http://www.jeremywindmiller.com/

Microsoft Office 365 A Good Consideration as Hospitals...

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:24:10 -0400

Microsoft Office 365 A Good Consideration as Hospitals Integrate?

There is a true appreciation for Advocate Healthcare in migrating 10 hospitals onto a single collaboration platform in Microsoft’s Office 365. Having participated in discussions to fully review Office 365 it is not as easy as hitting the easy button and the migration is complete. This effort by Advocate Healthcare would have taken a huge coordinated effort between all 10 hospitals along with the implementation of onsite hardware to complete this transition. However, as more is learned about the Office 365 solution the more attractive it becomes for large enterprise email and collaboration efforts. Especially, when you consider the coming updates for real-time collaboration.

Have You Checked Out the Prices for Your Local Hospitals? If you...

Sat, 11 May 2013 08:23:39 -0400

Have You Checked Out the Prices for Your Local Hospitals?

If you haven’t then it is worth clicking on the linked map from the New York Times to see what local hospitals charge for the 5 most common procedures. Who knows if the healthcare reform will ultimately succeed but it is forcing this industry to be transparent for the patients sake which is a good thing.

ESPN Standup an Be a Leader

Sat, 11 May 2013 07:39:29 -0400

ESPN Standup an Be a Leader:

ESPN has allegedly had discussions with at least one major U.S. carrier about the plan, according to The Wall Street Journal. The two largest carriers in America, Verizon and AT&T, both carry the iPhone and both restrict new customers with capped data plans.

While this great for customers who currently pay for cable via Comcast, ATT, and others) it leaves others in rural areas without the option to utilize WatchESPN. ESPN should use its position as an industry leader to not only provide subsidies for streaming but develop a model that allow all its fans (customers) stream WatchESPN no matter the cable carrier.

Great Infographic from CDW on Current Healthcare Trends

Sat, 11 May 2013 07:28:38 -0400

Great Infographic from CDW on Current Healthcare Trends

The problem with this info-graphic and the results of Ponemon...

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:01:12 -0400

The problem with this info-graphic and the results of Ponemon Institute study.

This week results from a Ponemon Institute study on healthcare use of communication flooded various online tech news streams. While this study has the correct focus for healthcare it has some questionable results being reported. For example, the attache graphic references this finding in the aforementioned study:

The majority of both IT and clinicians (65 percent) believe the answer is to use secure text messaging to communicate with care teams during the discharge process. In fact, they believe the total discharge time could be reduced on average about 50 minutes by using secure texting.

via Ponemon Institute

Where’s the hard data behind these numbers and which solution could achieve these costs. Sorry, but stating that someone “believes” it will cut cost is not a finding worth reporting. There needs to be actual data to support these numbers. After reading the study a couple of times, there is still no evidence behind these “costs savings” from secure sms messages.

picture courtesy of http://www.hitconsultant.net/

Amen!!! The Focus of Big Data in Healthcare Should be on...

Fri, 10 May 2013 08:01:05 -0400

Amen!!! The Focus of Big Data in Healthcare Should be on Understanding the Data.

For starters, that means investing in people with a keen ability to create knowledge out of data (in case you didn’t hear, the data scientist is apparently the sexiest job of the 21st century). From a wider view, maybe what this industry needs for now is actually less trying to add layer upon layer on top of new technologies and more innovation in the way of training and engaging providers, and making that technology easy for them to use.

via medcitynews.com

Technology can only go so far in assisting clinicians to provide better care. If healthcare systems don’t invest in understanding the data then it will just stay data and not be transformed into information for patient care.

picture courtesy of brandmagazine.com

Will solution like this from ATT be the future of “Remote...

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:01:32 -0400

Will solution like this from ATT be the future of “Remote Patient Monitoring”?

As hospitals begin to address patient re-admissions there will be a lot of research done on remote patient monitoring (aka Machine to Machine, M2M). Just say through a demo of this solution and it is pretty slick and intuitive to use. It appears the devil in the details will be how the patient data collected is synced into the patient record.

Office 365 Becomes a No Brainer for Enterprises of All...

Wed, 08 May 2013 07:46:03 -0400

Office 365 Becomes a No Brainer for Enterprises of All Sizes

Microsoft may be late to the game with online Office web apps that have realtime collaboration. However, this functionality will be a big win for businesses that have not made a switch to Google Apps. The collaboration level in Office Web Apps goes way beyond what has traditionally been offered via SharePoint.

Great use of the Microsoft Xbox in health care by Gamers...

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:16:27 -0400

Great use of the Microsoft Xbox in health care by Gamers Outreach.

Gamers Outreach works with medical supply companies to create portable video game kiosks we like to call GO Karts (Gamers Outreach Karts). Thanks to GO Karts, hospital staff members are able to easily transport video games and other sources of entertainment to patients who have a limited amount of access to activities outside of their rooms.

Long-term hospitalization can often times be a lonely, stressful, and frightening experience. GO Karts help to ease the burdens associated with hospital stays by providing sources of relief to patients.

Microsoft Research Diagnosing Health via Social Media Streams

Sun, 05 May 2013 08:49:32 -0400

Microsoft Research Diagnosing Health via Social Media Streams:

“What’s exciting is that we could identify individuals potentially at risk for having an emotional downturn just by looking at streams of publicly shared data,” in this case Twitter feeds, says Eric Horvitz, managing co-director of the Microsoft Research lab. Horvitz and his colleagues presented the results of their efforts to predict postpartum emotional and behavioral changes via social media this week at an Association for Computing Machinery conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris. via Scientific America

Thoughts on Microsoft providing healthcare insights via social media?

Will the Samsung S4 be the First Widely Used Enterprise Android Device?

Sun, 05 May 2013 08:26:21 -0400

Will the Samsung S4 be the First Widely Used Enterprise Android Device?:

Samsung said Friday that its smartphones and tablets running its Knox security and management software have been cleared for use on the U.S. Department of Defense network. via computerworld.com

Industries (healthcare, pharma) that have higher security requirements for mobile devices the Android platform has always been a high concern. Now that DoD has approved the Knox platform may be Android will get another consideration by these industries.

In reviewing the Knox solution from an enterprise standpoint it appears that additional hardware/software will be required to manage Knox enabled devices. This would be similar to the BlackBerry platform and the question will be the associated cost for the software.

image via samsung.com

The Future of Enterprise Desktop from Microsoft?

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:11:28 -0400

The Future of Enterprise Desktop from Microsoft?:

Microsoft is believed to be building a Windows Azure-hosted desktop virtualization service that could be available on a pay-per-use basis. via zdnet.com

With the announcement from Mary Jo Foley I have been trying to wrap my head around how this solution would work in the enterprise. While Office 366 Exchange service makes sense, the thought of a full desktop in the cloud is a tough one to imagine. Another thought that came to mind is if Citrix will ever be able to provide a cloud based desktop.

Should Healthcare Systems Worry About Online Physician Reviews?

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:10:52 -0400

Should Healthcare Systems Worry About Online Physician Reviews?:

Online review sites enable patients to complain about doctors, with poor customer service and bedside manner being their biggest gripes, according to a Vanguard Communications report. via eweek.com

As healthcare becomes more transparent and has to post its own quality scores online will the reviews from independent sites be a concern for hospitals. As is pointed out in the eWeek article, these independent review sites and apps can be gamed with bad reviews. It may be that hospitals view these sites as low quality feedback as indicator to their services. However, these sites may be worth tracking to see if there are any trends being submitted about their services or physicians.

Could you go a year without Internet access?

Wed, 01 May 2013 20:53:46 -0400

Could you go a year without Internet access?:

There are a lot of us out there that by the end of the week want to disconnect from all electronic devices and even the Internet. Recently, I have considered disconnecting from all TV except for sports but the Internet is a whole different story.

That is what makes Paul Miller’s (of The Verge) experiment of the pas year a pretty amazing feat. The linked article is well worth the read as he recaps his thoughts about this year and rejoining the Internet rat race.

I was wrong. One year ago I left the internet. I thought it was making me unproductive. I thought it lacked meaning. I thought it was “corrupting my soul.”

via theverge.com

This will continue for years. How Apple Accidentally Revolutionized Health Care (AAPL).

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:07:55 -0400

This will continue for years. How Apple Accidentally Revolutionized Health Care (AAPL).:

Apple didn’t necessarily intend to revolutionize health care, but that’s exactly what happened. Health care has changed dramatically since Steve Jobs first stood in front of an audience to introduce first the iPhone then later the iPad. Much of that change can be directly attributed to Apple.

via fool.com

10 Reasons Healthcare Still Isn't Ready for Windows 8

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:58:48 -0400

10 Reasons Healthcare Still Isn't Ready for Windows 8:

In the linked article Dr Kim lays out why Windows 8 is a great choice for healthcare. While the article identifies valid points for Windows 8, there are several reasons why healthcare is not ready for Windows 8 which are laid out below.

EMR, PACs, and other clinical vendors have not either validated their products on Windows 8 or do not have a road map to make their compatible.
Lack of “True” mobile EMR apps for the Surface RT device and also the lack of RT devices themselves.
Certain enterprise antivirus & disk encryption vendors do not have working versions for Windows 8.
Legacy VPN & SSL clients do not work on Windows 8.
The Citrix client which delivers application access for a lot of healthcare applications is less than desirable on Windows 8.
Microsoft Server 2012 needs to be in place on enterprise domain controllers to take advantage of group policy on Windows 8.
Implementing Direct Access” requires additional infrastructure for enterprises that may already have a remote connectivity solution in place.
Implementing “BitLocker’ requires additional infrastructure be in place that some healthcare entities may not have or have another solution already in place.
A lot of healthcare organizations are still running Windows XP and making the jump to Windows 8 is too much of a change and they are focusing on Windows 7.
The training costs associated with Windows 8 due to the new interface and navigation of the operating system.

Based upon some available roadmaps the majority of healthcare applications will be ready for Windows 8 by the end of 2013. Maybe by then healthcare IT shops should consider WIndows 8 over Windows 7.

A Must Watch: Re-imagining Microsoft via YouTube This is a must...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:17:06 -0400

A Must Watch: Re-imagining Microsoft via YouTube

This is a must watch for tech junkies and Microsoft Support professionals. May have been more advantageous for them to release this video shortly after Windows 8 & Windows Phone 8 launch.

April 2104 (Windows XP) is the New Year 2000 for IT Professionals

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:39:33 -0400

If you listen to any of the companies that sell services to migrate off of Windows XP this is the belief they are trying to convey. Companies like AppSense, Dell, and even Microsoft offer services to their customers that assist with the migration to Windows 7. While these companies claim they can get 30,000 plus wks converted over from Windows XP this assumes that the customer has some basic infrastructure and processes in place. For example, most these services at minimum require the following infrastructure:

Microsoft System Center
Microsoft MDT/OSD with a standard OS template (image) in place
Microsoft App-V
A centralized library of applications that already packaged

If an organization doesn’t have these items in place then the aforementioned services then a tremendous time will be spent in implementation which is no trivial task. Based upon a recent stat, there are over 50% of organizations that still need to migrate off of Windows XP. If you are an IT administrator facing this task then be cautious in speaking with these services claiming that they can flip 30,000 wks in 3 months as it most likely isn’t feasible.

Sorry, but Great Customer Service is a Mindset Not a Bunch of Numbers

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:43:00 -0400

Sorry, but Great Customer Service is a Mindset Not a Bunch of Numbers:

Current approaches to patient-centered care are based on aggregated preferences rather than individualized needs. Researchers and health systems deploy focus groups and surveys to assess general patient preferences in an effort to determine “what patients want.” But patients are a diverse group with diverse needs.

via hbr.org

It is nice that “Big Data” can be used to taylor the experiences for patients (customers) when they visit healthcare facilities. However, this data is completely useless if the staff providing the service don’t have a “customer service” focused mindset. This focus is not something that is trained overnight or identified through some focus group but rather through experience. Organizations need to understand that achieving a “customer service” mindset may never be achieved by some of its staff.

Healthcare Systems Pay Attention to These Trends

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:20:50 -0400

Healthcare Systems Pay Attention to These Trends:

Very interesting healthcare trends from HIT Consultant that healthcare systems needs to pay attention to as they develop their corporate road map. Most of these have technology implications which should have the focus of healthcare CIOs.

image courtesy of HIT Consultant