John D. Halamka, MD, MS
Chief Information Officer
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School
May 9, 2011

Every day I experience life in the world of healthcare IT, supporting 3000 doctors, 18000 faculty, and 3 million patients. In this blog I record my experiences with infrastructure, applications, policies, management, and governance as well as muse on such topics such as reducing our carbon footprint, standardizing data in healthcare, and living life to its fullest.

As a CIO, I gather information about new products and innovation in many ways.   I search the web for emerging technologies, read numerous publications/newsletters, and constantly meet with vendors and IT professionals who are creating novel applications.

However, it's not the most efficient way to rapidly assess whether products are operational or exist only in powerpoint.  

BluePrint Healthcare IT - a company founded in 2003 to provide security, privacy, compliance and risk management services to hospitals and healthcare systems - has created a new approach to solve the problem of connecting early stage innovators and customers.  They call it Speed Dating for IT.

Their BluePrint Health IT Innovation Summit Series is aligned with current innovation programs and initiatives sponsored by HHS and ONC promoting new technologies.

The idea is simple:

10 healthcare technology companies and 10 healthcare providers interact virtually within the framework of a "Health IT Innovation Matching System".  Then, in one place at one time, those that match can meet for a dialog about piloting these new applications, realizing that there is risk but also market differentiation for those early adopters that achieve breakthrough results.

I like it - a kind of eHarmony for IT.   I can pre-screen my vendors and we can determine if there is a fit before we spend time in meetings.

BIDMC will participate in the May 26 event.  I'll let you know how Speed Dating for IT goes.  My wife has given her approval.

Posted by John Halamka at 3:00 AM   

Source: http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/