Kevin Roy, Author at Caristix

Workgroup Software Demo Webinar

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Kevin Roy

A 16- minute Introduction to Caristix Workgroup Software

We’ve just developed a quick on-demand webinar that gives you the opportunity to take a bird’s-eye view of Caristix Workgroup software. See just what Workgroup can do for you and your specific teams and their projects.

No time for a full 60-minute webinar? Is 30 minutes too much? We get how busy interfacing team members are. That’s why made this a 16-minute Webinar.

In 16 minutes, you’ll learn what Workgroup is and what it can do for you. You’ll also see the software in action.

In the Webinar, you’ll learn about:

The Interface Lifecyle – find out which phase is the most important and what you need to accomplish to prevent painful rework and project delays.
Speeding up the Requirement Phase – how to increase interface quality dramatically during Scoping
De-identifying Data – safely and efficiently remove PHI from your HL7 messages through a simple 4-step process
One-click Documentation – how to automatically generate your interface documentation
Test Automation – generate hundreds of values for testing instead of manually creating test messages one-by-one

4-Minute Preview

View the first part (4 minutes) of the On-Demand Workgroup Webinar right here:

http://youtu.be/uOBjjEpKLWY

The Full 16-minute Webinar

Like what you see in the intro above? The full webinar is available for viewing on-demand right now. Click this link to get to the full video.

For more information about Workgroup, visit the Workgroup product page.

We’d be glad to take you through a more involved demo or proof of concept. Contact us at info@caristix.com or call us at 1-877- 872-0027.

Point-and-Click Interface Engine Migration

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Kevin Roy

Announcing Caristix Converters

We gave you a sneek peak at our new Caristix technology, converters, in a previous blog post, Cutting Interface Costs, Continued. In this blog post, we discussed a big area where interface costs are extremely high: migrating from a legacy interface engine to a newer engine technology.

We had several customers tell us that out connectors were saving them a lot of programming time. But was there a way to use the connectors to migrate their interfaces? Now, there is. The Caristix converter reads the interface configuration in one engine, and outputs it in the new engine format, transforming all interface configuration in one engine, and outputs it in the new engine’s format, transforming all interface attributes.

We put out a press release today announcing our partnership with iNTERFACEWARE, a leading integration engine provider, to support the development and production of the first-ever interface converter. This new Caristix technology, which is now available as a beta release, allows users to automatically migrate interfaces from the Mirth Connect interface engine to iNTERFACEWARE’s Iguana integration engine. You can read the entire press release here.

To see the Caristix converter in action, visit: https://www.caristix.com/blog/2014/01/cutting-interface-costs-cont/

HIMSS 2014

Both iNTERFACEWARE and Caristix will have representatives at this year’s annual HIMSS conference in Orlando (Booth: #2229) where they will be discussing their respective integration solutions.

If you’d like to meet us at HIMSS, please contact us to set up an appointment:
Toll-free: 877.872.0027
info@caristix.com

Caristix Workgroup – Getting Started Video Series

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Kevin Roy

Are you just getting started with Caristix software? Or do you need a refresh on functionality you haven’t used in a while?

We’re launching a video tutorial series for Caristix users. The series prepares you to use Workgroup to cover the entire interface lifecycle: scoping, configuration, testing, go-live, maintenance, and upgrades. The series will walk you step-by-step through loading HL7 data to output a spec and interface requirements, setting up validation testing, de-identifying messages, and much more. This week we’re kicking things off with two videos; the complete series will cover 14 topics.

If you’re an analyst, developer, or team lead who’s just getting started with Caristix, you’ll want to take a look.

Start with Chapter 1, an introduction to Workgroup software.

And move on to Chapter 2, which shows you how to use Workgroup’s search and filter functionality for data discovery and troubleshooting.

Here’s the complete list of videos. Watch for the others — we’ll be adding more over the coming weeks and months. And let us know what you think in the comments.

Chapter 1: Introducing Workgroup
Chapter 2: HL7 Data at the Message Level – Discovery and Troubleshooting
Chapter 3: HL7 Data at Message Level – Analysis
Chapter 4: HL7 Data at the System Level – Profiles
Chapter 5: HL7 Data at the System Level – More about Profiles
Chapter 6: Understanding Interface Requirements – Gap Analysis
Chapter 7: Building the Interface – Export Profiles
Chapter 8: Validating Transformations – Testing
Chapter 9: Managing Documentation and Artifacts – Workgroup Library
Chapter 10: Managing Users and Privileges
Chapter 11: Managing Your Interfacing Assets
Chapter 12: De-Identifying Messages
Chapter 13: Validating Network Connectivity – Routing and Listening
Chapter 14: Putting It All Together – The Interfacing Lifecycle

Cutting Interface Costs, Continued

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Kevin Roy

A sneak peek at new Caristix technology

A few weeks ago, we published an article on the cost of interfaces. We’ve also ranted a little, and you — readers here, on LinkedIn, and elsewhere — responded with a great discussion. A big area where interfaces cost way too much: migrating from a legacy interface engine to newer engine technology.

Imagine what you could do if you could remove the manual work.

Well, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. We’re developing a series of converters to do this work. Here’s a sneak peek at this technology.

What’s a converter?

A Caristix converter converts an interface from one engine to another, in order to support interface engine migration. We picked on engine migrations because many provider organizations are finding that older technology no longer fits their needs and they’ve launched migration or conversion projects.

We started working on converters after several customers came to us. They told us, we have your connectors, and they’re saving us a lot of programming time. Can we use the connectors to migrate our interfaces?

First, most developers agree that converting or migrating an interface (or changing out interface engines) is complex work. Each engine has its own language, concepts, and objects, and an interface coded in one engine doesn’t translate or convert easily into another. Second, the connectors we’ve been designing are meant to pull data into Caristix software and push schemas or message definitions into engines such as Rhapsody and Ensemble. That’s a good start, but we thought we could push this quite a bit further by not only taking care of message schemas (profiles) but the interface as a whole.

So we had to come up with something new, and that’s when the converter was born. The Caristix converter reads the interface configuration in one engine, and outputs it in the new engine format, transforming all interface attributes. Our converter does the bulk of the work, but leaves the thinking to the developer or analyst. For instance, the converter doesn’t translate any code. Based on our experience, one-to-one code translation is not ideal as programming languages all have their own specifics, making code translation a huge technical challenge. Each engine has its own specifics, too. So we adopted a different strategy.

We thought the converter should take care of boring tasks, creating the interface and converting the interface attributes to the new engine while letting you, the developer, work with the fun stuff: more complex coding.

How does a Caristix converter help?

Analysts and developers will spend time generating the basic interface but will save hours in the process. Project managers and team leaders can count on kicking projects out faster and using their existing resources efficiently.

Who should consider using the Caristix converter?

Anyone who’s migrating from one engine to another.

What does Caristix have now?

We’ve started with a prototype of a Mirth-Iguana converter. This is what it looks like:

And let us know what you think of the converter idea in the comments below.

Release Notes – Caristix 2.9

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Kevin Roy

Workgroup

Bug fixes

Several corrections to the HL7 v2.7 reference profile

Enhancements

Sort, Create New Folder, and Refresh Library are available through a right-click contextual menu from the blank area in Document Library.
In the Gap Analysis Workbench, the tree view behavior is now simpler. There are two basic states (unselected and selected with child nodes) and one advanced state (selected without child nodes). To select a node without its children, use SHIFT+click or the right-click menu.
In the Profile Editor, Data Distribution now lets you toggle between two views of table values: see values for all trigger events associated with the table, or see values for a specific trigger event.
The Message Editor is even more tightly integrated with the Reference Profile. The software will now check for a Reference Profile for the current message type. You’ll need to select a Reference Profile that will build the Tree View on the left; if you choose not to, the left Tree View won’t be available.

New Features

Major additions to de-identification functionality with complex generator types:
Click to enlarge
In the Profile Editor, name a message as a trigger event or a response. Useful when you use a profile for validation testing.
Sort Document Library content by Name, Creation Date or Document Type
In the Gap Analysis Workbench, grid columns appear and disappear when you check and uncheck gap attributes:
Click to enlarge
The Search and Filter feature now includes Large File Mode. You can load large message files easily.
In the Search and Filter feature, you can save, import, and export Filter, Sort, and Data Distribution rules. This is helpful when you’re running queries over and over again, or if you want to share query methods among a team.
In the Manage Library section, you have more detail on group membership and member privileges. Group-related privileges are now displayed.

Conformance

Bug fixes

Several corrections to the HL7 v2.7 reference profile

Enhancements

Sort, Create New Folder, and Refresh Library are available through right-click contextual menu from blank area in Document Library
In the Gap Analysis Workbench, the tree view behavior is now simpler. There are two basic states (unselected and selected with child nodes) and one advanced state (selected without child nodes). To select a node without its children, use SHIFT+click or the right-click menu.
In the Profile Editor, Data Distribution now lets you toggle between two views of table values: see values for all trigger events associated with the table, or see values for a specific trigger event.
The Message Editor is even more tightly integrated with the Reference Profile. The software will now check for a Reference Profile for the current message type. You’ll need to select a Reference Profile that will build the Tree View on the left; if you choose not to, the left Tree View won’t be available.

New Features

In the Profile Editor, name a message as a trigger event or a response. Useful when you use a profile for validation testing.
Sort Document Library content by Name, Creation Date or Document Type.
In the Gap Analysis Workbench, grid columns appear and disappear when you check and uncheck gap attributes. See screenshot in Workgroup section above.

Pinpoint

New Features

The Search and Filter feature now includes Large File Mode. You can load large message files easily.
In the Search and Filter feature, you can save, import, and export Filter, Sort, and Data Distribution rules. This is helpful when you’re running queries over and over again, or if you want to share query methods among a team.

Cloak

New Features

Major additions to de-identification functionality with complex generator types. See screenshot in Workgroup section above.

2014 Predictions

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Kevin Roy

Here’s Our Quick Take on What’s Coming Up in 2014

Meaningful Use Stage 2 and ICD-10 implementation are going to be big headaches for providers and resource drains for vendors. No big surprise here but it needed to be said.
Big data and clinical analytics are going to get more serious and less hype-y. In their recent survey of 555 healthcare professionals, IBM reported that two thirds of the organizations in both developed and emerging markets consider analytics a priority and have an analytics strategy or roadmap in place. A critical part of the challenge here will be to find professionals with the needed balance of analytics and business skills to make these strategies and roadmaps a reality.
Large organizations are going to increase their adoption of interface lifecycle management techniques and technologies. The conversion projects, the cost of interfacing, the increasing volume, the analyst shortage are hitting all at once. Large organizations, from major IDNs to HIEs, will look to make the entire process smoother and less costly – they won’t just be focusing on the engine and coding and testing.
De-identification and other techniques for removing PHI from healthcare data are going to be more important than ever.

What are your predictions for 2014? Let us know in the comments.

Happy Holidays – 2013

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Kevin Roy

Have a wonderful holiday season and wishing you the best for 2014!

Happy Holidays from Caristix - 2013

Healthcare Integration: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Kevin Roy

Healthcare-integration-what-got-you-here-won't-get-you-there The premise of Marshall Goldsmith’s leadership book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, is simple: the habits and work methods that get you in the game won’t get you to up your game.

The same shift is happening in healthcare integration.

Where We Came From

5 years ago, a vendor analyst could fire up an HL7 message viewer tool or even Notepad++ and start reading through sample messages one by one to pick out unexpected PID.2 values over the course of an afternoon. Today, the integration team manager isn’t going meet target go-live dates unless all unexpected field values –not just PID.2— are handled inside a week.
5 years ago, an analyst could start working with an Excel file to slowly pull together a mapping table over numerous conversations about code sets with clinical staff. Today, the interface team lead needs that mapping table — along with 120 others– yesterday.
5 years ago, a developer could afford to spend 20 hours per interface on recoding when converting from a legacy interface engine to a brand-new interface engine. Today, the director of application integration would never meet Meaningful Use deadlines on that timeline.
5 years ago, a consultant could sit through 4-hour crosswalk meetings to check for transformations. Today, there is no way an integration practice leader can bid competitively if their analysts spend upwards of 30 hours on interface scoping.

Where Are We Now with Healthcare Integration?

Things have changed because we’re moving to an era of interconnected systems. CIOs are converting from legacy interface engines to newer technology. HIEs are maturing. Physician practice acquisitions and hospital system mergers are requiring CIOs to rethink integration. And the cherry on the sundae is Meaningful Use.
Integration work is increasing: there are more connected systems, more interfaces, more data types to exchange, and more data to exchange than ever. But the resources we have available are not growing at the same pace. Insert a stat about lack of availability of resources.

The bottom line is that the pace has picked up in interfacing, and there’s no going back.

Plotting the Course Forward

To be successful, leaders and CIOs must find a way to match the rapid change with the way data exchange needs are growing. Leaders must change the way their teams approach interfacing.
There is fundamentally only one way to do this:

Stop building interfaces from messages
Start building them from profiles.

Here’s the difference between the interface-coding information embedded in a single sample message versus a profile built from thousands of messages:

One message	One profile
Single message	Thousands of messages
1 message type	Unlimited message types
10-20 segments	All segments organized by message type
Under 100 fields	All fields
Unknown repeatability	Full repeatability
Unknown optionality	Full optionallity
Data values present but no data types	All data values, data types, tables
Partial information, enough to start trial-and-error work	Full specification for developing interface

One message

One profile

Single message

Thousands of messages

1 message type

Unlimited message types

10-20 segments

All segments organized by message type

Under 100 fields

All fields

Unknown repeatability

Full repeatability

Unknown optionality

Full optionallity

Data values present but no data types

All data values, data types, tables

Partial information, enough to start trial-and-error work

Full specification for developing interface

Profiles Speed Up Integration Work

Years ago, it was perfectly normal to work with basic vendor specs and a handful of sample messages. It was easy to download any number of tools — both paid and open-source– to slice and dice messages, then transfer your findings into a Word or Excel template.

But working at the message level no longer works.

The only way to cope with today’s needs is to move up – move up to profiles.

Profiles Reflect Systems

Profiles give analysts and developers a complete list of messages, segments, and fields needed to build an interface. They also include attributes such as optionality and repeatability. Profiles give you system-based information, not message-based information. So having a profile can drive speed and quality throughout the entire interfacing lifecycle:

Profiles drive gap analysis (capturing differences between two systems), which in turn drive mapping tables and transformations.
Profiles also drive automated testing. Once you have a profile in machine-readable form, you can use to validate the interface.
Profiles drive maintenance and troubleshooting. Once you’ve got a profile, it’s easy to consult when the the interface needs maintenance or troubleshooting.

Getting There With Profiles

We got here with messages. We’ll get there – greater interfacing volume at a dramatically lower cost – with profiles.

Your Feedback

What do you think of the profile approach? Does your organization work with profiles? Let us know in the comments.

Additional Release Notes: Caristix v2.8

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Kevin Roy

Information for Cloak and Workgroup Users

With our recent v2.8 update, we made the default de-identification rules more robust. You’ll need to add fewer rules manually. But this means your default de-id rules are going to look different than previous versions. Here are some answers to some of the questions you might have.

What’s the change?

Unlike older versions, there is no single default de-id rule file. Default de-id rules are now HL7-version-based and will adjust to whatever HL7 v2.x version you pick as a reference profile.

How does this impact my de-identification work?

Your choice of reference profile has a bigger impact on your de-identified messages. Ensure you match your reference profile closely to the messages you want to de-identify. An example: if you have a batch of v2.4 messages, pick v2.4 as your reference profile.

Why this change?

When we first wrote the software, we created a default de-id rule file based on HL7 v2.6 to cover all HL7 versions. But as we heard back from our users, they were looking to avoid manually inserting de-id rules. So we extended the rules algorithm to cover additional ID and name locations in messages.

What happened under the hood?

We focused the default rules on data types, not fields. Data type is always impacted by the reference profile.

An example: let’s say your reference profile contains the XPN data type. In this profile, PID-2 and PID-4 contain XPNs. We change the reference profile, and now PID-3 and PID-5 contain XPNs. With previous Caristix software versions, you would have to change your de-id rules to accommodate this difference. With Caristix version 2.8, you’d be good to go. You’ll have less manual work with de-identification rules with our latest update.

How to keep your old rules

If you have a set of rules, they’ll still be valid. Keep using them. Just keep in mind they’ll apply to different fields if you change reference profiles. So ensure that your reference profiles closely match your messages

How to create new de-id rules files

You’ll create them like you did before.

Questions?

HIStalk Interviews Caristix CEO Stéphane Vigot

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Kevin Roy

Stephane Vigot_bio photo Here’s how it starts:

Are HL7 interfaces becoming more important or less important with the push for interoperability and the popularity of integrated hospital systems?

HL7 interfaces are becoming more important than ever. Interoperability matters because information has to flow in order to improve patient outcomes, reduce error, reduce costs, and remove duplicate testing. Despite the popularity of integrated systems, much of the data in hospitals, physician practices, and other organizations is still siloed.

ICD-10 computer-assisted coding systems need interfaces. HIEs rely on interfacing. We can’t address continuum of care and accountable care issues unless disparate systems can share information, which requires interfacing.

The next big leap forward we’re facing in healthcare IT is actually using the data in the systems we’re buying — in other words, analytics. Again, interfacing plays a big enabling role here, and in fact, the lack of easy interfacing is why we’re still early on the hype cycle in clinical analytics.

Read the rest of the interview on HIStalk.

A 16- minute Introduction to Caristix Workgroup Software

4-Minute Preview

The Full 16-minute Webinar

Announcing Caristix Converters

HIMSS 2014

A sneak peek at new Caristix technology

What’s a converter?

How does a Caristix converter help?

Who should consider using the Caristix converter?

What does Caristix have now?

Workgroup

Bug fixes

Enhancements

New Features

Conformance

Bug fixes

Enhancements

New Features

Pinpoint

New Features

Cloak

New Features

Here’s Our Quick Take on What’s Coming Up in 2014

Where We Came From

Where Are We Now with Healthcare Integration?

Plotting the Course Forward

Profiles Speed Up Integration Work

Profiles Reflect Systems

Getting There With Profiles

Your Feedback

Information for Cloak and Workgroup Users

What’s the change?

How does this impact my de-identification work?

Why this change?

What happened under the hood?

How to keep your old rules

How to create new de-id rules files

Questions?

SALES

SALES DIRECTOR