Network Infrastructure

HIMSS Analytics Survey sheds light on where we've been, where we stand - and where we're headed.

David Higginson explains how tapping into big data enabled it to reduce dosing mistakes among pediatric patients. 

Most medical things exhibited at CES 2017 are connected devices with apps that collect, analyze, and feedback data and information to users (patients, consumers, caregivers) and health/care providers (physicians, nurses, care coaches, and others who support people in self-care). While the Internet of Things is generally thought to cover more generic stuff for smart and connected homes, network-connected health and medical technologies are also part of the larger IoT phenomenon. And like health and medical “things” exhibited at #CES2017, other consumer electronics that people will purchase this year ongoing will be connected to the Internet, from refrigerators to cars, to TVs and hearing aids. Among the most popular connected devices during the 2016 holiday season was Amazon’s Alexa, providing voice-assistant technology in the home: Amazon shoppers bought more Alexa devices than ever in the 2016 holiday season. Alexa’s base technology can be used for healthcare at home, which was demonstrated by Orbita at the recent Connected Health Conference in December 2016. The company showed voice-activated home health capabilities such as medication adherence, pain management, patient monitoring, and caregiver coordination. This is an early example of home health through home tech assistants, of which Amazon’s Jeff Bezos waxed, “I think health care is going to be one of those industries that is elevated and made better by machine learning and artificial intelligence. And I actually think Echo and Elena do have a role to play in that.” Boston Children’s Hospital is a pioneering healthcare provider, implementing Alexa in KidsMD, which uses the device to support parents caregiving for their kids’ healthcare. As the Internet of Things takes hold in all aspects of consumer technology adoption, another phenomenon may also simultaneously occur: the Insecurity of Things, coined by Accenture in advance of #CES2017. The Insecurity of Things, Accenture’s John Curran explained to VentureBeat last week, is the challenge that consumers won’t universally trust IoT connected devices until the ongoing security issues around them are resolved. Health Populi’s Hot Points: I addressed the privacy and security issues of connected health data in my recent paper published by the California HealthCare Foundation, Here’s Looking At You: How Personal Health Information Is Being Tracked And Used. Most consumers are unaware of what’s in the fine print in mobile health opt-in notices, but if people buy a new wearable tech or download an app they’re keen to use, most click through the privacy policy without really knowing what’s gonig to happen to their data. That information can end up in third party data brokers’ data mines that can be mashed up into consumer profiles and sold to any number of organizations who might benefit from getting up-close-and-personal (albeit, in the dark shadows) with consumers; say, mortgage brokers evaluating loans for home buyers, or employers considering job applications for prospective employees. That’s the privacy aspect of data shared, unwittingly, by health consumers whose diagnosis of, perhaps, depression, or active use of a food-tracking app that documents one’s personal obsession with Twinkies. From privacy in IoT for health and medicine, we can then consider security. The US Department of Homeland Security published the report, Strategic Principles for Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), in November 2016. The report talked about the growing ubiquity of network-connected devices, from fitness trackers and pacemakers to cars and home thermostats. Cybersecurity has gained more attention in the age of connected health and the Internet of Healthy Things, the phenomenon discussed by Dr. Joseph Kvedar in his book of the same name. The Homeland Security report mentions the Food and Drug Administration draft guidance on Postmarket Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices discussed in a recent blog on the FDA website here. A Healthcare IT News survey out this week found that the No.1 health IT challenge hospital IT execs cite for 2017 is data security (52 percent), followed by analytics; patient engagement and population health tied for third place. Electronic health records took the fourth position, indicating that now that most healthcare providers have patients’ records digitized, they’re now ready to mash them up and analyze them to manage  population health, prevent readmissions, and personalize services for increasingly demanding consumers. But that data, first, must be secured to prevent cyber-attacks, malware, and personal health data theft. Trust is a precursor to health engagement: patients engage with healthcare stakeholders who earn that trust and authenticity which drives patient satisfaction. Data security in health care is now a patient engagement issue in the growing telehealth and health IoT era. I’ll be asking digital health companies about privacy and security issues all week here at #CES2017.

Penn Medicine chief information officer Mike Restuccia reflects on the year that was and glances ahead to 2017.

A former CIO gets a close up look of the assessment side

Read this paper and learn how digital health is placing new demands on data center connectivity and how a few steps can help improve performance.

Chief information officer David Higginson explains how the hospital is using 3D printing for heart surgery, tumor management and sharing images with patients and their families.

Tasked with accomplishing what takes some health systems $100 million with less $10 million, the IT shop conceived a new approach that saved $4.5 million a year and streamlined IT infrastructure management. 

Penn Medicine associate CIO John Donohue shares insights and obstacles from the academic medical centers work on telehealth thus far. 

Many organizations have a Project or Program Management Office (PMO). If not at an organization wide level, at least within the IT department. There are different models. Some PMOs provide standards, tools, methodology and overall tracking. Others provide this foundation as well as a team of project managers (PMs) who can be assigned as needed to major projects. Our PMO at University Hospitals is the latter model. Our PMO has evolved under our new manager, Joe Stuczynski. He and his team are making significant improvements with the support of IT leadership. They have developed a roadmap for further changes and improvements for the next year. It is refreshing to be in an organization where we are not debating about the tools and whether they are good enough. We are not debating about what projects need to run through the PMO and if everyone needs to follow the standards. Instead, we are embracing and leveraging the tools and the PMO is able to focus on what it should be – tracking projects and providing PMs to manage projects. Our 90 minute weekly PMO meeting is attended by department leadership and PMs. It has a standing agenda that includes: Action Items from previous weeks – represents a level of accountability and tracking Process Updates – keeping everyone informed on changes New Project Requests – these are later vetted through the IT governance process Project Successes – acknowledging what was completed the previous week Architectural Review Overview Dashboard – shows total number of projects with Green, Yellow, Red project health by major area and change from previous week Detailed review of each project in Red Program review – each major area (i.e. business, clinical, ambulatory, infrastructure, security) is on a rotation for deeper dive Scope Reviews for new major projects – provides chance to “connect the dots”, discuss any interdependencies and ask questions Outputs from this weekly review that get posted on our IT visual management board are: Project successes Dashboard of all projects by health status For each project in “Red,” we cover the issues, impacts and the action plan to resolve, as well as risks and mitigation plans. The green/yellow/red is noted for the project overall, as well as scope, schedule and cost. With this information at a glance, it is easy to identify where help is needed and what it will take to move the project from Red to Yellow or Green. Scope reviews for new projects include summary, scope, business objectives, budget, timeline, and team members. Having a chance to discuss interdependencies and raise any questions or concerns is critical for a new project. The PMO has a number of goals. Two are particularly pertinent here: Improve Project, Program, Portfolio Management maturity – “get everyone on the same page” Incorporate a continual self-evaluation process Looking at the last few months, these two goals are clearly being met. And that’s powerful. Blog originally posted on www.sueschade.com.