Tag Archives: Data integration/data management

January 2022—“Workflow” evokes a process that moves smoothly, like water, that doesn’t break down or grind to a halt, a sequence of steps that can be completed in a seamless manner. Genomic workflows in information systems, however, have an especially poor fit with the concept of “flow.” As genomic data migrate from the laboratory to an electronic health record or from one EHR to another, significant gaps can result between generation, interoperability, and utilization that may lead the data to miscommunicate or mislead. “The technology behind next-generation sequencing and genetic testing in general has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last 10 to 15 years,” says Alexis Carter, MD, physician informaticist, pathology and laboratory medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. While the use of genomic testing has expanded rapidly, “information systems and electronic health records have really not been able to keep up.”

November 2021—Interoperability, a problem of long standing in health care, has a new push and new prospects. Interoperability has become a front-burner issue because it has become increasingly urgent to bring the standardized communication of health care data up to speed.

July 2021—From takeout margaritas to the embrace of remote work, the pandemic upended convention, leaving behind permanent changes that were nowhere on the radar in 2019. In the world of pathology informatics, the new online COVID-19 data dashboards at the Cleveland Clinic illustrate how much the pandemic has raised the profile of data analytics in managing the laboratory.

April 2021—Whirlwind timelines, novel problems, and a never-ending workload: On the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, pathology informatics leaders David S. McClintock, MD, and Christopher Williams, MD, reflected on the year’s onslaught of challenges.

November 2015—At PAML patient service centers, patients fresh from a blood draw may spot a kiosk that asks, “How was your experience today?” Responding is as easy as pushing one of four buttons with facial expressions that range from a broad smile to a major frown. The kiosk’s manufacturer, HappyOrNot, says about 20 percent of customers across a spectrum of industries will stop to register their level of satisfaction.

November 2014—It’s been said that “data” is the plural of “anecdote,” and debate has swirled around whether that is true. Something about data makes most of us feel that it is qualitatively different: more manipulable, more reliable, more helpful in drawing useful conclusions. But is there a new stage that might be considered the plural of data? These days, the health care industry is excited about a concept that promises to catapult the value of laboratory information into a new era. It’s the Enterprise Data Warehouse.