ross koppel

At my Feb. 15, 2011 post "Does EHR-Incited Upcoding (Also Known as "Fraud") Need Investigation by CMS?" I explained how, based on data I received from an active ED physician, EHR's and their algorithmic "billing advice" tools were apparently inciting massive upcoding.

Number 5, that is.

The ECRI Institute is an independent, unbiased, evidence-based healthcare research, information, and advice provider.

They have been in operation for more than 40 years and are one of only a handful of organizations designated as both a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization and an Evidence-Based Practice Center by the U.S.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

At my post EHRevent.org: Web Site to Collect EHR Safety Reports, I wrote of my questions about a new organization, EHRevent.com, that seems to supercede or compete with the FDA's MAUDE and Medwatch medical device and medication adverse events reporting and analysis services.

P { MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px } BODY { SCROLLBAR-HIGHLIGHT-COLOR: #cecfce; SCROLLBAR-ARROW-COLOR: #3f52b8; SCROLLBAR-TRACK-COLOR: #fffbff; SCROLLBAR-DARKSHADOW-COLOR: #fafafa; SCROLLBAR-BASE-COLOR: #f7f7f7 } SPAN#misspelled { BACKGROUND: url(8.2.176.2/themes/base/squiggly.gif) repeat-x 50% bottom; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px } Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 7:17 AM
To: David.Blumenthal@hhs.gov

My frail 84 year old mother recently got really sick from not eating due to progressive, terrible constipation.

She underwent a colonoscopy 3 months ago that found a rectal stricture.

The GI doc was (reasonably) attempting to treat the stricture medically with those wonderful powders the GI people give, this time the angel dust made of polymerized antifreeze (polyethylene glycol) known as "Mira-lax".

I am reposting a provocative open letter from Ignacio Valdes, MD, MSc (a proponent of Open Software and proprietor of the LinuxMedNews blog) on the revelations about Health IT by Penn sociology professor Ross Koppel and by Washington Post reporter Robert O'Harrow, Jr.