Tuesday, 14 July 2009 18:39 Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 13:46 Written by Kris Kozamchak

InformationWeek recently interviewed Chad Eckes, CIO from Cancer Treatment Centers of America, for its July 6, 2009 issue.  One of his answers stood out and is very relevant to NEC's healthcare practice.
Q: How do you measure IT effectiveness?
A: Factors include improvement of patient care and safety as a result of IT systems: increased efficiency of clinical processes; and internal customers satisfaction, including the patient and those caring for the patient.

NEC has argued that the biggest investment in your healthcare facility is not technology - it’s people. Specific to communications, we believe that instead of technology defining how people communicate in their role (doctor, nurse, ER, OR, admin, etc), that the role should define the technology used to communicate. With this approach, communications are tailored to each individual’s role, which ensures quick access to healthcare resources and records (the IT part of the equation) so patients get the best care possible.

NEC will be hosting a webinar on August 12 with Irwin Lazar, analyst at Nemertes Research, to talk more about the impact of VoIP and UC for healthcare organizations.  Al Campanella, CIO of Virtua Healthcare, will also be on the webinar to share the vision and mission of a leading healthcare organization.  Click here to register!
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Wednesday, 08 July 2009 17:40 Last Updated on Thursday, 09 July 2009 09:01 Written by Kris Kozamchak

A colleague sent me a link for a new application called Augmented Reality that was featured on CNET.  Summary: A VERY COOL application, available now in the Netherlands for Android OS and in a few other locations with the Apple 3Gs, will mashup GPS information with things like hot spots, real estate, restaurants and more to display on your mobile phone as you view things through the camera on the phone.


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Tuesday, 07 July 2009 12:03 Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 July 2009 13:54 Written by Michael Ballard

Every wonder how your “greenness” compares with your friends or coworkers?  Neither have I, but I’m interested.

 

NEC is testing an online carbon footprint tracking system where you can go head to head with other people in a massive tree hugger contest.  It tracks your usage through a wireless device connected to your circuit breaker and transmits back to your PC and up to the online game.

 

Of course there is no word on if the game tracks the power used by the wireless device and your PC.

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Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:09 Last Updated on Thursday, 02 July 2009 13:15 Written by Kris Kozamchak

The June 15, 2009 issue of CIO magazine (page 15 or online) featured an article on "Bagging Customer Loyalty."  Quick summary: A supermarket chain is changing their customer loyalty program from collecting data that they can then analyze for customer buying habits to collecting data that customers can then use to make better purchases.  As the CIO of the supermarket stated, "If it exists today, we aren't thinking big enough."

What we hear is that businesses want more than just the normal, commodity technology.  They want solutions that are customized and can fit their business to 1)increase customer loyalty 2)increase revenues and 3)decreases expenses (Gartner's "Meeting the Challenge: The 2009 CIO Agenda" supports these priorities).
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