May 2008 - Posts

• The Funniest Satire on Interoperability You've Ever Seen (Trust Me)

  There is nothing better than a good satire to capture certain (uncomfortable) truths – just ask any of the presidential candidates after an episode of Saturday Night Live. So check out this hilarious spoof on information technology interoperability. As Read More... Posted Thu, May 29 2008 8:54 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Information Technology, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Google Health: A View From the Inside

  Google Health launched on Monday, which sent the world’s Google-watchers into a tizzy. I serve on Google Health's Advisory Council – which met all day Tuesday – and so here’s a bit of inside dish, along with my impressions of the site and the company. Read More... Posted Thu, May 22 2008 4:24 PM by Bob Wachter | 1 Comments Filed under: Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Industry/Pharma, Media/Press Coverage

• The “Technology Hype Cycle”: Why Bad Things Happen to Good Technologies

  Fresh on the heels of my recent bar coding epiphany comes another “unintended consequences” article. It turns out that the whipsawing that accompanies the adoption of new technologies is completely foreseeable, the “why doesn’t this thing work right?” Read More... Posted Tue, May 13 2008 1:50 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Media/Press Coverage

• Oprah, Obama, Putin, Springsteen… and Pronovost

  Last week, Time Magazine named the 100 most influential people in the world. Among the luminaries was Dr. Peter Pronovost of Johns Hopkins. I thought it was an inspired choice. The modern patient safety field has been blessed with a number of important Read More... Posted Sun, May 11 2008 7:28 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Measurement, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Should Hospitals Install Bar Coding or CPOE First? Why I’ve Changed My Tune

  This is one of the most commonly asked questions in IT World, and my answer has always been “CPOE first” – largely because that has always been David Bates’s (the world’s leading IT/safety researcher) answer. But I’ve changed my mind. Here’s why. Before Read More... Posted Fri, May 02 2008 9:00 PM by Bob Wachter | 7 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage