ADVANCE Perspective: HIT

‘Till Death Do Us Part...

2009-11-19T21:05:00Z

...well, not really. In the beautiful world of social networking and social media, you can live in infamy, for the rest of your earthly existence or beyond for that matter. Facebook recently posted a blog about the need to memorialize an account when someone dies (and to think, life used to be so easy). Now, not only do you have to file a for a death certificate when a loved one dies, you need to make sure you memorialize their Facebook account (and if Facebook is doing it, others will most certainly...(read more)

Has Economic Stimulus Created Buyers or Merely Tire-Kickers?

2009-11-12T00:28:00Z

I posted a blog recently about Software Advice posting a survey on its site. Here's the results of their survey about whether stimulus money for electronic health record/electronic medical record (EHR/EMR) adoption was creating any buyers or just tire-kickers. Software Advice said that Oct. 30 marked the close of the first reporting period for grants, loans and contracts awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Health care is one of several industries eligible to receive funds (Read,...(read more)

Movies and Medical Records

2009-11-03T13:30:00Z

It's movie night, and you're not interested in subtitles or surrealism. Maybe next week you'll go for the one with the "Winner: Best Foreign Language Film, 2008 Venice Film Festival" sticker on it. But tonight you're in the mood for a poorly acted and painfully predictable slasher film; the one where the band of promising, carefree teens head for a harmless weekend retreat at idyllic Camp Killmore. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying the sugar high that comes from such cinematic junk food. But...(read more)

The Impact of Economic Stimulus on EMR Adoption

2009-10-28T20:31:00Z

Software Advice is hosting a survey on its blog until Oct. 29 about the impact the federal economic stimulus bill has had on EMR adoption rates. The article and survey to the link are located here: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/obamas-emr-stimulus-of-2009-creating-buyers-or-tire-kickers-1102709/ Software Advice gives advice for buyers of software buyers in medical, construction, retail and property management. Software Advice provides its services using a database with information...(read more)

The Pitch: Watch My Video

2009-10-20T12:55:00Z

There I was on a recent afternoon searching for more details on the term "meaningful use of an electronic health record," when I started poking around YouTube to see if there were any videos by David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, national coordinator for health information technology. Maybe he presented in a public forum and his comments were posted in a video. What I was surprised to find, instead, was a plethora of videos from numerous electronic medical record vendors; sales pitches, really, with catchy...(read more)

Data Disruption Hits Sidekicks

2009-10-12T18:39:00Z

According to a statement posted on its company Web site on Oct. 10, T-Mobile acknowledged that users lost information stored on the Sidekick device as a result of a server failure at data services provider Danger, a subsidiary of Microsoft. T-Mobile's statement explained, "Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger's latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device -- such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos -- that is...(read more)

Mourning Paper

2009-10-05T17:09:00Z

Being 36 years old and a journalist, I have to acknowledge a soft spot for newspapers. I remember a time when the local weekly was really the only game in town when it came to delivering news, sports scores, political commentary and the ruminations of my fellow Quakertown, Pa. residents on the ineptitude of borough council. So, on a strictly sentimental level, it stings a bit when I hear talk -- however on target it may be -- about the impending, unavoidable end of newspapers. When I saw the headline...(read more)

"So"

2009-09-22T19:44:00Z

A recent report by Accountemps caught my attention as the survey revealed some of the most overused (and annoying) workplace words. I have one that has reached the "annoying" level with me. It is the lovely two-letter word, "so." The word is used to tie things together, really, not to start out a sentence. See this sentence? I walked down the street so I could buy some milk . It doesn't sound right to say, So, I walked down the street so I could buy some milk. What do I mean by the word, so? I was...(read more)

Common Ground

2009-09-16T16:40:00Z

The ruckus surrounding health care reform has been well-documented, here and elsewhere. If you're looking for careful, considered discourse on the U.S. health care system and how to fix it, the seemingly endless stream of "town hall-style" forums and political discussions dedicated to the subject won't have much to offer you. Politicians and concerned citizens alike continue to squabble over what a new health policy should or shouldn't include, and the volume keeps getting ratcheted up. The latest...(read more)

Summer's Winding Down

2009-08-27T13:44:00Z

While the temperature on the thermometer is registering summer (upper 80s and humid), there's no question that the summer is winding down. My daughter's summer camp just ended and we've already hit the supply aisle at Target for the best deals on back-to-school items for my middle schooler and high school sophomore. But, where has the summer gone? For those of us along the mid-Atlantic region of the country, it really hasn't felt much like summer this year. I experienced some of the hottest temperatures...(read more)

(Mis)information Overload

2009-08-13T15:31:00Z

Earlier this week, Bob Mitchell, our managing editor here at ADVANCE , posted a blog chastising the behavior of some overzealous attendees at a recent public debate on U.S. health care reform held in the Philadelphia area. But the City of Brotherly Love isn't the only place where the "discussion" surrounding proposed health care legislation has turned ugly, as amped-up activists from around the country have joined the fray as well. (Click here for news on related incidents in Florida , Missouri and...(read more)

Health Reform? Good Chance, Not

2009-08-10T19:32:00Z

Vile. Nasty. I have to hang my head in shame. The behavior of some of my neighboring Pennsylvania's residents who came to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia recently to discuss, oops, yell about health care reform was unbelievable. An IT executive from Pennsylvania, where I live, told me to watch YouTube to see the health care reform town hall discussions, oops, bad choice of word again...debacle. I wasn't at the health care reform meeting, but the Philadelphia media outlets had the...(read more)

A Gratifying Experience

2009-08-05T14:05:00Z

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about a new wave of microvolunteerism sweeping through cyberspace, and noted that I would be doing my own form of volunteering through Habitat for Humanity in the coming weeks. It was the first time I had undertaken such an activity in my 40-plus years of existence on this planet. And, I helped build two homes in West Chester, Pa. I helped construct a wall on the second floor, helped frame-out another wall, hoisted sheathing to the second floor for said wall, moved...(read more)

Sorting Out Social Networking

2009-07-21T12:26:00Z

This is probably an unfair generalization. But for some of us over 30, it's been tempting to dismiss online social networking as the domain of teens and Millennials who hardly remember a time when they couldn't instantly share their every opinion, mood and mundane detail of their daily lives with everyone inhabiting their online universe. But that's no longer the case, if it ever was. Social media sites have quickly become ubiquitous, and it's impossible to ignore their power to help users of all...(read more)

Microvolunteerism Takes Shape

2009-07-17T14:19:00Z

Volunteerism used to be something you did over the weekend for the overall good of society; however, now there's a Web site dedicated to " microvolunteerism ." It kind of reminds me of the microbrews I enjoy. Not like the big conglomerate breweries, but a smaller, handcrafted batch of volunteerism. The goal is to facilitate effective distributed volunteer work, which I guess is kind of like the church I attend organizing Habitat for Humanity workdays, which I will be participating in the for the...(read more)