ABL HEALTHCARE ONLINE
AUGUST 21, 2008

Welcome New Members!
Dan Edmonds-Waters, Kaiser Permanente
Philip Paul, CERECONS - Unlimited Innovations, Inc.

AARP Provides Members with Hearing Care Program
Aperio Event to Showcase Growth of Digital Pathology
Biosensors Hails Record Product Revenues
CMS: Lower Medicare Part D Costs than Expected in 2009
CIGNA Voted "Best Managed Health Care Organization"
DWT Details Applicability of "Red Flag Rules" to Healthcare Industry
El Camino First in Bay Area to Implant Advanced Device
HeartMath Provides Free Webinar on Advancing Personal Growth
IBM Supports Mission to Improve Access to Healthcare Data
IntelliDOT's Bedside Medication System Chosen by North Carolina Hospital
Medsphere Relocates to North San Diego County
Orqis Heart Failure Treatment Succeeds at Italian Hospital

MIMI GRANT'S BLOG

HEALTHCARE & GOVERNMENT - HEADLINES

Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Medi-Cal Payment Cuts
Medicare Comparison Web Site Adds Mortality Data
Doc Groups Earn $16.7 Million in Demo Project     

HEALTHCARE TRENDS - HEADLINES

American Medical Visits Top 1 Billion in 2006
Most Patients Want Docs to Use e-Records
Significant Growth in Medical Tourism and Retail Clinics
Residents Continue to Support Massachusetts Health Reform Law

9/3 - Orange County Round Table
9/11 - Northern California Round Table
9/17 - Medical Devices Round Table
9/19 - Los Angeles Round Table
9/19 - ABL & Chihuly @ the deYoung Social, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
9/23 - Membership-wide 1950s-Themed "Cruise" Social @ Automobile Driving Museum, El Segundo

Dan Edmonds-Waters, Kaiser Permanente
Dan Edmonds-Waters is Vice President of the Health Plan Business Performance Management & Sales Operations for Kaiser Permanente nationally, where he leads functions and initiatives focused on performance, consistency and leveraging of resources across Kaiser Permanente's Health Plan functions and market segments. Kaiser Permanente serves 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Previously, Dan was Director of Performance Management and Sales Systems as well as Chief of Staff to Kaiser Permanente's Senior VP of Sales and Account Management. Earlier, he was KP's VP of Capital and Strategic Planning, and Chief of Staff to the President and CEO. Before KP, Dan worked for the Lewin Group, a strategy consulting firm, and the University of Michigan Hospitals. Referred by Kaiser's Artie Southam, Dan has joined the Northern California Round Table.

Philip Paul, CERECONS - Unlimited Innovations, Inc.
Philip Paul is a founder and CEO of Unlimited Innovations, Inc., a software firm that serves clients in various industries with domain-specific products and services. CERECONS -- the company's Healthcare division -- provides software that dramatically increases the efficiency of healthcare delivery while reducing the cost and time associated with day-to-day management and administrative procedures and simplifying transaction processing and communications. Philip has spent nearly 20 years providing management consulting and IT strategic planning services to organizations ranging in size from start-up to Fortune 50, including Cedars-Sinai Health Systems, HealthCare Partners, *Escribe.com, Alteer, Kaiser Permanente, eHealthContracts.com, Greater Valley Medical Group, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Pepsi, TRW, American Savings Bank, SAIC, PaymentMaid.com and Pinkerton Securities. Prior to founding Unlimited Innovations, Philip held senior management and technical roles at SHL Systemhouse, a systems integration and consulting services company that has since merged with EDS. An ABL Innovations in Healthcare^SM Semi-Finalist, Philip has joined the Orange County Round Table.

AARP Provides Members with Hearing Care Program
AARP, where Jennie Chin Hansen is President, announced that AARP Services and HearUSA have formed a new relationship to provide AARP’s 39+ million members with a choice of specialized hearing care solutions with flexible product features and access to thousands of hearing care professionals, including audiologists and hearing instrument specialists. The new program will include state-of-the-art technologies at a significant savings when compared to other hearing programs.

Aperio Event to Showcase Growth of Digital Pathology
Aperio Technologies, where Dirk Soenksen is CEO, and CAP Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the College of American Pathologists, have announced the fourth annual Pathology Visions conference, October 26-28 in San Diego, which will include the latest topics in digital pathology, a product exhibition hall, and a dinner event aboard the USS Midway.

Biosensors Hails Record Product Revenues
Biosensors International Group, where Mike Kleine is CEO, announced record product revenues for its first quarter of fiscal year 2009 -- $17.1 million, an 84% increase over the $9.3 million reported in Q108 -- primarily attributable to increased drug-eluting stent sales. This sales increase is directly related to the commercial launch of the company’s BioMatrix drug-eluting stent system during the quarter. Also, sales of other interventional cardiology products experienced strong growth.

CMS: Lower Medicare Part D Costs than Expected in 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, where Dave Sayen is Region IX Administrator, estimates that the average monthly premium that Medicare beneficiaries will pay for standard Part D coverage in 2009 will be $28 -- about 37% lower than the $44.12 originally projected when the benefit was established in 2003. The average expected premium for basic coverage in 2009 is about $3 higher than the actual average for 2008, due to general trends in drug costs, the phase-out of a CMS demonstration project, and higher plan estimates for catastrophic coverage based on prior experience.

CIGNA Voted "Best Managed Health Care Organization"
Readers of Business Insurance Magazine have chosen CIGNA, where Chris De Rosa is Southern California President and GM of CIGNA HealthCare, as offering the nation’s best health plans and employee assistance program in 2008. The annual awards recognize the companies that offer the best combination of quality, service, value and innovation, according to the magazine’s subscribers -- executives from multiple fields responsible for the purchase and administration of corporate insurance/self-insurance, risk management and employee benefits programs.

DWT Details Applicability of "Red Flag Rules" to Healthcare Industry
Davis Wright Tremaine, where Gerry Hinkley, JD, is a Partner, has published a new Advisory Bulletin, "Health Care Providers: Don't Miss the Red Flags," prompted by the Nov. 1, 2008 compliance deadline for implementing identity theft prevention programs pursuant to the identity theft red flag rules. Healthcare providers should be aware of the Red Flag Rules, should revisit their existing privacy and security compliance programs to ensure that the requirements of the rules have been addressed, and should take other actions to bring themselves into compliance with applicable requirements, according to DWT.

El Camino First in Bay Area to Implant Advanced Device
El Camino Hospital, where Ken Graham is CEO, was recently among the first in the nation and the first in the Bay Area to implant the new cardiac-resynchronization-therapy defibrillator, COGNISTM. The advanced device -- 50% thinner than others available on the market -- is the latest generation of implantable devices used to treat heart failure, offering greater longevity and a full back-up battery and operation system with self-correcting software to protect the patient.

HeartMath Provides Free Webinar on Advancing Personal Growth
HeartMath, LLC, where Bruce Cryer is CEO, has made available for complementary download its "Insights and Actions for Advancing Personal Growth" Webinar -- an hour discussion on the benefits of replacing negative emotions with positive emotions like sincerity, ease and appreciation and the tools that can help you accomplish this.

IBM Supports Mission to Improve Access to Healthcare Data
IBM, where Bill Craddock is Associate Partner and Client Service Leader West of Global Business Services, announced that Shared Health, one of the nation's largest public/private Health Information Exchanges, is using IBM InfoSphere software and services to power its newly-launched Clinical Xchange data exchange platform. The IBM software enables a Web-based system that supports millions of patients by merging key clinical data with administrative data from numerous sources and formats.

IntelliDOT's Bedside Medication System Chosen by North Carolina Hospital
IntelliDOT, where Tom Klopack is CEO, announced that 206-bed Halifax Regional Medical Center has implemented IntelliDOT Bedside Medication Administration, a wireless system that matches the correct patient with the correct medication and method of delivery at the bedside. The hospital was particularly impressed that all functions could be completed using a small handheld device in contrast to the more common large and cumbersome solutions commonly referred to as Computers on Wheels (COWs).

Medsphere Relocates to North San Diego County
Medsphere Systems Corp., where Mike Doyle is CEO, has moved its corporate headquarters from Orange County to 1917 Palomar Oaks Way, Carlsbad, CA 92008, expanding its available physical space by 50%. The move was necessitated by two primary factors: persistent demand for Medsphere OpenVista, the company's cost-effective Open Source electronic health record solution, and rapid expansion of a collaborative Open Source community oriented around OpenVista and focused on enhancing quality of care and increasing clinical and operational efficiencies.

Orqis Heart Failure Treatment Succeeds at Italian Hospital
Orqis Medical, where Ken Charhut is CEO, announced the recent first use of its Cancion System at a hospital in Milan, Italy to treat a patient who had been hospitalized for six months with heart failure and who was not responding to optimized medical management. Treatment with the Cancion System improved the patient's health to the point where he was successfully discharged home and, at press release time, has remained out of the hospital over 65 days for any heart failure-related conditions.

Leading the Way to a Healthier Workplace
Until recently it appeared Corporate America was leading the charge in emphasizing health in healthcare. Cover stories from alumni magazines to Business Week have been reflecting how companies are encouraging their employees to complete Personal Health Records and enjoy a healthier lifestyle; some are even swapping out to “healthy vending machines.” Results include not only a healthier workforce, but one that’s more productive and enjoys lower overall healthcare costs/premiums.  

Even better news is that now hospitals and health systems are getting into the act. Steve Richter, Sr. VP of Keenan Healthcare, recently shared with his fellow LA Round Table Members the results of Keenan’s most impressive “2008 Health Care Benefits Strategy Survey.” Included, among the extensive data he presented, was that “Risk Reduction Strategies” – initiatives to improve the health status of your workforce, substituting prevention and early intervention for higher-cost acute treatments – is the strategy that’s most rapidly growing in implementation, planning and consideration to implement among the 200+ hospitals/systems they interviewed. 

About a third of ABL’s Healthcare CEO Members have now responded to our own Wellness Survey, and about a quarter of all of our Members, including our Technology Members. Clearly, the #1 reason 72% do not have a program in place is a perceived lack of resources (“people or financial”), followed by “just haven’t found the time.” It appears our Members are not alone in this regard. When California’s Department of Health Services and Hospital Association teamed to honor those among the State’s 400 general acute hospitals/systems with a basic program in place, only 40 applied. We can do better than that! That’s why in blogs and special sessions to come we’ll be profiling organizations that do have Wellness Programs in place and sharing what they’re doing to reap the rewards they’re already seeing. Just some of those benefits reported to our survey include: Employees’ Improved Physical Fitness (67%), Employees’ Weight Reduction and Companies’ Improved Employee Relations and Morale (tied at 56%). It sounds to me that returns like those are worth at least a minimal investment of resources! How these 28% of companies are achieving these results – and what it’s costing them – will be the subject of our next INSIGHT.

POST A RESPONSE   |   Mimi Grant's Blog Post: 8/21/2008

HEALTHCARE & GOVERNMENT - IN BRIEF

Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Medi-Cal Payment Cuts  
A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles temporarily blocked a 10% cut to Medi-Cal reimbursements for doctors, dentists, pharmacies and other healthcare providers. Judge Christina Snyder ruled that the cuts likely would affect Medi-Cal beneficiaries' access to care. Under federal law, state lawmakers are required to consider the effect of Medicaid reimbursement rate cuts on quality and access to care, Snyder ruled, adding that state officials did not show that they had taken into account any factors other than the state budget deficit. If the Medi-Cal rate cuts are ultimately rejected, higher reimbursements will add $575 million to the state budget deficit, according to the Department of Finance. (Sacramento Bee & San Francisco Chronicle, 8/20/08)

Medicare Comparison Web Site Adds Mortality Data
This week for the first time, CMS released mortality rates for Medicare beneficiaries at individual hospitals on its Hospital Compare Web site. CMS also added more than two dozen new measures of quality to the site. The data were given to USA Today early "to reach the widest possible audience." The data cover mortality rates for three conditions -- heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia -- which are "widely viewed as yardsticks of a hospital's overall performance." It’s the second update to the site this year. In March, CMS included patient-satisfaction data to the already existing 39 quality measures it tallies and ranks. (USA Today & HITS - Modern Healthcare's daily IT e-newsletter, 8/20/08)

Physician Groups Earn $16.7 Million in Demo Project
Ten physician groups earned $16.7 million in incentive payments for improving the quality of care delivered to patients with heart conditions and diabetes during the second year of a CMS demonstration project, the agency announced. All participants in the Physician Group Practice Demonstration achieved performance goals on at least 25 out of 27 quality markers for patients with diabetes, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. (Modern Physician, 8/14/08)

HEALTHCARE TRENDS - IN BRIEF

American Medical Visits Top 1 Billion in 2006
Patients in the U.S. made an estimated 1.1 billion visits to physician offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments in 2006, an average of four visits per person per year, according to new healthcare statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Healthcare Daily Data Byte, 8/18/08)

Most Patients Want Docs to Use e-Records
Nearly 90% of respondents to a recent Harris Interactive survey said they want their doctors to be able to share information electronically, and another 71% said they want their doctors to be able to order prescriptions by way of computers. However, they were less certain about their own electronic role: 44% said that they would access their own medical records via the Internet if available, and 48% said they would book appointments and e-mail their doctors, if possible. Only 8% and 18%, respectively, said they were able to do that now. (Modern Physician, 8/7/08)

Significant Growth in Medical Tourism and Retail Clinics
More than 750,000 Americans left the country last year for less expensive medical treatments, a number projected to grow to six million by 2010, potentially costing the U.S. healthcare system billions, according to research released by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Also, the number of retail clinics in operation has soared by 220% from just 250 clinics in 2006 to more than 800 serving patients by the end of 2007. Study findings included: *Two in five respondents were interested in pursuing treatment abroad if quality was comparable and the savings were 50% or more. *The number of outbound medical tourists is projected to rise to 15.75 million in 2017, representing a potential $30.3 to $79.5 billion spent abroad by Americans. As a result, the potential lost revenue for U.S. healthcare providers could top $228.5 to $599.5 billion. *Medical care in countries like India, Thailand and Singapore can cost as little as 10% of the cost of comparable U.S. care, often including airfare and a stay at a resort. *16% of consumers have already used a walk-in clinic in a retail setting, and 34% said they might do so in the future. *Consumers expressed interest in seeking care from alternative providers (38%), connecting with their doctors via e-mail (76%), accessing online medical records and test results (78%), as well as using self-monitoring devices at home (88%), if they were to develop a condition that required regular monitoring. (Healthcare Daily Data Byte, 8/14/08)

Residents Continue to Support Massachusetts Health Reform Law
According to a new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, 69% of Massachusetts residents support the healthcare reform law aimed at providing health coverage for nearly all of that state's residents. 22% oppose the law and 9% say they do not know enough about it to give an opinion. Since the law's passage in 2006, public support has increased slightly: 69% in 2008 compared to 67% in 2007 and 61% in 2006. (Healthcare Daily Data Byte, 7/29/08)