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Seattle, Washington-based BloomAPI has raised $2.4 million for its medical records processing software. Y Combinator, Slow Ventures, Founders Co-Op, Section 32, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Parker Conrad all contributed to the round.

HIPAA allows anyone to ask for and receivetheir medical records. But EHR systems arent always designed with an elegant way to get records out of the system, leading to a status quo where records are often printed out and then faxed, mailed, or hand-delivered to patients, as well as to insurance companies that might need them.

BloomAPI is aiming to tackle that problem by installing a free software at practices that allow them to release records securely, easily, and electronically. The company has 300 doctors in its network currently and helps transmit records for more than a million patients.

While the software is free to providers and sits on their existing systems, BloomAPI makes money by selling access to its API to insurers and other vendors. That product is called ChartPull.

Interoperability between health records has long been a goal in healthcare, one that still seems a long way off. Whats interesting about the BloomAPI approach is that, rather than tackling the huge problem of enabling seamless data sharing between EHRs, the company is just trying to make the current status quo record requests a little more high-tech. While electronically requesting and transmitting records might not be as good as real data exchange, its still quite a bit better than printing and faxing.

This is the first round of funding for the company, and it will go toward hiring engineering, operations, and sales staff in the Seattle area.

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BloomAPI gets $2.4 million for software to release digital records securely, and more easily - Healthcare IT News

If you don't need the full might of Microsoft Office on the desktop, use the free online version instead.

Do you want to use Microsoft Office without paying for it? Try the free Office Online edition.

As the name indicates, Office Online is an online version of Microsoft's popular software suite. Instead of installing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on your computer, you tap into cloud-based varieties of the different programs; all you need is a web browser.

Instead of residing on your computer, files are saved to Microsoft OneDrive, the company's cloud-based storage service. The only catch is that Office Online isn't as feature-packed as the desktop edition. You'll find all the basic editing commands but not much more. If that satisfies your needs, however, it's an option worth trying.

Office Online includes four core programs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can also tap into other apps, including Mail, People, and Calendar. Another application called Sway allows you to create interactive reports and presentations. Let's go through the steps for accessing and using Office Online to create, edit, and share your documents.

First, you'll need a Microsoft account. If you don't already have one, set it up at Microsoft's Account website. Then navigate to the Office Online website. Click on the icon for the application you wish to use, such as Word or Excel.

The page asks if you want to log in with a Microsoft, work, or school account. Assuming you don't have a work or school account, choose the option to sign in with a Microsoft account and enter your account username and password.

You're then taken to a page where you can select a template to create your document or file. For example, Microsoft Word offers templates for resumes, cover letters, flyers, and calendars. If you don't need a special template, just click on the one for New blank document.

Word Online opens for you to start creating your document. In Word, you'll find all the basic editing options via the toolbar. For example, you can set the font, point size, and other attributes of your text as well as apply certain styles. You can insert tables, pictures, page numbers, and headers and footers. You can adjust the page size, margins, and orientation. You can zoom in and out of your document. And you can run a spell check.

Your document automatically saves as you work, so there's no need to manually save it. Click on the File menu, and you can also save it with a different filename and download the file to your PC, either as a Word document or a PDF. From the File menu, you can also print your document and share it with other people by emailing them a link to it.

To open a file you're already created, click on the Open command and choose from recent documents, or click on the link to "More on OneDrive" to access all your online files.

The online versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote work similarly to Word in that they offer all the basic commands and features. To access another program in the online suite, click on the "List of Microsoft Services" button in the upper-left corner (it's the one that contains nine small squares) and then select the application you wish to open. Since the programs and your files are all online, you can access them from any Windows computer.

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Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few different technology hats. By day, he's a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. By night, he's asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. He;s written two books for Wiley & Sons: Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time in 2012, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2014. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. More

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How to Use Microsoft's Free Office Online Software | News ... - PCMag - PCMag

A Miami judge has ruled that a new provision in the states Stand Your Ground law is unconstitutional because the legislature overstepped its rightful authority when it increased protections for defendants in self-defense cases. Earlier this year the Florida legislature passedan amendmentto its 2005 Stand Your Ground law. The amendment SB 128 (re-instated) that the prosecution carries the burden of proof in pre-trial hearings, of self-defense incidents. Innocent until proven guilty has always been a foundational tenet of the United States justice system. Well, that is until last week [again]. Floridians involved in self-defense shootings are now presumed guilty in pre-trial hearings [again]. According to the updated law, prosecutors were to provide clear and convincing evidence that a defendant was not using force as an act of self-defense. (This was in the original 2005 law and by-passed by over zealous prosecuting attorneys and judges.) Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch. a Democrat by the way, ruled on Monday that the amendment is unconstitutional,stating: As a matter of constitutional separation of powers, that procedure cannot be legislatively modified. Wow, all this time I thought the reason we spend millions of dollars sending our legislators to Tallahassee every year was to make laws, guess I was wrong? The Florida legislature passed the amendment in response to a 2015 decision by the Florida Supreme Court. In that decision, the court held that defendants are not innocent until proven guilty in pre-trial hearings. Defendants must prove their innocence with evidence that suggests the shooting was legal self-defense. The perp broke into my house, pulled a knife on me, I shot him he didnt make it. I must now prove, I didnt shoot him with intended malice? Or imagine you see a young, girl being attacked in broad daylight by criminals. Now, theres little time to spare. Though you have called 911 it will be fifteen minutes, to a half hour before Law Enforcement arrives. Nervous, but determined to do the right thing, you pull out your weapon. Un-holstering, you call out a direct warning to let the girl go. They somewhat acknowledge you, but refuse to comply, leaving you no other option and little time. You aim and fire. The girl is no longer in immediate danger, but thanks tothe perpetrators shell be long in recovery. The criminals, on the other hand, will make a full recovery. They walk free while charges against you are pressed on their behalf. You are arrested and denied bail. Youll be away from your family for over a year awaiting trial, and if convicted, youll never vote or be allowed to touch a firearm again.You try to remain calm, after all, the law is on your side, right? All that will be told via news is that you shot people. For that reason, you may serve up to 25 years in prison. As a convicted felon, your victims deserve hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial restitution. It may sound too awful to be true, but this is the direction this Miami Judge and our courts are moving. Over the past half century there have been amended and reinterpreted laws all too often reducing the role of the American jury from a moral user of fact, to a mere rubber stamp for activist judges and politically-minded prosecutors, who can now come to an agreement amongst themselves to block the accused from even arguing they acted to save lives in the face of mortal danger. Anti Second Amendment prosecutors, and the legal traditions of self-defense and defense of others, the very heart of the Second Amendment, becomes meaningless. The gun-control lobby could achieve many of its goals without actually repealing the right to bear arms or passing further gun control laws. Judge Hirsch found that the changes to the law were procedural, meaning only the Florida Supreme Court has the right to make them, as they did in 2015. Where one had to prove he/she fought in self defense. Hirschs decision doesnt overturn the law, but it does begin the process that could end with another decision by the liberal Florida Supreme Court. Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told theMiami Heraldhe believes the legislature acted lawfully and the appeals process wont reach the highest court in the state. I would be surprised if this decision were upheld at the appellate level, said Bradley, a former prosecutor who championed the amendment in question. Prosecutors for whatever reason vehemently opposed to the Stand Your Ground modification, arguing that the law would require them to try the case twice and make it easier for criminals to skate on violent charges. Since the defendant is asking for immunity from prosecution, they argue, the defendant should be required to prove they acted in self-defense. Theres a strong concern that many more defendants will invoke the Stand Your Ground defense because they know it will shift more work onto the state attorneys on the front end. But the amendments proponents argue that the state should not draw a distinction between seeking immunity at pre-trial hearings and pleading innocent at the trial itself. What this bill does, my friends, is put the burden of proof where I would, respectively, suggest it should rightfully be, From the beginning of a criminal case to the end, of a criminal case, it belongs with the state. The standard of proof should be beyond a reasonable doubt.

George Pouliotte

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Florida 'Stand Your Ground' Is Now Unconstitutional, [Again]. - ECB Publishing

Australians have long been wary of Americas Second Amendment. Last weeks fatal shooting of an innocent Australian woman in Minnesota has only stoked their fears.

Justine Damond, 40, had called the police to report a local crime in Minneapolis. In the midst of some confusion, the officers she had called ended up accidentally shooting her to death.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Australian media is fuming over Americas relaxed gun laws. Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world - why can't America learn from them, they wonder.

A Daily Telegraph headline read, AMERICAN NIGHTMARE.

This country is infested with possibly more guns than people, Philip Alpers, a gun policy analyst from the University of Sydney, told the Associated Press.

Its not just the media that want answers. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull alsowants the U.S. to address the shocking shooting.

"How can a woman out in the street in her pyjamas seeking assistance from the police be shot like that?" he asked.

"It is a shocking killing, it is inexplicable.

"Yes, we are demanding answers on behalf of her family and our hearts go out to her family and all of her friends and loved ones."

More details emerged Wednesday into what transpired in the moments before the shooting. An officer reportedly heard a loud noise on the scene, leading to the deadly confusion.

Near the end of the alley, a loud sound startled Harrity. A moment later, Justine Damond, the woman who had called 911, approached the drivers side of the squad car. Suddenly a surprise burst of gunfire blasted past Harrity as Noor fired through the squads open window, striking Damond in the abdomen.

The two officers began lifesaving efforts, but within 20 minutes Damond was dead.

O.J. Simpson Granted Parole

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Australians Sound Off on Second Amendment After Fatal Shooting - Townhall

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Liberals may simply try to wish away the crime but a 17-year-old girls brush with death, and subsequent use of a gun, shows without a doubt that the Second Amendment saves.

The story of Kimber Woods, who fired into the ground and scared away a home intruder, is one for the political books. Strangely, liberals are pretty silent on it, though.

Woods was alerted by her boyfriend of a possible burglar, called her dad to ask if she could use a gun, and when told yes, slid one under her pillow. When the burglar did indeed enter her home, Woods pulled out the firearm and pointing it right at his face, demanding he leave. For extra emphasis, she ran outside and fired a shot into the ground.

The burglar fled. Mission accomplished.

Nobody was even physically harmed.

This is how the Second Amendment works.

I know how to use the gun and it gave me a peace of mind that I had the upper hand and I was going to be safe, Woodstold Breitbart in an interview.

So why isnt Woods being lauded throughout the mainstream media as a hero? Why isnt she being mentioned by, say, left-leaning politicos on CNN as a solid example of why the Second Amendment is needed in modern times?

Because Woods doesnt fit the narrative of the gun-controlling left.

Woods experience demonstrates aptly why more guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans, not fewer, bring safety to citizens, particularly for women. Guns are equalizers. Theyre what give a 17-year-old girl the ability to stand down a threatening, perhaps brutal, home intruder, no matter his size, no matter his strength.

Firearms training among Americas youth as Woods underwent, from about the age of 6 or 7, she said is actually a proper lesson plan for parents to follow. The left will cover its ears and eyes at such a notion. But Woods story shows clearly: The constitutional right to carry is indeed a lifesaver for the innocent.

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Girl with gun makes clear 2nd Amendment saves - Washington Times