"The Syndrome of Useless Information" Revisited

At a time when the press seems to be starting to "get it" regarding health IT myths, and expecting significant pushback, I thought it useful to repost a link to a post I authored in Jan. 2010 entitled "<b>The Syndrome of Useless Information."</b><br /><br />The post is here:  <a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2010/01/syndrome-of-useless-information.html" target="_blank">http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2010/01/syndrome-of-useless-information.html </a><br /><br />The IT culture of late stinks to high heaven of that phenomenon.<br /><br />-- SS

"The Syndrome of Useless Information" Revisited

At a time when the press seems to be starting to "get it" regarding health IT myths, and expecting significant pushback, I thought it useful to repost a link to a post I authored in Jan. 2010 entitled…

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Health IT Culture: Severe Overconfidence (Arrogance?) Shows In The Industry's Very Terminology For Their Deliverables

Health IT commentator Neil Versel notes in his piece "<a href="http://www.meaningfulhitnews.com/2012/02/24/himss12-notes/">HIMSS12 notes</a>" at his site <span style="font-weight: bold;">Meaningful Health IT News</span> that:<br /><br /><blockquote>I am in 100 percent agreement with something Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, a.k.a. <a href="http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/" target="_blank">Seattle Mama Doc</a>, said during an engaging presentation Monday at the HIMSS/CHIME CIO Forum. She made the astute observation that <span style="font-weight: bold;">there needs to be better distinction between expertise and merely experience when it comes to celebrities being held up as “experts” in healthcare and medicine.</span> Let’s just say that Swanson, as a pediatrician, is no fan of some of the things Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Mehmet Oz have told wide audiences.</blockquote><span jsid="text" class="commentBody"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />He posted a link to his piece in a social networking site we both visit. I commented:<br /><br /><blockquote>To that, I add "healthcare IT" where it seems anyone who's done anything with a computer in some medical setting can get away with calling themselves a "medical informatics expert" or "health IT expert." As in ham radio levels of just a few years ago, we need distinctions between novice class, technician class, general class, advanced class, and extra class.</blockquote><br /><br />In his piece Neil also linked to what he correctly termed "scathing critique" of the venue for HIMSS 2012 at my HC Renewal post "</span></span><a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2012/02/himss-annual-meeting-in-las-vegas.html">H</a><a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2012/02/himss-annual-meeting-in-las-vegas.html">IMSS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas - Fitting for People Who Gamble With People's Lives to Make a Buck?</a>"<span jsid="text" class="commentBody"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /><br />I replied to him via the social networking site that:<br /></span></span><blockquote><span jsid="text" class="commentBody"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />"I like to point out ironies that seem to escape others, although I have heard from other colleagues that I was not alone in finding Las Vegas a somewhat peculiar place for a medical meeting about improving health! However, others' mileage may vary."</span></span></blockquote><br />Neil noted that <span jsid="text" class="commentBody">he likes pointing out ironies, too, and gave as an example as the meetings held at the Loews Hotel near Vanderbilt University Medical Center, being that Loews Hotels is a corporate cousin of Lorrilard Tobacco.</span><br /><br />Finally, Neil comments:<br /><br /><blockquote>Popular topics this year were the expected meaningful use and ICD-10, plus the buzzwords of the moment, business analytics and big data. I’d be happy I never hear the word <span style="font-weight: bold;">“solution” as a synonym for “product” or “service” again. To me, that represents lazy marketing. Get yourself a thesaurus.</span></blockquote><br />I agreed, and replied that:<br /><blockquote><br /><span jsid="text" class="commentBody">"Solution", the common term in IT for anything an IT department or company provides, is a one-word example of a language usage akin to 'begging the question.'</span></blockquote><span jsid="text" class="commentBody"><br />This term, in one mere word, reflects a <span style="font-weight: bold;">stunning arrogance</span> within the IT culture.<br /><br />I also noted that:<br /></span><br /><blockquote>... there needs to be terminological consistency. If the IT vendors can call their wares "solutions", then doctors should call their treatments and drugs "cures." Come to my office for your cure; I am a curer; I write cures, not prescriptions. </blockquote><br />I also noted that the term "meaningful use" phrase selected by the U.S. government/HHS for EHR adoption according to printed guidelines is another example of terminology that, ante hoc, assumes its semantics are correct.<br /><br />How do we know the use is "meaningful" until such use is studied rigorously and outcomes, costs. etc. assessed?<br /><br />Answer: we don't.<br /><br />And this administration criticized the previous one for politicizing science ... George Orwell could not have selected better terms than "meaningful use", "<a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2012/02/hospitals-and-doctors-use-health-it-at.html">certified EHR</a>", and "solution" as examples of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak">Newspeak</a>" in <span style="font-style: italic;">1984.</span><br /><br />-- SS<br /><br /><div class="commentContent UIImageBlock_Content UIImageBlock_SMALL_Content" ft="{"type":33}"><span jsid="text" class="commentBody"></span><br /></div>

Health IT Culture: Severe Overconfidence (Arrogance?) Shows In The Industry's Very Terminology For Their Deliverables

Health IT commentator Neil Versel notes in his piece "HIMSS12 notes" at his site Meaningful Health IT News that:I am in 100 percent agreement with something Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, a.k.a. Seattle Mama …

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