Archive by Author

Good Intentions, Universal Coverage, and NBC’s Manimal

You know how some things seem like a good idea at the time, but then afterwards, not so much? That notion pretty much defines my life. Eating five Egg McMuffins for dinner because I’m an adult and I make the rules. Wearing a white linen jacket over a pastel orange t-shirt and slip on shoes […]

I Wish I Had Six-Pack Abs!

I’m sure that somewhere under the doughy layer of energy I stored up for the winter lies at least the potential for abs. I’m not sure why I don’t have a chiseled midriff. After all, I own P90X. I’ve had it for years. A brand new, mint condition, still-in-the-box copy of P90X. If it were […]

I Can’t Hear You!

I’m not always a great dad. Sometimes I miss the mark or come up short. Maybe more Homer Simpson than Heathcliff Huxtable. It’s not my fault. Not always. I have three kids. At any given time Kid 1 is calling Kid 2 names, Kid 2 is in Kid 3’s room, Kid 3 is touching Kid […]

How Meaningful is Meaningful Use Part II

Recently I asked “How meaningful is meaningful use?” Here’s my answer…not very. That’s not an entirely fair answer, or at least the tone implied isn’t entirely fair. Meaningful Use makes EHRs more helpful than they were before, but only kinda sorta. Mostly EHRs still disappoint because they fall far short of what they could (and […]

How Meaningful is Meaningful Use?

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been around for a very long time now. I remember using them to chart on patients for the first time at the San Francisco VA Hospital in 1995. I didn’t see them again until many years later when our emergency physician group switched (kicking and screaming) to an electronic version […]

Rethinking Clinical Decision Support

AkēLex’s Approach to Clinical Decision Support and Predictive Analytics: A Primer You’re familiar with the problem: U.S. health care costs are rising exponentially while wellness, prevention, disease management efforts, and life expectancy trail dozens of nations. Physician shortages, unmanageable volumes of medical knowledge, and limited access to health care resources compound the quality-cost problem. Expert […]