Response to IN RE: BILSKI

As the inventor of Medical Onshoring, I have been frequently asked about the impact of the Bilski decision.

My answer: upon information, research and belief, I believe my Medical Onshoring patent application will survive all challenges. For the following reasons:

1. Ultimate defense -- never proposed before, according to the patent search. No prior art. Novel, non-obvious, and useful. Builds new services in medical-surgical field and health care. Transforms formerly unconnected parts into a practical use (med-surg services).

2. My Medical Onshoring patent application was filed as an SBE (small business entity). U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) is required by law to do its utmost to ensure that SBEs get their patent applications approved, including writing assistance and filing assistance.

3. Per new USPTO rules (August 2009) about Bilski -- my patent application has a specific set of machine parts (e.g., I.T. equipment, med-surg equipment).

4. Per new USPTO rules (August 2009) -- my patent application has specific purposes (i.e., med-surg services), meaningful limits (health care), and all methods are directed at the target process (health care) that is meaningful.


(c) 2010, C.A. Chien. All rights reserved

HBS: Can the "Masks of Command" Coexist with Authentic Leadership?

Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic and now a professor at the Harvard Business School, thinks he knows the answers.

George lays out the elements of "authentic leadership" in his book of the same name. They are:

"(1) pursuing purpose with passion: Authentic leaders must first understand themselves and their passions;

(2) practicing solid values: values are personal, but integrity is required of all leaders;

(3) leading with heart: it means having passion for your work, compassion for the people you serve, empathy for the people you work with, and the courage to make difficult decisions;

(4) establishing enduring relationships: people insist on access to, as well as openness and depth of relationships with, their leaders;

(5) demonstrating self-discipline: this requires accepting full responsibility for outcomes and holding others accountable for their performance."

Gallup: "Americans Consider Crossing Borders for Medical Care"

Hmm ..

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While domestic healthcare costs are expected to increase to an estimated 21% of GDP by 2010, some Americans may be interested in taking their healthcare spending elsewhere. A recent Gallup Poll finds that up to 29% of Americans would consider traveling abroad for medical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hip or knee replacement, plastic surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment, or alternative medical care, even though all are routinely done in the United States.

FYI: AMA medical tourism statement

The AMA advocates that employers, insurance companies, and other entities that facilitate or incentivize medical care outside the U.S. adhere to the following principles:

(a) Medical care outside of the U.S. must be voluntary.

(b) Financial incentives to travel outside the U.S. for medical care should not inappropriately limit the diagnostic and therapeutic

More patients looking at home before going abroad for medical procedures

F.U.D. -- fear, uncertainty, doubt

Galichia Heart Hospital in Wichita, Kan., recently decided that it could break into a market monopolized by overseas hospitals—and offer high-quality, more-convenient care to patients.

In conducting research of medical tourism options in other countries, “we visited hospitals in Singapore, India and the Philippines—the biggest areas drawing Americans,” says Steve Harris, the 85-bed hospital’s CEO.

What the hospital’s administrators found was that the travel experience to these countries “was awful,” Harris says. Recovering from heart surgery or hip replacement, then having to sit for 20 hours on a plane back to the U.S. from some common medical-tourism destinations, isn’t an ideal situation for many patients, he says.

FYI: this week's call list

A start-up's life is never dull. On the sales call-list this week --

• Major SE tribe
• Major SW tribe
• Major GP tribe
• Major provider in India
• Major provider in Thailand
• Major provider in South Korea

1,000,000+ "MedOn" customers?

Today's news: one of the USA's largest, most-trusted member-organizations has agreed to review Medical Onshoring (patent-pending) for usability. If given a positive review, insurers (e.g., Blue Cross/Blue Shield) and venture capitalists would be suitably impressed.