Archive for May, 2008

Google Health is a far reaching program to place individual’s medical records online. This is a voluntary service that will not be monetized and data will be protected with multiple access levels. Your health records will never be displayed in Google’s search engine results pages.

Google doesn’t do exclusive business partnerships, and is in talks with local and national partners. Full list of medical business partners: Walgreens, Quest Diagnostics, Cleveland Clinic, RX America, CVS, Longs Drugs, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, American Heart Association, AllScripts, SafeMed, Medem, HealthGrades, eRx, Live Strong, MyCareTeam, My Daily Apple, Lifestar, Your Health, Solventus, HX Technologies, MyMedicalSummary, MyMedicalRecords, NoMoreClipboard.com, and MediConnect Global.

The Cleveland Clinic is the first hospital and medical practice to launch this service.

A great number of medical businesses have partnered with Google to help users manage their health data, view drug interactions, list doctors, manage prescriptions,  and control access permissions.

Upload your medical records to Google Health  http://google.com/health

Read more about  Google Health from their press event.

If you are a foreign investor, you should familiarize yourself with an E-Visa as it offers numerous benefits for owners of high-cost enterprise in the U.S.  The Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) provides nonimmigrant visa status for a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.

Foreign Medical entrepreneurs through this Act may purchase medical supply firms, medical offices, dental offices, or any other substantial business related operation. However, not all nationals apply to this Act. For example, citizens of India do not qualify.

Nationals of participating countries should be aware of the following stipulations as laid out by INA:

An investor must own a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the company. In addition, employees of the same nationality may also work on an E-2 visa. Some specific requirements include:

• The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country;
• The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise;
• The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment;

The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States;

• The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed; and
• The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.

Applicants for an E-Visa are not required to state specific intent for travel, and timeframe of stay, in the US. Also, applicants should not worry about maintaining a permanent address at their home country; the Act merely asks for an unequivocal statement of return abroad. The children of the Visa holder provided they are unmarried and under the age of 21, are entitled to the same Visa classification as the principal visa holder. The nationality of the spouse or children is irrelevant to the conditions of the Visa, and the spouse may apply for a separate working Visa while in the U.S.

With this Visa, can foreign nationals really take a advantage of a burgeoning American medical market? Are the conditions of the Visa too severe?  Also, how does this promote trade with other countries?  It seems the the Visa means to attract endogenous markets from abroad to cultivate a business here at the expense of the visa holder’s country of origin.

Unexpected hurdles while selling your medical practice must be considered before the process can begin. Imagine falling ill: how can you keep the value of your business on the market as a ‘running concept’ instead of an ‘emergency sale’? As the owner of your practice, you can decide to sell your operations, but finding buyers takes time. While ill, can you sustain overhead and operational expenses without any revenue between the time your business goes for sale, and the time it takes to complete the sale? How long can you keep your operations afloat? Three months, six months? Some illnesses are very severe, can you last a whole year?

Have you considered Disability Income Protection for Medical Professionals? Insurance policies differ according to the provider and plan, but under Disability Income Protection, the insurance provider will pay you benefits while you recover. Again, the amount of benefits paid varies, but you are looking for a policy that can offer you remittance for years, not months. Such policies are typically renewable and non-cancelable. In fact, the insurance provider will continue sending the benefits checks even if you try your hand at another line of work that won’t complicate your medical recovery. Case studies show individuals employed as guest lecturers at colleges or part-time teachers at local high schools while receiving allowances of 90k annually after an original income of 200k. In most cases, this disability income is non-taxable and the policy will be continued without a premium payment.

Falling ill does not mean falling behind on your business operations. With Disability Income Protection, you and your family have options while you create a fund to sell your business, or if you have a partner, create a fund to buy-out his or her interest in the medical business.