Albert Shar, Ph.D., is managing principal at QERT (qertech.com), a technology consultancy that works with businesses providing expert advice in the strategies necessary for success in today’s rapidly changing and competitive healthcare environment. Prior to QERT Shar was VP for IT and senior program officer for the Pioneer Portfolio at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) where he helped developed innovative approaches to the uses of technology in transforming healthcare. Previously he was director for IT Research and Architecture at the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Institute, a Johnson & Johnson company. Shar was director of technology services at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and CIO of its Medical School. He has held a number of faculty positions at the University of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine (Pharmacology and Gastroenterology), University of New Hampshire (Mathematics and Computer Science) and the University of Colorado (Pure and Applied Mathematics). Shar was a visiting professor at the ETH-Zurich FIM and holds a patent in medical imaging and is the author of more than 50 articles in healthcare, computer science, and pure and applied mathematics.
In light of the data breaches we have witnessed, most recently at Equifax, it seems clear that the safest way to reliably and safely identify patients is to separate the identifier from the data.
The population of the United States is aging. According to the census bureau those 65 and over will grow from a bit more than 40 million (14% of the population) to almost 70 million by 2030 (20% of the populations). Multiple surveys confirm that this population wants to age in place and independently, where they […]
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
According to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital report “Sick kids, struggling parents” nearly two-thirds of parents of young children in child care say their children could not attend [school] because of illness in the past year and one-third of parents of young children are concerned about losing jobs or losing pay when taking off work […]
Bottom line: patient portals fail more often than they succeed.
I’ve been thinking of privacy and healthcare recently. So, like any good nerd, I went to HHS.gov and looked at their data on Breaches Affecting 500 or More Individuals as required by the HITECH Act. The table there lists 647 entities involving 22,554,728 people. That’s a lot! And with online exchanges scheduled to launch Oct. […]
There was just another article about how a simple, relatively low cost intervention saved a huge medical cost. This one which appeared in the Washington Post Wonkblog repeated the story about Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber explaining how a $200 air conditioner installed in a heart failure patient could save $50,000 in hospitalization. Another intervention focuses […]
3D medical animation services have emerged as a groundbreaking tool in the healthcare industry, revolutionizing the way medical concepts are taught, understood, and marketed.
Haptique just released their long awaited released its final standards for testing and certifying mobile health apps. While it represents a good start I was disappointed that it doesn’t do more. Haptique wants to help “healthcare providers and consumers easily identify medical, health and fitness apps that deliver credible content, contain safeguards for user data […]
Recently the Wall Street Journal carried an article headlined “Proton-Beam Treatment for Prostate Tumors No Better Than Radiation” referring to a paper published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Actually the results indicate that while they could see no long term benefit, there was a short term incidence of problems with urinary function. […]
Imagine two people carrying on a very pleasant and cordial conversation. As you pass by you note that they’re nodding heads in agreement and smiling. You then listen a bit more and realize that they are each speaking different languages and, in all probability, don’t really know what each is saying. I’ve been to a […]