News 08/25/05

Walter Reed Army Hospital is on the list of military installations to be closed. For now, anyway, until everyone and his brother who profits from the presence of the very generous Uncle Sam lines up with their howls of indignation and incredulity. If you've ever lived near a military facility or something run by NASA, you will understand that their prime value to the protesters isn't military or space exploration -- it's taxes, jobs, tattoo parlors, and fat-cat contractors.

WellPoint promotes Mark Boxer to President and CEO of some of its divisions. Damned annoying when anyone who's not running the whole company gets a title like President and CEO (stupid, if you ask me) but anyway, he used to be CIO there.

Long-time HIT industry pro Kay Jackson joins SCI Solutions. That's not what caught my eye in the press release. It's that their Sales VP is quoted in the press release as using the words "indefatigable," "Byzantine," and "unheralded." I don't know if he really used those words on the spur of the moment or not, but I like to think he did because they're cool words.

A good reader quote from USA Today: "When you see a $253 million verdict against drugmaker Merck in the Vioxx trial, you see an example of a seriously flawed legal system. How can jurors try a case fairly when they lack understanding of the information presented to them? As many of the jurors in the Vioxx case have stated, the scientific information provided by Merck's attorney was not comprehensible to them. How, then, can the jurors come to a just verdict? Being a medical professional, I am afraid of losing a malpractice case — not because of medical error, but because of jurors' emotions, sentiments and lack of education or understanding. " As I always say, it isn't whether you're right or wrong, it's what twelve senior citizens and K-mart clerks think. After all, the really smart people wangle out of jury duty (and of course, complain loudly about the idiot jurors who had to replace them.)

It occurred to me as I was doing the Scott Shreeve interview: how many of us have actually seen VistA running? All that VA press about it and I bet few in the "public" sector, other than physicians, have seen it in action. Maybe you can just ask your local VA for a look-see, but I always assumed not.

Idiotic physician lawsuit of the week: a 16-year-old boy overdosed on Ecstasy at a party and later died. His mother is suing eight teenaged party attendees and a cardiologist for not seeking help fast enough. The mother claims that once of the teens called the cardiologist's house and was told to bring the boy there, where the teens tried to revive him. The cardiologist's attorney says he wasn't home that evening. The mother claims wrongful death (aren't they all?) and seems to feel no responsibility for having her son attend an Ecstasy party. It's a sad outcome, so naturally money must be sought.

Idiotic hospital lawsuit of the week, this time with the hospital as the plaintiff: Desert Valley Hospital's CNO and HR director claim they were fired by CEO Lex Reddy. The hospital sued, claiming breach of confidentiality for copying patient records. The employees' explanation: physician and hospital chairman of the board Prem Reddy, brother-in-law of the CEO, was drinking on ED duty and had established a triage system based on insurance rather than medical need and they were documenting his behavior per hospital policy.

An unnamed, "735-bed, JCAHO-accredited, academic medical center, named in 2003 U.S. News and World Report as one of “America’s Best Hospitals," using CareCast, and in Omaha (Nebraska Medical Cent ... well, that would be a wild guess out of all those massive numbers of CareCast clients cluttering up Omaha, so I don't want to speculate wildly and spoil the recruiting firm's well-kept secret) is looking for a VP of IS. Not too sure about an Omaha relo? Hold on and read the ad. "Enjoy a world-class zoo ..." Whoa, pack up the kids, honey, we're moving to Nebraska and that world-class zoo! I remember a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Calvin: "Let's go to the zoo today." Hobbes: "Okay. And when we're done, let's tour a prison." Think about it.

News, rumors, ideas, interview subjects, those photos and screenshots I keep asking for: I'm here.