Today marked a bit of a milestone for me in that my company issued pedometer died. I’ve been walking with it non-stop since 2004 - it was my permanent company brand. The thing about pedometers is that you can’t really buy them easily, but you can get them because so many organizations give them away. So today, courtesy of the Clinical Systems Improvement Group in the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygeine, I got rebranded. I’m still trying to evangelize the walking meeting here, but I admit it’s a little hard if the humidity is at a level that makes you want to duck into the nearest air conditioned space.

I spent the morning in the South Bronx, visiting one of the Institute’s facilities and meeting with leaders of Urban Health Plan, and then in the afternoon with folks from Clinical Systems Improvement. I will detail that information on the PCHIT blog when it’s up.

One thing I notice about New York is that people walk as fast as I do here (well, some of them do). It’s good that I can count my steps again.

Bookmarks that cover the reading I have been doing on generational differences, and new blogs springing up by physicians who are practicing differently.

October 2nd through October 3rd:

• Running a hospital: Gotta love this one - Another example (from a great blog) of differing expectations of interactions between generations. Adding to my GenY link set.
• OMG! You’ve Got Cancer - WIRED Article on Jay Parksinson, MD
• jayparkinsonmd - Another new age physician who posts about his patient experiences online.
• Pioneering Ideas: Health 2.0: The Doctor is Not Ready to See You Yet - Commentary following the Health 2.0 conference (which I was not at). Another allusion to Generation Y, this time called “The Facebook Generation.” I called them the “MySpace Generation.” Same thing.
• Scott Shreeve, MD: Concierge Physicians: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - A blog about Health2.0 with a nice definition and commentary. Good to see colleagues in the field.
• DailyKaizen » Generation Y Will Demand LEAN - Post from the DailyKaizen Blog about Generation Y and LEAN, from 2006
• The Online NewsHour: Generation Next | PBS - PBS Documentary on GenY, aired in September, 2007
• Generation Y at Work - Fortune Magazine - Article from Fortune in May, 2007
• USATODAY.com - Generation Y: They’ve arrived at work with a new attitude - Article from USA Today About them

Yesterday, Neil Calman brought me to meet with the Primary Care Information Project Group to follow-up on work his team has been doing to leverage the Institute’s EHR to support public health. I was only briefly introduced to the work they are doing, but I will of course want to learn more. A Personal Health Record system is part of their plans. I was given a nifty Electronic Health Records Action Kit by the group, which puts together the rationale for going electronic very nicely.

There is not yet a personal health records action kit that I can see, but judging from the quality of the EHR kit, I think they’ll do a good job with this one when it’s produced. The team was very welcoming of new ideas and I was also impressed at their interest in understanding the EHR and how to leverage it to maximize the community’s health. It seems like a very nice partnership.