Might as well stretch things out further by running everything in reverse as well:
Here lies the residue of "The Animating Apothecary," a source of obscure ephemera and thoughts. Instagram? see - https://www.instagram.com/animating_apothecary/ also check out asifa.org and asifa.net - content (c) 2006-2026 Jim Middleton (一個古怪的老頭，總是揮舞著雙手，哈哈大笑。or -手を振りながらよく笑うクレイジーな老人 or 손을 흔들며 웃는 미친 노인 )
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Sindecuse Interstitial #3 - Train Ride
A different collection of stills, from the Gilmore Theatre to the health center, shot over two days when the battery failed. You will note the change in the sky color about midway. The banking effect didn't quite come out as planned. As with the other examples, everything was shot in 0.3meg pixel six for quick import and assembly using Sony Vegas as the editing software. Four frames per image, with one frame overlapping the previous image.
The ending after the flagpole was accelerated further with Vegas effects following the render to mp4 format.
Here goes!
The ending after the flagpole was accelerated further with Vegas effects following the render to mp4 format.
Here goes!
Sindecuse Interstitial #2 - Cartoony Sound Effects
The same footage as the previous posting, with different sound effects:
Interstitial Stop Motion Pieces - Sindecuse Pharmacy at WMU
Last June, there were days that actually resembled lunch breaks at the pharmacy, and about 600 photographs cluttered the SD drive in no time. Finally, when nobody was looking, the assembly was possible. And that allowed for several variations, mainly based on changes in pacing and soundtracks. Here goes...
Number One: SciFi type SFX
Number One: SciFi type SFX
Monday, December 30, 2013
Stop Motion Pharmacy Material
Stop motion sequence tests for links in a pharmacy education film series.
(c) 1991 The Animating Apothecary
Original tests on Super 8mm film; subsequent work on 16mm
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Puppy Alarm!
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| (c) 2013 The Animating Apothecary |
Sparrow makes certain that daddy won't oversleep past 6am .... such a nice puppy ...
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Digital Images for Textbook
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| (c) 2013 The Animating Apothecary |
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| (c) 2013 The Animating Apothecary |
Two more down, about another 300 to go...
T-Shirt/Mug Design ca 1987
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| (c) 1987, 2013 The Animation Apothecary |
The t-shirts recycled, the mugs all broken -- it may be time to run with CafePress now!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Epi Pens Pack a Punch
Just in case anyone is wondering IF Epi-Pens work fast and hard, here's a personal experience.
The pharmacy received about a half dozen outdated pens for destruction, so in keeping with a need to reduce space, your humble typist thought it wise to depackage them before tossing them into the sharps container.
Along the way, one of them went KerPOW and right into my left thumb.
Quick reactions notwithstanding, a few drops managed to penetrate the epidermal layer.
First of all, the needle didn't handle the experience well, either:
And then there were some changes in the physiological makeup of the left thumb (note- it didn't really look that green):
And then came the bruising, with just the hint of numbness along the top. Fortunately, it was just a drop, and the effects began to reverse with continuous warm water soaks and jamming the thumb in question into the heat vent of the dashboard on the trip home.
The next morning, all was well, with just the lingering sensation of having annoyed a bumblebee....
The pharmacy received about a half dozen outdated pens for destruction, so in keeping with a need to reduce space, your humble typist thought it wise to depackage them before tossing them into the sharps container.
Along the way, one of them went KerPOW and right into my left thumb.
Quick reactions notwithstanding, a few drops managed to penetrate the epidermal layer.
First of all, the needle didn't handle the experience well, either:
The next morning, all was well, with just the lingering sensation of having annoyed a bumblebee....
Friday, November 08, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Prayer in Schools - just thinkin' ....
In an 1802 letter to the Baptists of Danbury,
Connecticut, Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase “separation of Church and
State.” He used it to explain his conviction that the first amendment to the
Constitution was meant to “restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he
has no natural right in opposition to his social duties;” that there should not
be an established church by the State, but that all citizens should have
religious freedom in this nation.
His was a time of forced tithing to the Anglican church, with its doctrines carrying the essential force of law. Because Jefferson was tolerant of all religions, he was attacked as atheist, just as Socrates was called “that atheist who only believes in one god.”
The phrase, “separation of Church and State,” has been held as a banner by both sides of the prayer issue. The issue, actually, is moot.
There is no prohibition on prayer in schools.
What there is, however, is a prohibition of an adult authority figure, whose salary is paid by public funds, to initiate a group prayer activity toward impressionable youth who are heavily influenced by peer pressures.
Those who contend that prayer is “forbidden” are actually upset that “their” prayer is forbidden. The Gallup and Lindsay poll of 1999 indicating that 2/3 of the population supports an amendment that would permit prayer in school shows how effective that campaign has been to give the perception that prayer is somehow presently disallowed.
I grew up in a time of public school, teacher-lead prayer over our mid-session Kindergarten snack of dubious nutritional value.
The rote repetition of “GodisgreatGodisgoodLetusthankHimforourfoodamen” meant nothing to me, and its court mandated absence in 1962 also meant nothing. I only recall asking my teacher about the word “amen,” thinking it should be “a man” or “the men” and being told it was time for my nap.
His was a time of forced tithing to the Anglican church, with its doctrines carrying the essential force of law. Because Jefferson was tolerant of all religions, he was attacked as atheist, just as Socrates was called “that atheist who only believes in one god.”
The phrase, “separation of Church and State,” has been held as a banner by both sides of the prayer issue. The issue, actually, is moot.
There is no prohibition on prayer in schools.
What there is, however, is a prohibition of an adult authority figure, whose salary is paid by public funds, to initiate a group prayer activity toward impressionable youth who are heavily influenced by peer pressures.
Those who contend that prayer is “forbidden” are actually upset that “their” prayer is forbidden. The Gallup and Lindsay poll of 1999 indicating that 2/3 of the population supports an amendment that would permit prayer in school shows how effective that campaign has been to give the perception that prayer is somehow presently disallowed.
I grew up in a time of public school, teacher-lead prayer over our mid-session Kindergarten snack of dubious nutritional value.
The rote repetition of “GodisgreatGodisgoodLetusthankHimforourfoodamen” meant nothing to me, and its court mandated absence in 1962 also meant nothing. I only recall asking my teacher about the word “amen,” thinking it should be “a man” or “the men” and being told it was time for my nap.
Language as a function of culture
(trimmed from an assigned essay for an MCTE program at FSU, ca. 2002, discussing whether "ebonics" was a language or a dialect...)
At its most basic, language signifies “any sound utter’d by an animal, by which it expresses any of its passions, sensations, or affections. The amorous pigeon does not trust solely to his plaintive cooing in order to soften the rigour of his reluctant mate, but adds to it the most submissive and expressive gestures.”(Encyclopoedia Brittanica, 1771)
The definition of two centuries past correlates well with the concepts with which we regard language among societies and civilizations today. Language both represents and reflects many aspects of a culture, and it can be seen as a sign of unity among members of a particular culture group. It can be analyzed—in terms of vocabulary and structure—for clues about the values and beliefs of a culture group. When communicated in writing, language can also become a visible marker that provides a way of tracing the history of a culture. Language also includes the non-spoken expression and gesture, with a wiggled eyebrow or smile adding depth of meaning beyond the uttered word.
Language may represent a means of stereotyping one group or another. It may be used as a means to classify one’s educational background, or receptiveness to its enhancements.
The wrong choice of words may come across as substandard or crude. When the Normans invaded England in 1066, they brought with them their French culture and Romance-based language to the Saxon throne. Words that were derived from the Germanic or Anglo-Saxon background became considered crude and have carried this stigma to the present day (many of the seven words George Carlin explained you “could not say on TV” descend from Anglican and Germanic, not Latin, roots; the same words in Latin or French are considered medical diagnoses).
At its most basic, language signifies “any sound utter’d by an animal, by which it expresses any of its passions, sensations, or affections. The amorous pigeon does not trust solely to his plaintive cooing in order to soften the rigour of his reluctant mate, but adds to it the most submissive and expressive gestures.”(Encyclopoedia Brittanica, 1771)
The definition of two centuries past correlates well with the concepts with which we regard language among societies and civilizations today. Language both represents and reflects many aspects of a culture, and it can be seen as a sign of unity among members of a particular culture group. It can be analyzed—in terms of vocabulary and structure—for clues about the values and beliefs of a culture group. When communicated in writing, language can also become a visible marker that provides a way of tracing the history of a culture. Language also includes the non-spoken expression and gesture, with a wiggled eyebrow or smile adding depth of meaning beyond the uttered word.
Language may represent a means of stereotyping one group or another. It may be used as a means to classify one’s educational background, or receptiveness to its enhancements.
The wrong choice of words may come across as substandard or crude. When the Normans invaded England in 1066, they brought with them their French culture and Romance-based language to the Saxon throne. Words that were derived from the Germanic or Anglo-Saxon background became considered crude and have carried this stigma to the present day (many of the seven words George Carlin explained you “could not say on TV” descend from Anglican and Germanic, not Latin, roots; the same words in Latin or French are considered medical diagnoses).
Tips on Writing Essays - a revisit from the past (ca 2003)
My basics of
writing a theme make use of the theories of three fairly important writers.
First, I consider Peter DeVries, who wrote that all stories should have a
"beginning, a muddle, and an end." Then I move on to Aristotle and his
contention that we begin with a "thesis," create its opposite, or "antithesis,"
and then find a manner of integrating the two by creating a "synthesis."
Finally, I bow to the venerable and often veneered Benjamin Franklin, a writer
who took the pragmatic approach of creating lists as a means of reaching a
conclusion on nearly any subject.
The approaches of these three men forge a universal template I use in my general, theme-based writings. I sum up the ideas as follows:
1. State your thesis in unequivocal terms in an opening paragraph. Strive to be definite about your thesis, avoiding "seems" and "could be" and "perhaps" in your wording. The idea is to sound authoritative, thus giving the opportunity to promote discussion and interaction. (This is a variation on the Strunk and White adage of, "If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud.") To make things sound more "worldly" try to incorporate something you have recently read, or may assume many others have already read, as a reference (and if not recent, well, use something you remember well). This will make your thesis sound knowledgeable, or at least give the impression that you have examined more sources than the primary assignment stipulates. Again, using "public domain" material, or easily recognized material helps considerably, and if there is a special niche to which you have intimate knowledge, incorporate that as well.
2. At this point, take full advantage of the miracle of word processors and write your concluding paragraph. You should restate your thesis in new terms, perhaps adding a generalization about society that can be drawn by common knowledge. This may end up sounding like a load of "yadda yadda yadda," but it gives closure to the report. It may seem out of place to do so at this time in the writing, but you have your idea still fresh in your mind at this point. The first and final paragraphs are the most important for demonstrating your creativity, since teachers are (often) human and sometimes struggle with deadlines of their own.
3. Now the listing starts. Between the two paragraphs you have now written, generate a list of "pros" and "cons" that can bolster or shatter your thesis. Having now followed the lead of Dr. Franklin, consider Aristotle–is there a way that an "antithesis" can be assimilated into your initial "thesis" as a point of discussion?
4. If you find you have at least a half dozen points supporting your contention that outweigh those that could dispel your statement (by number or by strength), then begin the task of creating sentences for each of the points. Here is where a thesaurus is vital, or better yet, with modern word processors, practically every word in the English language is listed with its synonym or antonym available in the menu bar. USE THESE FREELY. Often you will find that a new word can generate a completely new idea or help create a completely new sentence.
5. Now cut and paste. Move the sentences around, adding whatever thoughts may emerge as you do. You will find that certain sentences are redundant or that some of your ideas "don't play well with others." You may find you have several ideas that emerge and then seem to naturally group together. To state the obvious, group them together! If enough of them emerge that your paper is becoming larger than anticipated, list the general ideas at the start of the paper and then break your composition into sections that elaborate on each of your ideas.
6. Provide transitions between your discussion topics. If you are talking about the weather in one part and then jump to analytical chemistry in the next, you will need to toss in a few lines as a separate paragraph to ease the reader to the next subject without the transition becoming abrupt.
7. Finally, if you have a "grammar check" with your word processor, USE IT FREELY. Often such a check will help you identify sentences with changes in verb tense or conjugation. These things can occur very easily when tossing in ideas as a general list. They often give you a word count as well, so you can feel properly amazed at how quickly you were able to generate a load of material in a relatively simple (if somewhat mechanical) fashion.
I use this approach whether writing the interminable reports or generating the rather mundane monographs for pharmacy journals. I also wait until the very end to do things like double spacing, tabs, and margins...it's always more important to clutter up that intimidating blank page with ideas first.
Of course, I also throw many of these concepts to the wind in blogosphere rants, just because I never listen when I talk to myself.
PS - if you have the luxury of time, once completed with your opus, let it sit alone for at least a day and think about what it has done... then revisit it with a clear head... that's when the fun (rewrite) begins!
The approaches of these three men forge a universal template I use in my general, theme-based writings. I sum up the ideas as follows:
1. State your thesis in unequivocal terms in an opening paragraph. Strive to be definite about your thesis, avoiding "seems" and "could be" and "perhaps" in your wording. The idea is to sound authoritative, thus giving the opportunity to promote discussion and interaction. (This is a variation on the Strunk and White adage of, "If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud.") To make things sound more "worldly" try to incorporate something you have recently read, or may assume many others have already read, as a reference (and if not recent, well, use something you remember well). This will make your thesis sound knowledgeable, or at least give the impression that you have examined more sources than the primary assignment stipulates. Again, using "public domain" material, or easily recognized material helps considerably, and if there is a special niche to which you have intimate knowledge, incorporate that as well.
2. At this point, take full advantage of the miracle of word processors and write your concluding paragraph. You should restate your thesis in new terms, perhaps adding a generalization about society that can be drawn by common knowledge. This may end up sounding like a load of "yadda yadda yadda," but it gives closure to the report. It may seem out of place to do so at this time in the writing, but you have your idea still fresh in your mind at this point. The first and final paragraphs are the most important for demonstrating your creativity, since teachers are (often) human and sometimes struggle with deadlines of their own.
3. Now the listing starts. Between the two paragraphs you have now written, generate a list of "pros" and "cons" that can bolster or shatter your thesis. Having now followed the lead of Dr. Franklin, consider Aristotle–is there a way that an "antithesis" can be assimilated into your initial "thesis" as a point of discussion?
4. If you find you have at least a half dozen points supporting your contention that outweigh those that could dispel your statement (by number or by strength), then begin the task of creating sentences for each of the points. Here is where a thesaurus is vital, or better yet, with modern word processors, practically every word in the English language is listed with its synonym or antonym available in the menu bar. USE THESE FREELY. Often you will find that a new word can generate a completely new idea or help create a completely new sentence.
5. Now cut and paste. Move the sentences around, adding whatever thoughts may emerge as you do. You will find that certain sentences are redundant or that some of your ideas "don't play well with others." You may find you have several ideas that emerge and then seem to naturally group together. To state the obvious, group them together! If enough of them emerge that your paper is becoming larger than anticipated, list the general ideas at the start of the paper and then break your composition into sections that elaborate on each of your ideas.
6. Provide transitions between your discussion topics. If you are talking about the weather in one part and then jump to analytical chemistry in the next, you will need to toss in a few lines as a separate paragraph to ease the reader to the next subject without the transition becoming abrupt.
7. Finally, if you have a "grammar check" with your word processor, USE IT FREELY. Often such a check will help you identify sentences with changes in verb tense or conjugation. These things can occur very easily when tossing in ideas as a general list. They often give you a word count as well, so you can feel properly amazed at how quickly you were able to generate a load of material in a relatively simple (if somewhat mechanical) fashion.
I use this approach whether writing the interminable reports or generating the rather mundane monographs for pharmacy journals. I also wait until the very end to do things like double spacing, tabs, and margins...it's always more important to clutter up that intimidating blank page with ideas first.
Of course, I also throw many of these concepts to the wind in blogosphere rants, just because I never listen when I talk to myself.
PS - if you have the luxury of time, once completed with your opus, let it sit alone for at least a day and think about what it has done... then revisit it with a clear head... that's when the fun (rewrite) begins!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Stop Motion Test Frames - June/July 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Ferris State College and Big Rapids, ca 1976
From a crumbling 1/2 reel to reel tape, of a transfer from a 16mm original, glitches, drop outs and all...for the hard core historian of Ferris and Big Rapids in the 1970s. There may be more than one. Soundtrack is a randomly generated piece from Sony's Vegas software during the final render. It runs almost 90 seconds.
The title reads 'college' since Ferris still hadn't evolved to university status in the mid-1970s (I think they were still trying to use up letterhead that read 'Ferris Institute' at that point).
The model pharmacy shown is virtually unchanged since this was filmed. Which, of course, means it has been virtually unused for almost 40 years. Egad. I do not appear in this clip, but I had a pair of bell bottom pants like the ones worn by the 'patient' in the film. And those are probably in a box somewhere, as well...like this video was.
This was originally filmed to be part of a pharmacy promotion video to run during student orientation at Ferris State College. It hasn't aired since 1977, probably to the relief of the administration of the pharmacy school. Only one of the pharmacies shown - Martz and Shapley's - is still in business, but in a different location. Growing up in Big Rapids, that pharmacy was the primary 'walk through' to the main business district, and it always smelled of witch hazel and guiafenesin. ... and they had the nastiest tasting trading stamps, too. The things one remembers.
The title reads 'college' since Ferris still hadn't evolved to university status in the mid-1970s (I think they were still trying to use up letterhead that read 'Ferris Institute' at that point).
The model pharmacy shown is virtually unchanged since this was filmed. Which, of course, means it has been virtually unused for almost 40 years. Egad. I do not appear in this clip, but I had a pair of bell bottom pants like the ones worn by the 'patient' in the film. And those are probably in a box somewhere, as well...like this video was.
This was originally filmed to be part of a pharmacy promotion video to run during student orientation at Ferris State College. It hasn't aired since 1977, probably to the relief of the administration of the pharmacy school. Only one of the pharmacies shown - Martz and Shapley's - is still in business, but in a different location. Growing up in Big Rapids, that pharmacy was the primary 'walk through' to the main business district, and it always smelled of witch hazel and guiafenesin. ... and they had the nastiest tasting trading stamps, too. The things one remembers.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Working late at the office.
Working on a camera setup...and...
...then the lights went out...
I think it was a bad circuit breaker...
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Bragging up the dog
OK, so it's the animating apothecary site, and I really do try to make things apply to animation or pharmacy...but dawgunnit, this little puppy of mine is so CUTE!!!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A Cursory Analysis of a Blue Cross Audit
One of the most dreaded notifications a pharmacy can receive is the prospect of an insurance company audit. Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are notorious for trumped up reasons to refuse claims on the most ridiculous of reasons; auditors even get a percentage of the 'disputed claim' paybacks, so you know where their interests will lie. But the standard audits from typical insurers can be - well - let's call their mathematical algorithms poetic.
For example, here is the breakdown on how Blue Cross of Michigan determines its disputed claim payback. This was all carefully written down during the 'debriefing' phase of a recent audit, as the auditor would not leave a copy of the formula with the pharmacy.
175 prescriptions were chosen from 2012, 'at random' prior to the audit, with the instructions that the original prescription, signature logs, and dispensing history were to be made available to the auditor. A 'small number' of additional prescriptions were to be requested, with a dispensing history, at the start of the audit. This 'small number' turned out to be 20, or 11.4% of the initial number. This brought the number of prescriptions to 195 for this particular audit. It was explained that this represented one prescription for each day the pharmacy was open and doing business with Blue Cross of Michigan.
The trouble is, however, that the pharmacy was open 294 days in 2012. The ratio 195/294 is 0.663. This becomes important when considering the rest of their analytical algorithm.
The prescriptions that were found to be 'payable' mainly amounted to electronic prescriptions that were handed in to the pharmacy without a physical handwritten signature from the physician. In this case, three were noted (however, the three were true electronic prescriptions, but for purposes of argument, we'll let it ride).
These three prescriptions represented a total of $140 in payments from Blue Cross that they wanted back. That is fine, one could argue, but it doesn't end there. They EXTRAPOLATE this $140 in this manner:
1. Blue Cross adds up the dollar amount of all prescriptions in the audit. Here, those 195 prescriptions amounted to $45,000
2. They then take the disputed prescription value of $140 and divide that by $45,000. This yields 0.003111. Seems like a pretty small number, to most eyes, BUT...
3. They THEN take the dollar value of the ENTIRE YEAR'S BUSINESS with Blue Cross - here it was $6,600,000 - and multiply THAT by 0.003111. That number becomes .... 20,533.26
4. They then put a dollar sign in front of that number and say THAT is your payback bill to Blue Cross for the audit. Yes, you read it right - $140 is inflated to $20,533.26.
Now, back to the numbers themselves. First of all, the number 195 somehow representing the days a pharmacy is open. Again, this particular pharmacy was actually open 294 days in that year. This means the results are OVERestimated, even by their peculiar method of statistical analysis, by 32.7%. That alone would make the 20K damages more like 13.6K, still a hyperinflationary amount.
And then to examine the 'randomness' of the audit. Of the 195 prescriptions chosen, 155 were for those where the drug cost in the prescription was over $150. There were many ways to manipulate that total cost of $45,000. In addition, carefully choosing which prescriptions to require a payback upon has a significant impact on that minute figure used in the final calculation - each 0.0001 represents $660 in the end. One could eye the term 'random' with suspicion.
This is why pharmacies go out of business. This is why pharmacies who deal with insurances (and that is all of them with the possible exception of two nationwide) cannot just fill prescriptions, they have to micromanage each of these scraps of paper. It doesn't matter if the drug is right, that the dose is right, that an interaction is uncovered or a life helped or saved. Place an initial in the wrong place, and this is the consequence. And Blue Cross is one of the 'better ones'...
Blue Cross of Michigan is currently regulated under the State of Michigan. This year, the State congress and Governor Snyder pushed through a series of their notion of reforms, under the guidance of Blue Cross, to convert it from its current form to one of less regulation and oversight by 2014.. the conversion will make Blue Cross a 'non-profit.' (an oxymoron in the insurance industry) The reason cited is to increase 'competitiveness' of Blue Cross. I doubt this sort of creative mathematics will be improved in such an environment, just as I suspect more and more will be done by Blue Cross to maintain its CEO's $3.4 million salary.
For example, here is the breakdown on how Blue Cross of Michigan determines its disputed claim payback. This was all carefully written down during the 'debriefing' phase of a recent audit, as the auditor would not leave a copy of the formula with the pharmacy.
175 prescriptions were chosen from 2012, 'at random' prior to the audit, with the instructions that the original prescription, signature logs, and dispensing history were to be made available to the auditor. A 'small number' of additional prescriptions were to be requested, with a dispensing history, at the start of the audit. This 'small number' turned out to be 20, or 11.4% of the initial number. This brought the number of prescriptions to 195 for this particular audit. It was explained that this represented one prescription for each day the pharmacy was open and doing business with Blue Cross of Michigan.
The trouble is, however, that the pharmacy was open 294 days in 2012. The ratio 195/294 is 0.663. This becomes important when considering the rest of their analytical algorithm.
The prescriptions that were found to be 'payable' mainly amounted to electronic prescriptions that were handed in to the pharmacy without a physical handwritten signature from the physician. In this case, three were noted (however, the three were true electronic prescriptions, but for purposes of argument, we'll let it ride).
These three prescriptions represented a total of $140 in payments from Blue Cross that they wanted back. That is fine, one could argue, but it doesn't end there. They EXTRAPOLATE this $140 in this manner:
1. Blue Cross adds up the dollar amount of all prescriptions in the audit. Here, those 195 prescriptions amounted to $45,000
2. They then take the disputed prescription value of $140 and divide that by $45,000. This yields 0.003111. Seems like a pretty small number, to most eyes, BUT...
3. They THEN take the dollar value of the ENTIRE YEAR'S BUSINESS with Blue Cross - here it was $6,600,000 - and multiply THAT by 0.003111. That number becomes .... 20,533.26
4. They then put a dollar sign in front of that number and say THAT is your payback bill to Blue Cross for the audit. Yes, you read it right - $140 is inflated to $20,533.26.
Now, back to the numbers themselves. First of all, the number 195 somehow representing the days a pharmacy is open. Again, this particular pharmacy was actually open 294 days in that year. This means the results are OVERestimated, even by their peculiar method of statistical analysis, by 32.7%. That alone would make the 20K damages more like 13.6K, still a hyperinflationary amount.
And then to examine the 'randomness' of the audit. Of the 195 prescriptions chosen, 155 were for those where the drug cost in the prescription was over $150. There were many ways to manipulate that total cost of $45,000. In addition, carefully choosing which prescriptions to require a payback upon has a significant impact on that minute figure used in the final calculation - each 0.0001 represents $660 in the end. One could eye the term 'random' with suspicion.
This is why pharmacies go out of business. This is why pharmacies who deal with insurances (and that is all of them with the possible exception of two nationwide) cannot just fill prescriptions, they have to micromanage each of these scraps of paper. It doesn't matter if the drug is right, that the dose is right, that an interaction is uncovered or a life helped or saved. Place an initial in the wrong place, and this is the consequence. And Blue Cross is one of the 'better ones'...
Blue Cross of Michigan is currently regulated under the State of Michigan. This year, the State congress and Governor Snyder pushed through a series of their notion of reforms, under the guidance of Blue Cross, to convert it from its current form to one of less regulation and oversight by 2014.. the conversion will make Blue Cross a 'non-profit.' (an oxymoron in the insurance industry) The reason cited is to increase 'competitiveness' of Blue Cross. I doubt this sort of creative mathematics will be improved in such an environment, just as I suspect more and more will be done by Blue Cross to maintain its CEO's $3.4 million salary.
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