KEEP UP THE IMPORTANT WORK.

Well I am starting my vacation today December 23rd at 4:00 and will be off until January 2nd. Since I had to take the internet out of my house, due to my 12 year old child getting addicted to it, I will not be able to monitor this site. So I hope someone will heep it on the 1st page! There is a lot of good information available.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I will cast no stones!

Dave Barker

We'll do our best.

FOR DAVE

FOR DAVE...

FOR DAVE...

Free software to aid poor doctors
By Alfred Hermida

Free software developed to care for US Vietnam War vets could help provide better healthcare in poor countries.
A group of open source evangelists are looking to take the program called Vista beyond the borders of the US.
They say hospitals could save money by using the free software, as well as potentially saving patients' lives.
Open source is a way of creating software that allows others to see the core of a program so that they can freely modify and adapt it.
"You could have a complete hospital information system available for free," said Joseph Dal Molin, a director of WorldVista, a non-profit corporation that aims to make affordable healthcare information technology available worldwide.
The group is working on adapting the Vista software for use in developing countries.
War legacy
The Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture, (Vista), was created by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
The program is used in 170 hospitals and 600 clinics to keep track of thousands of Vietnam vets. The Indian health service and several other medical centres outside the US also use it.
The expense comes from replicating something across hospitals. If you are using a commercial application, it would cost a lot of money
Joseph Dal Molin, WorldVista
"People looking after the vets can easily call up all the medical records using one program," Mr Molin told BBC News Online.
"It has been used for medication management," he explained, "reducing errors in giving people the wrong drugs by 90%."
The appeal of having a unified computer system that can provide quick and easy access to patient records is obvious.
But for developing countries, the cost of such a system can place a huge drain on already stretched healthcare resources.
Mr Molin said this was one of the main attractions of using an open source program like Vista, as there are no upfront costs for the software or license fees to pay.
"It doesn't cost you $10m for something as complex as this. It wouldn't cost a lot of money to do an entire country," he said.
"The expense comes from replicating something across hospitals. If you are using a commercial application, it would cost a lot of money."
Software hurdles
Open source is widely seen as a way of helping the poorer nations bridge the digital divide by providing software at a fraction of the cost of commercial programs.
But countries which have tried out open source in areas such as education have found it tricky to implement and maintain as they often lack the technical expertise in this area.
Mr Molin admitted that turning Vista into a reliable computer system that could be easily used in different cultures and languages was a challenge.
"We are now working to make it easier to implement," he said. "Our goal is to make it much easier to adapt and we are already talking to Malaysia about running a pilot programme there.
His group is hoping to foster an international community of doctors and programmers who will work on the software and adapt it to their local needs.

BBC News Online, 12/19/03

Dave Barker

YOU GOT IT...HAVE A HAPPY!!

FOR DAVE...

There are several factors that are involved to become a veteran. It is not just serving on active duty for a limited period and being discharged. There are multiple hundreds of thousands who joined the military/naval services who do not meet the requirement to become a veteran.
Many who joined the reserves, did their six months active duty for training, followed by two weeks a year for six years do not meet the criteria to be known as a veteran. They are known as former reservists.
The VA has found several former reservists who worked their way into free healthcare by enrolling with credentials designed to fool the eligibility clerk. Slowly but surly they are being caught and charged the maximum rates for the prior care received.
We have had one pretender caught twice in the system. He has only Social Security as income. Due to changes in the law, the VA will recoup that money from his Social Security check. He had been warned twice he was receiving VA Healthcare as an ineligible. Twice he re-enrolled. There will not be third time.
Is this fair? I think so. He joined the reserves which was his choice. He avoided being called up during the Vietnam war. He made his choices, now he must pay for his choices of using VA Healthcare after being caught twice as ineligible.
Things have changed.
My job is to represent those who have served this nation. In 2004 I pledge my 100% effort to represent those who have earned the title “Veteran.”

I will cast no stones!

Dave Barker

KEEP UP THE IMPORTANT WORK, DAVE.

Dave's infamous cut & paste
WASHINGTON (Dec. 22, 2003) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is including a 2.1 percent increase in the disability benefit payments that millions of veterans and dependents will receive at the end of December.
President Bush authorized an increase matching the increase in Social Security rates by signing into law the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2003.
"These benefits are a reflection of countless sacrifices ranging from peacetime injuries to wartime service," Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi said. "Cost-of-living increases for veterans and their survivors ensure strong programs that keep pace with their needs."
The new rates apply to benefits earned in cember. VA benefit payments routinely are made at the beginning of the month following the one in which they are earned, but with the New Year's Day holiday, checks or direct deposits will generally be received on Dec. 31.
Those receiving the increase include 2.5 million veterans awarded compensation for disabilities sustained or made worse during their military service, as well as 347,000 wartime veterans who are totally disabled from civilian-life causes and who receive a pension under an income-based program.
The increase also will go to 337,000 spouses, children and parents of veterans who died in service or from a service-connected condition, and
another 231,000 who are served by an income-based program for survivors of wartime veterans.
Most veterans and survivors will receive their increased VA compensation or pension through direct deposit, which VA encourages because of its speed and security.

I will cast no stones!

Dave Barker

THANKS FOR SOME MORE GOOD NEWS...

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