Thoughtflow, Part 3: legacy software or smart software?

By now, we all know that a smart phone is one you use to do a lot more than make phone calls. And the younger you are, the fewer your calls. It's now about texting, surfing and playing the social media game. Smart phones have left a trail of "legacy" phones in their dust.


There's another new game in town, the health care reform game. If you've been following a good blog or two, you know the epic proportions to which it's catching on. It's all about EHRs, Meaningful Use, HIEs, ACOs. And smart software is leaving a trail of legacy software in its dust as well.


As a long-time instrument guy, I can say that smart systems are defined as devices that incorporate functions of sensing, actuation and control. They are capable of describing and analyzing a situation, and taking decisions based on the available data in a predictive or adaptive manner, thereby performing smart actions. In most cases the 'smarts' of the system can be attributed to autonomous operation based on closed-loop control, energy efficiency and networking capabilities.


Eye care is, in my opinion, the most complex specialty in all of healthcare. We see more imaging data than any other specialty besides radiology. 'Complete EHR' solutions also include the retail side of business. 

So, what is smart software in eye care? I'd have to say it's software with thought flow. Smart software: 

• anticipates and populates data entry based upon symptoms and diagnoses, which translates into good usability and great speed
• draws from a knowledge base of eyecare best practices
• builds on behavior of predictive outcomes
• ensures that standard-of-care criteria are met
• can be customized for the care level of the practice
• drives consistency across all providers within a practice, aligning their efforts internally

In time, as best-practice standards become established, smart software will also provide advanced types of Clinical Decision Support and help align providers with external pay-for-performance standards. 

Alistair Jackson, M.Ed. 
with guest contributor Jon Dymit, Vice President/General Manager at Walman Instruments