Judith Rodin and Ariel Pablos-Méndez of the Rockefeller Foundation

Fri August 08 2008

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Dr. Robert Kolodner on the national HIT strategy

Wed July 23 2008

I love the annual Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) Physician-Computer Connection. It's a chance to hear some of the sma... read more

I love the annual Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) Physician-Computer Connection. It's a chance to hear some of the smartest people and most accomplished people in healthcare, namely medical informaticists, in a small, informal setting. This year's event, held last week in beautiful, laid-back Ojai, Calif., featured an appearance by Robert Kolodner, M.D., the nationa... read more

I love the annual Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) Physician-Computer Connection. It's a chance to hear some of the smartest people and most accomplished people in healthcare, namely medical informaticists, in a small, informal setting. This year's event, held last week in beautiful, laid-back Ojai, Calif., featured an appearance by Robert Kolodner, M.D., the national coordinator for health information technology. After Dr. Kolodner's presentationâmore of a Q&A with his peers in medical informaticsâhe graciously sat down for an audio interview with me. Here is the result. Podcast details: Robert Kolodner, M.D., on the national health IT strategy. Recorded July 16, 2008, in Ojai, Calif. MP3, stereo, 64 kbps, 14.3 MB, running time 31:24. 0:40 Background on national health IT strategic plan toward interoperable electronic health records3:35 Goals of the plan4:08 Distinction between "health" and "healthcare"5:25 Explanation of "patient centeredness"6:20 Physiciansâ role in promoting patient centeredness7:30 ITâs role8:50 Population health10:40 Why physicians should care about national IT strategy12:55 Making the issue personal13:35 Financial incentives for technology adoption14:37 Incremental advances16:18 Medicare e-prescribing incentives as one step in a series of improvements17:30 Convincing healthcare organizations to cooperate18:08 Greater public awareness about electronic health information18:32 Privacy and security concerns, and coming framework20:50 Convincing doctors to share data22:10 Trial National Health Implementation Network implementations22:55 Where physician IT leaders can make a difference24:06 AHIC successor25:25 Complexity of healthcare in the U.S. and abroad27:18 Profound workflow changes from IT and maximizing skills of healthcare professionals29:06 Possible effects of 2009 administration change30:15 Health ITâs fundamental role in healthcare reform read less

TEPR Cell Phone Project

Fri May 23 2008

The just-completed Towards an Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference featured the unveiling of the TEPR Cell Phone Project, an eight-month effort... read more

The just-completed Towards an Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference featured the unveiling of the TEPR Cell Phone Project, an eight-month effort to study and prove the efficacy of the mobile phone as a hub of interoperability in healthcare. (You can read my Digital HealthCare & Productivity story about the project here.) The Medical Records Institute, which puts on TEPR, is partnering wi... read more

The just-completed Towards an Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference featured the unveiling of the TEPR Cell Phone Project, an eight-month effort to study and prove the efficacy of the mobile phone as a hub of interoperability in healthcare. (You can read my Digital HealthCare & Productivity story about the project here.) The Medical Records Institute, which puts on TEPR, is partnering with AllOne Health Group, a Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based health and wellness services provider, to conduct this test of bottom-up, consumer-controlled health information exchange. The study begins June 1, and results will be released at TEPR 2009 next February. During Mondayâs TEPR Cell Phone Project press conference, I peppered AllOne executives with some tough questions about their plans, and was not shy about voicing my skepticism about personal health records. In a rare show of tact on my part, I did so without offending anyone. In fact, Frank Avignone, director of business and sales development for AllOne Health subsidiary AllOne Mobile, agreed to join me the following day to record this podcast. Podcast details: Interview with Frank Avignone, director of business and sales development, AllOne Mobile, about the TEPR Cell Phone Interoperability Project. Recorded May 20, 2008. MP3, mono, 64 kbps, 10.8 MB. Running time 23:37 0:54 Background on the company and its technology2:00 Interoperability study3:30 Metrics being measured4:00 Convergence of Dossia, Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault, and the subtle differences5:50 Technology behind AllOne Mobile Health6:49 Phone requirements and registration process8:25 Continuity of Care Record8:50 Why consumers might accept this technology10:25 Data input options11:50 Provider access to data12:37 Workflow considerations14:10 Pragmatic approach to uptake14:35 Logistics of the study16:25 Study participants17:30 Mobile phone carriers19:30 ROI for end users21:00 Marketing strategy22:18 Study goals read less

Jonathan Bush, the sequel

Fri March 07 2008

For me, the highlight of HIMSS â07 was my podcast interview with Jonathan Bush of athenahealth. It was so much fun, he agreed to sit down with m... read more

For me, the highlight of HIMSS â07 was my podcast interview with Jonathan Bush of athenahealth. It was so much fun, he agreed to sit down with me again at this yearâs HIMSS conference. Iâm hoping this can become a regular occurrence. We get full of ourselves at several points and get way off topic at times, but it was taped on the last morning of HIMSS and everyoneâs a litt... read more

For me, the highlight of HIMSS â07 was my podcast interview with Jonathan Bush of athenahealth. It was so much fun, he agreed to sit down with me again at this yearâs HIMSS conference. Iâm hoping this can become a regular occurrence. We get full of ourselves at several points and get way off topic at times, but it was taped on the last morning of HIMSS and everyoneâs a little loopy by then. Even the technical glitchâmy microphone being off for a few secondsâdidnât affect the outcome, other than to provide a good laugh or three. Podcast details: Interview with Jonathan Bush, president and CEO of athenahealth, recorded Feb. 28, 2008, in Orlando, Fla. MP3, mono, 64 kbps, 18.9 MB, running time 41:17. 0:35 The cult of Mr. HIStalk 1:25 Is Cerner pulling out of HIMSS? 2:25 Disruptive technologies 2:50 Why software is dead 4:25 Why other companies still sell software 6:30 The "dead zone" around the Orange County Convention Center 8:15 Chief athenista Todd Park and future plans for the company 10:15 athenaâs lingo 12:10 Success of eClinicalWorks based on selling software 14:10 Google Health, the next Segway? 16:05 Google Health vs. Microsoft HealthVault and other PHRs 18:00 Why existing PHRs are not much better than Microsoft Word 19:00 How athenahealth could help with PHRs 20:40 PHRs need something to do 21:15 Could Google give doctors leverage with health plans? 23:55 Trust issues 24:45 Risk vs. reward for sharing health information 26:05 athenaâs API for linking to PHRs 27:25 Why e-commerce works in other industries 28:35 What doctors need 29:25 Carrot vs. stick: cash, options or control 31:10 Opportunity for doctors to take back disease management from payers 33:00 How to reach physician practices 33:40 Targeting smaller practices 34:55 Opportunities with enterprise customers 36:15 Partnership with Eclipsys and the seeds of RHIOs 39:40 Slight technical glitch, and concluding remarks read less

HIMSS CEO Steve Lieber

Sun February 24 2008

ORLANDO, Fla.âHereâs a podcast thatâs been a year in the making. Actually, it was a year plus an hour and a half. Last year in New O... read more

ORLANDO, Fla.âHereâs a podcast thatâs been a year in the making. Actually, it was a year plus an hour and a half. Last year in New Orleans, I had a lively, hour-long conversation with HIMSS President and CEO Steve Lieber that was supposed to be for a podcast, but the recording didnât work. On Saturday, I showed up at the appointed hour for another sit-down with Lieber, and ... read more

ORLANDO, Fla.âHereâs a podcast thatâs been a year in the making. Actually, it was a year plus an hour and a half. Last year in New Orleans, I had a lively, hour-long conversation with HIMSS President and CEO Steve Lieber that was supposed to be for a podcast, but the recording didnât work. On Saturday, I showed up at the appointed hour for another sit-down with Lieber, and realized Iâd forgotten my recorder back at my hotel, so we rescheduled for about 90 minutes later. Well, the third time was a charm, and the result is this podcast, a lively, half-hour-long conversation with Steve Lieber, just ahead of the opening of the annual HIMSS conference. Podcast details: Interview with Steve Lieber at HIMSS â08. MP3, mono, 64kbps, 13.8 MB. Running time 30:10. 0:30 Expected attendance of 27,000+1:15 Greater attention on technology in healthcare1:45 Growth on clinical side2:50 More interest from non-IT executives4:00 E-prescribing as an example of IT crossing disciplines5:45 Multiple opportunites for improvements in prescribing and medication administration6:30 Continuing problems with access to capital8:50 Prospects for Medicare payment reform10:07 Health IT in the presidential campaign11:15 Health IT debate remains largely nonpartisan.12:40 Progress among private payers in reimbursement for quality14:00 More focus on disease management than quality per se14:40 Slow adoption of personal health records15:42 Suitability of PHRs for chronically ill17:30 Kids may be first major PHR constituency in general population.18:05 Google, Microsoft and Revolution Health in healthcare and HIMSS keynotes from Eric Schmidt and Steve Case20:00 Movement toward home health20:40 HIMSS strategic interest in medical devices21:40 HIMSS branching out as an association22:30 Interoperability of financial and administrative information23:10 Working for universal set of quality measures23:35 Globalization of HIMSS26:00 Standardization beyond the U.S., e.g., Snomed27:00 Highlights of HIMSS conference: Interoperability Showcase28:00 Public meetings at HIMSS, including AHIC29:03 International registration read less