Washington Report- October 4, 2011

October 4, 2011The following is this week’s edition of the Dell weekly Washington Report. Information andupdates in this report include:  Quote of the Week  Tracing Foodborne Outbreaks – A look into how the FDA and CDC work to stop foodborne diseases in their tracks  Five Things to Consider when Evaluating Storage Options – By Jim Champagne, Executive Director, Services Industry Sector  Health Watch – A weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industry  Tweets for Your Consideration – A few tweets worth noting this weekQuote of the Week“This stuff happens because our system is not as tight as it needs to be. “Laura Anderko, a public health expert from Georgetown University, commenting on thefood-safety system and the listeria outbreak in cantaloupe that has killed 17 people.Tracing Foodborne OutbreaksA look into how the FDA and CDC work to stop foodborne diseases in their tracksThe United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released areport on foodborne disease outbreaks that occurred in the year of 2008. It is reported thatin 2008, which is the most recent year for finalized foodborne disease data, there were 1,034foodborne disease outbreaks, resulting in 23,152 cases of illness, 1,276 of which requiredhospitalization, and 22 of which ended in death. In only 45 percent of the outbreaks, theagent responsible for causing the outbreak was confirmed by officials.It is crucial for CDC and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) officials to track down the sourceof diseases as quickly as possible, but this can often be a daunting task.The latest foodborne disease outbreak, and also the deadliest in the past decade, came intofull swing last week. The latest reports from the CDC indicate that there have been 84 casesof illness and at least 17 deaths caused by listeriosis, a bacteria most commonly carried byfoods, linked to cantaloupe grown by Jensen Farms at its production fields in Granada,Colorado. How do the CDC and FDA work together to trace foodborne illnesses back to theirsource, and how much time do they have from the time the first illness is reported? Oncethe food is identified as the cause of the illness, it is crucial to pinpoint the source of theparticular batch of infected foods exactly so that the entire beef, egg, peanut butter or, in thiscase, cantaloupe industry is not frozen, causing great losses for farmers and distributorsnationwide.

Tracking outbreaks begins when the CDC receives notice from state health departments thatthere has either been a single or a cluster of pathogenic diseases reported, most commonlysalmonella, E. coli and listeria. Officials interview ill patients to compile a list of possible foodculprits and the pathogen causing the illness. The CDC then checks this list against a databank for genetic fingerprints of foodborne disease-causing bacteria and they compare itwith the outbreak pathogen. Officials must also identify where the ill patient purchased theinfected food, whether at a market or a restaurant.The FDA must track the infected food through its distribution chain, identifying acommonality between cases, whether it is a distribution center, a farm or a packing plant.This can often be difficult when involving imported goods and foreign government, butluckily the FDA keeps pattern records of food susceptible to carrying diseases, such astomatoes and cantaloupe. When the source is identified, the FDA sends a team of scientistsout to investigate water sources and soil. It is helpful for farmers to keep electronic recordsof which plants came from which fields, but often this is not the case and the investigationcan be stalled. Finally, when the source has been verified, the FDA sends out a recall on theinfected item.The Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law by President Obama on January 4th ofthis year, requires the FDA to focus on developing new food traceability rules to help preventfood contamination rather than responding after the death toll of wide-spread outbreaks hitsrecord-breaking heights. This new Act calls for the FDA to establish two pilot projectsinvolving produce and processed foods, respectively. Michael Taylor, FDA deputycommissioner for foods says, “We can prevent illnesses and reduce the economic impact tothe food industry if we can more quickly determine what foods may be causing an outbreakand what foods can be eliminated from consideration.”The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), which is a nonprofit scientific society ofprofessionals engaged in food science, food technology and related professions, will becarrying out these two pilot studies under the direction of the FDA. The studies will evaluatetypes of data, methods and technologies used to rapidly and effectively trace contaminatedfoods, connect with the various points on the supply chain, and relay vital information backto the CDC.The pilot studies will allow the FDA to begin developing rules on record-keepingrequirements for highly-susceptible foods to make the tracing process moreefficient. Hopefully, with the new FDA food tracing requirements, we will not seeanother outbreak like the illnesses and deaths caused by the cantaloupe from JensenFarms.

Five Things to Consider when Evaluating Storage OptionsBy Jim Champagne, Executive Director, Services Industry SectorWith storage expected to grow 650 percent in the next 5 years, CIOs face the dauntingchallenge of building an enterprise infrastructure that is cost-effective and, at the same time,robust enough to support the organization’s growth. In addition, the emergence of scalablecloud solutions and virtual data centers that can manage multiple devices, facilitate dataconvergence and store user-generated content seamlessly makes it important to criticallyevaluate effective storage options and plans.The dawn of the virtual era has witnessed an exponential increase in the amount of datagenerated every second. Today, CIOs are expected to devise a strategy to manage digitaldata explosion, host numerous platforms and connect multiple devices while protectingpatient privacy and automatically preventing data duplication! Additionally, the volume,velocity and value of data is creating a demand for change in the way informationtechnology (IT) and data center supervisors manage people and processes and procuresolutions.Currently, there is a need for a comprehensive storage solution that can not only manageand store digital data, but can reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).A recent Gartner report suggests that the amount of storage capacity sold in 2009 was lessthan the data generated that year, indicating the end of linear growth in storagerequirements and convincing organizations to optimize storage and create a platform forfuture expansion. There is an increased emphasis on strategies and solutions that enableCIOs to adopt new integrated, interoperable and scalable solutions based on virtual datacenters and cloud computing platforms.Nowadays, CIOs are expected to devote the majority of their IT budgets to innovation andreducing the cost of “keeping the lights on.” There is a greater emphasis on drivingefficiency and reinvesting the savings towards innovation and compliance (HITECH Act-meaningful use).Only a storage solution that has open standards, is capable of exceeding expectations, and isaffordable will drive efficiencies while supporting growth. Buying such a storage solution in acompetitive market is never easy. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind whileevaluating storage solutions: 1. Ensure that your ‘preferred’ vendor has physically tested their maximum scale-up configuration A solution that offers multiple disk drives for storage and shares a backplane, or a backbone used to connect several circuit boards together, has limited scale-up capacity. It is critical to ensure that the solution is scalable and you never outgrow the disk space. Inability to scale-up when required forces most customers to buy another product, adding to the overall cost-of-ownership of the solution. Insist that

your vendor cite instances of scaling the system to ‘full’ capacity. Ideally, the vendor should have a proven, fully scaled system running that is continuously tested and monitored. 2. Verify that the solution is compatible with or ready for next-gen technologies Like most other technologies, storage solutions are also prone to obsolescence, so it is important to verify that the architecture of the chosen system is open to newer technologies and protocols. Since, these solutions only depend upon their connectivity path, they are by far most apt for next-gen technologies. The means of connectivity, whether Ethernet or Fibre Channel, change far less quickly than hardware components, such as processors. Since most vendors are continuously enriching their products, always ask when the next hardware refresh is releasing and what will be the cost of the upgrade. 3. Recheck the ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ of the solution Often you will come across vendors who are substantially less expensive than their competitors. In these cases, something may be missing in the configuration, such as licensing fees and version charges that are not required at the time of purchase, but will be needed in the future. It is best to get the TCO in writing for the expected life of the system. Include the cost of upgrade, and define whether maintenance fees will remain the same for the entire contract duration (especially in case of multi-year contracts). Also, clearly state that any omissions will be the vendor’s sole responsibility. 4. Clarify how much data the vendor’s solution ‘actually’ stores It is important to clarify how much space or capacity is actually available for storing your data. Customers often end up with less capacity than promised since the solution reserves space for running product-specific applications that limit the usable capacity. Insist on getting the desired capacity (excluding product-specific requirements). Be clear about wanting the vendor to take responsibility for supplying any additional hardware at no charge should the system grow or not perform as promised at the defined workload. 5. Avoid the pitfalls of not knowing what you don’t know Leading storage vendors speak of ‘partnership’ and building a trusted advisor relationship. They are often aware of the common mistakes customers make, and should be willing to honestly help you avoid the consequences of not knowing what you don’t know. It is advisable to ask “why is” or “why isn’t” a particular solution feasible, as well as “what are the long-term risks (and expected pitfalls) of the solution.”Undoubtedly, an open, capable and affordable solution will enable CIOs to optimize theirstorage solution without getting locked into a single vendor. However, it is important tocritically evaluate solutions from different vendors to judge how efficiently (and cost-

effectively) they resolve the immediate and long-term pain areas while aligning with yourbusiness strategy and growth plans to create a true platform for success.Learn more about Dell’s healthcare storage solutions.Jim Champagne, Executive Director, is responsible for the company’s overall growth and strategicdirection, primarily focusing on its fiscal health and stability. He provides direction and developspartnerships for Dell InSite One and its clients. Mr. Champagne remains an active contributor to thekey relationships that have helped to establish the company’s broad client base.Health WatchA weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industryCredit Card Tech to Fight Medicare Fraud- A pilot being launched by National GovernmentServices will focus on expanding the use of durable medical equipment to include additionalhealthcare products and services. In Indiana, magnetic-stripe cards and conventional creditcard readers are being used to verify identities of Medicare beneficiaries, according to anInformationWeek report. Advocates of utilizing credit card reader technology believe thiscould be an easier and more cost-efficient way to identify Medicare fraud. Critics claim thisapproach utilizes outdated technology and would provide less reliable results than somedigital smart cards now entering the marketplace.HIMSS Poll: Mobile Medical Applications- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)recently released a set of proposed guidelines on the regulations of medical devices. TheHealth Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) surveyed 243 healthcare ITprofessionals, in which 41 percent of respondents claim the FDA is assuming an appropriatelevel of regulation. The survey also highlighted several other points critical to mHealth.Forty-four percent of respondents claim their organizations have not developed applicationsfor point-of-care use. Although organizations may not be developing their own applications,clinicians are using these apps to view medical and patient information, as well as utilizingthem for education and training.New Techniques for Data Mining Help Predict Mortality Risk- New techniques have beendeveloped to detect subtle changes in cardiac electrical activity, which can better predict therisk of mortality among heart-attack patients. The findings, published in ScienceTranslational Medicine, produced biomarkers of heart damage that physicians can use toidentify patients under a higher-risk of death. The study, which included 4,557 heart-attackpatients, found 3 biomarkers: heart rate motifs, morphologic variability and symbolicmismatch. Utilizing these biomarkers, in addition to traditional care, could predict 50 percentmore deaths in heart-attack patients. Data mining and machine learning techniques wouldnot be costly to implement as most healthcare providers are already gathering this data inelectrocardiograms.Texas Saves $1B by Deploying EHRs, Telehealth in Prisons- According to a report byFierceEMR, the Texas prison system has cut spending by about $1 billion in the past decadeby relying on electronic health records (EHRs) and telehealth. The EHR, used to trackmedical, dental, mental health and pharmaceutical services at over 140 facilities, has reducedthe daily medical costs of a Texas inmate to $9.67, compared to $41.25 per day for an inmate

in California (which is the only state with a higher incarceration rate than Texas). Telehealthservices aid the Texas prison system by allowing inmates to connect with healthcareproviders at major institutions where they can seek the health of specialists, receivecontinued care, and reduce the cost associated with transportation of prisoners.Don’t Forget Your (Smart) T-Shirt- According to a report by the International BusinessTimes, Spanish researchers have developed an ‘intelligent t-shirt’ that can be used tomonitor a patient’s vital signs, location and movements. The shirt, which is machinewashable, uses electrodes and sensors to monitor elements including heart rate, activitylevel and body temperature. The shirt can also utilize GPS technology to track a patient’slocation and whether or not they are sitting or standing. Alarms and other alerts can betriggered based on the patient’s vital signs, which can be used by physicians to moreaccurately monitor a patient. Researchers claim that with additional modifications, the t-shirtcan be used in diagnosis of cardiac anomalies and remote patient monitoring.Tweets for Your ConsiderationA few tweets worth noting this week @DellHealth Dell Healthcare Why are medical apps in the #Android market failing to be useful, even relevant, to healthcare providers? http://bit.ly/pksGtq #HC #mHealth @KentBottles Kent Bottles What? Boomers aren’t going to be young and healthy forever? | Articles http://bit.ly/nAEZht {Proud to be delusional} @DellHealth Dell Healthcare Multispecialty practices reducing operating expenses. Physicians under threat of #Medicare cuts http://bit.ly/pDrFE9 #MGMA @DoctorsCouncil Doctors Council SEIU Inefficient Health Care Bureaucracy Costs Physicians $27 Billion Per Year http://ow.ly/6KVlG #law #healthreform #healthlaw #health @ONC_HealthIT ONC Do you know the difference between the Medicare and Medicaid #EHR Incentive Programs? Inform yourself here: http://bit.ly/nMXGW6 @DellHealth Dell Healthcare #Payers, miss the #Webinar on #healthreform, changing #regulations and preparing for aging #boomers? View the replay: http://bit.ly/p2rtLvBe sure to follow @DellHealth on Twitter for breaking Health IT and policy news.For Past Updates

For previous editions of the Washington Report, click here. To contact us, direct message us@DellHealth or send an email to Ask_Dell@Dell.com.

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Washington Report- October 4, 2011

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Washington Report- October 4, 2011 Document Transcript