Published: 4/27/21 –
Introducing “The Exchange”
An exploration of the intersection of healthcare and technology
By Brian Mack
We are excited to introduce The Exchange – a blog and the newest communications vehicle presented by Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) and its affiliated companies: Velatura, Interoperability Institute, and USQHIN.
Each week through this venue we will showcase a broad range of insights, opinions, thought leadership and industry expertise from our own organizational leadership and staff, as well as guest posts from our customers, partners and collaborators.
Creating a Collective Legacy
The above quote by Steve Jobs gets to the heart of a fundamental truth that is common to the human condition – a desire that the efforts to which we dedicate our lives matter to the world. Through our work, most of us anyway, are intrinsically motivated to contribute to the greater good and put our own unique stamp on the future. In other words, to build a legacy.
[At this point you may be thinking “Whoa, this is pretty heady stuff for a corporate blog, and what exactly does all this existential mumbo-jumbo have to do health information technology?” Stay with me, I’m getting there…]
It has become cliché to say that the healthcare landscape is complex and dynamic. Anyone who is not aware of that by now must have been marooned on a desert island for the last year and a half. What has become even clearer as we have navigated life in the midst of a global pandemic is that technology is now and will continue to be an integral player in realizing the vision of a more effective, efficient, equitable, and affordable WELLcare system.
MiHIN and its affiliated companies sit squarely at the crossroads where healthcare delivery and healthcare technology intersect. For over a decade, MiHIN has been building network infrastructure across Michigan to allow for the seamless and secure sharing of electronic health data, while simultaneously creating “last mile” connections with hospitals, physician practices, and allied care providers to facilitate access to the network. Along the way they have developed a best-in-class suite of use cases, solutions and tools designed to advance quality by solving real problems for patients and providers at the point of care. By leveraging these assets and experience, MiHIN has created a replicable and scalable working model made available across the country through its subsidiaries: Velatura provides consultation and business models to connect and align people, organizations, technology, ideas, and information in both the public and private sectors. The Interoperability Institute focuses on developing solutions that accelerate interoperability at scale, while also fostering the next generation of the health information technology workforce. USQHIN advances emerging use cases in support of urgent public health needs and federal interoperability goals. At the core of all these efforts is a collection of people who are among the smartest, most hardworking, creative, and mission-focused professionals in the industry. They are the beating heart of our operations. The Exchange will draw on each of these resources (among others) in its exploration of the intersection of healthcare and technology.
Those of us who work in healthcare, in whatever capacity, occupy a unique space. Because every healthcare professional whether clinician, administrator, project manager, engineer or custodian are at some point also patients, caregivers, or advocates for a loved one in the very systems we serve. Without exception, each of us has a story to tell of how the healthcare system succeeded or failed at some point in our lives. (Our hope and intent is to share some of those stories here in The Exchange in the weeks and months to come.) That duality gives unique meaning to the work that we do, and I would assert that it also instills a motivation to create a healthcare system that is the best it can be, for the benefit of us all. One might even call that vision a collective legacy.
By definition, an exchange is a reciprocal give and take of equivalent value for the mutual satisfaction of all involved. As the title suggests, The Exchange is intended to facilitate the give and take of ideas; to act as a platform for conversation, information sharing and learning around issues that impact all aspects of healthcare and technology. To that end, we want to extend an invitation for all our stakeholders to be active participants in creating and sustaining the content we will be sharing. As iron sharpens iron, we look forward to engaging with you – experts in your own right – in wrestling with these complex and sometimes even contentious issues. In so doing, we hope to amplify our collective voices toward achieving the vision of healthcare transformation. That is a legacy to which we can ALL look forward!
For more information on how you can contribute to The Exchange, check out our website at www.mihin.org/the-exchange.
About the Author
Brian Mack is a Senior Marketing Strategist for MiHIN. In his role, he assists in driving marketing strategy and content for the organization and its affiliates, as well as coordinating the marketing and communications needs for Velatura and USQHIN.