Category: Uncategorized

Epic XGM26 FOMO generator: Taiwan Little Eats

Madison little delights. I love having hometown food in Madison, specifically Taiwanese food. This tiny place has been in business for years and I’ve loved dropping in here; almost never busy, and the flavors are authentic. Thanks to Steve Rotholz for a nice informatics chat during dinner. Cheers!

CHIME Clinical Informatics Leadership Academy, Dallas TX

CHIME Clinical informatics leadership academy Dallas next week: late breaking opportunity!

I’m teaching at the CHIME Clinical Informatics Leadership Academy next week, April 13-15 at CHRISTUS. This 2.5-day immersive experience lets  CMIOs, CNIOs, business leaders, and informatics professionals develop practical skills that improve clinical workflows, reduce documentation burden, and drive measurable outcomes.

I know funding can be tough, and I am excited to be able to share a code for complimentary registration.  I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. You and your team can register here:

https://chime.swoogo.com/ClinicalInformatics/begin

using code CIL2026Pass. Feel free to reach out to Nicole Kerkenbush at CHIME at 703-470-0492

See you there!

Consciousness and AI (wired.com)

Only a conscious AI is apt to develop empathy and therefore spare us. I am not exaggerating; this is the argument. –Michael Pollan

https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-a-world-appears-michael-pollan/

Here we go. More mind-bending debates about whether AI is conscious.

AND the kicker

“There are no obvious barriers to building conscious AI systems.”

Some out takes.

  • The authors of the Butlin report claim the statement above. Scary.
  • BUT, Pollan argues: the authors assume that human brains are just like transistors in our AI computing clusters. They may not be equivalent
  • Human brains have up to 10,000 inter-neuron connections per neuron. These extensive feedback loops are unheard-of in our AI architectures
  • Human brains are awash in neurotransmitters. What is the AI equivalent?
  • Human brains physically remodel constantly based on experience. What is the AI equivalent?
  • Human brains are carried around in human bodies, from which they learn about the world. What is the AI equivalent?

Pollan also cites Frankenstein, leading me to (just now) borrow it from the library to read. I have only seen the movie Young Frankenstein, and enjoyed it in my early years. Time to read the original classic by Shelley and discover what I’ve been missing. Seems appropriate for our time.

Must read. This article. AND the book. AND maybe the movie too.

Password B-Gone! Reducing the EHR burden

Does your EHR require re-entering password from prescribers to transmit a non-controlled med to pharmacy? For UCHealth the answer was “yes” until this week.

Here is a copy of our broadcast email that goes out to the 2000 members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty and staff every week: our Wellness Wednesday.
Thank you to the Epic IT and Informatics teams for helping design and implement the REMOVAL of password requirements for prescribing an outpatient prescription or renewal.
How big is this news? At UCHealth, we wrote 7 million prescriptions last year.
Passwords are still required at login to the Epic EHR, but the re-typing of passwords for non-controlled (eg, non-opiate, non-stimulant, non-benzodiazepine etc) prescriptions is no longer held to be a safety concern. Furthermore, the technical and policy hurdles for this removal have been discussed and addressed.
This is a lot less typing burden in the EHR. You’re welcome! Look for more improvements from our Informatics and Epic teams in months to come.
CT Lin MD | Professor, CU School of Medicine | CMIO, UCHealth