Digital Health Social and Semantic Search

 

The word for 2013 is not only mobile, it is “semantic” Semantic is appearing as an adverb, or adjective  in many of the realms of health.  Semantic search, semantic interoperability, semantic natural language processing all seem relevant.  Semantics' are almost everywhere.

David Amerland writes about Google Semantic Search for SEO and marketing, as well as it’s foundational aspects for any web search.

David Amerland helps multi-national clients and start-ups to organize their SEO and Social Media strategies. He is a business journalist, author and international speaker. He blogs about social media and search engine optimization, writes for a number of prominent websites and advises a handful of corporations on their social media crisis management techniques.

His books on SEO and Social Media demystify the complexity of the subjects they cover for readers around the world providing an accessible blueprints to better understand and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the connected economy.

David has written several publications relevant to health research as well as searches for other topics 

The Primacy of Search in the Semantic Enterprise

 

Digital Health Space predicts that semantic search will become embedded in health IT for natural language processing (NLP). It can be used to reference material in real time, for defined specifics and metrics.

So what is web 3.0, and why is it called the semanticweb (table⇓)? Although both terms are used interchangeably, they convey slightly different, if complementary, views of the new web. The web 3.0 label is often used as a marketing ploy for “the next big thing.” An important feature of web 3.0 is that it enables computers to talk to each other so that they can perform the tasks necessary for us to do our work. However, a primary feature of web 3.0 is that it uses metadata—data about data. This will transform the web into a giant database, and organise it along the lines of PubMed, or one of our trusted medical library catalogues.2

 

 

Technorati Tags: sematic,semantic search,semantic web,natural language processing,david amerland,seo,marketing

Incentive Payments a Dangerous Double Edged Sword

 

The letter the hospital received said it all, “Based on our desk review of the supporting documentation furnished by the facility, we have determined that Hospital X has not met the meaningful use criteria………….Since your facility did not meet the meaningful use criteria, the EHR incentive payment will be recouped. You will receive a demand for  your total Medicare EHR incentive payment shortly from the EHR HITECH Incentive Payment Center.”

A significant number of hospitals and providers will receive a letter such as this. which reminds me of a song “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits .

The Appeal of a Failed EHR Incentive Audit.

If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing else will. I wouldn’t want to be the one that received the email and have to be the one to show it to the hospital CEO or Board. I would imagine the CFO also would not be too pleased. It sounds so final, “did not meet the meaningful use criteria” and “will receive a demand for  your total Medicare EHR incentive payment shortly”. I guess that is why it is call Final Determination. It sounds like a death sentence. But it doesn’t have to be.

A whole new  industry of consultant experts will now descend upon unsuspecting hospitals and providers.

As consultant Jim Tate (EMR Advocate)  goes on to say,

“I was contacted by the hospital the week after they received notification they had failed their EHR incentive audit and to expect a demand letter for a seven figure recoupment. They only failed one meaningful use measure, and it wasn’t the infamous Security Risk Analysis. If I had been on board earlier I could have perhaps helped with documentation and clarification that would have met the expectations of the auditor. It is hard to go back and reconstruct what happened during the 2011 attestation. Staff changes and memory fades. By the time I knew anything the audit was failed and they were behind the eight ball. Not a good place to be.

We were told we were the first hospital that took a failed audit decision to the appeal level. That’s right, we were #001. We worked through the appeal process by providing additional clarifying documentation and participating in a number of conference calls. I felt we received a fair and transparent hearing. Last week the hospital received an email stating, “….we are reversing the adverse audit determination”. Now that is one email I bet everyone was glad to share. Thank their lucky stars. I hope you have a few of those lucky stars in your sky if you need them.”

Lesson #1   Bring in the consultant before you submit the original data. The investment will be much less than afterward financially, to say nothing about the angst and discord for hospital administration.

HHS seems shortsighted in that this is only the first or second round of attestation for meaningful use. There are sure to be problems with the process.

It seems unjust that providers and hospitals should have to pay for the continuing recalcitrance of HHS to plan a workable schedule for implementing their laundry list of things which must be done.

Our faith and trust are wearing very thin….not just in health care. Here is another example of incompetent management style……along with the necessity of delaying the employer mandate.  The fabric of Obama Care is unraveling quickly.

 

Technorati Tags: meaningful use,hhs,meaningful use appeal,jim tate,emr,emr advocate,incentive payment,penalty

Patient-Centered Health Care

 

Medical Home---What is.

Will this really encourage patient involvement ? Or is it another boondoggle?

The term “patient engagement” has become entrenched in the healthcare lexicon. Many have written about how important it will be to achieve the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim—improved care, better health, and reduced healthcare costs. Others have written about the challenges of improving communications between physicians and patients.

Stage IIII of Meaningful use takes a bite into patient apathy regarding their engagement in     personal health records, and use of HIT in their own healthcare.

All of health reform requires significant behavioral modifications. Psychologists have studied this for decades. The Federal Government’s prime methodology includes funding and grants, incentives and penalties (approach-avoidance behavior) along with significant bureaucratic barriers to using old behavioral habits.

As a result of this mandate coupling HIT and clinical practice further data systems must be developed prior to  M.U. deadlines more……..

 

Technorati Tags: medical home,patient engagement,hit,meaningful use,m.u.,meaningful use state 3,patient centered,health reform law

Happy 4th of July from Digital Health Space

 

We interrupt our regularly scheduled posting to bring you a much more  Important message.

On this 4th of July I cannot think of anything more important nor seminal for us here in the U.S.A.

Take these images to heart.

Give this a moment as you enjoy our freedoms, your barbecue, baseball games and fireworks.  Freedom takes work, and constant vigilance.

 

Technorati Tags: freedom,july 4,nsa,spying,human rights