Personal Health Cloud

Do It For The Kittens!

2012-01-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is a great infographic illustrating what we all stand to lose from just one, albeit extraordinary website, Wikipedia, if the misguided, benighted Congress decides to kowtow to the movie and music industries.

Please note that the Cheezburger Network, the definitive source of all things feline adorable, is blacked out today and could be gone…forever!

Created by: Online University

Appeals court backs Obama healthcare law | Reuters

2011-11-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

This news report was just published - Appeals court backs Obama healthcare law | Reuters:

This means that President Obama's healthcare law got a bit closer to becoming a real reality.

I went without health coverage for more than 20 years for myself and my son. Fortunately, we come from hearty, healthy stock and suffered no illnesses, broken bones, or other health catastrophes. Because I didn't have health insurance, I did everything possible to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle for both of us with plenty of exercise and the best diet possible, sometimes on as little as $25 per week.

I'm a big believer in Obama as well as the healthcare mandates. It doesn't mean that those who absolutely cannot afford to pay for health insurance will go without, but it sure as shootin' will go a long way toward ending personal abuse of the health systems by people who can afford some form of health insurance.

I also believe that not only is it time for people to truly take control of their health in every way, that this will be a big incentive toward doing exactly that, adopting a healthier lifestyle, less dependence on letting a pill or a surgery replace common sense, salads, and exercise.

In my life, all the people who have had insurance are the ones in poor health and on multiple medications. What's up with that?!

Perhaps you think this is a superficial attitude, that I'm ignoring multiple "important issues," but, seriously, how about shedding the complications and conditions, employing some common sense and a clear eye, and seeing how that works.

In the meantime, everyone who can should be contributing to their health and those who *truly* are unable, instead of always looking for hand-outs from "the government." The "government" is us, yes, U.S. We need to reclaim the qualities and virtues that the people who built and made this country what it is and apply them to making US great again.

Form & Function

2011-10-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

"When the form changes, so does the underlying business model, which of course changes the function as well."

Seth Godin is scary brilliant and, it seems, prescient as he seems to write so eloquently about what I'm thinking. So, when I read Form and Function, it rang so true for what we are working to build.

Not only are we working to change the form to make health histories engaging, dynamic, accessible, and relevant for their owners, you! But, in doing this, we are flipping the model and the way that health histories function at a very basic level in the relationship between health consumer and health professionals.

The Crazy Ones

2011-10-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

I've been an Apple Fangirl since 1992, never considering buying anything but Apple products since. But, I was a fan of Steve Jobs well before. I've always loved and identified with the perceived underdogs who are really the true winners in life. Having the courage of your convictions and pursuing the realization of them is the greatest rush and reward possible. So, this is our little tribute to Steve...in his own words. It's also a bit of explanation why we are pursuing the development of Caduces to put people truly in control of their health data.

Health Identity Theft Is An Inside Job

2011-09-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

PriceWaterhouse Coopers has released a new report that details exactly the risks involved in entrusting your medical professionals to safeguard some of the most private information in your life - PwC: Health industry under-prepared to protect privacy | Healthcare IT News:

Most are completely unaware of the dangers associated with medical identity theft or with errors in one's medical records. These will only be magnified as medical practices, insurers, and hospitals share more and more information that is easily accessible by employees who don't have your best interests at heart.

It's bad enough that errors in handwriting or data input result in more than 100,000 deaths in the US annually. But, people using your identity can run up huge bills in stolen health care. Imagine what that can result in when you're admitted into a hospital through an emergency room and they proceed with treatment based on someone else's medical profile associated with your name! Imagine what that can do to your credit rating. Your ability to get future health coverage, approval for a mortgage, or even get a job are all impacted.

We believe one way to safeguard against these possibilities is to manage your own health histories. Take control of your health!

If you think this is important, take a moment to go to Caduces.net to register for updates on our progress in our building the solution for this.

Care about Your Care

2011-09-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

On September 1st, a month long campaign was launched thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Care About Your Care to help individuals learn what quality health care is, look for the right care for themselves and their families, and live better by engaging more closely in their own health care. It's part of ongoing efforts to provide resources to help us understand the importance, the necessity for taking control of our health in every way you can think of and to take action. It's all about improving health care quality.

Please take a few moments to visit Care About Your Care to learn more about why you need to care about getting the for yourself and your family members.

That's what we're all about here at Caduces. Helping you take control of your health is critical not only to your health, but to everyone in your family now and in the future generations!

Because Data Is Power.

2011-08-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin's blog post earlier today When Ideas Become Powerful explores what happens when certain people perceive something, e.g. property, interstate commerce, ideas, and data, as powerful. The first inclination is to find a way to take ownership, regulate, and take control of whatever is perceived as valuable and powerful.

As we watch events unfold in the healthcare arena with medical professionals and, more importantly, medical CIOs weighing in about who should control and manage the data of the people who seek medical care, their health customers, it becomes very clear that there is a tremendous effort to retain control of 'patient' data. There is an entire litany of reasons/excuses for keeping and managing 'patient' data in much the same way as always. In other words, it you want your data, you have to ask the medical service providers and successfully negotiate their gatekeepers.

Seriously! This data is about you and you shared it with your health professionals, but do you think they really should exert ownership over it and prevent access?

Meanwhile, it is openly acknowledged that security is not a priority for hospitals and that there are as many as 300,000 deaths annually in the U.S. as a result of poor handwriting and/or errors in directions.

Can someone explain this because I just don't get it.

So, why are there so many tech companies working so hard to build applications for health service providers to convert and maintain their records electronically? Because this has been made a requirement, so there's a captive market. However, does that mean it's going to be easier for the health consumer to get a complete record of health data? Mmmm, not necessarily....

So, we're still going to be dealing with the same challenges tomorrow as you are today! Why are we so seemingly complacent about allowing stranger to control our health data? I'll let you answer that for yourself....

We at Caduces are working diligently to offer an alternative to put health consumers in control of their health and health data that will also foster a collaborative relationship with your health professionals for yourself and everyone in your family.

If you are excited about the potential for taking control of your health, please visit Caduces.net and register to be eligible to be a Beta tester and please share this with family and friends.

It's the evolution of health information management that puts health consumers in control!

In November, 2010, 4 in 10 Americans Said Their Healthcare Is Excellent

2011-08-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

As you can read in this article, last November, 4 in 10 Americans Said Their Healthcare Is Excellent.

What's your take on this? Do you have the same experience? Do you have health insurance? Is it through your employer or a private policy?

I just had a conversation last week with a friend whose girlfriend, in her mid-30's, was denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. She then became eligible for a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. Not only does it save hundreds of dollars every month in health premiums, but the co-pay for anything and everything is...$5. Add to this that she is no longer limited to seeing certain doctors, so she is extremely happy with her healthcare.

So, these are not wealthy people, but the girlfriend, at least, has quality healthcare and is happy. Can you say the same? Are you in favor of universal health care benefits? Why...or, why not? Please support your comments with the facts that brought you to that stance.

The Big Shift In Health Policy You Haven’t Heard About | ThinkProgress

2011-07-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Big Shift In Health Policy You Haven’t Heard About | ThinkProgress sheds light on the Congressional Budget Office's new work to develop models that will recognize and give credit to delivery efficiencies and behavior modifications that lead to reducing health care costs.

This could have a profound effect on health care reform and is a very exciting development in the ongoing debate.

In other words, we may be looking at eventual formal and monetary recognition of consumers' efforts to build a culture of health for themselves and their families.

Caduces is working now to build easy-to-use tools to gather, capture, understand, and control all the health data about all your family members.

Social Media, Crowdsourcing, and A Young Life Saved

2011-07-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

I attended Patients 2.0 last October and listened to story after story about the new breed of 'Patient' - the networked patient.
At that same time, there was a heated public debate in the social media marketing space about online privacy, how to protect privacy, how privacy has been invaded and data stolen, how the general public might be feeling about this invasion, and what would be the fallout.
So, when the floor was opened to questions, I raised the question of privacy with the speakers on the stage. The overwhelming response was that privacy is the last concern for people with serious illnesses and their families. They're looking for answers, support, advice, a treatment that will save their lives.
It's just becoming more and more common for people to turn to their online communities for help. Following is an incredible story and interview by Matt Lauer on the Today Show just this week about a mother, her son, and how Facebook helped save his life.
WATCH: How Facebook Saved My Son's Life on the Today Show

Seriously! Sitting Is Killing You - Part Deux

2011-05-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

It isn't just about the usual villains of sedentary habits, like heart disease, obesity, and the resulting Type II diabetes. Check out this scary infographic to learn about how parking your derriere on a seat too much of each day *will* wreck your body and shorten your life.

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Big Changes Coming

2011-04-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

We're going to keep you in suspense for a little while longer. But, we just wanted to tease you a little. Stay tuned for some very dramatic announcements.

Lost Generation

2011-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

This isn't immediately related to what we are building at Caduces, but it embodies what we hope for, what we envision for our world, for our future generations. And, if in some small way, Caduces can contribute to a better quality of life, we will have been successful.

I hope you enjoy this and I would love to read your thoughts and comments.

Lost Generation

The Caduces Mission

2011-02-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

Have you been wondering what we are working on? The timeline changed, but the vision and mission haven't!

Watch this interview with the CEO of Caduces Lydia Sugarman at the FailCon conference in San Francisco when Caduces was in a very early pre-release stage. The idea was and is Caduces will provide online secure location for you and your relatives' health history plus many more features to make moms' lives easier in managing all the day-to-day details surrounding their families' health.

Just a Pinch

2011-02-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

Reducing salt to 1500 mg (that converts to a 1/2 teaspoon) a day for anyone over age 51, African-Americans and those with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease (CKD) will reduce the number of patients who need kidney replacement therapy. Everyone else should consume no more than 1 teaspoon daily. Cutting salt and fat not only means better physical health and a longer life span, but also means lower health premiums and other expenses associated with poor health.

Seriously, when you think about it, it's such a small price to pay for such a huge payoff. I wish I could find that kind of bargain every day!

Here's the link for more information.

Stop Shaking the Salt Shaker With These Easy Tips (fitsugar.com)

Diabetes and Kidney Problems (everydayhealth.com)

Simple blood test identifies persons at highest risk for kidney disease complications (eurekalert.org)

Just Released- Pediatricians Issue New Vaccination Recommendations

2011-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

In the wake of the recent release of the newest research disproving any connection between immunizations and autism, the newest recommendations for immunization schedules for children, adolescents, and adults was published in Pediatrics-Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. While not everyone is willing to change their position with regard to this highly-charged topic, it *is* important to remember all the lives that have been saved and continue to be saved via an aggressive policy of universal immunization. We've all seen the news reports each year that report the sad consequences of quickly spreading epidemics through communities that have rejected immunization with infants and children dying from preventable illnesses. For us, it's as close as Marin County just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

Whatever you decide is the best course for your family, you need the most current information to make informed decisions. After all, knowledge is power! So, please be our guest and download this valuable PDF for your family medical files.

Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules--United States, 2011 -- Committee on Infectious Diseases 127 (2) 387 -- Pediatrics

Pediatricians Issue New Vaccination Recommendations (nlm.nih.gov)

Helping a Child Who Is Afraid of Shots (children.webmd.com)

Checklist: Vaccines for Adults (women.webmd.com)

Studies Demonstrate The More Educated You Are, The Less Chance You Will Vaccinate (truthonmedecine.wordpress.com)

Conquering Your Genes

2010-12-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

As much as we'd like to think sometimes that we're not going to turn into our parents, the reality is that we inherit 50% of our genes from each parent. In some instances, that can be a great benefit. But, not always.

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a poignant, informative video broadcast this morning on The Today Show that stresses the importance of knowing your family health genealogy and passing that information along to your daughters...and your sons, for them and their children. (Forgive the 12-second ad, do yourself ... and your family a favor, and take a few minutes to watch this video. Just click on the link above.)

Caduces is making it easier for families to gather together health data from family members so that you'll be better equipped to insure a healthier family, for generations to come.

If you want to stay informed about what we're working on and be an Early User, please go to the Home page to sign up for our Beta.

Impatient Patients Point the Way to Health Self-Management

2010-12-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

As hospitals close or curtail services, new options are becoming available. New York is a prime example where urgent care centers are popping up like mushrooms.

Instead of waiting hours to see an over-worked, over-tired medical professional in a crowded and overwhelmed hospital emergency room, you now have the option of leaving your apartment, getting seen and treated, and being back in your apartment within an hour. If time is money, then $150 for a visit where you're guaranteed to be seen within 15 minutes is considered a huge bargain, not to mention a huge relief when it's your sick child.

And, with more and more hospitals limiting or closing their emergency rooms and creating an even greater shortage of services, these boutique urgent care centers help alleviate the overwhelm in remaining emergency rooms. Added benefits are job creation, new commercial leases of storefronts that have been vacant for years, new revenues for neighboring businesses.

But, what this also means is that more and more people are taking a proactive approach to managing their families' health and welfare. And, since most of these centers are not affiliated with hospitals, medical professional groups, and payments are out-of-network, this also means that we must be more proactive and vigilant about maintaining personal health histories with valid and correct information.

Welcome to Caduces!

If you are interested in being kept abreast of our progress and participating in out upcoming Beta, please be sure to sign up on the Home page.

The survey says...."Healthy habits pay..."

2010-12-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

: Image via Wikipedia

It seems kind of self-evident that people who follow a healthy lifestyle, you know, don't smoke, watch their diets, get some exercise, cost their employers less $$ in terms of absenteeism, presenteeism (that's showing up, but nothing else), disability, health premiums, drug claims, poor productivity, poor morale.

However, according to the Sun Life Canadian Health Index compiled by Ipsos Reid 60% of Canadian employees have three or more unhealthy behaviors. Barriers to maintaining a healthy lifestyle included lack of willpower or motivation (61 per cent) followed by lack of time (46 per cent) and money (39 per cent).

Authors of the study cited the following:

- Employees with three or more risk factors are absent 50 per cent more often and use two to three times more in group health costs.
- For every $1 US spent on wellness programs, medical costs fall by about $3.27 and absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73.
- Plan members who quit smoking can save their employer about $3,396 per year.

People need a nudge, a little time, and encouragement to do the right things to cultivate a healthier life for themselves and their families.

So, the challenge is…how do we create a culture of health and wellness and move away from a system that rewards illness?

How would you meet this epic challenge and how do we measure and capture the positive results?

It seems kind of self-evident that people who follow a healthy lifestyle, you know, don't smoke, watch their diets, get some exercise, cost their employers less $$ in terms of absenteeism, presenteeism (that's showing up, but nothing else), disability, health premiums, drug claims, poor productivity, poor morale.

However, according to the Sun Life Canadian Health Index compiled by Ipsos Reid 60% of Canadian employees have three or more unhealthy behaviors. Barriers to maintaining a healthy lifestyle included lack of willpower or motivation (61 per cent) followed by lack of time (46 per cent) and money (39 per cent).

Authors of the study cited the following:

- Employees with three or more risk factors are absent 50 per cent more often and use two to three times more in group health costs.

- For every $1 US spent on wellness programs, medical costs fall by about $3.27 and absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73.

- Plan members who quit smoking can save their employer about $3,396 per year.

People need a nudge, a little time, and encouragement to do the right things to cultivate a healthier life for themselves and their families.

Read more: http://ow.ly/3nsWq

So, the challenge is…how do we create a culture of health and wellness and move away from a system that rewards illness?

How would you meet this epic challenge and how do we measure and capture the positive results?

Hello Again!

2010-11-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is the first post in a very long time and I do want to greet the world, begin sharing thoughts, updates on how Caduces is progressing, a little about what Caduces is (after all, we are still somewhat in a stealthy-stealth stage), and headlines and news in the burgeoning health space.

In return, we want to hear from you. What are your ideas and opinions about the state of health, wellness, and illness in this country and around the world. Just like parents always strive to do, the question is ~How do we make it better?

So, Hello, World! We look forward to dynamic, engaging, and thought-provoking discussions and debates with you.

Gillibrand proposes law to trim childhood obesity - Crain's New York Business

2009-07-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Gillibrand proposes law to trim childhood obesity - Crain's New York Business may seem like an extreme measure, but if children are to have any chance of good health, it seems efforts will have to start in the schools since so many parents have abdicated their responsibilities and expect the schools to do their job of parenting.

Masai Mara Engangered by Political Unrest in Kenya

2008-02-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

Mara Triangle is an incredible blog that communicates in a very real way the immediate and catastrophic threat to the Masai Mara and its animals. It's written by one of the rangers who works hard to protect this unique global asset and races against failing electricity to upload new blog posts. There's only about 3 weeks' worth of funding left so they are in dire circumstances.

World Water Day: Get Involved: Why I Walk

2008-02-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

World Water Day: Get Involved: Why I Walk

There *has* to be a walk in San Francisco! But, none's listed! This is a huge issue and a cause that is near and dear to our hearts here at CaducesDotMobi as it goes directly to our mission to help women and children all over the world.

A Progress Report

2008-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

Our completely new and exciting venture, CaducesDotMobi is finding tremendous support and generating a lot of excitement. As with any nascent venture, the ideas keep coming and the concept gradually fleshes out and that is what is happening here.

What started out as a reminder service is growing into a much greater, in undertaking, in every way.

In case I didn't explain earlier or you missed it. A caduce(u)s is the symbol for physicians, the staff with two snakes intertwined.

The mission of CaducesDotMobi is to help women all over the world better manage their families' health and wellness. For women in developed nations, we will provide a subscription-based Website with a multitude of tools and features to go toward simplifying the task of staying on top of their family members' health needs. That funds our work for the women of the third world, as we will funnel a generous portion of our net revenues to subsidize healthcare and other initiatives to improve the quality of life for them and their children.

A mother helping mothers helping mothers.

The development company will be submitting a detailed proposal outlining the project scope, timeline for production and launch, and the cost. As soon as we have that, we turn to our business planning advisor to prepare all the financials, projections, etc. that are part and parcel of the business plan that we are in the midst of writing. Legal is already researching various aspects and as soon as the financials and business plan are done, will prepare the offering memorandum. Then, we will be ready to seek the initial seed round of funding necessary to launch Caduces!

If you haven't been through a process like this, it involves a tremendous amount of planning, research, rethinking, strategizing, writing, and long days and nights of work. The cool thing is that since it's my own idea, that acts like a stimulant to go above and beyond to get everything done, keep all the meetings, assemble the very best teams, and be totally passionate about this concept and its mission.

More later....

What's With the DotMobi?

2007-12-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new Web-based subscription service for consumers that's going to help you better manage your life and your family's health and wellness via text message reminders. Hence, the DotMobi for mobile application. You don't have to be concerned about your information being shared with insurance companies, credit rating agencies, pharmaceutical companies, or hospital corporations. Your family health history is secure and private, password-protected.

We plan to officially launch shortly after the new year, but in the meantime we're going to blog about our progress leading up to launch.

If you're interested in receiving email alerts when we update the blog, please send an email to CaducesDotMobi at gmail dot com. Please include your name, zip code, gender, and age. This basic information actually helps us greatly in creating a service that is relevant to our potential users. Be assured that your information is secure.