Reevaluating Paradigms

From Joseph Conn's IT Everything blog at ModernHealthcare.com:

The IT history of the Veterans Affairs Department has been one of intermittent battling between two groups: One is the programmers and clinicians who, starting in the late 1970s, built their public-domain IT system from scratch. The other side is composed of political and bureaucratic supporters of a centralized command-and-control IT bureaucracy who have sought to thwart the home-grown effort, typically in favor of purchasing or programming software from the commercial market. [emphasis added]

Sound familiar? The "build vs. buy" question has been kicking around CCHS IT for some time now. But at an even deeper level, it reflects the growing pains of an information technology organization that was itself "built from scratch".

"Information Systems" evolved somewhat organically in response to both Health Services' information needs and the burgeoning technology revolution of the late 20th century. However, with both changing leadership and a dramatically different environment (in terms of regulation, technology, and opportunity), we are pausing to purposefully plan a strategic approach for the future.

Information Systems has become Information Technology. This is intended to be more than a simple re-branding. It reflects a maturing of our organization, embracing our role as service providers for all our CCHS customers, not as robed guardians of sacred, secret systems.

Look for more news soon about how IT is reorganizing to meet the challenges of the future and improve the quality of service to all.

Army Software Helps Scientists Identify Cause of Honeybee Colony Collapse

A fascinating collaboration between Army scientists in Maryland and bee experts in Montana has led to an explanation for the "colony collapse" phenomenon that has devastated 20-40 percent of the bee colonies in the United States.

A new Army software system, designed to test and identify biological agents in circumstances where commanders might have no idea what sort of threat they face, has been used to study affected bees, and it suggests that the phenomenon is caused by an interaction between a fungus and a virus.

Not only is this good news for those of us who have been concerned with the fate of the bees (not to mention its implications for agriculture and human life), but it is a wonderful example of the benefits of cross-disciplinary collaboration -- where very diverse disciplines can learn from each other and mutually benefit in unexpected ways.

For more information about this exciting collaboration, see the New York Times.