Predictions for 2008 (And beyond)

It's that time of year for resolutions and futurist's predictions. I am a frequent reader of Medinnovations blog by Richard Reese, M.D. Dr Reese is a far more eloquent and articulate writer than I could ever hope to be. As a retired pathologist he sees the big picture from afar.Amongst his predictions at his website, www.medinnovationblog.blogspot.com/ are commentary about RHIOs and EMRs. Despite the fact that I have been a proponent for RHIOs, HIEs and the like I have seen little progress for connectivity. There has been slow adoption of EMR. Physicians do need portals to access lab and imaging results from other sources. No doubt the physician wannabees and other "controllers" of our medical destiny (as well as the health IT sector) want to see all of this put into place. Physicians, while...

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THE STATE OF RHIO

In a recent article from "DATA WATCH"  Adler, et al have surveyed the activity, success and failure rate of RHIOs across the United States.  The article can be found at "Health Watch". Electronic clinical data exchange promises substantial financial and societalbenefits, but it is unclear whether and when it will become widespread. In early 2007 wesurveyed 145 regional health information organizations (RHIOs), the U.S. entities working toestablish data exchange. Nearly one in four was likely defunct. Only twenty efforts were ofat least modest size and exchanging clinical data. Most early successes involved the exchangeof test results. To support themselves, thirteen RHIOs received regular fees fromparticipating organizations, and eight were heavily dependent on grants. Our findings...

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THE CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER

CLINICAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE A  White Paper on the rise and role of the CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER Clinical Information Exchange is pleased to present this timely review of the role of physicians in deploying EHR, EMR and clinical information systems such as CPOE, Lab reporting, and connectivity. Physician leadership is a critical success factor for health information technology initiatives, but best practices for structuring the role and skills required for such leadership remain undefined. The authors conducted structured interviews with five physician information technology leaders, or Chief Medical Information Officers (CMIOs), at health systems which broadly used health information technology. The study aimed to identify...

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Happy Holidays to All

It's been some time since I last posted here. Busy season with other priorities have engulfed me. I have been working on a white paper regarding the rise and role of the CMIO, Chief Medical Information Officer.  I have a deadline to post this before Christmas descends upon us....

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