Writing
Notes on health IT
Standards, architecture, and what it actually takes to get interoperability working in production.
Interoperability Testing: The Gap Between Connectathon and Production
Passing conformance is the entry ticket, not the finish line. A testing maturity ladder for getting from Connectathon to production, and how to be a good testing partner along the way.
Interoperability Is More Than a Technology Problem
We have the standards and the APIs. The hardest interoperability problems today are about workflow, ownership, and collaboration across organizations.
What Standards Are in Your Toolbag?
A standard is a tool, not the goal. Helping customers succeed with standards means educating them at the right level, at the right time, and in the right way.
What's in a Name?
Why this blog became Interop Futures: better recognition, a closer fit with my career, room to cover more than healthcare, and a pretty cool name.
IHE on FHIR: History, Development, Implementation
How IHE and HL7 have converged around FHIR, the PCC and QRPH profiles that use it, and how CommonWell and Carequality are bringing it to scale.
IHE PCC Domain Meetings - Fall 2018
Notes from the fall 2018 IHE PCC meetings: a quiet profile year, a backlog of change proposals, a merged committee, and talk of year-round publication.
The Pillars of Health IT Standards - Part 1
Health IT standards rest on three pillars: content, transport, and workflow. Part one breaks down content: structures, state, reference data, and data mapping.
Internal and External Content Model Standards
Industry standards like CDA and FHIR make good guidance but poor internal data models. Why organizations need their own model, mapped to external standards.
A Changing Landscape in Healthcare IT Software
EHRs have become the foundation, and niche applications now fill the gaps. How maturing software and outcome-driven incentive programs are reshaping health IT.
Workflows in Healthcare Standards
Workflows are at the core of healthcare and one of interoperability's biggest challenges. A look at the static and dynamic workflows IHE profiles.
Listening!
From President Garfield's physician to modern product teams: why good listening means asking the right questions, and how organizational structure helps or hurts it.
Prescribing Behavior
What if doctors prescribed apps the way they prescribe medications? Thoughts on clinician app stores, behavior-driven outcomes, and what it could mean for pharma.
IHE Patient Care Coordination - Past, Present, and Future: Part III
Part three: PCC's new vision, mission, and strategic goals for content, workflow, and nursing, and what sharing the work with HL7 could look like.
2015 IHE NA Connectathon
Registration is opening for the 2015 IHE North America Connectathon, a conformance testing event that is also one of the best networking opportunities in health IT.
IHE Patient Care Coordination - Past, Present, and Future: Part II
Part two: where PCC stands today. C-CDA has split the market, and this year's profiles (MCV, RECON) and the DAF white paper show a shift from content toward how content is used.
IHE Patient Care Coordination - Past, Present, and Future: Part I
Part one of a look at IHE's Patient Care Coordination domain: how it began, my path from green engineer to co-chair, and the 35 profiles published since 2005.
Navigating IHE PCC Content Templates
IHE PCC templates are spread across three kinds of documents. A guide to where document, section, and entry templates live, and how to find the one you need.
Collaboration is Key
Reflections on the IHE North America Connectathon Conference, and the geography, language, and personality barriers that remote teams have to work through.
Use Cases - A Path to Clarity
Use cases bridge business and technical teams. They keep IHE profiles focused, software on target, and family camping trips stocked with diapers.
New Beginnings, Passion, and Purpose!
A fresh start in health IT, and the personal story behind it: a daughter's hospital stay and a diagnosis that took seven years to find.