Secure messaging for everyone?

HIE has it on good authority that the feds are looking at a particularly attractive combination of technologies to enable all sorts of users, from sophisticated gear heads with fancy EMR installations to solo docs with just a web browser, to exchange secure messages across platforms. This would be a substantial step forward for both one-at-a-time patient coordination across practices and for automatic messaging to provide decision support and other intelligence. It will need an interface that is really, really simple for the basic user (not much different than a standard e-mail program), flexible hooks to allow interfacing with EMRs and registries, AND highly secure transmission across firewalls. If it meets all these criteria, NHIN Direct will be a winner.

How do you actually DO the "exchange" part of Health Information Exchange?

In spite of the great leaps made in standardization of message formats and contents (HL7, CCR, XML, etc., etc.), it is still sometimes remarkably difficult to get a message out of one electronic system and into another. Each laboratory information system, Electronic Health Record, registry or portal has its own requirements, issues and quirks.  Absent a true lingua franca, those of us doing health information exchange spend a lot of time and money designing, negotiating, implementing and repairing interfaces.

A financial services company out of San Mateo, CA called CloudPrime has been doing this kind of translation and interfacing for banks for some time and is now moving into health care. They say they can build an encrypted interface between two systems in a matter of days and can guarantee delivery of all messages. Their stuff looks good on paper (on browser?) and their rep, Jeremy Miller, quoted some pretty attractive prices, so it could be a real resource as we develop new ways to move the data around.

Mobile technology and global health

The National Institutes of Health, through its Foundation, is getting more interested in mobile technology for health care.

Call for presentations about mobile technology and global health

mHealth Summit A Public-Private Partnership of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health November 8–10, 2010 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. Abstract Submission Deadline: Thursday, July 1, 2010, 11:59 p.m. EDT The 2010 mHealth Summit will bring together leaders enabling cutting-edge research, evidenced-based practice and innovative policy solutions to advance the benefits mobile technology can bring to the health and well-being of developed and developing world populations. The event organizers are seeking abstracts for presentations from the public and private sectors that highlight ground-breaking health research, information and communication technologies, systems architecture and global partnerships that leverage mobile technology to improve global health outcomes. The organizers also are seeking demonstrations of research technologies such as mobile phones, smart phones, mobile phone applications, global positioning systems (GPS), personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile electronic sensors (e.g., accelerometers), portable physiological sensors (e.g., ambulatory glucose monitors), mobile environmental sensors, integrated mobile devices and other wireless technologies. Topic areas include: Remote Data Collection & Patient Monitoring (assess/track health in the real world) Health Disparities & Underserved Populations (high-risk and difficult to reach groups) Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (reducing risk factors for disease) Medical Compliance & Adherence (following treatment regimen) Environmental Exposure Assessment (studying environmental causes of disease) Childhood Obesity (energy intake and expenditure in individuals) Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (prenatal and postpartum health) Infectious Diseases (diseases attributed to virus, bacteria, or other infections) Patient Reported Outcomes (quality of life and other patient-driven health indicators) Point of Care Diagnostics (diagnostic testing performed at or near patient care setting) Educational Tools for Health Professional Training Software System Development and Information Technology Infrastructure (enterprise architecture) Emergency or Urgent Care (medical care where threat of disability or death is imminent) All submissions will be reviewed by the mHealth Summit steering committee. Oral presentations will be grouped thematically in tracks, presented as moderated sessions, and are expected to last 12 minutes with additional time for a Q&A session. Some presentations will be integrated into planned super sessions. To submit an abstract or for more information, please visit http://fnih.omnicms.com/fnih/mHealth10/collection.cgi Discounted registration for the mHealth Summit is available through September 24. Register today athttp://www.mHealthsummit.org

David Kibbe on NHIN Direct

Rich Elmore's Health Information Technology blog has a particularly useful overview of NHIN Direct by David Kibbe. For those of us more interested in how to use Health Information than in how to build networks, this article will provide a useful introduction. Nice work!

Vermedx, Inc. is seeking a new CEO

This exciting healthcare technology start-up provides state-of-the-art decision support services to patients with diabetes and their physicians. The technology has been proven in clinical trials to generate large first year returns on investment for insurers, providers at risk for utilization expenses, and self-insured employers. The company has 6 employees and serves thousands of patients across the country from its headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. The new CEO will need to improve sales, lead efforts to raise more capital, and support the development of new products and services.

Job Description and Requirements

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Reports to: The Board of Directors

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, develop and direct business strategy in cooperation with the Board of Directors
• Plan and direct the organization’s activities to achieve the Board’s targets and standards for customer satisfaction, financial performance, quality, culture, and regulatory adherence
• Manage the executive team
• Maintain and develop the organizational culture, values and reputation of the company in its markets and with all staff, customers, suppliers, partners and regulatory/official bodies
• Direct the sales activity to meet or exceed requirements for revenue growth
• Lead the company’s efforts to secure additional outside financing through equity, debt or other arrangements as approved by the board of directors
• Identify and develop strategic relationships that will accelerate attainment of company goals
• Collaborate with the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Technology Officer on the evolution of the Company’s products, technology, and business model.

Other Responsibilities

• Serve on the Board of Directors, provide them with information needed to fulfill its responsibilities to stakeholders, and propose actions to the Board that support Company objectives.
• Represent the Company in a manner that reflects favorably upon it.
• Report to the shareholders and board on organizational plans and performance
• Provide active personal support to the Sales team in gaining access to qualified customer prospects and closing sales.
• Actively engage in and represent the company at Conferences and other events
• Manage financial operations, with appropriate support from the Company’s accountants

Professional Qualifications

• Prior successful experience in running either a successful for-profit company or a profit center of an established company in the healthcare Provider, Payer, or Information Technology sectors.
• High level contacts in one or more of the Company’s target markets.
• Strong practical knowledge of the role and functional aspects of chronic disease decision support technology in clinical settings.
• Ability to work successfully with medical, IT, operations, and business professionals.
• Experience in raising investment capital.

Compensation

• A combination of salary and equity to be determined.
• Compensation will depend on the CEO’s impact on increasing the market valuation of the Company.

To apply, please send a letter and resume to
Benjamin Littenberg, MD
benjamin.littenberg@vermedx.com
www.Vermedx.com

Brookings Institution Weighs in on Information Exchange

It was my honor and pleasure to serve on a panel convened by the Brookings Institution that discussed ways to better take advantage of laboratory data in diabetes. We discussed a lot of interesting ideas and made some suggestions on how to overcome the various barriers (legal, social, political, technical and psychological) that stand between the data and improved patient services.  Here is the announcement of the report's release:

Expert Panel Recommendations: Lab Data Integration for Diabetes Care Improvement

Integrating lab results with other sources of data, such as claims and other contextual, clinical patient health information, has the potential to significantly increase the data’s usefulness with regard to decision-support and care management improvement, and performance and population health management. The Engelberg Center convened a panel of key stakeholder experts – representing physicians, payers, health IT vendors, laboratory vendors, policy makers, regulators, and academics – to develop recommendations for overcoming key barriers and challenges to the collection and integration of electronic lab data through practical and replicable solutions. Read the panel’s full report.