Light HL7 Library for Java

Mike, who works at Cleveland Clinic, has released the Light HL7 Library for Java. Here’s how he describes it: The Light HL7 Library let’s you simply parse, modify and create HL7-like messages in Java. This is the same parsing library used by the HL7 Browser and HL7 Comm, and internally at CCF, so it has literally parsed millions and millions of records.

I just read another data theft article. The Seattle Times reported Patients’ information stolen in 3 thefts. This time backup tapes (which I warned about in an earlier post) were left in a personal vehicle which was broken into. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked around in a hospital or provider parking lot and seen medical record folders sitting in physicans’ cars. That’s bad, but thieves (if they broke in) could only get a few records at a time.

I got some good comments on my recent article where I suggested that QuadraMed open source their solution in order to help them gain more sales. There were a number of folks who asked for more information about why vendors should consider open sourcing their products so I put together this article, which was also published in today’s Health IT World newsletter. Update: the Health IT World website has now published the article, too.

After a couple of weeks of voting, the bloggers and readers have come up with a day, time, and location for the HIMSS’06 Blogger and Reader Meetup. By popular request the meetup will be on Sunday evening after the HIMSS reception at 8:30pm at Hennessey’s Gaslamp (map). If you think you’ll be attending, please be sure to register so we can plan accordingly. If you’d like to see who’s attending, take a look at those who have already registered.

AP is reporting about how prison inmates will be visiting doctors electronically in Kentucky. More specifically: Inmates in Kentucky’s jails and prisons will receive most non-routine medical visits electronically under a new program designed to save time and money, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence said yesterday. The program, already in limited use, is expected to expand to all 13 prisons and 75 jails in the state by spring. What’s great here is that service will improve but costs may decrease by up to 40%.

Health-IT World reports Search Engines, Blogs Lead Top E-Health Trends for 2006. People and organizations marketing e-health products and services would do well by paying close attention to search engines and formerly “alternative” media such as blogs and online video in 2006, a top healthcare information firm says. Consumers and physicians alike increasingly are turning to search engines to find health information on the Internet, rather than pointing their browsers toward specific, known Web sites.

Eric Spiegel writes in Datamation’s online magazine about Blogging Your Way Up the Career Ladder. The article discusses how professionals, especially in IT, can enhance their careers through blogging. The column features some of my ideas on the subject as the central interview subject.

It was only a couple of months ago that I started the HITSphere health IT blog aggregation engine and community with about 8 feeds. Throughout the past couple of months many more blogs have been nominated and accepted for display on the main page and even more inside the Community pages. Check out the HITSphere — it’s diverse and pretty encompassing now. If you know of more that should be added, please let me know.

There is a general misconception in the health IT community that their database servers are somehow their most secure systems and that because they are secure their patients’ healthcare data and their own financial information is safe. As a health IT architect let me clue you in on this is a dirty little secret: many databases are neither secure nor safe from data tampering or theft. Although lots of data may be stolen by hackers for identity theft, a great deal of other data theft occurs from insiders who could benefit from sale of such data.

Friends, just a quick reminder that if you like what you read here, please take a moment and voice your opinion by voting at the 2005 Medical Weblog Awards. Since my blog has only been around for 3 months I’ve been surprised and humbled by my readers’ generosity in spending their precious time voting for me in the three categories I was nominated in: Best Medical Weblog Best New Medical Weblog Established in 2005

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