How Internet-Based Lab Tests Access Helps Clinical Laboratories Serve Un-Insured and Under-Insured Patients

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How Internet-Based Lab Tests Access Helps Clinical Laboratories Serve Un-Insured and Under-Insured Patients

Internet-based companies that provide consumers with access to lab tests provide a significant and highly valued service for patients, particularly for those patients who are uninsured and underinsured.

The companies also provide services for patients who have high deductible health insurance plans and for any patients looking to keep the cost of lab tests low. Typically, patients who are fully insured do not need to the services of Internet-based companies that provide consumers with access to lab tests because their lab tests are paid in full by third-party insurance  company or these patients are required to pay only a small co-pay or coinsurance at the time of service.

The Dark Report is happy to offer our readers a chance to download our recently published FREE White Paper “How Internet-Based Lab Tests Access Helps Clinical Laboratories Serve Un-Insured and Under-Insured Patients” at absolutely no charge. This free download will provide readers with a detailed explanation on how these services work and the benefits these companies provide to the uninsured, the underinsured, and those with high-deductible health insurance. This report also will outline the value of transparency in healthcare pricing and how price transparency helps physicians in Ohio provide better patient care for the uninsured and underinsured.


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Among other topics, this FREE White Paper specifically addresses:

  1. Current State of Uninsured Patients in US
  2. The Pros and Cons for Health Insurers
  3. Transparency in Laboratory Test Pricing
  4. Why Lab Test Firms Can Improve Patient Care

For more about internet-based laboratory test access for un-insured, please CLICK HERE

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Table of Contents

Introduction — Page 3

Chapter 1.
Current State of Uninsured/Under-Insured Patients in the US. — Page 5

Chapter 2.
Transparency in Medical/Medicare Laboratory Test Pricing — Page 7

Chapter 3.
Pros and Cons for Health Insurers — Page 11

Chapter 4.
Case Study: Creating Transparency in Today’s Laboratory Test Pricing — Page 14

Chapter 5.
Why Internet Lab Test Firms are Important for Improving Patient Care — Page 17

Chapter 6.
Conclusion — Page 19

Appendices

A-1 About Joseph Burns — Page 22
A-2
About PrePaidLab.com — Page 23
A-3 About DARK DAILY— Page 24
A-4 About The Dark Intelligence Group, Inc., and The Dark Report— Page 25
A-5 About Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management— Page 26
A-6 About Robert Michel — Page 28  

Terms of Use — Page 32

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The 51 Preserved Dogs of Castle Bitov, Czech Republic


They can sit and stay – and are excellent at playing dead – but this room full of obedient dogs will never go walkies again. The odd-ball collection of 51 stuffed dogs is the star attraction at the picturesque Castle Bitov in the Czech Republic.

The castle’s last owner, the ever-so-slightly eccentric Baron Georg Haas, was an animal lover – to say the least. He was the proud owner of thousands of animals – including a lioness called Mietzi-Mausi, with whom it is said he enjoyed sharing lunch every day.

But his favourite style of four-legged friend was the humble canine, and he eventually had more than 200 in the castle grounds. It means the castle might well have been the hardest building to sneak into in the 1940s – certainly the hardest to walk around without looking down.

When the playful pets passed away, the baron buried the majority of them – their final resting places can still be seen in several cemeteries in the castle grounds, each with a wooden cross and small metal plate bearing their name.

But, for a select few, the baron had loftier plans – and the handiwork of the local taxidermist is still being enjoyed today. It’s clear that the baron did not play favourites. Spaniels, terriers, poodles, boxers – hounds of every shape and size – are included in the collection...

Georg Haas was as eccentric an aristocrat as they come. But he was also ahead of his time, designing a magnificent zoo for his animals, with terrariums, bird cages, and various paddocks that he filled with exotic creatures from around the world.

--"The perfectly preserved pooches of Castle Bitov," The Daily Mail, July 19th 2011

You can read the whole entire story--from which the above images were drawn--by clicking here. Click on images to see much larger, more detailed version.

Thanks to Eleanor Crook for bringing this to my attention!

Zoe Beloff at The Great Coney Island Spectacularium, Opening Reception, This Friday, July 22


Opening reception for Zoe Beloff's "Four Hysterical Dramas" at The Great Coney Island Spectacularium
Date: This Friday, July 22nd
Time: 7-10 PM
Where: The Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Avenue
Admission: Free

This Friday, Morbid Anatomy and The Great Coney Island Spectacularium cordially invite you to an opening reception to celebrate the launch of our short-term exhibition of Zoe Beloff's installation "Four Hysterical Dramas" This exhibition will be on view at The Spectacularium from July 22nd until August 20th.

More on the exhibition following; hope to see you there!

Four Hysterical Dramas
Beloff will present four miniature theaters housing depictions of actual hysterics filmed by doctors in Belgium, Romania, and the United States. Updating a Victorian stage trick called "Pepper's Ghost", Beloff has transformed these patients into ghostly figures performing an endless loop of madness within the space of each diorama. Beloff was inspired by several remarkable developments at the end of the 19th century: the discovery of the unconscious by psychotherapists, doctors' emerging practice of filming their hysterical patients with motion picture cameras, and the public's fascination with madness which manifested itself in the emotive, hysterical behavior of actors in Parisian cabarets.

You can find out more about the event here and more about Zoe and her work here.

Apo Island – The Model for Community Driven Marine Conservation

We hear about the destruction of ocean life and the impact our lifestyles have on the environment in general. What we don’t get to see that often is the positive impact that sustainability efforts have on ocean life. Then there is Apo Island in the Philippines where local firshermen were convinced by mrine scientist, Dr. Angel Alcala, to create a marine sanctuary instead of overfishing the area which would have led to the destruction of their reef system. The island itself is a 12 hectare volcanic island hosting only two resorts complete with dive centers.

Apo has come to be known as one of the best examples of community-organized marine sanctuaries. It took three years of communicating with the local fishermen but Dr. Alcala was successful and with the help of the Silliman University Marine Laboratory and the locals, an area 450 meters along the shoreline and 500 meters out from shore was selected in 1982. This conservation effort led the way for the creation of hundreds of marine sanctuaries in the Philippines and is proof that community driven conservation efforts really does have an impact and even though it takes some time to see that impact, it is nonetheless worth it every time.

The video above by Vimeo user Steve De Neef shows us what we could have lost in the world had Dr. Alcala’s efforts not been put in place.

Description of the video by the creator:

A short impression of the underwater world of Apo Island. Apo is one of the most successful sanctuaries in Asia, in the 80′s the reef was almost destroyed by destructive and unsustainable fishing practices. With the help of the local community, the reef has completely recovered, turtles are plentiful and the resident school of jacks has returned. Apo is a perfect example of what a marine sanctuary that’s run properly can achieve.

You can watch the original video here.

Music of the spheres | Bad Astronomy

Alex Parker is an astronomy PhD student at the University of Victoria, and had a neat idea: create music based on 241 supernovae found in a three-year-long survey of the sky. The data were from the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope, and he made a video of the effort:

Each note represents one of the supernovae. The volume is based on the star’s distance, and the pitch based on how long it took the supernova to rise to maximum brightness and fade away — that’s tied to the exploding star’s total energy released, and was the key factor used to discover dark energy — together, they are combined into this "Supernova Sonata". Clever, and cool.

Speaking of which, I also got an email from Mike Lemmon of Neue Music. For a website called Experience the Planets, he created music I’d characterize as "atmospheric" — more tonal and ethereal than most synth music. I happen to like this kind of stuff, and I find myself listening to his "Planets" as I’m working. It’s not for everybody, I know, but if you like that kind of thing as I do you should give it a shot.

It’s available ...


For NJ same-sex couples, freedom to marry just a half-mile away – The Star-Ledger – NJ.com (blog)


The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog)
For NJ same-sex couples, freedom to marry just a half-mile away
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog)
Today, a number of hospitals across New Jersey deny civil union couples visitation and medical decision rights because they are not married. And a number of employers in New Jersey refuse to provide equal health benefits to their employees who are part ...

and more »

Going back to school not so simple for some Phoenix area kids with medical … – The Republic

Going back to school not so simple for some Phoenix area kids with medical ...
The Republic
1, 2010 photo provided by Cardon Children's Medical Center, Cardon Children's asthma educator Kim Reiners, right, a registered nurse, administers a breathing treatment to Kymbrea Valrey, 12, who has chronic asthma, in Mesa, Ariz. Going to school for ...

and more »

The decline of political terrorism & the rise of religious terrorism | Gene Expression

The media has been reporting a lot about Anders Breivik. I’m curious about the tendency of some to label Breivik a “Christian Extremist”. Additionally, there is widespread repetition of the Norwegian official deeming him a “Christian fundamentalist.” I think this is wrong on the specifics, but it also goes toward the general problem of our age where we attempt to fit everything into black-white religious dichotomies. For example, “moderate Muslims” vs. “Islamists.” “Islamic extremists” vs. “Christian extremists.” Because of the salience of notionally religiously motivated Islamic militant movements there has been a shift toward reinterpreting secular nationalist terrorist movements as religious ones. For example, the attempt to frame the Irish Republican Army as Catholic terrorists, or the Tamil Tigers as Hindu terrorists (in reality, both these are nationalist movements, often with a Leftist slant). Or consider the refashioning of Tim McVeigh into a Christian terrorist when he was a lapsed Catholic at best and probably irreligious by the time of his terrorist act. This religionization of all radical movements means that people have a really hard time today digesting the fact that 19th and early 20th century anarchists who committed what seem to be patently suicidal acts were ...

Pete Olson Can’t Make Up His Mind

NASA at a turning point, opinion, Walt Cunninghman and Pete Olson, Politico

"However, last year President Barack Obama shifted NASA policy away from human spaceflight. His budget cancelled the next-generation Constellation human flight system rather than modifying any deficiencies -- wasting a $9 billion taxpayer investment. Instead, NASA was directed to pursue a riskier course, diverting billions of dollars to a group of companies - most devoid of experience in manned space vehicles - to take over operations to low-earth orbit and the transport of astronauts to the International Space Station. The goal was to generate a private marketplace to support the cost of these manned missions."

Rep. Olson Statement on Final Shuttle Landing

"This chapter is by no means the end of human space flight; it is the beginning of the next generation of scientists, engineers and unforeseen discoveries. I am dedicated to ensuring that Congress gives NASA the goal and resources to usher in the next generation of human space flight."

Keith's note: Hmm, let's see, extended life for the human-occupied ISS, spurring development of multiple spacecraft (government and commercial) to carry humans into orbit, and plans for human missions to an asteroid and to Mars. If anything, the policy in place looks to expand the reach of humans beyond low Earth orbit. But the authors are not interested in facts - rather, they are interested only in partisan rhetoric. Indeed, Olson is not even consistent. In his official post-shuttle landing statement he says that this is "by no means the end of human space flight" and that exiting things lie ahead. A day later, in Politico, he (and Cunningham) put forth a contradictory claim that the Obama Adminstration has "shifted NASA policy away from human spaceflight."

Small Generator Charger Inverter Set

I would like to purchase or build (if the purchase price is too high) a generator-charger-battery set up to power my travel trailer. I've built a crude system that does the job except for the air conditioner. I would need ten 12volt batteries (at least) to make the 15000btu air conditioner start. Wh