Over the past decade, the steadily escalating use of open data has expanded knowledge, driven innovation, enhanced effectiveness and improved outcomes in a growing number of realms, particularly relating to health, healthcare and human services. Stewards of Change Institute, seeing the opportunity (and the need) to expand this work even further, recently held an event […]
Category: HHS
Ushering in 2017 with an Important Certainty: The Need for Data Sharing and Interoperability
Whatever our individual politics or perspectives, there’s one thing I think everyone can agree on as we begin the New Year: We’re entering a period of disruption in the realm of health and human services (among others). While no one can predict the extent or impact of the changes that will take place, it’s evident […]
A Growing Need to Balance Privacy with Greater Interoperability – Especially at a Time of Change!
Wherever you are on the political spectrum, one thing is crystal clear: We live in changing times. And we can feel quite certain that, in the next administration, one of the areas in which change will almost certainly be coming is in health and human services. There will be lots to discuss in the coming […]
Our 11th National Symposium, the Opioid Epidemic . . . and an Opportunity for Progress
One of the big lessons learned in the aftermath of 9/11 was that the agencies, departments and even individual officials of government couldn’t operate optimally because, in simple terms, they were working in silos and therefore weren’t able to communicate with each other. In a commendable response to that reality, politicians mainly put aside their […]
Advancing Quickly at a Glacial Pace … and More Musings as Stewards’ 11th Annual Symposium Begins
The world in which Stewards of Change Institute operates – populated by concepts like information-sharing, interoperability, social determinants of health and, most recently, cognitive computing – is changing fast. I know that because I’ve watched the change happen, ever so slowly, for over a decade. Fast and slow simultaneously? Absolutely. The technology and much of […]
The Rising Opioid Abuse Epidemic
As the 11th annual Stewards of Change National Symposium is fast approaching, I have been pondering how states might be able to address one of the fastest growing and troubling outbreaks in this country: the rising opioid abuse epidemic. Simply reflect on this statistic. In 2014, there were one and a half times more drug […]
Better sharing of data among UK government agencies seeks to protect vulnerable citizens
In the United Kingdom, multi-agency collaboration (MAC) – the sharing of information and resources between agencies – promises to ensure that a clearer picture is drawn to help at-risk citizens. Currently, no single person or agency has quick, easy access to information across agencies. While they and other interested parties – police officers, social workers, […]
Are we at the point of a fundamental change in the role of IT in Human Services?
I’ve been working now for some 27 years in Human Services in -roles mostly related to the advanced use of IT by the business. I was there through client server mainframe replacement in the early 90’s, business intelligence in the late 90’s, the Internet in the 00’s, composite applications and SOA in the late 00’s […]
Looking for Answers: From the Opioid Crisis . . . to a Network of Networks . . . to a New Curriculum
Open data, information-sharing, data standards and interoperability may not be the answers to every question, but there’s no doubt that they are pivotal components in addressing many challenges confronting the health and human services field. And the latest – and most urgent example to buttress this point is the exploding opioid/heroin epidemic sweeping the country. […]