In this episode of 4x4 Health, we talk with Si Lou, the CEO of PatientSafe Solutions.  Si has been part of PatientSafe’s founding team since April 2009 and, in the years leading up to his current role as CEO, he served in a variety of leadership roles across sales, business development, product strategy, and customer operations.  Prior to joining PatientSafe, Si served in strategy and operations roles across a wide range of industries, spanning private equity, biotechnology, enterprise software, and venture consulting.  Throughout the conversation, Si and Dr. Dave discuss how PatientSafe is addressing the workflow challenges in healthcare through innovative technology paired with an emphasis on design.   Si and PatientSafe are on the cutting edge of workflow innovation, especially when it comes to mobile solutions, and this episode emphasizes the powerful potential they have.

In this episode of 4x4 Health, we return to our API 101 Series for a conversation with Micky Tripathi, PhD.  As the President and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative and the project leader of the Argonaut Project, Micky is truly a leader in healthcare interoperability.  Throughout the discussion, Micky talks about the critical need for innovation in how healthcare applications talk to one another and, through his position at the Argonaut Project, why he sees APIs as the solution Health IT has been looking for.  Micky is one of the most important voices in healthcare interoperability and we hope you learn as much from this conversation as we did!

In this episode of 4x4 Health, we talk with Brian Roberts, co-founder and CEO of PipelineRx. Brian explains that PipelineRx is a “service-enabled technology company” devoted to providing a comprehensive medication management technology platform supported by remote pharmacy services to help hospital pharmacies achieve 24/7 coverage and deliver more clinical initiatives.  Their vision is for every provider and every patient to have access to high-quality pharmacy services anytime, anywhere.  It's a great example of how telemedicine is virtualizing care delivery. Throughout the conversation Dr. Dave and Brian touch on a variety of topics including, how PipelineRx combines people and technology to best provide their solution, the potential of artificial intelligence to improve outcomes, and the importance of culture in an organization.  Whether you are interested in this cutting-edge field of tele-medicine, or the leadership style of a successful Health IT CEO, we hope you find this episode as engaging and informative as we did.

In this episode of 4x4 Health, we talk about information blocking with Michael Lipinski, Director of the Regulatory Affairs Division within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (or “ONC”).  Mike has been with ONC since 2009 and currently leads HHS development of Health IT regulations.  He is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the state of information blocking and was a key contributor in the creation of the proposed ONC rules on interoperability and the free exchange of health data.  This episode is a remarkable opportunity to dive deep into the intricacies of the new rules, the challenges they are attempting to address, and the solutions they propose.  Throughout the conversation, information blocking emerges as a clear passion for both Dr. Dave and Mike; their discussion about its current and potential harm is a powerful reminder of the urgency and importance of these new proposed regulations.  Here are some quick links to the rules themselves, the commentary template referenced by Mike in the episode, and where can post your comment directly.

In this episode of 4x4 Health, we talk with Krista Dobbie M.D., a palliative medicine physician for the Taussig Cancer Institute - Palliative Medicine Program at the Cleveland Clinic.  Dr. Dobbie is a longtime leader in the field of palliative care and, at the Cleveland Clinic, has been on the cutting edge of integrating palliative medicine into other medical specialties.  Her humor, empathy, and desire to educate are all present in this exceptional episode.  If you were as impressed with Dr. Dobbie as we were, we highly recommend you check out her award winning essay “Zumi the Palliative Pig”.

Application program interfaces, or APIs, have transformed the digital economy and are now poised to do the same in health IT. But what’s all this API stuff really about?  In this special series of 4x4 Health, API 101, our guests take on these and other questions. They help us demystify APIs and show us how we can use them to transform healthcare.

We continue our API 101 Series with this 4x4 Health episode featuring Wayne Kubick, the Chief Technology Officer of Health Level Seven (HL7) International.  Like the World Wide Web Consortium, HL7 International is a standards development organization devoted to an interoperable world.  For over 30 years the foundational HL7 standard has helped healthcare organizations communicate and, today, Wayne is leading HL7 International’s development of FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources): a new standard for the future of healthcare.  Dr. Dave and Wayne dive deep on both the potential and challenges of APIs disrupting Health It.  FHIR is unquestionably going to play a major role in the future of healthcare interoperability and, in this episode, we start to define what that will look like.  For a chuckle, check out the FHIR puns website referenced in the episode.

In this episode, we talk with Nat'e Guyton, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Spok, a global leader in healthcare communications striving to improve care collaboration.  Nat'e has a long resume of professional and academic accomplishments including a Doctor of Philosophy in Management, Organizational Leadership & Development, a Masters of Science in Nursing, and service as the Chief Clinical Informatics Officer at Trinity Health.  As a nurse, a CNO, and an leading expert with a unique perspective healthcare, health IT & clinical communication technology, Nat'e takes us on whirlwind tour of the current landscape and exciting opportunities for the future.

For the first episode of our special API 101 series, we welcome back John Orosco, Co-Founder and CTO of Sansoro Health. John lives and breathes APIs – his expertise helps Sansoro Health connect applications across healthcare using the Emissary API platform. Before co-founding Sansoro Health, John was an early pioneer in implementing APIs in Health IT. His incredible depth of knowledge shines throughout the episode, and will leave both the API novice and expert excited about the potential of APIs to disrupt health IT. If you would like to hear more from John, check out his previous discussion with Dr. Dave about being a startup CTO.

About API 101 - 

Application program interfaces, or APIs, have transformed the digital economy and are now poised to do the same in health IT. But what’s all this APIs stuff really about? How do they work? Why are they better than traditional health care interfaces? What should you know before you dive in? In API 101, a special 4x4 Health Series, our guests take on these and other questions. They help us demystify APIs and show us how we can use them to transform healthcare.

In this episode, we talk with Michael O'Neil, the CEO and Founder of the GetWellNetwork, a Precision Engagement™ healthcare company that engages patients & families while empowering clinicians.  Michael's experience in healthcare began as a patient when at 28 he left a battle with cancer healthy, but determined to improve how patients and families engage with the care process.  Throughout this energetic episode, Michael lays out how the GetWellNetwork is changing healthcare, what it means to change how physicians interact with patients, the challenges of international healthcare, and much more.  We were thrilled to interview Michael and hope you learn from this leader in health IT.

In this episode, we talk with Angie Franks, CEO and President of Central Logic, about the importance of real-time actionable information in healthcare. Angie has extensive experience with healthcare informatics and has held executive positions at Retrace health, The Advisory Board, Healthland, Lawson Software, and GeoAccess. In this discussion, we cover the importance of real-time data in patient transfers, the transition from quantity to quality based care, and the potential for clinical command centers in healthcare. Angie's insight and breadth of experience make this episode of 4x4 Health engrossing and engaging from start to finish.