Most Popular in the Last...

ONC Releases 2018 HITECH Report

By Noam H. Arzt, Ph.D. | January 15, 2019

In early January the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued its annual report to Congress for 2018 on the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and interoperability. This report is required under the HITECH Act and is further informed by requirements of the later 21st Century Cures Act...One thing that I think is notable was a short discussion about barriers to interoperability that we have heard before. The report identifies three types: technical barriers, financial barriers, and trust barriers. Within trust barriers the report mentions legal incentives to keep data from moving (I guess that would have better been phrased as legal disincentives to sharing), but this misses the point: It is the patchwork of inconsistent and incompatible State and local laws and regulations - not intentional information blocking - that presents a bigger challenge and barrier.

Read More »

Open Source Space Academy Opens in Nairobi

By Mick Larson | January 14, 2019

Nairobi's Tunapanda Institute has been using open source tools to provide technology, design, and business training in East Africa since its inception in 2013. Next year the school will launch a "space academy" to inspire young people to think about some of the most critical challenges facing humanity on this planet and beyond. Tunapanda's founders believe that everyone should have the opportunity to help shape the future, and in order for that to happen there must be learning materials and tools that are open, shareable, and unrestricted so that anyone, no matter their financial or educational background, can learn and be inspired.

Read More »

In God We Trust, All Others (Don't) Pay Cash

By Kim Bellard | January 8, 2019

I was intrigued by a recent Wall Street Journal article about how some retail establishments won't accept cash as a form of payment, citing Drybar, Sweetgreen, and at least one Starbucks location. Cashless is touted as faster, safer, easier to administer, and in line with most customers' preference. Indeed, a new study from the Pew Research Center found that 29% of all U.S. adults don't use cash at all in their typical week, up from 24% in 2015. The higher the household income, the less cash was used. Alistair Johnson writes in Forbes that, hey, if we're going to a cashless society, we should make it a cardless one as well, not simply replace our cash with those pieces of plastic we use for debit/credit. I think he's on to something there, and both discussions made me think about how we change the constructs of our everyday lives -- including in healthcare.

Read More »

Latest News

  • HHS Releases Landmark Report: Reforming America's Healthcare System
    January 6, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    On December 3, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an extensive, 120-page report on the administration's proposals to...
  • Why Data Scientists Love Kubernetes
    January 5, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    Let's start with an uncontroversial point: Software developers and system operators love Kubernetes as a way to deploy and manage applications in...
  • 2019 Forecast: Amara's Law
    January 1, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    I have two predictions for 2019. One is that at the end of 2019 our healthcare system will still look a lot like it looks now. Oh, sure, we'll see...
  • Bio-Linux: A Stable, Portable Scientific Research Linux Distribution
    January 1, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    Bio-Linux was introduced and detailed in a Nature Biotechnology paper in July 2006. The distribution was a group effort by the Natural Environment...
  • 3 Emerging Tipping Points in Open Source
    December 31, 2018 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    Over the last two decades, open source has been expanding into all aspects of technology-from software to hardware; from small, disruptive startups...
more

Feature Articles

  • ONC Releases 2018 HITECH Report
    January 15, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    In early January the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued its annual report to Congress for 2018 on the...
  • In God We Trust, All Others (Don't) Pay Cash
    January 8, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    I was intrigued by a recent Wall Street Journal article about how some retail establishments won't accept cash as a form of payment, citing Drybar,...
  • Open Source Space Academy Opens in Nairobi
    January 14, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    Nairobi's Tunapanda Institute has been using open source tools to provide technology, design, and business training in East Africa since its...
  • Why Data Scientists Love Kubernetes
    January 5, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    Let's start with an uncontroversial point: Software developers and system operators love Kubernetes as a way to deploy and manage applications in...
  • HHS Releases Landmark Report: Reforming America's Healthcare System
    January 6, 2019 - Roger A. Maduro - Open Health News
    On December 3, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an extensive, 120-page report on the administration's proposals to...
more

Latest Blog Posts

more

Latest News Clippings

more

Upcoming Events

  • Healthcare and Wellness at CES 2019
    January 8, 2019 - January 11, 2019

    CES is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and...

  • How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Robot Doctor
    January 15, 2019

    Remember doctor’s visits when you were growing up? The wooden tongue depressor. The well-worn stethoscope. That weird thing they jammed in your ears. And...

  • ISDS 2019
    January 29, 2019 - February 1, 2019

    The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) conference is the premier event dedicated to the advancement of the science and practice of...

  • FOSDEM19
    February 2, 2019 - February 3, 2019

    FOSDEM is a free event for software developers to meet, share ideas, and collaborate.

  • HIMSS19
    February 11, 2019 - February 15, 2019

    The 2019 HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition, February 11–15, 2019 in Orlando, is the leading health information and technology conference, bringing...

  • SCALE 17x
    March 7, 2019 - March 12, 2019

    SCALE is the largest community-run open-source and free software conference in North America. It is held annually in the greater Los Angeles area.

more