Healthy good

Body Browser: Think Google Earth for the Human Body!

Body Browser: Think Google Earth for the Human Body!

Yesterday Google released Body Browser. Think Google Earth for human anatomy. Body Browser is described as a 3-dimensional multi-layered an...

Thanksgiving 2010: Will You Engage With Grace?

<body readability="0">Will You Engage with Grace this Thanksgiving weekend? I hope so.For the third year running I am participating in the Thanksgiving holiday Engage with Grace Blog Rally. A viral effort to communicate the importance of having a conversation with your family and loved ones around end of life care wishes. Would you prefer to die in a hospital, or at home? Can your family correctly describe how you would want to be treated in the case of a terminal illness or sudden traumatic accident? Does your family know where you keep your living will and advanced directive?At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get the conversation about end-of-life started. They’re not easy questions, but they are important. The key is having the conversation before it’s too late. Throughout the year I continue to promote the Engage with Grace effort (and so can you) by using the One Slide (see the slide below) at the end of my power point presentations.So in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, take time after your dinner, turn off the TV, and take time with your family and friends to engage in the Engage with Grace conversation.Thanks to Alexandra Drane, Paul Levy, and many other health care bloggers and professionals for continuing to inspire and share the Engage with Grace message. Learn more about Engage with Grace and the One Slide Project at http://www.engagewithgrace.org/.Some other resources you may want to read and explore: My 2008 Engage with Grace Blog post where I shared how Alexandra Drane's talk at the 2008 Health 2.0 Conference personally touched me because of my experience as a young 12 year old boy who lost his mother to cancer who was allowed to die at home surrounded by her husband and family. <img border="0" height="300" src="/theoneslide.jpg" width="400"> </body> <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthCareBlogLaw/~3/lK-qxFlKcaw/thanksgiving-2010-will-you-engage-with.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a>

Thanksgiving 2010: Will You Engage With Grace?

Will You Engage with Grace this Thanksgiving weekend? I hope so. For the third year running I am participating in the Thanksgiving holiday ...

WVHIN: Public Comment Period on Proposed Privacy and Security Policies

<body readability="0">The West Virginia Health Information Network (WVHIN), West Virginia's health information exchange, has issued proposed privacy and security policies and is seeking public comments on the proposed policies from December 3, 2010 through January 3, 2011. The WVHIN is a public/private partnership created in 2006 under W.Va. Code 16-29G-1 et seq. and is charged with building a secure electronic health information system for the exchange of patient data among physicians, hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, other care providers, and other stakeholders.The proposed privacy and security policies that are available for review and comment are as follows: Pursuant to a press release from the WVHIN on the proposed privacy and security policies: <blockquote>“WVHIN has been developing our core privacy and security policies that will guide us in our initial health information exchange implementation and pilot for 2011. We expect to have changes to the policies as a result of learning how to improve our operations through testing in the pilot period.““The policies have been developed over the past few months by the WVHIN Privacy and Security Committee and legal counsel, and are based upon an established WVHIN Privacy Framework and national best practices recommendations in Health Information Exchange (HIE). The committee is made up of stakeholder organizations including provider groups, state government, and consumer groups. The committee followed a cycle of reviewing and vetting the policies that have resulted in our drafts.”“We have established a public comment period for the draft policies and would like to invite any member of the public to comments on these policies. Thus, we would like to request your assistance in forwarding this e-mail to any parties you may feel would like to comment on the policies. We welcome all feedback”, according to Business Development Manager Samantha Stamper.</blockquote>Written comments on the proposed privacy and security policies may be submitted to Samantha Stamper, Business Development Manager by January 3, 2011 at sstamper@wvhin.org.</body> <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthCareBlogLaw/~3/ftyVyL_3CPk/wvhiin-public-comment-period-on.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a>

WVHIN: Public Comment Period on Proposed Privacy and Security Policies

The West Virginia Health Information Network (WVHIN), West Virginia's health information exchange, has issued proposed privacy and secu...

West Virginia Connect

<body readability="0">Today's Charleston Gazette features an article on a new health care demonstration project, West Virginia Connect, funded by a $36 million federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant.The article indicates that the funding will be for eight West Virginia primary care clinics to provide preventative care services to eligible health consumers for a flat $35 per month. The services will include unlimited doctor visits, immunizations and screenings, chronic disease management, and minor surgical procedures.To be eligible to particpate a person must have a job, be between 19 and 64, and make less than $43,320 for a single person or $88,200 for a family of four. In return, participants have to let the state fold their medical data - blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. - into an anonymous 10,000-person database the state plans to use to make more informed choices as health-care reform unfolds.The article indicates that the primary care centers involved say the project is intended to: generate useful information about uninsured West Virginians and cost-effective ways to treat chronic diseases;demonstrate lowered emergency room usage, hospital stays, and times when people don't show up for appointments;develop an electronic patient tracking system other centers can use;create a catalogue of best practices that help people take better care of their own health;help the health system get ready for 2014, when hundreds of thousands will be newly insured through federal reform.This is the first I have heard about this demonstration project. Other than this Grantee Project Abstract at HRSA website, I was unable to find any additional information or links about the demonstration project online. The article indicates that the project is currently governed by a steering committee of the DHHR secretary, insurance commissioner, and director of the GO HELP office.</body> <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthCareBlogLaw/~3/rEQpMFgchCY/west-virginia-connect.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a>

West Virginia Connect

Today's Charleston Gazette features an article on a new health care demonstration project, West Virginia Connect, funded by a $36 milli...

Leaves of 3 Let Them Be: Poison Ivy Advice from Dr. Coffield

<body readability="0">Last week I was looking through some old printed emails and I ran across advice about poison ivy from my dad, LeMoyne Coffield. Since Spring is on the way and the poison ivy is starting to grow I thought I would share this with everyone (including some good advice for the golfers).My dad was not only my dad but he was my (our) family doctor. He was a lot of peoples family doctor. He had a wonderful way of providing advice and recommendations to his patients. His medical advice wasn't always the easiest and quickest solution - but it was usually the best long term practical advice.I wrote him an email back in the Spring of 2000. I had been cleaning up an area behind our house and had gotten a bad case of poison ivy on my arms, neck, and face. I started the email by saying, "Thought I would let you know that spring has arrived -- I got my first bout of poison ivy. Some lessons you taught me as a child (and adult) have never gotten through." As children he was always pointing out poison ivy, showing us what it looked like, and hoping that we would learn how to spot it from a distance. My email went on to say that I had gone to see my primary care doctor and he had prescribed an oral steroid (prednisone) and I said, "What do you think?" Like I often did - I was emailing him for his second opinion. Below is his advice back to me. Good advice for anyone who is starting their spring yard cleaning.By the way - if you don't know what poison ivy looks like look at this and remember, "Leaves of 3 let them be."<img border="0" src="C:\Program Files\ABS\Auto Blog Samurai\data\Healthy good\health\Picture+002.jpg"></body> <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthCareBlogLaw/~3/uB7yh5RDUFs/leaves-of-3-let-them-be-poison-ivy.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a>

Leaves of 3 Let Them Be: Poison Ivy Advice from Dr. Coffield

Last week I was looking through some old printed emails and I ran across advice about poison ivy from my dad, LeMoyne Coffield. Since Sprin...