May 12, 2012 (San Diego, CA) – San Diego solar panel provider Solaire Energy Systems is proud to announce its April 2012 promotion to Elite Dealer status by leading solar panel manufacturer SunPower.  Recognized industry-wide for its quality, efficient energy production, and extreme durability, SunPower awards Elite status to its highest level of solar panel dealers.

In December of 2011, Solaire was named the #1 SunPower dealer in San Diego since partnering with SunPower – and their consistent quality installation of solar energy systems from SunPower has fueled their continued success.  The “Elite Dealer” status is awarded to distributors who adhere to a strict set of performance standards set in place by SunPower and designed to ensure that those companies offer an extremely high level of customer service and product expertise.  Elite Dealers must also complete a training program, and their installations are inspected regularly by SunPower representatives to ensure that quality standards are being met.  Elite Dealers must also reach a consistent customer satisfaction score of above 90 percent.

“Solaire Energy Systems is very excited that our commitment to superior workmanship and dedication to customer service is being recognized within the solar community,” says Trey McCann, Solaire’s Chief Operations Officer.  “We are excited to continue providing our customers with an excellent product at a great price.”

Solar panel systems produced by SunPower are proven in independent third-party studies to produce up to 50 percent more power per unit than conventional solar panels.  They can also provide up to 100 percent more energy per unit than thin-film solar panels, making them one of the most efficient choices on the solar market.  In addition to their extreme energy production capabilities and long-lasting durability, SunPower panels feature a sleek black design that matches any color of residential rooftop without looking awkward or unpleasant.

A study by the U.S. Department of Energy showed that installing a solar energy system increases the sale value of a home by an average of $17,000 – an enormous benefit to homeowners given the difficult 2012 housing market.  With a quality solar panel San Diego residents can increase the value of their home, reduce or eliminate their energy bills, and contribute to environmental efforts in an affordable and forward-thinking way.

About Solaire Energy Systems
Solaire Energy Systems is a leading San Diego solar panel provider specializing in solar panel installation, high-efficiency HVAC, solar hot water systems, and solar pool heating systems.  Their recognition as an Elite SunPower dealer reflects their commitment to quality and customer service.  For more information, visit http://www.gosolaire.com.

May 10, 2012 (New York, NY) – The Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a prominent New York City-based clinical and research center specializing in female and male infertility treatment, announced a research collaboration agreement with the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (URSMD) to commence on July 1^st, 2012. This collaborative effort between investigators at URSMD and CHR aims to combine two institutions with strong common interests and expertise in exploring the process of follicle maturation, and especially the role of androgens in female reproduction.

Lead investigators are Aritro Sen, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, and Stephen R. Hammes, MD, PhD, Professor, both in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at URSMD and who have published pioneering work on the subject in a rodent model; and Norbert Gleicher, MD, CHR’s Chief Scientist, and David H. Barad, MD, MS, Senior Scientist at CHR, who by introducing the androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) into infertility treatment have revolutionized the treatment of women with low ovarian reserve worldwide.

“The goal of this research collaboration is to combine complementary animal and laboratory expertise at URSMD with clinical expertise at CHR,” explains Dr. Gleicher. “By combining research in URSMD’s unique animal model and CHR’s large clinical human experience, we aim to better understand how DHEA, as well as other androgens, improves female fertility.”

“This is a very exciting development,” adds Dr. Barad. “We have known for years now that DHEA improves pregnancy chances but only very recently learned that this very likely occurs through conversion of DHEA to testosterone. For all practical purposes, this means that the process very likely involves the androgen receptor (AR) on granulosa cells.” Dr. Barad continues: “For this kind of work, our colleagues at URSMD have the ideal mouse model.”

Dr. Sen, who will become a Visiting Assistant Scientist at CHR, chimes in: “we are very much looking forward to this collaboration, which should be very beneficial for both institutions.”

About Center for Human Reproduction
Center for Human Reproduction (CHR, http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com) is a leading fertility center in New York City with a worldwide reputation as a “fertility center of last resort,” offering cutting-edge, research-based treatment options to infertility patients. CHR introduced DHEA supplementation into infertility care in 2004. Dr. Gleicher, Dr. Barad and Dr. Sen are available for additional comments.

Automating the workflow at your medical practice helps to improve every aspect of your office functioning.  By improving the flow and availability of information within your practice, the staff members handling your billing will better be able to access the data that they need in order to perform basic tasks without needing to consult paper files or other employees.

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation is the implementation of software technology to improve efficiency within a company by coordinating the transfer of information between different staff members.   This includes ensuring that the right person has access to the information they need in order to properly perform their job.

Many medical practices and hospitals are choosing to automate workflow within their offices by implementing a medical revenue cycle management solution.  There are a variety of different services available, ranging from installable software solutions to completely third-party healthcare revenue cycle management programs, but most agree that having a system in place to automate medical collections and billing is the best way to increase revenue and collect 100% of what is owed to the practice.

What types of office functions can workflow automation help with?

An automated system can help with a number of basic office and administrative tasks, allowing your staff to save hours and hours of time each week.  A workflow automation system could help you with:

• Entering repetitive data.  Labor-intensive tasks like entering patient information eat up hours and hours of time.
• Generate data and reports.  Imagine a report detailing which patients owe money, how long they’ve owed money, how often they’ve been contacted about their outstanding bills, and whether they’ve responded.  This information helps you and your team both analyze the effectiveness of your collections process and how much money is owed to the practice.
• Helps improve collections frees up your staff.  Choosing a third-party revenue cycle management company can actually save your practice time and money in the long run by allowing a team of experts to dedicate their day to collections.

April 13, 2012 (New York, NY) – FERTINATAL™, the first and only dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) nutritional supplement designed to enhance female fertility, has entered the market today.

The launch took longer than expected, because Fertility Nutraceuticals, LLC – which developed the supplement – made unusual efforts to ensure that FERTINATAL™ DHEA for women would fulfill all of the required specifications which the product was designed for, with consistency across every tablet, according to Fertility Nutraceuticals. The required repeat rounds of quality-assurance testing at independent laboratories delayed the launch, initially scheduled for January.

“It was extremely frustrating, especially since we have seen increasing demand since we announced FERTINATAL last December,” notes Yu Kizawa, the company’s Director of Marketing and Sales. “Now, we are excited to be able to offer probably the most reliable micronized DHEA product on the market, and the only one specifically designed for women who have a difficult time conceiving.”

FERTINATAL™ was developed with strict adherence to the specifications of the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR, http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com), a research-driven fertility center in New York City that introduced DHEA supplementation for women with diminished ovarian reserve. Because of the high quality standard of FERTINATAL™, CHR, the only holder of female fertility-related U.S. patents for DHEA supplementation, endorses FERTINATAL™.

“Over-the-counter DHEA products can be very inconsistent in quality, even within the same brand,” explains Norbert Gleicher, MD, medical director of CHR. “Based on the unique quality control process of FERTINATAL™, we are confident that this new product will deliver the kind of consistency and quality we, up to this point, have been able to achieve only through pharmacy-compounded DHEA by prescription.  We, therefore, feel confident in endorsing FERTINATAL™.”

FERTINATAL™ is available for purchase at $69.50 per box (a one-month supply), online at http://www.fertinatal.com.

About Fertility Nutraceuticals, LLC
Fertiltiy Nutraceuticals, LLC, is a company specializing in nutritional supplements for women in reproductive years. The company is dedicated to developing highest-quality nutritional supplements for women with fertility problems, trying to achieve healthy pregnancies. FERTINATAL™ is the company’s first product, with additional products planned for rollout throughout 2012.

April 4, 2012 (New York, NY) —A new study by New York’s Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) has cast doubts on the efficacy of low intensity IVF (LI-IVF) programs, marketed under various names like “mini IVF” and “natural IVF.” According to the study, LI-IVF programs, which utilize lower doses of fertility medications to reduce costs and monitoring visits, do not live up to their proponents’ claims of pregnancy rates comparable to those in conventional low cost IVF.

To evaluate the claims that LI-IVF is more economical and more “patient-friendly,” researchers at CHR matched patients in LI-IVF cycles to comparable patients undergoing traditional IVF cycles. In the resulting study, just published online in the medical journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online¹, patients in LI-IVF cycles produced significantly fewer oocytes and embryos, and faced much lower pregnancy rates. Lower pregnancy rates for LI-IVF patients were observed both in initial IVF cycles and cumulatively, taking account of subsequent transfers of cryopreserved embryos.

Most surprisingly, however, when overall costs to achieve a pregnancy were compared, highly touted “cost savings” with LI-IVF were nowhere to be observed. Lower pregnancy rates associated with LI-IVF meant that LI-IVF patients on average needed more cycles to have a take-home baby, which meant the lower per-cycle cost of LI-IVF did not translate into lower cost to achieve a successful pregnancy and delivery. Patients in LI-IVF cycles also took longer to conceive.

“LI-IVF appears to reduce pregnancy chances and prolong time to conception without offering any appreciable compensatory financial benefits,” summarizes Norbert Gleicher, MD, the study’s lead author and medical director of CHR. “When patients started asking for LI-IVF at our center, we, like many other IVF centers, decided to offer the procedure. In contrast to other centers, we, however, explained to our patients that LI-IVF should still be considered ‘experimental’ since no data existed, that compared this method of IVF to standard IVF.”

CHR required that patients sign “experimental” informed consents, and started accumulating outcome data.  Dr. Gleicher now notes: “As the result of our study well demonstrates, doing otherwise would have been rather unethical.”

“We must caution patients against resorting to ‘mini IVF’ or ‘natural IVF’ without carefully weighing their options,” warns David Barad, MD, another author of the study and director of clinical ART at CHR. “Until more data becomes available, physicians should offer LI-IVF only as an experimental procedure.”

¹Gleicher N et al., A case-control pilot study of low-intensity IVF in good-prognosis patients. Reprod Biomed Online 2012; In press. [Epub ahead of print].

About Center for Human Reproduction
Center for Human Reproduction (CHR, http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com) is a leading fertility center in New York City with a worldwide reputation as a “fertility center of last resort,” offering cutting-edge, research-based treatment options to patients with even the most complex cases of infertility. Dr. Gleicher and Dr. Barad are available for additional comments.

March 19, 2012 (New York, NY) – A genotype of the FMR1 (fragile X mental retardation) gene preserves a woman’s ability to produce eggs (oocytes) well into the 40s, according to an ovarian aging study just published in the medical journal PLoS One¹.

Conducted at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a fertility center in New York City specializing in fertility treatments for older women, the study compared egg yields during in vitro fertilization (IVF) in women above age 40 with varying FMR1 genotypes and sub-genotypes.

In women with very poor ovarian reserve (i.e., women with the poorest ovarian function), the FMR1 sub-genotype het-norm/high (normal CGG repeat count on one allele, abnormally high count on the other) produced significantly more eggs than other genotypes and sub-genotypes. This observation suggests that the het-norm/high FMR1 sub-genotype preserves a woman’s ability to produce a good number of eggs at older ages even if the ovarian reserve is severely reduced.

“From our previous research, we knew that the het-norm/high sub-genotype was responsible for slow recruitment of eggs into maturation process at younger ages than other genotypes and sub-genotypes,” explains Norbert Gleicher, MD, lead author of the study and Medical Director of CHR. “Because these women ‘use up’ fewer eggs from their egg reserve, we suspected that they may have more eggs left when older. This study confirmed this hypothesis, demonstrating that women with this sub-genotype performed better in IVF cycles than even women with normal FMR1 genotype.”

These findings further enhance the understanding of genetic control over the process of ovarian aging, and further refine prognostication in older women undergoing fertility treatments. Given that oocyte yields in IVF cycles usually correlate with pregnancy chances, older women with extremely low ovarian reserve, therefore, appear to have better chances of success if their FMR1 sub-genotype is het-norm/high.

¹Gleicher N et al. The impact in older women of ovarian FMR1 genotypes and sub-genotypes on ovarian reserve. PLoS One 2012:e33638. [http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033638]

About Center for Human Reproduction

Center for Human Reproduction, or CHR (http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com), is a leading fertility center in the United States with a worldwide reputation as a “fertility center of last resort,” specializing in treatment of infertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, including younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA) and older women with physiological ovarian aging. Dr. Gleicher is available for additional comments.

March 07, 2012 (New York, NY) – Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a leading New York fertility center specializing in fertility treatment for women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), has issued a fertility tip sheet for young women with DOR. Younger women with DOR often spend months or even years before receiving the correct diagnosis, resulting in significant delays in appropriate fertility treatments.

“Detecting DOR is not difficult,” says Dr. Gleicher, Medical Director and Chief Scientist of CHR. He continues: “Ovarian reserve can be easily measured by simple blood tests, like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).  High FSH and/or low AMH suggest a diagnosis of DOR but both need to be assessed in an age-specific way.”

However, many fertility centers, unused to treating younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA; a term coined by CHR to describe younger women with DOR), often overlook this condition. “They overlook the diagnosis,” explains Dr. Gleicher, “because they do not utilize age-specific cut off values for FSH and AMH.”

Normal FSH ranges increase and normal AMH ranges decrease as women age.  If all women of all ages are assessed with universal cutoff values, younger women will never be diagnosed in timely fashion. “Unfortunately,” says Dr. Gleicher, “this is what is still done in many fertility centers.”

Once diagnosed with POA, like older women, women with POA have little time to lose since there is no telling how quickly their POA will progress. Though very rapid progression is rare, according to Dr. Gleicher, CHR physicians have seen women go into full menopause in a few short months after diagnosis.

Dr. Gleicher continues: “There isn’t a day when we don’t hear our patients say ‘doctor, I wish I’d known about your center months ago, when I was doing such and such…’ The earlier we can start treatment, the better, of course, our chances of helping our patients with POA!”

CHR’s tips for younger women with POA to receive timely diagnosis and treatment include the following:

• Be very skeptical of the pseudo-diagnosis of “unexplained infertility.” Especially in younger women, this diagnosis only means that a diagnosis of POA was missed.
• Insist on age-specific ovarian reserve testing with FSH and AMH.
• If your age-specific FSH and/or AMH values are abnormal before age 40, you likely suffer from POA.
• If that is not clearly spelled out to you, your physician may have little experience with diagnosis and treatment of POA, and it may be time for a second opinion.
• Remember that with a diagnosis of POA, time is crucial, because nobody can predict how quickly your ovarian reserve will further decline.

About Center for Human Reproduction

Center for Human Reproduction, or CHR, is a leading fertility center in the United States with a worldwide reputation as a “fertility center of last resort,” specializing in treatment of infertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, including younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA) and older women with physiological ovarian aging. Dr. Gleicher is available for additional comments.

One-third of the nation’s primary care providers are enrolled in a regional health IT extension center (REC) to receive assistance with deploying an electronic records system and meet meaningful use criteria.  As of January this year, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) analyzed the 4,100 reports submitted to RECs from physicians regarding vendors and software being their biggest barrier to meeting EHR meaningful use.

According to the article on Government Health IT, physicians reported to RECs that the biggest obstacle they face in meeting EHR meaningful use criteria is waiting for vendors to upgrade their software or get ONC-ATCB certified.  The vendor selection dilemma accounted for 34 percent of all reported barriers.  The problem does not appear that there aren’t any vendors who meet meaningful use, but quite the opposite.  ONC staff member Dawn Heisey-Grove believes there to be too many vendors to choose from to the point that it works to the physician’s detriment.  “My general sense is I think it may be an overabundance of choices.  Hundreds are certified.  And a large portion of providers were doing rip-and-replace,” Heisey-Grove told the meaningful use panel of the advisory Health IT Policy Committee last week.

Despite the reported roadblocks, 26 percent of reporting physicians said they are still on track to attesting meaningful use.  The data from the REC reports was collected to examine how physicians are handling EHR implementation and Stage 1 meaningful use.  These meaningful use attestation barrier reports may be used as empirical evidence to support testimonies in public hearings.   ”One of the important things for meaningful use is understanding real world experiences, and this is some of the first real-world data we’ve gotten and provided in a quantitative way,” said Josh Seidman, director of the ONC’s meaningful use division.

http://govhealthit.com/news/rec-data-shows-docs-waiting-vendor-ehr-upgrades

March 1, 2012 (New York, NY) – Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a leading New York fertility center specializing in pregnancy in older women, has issued a fertility tip sheet for women trying to get pregnant after age 40. With a growing number of women interested in pregnancy over 40, timely evaluation and diagnosis of infertility are becoming ever more important.  However, they remain elusive for many patients.

“It’s important to recognize the urgency of aggressive fertility treatment when you are above age 40,” says Dr. Gleicher, Medical Director of CHR, which released the tip sheet. As women get older, their ovarian reserve (a measure of ovaries’ ability to produce good-quality eggs) declines. Because this process of ovarian aging speeds up significantly after age 40, timely diagnosis of infertility becomes crucial especially after age 40. Every fertility treatment loses efficacy rapidly with declining ovarian reserve.

As a “fertility center of last resort” for patients with diminished ovarian reserve, CHR sees a large number of women over 40 with premature ovarian aging.  Dr. Gleicher continues: “There isn’t a day when we don’t hear our patients say ‘doctor, I wish I’d known about your center years ago, when I was doing such and such…’ The earlier we can start treatment, the better, of course, our chances of helping our patients! This is why we are issuing this fertility tip sheet.”

CHR’s fertility tips for women trying to get pregnant after 40 include:

• Recognize the urgency of aggressive fertility treatment when you are above age 40.
• Insist on rapid diagnosis and a structured treatment plan.
• Insist on specific treatment goals that meet your expectations.  For example, do not agree to treatment with clomiphene citrate and intrauterine insemination (IUI) if the expected pregnancy chance sounds ridiculously low.
• Do not agree to endless testing to “wait for the right results” – time is not on your side, and results will only get worse!
• It never hurts to get a second opinion.

About Center for Human Reproduction

Center for Human Reproduction, or CHR (http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com), is a leading fertility center in the United States with a worldwide reputation as a “fertility center of last resort,” specializing in treatment of infertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, including younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA) and older women with physiological ovarian aging. Dr. Gleicher is available for additional comments.

February 15, 2012 (Las Vegas, Nevada) – EMRapproved.com, the definitive web resource for everything regarding electronic medical records, will be returning to this year’s 2012 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in booth #4734. Taking place February 20-24 at the Venetian Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, the conference will feature over 30,000 healthcare industry professionals and 1,100 exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions with the goal of improving care.

EMRapproved.com provides unbiased research and interactive online tools to help physicians, medical staff and  IT professionals manage their projects and mitigate the risks associated with the implementation  and continued care of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. This robust website provides access to the most comprehensive set of tools, educational resources, implementation services, news and compatible products for providers of all sizes and specialties across the continuum of care.

Visitors to the EMRapproved booth will have complimentary computerized access to their unique EMR Comparison Tool. This tool draws from the company’s extensive database, allowing users to consider solutions side-by-side then print a personalized chart. The free chart will show EMR vendor booth numbers with a printed map so that visitors may continue their research on the exhibition floor. All booth visitors will also receive a Seal Shield Antimicrobial keyboard just for playing the fun online HIMSS MEDICAL TRIVIA game and will be entered in a raffle to win one of many exciting technology prizes.

During the show, EMRapproved will also be sponsoring “MU LIVE! FROM HIMSS” – a web and audio streaming talk-radio program with news and interviews regarding meaningful use. The program will be hosted onsite by their knowledgeable partners at HITECHanswers.net.

EMRapproved.com will also be showcasing their online educational and marketing programs.  The Healthcare IT University and EMR Project Management programs offer IT techs and medical staff a path to EMR and healthcare IT certification, additionally giving them a range of opportunities to assist the growing EMR community with their new EMRPro Outreach Toolkit.  The US government has estimated a shortfall of over 50,000 qualified Health IT workers, and these unique programs are designed to help resolve this potential threat to improved patient care The EMRapproved development team will also be launching the exciting new EMRProPage tool to offer HIT professionals, resellers, vendors and service providers the opportunity to embed constantly updated EMR tools, education, resources, blogs and news within their own branded site.

The annual HIMSS conference is one of the world’s largest healthcare IT gatherings. Keynote speakers include Twitter co-founder Biz Stone; National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM; and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

About EMRapproved.com
EMRapproved.com offers comprehensive EMR consulting and technology resources for the entire medical community.  The site’s tools, educational programs and EMR/EHR directory makes it the most complete and unique EMR resource on the web.  To learn more, visit http://www.emrapproved.com.