Jerry Fahrni

Blog

  • Poor economy equals fewer pharmacy IT projects

    Healthcare IT News: “The economy is forcing hospitals to consider delaying or scaling back their IT projects, according to a survey of America’s “most wired” hospitals and health systems.The Most Wired Survey, conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association, found that even with incentives being made available to implement IT, hospitals  still have a long way to go.”
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  • BlackBerry versus iPhone popularity in healthcare.

    mobilehealthnews: “For the record, BlackBerry has conducted clinical trials with smartphones paired with Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices for years. Three of the company’s smartphones are among the five most popular smartphones in North America. At least one executive at BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is a bit curious about all the hype around Apple’s recent medical foray with the iPhone. mobihealthnews recently had the chance to discuss wireless healthcare trends with Research In Motion’s Fraser Edward who heads the company’s Healthcare Marketing Group. In this second installment, Edward explains the points above and much, much more, including: which types of BlackBerrys physicians prefer, why wireless health needs to adopt a “belts and braces” approach, how RIM’s latest acquisition — Chalk Media — fits into wireless health, and what the BlackBerry App World’s advent signifies. Edward also shares his favorite App World app.” – Edwards goes on to talk about physician preferences for various BlackBerry devices, going as far as to say “to pinpoint the phones that I’ve seen us getting a lot of traction on within the medical community — it would be the Storm and the Bold“. If I were to use a BlackBerry device, I believe it would be the Storm. I like the idea of a touch screen more and more each day. However, I’ve heard many people claim the Bold is much better for messaging. The future of BlackBerry devices appears fuzzy as the iPhone’s popularity continues to grow. It seems that every physician, pharmacist and IT professional I see in the hospital is carrying an iPhone. Remember the days of the Palm Pilot and its incredible popularity? There was a time when Palm powered handheld devices enjoyed the same popularity as the BlackBerry devices do today. As the smart phone revolution got underway, Palm devices simply disappeared. The popularity of the iPhone will eventually do the same to the BlackBerry, especially when Apple begins offering the iPhone through other carriers. Among pharmacists in “my circle”, I am one of the few that chose not to change carriers for the iPhone. Only time will tell what will happen to BlackBerry smart phones, but I see the end sooner than later unless Research In Motion has something up its sleeve. Apple and the iPhone are simply too powerful. Good luck BlackBerry, you’re going to need it.

  • Stanford offers glimpse of 3D Radiology images on Flickr

    skull“The Stanford Radiology 3D Imaging Laboratory uses computed tomography and Magnetic Resonance imaging data to create three-dimensional images of the human body. Individual CT and MR scans of the body are taken around a single axis that are stacked and rendered using complex computer algorithms to create a three-dimensional volume of data. The images produced from this data can be manipulated on-screen to provide doctors with unique interior perspectives of the human body for diagnosing and treating patients. Each month the lab produces nearly 20,000 images. “- The Stanford 3D Radiology Lab has posted some pretty cool images on Flickr. If you get a moment stop and take a look, you won’t be disappointed. My favorite image is the skull, of course.

  • Oursourcing IT jobs and cloud computing

    This morning I posted a quick note about a shortage of qualified IT staff in healthcare. Todd Eury of Pharmacy Resource Technology (PTR) left me an interesting comment that I would like to share with you.

    When appropriate – what about strategic IT Outsourcing? IT Management Solutions delivered by U.S. based firms? For example: http://www.pharmacydatahosting.com Opesnet handles IT Outsourced Management Services for LTC Pharmacy Operations. I understand the frustration with the shortage – but this might be an answer in some cases / situations. Reputable firms can provide great value and help contain/ lower costs.

    I think this is an excellent idea not only for the IT staffing shortage, but as an answer to difficulties in advancing a cloud computing model in healthcare. It is clear that the shortage will hamper efforts to implement advanced technology in healthcare, and in particular pharmacy. Many IT professionals are grown and educated from within a healthcare system, often limiting their expertise in cutting edge automation and technology. Strategic IT outsourcing offers access to highly trained professionals specializing in models not currently used in the healthcare industry. The idea of outsourcing could also be extended beyond cloud computing to encompass pharmacy information systems, barcoding automation, electronic document management, etc. In other words, leave it to the experts. I love the idea Todd, keep ‘em coming.

  • Shortage of qualified IT staff

    Hospitals and Health Networks: “As if it already weren’t tough enough to find and retain quality health information technology professionals, the recent passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act as part of the Obama administration’s broader economic stimulus package may only make the task more difficult. “We had a shortage of talent before this stimulus was initiated,” says Timothy R. Zoph, chief information officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “This will exacerbate the problem.” Compounding the issue further is a triple whammy of major IT projects facing every health care organization. Not only is there the HITECH-fueled push for electronic health records, the stimulus law also tightens HIPAA privacy and security requirements, something American Health Information Management Association CEO Linda Kloss calls a “very big challenge.” And already in the works is the transition to ICD-10 coding and the related ANSI X12 5010 electronic transactions.” – I can tell you from personal experience that this is already a big issue. IT departments are struggling to keep up with the limited technology in use by healthcare today; I cannot imagine the future as hospitals continue to adopt more and more advanced technology.

  • Mac tablet coming soon?

    9to5mac.com: “The translations are a little sketchy but the ChinaTimes is basically saying that in October, Apple will launch a $800, 10-inch tablet.   Most of this information has been published before so it isn’t certain whether or not this is a rehash of that information or from new sources.  The biggest question at this point is which OSX will it run?  Will it be the Mac OS, the iPhone OS or some hybrid?  The iPod launches are usually in September so a iPod platform device would indicate some deviation.  Also, Apple’s tablet patents seem to indicate that they are working on a full MacOS tablet.” – I really hope this is accurate, especially if the Mac tablet runs on the iPhone OS. Unfortunately the Mac tablet rumor has been floating around for years and has yet to materialize into something tangible. Those of you that know me understand my infatuation with tablet computers. The tablet platform is the perfect combination of desktop power and mobile utility. Pharmacy has yet to unlock the power of tablet computers in the clinical setting, but I believe that will change in the near future. I push my tablet agenda every chance I get.

  • Medical Informatics Training

    Non-Clinical Jobs: “If you’re a physician [or pharmacist], at what point do you need “formal training” in medical informatics if you wish to pursue a career in health IT? It’s hard to answer, because it largely depends on how motivated you are to self-learn. Have you been keeping up with all the recent changes in health IT? Are you familiar with health IT language? Are you a member of HIMSS? Are you tech-savvy? Have you been actively involved in your hospital’s health IT committee? Do you hold any certifications in health IT? You’re probably not going to find a “crash course” on health IT that will teach you everything you need to know in a very short amount of time. However, if you’re willing to invest some time and energy into formal education , then you may want to take a look at some programs that leverage distance-learning and online classrooms.” – If you’re interested in formalized informatics education in California, check out Stanford or the University of California, San Francisco. You can get a list of available programs in North America here.

  • Defining and Testing EMR Usability

    Healthcare IT News: “The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s EHR Usability Task Force has released a white paper focusing on the level of usability in electronic medical records and their implementation at healthcare organizations. “Defining and Testing EMR Usability: Principles and Proposed Methods of EMR Usability Evaluation and Rating” identifies usability of software in an EMR as “one of the major factors and possibly the most important factor hindering widespread adoption of EMRs.” – A copy of the white paper can be found here.

  • Top 50 blogs to further your healthcare career

    e-Health News Bog: “No matter how you learn, the following top fifty blogs can help you stay in tune with healthcare and help you further your healthcare career. The blogs are divided by categories, and then listed alphabetically within those categories. This is one way we can show our readers that we do not prefer one blog over another. The blogs listed below have been updated within the past two months and are fairly active.” – My site didn’t make the cut. I just can’t catch a break. Oh, wait, it could be that these sites are all related to radiology. Whew, that’s a relief.

  • Siemens to provide healthcare IT software to hospitals and clinics in South Africa

    Healthcare IT Consultant Blog: “The implementation of the Siemens hospital information system is a significant part of the Gauteng DoH’s overall objective to create a single electronic health record for patients across the province and to eliminate paper-based workflow. The core of the solution is Soarian MedSuite, an integrated hospital information system which proactively manages the clinical, financial and administrative process from beginning to end. As a result, hospitals and clinics are able to increase efficiency, productivity and quality of care across the healthcare enterprise.” – Wow, the hospitals and clinics in South Africa better be prepared for the wonders of Siemens “healthcare IT software”. I’ve had a little experience with it and wouldn’t exactly be thrilled with the idea. I suppose it’s better than a napkin and pencil….maybe.