Happy Holidays to All

Just as Thanksgiving is an introspective time for me, the Holiday season is a time I look back on the year and reflect on all the good things that have happened.

In 2007:

At BIDMC, IS and clinicians came together in the midst of the Joint Commission visit to create some of the most innovative medication reconciliation and e-prescribing functionality in the country. We've had 99.9% uptime of our infrastructure. All our application and infrastructure vendor relationships are strong. We're working well with all our customers and among all our IS teams.

At Harvard, a new Dean has arrived and the Dean's strategic planning process is proceeding successfully. We've opened a new data center, created a new vision for collaboration tools among all the stakeholders in the Harvard community, and we've had 99.9% uptime of our infrastructure.

At NEHEN, we're made administrative data sharing among payers and providers available to every clinician in the state.

At MA-Share, we've created an e-prescribing and continuity of care document health information exchange for the state.

At HITSP, we've harmonized standards for electronic health records, personal health records, labs, medications, quality and public health.

Personally, I've flown 166 times without losing my sanity or optimism. My wife and daughter are happy and healthy. My Japanese flute playing is progressing and I've climbed many of the classic rock and ice climbs in New England.

All of this would not have been possible without the thousands of people who gave so much of their time, support and enthusiasm to make 2007 a remarkable success.

Thank you to my family, friends, and colleagues at CareGroup, Harvard, NEHEN, MA-Share, HITSP and the IT industry. You're making the world of healthcare better for everyone.

The holidays are about celebrating the good, highlighting the spiritual, and forgetting the stress of the rest of the year whenever possible. So, revel in best characteristics of your personal and work life, turn off the email/pager/cellphone for a few hours, and recharge your batteries. 2007 may have had its ups and downs, but we've moved forward in so many positive ways that you can be completely satisfied with a job well done.