Thursday, November 29, 2012

Small Business Healthcare Consortium




Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

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Featured Report: OIG: CMS' poor auditing leaves Meaningful Use program 'vulnerable'


Fierce EMR
Nov,29,2012
by: Marla Durben Hirsch
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is falling down on the job when it comes to verifying if providers receiving incentive payments are entitled to them, according to a new report from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Inspector General. The report blasts CMS for not verifying the accuracy of providers' attestation information both before and after paying the incentive, leaving the program "vulnerable." "Currently, CMS has not implemented strong prepayment safeguards," the report states. "CMS does not verify the accuracy of professionals' and hospitals' self-reported information prior to payment because data necessary for verifications are not readily available. CMS also does not direct high-risk professionals and hospitals to submit supporting documentation for prepayment review."
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This Week's Healthcare News


iHealthBeat
Report: Medicare EHR Incentive Program Vulnerable to Abuse

Nov,29,2012
by: Staff
CMS and HHS need to strengthen their oversight of Medicare's electronic health record incentive payment program because it is vulnerable to potential fraud and abuse, according to a report by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the New York Times reports (Abelson, New York Times, 11/29). Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR systems can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. Between 2011 and 2016, CMS expects to make about $6.6 billion in incentive payments to physicians, hospitals and other providers for implementing EHR systems that meet certain standards.
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ModernHealthcare.com
AMA report sees monopolies in insurance markets

Nov,28,2012
by: Ashok Selvam
The American Medical Association's annual report on the health insurance marketplace suggests that 70% of metropolitan markets lack competition among insurers, prompting a quick critical response from a payers trade group. The Chicago-based AMA, in its "Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets" 2012 report, states, "It appears that consolidation has resulted in the possession and exercise of health insurer monopoly power."
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Healthcare Info Security
How to Minimize Medical Device Risks

Nov,29, 2012
by: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Malware and hackers present potential security threats to wireless medical devices and safety risks to the patients who use them. But healthcare organizations and device manufacturers can take several steps to curtail those risks, says an ethical hacker who has demonstrated the vulnerability of various devices. Barnaby Jack, director of embedded device security at services firm IOActive, recently demonstrated how an implanted wireless heart defibrillator can be hacked from 50 feet away to deliver a potentially dangerous shock. About a year earlier, Jack and a research team at his former employer McAfee demonstrated how they could use a PC and an antenna to gain control of an insulin pump (see: Medical Device Hack: A Turning Point?). Jack declines to elaborate how his latest hacking demonstration was accomplished in order to prevent copy-cats.
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium
Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Featured Report: Record Kindle Sales, while iPad Mini Slumps on Supply Woes



Wireless Week
Nov,27,2012
by: Andrew Berg
Amazon's line of Kindle eReaders and tablets once again broke Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales records for the company, while Apple's iPad Mini struggles with supply issues. Amazon’s Kindle numbers were helped along by a Cyber Monday sale on the Kindle Fire, which went for $129 yesterday. The tablet normally sells for $159. Amazon said the Kindle Fire HD has achieved the most gifted and most wished for product on Amazon worldwide since launch, while 9 out of the top 10 best-selling products on Amazon worldwide since September are Kindles, Kindle accessories and digital content. “Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fires have held the top 4 spots on the Amazon worldwide best sellers list since launch, and that was before the busiest shopping weekend of the year,” said Dave Limp, vice president of Amazon Kindle.
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This Week's Wireless News
RCR Wireless U.S.
IBM: ‘Cyber Monday’ was biggest spending day ever

Nov,27,2012
by: Kelly Hill
“Cyber Monday,” also known as Nov. 26, was the biggest spending day ever according to cloud-based analytics by IBM – and mobile accounted for a significant portion of the holiday shopping blitz. This year’s Cyber Monday spending grew by 30.3% over last year, as retailers successfully engaged customers across multiple channels. According to IBM’s figures, more than 18% of consumers who were shopping on Monday used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s website; that’s an increase of more than 70% compared with 2011. And consumers weren’t merely using their phones for browsing: mobile sales jumped by a stunning 96%, reaching almost 13% of the day’s total sales.
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McClatchy
A jobs market bright spot? ‘App economy’ sizzles

Nov,15,2012
by: Rob Hotakainen
WASHINGTON — Ross Waycaster designed the first of his four mobile apps as a high school senior in Tupelo, Miss., a game called Super Marrio Jump that’s been downloaded from the Apple store more than 20,000 times, earning him more than $16,000. “I have an entrepreneurial spirit, so we’ll see where that takes me,” said Waycaster, 21, who’s now a junior at Mississippi State University in Starkville. It could lead him to a top-paying job in a sizzling new industry, one that might provide the United States with a big opportunity to increase its exports in coming years.
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Fierce Wireless
IDC: iPhone, Android to overtake BlackBerry in enterprise market for first time

Nov,27, 2012
by: Phil Goldstein
Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and smartphones running Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android will outgun Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry for the first time in 2012 in the enterprise device market, according to research firm IDC. IDC reports that businesses are buying iPhones "in droves." The firm said Android devices are mainly the phones that workers are bringing with them to the office, according to Computerworld. IDC tracks both business-bought ("corporate liable") and employee-bought ("employee liable") smartphones.
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Health and Wellness Seminars Coming January 2013

Chicagoland Healthcare Professionals:
Are you concerned about your practice can meet the Meaningful Use 1 and 2 regulations? Are your still struggling to understand and complete your EHR network? Do you know if you even qualify for the over $20 billion dollar EHR Incentive program funds? If answered YES to any of these questions.
Then make plans this January, 9, 2013 to attend the Health and Wellness Seminar hosted by Chicago's Business Partners of Uptown Chamber of Commerce . These seminars will explain in clear English not tech speak how to understand and complete an EHR for your practice how fund it and real solutions on how to find and IT partner help you complete your EHR and qualify for the EHR Incentive program. The first seminar Understanding EHR will take you step by step on how EHR works and how to create an EHR network. We will be teaching this totally interactive seminar and giving you real solutions to your EHR problem.
So make plans to attend this seminar and get the answers you need to help your practice meet all of the Meaningful Use Rules.

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

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Monday, November 26, 2012

Featured Report: 9 Ways Mobile Commerce Will Increase Your Holiday Sales





CIO Enterprise
Nov,19,2012
by: Jennifer Lonoff Schiff
CIO — In its recent Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper survey, MarketLive reports that 16 percent of respondents planned to do all or most of their holiday shopping via their smartphone or tablet--up from 3 percent in 2011. In addition, according to the National Retail Federation holiday consumer spending survey, more than half (53 percent) of shoppers who own smartphones and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of those who own tablets plan to use their devices to research and purchase holiday gifts. While mobile commerce, mobile apps and QR codes have been around for several holiday seasons, many retailers are still not availing themselves of these important marketing and sales tools--or are using them ineffectively. And that reluctance to harness mobile or inability to leverage it may be costing businesses sales.
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This Week's Mobile Marketing News

Mobile Marketer
Mobile is fastest growing segment of social advertising: report

Nov,26,2012
by: Chantal Tode
Mobile social ad revenues will grow at a faster pace than desktop social ad revenues to reach $1.47 billion by 2016, according to a new report from BIA/Kelsey. The fall update to BIA/Kelsey’s U.S. Local Media Forecast reveals that, although mobile social advertising is expected to grow quickly, it will still struggle to capture full revenue share because of several limitations. This is the first time BIA/Kelsey has broken out mobile numbers within its social advertising forecast.
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Tech Crunch
ABI: Cumulative Mobile App Revenues To Exceed $30B By End Of 2012, Nearly Double 2011 Figure; Now “Major Digital Industry”

Nov,23,2012
by: Natasha Lomas
How much money have mobile apps made? By the end of the year the cumulative revenues of the global mobile app market will have exceeded $30 billion, says analyst ABI Research. This figure includes money from pay-per-download apps, in-app purchases, subscriptions and in-app advertisements — the whole app kit-and-caboodle if you will. The figure, which comes from ABI Research’s Mobile Application Markets Research Service, is nearly double the amount of money apps had generated by the end of 2011, according to the analyst.
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e-Marketer
Trends for 2013: What Fragmentation Means for 'Critical Mass

Nov,26, 2012
by: Staff
Decades of channel expansion have made fragmentation an indelible feature of the marketing landscape. One of the curious qualities of fragmentation is that it yields audiences that appear large in aggregate form, but are actually smaller in real terms. This quality tends to hold true regardless of channel. For example, more consumers watch TV, and indeed, by eMarketer’s calculations, watch more of it, but those larger audiences are dispersed across multiple screens, or stream TV content to their PCs and smart devices. With rare exception, the mass audience accustomed to appointment viewing is long gone. Read more at
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Health and Wellness Seminars Coming January 2013



Chicagoland Healthcare Professionals:
Are you concerned about your practice can meet the Meaningful Use 1 and 2 regulations? Are your still struggling to understand and complete your EHR network? Do you know if you even qualify for the over $20 billion dollar EHR Incentive program funds? If answered YES to any of these questions.
Then make plans this January, 9, 2013 to attend the Health and Wellness Seminar hosted by Chicago's Business Partners of Uptown Chamber of Commerce . These seminars will explain in clear English not tech speak how to understand and complete an EHR for your practice how fund it and real solutions on how to find and IT partner help you complete your EHR and qualify for the EHR Incentive program. The first seminar Understanding EHR will take you step by step on how EHR works and how to create an EHR network. We will be teaching this totally interactive seminar and giving you real solutions to your EHR problem.
So make plans to attend this seminar and get the answers you need to help your practice meet all of the Meaningful Use Rules.

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

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