HealthNex

The Analytics Virtual Center

Over the course of 2009, IBM opened centers in Berlin, Beijing, London, New York, Tokyo and Washington D.C.  to advance the frontier of analytics: namely turning big data into new intelligence, predictive capabilities and insight. Healthcare is one area where analytics holds great promise.

To support those physical solution centers we launched the Analytics Virtual Center (AVC) at the start of 2010, and welcome you to visit it, especially as we come up on the one year anniversary of the launch of our business analytics initiative.

The AVC underscores a central tenet of Smarter Planet — how digital and physical worlds — databases and drydocks,  petabytes and powerplants — are weaving themselves together. Through it, people can extend their physical presence, voice and ideas to a new digital dimension that isn’t constrained by geography.

Simply Easy

The AVC is a web-based and voice-enabled collaboration complex that we built on the web.alive platform, which is now part of IBM partner Avaya’s portfolio. It features a simple set of intuitive controls, quick avatar customization and 3D spatial audio. Many of the hundreds of visitors have  found the environment easier to use than other virtual worlds. In fact, most people find themselves “in world” and talking naturally with others within minutes.

While the environment’s navigation and architecture are purposefully minimalist, the facility supports some sophisticated tools, including a full-function “web surface” that can display any web content, including video, animation and Web-based services such as writeboards. Additional wall surfaces can display presentations, documents, photos and graphics.

In addition to an auditorium and six meeting rooms that can be made private for confidential discussions, the AVC includes a rooftop “garden” with six kiosks for different displays, projects or topics.  We’re also using the rooftop for an “innovator in residence” program that is open to analytics-related projects or initiatives from academia, startups,  NGOs and other organizations seeking to innovate around analytics.

Of course, the AVC is also available for business development and client meetings. And we expect to also put it work as a vehicle for recruiting new talent to IBM, especially for people with expertise in various areas of analytics, simulation, predictive modeling and other aspects of “big data” innovation in areas including energy, smarter cities, healthcare and transportation.

To discuss or schedule a tour, meeting, event, the innovators-in-residence program or how you might like to work with us via the Analytics Virtual Center, we’ve set up a tool with the new Tungle.me appointment service.

You can also leave us a voicemail via Skype.

Enabling Smarter Healthcare

Enabling Smarter Healthcare.

The following is a guest post from Lonne Jaffe, Director, Public Sector Solutions, IBM Software

This Smarter Health video describes some of the benefits of connecting electronic medical record systems with each other and with other healthcare software systems. Technology like the IBM Health Integration Framework that brings all these systems together can enable a better patient experience, improve treatments, lower costs, and allow scientists to confidentially use data for disease research. That’s health information working together.

As healthcare software becomes more sophisticated, security and privacy remain a priority. IBM helps protect patient information and helps healthcare organizations comply with government privacy regulations while achieving the extraordinary benefits of smarter healthcare.

AI: Analytics Innovators Series Video

This web video series features examples of groundbreaking companies, services and products that epitmize the age of smarter analytics, pervasive computing and new intelligence that IBM's new Business Analytics & Optimization Services was created to advance.

See more BAO content and clips at the Global Business Services New Intelligence Video Studio.  Know of other analytics innovators we should feature? Share in comments here!

Episode 2:

• RecycleBank a kind of "frequent recycling" rewards program
• Earthmine a 3D city mapping service based on Mars Rover technology
• FitBit Tracker a $99 wearable health monitoring device that measures your bodily activity and sleep patterns

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

How making primary-care physicians the center of America's health-care system could drive down costs

Interesting story in BW that includes some discussion around IBM's patient centered medical home model. Here's an excerpt:

This medical home may sound like the "gatekeeper" model of the 1990s, a managed-care creation that was all about holding down costs. But advocates say the new concept is designed to help patients, not insurers. It's more like doctoring 1950s-style, when a Marcus Welby figure handled all the family's medical needs. This time it's juiced up with digital technology.

It also represents a politically painless way to streamline a disorganized and wasteful system that chews up a crippling 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product. That burden is felt particularly by private industry, which covers 60% of the nation's insured. Since most businesses try to ferret out waste and disorganization in their own operations, the medical home is a concept they can embrace in good conscience.

One of the biggest advocates is IBM (IBM), which shelled out $1.3 billion last year on health benefits for its U.S. employees and retirees, equal to one month of the company's net income. Dr. Paul H. Grundy, 57, who holds the unusual title of director of health-care transformation for IBM, is a medical-home evangelist who led the company to start the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a coalition of some 500 large employers, insurers, consumer groups, and doctors. Part of his goal, he says, is to show that "employers can drive the medical-home idea as buyers of care."

With healthcare reform taking centerstage in Washington in the weeks and months ahead, we wanted to share this section of clips in the IBM Global Business Services Video Studio, which debuted with the launch of IBM's new consulting organization, Business Analytics & Optimization.

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

Janet Marchibroda is the chief health care officer of IBM

"As President Obama and Congress take on what the president in his American Medical Association speech called the "ticking time bomb" of health care costs, they need to know that they can't succeed without harnessing the massive data generated by modern medicine. Getting the best information into the hands of doctors and patients, while protecting patient privacy, is not just a desire but an overriding need if we are to get a handle on spiraling costs and also improve care. "(read the rest @ There Can Be No Health Care Reform Without An Information Revolution - Forbes.com)

The 60 Second Science Blog, from Scientific American, reports:

"Analyzing data from 2,314 randomly selected 2007 (pre-mortgage-meltdown) bankruptcy filings revealed that most of those who had claimed bankruptcy because of medical expenses had health insurance, owned homes, were in their mid-40s and had middle class incomes. "

In addition to the Smarter Healthcare widget seen here in the right column, we've developed other widgets on key Smarter Planet topics that you are welcome to add to your site, page, or blog, or share with your contacts and network.  Simply copy and paste the embedding code that works for your site.

 

We've also made these widgets available as Facebook applications.  Please feel free to put these to work and enable our community to function as a social media catalyst.

Smarter Healthcare Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterhealthcare/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-healthcare

Smarter Energy Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterenergy/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-energy

 

Smarter Cities Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smartercities/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-cities

  

Analytics Album Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/analyticsalbum/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/analytics-album

  

Jack Mason, IBM Global Business Services

Strategic Programs & Social Media

Can you predict and respond to opportunities and threats? Optimize operations to capitalize on new sources of revenue? Proactively manage risk while ensuring efficiency? IBM Business Analytics and Optimization capabilities are your most powerful ally in the new economic environment.

In addition to this overview on this new business analytics focus -- helping to build smarter enterprises, including healthcare organizations -- you can follow developments through two new social media channels:

• The Smarter Planet Network on Tumblr
• IBM Business Analytics: Twitter ID, ibmbizanalytics

Jack Mason, IBM Global Business Services, Strategic Programs and Social Media

This week, Smarter Planet moves to the pressing issue of healthcare.  As the "op-ad" thought leadership story for this vital topic notes:

"The problems with our healthcare system are well known and well documented and endlessly debated. What's not so apparent is that many of them arise because our healthcare system isn't, in fact, a system."

Adam Christensen's post on the Building a Smarter Planet blog picks up on how of all aspects of smarter planet, healthcare is understandably one that is both deeply personal, as well as a societal front that we all have a vested interest in.

On the Smarter Planet Tumblr site, we've added a channel for all posts the touch on the way in which healthcare is becoming instrumented, interconnected  and ultimately, infused with a new kind of intelligence.  You can see more about this frontier of advance analytics, predictive modeling, simulation, business decision support via the New Intelligence channel on our Tumblr site.

BusinessWeek: The Family Doctor: A Remedy for Health-Care Costs?

How making primary-care physicians the center of America's health-care system could drive down costs

Interesting story in BW that includes some discussion around IBM's patient centered medical home model. Here's an excerpt:

This medical home may sound like the "gatekeeper" model of the 1990s, a managed-care creation that was all about holding down costs. But advocates say the new concept is designed to help patients, not insurers. It's more like doctoring 1950s-style, when a Marcus Welby figure handled all the family's medical needs. This time it's juiced up with digital technology.

It also represents a politically painless way to streamline a disorganized and wasteful system that chews up a crippling 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product. That burden is felt particularly by private industry, which covers 60% of the nation's insured. Since most businesses try to ferret out waste and disorganization in their own operations, the medical home is a concept they can embrace in good conscience.

One of the biggest advocates is IBM (IBM), which shelled out $1.3 billion last year on health benefits for its U.S. employees and retirees, equal to one month of the company's net income. Dr. Paul H. Grundy, 57, who holds the unusual title of director of health-care transformation for IBM, is a medical-home evangelist who led the company to start the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a coalition of some 500 large employers, insurers, consumer groups, and doctors. Part of his goal, he says, is to show that "employers can drive the medical-home idea as buyers of care."

Smarter Healthcare Channel via GBS Video Studio

With healthcare reform taking centerstage in Washington in the weeks and months ahead, we wanted to share this section of clips in the IBM Global Business Services Video Studio, which debuted with the launch of IBM's new consulting organization, Business Analytics & Optimization.

Jack Mason, Strategic Programs & Social Media
IBM Global Business Services
http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com

IBM Chief Health Officer Janet Marchibroda on Smarter Healthcare

Janet Marchibroda is the chief health care officer of IBM

"As President Obama and Congress take on what the president in his American Medical Association speech called the "ticking time bomb" of health care costs, they need to know that they can't succeed without harnessing the massive data generated by modern medicine. Getting the best information into the hands of doctors and patients, while protecting patient privacy, is not just a desire but an overriding need if we are to get a handle on spiraling costs and also improve care. "(read the rest @ There Can Be No Health Care Reform Without An Information Revolution - Forbes.com)

Are medical costs the leading cause of U.S. bankruptcies?

The 60 Second Science Blog, from Scientific American, reports:

"Analyzing data from 2,314 randomly selected 2007 (pre-mortgage-meltdown) bankruptcy filings revealed that most of those who had claimed bankruptcy because of medical expenses had health insurance, owned homes, were in their mid-40s and had middle class incomes. "

Smarter Planet Widgets: Analytics, Healthcare, Cities & Energy

In addition to the Smarter Healthcare widget seen here in the right column, we've developed other widgets on key Smarter Planet topics that you are welcome to add to your site, page, or blog, or share with your contacts and network.  Simply copy and paste the embedding code that works for your site.

 

We've also made these widgets available as Facebook applications.  Please feel free to put these to work and enable our community to function as a social media catalyst.

Smarter Healthcare Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterhealthcare/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-healthcare

Smarter Energy Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smarterenergy/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-energy

 

Smarter Cities Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/smartercities/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/smarter-cities

  

Analytics Album Widget

• http://apps.facebook.com/analyticsalbum/
• http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/analytics-album

  

Jack Mason, IBM Global Business Services

Strategic Programs & Social Media

Business Analytics & Optimization Services: IBM's New Consulting Organization

Can you predict and respond to opportunities and threats? Optimize operations to capitalize on new sources of revenue? Proactively manage risk while ensuring efficiency? IBM Business Analytics and Optimization capabilities are your most powerful ally in the new economic environment.

In addition to this overview on this new business analytics focus -- helping to build smarter enterprises, including healthcare organizations -- you can follow developments through two new social media channels:

• The Smarter Planet Network on Tumblr
• IBM Business Analytics: Twitter ID, ibmbizanalytics

Jack Mason, IBM Global Business Services, Strategic Programs and Social Media

Smarter Planet: Healthcare, This Week's Focus

This week, Smarter Planet moves to the pressing issue of healthcare.  As the "op-ad" thought leadership story for this vital topic notes:

"The problems with our healthcare system are well known and well documented and endlessly debated. What's not so apparent is that many of them arise because our healthcare system isn't, in fact, a system."

Adam Christensen's post on the Building a Smarter Planet blog picks up on how of all aspects of smarter planet, healthcare is understandably one that is both deeply personal, as well as a societal front that we all have a vested interest in.

On the Smarter Planet Tumblr site, we've added a channel for all posts the touch on the way in which healthcare is becoming instrumented, interconnected  and ultimately, infused with a new kind of intelligence.  You can see more about this frontier of advance analytics, predictive modeling, simulation, business decision support via the New Intelligence channel on our Tumblr site.