Backblog

Ten years ago, sixteen experts from around the world gathered in Budapest, Hungary to discuss the how the Internet was changing the way researchers could disseminate their work. The group hatched a plan to "accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make this literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge."

The hypothesis is as follows: By automating the care delivery process with tools such as EMRs and EHRs, we have the opportunity to increase efficiency and reduce the cost of care by decreasing duplication of tests and investigations, lowering errors through decision support tools and reminders and identifying diseases earlier, thereby treating patients in ambulatory practices vs. expensive acute care settings. However, what if the hypothesis is incorrect?

Creating a thriving business is about more than strategy and finances, business plans and spreadsheets. In most cases, success depends on a blend of hard and soft skills: a mix of solid business savvy with good interpersonal relations. Good corporate culture is difficult to simply implement, but is regularly one of the defining characteristics of what sets apart the best and most profitable ventures from the rest. Particularly for start-ups, establishing a positive workplace culture is essential. Happy, valued employees can often do more for the bottom line than all the business school lectures combined.

Our article “Ready to go cashless?” (September 2012 issue) is a good read and asks a good question: do Canadians want to get rid of their card-stuffed wallets and embrace electronic payment systems?

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which manages the dot-ca domain, opens its board of directors election at noon ET today.  CIRA members are eligible to vote from September 19th until September 26th, with five seats at stake - two member-nominated seats and three nominating-committee seats. I am on the ballot for a member-nominated seat and would appreciate your support.

CFOs and CIOs of most organizations begin their ERP implementations with the expectations that their businesses will be transformed along the way. Using the power and flexibility of ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Tier II ERP software, executives expect material cost improvements to their supply chains, more effective interactions with their customers, and better visibility to operational information.

Consider the following clinical scenario: You are a family physician in an EMR-based practice. One of your patients (a 65 yr male with Diabetes, borderline renal failure and Hypertension) presents with atypical chest pain. An initial assessment does not reveal an obvious cardiac cause for the chest pain, however you decide to refer the patient to a cardiologist for further investigation. The cardiologist identifies early congestive heart failure and decides to increase the dose of one medication, adds a new medication and stops another medication entirely. (The reason for a lack of specifics regarding the medications is simply to illustrate a point. This scenario could be applied to any situation in which multiple providers share care for patients and modify or add new medications to a treatment regimen)

There reaches an inevitable point for a start-up when communicating its value and competitive differentiation more efficiently and widely becomes crucial. For EidoSearch, that time is now.

It is an important week for “infrastructure” in Canada. Starting today (09-10-2012), Regina will be hosting the second-ever National Infrastructure Summit. Hundreds of delegates from the public and private sector will come together to not only discuss the state of Canada’s infrastructure, but also to explore opportunities and solutions in finance, policy, innovation, and citizen engagement.

Technology for the sake of technology has limited value, particularly in health care. The initial phase of EMR and information technology implementation by medical practitioners has been primarily focused on getting the technology in place and making sure it is deployed as comprehensively as possible. Once the EMR has been in place for some time (1-2 years) and there is a level of comfort and familiarity amongst the users, there is usually a natural transition towards quality improvement and optimization. As with all adoption curves, there are always a small subset of users who tend not to progress in their use and remain 'stuck' at a very basic level.

In a recent presentation for Corporate Visions, Scott Santucci of Forrester Research noted that CEOs are increasingly worried that their selling systems are not adapting quickly enough to accommodate changing business strategies.

ERP implementations more often than not run counter-intuitive to lean concepts. While lean and Six Sigma cultures focus on reducing waste and non-value-add activities, most ERP implementations are bloated with inefficiencies and cost overruns.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis paid a visit to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto last week to deliver a speech focused on the digital economy. As has been the case for months, the speech was short on specifics but filled with platitudes about a forthcoming digital economy strategy that "challenges our innovators" and "drives new technology."

September is always an exciting and interesting time from a work perspective despite notification [via the Labour day long-weekend] that summer is over. How will 2013 differ from previous years in terms of adoption and use of health information technology in clinical settings? Here are my Top 10 predictions for the year ahead.

As details regarding Knight Capital’s dramatic ERP failure continue to emerge, it becomes clear that organizations that don’t effectively handle their ERP implementations can (and often do) end up paying a price almost beyond comprehension.