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Customer Experience and Design

Windows 8 and Surface are poised to disrupt healthcare

Microsoft just announced Rounds, a Windows 8 application that simplifies workflow for doctors and nurses within a hospital. This is innovation is disruptive and thoughtful. It epitomizes healthcare. Let me explain.

Advances in medicine usually come about through the scientific method. When something works, it gets published and the rest of the industry benefits from the publication.

In my opinion, Rounds is one of these concepts that will provide enough thoughtful presentation to encourage innovation. The application is not yet connected to the back-end systems to make it practical, but that’s not the intent. The intent is to get the industry to think about different ways to do their jobs. In that light, I think Rounds is spot on.

Some hurdles that must be overcome to get widespread use of products like Rounds are high, but not impossible. Someone will need to connect this to a back-end system that provides patient information. There are many EMR systems on the market and some will be easier to interface with than others. Someone will have to find a way to enable Lync to create legitimate orders and to track the creation and execution of these orders via the patient record. Someone will have to find a way to capture Lync-based consultations and tie them to the patient records and, more important, find a way to get paid when using this kind of technology.

All of this is technically possible today. The obstacles are legal and procedural. For a system like this to function, it will take a leap of faith to get the compliance groups on board. It will take a lot of explanation and safeguards to convince those who would benefit most to embrace this change. It will take some pretty creative thinking for seamlessly connecting the back and front-end systems to enable this.

This kind of change is very disruptive. Yet, disruption is how major advances in healthcare begin.

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Mike Jenkins

Mike Jenkins has over 25 years of experience architecting, developing, and implementing solutions for organizations in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Mike is experienced in healthcare, finance, defense, manufacturing, training, and retail industries. Some of Mike’s healthcare projects include: developing a core measures proactive monitoring system; developing an eHealth strategy for a growing community hospital; implementing transparent pricing and outcomes measurement solutions; automating clinical and administrative tasks through forms automation; connecting multiple healthcare systems through a common patient portal; and developing an electronic medical record application. He designed the Physician’s Portal and Secure Messaging Product for one of the top-five vendors in clinical information systems. His application development experience includes Amalga, CPOE, Clinical Portals, Patient Portals, Secure Messaging, HIM, Interoperability, and NEDSS for State level health departments. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified Rational Consultant (RMUC), a LEAN Black Belt, and a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS). He is fluent in most methodologies and teaches the PMP Certification course in Atlanta.

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