HIMSS Day 2 & Histalkapalooza

My goal with HIMSS is generally to have meetings, see the vendors, and get inspired and rejuvenated for the next 11 months – being with 33K other geeks really helps me get refocused on what is really “innovative”.    However, as John Moore (@John_Chilmark) tweeted there are a lot of “Me toos” and at HIMSS.  It’s true you can see the wide  red ocean of nothing new being under the sun.  Or people thinking they are disrupters but really they are noise makers in an already disrupted space.

The booth that I was able to spend the most time in (ironically since I live less than 15 minutes from their Innovation Campus and pass it on my way to work every day – I hoped on two airplanes and a taxi to see them here) was Cerner.    Their Care Connect area was very impressive.  I am still a huge fan of  Mystation (even though it’s still not on an IPad where is should be).  I like the concept of driving more patient understanding and engagement throughout their care process.  This is something that could follow them home and be part of the home health model....not sure if she said that but that’s where my mind went.   Ashleigh showed me the Care Connect mobile device area.  It’s not easy to give a concise presentation that shows how really powerful a tool is and she did a great job.  If you have time stop by and ask for her.   The tool lets you see not only your patients but their status it’s a really nice blend of EMR with alarm notification information.  

I popped into the Hil-Rom booth – and got the standard – “who are you and why are you here”  after saying who I was I told them about the blog and one replied “yes only if you write nice things about us….”  (that should be the number one thing not to say to a blogger – it just makes it tempting to write less than flattering things….) I will do my best.  The challenge with nurse call is since it’s hardware and we live in a software world – it looks the same for a number of years before a new system comes out….same is true for Hil-Rom – it looks the same as it did the last couple of HIMSS.   However, they did make a statement which perked my interest – that “we don’t need middleware” – I think I am going to work on a post called “the death of middleware”.    It’s true – most nurse call light systems don’t need middleware but the implication from Hil-Rom is that they were middleware with the ability to automate information from their bed, their fetal link alert system, and their nurse call…..so that’s where you get the ding…..it’s not about “your” anything in middleware it’s about “their” everything.  So long as you have a single vendor ecosystem you can achieve what they described – kind of like how EMR sells their interoperability.  

I stopped briefly by Rauland - same as Hil-Rom the hardware just is what it has been for the last few years.  However, their newest software addition is Responder SYNC.  I have heard people call this single sign on...which I say kind of.  Sync claims to deliver on the promise that the alarm notification world has been talking about for years – Single Assignment.  Middleware claims this service by allowing a single point of assignment for multiple devices but as everyone knows that doesn’t really “sign you in” to nurse call – the lights and the tones do not follow the middleware assignment.   From what I saw - the greatest benefit to SYNC is the ability to sign on using EMR.  You are still limited in who can do this (Connexall and Cerner have made the interface) but evidently it's "open".     Stop by and ask about it - it's worth the converstation.

In general the floor seemed very steady but not busy – not the shoulder to shoulder crowd we sometime experience at HIMSS – but it was steady.  I did hear several vendors say there were fewer people….

My evening ended at the HISTalkapalooza event – I was not fashionably late.  I saw some amazing shoes (especially @TIMURDC which were my favorites) and was able to chat with lots of interesting people including the folks from Dr. First – I am going to see their booth today because it sounds amazing.   I chatted with Jonathan Bush about his lack of ability to score soccer tickets while sitting next to Neal Patterson….  I ended up on the front row of the prizes and was able to snap some fun photos....  the one of @Farzad_ONC has been retweeted a lot.  As I left, once again ran I into Judy from Epic.  Thanks for the invite Mr. H.

 If you have time today - I am speaking at the Burwood Booth 5019 @ 3:15p  come check it out.

 

 

Patient As a Consumer

Coca-Cola is test marketing a product called the “Free Style”. It’s a box (isn’t everything) that allows the customer to select their Coke product, and even Mix n Match the flavors. If it were just a pop dispenser it wouldn’t be so interesting – what IS interesting is that the box is daily providing information back to head quarters about which products were selected, how specialty blends were selected, etc…in essence a direct information feedback loop of what people want.

Every Hospital has a “Free Style”- it’s required by code and it’s providing multitudes of data that reveal how a patient wants to be cared for on a daily, hourly, even minute by minute basis. The Nurse Call System is alive with information that indicates how a patient’s stay is going. Interestingly, this immediate patient feedback tool is often dismissed as something required by code. It is more about safety then about information. While many nurse call systems are reaching beyond the safety realm and designing abilities for requests – the data is inefficiently and ineffectively managed by the hospital.  HP made a great point in their focus group the Patient must be viewed as a consumer and we must cater to their needs.  The way to do this is to understand their communicated requests.

It’s got to be seen as more than just a safety tool – it’s got to be seen as a tool that lets the patient tell their story.

Let me dream weave with you for a while…… If a patient is consistently asking for a blanket could we automate the heating system to kick on and raise the temperature?  Yes, if we knew they were asking specifically for a blanket.
If a patient is consistently asking for water or ice chips, could a model be created to preemptively provide them with a glass of water before they ask? OR is that indication of something occurring physically that needs to be checked by a doctor? OR for you safety nuts – what do you do a little while after you drink 6 glasses of water that could cause a fall? OR could the information automatically be cross referenced with the EMR data and could IBM’s Watson decide a lab needs to be ordered?

I know that sounds space age but the information is all there – it just takes looking at it, creating a model, and well…the hard part getting everyone to talk together in a common language.

Just to get you thinking – why isn’t the nurse call system called a nurse call system – are they stewardesses or are they clinicians? It needs to be labeled the patient communication platform and IF it is a patient communication platform……why does it only reside within the hospital?