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Congratulations! We have a new buzzword trending in health care IT - Public APIs.  You can say public APIs everywhere you used to say interoperability. You can also replace the very unprofessional “EHRs can’t talk to each other” with “EHRs lack public APIs”. People will nod in solemn agreement, and you will sound very informed and up to date on the latest developments, but just in case you encounter the quintessential child inquiring about the king’s rather scant wardrobe, here is a little background information. (Very) Brief Introduction to Public APIs API stands for application programming interface. Yes, interface, like the ones you have with your claims clearinghouse or your lab service provider or pharmacies. There are several ways to classify APIs, but for our discussion, we only need to consider two types of APIs: data APIs and services APIs. Data APIs are the simplest, and go something like this: software A sends a request for information to software B, and software B sends...

Physicians, whether practicing medicine or not, should not be involved in clinical research. They should never be consulted on development of new drugs and medical devices. Doctors should not invent new treatments, and should never supervise clinical trials. They should not travel to or speak at conferences either, and they should banish all entrepreneurial notions out of their heads. If they insist on engaging in these activities, they should do it all for free, out of the goodness of their Hippocratic heart. A medical degree should immediately disqualify you from making money in the health care industry, which is a privilege reserved for technocrats, business executives and garden variety ex-political appointees. Matt Bai, a veteran political journalist, wrote a new book titled “ All The Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid ”, where he is attempting to pinpoint the demise of serious political journalism to the Gary Hart scandal of 1987. If you recall, Mr. Hart, the all but ce...