By Lisa English – Yes, the terms “big data” and “analytics” are buzzwords, but they clearly highlight a shift toward data-driven decision-making with a real measurable impact on outcomes in many different industries. Savvy digital marketers now mine your digital breadcrumb trail to offer you more of what you like and attempt to discern what you need before you are aware of it yourself.
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By William Hersh – Raising a number of caveats about the enthusiasm for leveraging the growing volume of patient data in EHRs and other clinical information systems for so-called re-use of secondary use, such as clinical research, quality improvement, and public health.
By William Hersh MD – I recently led a Webinar hosted by the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) on the eligibility that I am using as a segue here to provide another update, which may be my last one before the “grandfathering” period ends.
By William Hersh MD – Many who write and talk about health IT, including myself, are fond of using analogies. One of the most common analogies that we use is that of the banking industry. I have noted that I can insert my Wells Fargo ATM card into just about any ATM in the world and receive out local currency.
By William Hersh MD – The HIT world was shaken to its core by Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator of CMS, who announced that the CMS Meaningful Use program was over. More precisely, he stated, “The Meaningful Use program as it has existed, will now be effectively over and replaced with something better.”
By William Hersh – As regular readers of this blog know, I traditionally end each year with a posting reflecting back on the past year. While this year has been another great success for myself and our informatics program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), it has been somewhat of a transitional year for the informatics field. Many of the new and exciting initiatives in the informatics field from recent years are no longer novel, with some now settling into “midlife” and others being called out for retirement.
By William Hersh MD – One widely accepted definition of Big Data is that it entails four “V”s: volume, velocity, variety, and veracity. In other words, Big Data is defined by there being a great deal of it (volume), coming at us rapidly and continuously (velocity), taking many different forms and types (variety), and originating from trustworthy sources (veracity).
By William Hersh MD – One of the most important documents for a US-based biomedical researcher is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biosketch. This short document summarizes the accomplishments of a scientist than applies for an NIH grant. The NIH Biosketch is also often used as a summary of one’s larger curriculum vitae (CV).
By William Hersh MD – One of my favorite events each year is the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Symposium. It is an excellent meeting that brings together presentation of new research, up-to-date summaries of progress in the field, and great social events.