New ICD-10 Code Requirements

Senator Rand Paul, an opthamologist, explains how much our government just wants to take care of us.

Analysis of the Obvious

When familiar things happen, mankind doesn't get bothered much about them.  It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious . . .

One of those is the planetary trio that will occur this evening in the night sky.  Look to the west just after the setting of the sun and you will see Jupiter, Mercury and Venus just above the horizon.  A planetary trio like this will not reoccur until 2021.

May 25th, 2013
Oklahoma Skyline - Mike O'Neal

We see the stars  in the evening sky all the time.  So why is the obvious  . . . interesting?  The first chapter of Genesis, 14th verse, states "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years."

Both Mercury and Venus will appear as a "morning star" or "evening star" throughout the year, however, Jupiter will only appear with Mercury and Venus as an evening star once every 12 years.   Because of their orbits, they will always appear on the same side of the horizon as the sun when they are seen.

The Native American legends and the correlating 260-day Sacred Round (also called the tzolkin) Mayan and Aztec calendars state that Venus (the brightest of the stars), or the "Dawn Star," follows the life and death of a white and bearded god named Quetzalcoatl who visited them in the first century AD (which sounds a lot like the resurrected Christ).

Their calendar closely followed Venus or the "Dawn Star" in marking important religious or spiritual events throughout history.  It may well be that long ago these principles were understood by them. Jesus Christ referred to himself as the "bright and morning star" in Revelations 22:16.

Venus Cycle as observed on Earth
(JohnPratt.com) 

To understand why Venus (the brighter star) and Mercury are called "Morning" and "Evening" stars, see the Venus Cycle pictured to the right. Points 1, 2, and 3 correlate with "man's conception" according to the Mayan Priests and their Sacred Round calendar. Numbers 4 & 5 correlate with Christ's adult life and mortal ministry on the Earth.

According to the Venus and Hebrew calendars, the three wise men appeared on May 27th, 1 B.C., correlating with the three stars coming together at their closest positions this evening.

All three planets can be seen within a simple binocular view with Mercury being the most difficult to see without the aid of binoculars.

Either way, pull out your binoculars this evening at dusk and show your family something they won't see for another 12 years. That's what I'll be doing . . .

Memorial Day . . .

Be safe out there this weekend. . .

The Essence of Experience in Leadership

The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be lead out of the desert by someone who has never been there. . .

Electronic Health Record challenges . . .

One of the challenges of using an electronic health record (EHR) is that of communication and order generation with ancillary services.  Medicare has mandated conversion to the use of electronic prescribing and commercial insurance has followed suit. The challenge is that as we are all becoming more paperless, ancillary services are no longer accepting prescriptions that don't have an "actual signature".  Medicare as also mandated that every order be "physically signed" which is becoming impossible with use of EHR.

This hasn't posed a problem with Medicare or with the commercial insurances, but it has begun to drive a wedge between the patient and his or her physician. We send a prescription electronically and the ancillary service kicks it back because it isn't "actually signed on paper."  Patient's feel our office is not doing its job correctly because the ancillary services told him that he "orders were signed correctly."  We are doing our job and having to duplicate services.  Everyone gets irritated all the way around the process.
Because we as a society are used to getting "our burger our our way" within a two-and-a-half minute window, my staff frequently gets an ear-full. Screaming and cursing at the doctor's office staff is not the way to get things done or aid your cause.
The burden that is created by the mandate for EHR use causes a significant change in the office flow.  It takes a good 6-12 months for a physician's to improve efficiency when the whole office flow changes.  My office is not alone in this problem.  We just recently changed our electronic health care record and significant process changes were made which has caused us delay and efficiency drops while we accommodate the new flows and attempt to write orders that were signed with electronic signatures with "actual wet signatures."
I have been using electronic health records for over 11 years.  The process isn't getting any easier, unfortunately. If you are a patient, or an ancillary service, please be patient with your doctor's office.  We are becoming as regulated as the airlines . . . who knows  . . . you may soon need to pass through a TSA scanner before you can enter my office.  Wouldn't that be exciting?!

Meet Brutus

Meet my friend Brutus . . . !

It's coming . . . mark my words. 15,000 IRS agents looking at your healthcare information as it flows through CMS. 

Change

The challenge in life is to adjust to changing times while still holding true to unchanging principles . . .

Journaling Thoughts . . .

A man would do well  to carry a pencil in his pocket, and write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable, and should be secured, because they seldom return.
Francis Bacon

(Anyone who's name ends in bacon ought to be listened to!)

Another reason: those who don't keep journals, will be defined by those who do. Think about it.

The Middle-Aged Mormon Man gives a great synopsis here.

Mother's Day

Life does not come with an instruction manual . . .

It comes instead with a mother.

Characteristics of Great Leaders . . .

1. JUST DO IT.

• A leader's most powerful ally is his or her own example.  
• Leaders don't just talk about doing something; they do it.

Influence

Money motivates neither the best people nor the best in people.  It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality.