Will HIEs Improve Care and Reduce Cost?
I say YES but not solely by the transfer and movement of information across exchanges. The value proposition lies not in the dollars but in the ability to improve quality for the patients, care...
View ArticleOne of the Secrets
Dale Sanders in if 2/7/10 post asked the right questions about HIE sustainability and value. We hear very little about the successful HIE and I suspect will continue to hear about the failures with...
View ArticleWhere is the innovation?
Every year I go to the annual HIMSS conference. It is a wonderful learning opportunity and a great opportunity to exchange ideas with friend and colleagues. I look forward to going each year, but...
View ArticleTRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
It occurs to me that the development of electronic health or E-Health is much like a dance and we, as leaders in the technology aspects of health, need to learn some new steps. It’s easy to be caught...
View ArticleIt’s Not a System, Stupid!
The other day I came across a quote from Walter Cronkite in which he said “America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system." Although I believe that the people working in...
View ArticleAnd The Sea Shall Grant Each Man New Hope
“When exploring uncharted waters or embarking on a great adventure often the final destination is not necessarily that which was first envisioned. An adventure, by definition is a venture or gamble....
View ArticleThe Art & Science of Project Management
In the Marx Brothers movie "Coconuts," a customer walks into a real estate office. Real estate agent (Groucho): “Would you like to buy a lot?” Customer (Chico): “No that’s too much!” Over the years I...
View ArticleThe HIE Equation: “A Prudent Question is 1/2 of Wisdom”
I expected this past weekend to be devoted to thinking about final MU changes, however my attention was drawn to the announcement about Verizon's entry into the HIE arena. It appears Verizon has...
View ArticleCollaborative Care – The Thing After HIEs
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “Build today a firm and ample base and ascending and secure shall tomorrow find its place.” We CIOs in healthcare have been building a firm and ample based over...
View ArticleWhen It Comes to ACOs, Uncertainty is Our Companion
Command and control was the traditional means of management, but it is not well suited for the complex healthcare organizations of the 21st century. Healthcare today demands flexibility, transparency,...
View ArticleA Physics Lesson for Healthcare
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Martin Luther King once said. The Healthcare delivery system is on the verge of change. It will take...
View ArticleForget Everything You Know About Healthcare Information Systems
Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Everything popular is wrong,” and I think that time has come for healthcare information systems. Now, granted Health information technology (HIT) has come a long way from...
View ArticleIs Self-Certifying the Path to Tranquility?
As Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism once said “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” When I first read the announcement from CCHIT in November that they had a process for...
View ArticleThe Dash to ACOs Is Headed For a Brick Wall
Federal health care reform has generated immense interest in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). In theory, improved quality and reduced cost will be gleaned by bundled payment of a health system...
View ArticleThe Petitio Principii of ACOs
The serious lack of infrastructure to support an expansive and meaningful ACO strategy is missing from the healthcare technology toolkit. Some may view this as a non critical issue but with so many...
View ArticleMy Journey To Professional Oblivion And Back Again
“We have decided to make a change in IT leadership.” Not exactly the words you want to hear on a Wednesday afternoon. But I knew it was coming, so it was not a surprise. First off, it was a Wednesday...
View ArticleCommunity Hospitals And The Big Data Disservice
It’s funny how seemingly incongruous events can converge and bring about an “aha” experience. You know aha experiences. Those funny little brain burps when synapses cascade and create new meaning,...
View ArticleA New View Of EHRs
I woke from a deep sleep in the early hours of the morning with a start. I made a mistake. Not that being wrong was a new and alien concept to me, but the question that crawled out of the fogs of...
View ArticleTwo To Tango: Choreographing A Successful CIO-Vendor Partnership
One of the most perplexing challenges I faced as a CIO was defining and managing relationships with vendors. As a young CIO — or, perhaps better to say — as a new CIO, it was really easy to fall into...
View ArticleThe Delicate Start To A Successful CIO-Vendor Relationship
In an earlier essay, I wrote about how a great relationship between a vendor and a CIO is like a Tango. It is an association in which there is dependence, alliance, consanguinity and passion toward...
View ArticleGroundhog Day: A Lesson In Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery and business continuity plans can never be thorough enough, and should never take a back seat, says CIO Dan Morreale, describing the strange event that resulted in a recent downtime.
View ArticleGame of Thorns: How to Navigate HIMSS When You’re Between Jobs
When you’re out of work, the idea of having to walk the exhibit floor, meet with colleagues, and attend events at HIMSS can be daunting. But with the right approach, it can open doors to new...
View Article“A Dramatic Change”: How Technology Can Help Keep Hearing Impaired Patients...
“Are we doing all we can to effectively communicate with the hearing impaired?” It’s a question healthcare leaders must ask – and answer, says Dan Morreale, who draws from his own experience in this...
View ArticleThe Health IT Leader’s Guide to Summer Reading
Reading has been shown to improve memory function, reduce stress, and prevent age-related cognitive decline. For those who are looking for the next great book, we've compiled a list of suggestions from...
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