Crossover Piquant: Check this out!
Piquant (pē-känt’) adj. Appealingly provocative Charming, interesting, or attractive One of the great promises of technology is to make things simpler, easier, and more affordable for end users. In the medical practice, we have so much complexity, difficulty, and cost in most of our processes that when we find something that actually works as adverti
Open Letter to Athena: Open Up the Afterburners!
Afterburner (af·tər′bər·nər) n. A device for augmenting the thrust of a jet engine by burning additional fuel in the uncombined oxygen in the gases from the turbine The augmentation of thrust obtained by afterburning may be well over 40% of the normal thrust and at supersonic flight can exceed 100% of normal thrust athenahealth is […]
CODE RED – How Proprietary HIT Vendors May Screw Up Health Reform
CODE RED (kōd rĕd) n. A system of hospital codes used world wide to alert staff to emergency conditions Codes intended to convey essential information quickly with minimal understanding “Code Red” typically implies catastrophic, life threatening emergency I had the privilege to meet with Phil Longman several years back at a cafe in Washington D
Ten Fold (10X): Is There Really an Order of Magnitude Difference?
Magnitude (măg’nĭ-tūd‘) n. Greatness in size and extent. Greatness in significance or influence. Two recent news items caught my attention. They follow on the heels of some of my recent writings on VistA EHR, MUMPS based systems, and the idea of virtuous cycle investments as a true stimulus in helping to lay down the health […]
$50M Men Win 2008 Linux Medical News Freedom Award
Revolution (rĕv‘ə-lū’shən) n. The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another. A sudden or momentous change in a situation I am deeply honored and profoundly grateful to be recognized, along with my brother Steve Shreeve, as the 2008 winner of the Linux Medical News Freedom Award. While this is a niche award in […]
Speaking Circuit: Coming to a Conference Near You
Circuit (sûr’kĭt) n. A path or route the complete traversal of which without local change of direction requires returning to the starting point. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn. We […]
Perot on the Prowl: Observations on Press Release Arithmetic
Prowl (proul) v. 1. To roam stealthily, with predatory intent, as in search of prey or plunder 2. Actively looking for somethin HISTalk just recorded its 1.5 millionth hit. Besides the snarky commentary, HISTalk (and the lovely new addition of HERTalk) has continued to gain readership with its dead pan commentary that is always dead-on. […]
The Future of VistA: Community versus Congressionally Mandated Leadership
Future (fyū’chər) n. The indefinite time yet to come Something that will happen in time to come A prospective or expected condition, especially one considered with regard to growth, advancement, or development I appreciate Fred’s comments regarding my recent posting. Fred appropriately challenged me for describing some of the problems but not more
Mamma Mea (Culpa)! Ingenix Goes Open Source
Mea Culpa (mā‘ə kŭl‘pə) n. 1. An acknowledgment of a personal error or fault 2. A statement of acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon I have long been a big fan of Ingenix and their mission of using information analytics to help create value. They are an impressive organization with a plethora of technology, products, […]
The Lawrie Dowry: Misys Acquires Allscripts in Shotgun Wedding
Dowry (dou’rē) n. Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage. A sum of money required of a postulant at a convent. A natural endowment or gift; a talent. Misys PLC has offered to acquire struggling Allscripts “the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity, and information solutions that physicians use to […]