Structure recommendations for the 2017 Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) Task Force
In April I accepted a nomination to become a member of the 2017 Interoperability Standards Advisory Task Force of the U.S. Health IT Standards Committee (HITSC). The Task Force is charged with making recommendations to the HITSC about revisions and enhancements that...
Creating your lab source file for mapping to LOINC
This post is a sample section from my book LOINC Essentials, your step-by-step guide for getting your local codes mapped to LOINC. Creating your lab source file for mapping to LOINC Your ability to accurately map to LOINC depends on having sufficient information about...
Ultimate Photo Management from all Your Devices
After years of struggling to keep my digital photo collection in order, I've finally reached a magical place. All my photos get automatically named, tagged, organized into subfolders on my computer, ready for Lightroom, and backed up in the cloud. And when I say all...
Introducing the Health Standards Collaboration
At the April 7 meeting of the SCO, the group decided to sunset the name "SCO". Dawn of the Health Standards Collaboration This happened to be the first meeting of the SCO that I was unable to attend in person since its formation back in 2008. The "SCO" moniker was...
On finding an optimal balance of internal communication
We've been successfully using the project management system Basecamp with the LOINC team for a few years now. What I admire about Basecamp the company is how insightful their leaders are about what it takes to run a lean, innovative, and successful organization. And...
Incorporating standardized measures of social and behavioral factors in the EHR
It seems so obvious that social and behavioral factors play a huge role in determining a person's overall health. But when you listen public discourse about improving health, most of the energy is focused on things like the healthcare system, medical science...
Spring 2016 LOINC Update
Here in central Indiana, we're starting to see a few sneak previews of Spring. For someone who doesn't care much for cold winters, I always anticipate the warmer weather and nature's many signs of new growth. Overcast skies do amplify your appreciation of sunny days,...
Recommendations to NCVHS on Attachment Standards
On February 15, 2016 I'm testifying to the NCVHS Subcommittee on Standards on behalf of LOINC. This hearing is the latest in a long line of discussion about the attachment standards. In fact, LOINC's role in the claims attachments standards was cooking before I came...
Top 10 Tips for Mapping to LOINC
A translation of this post is available in Chinese thanks to Lin Zhang, a LOINC volunteer from China. PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, invited me to give a webinar on some best practices for using LOINC. In that presentation, I shared...
Staying up to date with new LOINC releases
A translation of this post is available in Chinese thanks to Lin Zhang, a LOINC volunteer from China. At the December 2015 Laboratory LOINC Committee meeting, we took up the important topic of best practices for staying up to date with new LOINC release versions. We...