Why Compare Apples to Guanabanas?

I always tend to “cringe” when I read about comparisons between Health IT, medical devices and other healthcare related software with respect to other verticals (e.g., finance, insurance, retail).

Why compare?

Saying that the financial industry is many “light years” ahead is extremely inaccurate. Comparing the processing of debits, credits, interests, etc. with medical information and imagery is like comparing apples to guanabanas (a tropical fruit found worldwide near the Equator).

Healthcare is definitely more complex than other verticals therefore it has complex interoperability issues.

The reason healthcare has interoperability challenges is because it has to deal with extremely complex workflows, scenarios and data. It also faces other regulatory constraints that hinder sharing of data between diverse organizations that interact with the same patients. State local laws also hinder as well.

Healthcare is the number 1 trail-blazer for technology.

Many technologies currently used by other verticals had their birth in trying to solve medical problems; companies in order to survive the regulatory red-tape (read FDA) diverted their attention to applying their inventions to other areas. For example, the CAD (Computer Aided Detection) for health anomalies would modify their products to serve other areas such as security and defense.

Healthcare has provided quite good interoperability solutions to the world. DICOM is ubiquitous in the radiology sub-domain of healthcare. HL7 has been quite successful for exchanging patient data between various source systems. X12 is also a standard for exchanging information between providers and payors.

SQL and MUMPS are of the same technological era.

Great minds from the Massachusetts General Hospital contributed to the creation of MUMPS. MUMPS was created near 1967 and SQL in 1970, so if we want to compare them based on age they are both post-baby-boomers.

SQL may have conquered more market but that does not necessarily mean that it’s better. In technology like any other space the consumer trend has nothing to do with quality. If the opposite were the case then there would be more Apples than PCs. Intersystems Cache is an example of vanguard technology.

Excerpt from Wikipedia: “The European Space Agency announced on May 13, 2010 that it will use MUMPS (InterSystems Caché) to support the Gaia mission. This mission aims to map the Milky Way with unprecedented precision.’

Why didn’t the agency choose SQL? Obviously there is a big reason. Maybe it’s because SQL has no way of meeting the high-bar of unprecedented precision.

We should try to stop blaming technology for the US healthcare problems. Most of these problems root-causes stem from poor policies, savage competition between providers, imprisonment of the patient data, organizational silos, etc.

Response from Senator Sherrod Brown Regarding SOPA and PIPA

Dear Mr. Planchart:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about legislation to combat online infringement and digital theft.

Last Congress, the Senate considered, but did not pass, legislation entitled the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). The aim of this legislation was to assist the Department of Justice in tracking and shutting down “rogue websites.” These sites provide unauthorized downloads, streaming, or direct sale of copyrighted material. Similar legislation, entitled the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act, has been introduced in the Senate. The PROTECT IP Act narrows the definition of “rogue website” in an effort to target only the most egregious purveyors of digital theft and counterfeit crime.

In an age of advancing technology, it is critical we have laws that protect internet users from unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent marketplace practices. Too many consumers today purchase goods over the internet that may pose a significant threat to their health and wellbeing. For example, a consumer may unknowingly purchase counterfeit prescription drugs online that contain incorrect amounts of active ingredients, and thus pose a serious risk to ill individuals.

Additionally, illegal file sharing and unauthorized copying of digital material prevents musicians, producers, filmmakers, software designers, and many others from reaping the fruits of their labor. Such activity has the potential to stifle artistic creativity and compromise electronic innovation. Ultimately, intellectual property theft costs our economy billions of dollars and can result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.

However, I have also heard from individuals with concerns about the scope of this legislation, as well as its First Amendment implications. I take these concerns seriously. Should this legislation come before the full Senate for a vote, I will keep your views in mind. Thank you again for getting in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown

United States Senator