Industry Insight

Future of Health Technology Award Presented

Craig Feied, MD, of Microsoft Health Solutions Group and Georgetown University, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Future of Health Technology Award for his pioneering work in medical software.

Feied, a specialist in emergency medicine, is a pioneer in medical informatics, which combines the disciplines of computer science, information science, and healthcare to optimize the use of information in patient services and research.

He conceived and was instrumental in the development of Amalga software architecture for the real-time integration of medical data. And, through the EROne Institutes for Innovation in Medicine, which he helped found, he has brought hundreds of innovative ideas to life.

“Dr Feied is a visionary physician who recognized that medical informatics is the key to the success of modern medicine and what he calls ‘absolute diagnosis’ rather than relying on humans and their clinical judgments,” says Renata Bushko, founder of the Future of Health Technology Institute. “There is just too much to know, and the information grows and changes too quickly for humans to keep up.”

She adds that Feied’s strategy for a new era of global wellness derives from medical informatics and its potential to distill massive amounts of data in a systems approach that can yield unambiguous tests to prove or disprove each diagnosis. One outcome of that shift might be new types of medical schools, where students are taught 50% traditional medicine and 50% informatics and system sciences.

The Future of Health Technology Award is given annually to breakthrough thinkers whose work can help reduce suffering, maximize the potential for self-realization, and extend human potential with technology.

— Source: Future of Health Technology Institute

CHIME Honors Ganguly for State Advocacy Leadership

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) recently announced that Indranil “Neal” Ganguly, CHCIO, vice president and chief information officer at CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, N.J., was awarded CHIME’s third annual State Advocacy Award.

Ganguly was recognized for his active involvement in CHIME StateNet and his commitment to the growth and success of statewide initiatives to further the advancement of health information exchange (HIE) and HIT adoption.

As its current vice chair, Ganguly has been a driving force of CHIME StateNet, an online network of chief information officers and other HIT stakeholders intended to enhance communication and foster statewide coalitions on important matters related to the HITECH Act. As part of its efforts to facilitate robust and effective HIE, StateNet formed an HIE workgroup where Ganguly serves as chair. Earlier this year, he presided over the development of StateNet’s Guiding Principles, developed as foundational operating guidelines for regional extension centers and HIEs.

The CHIME State Advocacy Award was created to honor a member for their demonstrated leadership at the state level in educating policy makers on the value of HIT toward improved patient care.

— Source: College of Healthcare Information Management Executives

MedAptus Names Secan Chief Medical Officer

MedAptus recently announced that Ryan A. Secan, MD, MPH, has joined the company in the role of chief medical officer. Secan is currently a practicing hospitalist at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. He was previously medical director of hospitalist programs at Lowell General Hospital Medical Group and Anna Jaques Hospital, both also located in Massachusetts.

In addition to his clinical experience, Secan brings a strong interest in physician mobile computing and has led the deployment of such tools in the hospital setting. This background will play a significant role in his interaction with MedAptus clinician end users, many of whom utilize the company’s Professional Intelligent Charge Capture software from their Apple iPhone and iPad devices and BlackBerry smartphones.

— Source: MedAptus

World’s Largest Cancer Charity Invests in Dotmatics

Dotmatics, a global provider of informatics software and services, recently announced that U.K.-based Cancer Research Technology (CRT) has invested in the Dotmatics platform to bring efficiency to its current research processes. CRT, the technology development and commercialization arm of Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer charity, has deployed Dotmatics tools to improve the analysis of its data and accelerate the drug discovery process.

Researchers at CRT are now able to enhance their research workflow by utilizing Dotmatics’ data visualization and analytics tool Vortex and Browser for querying and reporting of scientific data.

— Source: Dotmatics