Ashish Patel Hacking Healthcare
May 14 , 2013
There are two definitions of the word “Hacker”. One is an original and authentic term that the geekdom uses with respect. This is a cherished label in the technical community, which might read something like: “A person adept at solving technical problems in clever and delightful ways” While the one portrayed by popular culture is […]
Ashish Patel DocGraph: Open social doctor data
November 19 , 2012
At Strata RX in October I announced the availability of DocGraph. This is the first project of NotOnly Development, which is a Not Only For Profit Health IT micro-incubator. [Editor’s note: as of 2016, company is known as CareSet] The DocGraph dataset shows how doctors, hospitals, laboratories and other health care providers team together to […]
November 5 , 2012
I am happy to announce the release of the doctor “referral” social graph. This dataset, which I obtained using a Freedom of Information Act request against the Medicare claims database, details how most doctors, hospitals and other providers team together to deliver care in the United States. This graph is nothing less than a map […]
Ashish Patel Who Owns Patient Data?
August 20 , 2012
Who owns a patient’s health information?·The patient to whom it refers?·The health provider that created it?·The IT specialist who has the greatest control over it?The notion of ownership is inadequate for health information. For instance, no one has an absolute right to destroy health information. But we all understand what it means to own an […]
Ashish Patel Who Owns Patient Data?
August 20 , 2012
Who owns a patient’s health information?·The patient to whom it refers?·The health provider that created it?·The IT specialist who has the greatest control over it?The notion of ownership is inadequate for health information. For instance, no one has an absolute right to destroy health information. But we all understand what it means to own an […]
Ashish Patel Software crumple zones
August 11 , 2012
It’s time to recognize and appreciate highly engineered health information systems. Have you had an auto mechanic look at your wrecked car and sigh, “they just don’t make them like they used to”?Darn right they don’t make them like they used to. Old cars were much better about surviving wrecks, but at the expense of […]
January 25 , 2012
TechCrunch recently published a guest post from Vinod Khosla with the headline “Do We Need Doctors or Algorithms?“. Khosla is an investor and engineer, but he is a little outside his depth on some of his conclusions about health IT.Let me concede and endorse his main point that doctors will become bionic clinicians by teaming […]
Ashish Patel The rise of programmable self
January 11 , 2012
Quantifying your changes + motivational hacks = programmable self. Programmable self is a riff on the Quantified Self (QS). It is a simple concept:Quantify what you want to change about yourself + motivational hacks = personal change success.There are several potential “motivation hacks” that people regularly employ. The simplest of these is peer pressure. You […]
Ashish Patel Are EHRs Safe?
January 9 , 2012
Electronic health records are fundamentally dangerous. They’re also safer than the current model. Are electronic health records (EHR) safe?No.EHRs are not safe. They are fundamentally and irreparably dangerous even during normal use.EHRs will kill people.Lots of people.EHRs have been killing people for years. They will kill even more people as they become more popular and […]
Ashish Patel Epatients: The hackers of the healthcare world
January 5 , 2012
I help build open source software tools that patients can use to have greater control and influence over their own healthcare (like the Direct Project and Your Doctors Advice). As as result, I’ve become quite familiar with other tools that do the same sorts of things. There is a community of patients who are deeply […]