Summertime & the Living is Easy?
You may be celebrating high school, college or like me, preschool graduations this month, but we all know there are ongoing chances to continue learning outside of the school environment. One such opportunity is the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems' (AMDIS) 21st Annual Physician-Computer Connection Symposium, held late this month in Ojai, Calif.
This year's schedule offers something for everyone, according to AMDIS President William F. Bria, MD, who also serves as CMIO of Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa, Fla. In fact, he likens the offerings to a delicious soup. "Meaningful use has increased the heat. If medical informatics is a very tasty meal, there is no question that meaningful use has provided the heat and made a lot of people smell the aroma, get involved and add spice to the soup," he says. Issues such as useability, interoperability and clinical decision support have moved up to the front burner in a plethora of healthcare settings across the U.S.
"People are really interested in what's happening in all of these fields," Bria says. "The wonderful thing is that what we've done as a faculty and organization over the past 20 years has now become the national agenda, which has led to the engagement of many more people."
Simultaneously, the medical informatics field is experiencing its own growth spurt. "This is a wonderful time. Lots of things are happening rapidly," Bria adds.
Plan to attend the presentation by Farzad Mostashari, MD, MBA, the national coordinator of health IT, for more on meaningful use Stage 2, as well as Gartner's annual discussion of its CMIO career survey and the AMDIS awards. New this year are several small discussion groups covering the hottest topics for CMIOs.
With school out, we're heading into the traditional vacation season. Hopefully, your schedule isn't so packed that you can't take some time to step away from your job and enjoy friends, family and maybe even some time alone. Striking a good balance between taking the time to recharge is just as important a part of balancing your life as is devoting enough time to each of your responsibilities on the job.
Enjoy the summer.
This year's schedule offers something for everyone, according to AMDIS President William F. Bria, MD, who also serves as CMIO of Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa, Fla. In fact, he likens the offerings to a delicious soup. "Meaningful use has increased the heat. If medical informatics is a very tasty meal, there is no question that meaningful use has provided the heat and made a lot of people smell the aroma, get involved and add spice to the soup," he says. Issues such as useability, interoperability and clinical decision support have moved up to the front burner in a plethora of healthcare settings across the U.S.
"People are really interested in what's happening in all of these fields," Bria says. "The wonderful thing is that what we've done as a faculty and organization over the past 20 years has now become the national agenda, which has led to the engagement of many more people."
Simultaneously, the medical informatics field is experiencing its own growth spurt. "This is a wonderful time. Lots of things are happening rapidly," Bria adds.
Plan to attend the presentation by Farzad Mostashari, MD, MBA, the national coordinator of health IT, for more on meaningful use Stage 2, as well as Gartner's annual discussion of its CMIO career survey and the AMDIS awards. New this year are several small discussion groups covering the hottest topics for CMIOs.
With school out, we're heading into the traditional vacation season. Hopefully, your schedule isn't so packed that you can't take some time to step away from your job and enjoy friends, family and maybe even some time alone. Striking a good balance between taking the time to recharge is just as important a part of balancing your life as is devoting enough time to each of your responsibilities on the job.
Enjoy the summer.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.