Save Time, Save Money, and be more productive. www.i3reliability.com 01/18/2011
Posted by mritsema in business intelligence, cloud computing, development, healthcare, ibm, managed services, microsoft, security, virtualization, web, web services.Tags: Cloud Services, Cloud Support, IT, IT support, IT Support Services, Network Support
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EMR: What is the current status of “meaningful use”, and what does it mean for your practice? 08/03/2010
Posted by tbc4thaadsma in business intelligence, development, government, healthcare, ibm, managed services, microsoft, web.Tags: EMR, healthcare, IBM, Managed Services, Medical Records, microsoft
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Some improvements in the “meaningful use” final rule sought by the AMA were accepted, but the Association says many practices still face barriers to adoption.
By Chris Silva, amednews staff. Posted Aug. 2, 2010.
Washington — While the final rule determining what constitutes “meaningful use” of electronic medical records provides some needed leeway for physicians, barriers to EMR adoption and implementation remain for doctors, according to the American Medical Association.
The AMA said in a July 21 statement that it had helped effect some positive changes in the final rule, including a reduction in the total number of measures, from 25 to 20, that physicians have to meet in order to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid EMR bonuses in the first two years.
The minimum thresholds for meeting several measures also were reduced. For example, the requirement that a doctor use an EMR for computerized physician order entry of medication orders decreased. Instead of mandating that more than 80% of patients have at least one drug ordered through CPOE, the threshold will be more than 30% of patients. Thresholds also were reduced for transmitting electronic prescriptions and implementing clinical decision support tools.
EMR bonus program poses tight deadline for physicians
But the AMA says physicians still face several challenges in becoming compliant in time. There is no EMR system on the market now that offers the capabilities needed for physicians to become meaningful users. Federal officials expect such systems to become available this fall, which would give practices only a few months to install and test the technology before the Jan. 1, 2011, start date of the incentive program. Physicians who already have invested in EMRs now must upgrade their systems to meet certification criteria.
In addition, the total number of measures that physicians have to meet is still too high, the AMA says. The final rule divides the initial 25 meaningful use objectives into two categories: a core group of 15 objectives and a “menu set” of 10 objectives, from which they can choose any five to defer in 2011-12.
Also, some of the thresholds for meeting the objectives remain high, the AMA says. For example, one measure requires physicians to maintain an up-to-date problem list of current and active diagnoses for more than 80% of patients. In addition, there is no mechanism for physicians to appeal any decision made during the incentive program.
“The final requirements for the meaningful use of EHRs are an improvement over previous drafts, but challenges still remain that will make it difficult for physicians to meet the requirements — especially physicians in solo and small practices,” said AMA Board of Trustees member and Secretary Steven J. Stack, MD.
During a July 20 hearing, members of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee probed the administration’s progress so far in shaping an EMR incentive program that is user-friendly for physicians and hospitals, yet that also yields a maximum benefit for taxpayers and patients.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that the administration may have gone too far in watering down the requirements in its final rule. But officials said the changes to the final rule were necessary to ensure that doctors and hospitals do not become overwhelmed.
“We wanted to make it possible for a small rural practice to become a meaningful user just as much as a large urban practice,” said David Blumenthal, MD, the national health information technology coordinator. “It is not fair to hold accountable individual physicians who desperately want to become meaningful users.”
Eugene Heslin, MD, a family physician in Saugerties, N.Y., testified that EMRs can be an effective and vital tool for small practices, despite some of the barriers they may face during adoption.
Dr. Heslin explained how paperless records may have saved the life of one of his elderly patients. The patient showed up at an emergency department with shortness of breath and had given paramedics a list of medications that Dr. Heslin determined from his home computer were incorrect — it was actually a list for the patient’s wife. If the patient’s EMR had not been available to him at home, the outcome may have been a lot different, he said.
“Is meeting the criteria going to be easy for physicians and hospitals? Absolutely not,” said Dr. Heslin, who is head physician at Bridge Street Medical Group, a six-physician practice. “But they will help me persuade my colleagues that there is critical mass, it is doable at the community level, and that they need to move now along the same pathway to benefit patients and their community.”
The print version of this content appeared in the Aug. 9 issue of American Medical News.
Apple, Google, Linux Are in Microsoft’s Sights | eWeek 07/19/2010
Posted by thaadsma in google, Linux, microsoft, web.add a comment
Interesting take on Microsoft’s recent surge, titled “The Empire Strikes Back” at eWeek. Here’s an excerpt:
“In a post titled “Microsoft by the Numbers,” Shaw, Microsoft’s top public relations official, delivers a strong example of what the term “PR” is really all about. Shaw’s post will be alternately scrutinized, analyzed, criticized and praised. And it will likely be used as slide show fodder by more than one news outlet (I must admit that I damn near did one myself!). But the bottom line is Shaw stood up and did his job. He did the hell out of his job.
He took some swipes that Microsoft has been reluctant to overtly take in the past. Sure, the company has made many of these points before, but it has done so a bit more passively. Or it has done it through proxies or with partners—as if to give the impression that the so-called heavy hand of the software giant was not behind the jab.
However, with his post, Shaw makes no pretense that anyone other than Microsoft is behind the message. And the message is: “We’re here. We’re Microsoft. We have the numbers to prove it. Get used to it.”
Citing what he referred to as “a few of my favorite numbers,” one of the first things Shaw did in his post was talk about the success of Windows 7. And he should. He listed 150,000,000 as the “Number of Windows 7 licenses sold, making Windows 7 by far the fastest growing operating system in history.”
That was potent, but perhaps his best stroke was ending with some revenue figures. Shaw simply said:
- $5.7 Billion: Apple net income for fiscal year ending Sep 2009
- $6.5 Billion: Google net income for fiscal year ending Dec 2009
- $14.5 Billion: Microsoft net income for fiscal year ending June 2009
Shaw calmly asserts a position that stands up to all the hype and furor over Apple’s cool and market cap, Google’s ascendance to supremacy, and trash talk that Ballmer’s no longer the guy, and he says: Look at the numbers.
This stance is long overdue from Microsoft. The company needs to fight back and be proactive amid the onslaught of smacktalk.”
Shaw also puts the iPad craze into perspective. He said: “1 million Projected iPad sales for 2010. 58 million Projected netbook sales in 2010. 355 million Projected PC sales in 2010.” And he noted that although less than 10 percent of the netbooks sold in the United States in 2008 were Windows based, by the end of 2009 96 percent of the netbooks sold in the United States were running Windows.”
via eWeek.
Microsoft Azure: 10K Customers and Counting | InternetNews.com 06/09/2010
Posted by thaadsma in broadband, development, infrastructure, managed services, microsoft, SaaS, virtualization, web services.add a comment
Not bad for something just outta beta:
“Microsoft’s Azure just came out of beta testing a few months ago, but the company has already signed up 10,000 paying customers to run their applications in the company’s Azure cloud, a company executive said.”
via Microsoft Azure: 10K Customers and Counting – InternetNews.com
HTG recognizes outstanding peer group | i3 05/05/2010
Posted by Connie Swanson in government, healthcare, ibm, infrastructure, managed services, microsoft, SaaS, security, web services.add a comment
i3 Business Solutions, LLC participates in an international peer group called Heartland Technology Group. Heartland Technology Group (HTG) is recognized as a leading peer group in the information technology industry. It is composed of 250 companies focused on small to mid-size business support. Ideas on management of people, process, performance and practice are the foundation for this industry initiative.
Kathy Labozzetta of i3 Business Solutions with HTG 5 Team
Our peer group, HTG5 was awarded member group of the year out of the 22 peer groups at this year’s conference. Participation in this collaborative effort enables us to quickly compare ourselves to others in the industry, validate our strategy and decision making and go to market quickly with leading solutions and best practices that are proven and reliable.
These solutions include:
- Virtualization
- Managed Service IT Support Offerings
- Backup and Recovery
- Storage Solutions
- Web Applications
- Microsoft Solutions
- Technology and Service Delivery Tools
- Product Offerings
- Input and Support from Key Industry Vendors
HTG differentiates itself from other industry groups by having a very open “Go Giver” philosophy for sharing of business ideas including open financials, sales, marketing and operational methodologies with common business financial benchmarks & metrics. Open discussion and action plans for development of people and work/life balance are also a focus.
Clash of the clouds | The Economist 11/02/2009
Posted by thaadsma in broadband, ibm, infrastructure, Linux, managed services, microsoft, security, web, web services.add a comment
Cloud computing generates a lot of heated discussion, and through all the technical arguments, issues of security and trust, and battles over control, one topic keeps getting overlooked: cost.
Reducing business cost is what’s really driving us toward cloud computing.
We will all eventually adopt cloud computing, simply because the current model of scaling servers up and down is very expensive. IT departments try to buy as many servers as they think they’ll need for computing power during estimated peak capacity. But we don’t need that capacity most of the time– so lots of servers sit idle.
Cloud computing can reduce costs, becauses it provides more capacity during the peak times, so we simply pay for it on-demand. When the peaks are over and less capacity is needed, the cost then goes down. From a business perspective, this allows a company to move much of its infrastructure costs from being a capital expenditure (CAPEX) to an operating expenditure (OPEX).
The Economist published an excellent overview of how industry giants are reacting to this massive trend:
Clash of the Titans
“The rise of cloud computing is not just shifting Microsoft’s centre of gravity. It is changing the nature of competition within the computer industry. Technological developments have hitherto pushed computing power away from central hubs: first from mainframes to minicomputers, and then to PCs. Now a combination of ever cheaper and more powerful processors, and ever faster and more ubiquitous networks, is pushing power back to the centre in some respects, and even further away in others. The cloud’s data centres are, in effect, outsize public mainframes. At the same time, the PC is being pushed aside by a host of smaller, often wireless devices, such as smart-phones, netbooks (small laptops) and, perhaps soon, tablets (touch-screen computers the size of books).
Although Windows still runs 90% of PCs, the fading importance of the PC means that Microsoft is no longer an all-powerful monopolist. Others are also building big clouds, including Google, a giant of the internet, and Apple, renowned as a maker of hardware, with a market capitalisation that now exceeds those of both Google and IBM, its original arch-rival (see chart above).
Granted, there are hundreds if not thousands of firms offering cloud services—web-based applications living in data centres, such as music sites or social networks. But Microsoft, Google and Apple play in a different league. Each has its own global network of data centres. They intend to offer not just one or two services, but whole suites of them, with services including e-mail, address books, storage, collaboration tools and business applications. They are also vying to dominate the periphery, either by developing software for smart-phones and other small devices or by making such devices themselves.”
Read the whole thing, of course… Cloud computing: Clash of the clouds | The Economist.
Social Media: Rolling with the changes | Lunch & Learn at i3 Business Solutions 10/28/2009
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Thanks to the great group who attended our Lunch & Learn session today. (And it was a beautiful fall day to get out of the office wasn’t it?)
i3′s Mike Ritsema introduced the session with the theme that ”Things are changing” and that we all need to change and starting using this stuff to thrive and compete.
Mike introduced the main presenter Bill Chamberlin, Principal Consultant – Social Insights Practice and HorizonWatching Community Leader at IBM. As of 2009, Bill is part of IBM’s Social Media Insights practice. This new practice for extracting business insights and value from social media marketing and online communities. Bill covered a point of view on how IBM approaches the social media ‘communities space’, which tools and platforms that are of business use, and what strategic decisions have to be made to use social media tools for customer support, marketing & promotions, and product development.
Brian Dokter of Thinkbox Creative then pulled all these concepts together by demonstrating how ThinkBox has linked (or ‘federated’) all their firms’ social media tools so they can make one update and feed the update out throughout their website, blog, Blog, Facebook page, and more.
Setting it all up correctly is critical. Doing this takes time, experience and expertise, so we look forward to working with our customers and ThinkBox Creative to assist people interested in pursuing this in business.
Once again, thanks to all presenters and attendees.
Are you ready to get busy with it?
LinkedIn seems to be a clear winner for businesses interested in networking and marketing themselves online– without spending a lot of time and money. For those of you ready to jump in, I found this great introduction on how to set up a compnay profile: HOW TO: Build Your Company’s Profile on LinkedIn.
Windows 7: The revenge of Windows Vista | InfoWorld 09/11/2009
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Tons of technical data in this ‘first look’ assessment of Windows 7… but how does ’7 shape up from a usability perspective?
In other words, does it cure all the stupid and aggravating things we have to put up with in Windows XP?
Yup:
“… the new Taskbar is shaping up as one giant leap forward for Windows usability. Simply put, the version 7 Taskbar reinvents the Windows UI, with an embrace of the object-oriented ideas and concepts that inspired so many of today’s modern graphical environments.
The ability to pin your entire workspace to the Taskbar — including applications, documents, and utilities — and interact with them in a consistent, predictable manner makes the Windows 7 UI a revelation for many users. Add to this the beefed-up saved-search mechanism (that is, the new Libraries folder) and the myriad Aero gestures (Aero Peek, Shake, Snap), and you have what is perhaps the most compelling OS upgrade incentive in recent memory.
Bottom line: The Windows 7 UI is light-years ahead of both Windows Vista and XP in terms of overall usability and general operator productivity. Many users will likely upgrade based solely on this feature — it’s that compelling.”
Reshaping Cisco: The world according to Chambers | The Economist 09/08/2009
Posted by thaadsma in broadband, infrastructure, Linux, managed services, microsoft, mobile web, virtualization, web, web services.add a comment
In case you missed this article on Cisco before you headed out for your Labor Day weekend, There’s a wealth of information on where Cisco’s been and where John Chambers intends to take them. Of particular interest is their foucs on virtualization:
“In the case of servers, souped-up computers that dish up data, the market shift Cisco intends to ride is virtualisation. In essence this means that the servers in a data centre are turned into a pool of computing power to be tapped into as needed rather than being used individually. Virtualisation creates a lot of complexity, to which Cisco has found an answer, says Robert Lloyd, who heads the group that has developed what Cisco calls the “unified computing system”. Its parts—servers, storage disks, memory—are held together and managed by a powerful switch running Nx-OS, one of Cisco’s operating systems.”
As a Cisco Select Partner here at i3 Business Solutions, we see their products as essential to “making things really work.” As more and more of our business systems– and personal networks of devices– get interwoven and integrated, I can only think that Cisco ultimately will be in the middle of it, making them all work together.
via Reshaping Cisco: The world according to Chambers | The Economist.
gloStream and the healthcare industry | Rodney Bowen-Wright | Microsoft 06/17/2009
Posted by thaadsma in development, healthcare, microsoft.add a comment
Check out this great article about gloStream written by Rodney Bowen-Wright from Microsoft and posted to Microsoft’s Startup Zone Web site.
Rodney is a director of business development and manages vertical markets and mobility portfolios in Microsoft’s Emerging Business Team:
“Microsoft has the right infrastructure and tools to make this transformation happen quickly. One company at the right place at the right time with the right solution is GloStream.
gloStream provides physicians and healthcare facilities across the U.S. with electronic medical record software and practice management solutions based on the Microsoft Office suite – delivered and supported through a nationwide network of local technology partners.
gloStream applications are secure, easy-to-use and the only solutions on the market embedded with Microsoft Office. With a simple user interface, robust voice recognition technology, and single-click access to all patient data, gloStream products help doctors improve patient care by streamlining workflow and creating efficiencies in office administration.
gloStream’s deep healthcare experience and its utilization of Microsoft technology (and specific use of Microsoft Office) provide doctors and staff with a secure, reliable, scalable, customizable and affordable EMR and PM solutions. gloSuite is easy to learn and use so doctors and staff can limit training time and get up their full patient load in a matter of days, not weeks.”
10 reasons to purchase new hardware during a recession | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com 04/30/2009
Posted by thaadsma in business intelligence, government, healthcare, ibm, infrastructure, managed services, microsoft, security.add a comment
In tough times like these, it’s tempting to put off urgent IT hardware purchases. But you can shoot yourself in the foot by doing so, for a number of reasons–
10 reasons, to be precise.
I really think one of the most important is that your best people may be less productive, and productivity and results are the name for the game right now. Reason #2 from the list at TR:
“When PCs, displays, or network switches fail, it may be tempting to visit an old parts closet to dig out replacements. Old, entry-level Celeron- or Pentium-powered PCs with 256MB of RAM and rattling power supplies won’t help managers (now often responsible for production tasks, too, due to departmental layoffs) efficiently complete expanded task lists. Nor will such machines enable overworked colleagues to run QuickBooks, CRM applications, or proprietary programs smoothly. Nor will a 15″ CRT enable productivity gains when replacing a 22″ widescreen monitor used to display customer information alongside order entry software.
The same is true for network equipment. Outdated hubs and routers were decommissioned for a reason. They were either too slow, failed to operate properly, or didn’t meet the organization’s needs. They certainly won’t improve productivity now, when staff sizes are smaller, remaining employees must absorb the workload of laid-off staff, and stress levels climb ever higher. The subsequent delays and inefficiencies translate to lost opportunities, poor customer experiences, and less revenue.”
We’re working with our i3 Business Soultions customers every day who realize the only way to recovery and success is making good deals now for critical business systems.
Read all 10 business reasons at the TechRepublic blog:
via 10 reasons to purchase new hardware during a recession | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com.
Microsoft 2019 scenario: everything I want except the flying car | The Industry Standard 03/04/2009
Posted by thaadsma in design, healthcare, microsoft, mobile web, user interfaces, web, web services.add a comment
Now this is more like it!
The five punchy two-minute video excerpt says a lot about where we are going:
“The super-slim and easy-to-use handheld gadgets and wall-sized transparent displays handled by the video’s shoppers, students and office workers make Tom Cruise’s setup in Minority Report seem obsolete. More important than whizzy interfaces, the videos promise much more extensive collaboration, instant information retrieval, and multimedia communication.”
via Microsoft’s 2019 scenario has everything but Windows | The Industry Standard.
NOTE: The original five-minute version (much higher quality) can be viewed at Microsoft Office Labs.
Take Back Control of Your Critical Business Data | Ventana Research 02/17/2009
Posted by msansoterra in development, microsoft, user interfaces, web.Tags: applications, Business, errors, Excel, harm, problems, Productivity, spreadsheets, warning
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For years industry experts have been warning the business community about the harm of overusing spreadsheets. The sentiments recently expressed by Ventana research echo our own experience: too many users are using spreadsheets as an all purpose database/logic/reporting tool instead of simply a reporting or analysis tool:
“…our benchmark research shows spreadsheets are now being seriously misused in ways that severely hamper the productivity and performance of corporations. It’s time you seriously rethink how your organization uses spreadsheets.
“Our research confirms desktop spreadsheets pose serious productivity issues. Half find dealing with spreadsheet problems consumes a noticeable amount of time. Errors are a problem: just under half find major errors in data and formulas in their most important spreadsheets. These errors pose financial and reputational risk because most people only check selected cells. Dealing with errors is time consuming and just over half find the spreadsheets they receive are not as timely as they should be. More than half find resolving spreadsheet errors delays business processes and 42% find out-of-date information in their spreadsheets frequently or all the time. Just over half find rolling up spreadsheets is usually or always time consuming. Yet, users are in denial, since only a handful think spreadsheets pose a productivity issue.”
via Fix Your Spreadsheet Problem – Priority #10 for 2009.
Who in I.T. hasn’t run into the unwieldy Microsoft Excel workbook that has too many worksheets and too many external links? The problem for many is that these overblown spreadsheets become gospel in their respective departments which in turn causes users to rely on them instead of the central business systems. I cringe when I question a user about a piece of information and they open an ugly spreadsheet for their answer (instead of going to the business application software where the information belongs.)
Users who are overusing spreadsheet tools are probably living dangerously. In these cases, it’s time to move away from the spreadsheet in favor of an application that can do the job right without the associated risks mentioned by Ventana. The application should validate the data (to prevent garbage in, garbage out), prevent duplicate data, apply business rules to the data and report current information. Once the data is stored properly within an application spreadsheet users can still feel free to export the base data to do their analysis and reporting. Further, it should be understood by the user community that the data in these spreadsheets are not the final authority — the business applications are.
Google Pushes for Wider Google Apps Adoption with New Reseller Program | ReadWriteWeb 01/14/2009
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Getting down to business? A threat to Microsoft Office? You tell me.
“Google tonight announced a reseller and accreditation program for Google Apps. Resellers, after being trained by Google, can now market, support, and customize Google Apps Premier Edition for their customers. Resellers will get training and support from Google, as well as tools for sales, marketing, and integrating Google Apps into their customers’ existing architectures. Google has already rolled out a pilot of this program to more than 50 partners worldwide.”
via Google Pushes for Wider Google Apps Adoption with New Reseller Program – ReadWriteWeb.
High Performance Computing is Flying High | eWeek 05/23/2008
Posted by thaadsma in development, ibm, Linux, microsoft, SaaS, SUN, web.add a comment
“The swift rise of cloud computing—applications made available as on-demand services for enterprises and consumers over the Web—is now requiring HPC and “super” storage at all levels, Platform Computing founder and CEO Songnian Zhou told an audience of several hundred IT managers and developers here at Platform Global Conference, held May 19-21.
Platform Computing makes specialized management software for HPC data centers serving sectors such as the financial market, earth science, oil and gas exploration, health care, and government and military installations.
“Current data centers, most of them built more than 10 years ago, are costly to run and not very efficient in using power resources,” Zhou said. “What IT managers and CIOs need when they are looking to upgrade are agile, scalable, more powerful, more cost-effective servers and storage systems that use more automation, share resources, use less power and run on commodity hardware.
“Yet these new systems must be able to deliver powerful Web services 24/7. This is what HPC brings to the table.”"
Lots more stats and numbers at the origianl article: Why HPC Is Flying High
Google mapping spec now an industry standard | CNET News.com 04/14/2008
Posted by thaadsma in development, google, mapping, microsoft, multimedia, user interfaces, web, web services.add a comment
Google mapping spec now an industry standard | Tech news blog – CNET News.com
“”What OGC brings to the table is…everyone has confidence we won’t take advantage of the format or change it in a way that will harm anyone,” said Michael Weiss-Malik, Google’s KML product manager. “The goal is to prevent market fragmentation,” in which different technology uses different standards. “
More Details On The Google-Salesforce Alliance | TechCrunch 04/14/2008
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More Details On The Google-Salesforce “Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend” Alliance
“Google is in effect becoming Salesforce’s productivity suite. Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentation can be created from within Salesforce’s CRM application. GTalk works as the de facto instant messenger within Salesforce. With one click, sales people who use Gmail can send any email correspondence with potential or existing customers to Salesforce, where it becomes recorded as part of the sales cycle. Sales events and marketing campaigns can be overlayed onto a Google Calendar (see screen shot below), as well as colleague’s schedules for figuring out convenient meeting times”
