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  Author: Vince Yoder

• 04/03/2017

Health Care Integration using HL7 and a Swiss Army Knife

Many of the business tools that we rely on today were not built to integrate with other systems.   As a result,  many of the business information problems exist because we don't have the right tools to share the information in a meaningful way.  This is why you need a tool that is built for integration between systems.  But, if your integration tool is not as flexible and adaptable as the proverbial Swiss Army Knife, you may continue to have problems improving operations that improve patient care.  Maybe, you should consider an Integration Swiss Army Knife. 

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  Author: Terry Bazemore

• 03/27/2017

Improving Patient Outcomes with MicroServices (DIY)

Sometimes, the business functionality that an organization needs to systematically improve patient care and outcomes, is just not available in the systems that they use on a daily basis.  Every day, some health care business executive or IT leader, faces the pain of asking a health care systems vendor to change their "flagship" solution, in order to add some capability, that they know will improve patient care.  The response of long timelines and prohibitively high development costs is routinely disheartening.  The fact is that rapid changes to health care systems are risky to patient care and the requested changes may not match the direction of the system vendor's product.  As a result, rapid enhancements requests never happen fast.  The cost of forward progress is often exorbitant and usually associated with long turnaround times that include rounds and rounds of regression testing.   (Diagrams and images included inside) 

With the advent of modern APIs and now MicroServices, the delivery landscape is changing.  Enhancing existing, and delivering new and valued capabilities may be accomplished without vast changes to flagship systems.  This can be done by leveraging MicroServices in combination with well-known interface engine technologies and already familiar web and mobile delivery patterns.  Because you have access to information in flight, extending capabilities may begin to seem like a do-it-yourself (DIY) pattern.  Here we provide an example of how to accomplish this with a walkthrough of a real-world health care scenario.  

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  Author: Terry Bazemore

• 03/23/2017

MicroServices? - Buzz Word Alert - Don’t expect to get the same answer twice.

MicroServices is without a doubt a BUZZ WORD. It has seemingly generated as much buzz as the introduction of Enterprise Services Bus (ESB) in the mid 2000's, and in arguably less time.  There has been buzz from programmers, architects, CIOs, business leaders and especially vendors who want to show their MicroServices wares.  The question is, does the BUZZ WORD have any merit?  Are MicroServices different from what we do today, and is there a value proposition?  Are MicroServices an "IT Thing" or "A Business Thing"?  Will MicrosServices work in Logistics and Health Care?  Will they help the business owner solve problems?  Will they help the company gain market share?  Is there one common definition for MicroServices or is it just a Buzz Word.... This article, and the series explores questions like this. 

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  Author: Terry Bazemore

• 03/21/2017

“MicroServices” - The Horseless Wagon

When a new idea arrives on the scene, it is important that its prime audience be able to relate to its concepts and have a sense of the value that they will derive from it.  It has to fit into a context that they currently understand or the value proposition may be missed altogether.  Well, MicroServices is not exactly a new idea anymore, but they are also not well understood.  What are they?  Where do they fit? Do I need them?  Is Micro-Services a buzz-word or is it really something different?  This blog series will try to help both business and technical teams to better understand.