Your Doctor doesn't care about your Fitbit data

If you're like millions of people with a Fitbit, Garmin, Withings or other consumer personal health device you already know: your doctor doesn't care how many steps you take daily, or your weight scale readings, your sleep cycle data or any number of other quantitative measures you may have on your health/fitness devices. Your family doctor isn't going to check your stats...ever. What does all this personal health data really mean?

We all want to change the world

Recently I attended the annual eHealth conf in Vancouver, the event brings together Health IT professional from across Canada and this year's theme was "re-invent". Through out the show I experienced the deja vu feel one gets after being in an industry of over 15 years and seeing the same folks, giving the same speeches and making the same pronouncements being made over and over again. The need for interoperability, removing silos, cooperation and innovation. Its not all old hat, there are the inevitable wide-eyed, bushy tailed young turks ready to take on the challenges for this industry. Their naivete, there exuberance all that energy is great to see, and they so remind me of when I was like them!

Patient and Doctor communication

When you call to make a doctors appointment how do you do it?
For the majority of us it goes something like this,
1. phone the doctor's office
- if no answer leave a message and hope for a call back
- if someone answers usually take the next available appointment
2. We put the appointment in our calendar, for most of us this is now in our phone.
- when the date of the appointment comes we arrive, usually 15-20 min early...and hope
- Hope that the doctor is in, that they aren't running late or that a different doctor is taking the appointments of our regular doc.

Company Name Change to Clarity Health Inc.

My career began as a co-op student at the University of Waterloo. My first professional job was with Algoma Steel, an illustrious company in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The job started in January 1980, working for the MIS department in their Database Administration group. Winter in the Sault are legendary, for those of you who don't know where Sault Ste. Marie I welcome you to look it up and see the winter temperatures. The company, the people and the job experience was great, and I was pleased and happy to be asked to return for a second work-term the following year, this time in the fall a glorious time to be in Algoma and experience the fall colours of Agawa Canyon.

Following this wonderful experience my next company job was with Canada Trust in their IT Headquarters in London, Ontario.

Family Health Engagement

When it comes to health we all share the same desires. We want to be able to book an appointment without waiting, get our prescriptions refilled quickly, see our test results and get sound advice from our doctors; in other words receive the best possible care without delay. Even in todays connected, internet based, consumer focused marketplace the challenges of getting an appointment the same day with your doctor is challenging. Dealing with multiple phone calls rather than emails or online booking, the doctor’s office is more like the office in "Mad Men" for the 1960s than what we would expect from modern 21st century offices. Modern medicine is still being "practised" on paper, your health information in a file folder, and if you do receive the information it is often well after the fact.

When it comes to connecting with your family, you’re more likely to do so by email, text messaging, facetime or skype. To communicate with your doctor you need to phone someone, book an appointment, travel to their office, sit and wait, reading out of date mags in a waiting room that heralds back to a bygone age.

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Since December 2012, Clarity Health Journal has been deployed at the Hospital for Sick Children(SickKids) of Toronto to support the Hematology and Oncology Department in a research project involving families dealing with Childhood Cancer.

Clarity Health Journal at eHealth Interoperability Showcase

Once again we show our commitment to interoperability in healthcare by demonstrating Clarity Health Journal as part of this years eHealth Interoperability Showcase. In previous years we showed families managing diabetes using home devices and sharing result with physicians. This is always a very compelling scenario and one that may families dealing with chronic conditions can relate to.

NYeC Patient Portal challenge

ClarityHealthJournal NYeC Patient Portal Demo from Saverio M Rinaldi on Vimeo.

Healthcare in Ontario; A Call to Action

Call To Action, an article by Nan Brooks published in Longwoods eLetter March 1, 2012

John Ronson, Will Falk and I have been having a public debate about the future role and structure of the healthcare system. While the discussion focused on the role of the Local Health Integrated Networks (LHINs), concerns about the balance of power were also raised.

The debate surrounded the balance of power between players in the system. Options to recalibrate the authority and responsibility within the system to increase sustainability, enhance access, and maximize quality were debated, particularly as it relates to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC), the LHINS and the hospitals.

Now the Minister of Health and Long Term Care, The Honorable Deb Matthews, has started to weigh in publicly on the topic. In her recent document “Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care: Better patient care through better value from our health care dollars” she outlined the plan to transform the health care system. Did she address the issues raised by the essays?

Off to Vegas for HIMSS12.

This year's North America's largest health information management systems show will be held in Las Vegas. Clarity Health Journal will be exhibiting at booth 2262. If you are coming to HIMSS12 drop by to see our latest iPhone MedDiary app.

CHJ_Demo_V4.mp4 Watch on Posterous

LHINS at 5 years: responding to John Ronson

Nan Brooks responding to John Ronson

Mr. Ronson in “LHINS at Five Years – What Now?” addresses a topic that requires urgent, candid and constructive debate. This essay continues the discussion on a way forward.

First, the context: Ontario is a geographically vast province with greathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif chttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifultural diversity. If Ontario were a country, it would be the 29th largest country in the world. Two of Spain or France and three Germanys could fit within Ontario’s borders. Few would suggest a single health system structure for Spain or Germany.

Predicting the cost of acute-care nursing

A research project I directed was presented at the 25th Patient Classification Systems International (PCSI) Working Conference in Fukuoka, Japan on November 14, 2009. The project was funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Nursing Secretariat. It investigate the use of proxies to estimate nursing workload on an individual patient basis. The link to the presentation write up is http://bit.ly/NB_PCSI

Strategic development

My current clients range from the largest teaching hospital in Ontario to a large multi-site community hospital to a small hospital. The projects range from developing international strategies, creating strategy-based balanced scorecards, developing business intelligence strategies, analysing future regional patient flow based upon program changes, and developing an academic strategy.