Greg Gillespie of Health Data Management has the best ‘round-up’ that captures the essence of what was so… ‘meaningful’ at HIMSS 2010.

http://bit.ly/cL38xD

Including Y2K and the dot-bomb era, I have never attended more vendor product sessions that preached something new, but did not do anything different than before.  What I witnessed were some existing vendor offerings (pigs) with some ‘meaningful use’ (lipstick) slapped on them.

I liked Greg’s article because I wondered who else caught on to the fact that answering ‘how’ and ‘what makes meaningful use work’ was the real underlying message at HIMSS 2010.

Push ARRA ‘meaningful use’ and ICD-10 aside and Greg hits on the realization that “All this stimulus/EHR talk is driving home the point that electronic records now must be the center of a spider web…”  Interoperability is the glue that can weave together the myriad of vendors and solutions that will enable organizations to not just grab ARRA dollars, but build a framework that can share patient-centric data inside an organization’s four walls as well as external to those four walls.

Granted the ‘spider web’ in its previous incarnations (interface engine, integration engine, interoperability, etc.) have been the focus of HIMSS past; yet, many providers bought the single solution set which houses siloed information.  They were not wrong in doing so, in fact, they should keep what they have and augment where needed, be compliant with all of the criteria in the ‘meaningful use’ objectives.

The bottom line is that there is no ‘single bullet’ when it comes to meaningful use.  I truly hope “that CIOs and other decision makers … are effortlessly poking holes in that pitch” as Greg states in his article.  He continues to say that these same decision makers should be demanding “Show me the data exchange…” So we hope.

Oh, and to the HDM team, thanks for the HDM shirt.  Very nice.  I’m shooting for the Vespa next time!

So the ONC is creating a temporary EHR certification program (CCHIT can continue as it does now) and a permanent certification program (which means the Drummond Group and others could compete against CCHIT).  Is this certification competition good for the providers and the vendors?   Check it out:

Certification Programs (Facts-at-a-glance)

http://bit.ly/dwrZyJ

NIST (Testing tools, test data)

http://bit.ly/adTcHR

Drummond Group (EHR Certification Press Release)

http://bit.ly/9K4YKx

I wish I knew the answer.  Yes, time will tell.  What I can share is what working with Drummond Group is like.

In support of the BridgeGate Managed File Transfer (MFT) product, BridgeGate contracted with Drummond Group in 2007 to certify its AS2 adapter.  Drummond was honest and ASstraightforward with us as we requested certification, because we were entering the AS2 certification process late (3 weeks before the first tollgate vs. 3 months prior).

Drummond stated they would accept our participation, but communicated to us the great risk of being so late — no other vendor had ever been successful entering the process as late as we did.  Yes, BridgeGate was certified and it all worked out, but I came away respecting the fact Drummond really cared about our success instead of simply taking our money (it was expensive) and letting the chips fall where they may.

So check out the above certification material when you get a chance.  There is a one month pubic comment period regarding the formation of the certification programs.  I invite you to review the above links, and comment.

Welcome to the BridgeGate Blog.  We’re glad you found us.

At BridgeGate we’re all about integration.  We’re very focused on what benefits solid integration can bring to healthcare and government entities. Solid integration efforts mean better data, which in turn means more accurate information.  And couldn’t we all use more accurate information?  In some industries, more accurate data saves money and time; for others – it saves lives.  At the very least, accurate information helps you run your business more smoothly.

We’ll use this space to connect with others working on connecting data and information throughout the enterprise, ask the right ‘what if’ questions and provide a perspective from the trenches of the integration space.

Most of what we will share in our writing will be short blurbs on select articles, blogs, videos, etc. that are both newsworthy and personally interesting to each of us.

Technology and ‘geek speak’ may happen from time-to-time, but we will try to appeal to the many versus the ‘nerd herd’ that we’re a part of.   Either way, we look forward to connecting with you over time.

The adventure begins… BridgeGate joins the blogosphere!