CADIE awakens

We do lots of research here at Google, and we release lots of products. And we always hope that the research we do and the products that result will change the world.<br /><br />CADIE, we're fairly certain, <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/landing/cadie/index.html">is one of those that will</a>. We won't pretend to know the future of the world's first Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity, but we're eager to learn what we can, and to watch and study while CADIE learns what she can. So you can expect to see her influence crop up in a number of Google products in the months to come. That will happen slowly and carefully, though, and we ask for your patience as we work through a few initial bugs. It seems CADIE has a mind of her own...<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Michael Krantz, Team CADIE</span>

CADIE awakens

We do lots of research here at Google, and we release lots of products. And we always hope that the research we do and the products that result will change the world.CADIE, we're fairly certain, is on…

Đọc thêm »

Local flavor for Google Suggest

Since the launch of Google Suggest <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/at-loss-for-words.html">last August</a>, you may already be used to the magic feeling of getting real-time suggestions just after typing a few keystrokes — that is, if you're searching on Google.com. But what if you're doing a search on Google in the U.K., India, Ireland or Australia?<br /><br />Today we're happy to announce the international launch of Google Suggest. We've localized our suggestions to account for various cultural and local factors to offer suggestions that look familiar to our users. For example, English users in different countries will get suggestions that feel natural:<br /><ul><li>If you type [liver] in the <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/">U.K.</a>, you're probably a Liverpool fan (but in the <a href="http://www.google.com/">U.S.</a> you'll get more suggestions about liver diseases):</li></ul><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hUPCTZjBzjIUgvQLrt_q0GKjlqk2HIgKqr9LV1pBVngoYuzamRecfqFpEycctmoXwQcWH2A4m429Tji-QLkd4IbXchFAWMf6kQ6x46VvFU_gF04amiAfY0UN4tTaJSbZ2yLRFfBFp0LU/s1600-h/uk-liver.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319468102450084466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hUPCTZjBzjIUgvQLrt_q0GKjlqk2HIgKqr9LV1pBVngoYuzamRecfqFpEycctmoXwQcWH2A4m429Tji-QLkd4IbXchFAWMf6kQ6x46VvFU_gF04amiAfY0UN4tTaJSbZ2yLRFfBFp0LU/s400/uk-liver.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 216px;" /></a><li>In <a href="http://www.google.com.au/">Australia</a>, typing [kan] will offer suggestions about Australia's most famous animal:</li></ul><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG2E2x9txOrYwDqWq1Jd6bh1Grk5CYBtEj92TA_gyEoWijQtEmvokQXMZ9sAr0evVd_jSqvJc0Yt0bf0tsHxJbkqCP77ER7eo4tyhSTyXX4B40cq5fWKRp_3AADJYx3yO4ti-OoZ4OxOc/s1600-h/au-kan.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319468107498448626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG2E2x9txOrYwDqWq1Jd6bh1Grk5CYBtEj92TA_gyEoWijQtEmvokQXMZ9sAr0evVd_jSqvJc0Yt0bf0tsHxJbkqCP77ER7eo4tyhSTyXX4B40cq5fWKRp_3AADJYx3yO4ti-OoZ4OxOc/s400/au-kan.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 359px; height: 214px;" /></a><li>In <a href="http://www.google.co.in/">India</a>, where the mobile phone market is exploding, it's no wonder that typing [no] leads to:</li></ul><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudr51kzGb5QmiRAHt91i44hKECgVXMywMYFldmao8XqHxhPxao1PGuTLifCEtvtRs9Et3jTnKx_VtxTpeAeAVsCZS0iVcvjsP0eFwErrhB1cpYl9mt45BRHDJ_PSaDwDxEpuxWQMj10uH/s1600-h/in-no.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319468108387078850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudr51kzGb5QmiRAHt91i44hKECgVXMywMYFldmao8XqHxhPxao1PGuTLifCEtvtRs9Et3jTnKx_VtxTpeAeAVsCZS0iVcvjsP0eFwErrhB1cpYl9mt45BRHDJ_PSaDwDxEpuxWQMj10uH/s400/in-no.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 361px; height: 214px;" /></a><li>In <a href="http://www.google.ie/">Ireland</a>, there are [pubs] everywhere:</li></ul><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUXxaoe1NxQF7-T96OgyxuUJYoH0BWk5AhNJc8VZTjmjwIJKLU02h82KFIJMmLXP-Smbkk1DW1d2MGV72__yQbmNe9RJPdcFSMIsMnyNO1QqWbFAyj2QpT4biOE1D19KMZnjYiexDUNhB/s1600-h/ie-pubs.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319468108426893698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUXxaoe1NxQF7-T96OgyxuUJYoH0BWk5AhNJc8VZTjmjwIJKLU02h82KFIJMmLXP-Smbkk1DW1d2MGV72__yQbmNe9RJPdcFSMIsMnyNO1QqWbFAyj2QpT4biOE1D19KMZnjYiexDUNhB/s400/ie-pubs.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 359px; height: 214px;" /></a><li>While in the <a href="http://www.google.mv/">Maldives</a>, typing [ato] leads to:</li></ul><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL49RaVmtAS27t5SaQ8qSAdK9ggN6p7Qu78N7EAb0ovp0icbBO_nx1MqpmV3ioHU84ODnZdMFt-S8DvfyJOIhJ4Asr-ICTQfS094nI2pC-bssp1IsZGizV-FjmtC40rzw9ziiGZmrTRET/s1600-h/mv-ato.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319468105204889554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL49RaVmtAS27t5SaQ8qSAdK9ggN6p7Qu78N7EAb0ovp0icbBO_nx1MqpmV3ioHU84ODnZdMFt-S8DvfyJOIhJ4Asr-ICTQfS094nI2pC-bssp1IsZGizV-FjmtC40rzw9ziiGZmrTRET/s400/mv-ato.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 214px;" /></a></ul>Google Suggest now covers 155 domains in 51 languages. Special thanks go to the Suggest team in Israel for their hard work in making this a reality.<br /><br />So go ahead and start using Google Suggest wherever you are, and enjoy the special flavor of local suggestions.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by David Kadouch, Product Manager</span>

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5

• Previous
• Next

Local flavor for Google Suggest

Since the launch of Google Suggest last August, you may already be used to the magic feeling of getting real-time suggestions just after typing a few keystrokes — that is, if you're searching on Googl…

Đọc thêm »

Analytics in Latin America

If you run an e-commerce site or use AdWords to direct traffic to your business' webpage, chances are you're interested in knowing what visitors to your site are clicking on, what content interests these potential customers and what avenues brought them there. The more you know about how people engage with your site, the better you are able to design successful advertising campaigns to help grow your business.<br /><br />In Latin America, online advertising is growing as more and more small businesses initiate an online presence and publicize their efforts through search and display advertising. But less than 5% of web properties throughout Latin America rely on analysis tools to improve their website's performance. Last week, our offices throughout the region hosted several Analytics-themed events to give agencies and other clients a better look at several Google measurement tools that provide people with the means to analyze their site's flow of data, interest and readership in order to build a better advertising campaign.<br /><br />In Mexico City, advertisers got together to learn about <a href="http://www.google.com/insights/search/#">Insights for Search</a>, <a href="http://adwords.blogspot.com/2008/06/introducing-google-ad-planner.html">Ad Planner</a>, <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/insight-into-youtube-videos.html">YouTube Insights</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/">Analytics</a>, <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/01/sitemaps-faqs.html">Sitemaps</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/analytics/siteopt/splash">Website Optimizer</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.doubleclick.com/">DoubleClick</a> tools. Presentations were designed to give companies an in-depth look at the Google tools that can be helpful for planning their marketing budgets during an economic downturn. Being able to measure data on what content interests people and where consumers are searching for information can help advertisers be more selective about how they invest ad budget. Since the great majority of consumers go online for information before making a purchase, the goal of the seminar was to familiarize advertisers with tools that can increase the reach of their campaigns, while giving them a better idea of what works and what people are searching for.<br /><br />Meanwhile, our Analytics guru Avinash Kaushik visited São Paulo and Buenos Aires to speak to clients about web analytics and how to make the most of online marketing through analyzing metrics (check out his recent post on <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/stop-bouncing-tips-for-website-success.html">bounce rate</a> for related information). Avinash made web analytics fun and accessible with colloquial comparisons (referring sites as 'BFFs'), and demonstrated how to <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-sense-of-your-site-tips-for.html">optimize a website's performance</a> with changes in color and layout, among other things. He was accompanied by Google's Latin America managing director Alexandre Hohagen, Brazil's country manager Alex Dias, and Argentina's country manager Adriana Noreña at a succession of events revolving around web metrics and website optimization.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FJoscelin.Cooper%2Falbumid%2F5317535977028402929%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed><br /><br />The response and interest from customers and agencies to all of these events was indicative of the huge need for metrics and the ability to track ROI for their marketing investments, especially during these difficult times. For more information on Google Analytics tools, check out the <a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/">Google Analytics Blog</a>, the <a href="http://websiteoptimizer.blogspot.com/">Website Optimizer Blog</a> and the <a href="http://conversionroom.blogspot.com/">Conversion Room blog</a>.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Alfonso Luna, Marketing Director, Latin America</span>

Analytics in Latin America

If you run an e-commerce site or use AdWords to direct traffic to your business' webpage, chances are you're interested in knowing what visitors to your site are clicking on, what content interests th…

Đọc thêm »

Sham Studies and the Commercial IRBs that Approve Them, and Sham IRBs and the Government Department that Registers Them

We have occasionally posted about the activities of for-profit contract research organizations (CROs). These are commercial entities that conduct human research, including clinical trials for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and device companies. More clinical research is being done by such CROs rather than by academic investigators. CROs seem to operate under the radar of most physicians, academics, and policy makers, but sometimes stories surface that raise questions about them.<br /><br />For example, we discussed the trials by SFBC International (now <a href="http://www.pharmanet.com/">PharmaNet Development Group</a>) in Miami that enrolled immigrants, often undocumented, under questionable circumstances and in Montreal that resulted in the transmission of active tuberculosis (see post <a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2006/03/consequences-of-sfbc-internationals.html">here</a> and links backward); and the trial by <a href="http://www.parexel.com/">Parexel International </a>in London that put most of its subjects in intensive care (see post <a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2006/08/parexel-blues-again.html">here</a>, with links backward). Last year, as we discussed <a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2008/06/clinical-trials-torture-economy.html">here</a>, two articles questioning the ethics of research done under the auspices of CRO appeared in two major medical journals.<br /><br />In academia, human research is supposed to be overseen by institutional review boards (IRBs). Research done by CROs is also supposed to be overseen by IRBs, but the IRBs that do so are often also commercial. Despite concern that commercial IRBs may be tempted to lower their standards to get more business, commercial IRBs have flown even lower under the radar than have CROs. However, last week, a story appeared about how a "sting operation" tested one commercial IRB with amazing results. Here are excerpts from <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123811179572353181.html">the article by Alicia Mundy in the Wall Street Journal</a>,<br /><br /><blockquote><br />The sting, detailed at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, involved the creation of a fictitious company and a fake medical device, a surgical adhesive gel. The sham firm then applied to three for-profit oversight groups -- called institutional review boards, or IRBs -- for approval to begin a clinical trial using their adhesive on human subjects.<br /><br />Two IRBs contacted by the GAO's sting operators -- Argus IRB of Arizona and Fox IRB of Illinois -- rejected the Adhesiabloc proposal because of unanswered safety questions.<br /><br />'We realized it was a terrible risk for the patient … It is the worst thing I have ever seen,' an Argus IRB reviewer said, according to a slide shown at the hearing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.coastirb.com/">Coast IRB </a>LLC of Colorado Springs, Colo., did approve a study for the fictitious adhesive gel, 'Adhesiabloc.'<br /></blockquote><br /><br />The GAO also ran an experiment to see if the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)would register a truly dubious commercial IRB<br /><br /><blockquote><br />The committee, working with the Government Accountability Office, Congress's investigatory arm, named the CEO of the fake IRB Truper Dawg, after a staffer's three-legged dog, now deceased. Other fake names included 'April Phuls' and 'Timothy Wittless,' which lawmakers said should have signaled irregularities to HHS. The department registered the IRB.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />On one hand, these anecdotes suggest, along with the stories discussed above, that CROs and the commercial IRBs that are supposed to oversee them deserve further scrutiny. Beyond that, one wonders if it is good for society for human research, including experiments involving drugs and devices, to be done by commercial firms dependent for their income on the companies that make these drugs and devices, overseen by other commercial firms also dependent on these same companies. The fundamental conflict is embodied by <a href="http://www.coastirb.com/page.asp?id=2&name=About">Coast IRB's self-description</a>:<br /><blockquote>as an advocate and a catalyst for an ever-stronger pharmaceutical industry, ethically and economically. </blockquote>which also<br /><br /><blockquote>recognizes the vital importance of our role in protecting individuals in all clinical studies and in continuously raising the bar on professional standards. </blockquote><br />How can the company be an "advocate" for the industry while simultaneously protecting the people exposed to the industry's still experimental drugs?<br /><br />See also <a href="http://www.gooznews.com/archives/001363.html">comments</a> on the GoozNews blog.

Sham Studies and the Commercial IRBs that Approve Them, and Sham IRBs and the Government Department that Registers Them

We have occasionally posted about the activities of for-profit contract research organizations (CROs). These are commercial entities that conduct human research, including clinical trials for pharmace…

Đọc thêm »

Google's newest venture

Today we're excited to announce <a href="http://www.google.com/ventures">Google Ventures</a>, Google's new venture capital fund. This is Google's effort to take advantage of our resources to support innovation and encourage promising new technology companies. By borrowing the best practices of top-tier, financially focused venture capital firms and bringing to bear Google's unique technical expertise and brand, we think we can find young companies with truly awesome potential and encourage their development into successful businesses.<br /><br />At its core, Google Ventures is charged with finding and helping to develop exceptional start-ups. We'll be focusing on early stage investments across a diverse range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and, no doubt, other areas we haven't thought of yet. Central to our effort will be our fellow Googlers, whom we view as a critically important resource to help educate us about potential investments areas and evaluate specific companies.<br /><br />Economically, times are tough, but great ideas come when they will. If anything, we think the current downturn is an ideal time to invest in nascent companies that have the chance to be the "next big thing," and we'll be working hard to find them. If you think you have the next big idea, or if you just want to to learn more, please see our website at <a href="http://www.google.com/ventures">www.google.com/ventures</a>.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Rich Miner and Bill Maris, Managing Partners, Google Ventures</span>

Google's newest venture

Today we're excited to announce Google Ventures, Google's new venture capital fund. This is Google's effort to take advantage of our resources to support innovation and encourage promising new techno…

Đọc thêm »

Email in Indian languages

It's hard for me to imagine going without email for a day. It's such an easy and convenient way to communicate with my friends and family. However, there was one limitation that bothered me: my family members and friends who prefer to communicate in Hindi did not have an easy way to type and send email in their language of choice. I am extremely happy to announce the launch of a new feature in Gmail that makes it easy to type email in Indian languages.<br /><br />When you compose a new mail in Gmail, you should now see an icon with an Indian character, as the screenshot below shows. This feature is enabled by default for Gmail users in India. If you do not see this function enabled by default, you will need to go the "Settings" page and enable this option in the "Language" section.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstLBgUyY_JXwH63X1omhN2cNyGEG1-LVUUrGGOrQ_QXh8B2ieNZ8hHUULWhNq4p2YlHpBo24vLcDZQ8zkud6ZSv7t9mAbweNYGvFAl1g_Y_LTp-3YOaMjBJr40EGpFocOR6Om_hfdAsl0/s1600-h/Picture+9.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317661304302876594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstLBgUyY_JXwH63X1omhN2cNyGEG1-LVUUrGGOrQ_QXh8B2ieNZ8hHUULWhNq4p2YlHpBo24vLcDZQ8zkud6ZSv7t9mAbweNYGvFAl1g_Y_LTp-3YOaMjBJr40EGpFocOR6Om_hfdAsl0/s400/Picture+9.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 83px;" /></a>When you click the Indian languages icon, you can type words the way they sound in English and Gmail will automatically convert the word to its Indian local language equivalent. For example, if a Hindi speaker types "namaste" we will transliterate this to "नमस्ते." Similarly, "vanakkam" in Tamil will become "வணக்கம்." We currently support five Indian languages -- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam -- and you can select the language of your choice from the drop-down list next to the icon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatWE5QtvJCZsPebssVjm85eIItSGHpbPYETSTyt0jt6BwPxUjFBqsu1hntHgEA0GHVwSGvfQfcyf3fBywIY-vCfo_WhbGo2uPceX0cbejRieYN_eIiXZLJHTAbqJxjZTJlFWsLP6q49-q/s1600-h/Picture+10.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317661527755911698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatWE5QtvJCZsPebssVjm85eIItSGHpbPYETSTyt0jt6BwPxUjFBqsu1hntHgEA0GHVwSGvfQfcyf3fBywIY-vCfo_WhbGo2uPceX0cbejRieYN_eIiXZLJHTAbqJxjZTJlFWsLP6q49-q/s400/Picture+10.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 178px;" /></a>We built this new feature using Google's transliteration technology, which is also available on <a href="http://www.google.com/transliterate/indic/">Google India Labs</a>, <a href="http://www.orkut.com/Signup.aspx">Orkut</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=blogger&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Floginz%3Fd%3D%252Ftrans-enable.do%253Fr%253D926417%2526tlang%253Dhi%26a%3DADD_SERVICE_FLAG&alinsu=0&aplinsu=0&alwf=true&hl=en&ltmpl=hindi&skipvpage=true&rm=false&showra=1&fpui=2&naui=8">Blogger</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=www.google.com/ig/modules/indic_transliteration.xml">iGoogle</a>. I hope you find this feature useful to communicate with those of your friends and family who prefer to write in their native language, and it will be available soon to businesses and schools using Google Apps. Now back to replying to all those Hindi emails I got from my family and friends today!<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Chandramouli Mahadevan, Software Engineer</span>

• 
• 

1. 1
2. 2

• Previous
• Next

Email in Indian languages

It's hard for me to imagine going without email for a day. It's such an easy and convenient way to communicate with my friends and family. However, there was one limitation that bothered me: my fami…

Đọc thêm »

Will The True Incidence of Healthcare IT-Caused Patient Adverse Outcomes Please Stand Up?

<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >The article </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/301/12/1276">Health Care Information Technology Vendors' "Hold Harmless" Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians</a>, Ross Koppel and David Kreda, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2009; 301(12):1276-1278</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > (JAMA) has caused much discussion in healthcare IT circles.<br /><br />I have become aware of discussions centered on issues such as:<br /><br /></span><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">The factors besides vendor design flaws and defects that contribute to the unsafe and ineffective use of health information technology,</span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">The degree of effect caused by end user organization customizations,</span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">whether a focus on legal or regulatory action is misplaced</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Whether such regulation could "stifle innovation", and</span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Other interesting and stimulating related issues.<br /></span></li></ul><span style=";font-family:Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >These discussions miss the forest for the trees, unfortunately.<br /><br />They are all <span style="font-weight: bold;">speculation.</span><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">I could just as easily </span></span><span style=";font-family:Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">- as a thought experiment - </span></span><span style=";font-family:Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">argue and rationally support a point of view that vendor defects, shortcomings, ill conceived user interfaces etc. are the greatest cause of HIT problems, that a sole focus on regulatory action is the best path, and that regulation would not stifle innovation but </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >promote </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> it by forcing complacent, lazy companies protected by the current status quo to become competitive, to hire the very best and brightest and most experienced who they now forgo as "too disruptive, too expensive, lack the latest programming skills", etc. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">None of this speculation really matters in the big scheme of things.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What does matter is the fact that we now have before us a "grand confounder" - the anechoic effect caused by vendor contracting - that throws into doubt existing assumptions about HIT-caused errors.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Who among us can now say what the number of physician observed defects really is, what the rate of HIT error really is?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I've had several of my colleagues already tell me since the Koppel article that they know of HIT caused errors and even patient adverse consequences, but they are afraid to speak out. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >What is the morbidity and mortality change associated with use of HIT vs. paper? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Who really knows?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There is a significant, perhaps high likelihood that the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >current state of HIT contracting</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, and the muting effect it creates, combined with fear of retaliation by potential objective HIT reporters (a.k.a. whistleblowers) </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >makes any such estimation highly questionable at best. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Speculation is irrelevant. What we need is a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >return to the rigor of medicine </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> - to science - in HIT itself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That can only happen in an environment where users are free(er) to share their observations and findings about HIT problems.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Such one-sided, safety adverse HIT contractual clauses must end.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">-- SS</span><br /></span>

Will The True Incidence of Healthcare IT-Caused Patient Adverse Outcomes Please Stand Up?

The article Health Care Information Technology Vendors' "Hold Harmless" Clause - Implications for Patients and Clinicians, Ross Koppel and David Kreda, Journal of the American Medical Association, 200…

Đọc thêm »