Fed.  This video was done over a year go so it was in no way prompted by today’s news, it’s reality and how he functions, again that portion for some bonus education and watch “Inside Job” again for more information.

Modeling for Inequality With Segmentation, Insurance Industry Uses Backwards Segmentation As Some Models Stand to Threaten Overall Democracy

The SEC has the same problem with a lawyer at the top of the helm as lawyers are no competition for the thousands of quants and actuaries working at banks, insurers and other companies across the US, the are outdone in a few seconds in the case of market on Wall Street.  DOJ, same problem as we saw with the fear of prosecuting a bank, no IT knowledge and DOJ Mann ran for the hills and Frontline documented this very well.   It will be interesting to see what this new case of “stolen code” does as you have to laugh as a technologist at the original interpretation admitted by the FBI on “subversion” with the Sergey/Goldman case. 

You need an IT Infrastructure to allow any type of regulation here, bottom line and thus so without it privacy help for consumers will go nowhere.  It’s hard, I agree for most to embrace what goes on behind the scene with intangibles as you can’t touch, feel or see the algorithms, but they are there making life impacting decisions about all of us.  FTC please take note. 

Time Has Come to License and Tax the Data Sellers of the Web, Companies, Banks, Social Networks..Any One Making a Profit-Latest Microsoft/Google Privacy War Helping the Cause –Consumers Deserve to Know What Is Being Sold and To Who in a Searchable Format

Use my idea or someone else’s but please stop kidding yourself and this goes for Congress too, get some kind of IT Infrastructure in place that has some “balls” and step up to the plate and help consumers as it’s not getting done present day.  BD

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Edith Ramirez, the Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission laid out the case for strong consumer protections regulating the private industry’s use of big data, as the agency asks Congress for the power to level civil fines against businesses for weak consumer data security.

Speaking at the Aspen Forum, Ramirez offered “A view from the lifeguard’s chair,” as her keynote was titled, alluding to her roots in coastal southern California.

“The already intricate data-collection ecosystem is becoming even more complex,” said Ramirez, whose term as commissioner ends in 2015.  Ramirez pointed to the “Internet of Things” as a growing technology that will test the bounds of the law.

The FTC, an independent federal agency that turns 100 years old next year, believes it has “an obligation” to protect consumer privacy, said Ramirez. Congress directed the FTC to prevent unfair commercial practices — “conduct that substantially harms consumers, or threatens to substantially harm consumers, which consumers cannot reasonably avoid, and where the harm outweighs the benefits,” said Ramirez, who prior to joining the FTC was a partner in the Los Angeles office of law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, al law firm specializing in intellectual property litigation with clients including Google, Shell Oil, Motorola, Samsung and Sony.

Ramirez noted that she is a big fan of big data. “The fact that decision-by-algorithm may be less than perfect is not to condemn the enterprise. Far from it. Using data-driven analytics to improve decision-making may be an important step forward. After all, human decision-making is not error-free. People often make imperfect decisions for a variety of reasons, including incomplete information, poor decisional tools, or irrational bias. But the built-in imperfections in the decision-by-algorithm process demand transparency, meaningful oversight and procedures to remediate decisions that adversely affect individuals who have been wrongly categorized by correlation. At the very least, companies must ensure that by using big data algorithms they are not accidently classifying people based on categories that society has decided — by law or ethics — not to use, such as race, ethnic background, gender, and sexual orientation.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ftc-chief-pledges-tight-reign-data?single-page=true

Kaiser Permanente IT Center Opens in Colorado–Looking to Add More Employees to Existing Base of 350

This is interesting to watch how different companies in healthcare are expanding in some areas and retreating in other.  Aetna for one pulled out of the Colorado insurance market a while back and they continue to leave other markets.  Just the size of the number of employees should give all an indication today as the time and expense required in healthcare today.  It is something that most may not even think about.  The plan is grow to approximately 700 employees when full staffed.  It sounds like they have all the “green” IT options in place as well.  In Ohio Kaiser is trying to sell their operations by contrast.

Kaiser Permanente Working On Deal to Sell Their Ohio Operations to Catholic Health Partners–Not Making Any Money Here

In addition to Epic Medical Records, Kaiser is a big client with Oracle, relying on their Identity Manager software for security, same as what Harvard and a few other places use.  Video at the link below from the Kaiser IT department along with a couple Oracle related links. 

Kaiser Permanente Using Oracle Access and Identity Manager for Healthcare Security And Some Other Oracle Solutions at Harvard and University of Maryland

What I found interesting as well is the use of the Bloom Boxes by Kaiser and I would guess they are in place here too.  IT/Data  centers use a lot of power.  There’s a 60 Minute segment video at the link below that tells you all about them, EBay, Google and others use them too. 

Kaiser Permanente to Install Bloom Box Fuel Cells at California Facilities

Kaiser is now also one of the largest employers in Colorado and they have plans for more additional clinical medical facilities in the near future.  BD 

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Nearly 350 employees are now working at the new information technology center opened by Kaiser Permanente in Colorado on Aug. 22. Kaiser officials say they want to fill an additional 95 positions there by year's end.

By 2015, Kaiser Permanente anticipates that some 700 professionals will work at the new IT center. Some of the new positions currently being recruited there include solutions architects, managers/directors, software developers, project/program managers and programmers.

"As healthcare evolves, there is an increased demand for IT solutions and support to deliver quality patient care," said Phil Fasano, executive vice president and chief information officer, in a statement. "This new IT location is a center of excellence where best in class employees use technology to ensure the delivery of high-quality, affordable healthcare to Kaiser Permanente members living in Colorado and across the country."

With more than 6,000 staff in Colorado, Kaiser Permanente is one of the state's largest private employers. This December, it will open a new multi-specialty center in Lone Tree, where approximately 130 positions will be new hires, officials say. As Kaiser adds new membership in Colorado, it's estimated that hundreds of additional jobs could be created in the state in the next three to five years.

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/new-kaiser-it-center-seeks-fill-jobs?topic=06,17,24

ONC Has Another New Contest–Toss Another App Out to the Consumers, But Hey Around 69% of all Mobile Apps Have Just Been Reported “Dead”…

This may be an odd time for such a contest as you really have to look and see what apps are “really” getting used.  They take time to use and people seem to forget that and there are good ones out there but there’s a ton of “me too’s” and the Quantified Self folks seem to think you should be using all of them that are out there (grin).  Remember the guy who tried this and almost killed himself in the process?  It was a pretty good story as he did show how much “work” it took to use a truckload of apps to improve his health…and it’s didn’t do that.  We need some balance and realize that apps can help but a lot of times the very developers that create them, don’t use them either..now that’s a big oxymoron and once the app appears there will be many magpies on the social networks who won’t use it either but they lecture you to death on why you should use it (see it all the time)…funny. 

We don’t have very good role models at HHS and I started that line of thought back in 2010 and that combined with a ton of Algo Duping out there thinking that apps are the complete answer adds to all of this.  So great, let’s get some more apps out there (grin).  This is being headed up by an analyst at the ONC and I wonder how many apps he uses:)

HHS Secretary Sebelius Still Looking for Tech Breakthroughs To Save the Day

HHS National Plan to Improve Health Literacy – Not Going To Happen Until We Focus on Using Technology (The Tool for Literacy) Which Includes Role Models at HHS And Other Places in Government

I said a while back that the ONC would be wise to be it’s own entity under the FDA as right now all are disputing as to who should control mHealth devices and the analysts and bean counter type of would have access to the folks at the FDA who look at safety and a lot of the “human” side so we wouldn’t have as much “algo duping” going on as the FDA approach leans more toward some common sense on what works.  Dr. Hamburg does well and being a doctor herself she’s in touch with the human side and doesn’t get too duped out there, good leadership.  Good example of her commencement speech from last year.  This would be a good mix as we would get the best of both worlds and not exhorted by “here’s an app to fix you”. 

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Delivers Commencement Address at Albert Einstein College of Medicine–Video

Anybody feeling any love yet?  Really when you read and watch what is going on like that Facebook HHS contest a couple years ago you do have to wonder what goes on with some of this thinking?  Again, I want to see all at the ONC uses these apps too (grin).  I do like the FDA mobile app because it’s useful, check it out.  I like the Tri-Coder app/device that’s in the works too.  Anyway the ONC folks would do well to work as a team with the FDA and vice versa. 

mHealth Why Battle Over Where the Responsibility Lies, Make the ONC A Division of the FDA, Better Collaboration and Software Engineering Exposure Both Ways Around

Not too long ago I wrote about an app for depression that was originally financed by the NIH and it’s that sells data too, so please let’s be real here and get real consumer apps out there.  If you haven’t noticed, the apps contest are slowly dying as well as the apps.  So get get those Quantified Self analysts over there with the real FDA regulators, scientists and researchers and you might get some nice blended ideas coming forward.  Everyone is not going to be a “quantified self” so we can’t expect that and we need to realize that just tossing another app at folks is not the answer, you still need the human element and balance here. 

So the winners get to to to the White House on this contest, and is Obama going to use the app too to handle his depression or other mental issues (grin)…you need to give some real thought to some of these things as again the Algo Duping and the old routine of tossing numbers at people is pushing things to the edge of where a software model begins and how it will function in the real world.  I want to know “how many people are going to use and benefit from an app?  I don’t want yet another one that sells data for sure as that’s another epidemic of it’s own that’s now even ripping at the economy with way too many using models to “flips algorithms” for profit, and nobody checks the models.    BD

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The Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT has opened a new application challenge – this one designed to arm patients with technology that helps them manage behavioral healthcare and extend treatment to more patients.

But the Behavioral Health Patient Empowerment Challenge, conducted with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, is not so much a developer contest as a call for existing mobile apps — in a rather tight timeframe.

http://www.mhealthnews.com/news/onc-launches-behavioral-health-app-challenge

Epic Medical Records System Crashes at Sutter–Down for Around 8 Hours

Nobody likes to hear these stories but it happens.  Of course all will be digging through to see what was the cause and it could have been the updates that were recently added.  Even when you do your Windows updates you get one that doesn’t load properly and you have to do a restore and do it again.  This could be the same but on a much larger basis of course.

The nurses here with complaining about not wanting electronic records should hang up that complaint though and work with it as that’s not going to change.  Again it’s unfortunate but it’s only 5 months from when it was implemented too so there’s something to be said there as well as I would guess there’s quite a bit more “work in progress” happening too.  The Epic system is customized by preferences to meet the needs of the Hospitals and thus so every installation is not exactly the same as far as features and some functionality.  It is amazing that Visual Basic, as what is used on the front end of Epic is still as stable as can be for the most part with MUMPS on the back end. 

Sutter is not the first and won’t be the last to experience a crash but as mentioned, a better back up system might be in the picture or maybe that part of the entire program is not finished yet, that can happen too as it takes a lot of time with massive software systems as such.  There has to be a back up system, both with technology and with humans when the crashes show up.  It’s not limited to Healthcare either, as look at the markets last week and this is the world of complexities we live in today.  We don’t like crashes and can’t predict them but the best thing to do is be ready for one at any time or any place and yes there was probably some additional money spent here that wasn’t planned on either, but again not much one can do there.  Not too long ago Sutter created their own HMO as well.  BD

Sutter Health Forms New HMO Plan, SignatureValue Alliance and Hires Former OptumInsight (Ingenix-United Healthcare) Executive To Run It

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On Aug. 26 at approximately 8 a.m., the Epic EHR system crashed, at which time nurses, physicians and hospital staff had no access to patient information, including what medications patients were taking or required to take and all vital patient history data, according to reports from the California Nurses Association, part of National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the U.S.

Days earlier, the EHR system was also down for eight hours due to a planned upgrade; nurses could still read medication orders and patient histories but had to record new data on paper to then be re-entered into the system later.

Gleeson explained that the California Nurses Association continues to oppose the use of health information technology and ultimately misrepresented the situation. "It comes as no surprise given the fact that we are in a protracted labor dispute with CNA," he said. 

Kevin Sweat, an emergency room RN at Eden Medical Center, a Sutter affiliate, however, said the blackout is a legitimate issue, explaining that in his 12 years as an RN he has never seen a system fail like this.  

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/setback-sutter-after-1b-ehr-system%20crashes

Insurers Certainly Like Consumer/Business Healthcare Apps: Subsidiary of Blue Cross Rolls & Couple Others Out $20 Additional Million in Funding to Audax First Backed by Cigna & Cardinal Health

What’s not to like about getting more data to sell?  I took a look at the Audax Health page and it looks like yet one more of those websites that wasn’t to educate people on how to get healthier.  Don’t we have enough of those yet…guess not when it comes to collecting and selling data and profiles.  Why do you think so many of these keep appearing.  Look at who backed the company from the start, Cigna and Cardinal Health, they sell data and run analytics up the ying yang.  Navigy, the company leading the funding is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Cross of Florida and the board of Navigy is interesting with former CEO of Aetna on board as well as the VP of partnerships of Facebook.

We need more mobile apps to collect more data?  I just read today to where around 65% of the mobile apps are dead so hey let’s get some more out there, and granted the “dead” numbers included all kinds of apps.  They have some of the usual data selling device companies as partners here, screenshot below.  I looked around but could not find one of those complex “privacy statements” so I guess the ones from the devices apply?  I don’t know, you tell me.  We have the same pitch on how unhealthy citizens are costing us money and it does but let up on it and keep it in focus and stop the constant pounding on projecting how many dollars will be saved as there will be savings but again stop the investors for trying to bank on these numbers, as they will find too they could be screwed eventually too if they suck it all in. 

 

 

 

 

You have to look at the every day life of a person and how much time do consumers have or want to devote to apps like this?  We know that Intuit and Quicken Health went away due to that fact.    They are not fun as all the sites say and require some work so it’s up to the individual and this is where the “quantified self” movement fails as the folks writing and developing as well as selling their good forget about this and some think that everyone who doesn’t use their product is not worth much.  What I like to find once in a while too are the executives and company employees that don’t use their own stuff…yeah that’s out there…do what I say and not what I do (grin).  I’ll give Microsoft credit as they have had this old saying of “eat your own dog food” and they require their employees to use their own software but again for small algorithmic web processes like this who knows.

Not too long ago Blue Cross admitted (their words not mine) that they are buying up your Visa and MasterCard records to see if their members are starting to buy clothes a size larger (grin)..that’s what they said but anyone who has worked with data knows that once they have this data in house off it goes to the hundred of quants they have on the payrolls to figure out how do query it with other data and do something else to create some new analytics or maybe more data to sell..here’s the link on the data purchasing here and it says United does it too.

Insurance Companies Are Buying Up Consumer Spending Data-Time is Here to License and Tax the Data Sellers-As Insurers Sell Tons of Data, Gets Flawed Data When Data Buyers Uses Out of Context Too

Not too long after the Credit card purchase story was out we had this to follow up with more purchasing data with wanting to track what junk food you buy, so I said…hmm…are we back to those credit card data bases?  Jawbone did their thing with a new platform too to get more data. 

Health Insurers and Others Trying to Track Junk Food Consumers Purchase–Attack of the Killer Algorithms for Corporate Profits

So is it not interesting to see insurers funding so many companies like this?  I would really like to see some hard numbers on how many get sucked in here or are maybe through their employers encouraged to sign up as self insured employers are taking names and keeping track too as many of these types of programs are targeted for employers to roll out.

You do wonder how many claims this $20 million could have paid, right?  Maybe it’s just me that thinks this way:)  If you wonder why insurance premiums keep going up, well here’s one example of why as where does the money come to fund more algorithms to mine data?  If you happen to participate and develop healthier habits, well that’s the side effect of the first focus I seem to think.   Do I get excited about these types of products, nope.  We really do need to start licensing and excise taxing the data sellers to create an avenue of regulation which does not exist today with an IT Infrastructure,  as we have way too many companies out there “flipping algorithms” for profit and it’s not balanced with producing tangibles in the US.  Our biggest fear too as consumers is the fact that data may be used “out of context” against us and anyone who has worked with data can tell you how that could and does work.

Time Has Come to License and Tax the Data Sellers of the Web, Companies, Banks, Social Networks..Any One Making a Profit-Latest Microsoft/Google Privacy War Helping the Cause –Consumers Deserve to Know What Is Being Sold and To Who in a Searchable Format

We need both but right now it’s the wild west with selling data and this is also one of the reasons that the amount of flawed data is on the rise, nobody monitors any algorithms or math models that get marketed so we have some sheep in wolves' clothing out there if you will. 

At the Medical Quack I started some new links called “Posts Worth Reading” to where I chat about some of the intangible processes that you may not be aware of that run on servers 24/7 behind the scenes to help educate all and to encourage you to ask questions when something doesn’t look right.  This is a big deal today as data selling has reached an epidemic stage and is actually beginning to affect the economy with models that change risk in some areas.  Look for this image on the link bar for more.  BD

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Audax Health, a digital health startup backed by former Apple CEO John Sculley and other technology and health executives, has raised $20 million in a Series B round of funding.  The round was led by Navigy Holdings, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Florida’s largest health insurer, and included current board member Jack Rowe, former CEO and chairman of Aetna, Dan Rose, VP of partnerships at Facebook and others.

The round follows more than $35 million previously raised from corporate partners Cigna and Cardinal Health, venture capital firm New Leaf Ventures and members of the startups’ board.

With the new funding, the company said it plans to invest in product development, build out the company’s mobile and engineering teams and expand partnerships with insurers and providers.

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/28/john-sculley-backed-audax-health-nabs-20m-to-help-people-take-healthier-steps/

Advocate Medical Group In Illinois Data Breach–4 Million Patient Records At Risk After Computers Were Stolen

So far there has no indication of any abuse but it is still early in the game.  Why they had all the information on the computers instead of a secured server again is beyond me.  All of the patients will receive a letter and the company is urging all patients to go to the website for additional information if they want to be ahead of receiving the letter.

This stands to be a huge HIPAA breach and it happened over a month ago.  Again why patient records are stored on computers is beyond me.  BD

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Roughly four million people who've used Advocate Medical Group doctors or services dating back to the 1990s may be at risk for identity theft after four computers were swiped last month.

The computers, inside a nondescript building in Park Ridge, northwest of Chicago, were stolen July 15, company officials said.

The computers didn't contain medical records but did hold patient information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and some clinical information such as treating physicians and department, diagnoses, medical record numbers, medical service codes and health insurance data, the company said in a release.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/health/advocated-medical-park-ridge-theft-220901171.html#ixzz2d8macMdc