Gaius Plinius Secundus, a Roman philosopher better known as Pliny the Elder (or just Pliny to his friends) said “Home is where the heart is.” Almost two thousand years later, who would have thought home is where the heart – and other organs – could also be monitored and managed. This piece is actually a

I promised readers a follow-up to my last entry, “Look Ma, No Wires” but I thought that with the upcoming HIMSS Annual Conference and the number of people in one place who will be relying on mobile devices while away from the office, that it was a good opportunity to make people aware of the

The dictionary provides a definition of an ecosystem as “a system involving the interactions between a community of living organisms in a particular area and its nonliving environment.” Remember this for later – I’m going to come back to it. If you know anything about me, you know that I love whiteboards. I’m very visual

If you’ve read any of my blog entries, you know that I like analogies between what’s happening in healthcare and IT, and everyday life. Sometimes I have to think long and hard about this. Sometimes they just come to me. Imagine my surprise when one popped into my head as I was preparing for Thanksgiving.

The following is my latest humorous take on the mobile health industry for the mHIMSS website. Enjoy!   Sometime in the late 1980s, I had the old Super 8 movies taken when I was a kid transferred to videotape. Wow – typing that line which includes both “Super 8” and “videotape” makes me feel old.

I was recently asked to provide a blog for the new mHIMSS website focusing on mobile health, and will be sharing those entries here on InFocus as well. For your reading pleasure . . . As this is the first entry in my role blogging for mHIMSS, you should know a little bit about me.

Someone to whom I am related – they shall remain nameless on the off chance that they read this blog – will not process any financial transactions over the Internet because they are concerned about the security of their information. That’s right – not just no on-line banking, but no Amazon, no Lands End, no

“I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way.” No, I’m not talking about Eddie Murphy as Randy Watson singing those lyrics in the film Coming to America. (What? Huh? Oh . . . sorry). I mean, I’m not talking about the Whitney Houston song The Greatest Love

Most people building a home or having major renovations performed utilize the services of a general contractor, or GC. The GC coordinates all of the various trades people, ensuring that tasks are performed in an orderly and sensible manner, that resources are utilized efficiently, and that the results delivered match what was ordered in the

There is a deli I frequent that serves Boar’s Head meats. As a result, the paper used to wrap their sandwiches bears the Boar’s Head logo. About to bite into my roast beef sandwich the other day, something different about the paper this time caught my eye. In addition to the Boar’s Head logo, the

What is left to say about Steve Jobs that has not already been said this week? The two words that have been most frequently associated with him are innovation and passion. How interesting that the same two words are often associated with healthcare providers – especially passion. Physicians, nurses and others allied to the field

You would be surprised how miscellaneous thoughts make their way into my head, stew and marinate, and then eventually become fodder for blog entries. Oftentimes, if something interesting or amusing occurs to me, I’ll think about how it might tie to healthcare and the use of information technology. Let me explain the process of how

A long time ago In a land by the sea Was a hospital where The computers were free.   Not for the nurses and not for the lab techs, Nor for the staff, even those who filled out reqs. It was for the doctors and the doctors alone For the hospital knew they had to

“Doctors are lazy and stupid.” No, this is not my opinion, but rather a statement by a doctor; a former Chief Medical Information Officer for a network of public hospitals in a large metropolitan city who was speaking on matching technology with physician needs. He was being provocative, as the point he was trying to

Imagine that a new fancy restaurant has opened in your town. The food is reportedly outstanding, as is the quality of the staff. What people are talking about, however, is the service. You decide to try it to find out what the buzz is all about.  Your party arrives for your reservation, and you are

I have been in healthcare information technology my entire professional life. Before that and today still, I am what many people would call a “gadget guru.” I appreciate how technology can impact our lives. I embrace it. I understand it. I travel with at least five devices that require charging. So why is it then,

When I go to a doctor’s office, a hospital, a pharmacy – any organization that is a “covered entity” responsible for compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules – I play a little game called “Spot the HIPAA Violation.” I see how many violations there are in plain sight. It is amazing to me