Contributing Member of the Healthcare Councils

GLG News by this Author

Going to a fully functional electronic medical record - is the task overwhelming?

March 27, 2009

Analysis of:U.S. Hospitals Slow to Adopt E-Records | online.wsj.com

Only approximately ten percent of hospitals have a fully functional electronic medical record.  Causes sited for this low adoption rate are cost, the immensity of the task, physician resistance and the sparcity of truly comprehensive EMR packages.  There are definite advantages including clarity of documentation, completeness of documentation, timeline identification, ease of access.  Many hospitals information services are kept busy with the daily efforts of maintaining a multidimensional information system in a very complex environment.  Likely the adoption rate will accelerate as EMR software matures making implementation easier and more comprehensive.one expects a company that could offer a turnkey product would do well, especially if it coordinated inpatient, outpatient ER and specialty clinic care.

Walmart strides into the digital medical record, but will it cure our national paperwork disease

March 16, 2009

Analysis of:Wal-Mart Plans to Market Digital Health Records System | www.nytimes.com

Walmart in a well-timed move with  the Obama stimulus, has created a patient electronic record under the control of the patient.  It empowers the consumer and so is very attractive but is it the solution to the ever enlarging mountains of medical paperwork? Walmart targets the physician in a small practice, allowing them immediate access to the records of all the physican participants instantly.    It could become the dominant company.  Small companies with electronic record products will fall by the wayside but products directed at large institutions will not.  Thuge piles of documentation will remain.

This trial confirms zevalin's effectiveness - limited prescribing remains a block to timely use.

November 16, 2007

Analysis of:Major Phase 3 Trial Shows Zevalin(R) Extends Progression-Free Survival in one of the most common types of Lymphoma | www.pipelinereview.com

Zevalin represents the first of an exciting new class of drugs which in many ways can be thought of as a chemotheurapeutic agent though the cell death mechanism is ionizing radiation. With a high response rate (82%) and a low toxicity -reversable hematologic effect only, it has the potential to be a widely implemented antineoplastic agent.  Unfortunately, it has three non-medical issues - significant work effort for limited reimbursement, very limited range of NHL disease in the FDA  approval, and  general concerns about the potential harm from a treatment involving radiation in the Medical Oncology community. 

Page : 11 to 3 of 3