Gimme My DaM Data

This video can also be viewed on Vimeo.

The American College of Medical Informatimusicology (ACMImimi.org) is proud to present this collaboration with e-Patient Dave, aka Dave deBronkart, FACMImimi*. Written, performed, produced and edited by our esteemed President and Founder, Ross D. Martin, MD, MHA, FACMImimi, with contributions by the Sons of Artemis (Harry Greenspun, MD, FACMImimi, Ben Greenspun, FACMImimi and Chris Brancato, RRT, RCP, FACMImimi), Todd Park (US CTO), Jamie Heywood (PatientsLikeMe), Danny Sands, MD (Dave's doctor), Kym Martin, FACMImimi, RobotBoy2001, FACMImimi, and a cast of dozens.  Thanks to all who contributed!

*Fellow of The American College of Medical Informatimusicology

Gimme My DaM Data (Data about Me)

Well it's one for the doctor
Two for the nurse
You say you're tryin' to treat me
So don't make me feel worse

Gimme my DaM data
(Data about Me!)
Gimme My DaM Data
(Data about Me!)
Gimme my DaM data
It's all about me so it's mine

You can cut out my heart
Take it to the dump
Feed it to the dogs
Replace it with a pump
You can make me pop pills
Just to keep me alive
But there's one more thing
I gotta have to survive

Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
It's all about me so it's mine

You can knock me out
To treat my gloom
Lock me up
In a rubber room
You can tie me down
And shock my brain
But just one cure's
Gonna ease my pain

Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
It's all about me so it's mine

You can send me your bill
Charge me anything
Drive a nice car
Live like a king
With all the dough
That I pay
Tell me why is it so hard
To get my data right away

Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
It's all about me so it's mine

Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
Gimme my DaM data
It's all about me so it's mine

Ross D. Martin, MD, MHA, FACMImimi
(c)2012 The American College of Medical Informatimusicology

E-N-C-R-Y-P-T

The life of a world-renown Medical Informatimusicologist is both rewarding and exhausting. In his commitment to reaching all peoples within reach of the World Wide Web with memorable, educational and entertaining musical works that focus on the advancement of health information technology, applied informatics and real change in our healthcare system, our President and Founder, Dr. Ross D. Martin, has often been called on short notice to create a musical work that can further these goals.

Ideally, these are purely original works, such as the vaunted HITECH Interoperetta and The Meaningful Use Rap. But there are times the call of duty come so rapidly that there is no opportunity to pen original music and Dr. Martin must instead rely on prior art, adapting a familiar tune to send a new message. The advantage of quick results has its cost - one must honor the intellectual property rights of those artists who worked hard to create iconic, memorable tunes.

In this context, ACMiMiMi is pleased to announce the world premiere of E-N-C-R-Y-P-T, based on the 1965 lyric and music written by Otis Redding and the cover version made famous by Aretha Franklin. It is being performed live today at the 2011 ONC Annual Meeting in Washington, DC by the incomparable Veronda Wright, a former ONCer.

Lyrics are posted below and are free to distribute under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike license. But the performance will not be posted online by ONC to avoid copyright infringement (non-commercial, public performance of a parody passed muster of the legal eagles at HHS). I have created a karaoke soundtrack for the song, so if you would like to perform it somewhere, please send me an email.

Thanks to Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer at ONC, and Laura Rosas from Joy's office for the opportunity to create this work.

To the tune of R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Aretha Franklin version)
Lyrics by Ross D. Martin, MD, MHA
Original song by Otis Redding in 1965
©2011 American College of Medical Informatimusicology
Lyrics shared under Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution/Share-Alike license

(oo) What you got
(oo) Somebody wants it
(oo) What you need
(oo) Somebody has it
(oo) All I'm asking
(oo) Is for a little protection
(just a little bit)
Protection
(just a little bit)
For my information
(just a little bit)
I'm saying
(just a little bit)

I ain't gonna hold you
Back from your business
I ain't gonna slow you down
But you gotta listen
'Cause all I'm asking
Is for a little protection now
(just a little bit)
I'm saying
(just a little bit)
For my information
(just a little bit)
I'm saying
(just a little bit)

I'm about to give you
All my data
And all I'm asking
In return, Doctah
Is make sure it's encrypted
When you send it far from home
(send it, send it, send it, send it)
Yeah, Doctah
(send it, send it, send it, send)
Encrypt it, Doctah
(encrypt, just a-lock it up)
When you send it far from home
(just a-lock it up)

E-N-C-R-Y-P-T
Keep my data safe for me
E-N-C-R-Y-P-T
Respect my privacy

Oh
(move it right, hold it tight,
move it right, hold it tight)
A little encryption
(move it right, hold it tight,
move it right, hold it tight)
Whoa, Doctah
(just a-lock it up)
A little encryption
(just a-lock it up)
When you send it far from home
(just a-lock it up)
It’s easy
(just a-lock it up)
So please don’t do me wrong
(just a-lock it up)
Yeah, Doctah
(just a-lock it up)

E-N-C-R-Y-P-T
Respect my privacy

Remembering 9/10 and the Days that Followed

On this day of remembrance, only the most unaffected among us can help but reflect on where they were and how time in our minds has forever been cleaved into two parts: before the morning of September 11th, 2001 and after. 

Like everyone old enough to retain a memory of that day, I have very distinct memories of where I was (on the Metro North train heading to Grand Central Station) and how the day unfolded. (I was lucky and never made it into the City).

As indelible are the memories of that day--making it home after a time to the juxtaposition of my then six-month old beamish boy Taylor and the images that repeated on the television screen--what I think of more is the night before the world changed.

My friend Peter Frishauf invited me to see Les Paul perform with his trio at one of his weekly gigs at the Iridium. I had to go uptown from 42nd street and got caught in an flash downpour that made every cab in Manhattan vanish, leaving me to walk about 10 blocks. My umbrella was no match against the torrent, the rain bouncing up from the ground to leave me completely drenched.  But even that was a treat as it gave me an excuse to trade my sopping wet dress shirt for a Les Paul t-shirt.

The show was remarkable in so many ways - Les' obviously arthritic hands couldn't play some of the furious riffs of his former years, but his gift for music was still undeniable. Even more, the field of musical gravity that pulled talent from the furthest reaches into his orbit. More than one famous rocker was in the audience that night, there to pay him homage, which he repaid by handing over his guitar and letting them sit in. Suddenly this big, bearded rock star turns into a little boy who has just been handed Superman's cape by the Man of Steel himself and told to try it on for size. I thought he might cry. Instead, he played it with reverence and skill--like the little drummer boy, repaying a gift he had been given with every ounce of his being.

It was an exhilarating, cathartic experience.  One that provided profoundly needed perspective for what followed.

My strongest memories of what followed are from the Friday of that first week--my first day back at work in Manhattan. No one worked, really. We all spent time making sure that everyone was okay and keeping mindful of the continuing uncertainty of when and where the other shoe would drop. Grand Central Station had dramatically changed.  Before 9/11, it represented to me the left ventricle of the world, where hundreds of thousands of people of all colors, shapes and dress traversed each day, pulsed with energy that seemed to flow from sheer momentum to the farthest corners of the world. Now it was a terrorist target, crawling with heavily armed police and soldiers and surrounded by large military trucks to protect it against bombs or chemical attack. 

Since there wasn't much in the way of real work to do, I decided to venture out to see how close I get to ground zero on foot. I had been to the World Trade Center many times, taking my nephew to the observation deck just a month before and attending a two-day conference at the Windows of the World about a month before that. But I had didn't have any true perspective on how close it was from my daily grind.

So I started walking south. The first thing that struck me was how the character of New Yorkers had fundamentally changed. These people notorious for being abrupt and avoiding eye contact with strangers, were purposefully looking directly into one anothers' eyes. "Are you okay? Really, are you? I'm here for you" were the unspoken words exchanged.

Walking through Greenwich Village and Washington Square was perhaps the most surreal part of the journey. The candlelight vigil that had spontaneously formed that first night in the square had grown into an organic memorial of remembrance. And the Village, known more for its only-in-the-Big-Apple unique form of rebelliousness that was distinctly American but hardly patriotic, was shrouded in more American flags than I could possibly count. 

But my first true sign that we would rise from the ashes of this tragedy came at the end of my journey: Houston Street, where a makeshift plywood barrier had been erected that kept all but those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts. There was a carnival of humanity--people milling about slowly, some still clearly in shock, others moving more purposefully. Within this milieu was an unmistakable sign of hope--just three days after this day of unimaginable horror, enterprising merchants had already created buttons and t-shirts commemorating the day. My favorite was one had been created in such haste that the grammar wasn't even correct: "I Survive the Attack" it read.

On further reflection, though, I decided that the use of the present tense was more reflective of our true condition. We do survive the attack and continue to persevere as Americans and as world citizens. Even now, as the long-term repercussions of that fateful day continue to make casualties of our economy, our soldiers and our psyches, we endure.

After 9/11, I wrote "United, We Stand"--one of my Infinite Poetry pieces--as a reflection on the day. You can find a hastily constructed video and recording of the song that I wrote several years later on YouTube. It says simply:

...United, we stand
   Standing, we rise
   Rising, we soar
   Soaring, we're free
   Free, we unite
   United, we stand...

Beginning as it ends, it is designed to continue on in a virtuous cycle that reflects our better selves as Americans. It is this aspect of the American spirit that I continue to strive to emulate. Even in the face of challenge and even decline, we can remain true to what has made us a great nation and people--our unity, our perseverance, and the freedoms we enjoy, which make it all possible.

Spending that night before the world changed with good friends, a soaked shirt, and Les Paul, continues to inspire me to live my life in a manner honoring the spirit of that night and I am ever grateful to have had that special moment.

Not Today

Here's a demo recording of a new song for all of you folks out there who are a little burnt out from working on HITECH, HIT, HIE, EHRs, MU, and all those other exhausting acronyms that have taken over our lives for the last couple of years.  It's all important, but don't forget to take care of yourselves and the people around you...



Hit the snooze button, honey
Doesn't matter rain or sunny
I don't care if the sky is blue or green
Got no doubt we could find
A dozen reasons to grind
Another work-a-day day through the mission machine

We never lack for excuses
For the race we run
We hit the track and take our bruises
But we never get done
Our agenda's on a bender
It's demanding our surrender
And declaring that there's no other way
But even if it's true I say
Not today, not today, not today


Drop that newspaper, baby
It'll make us both crazy
Tryin' to follow all the tragedy and politics
Sure, we need a good solution
For tsunamis and pollution
Still, they're gonna have to wait another day for a fix

Right now my only worry
Is the whistlin' pot
Tellin' me it's time to brew
My baby somethin' hot
But when the sun finally is slippin'
Into somethin' more befittin'
For walk along the beach by the bay
We'll give some time to findin' a way
But not today, no, baby, not today


'Cause today we're gettin' down to
What we never get around to
Our to-dos will be infused with
Lots of time for me 'n' you
We can't wait another day
Or watch the hours waste away
So hurry up and turn it down without delay


So turn the tube off, my love
'Cause we've had more than enough
Of all that stuff they call reality on TV
The only thing I know for real
Is your Buddha smile
And the way you make me feel
When it shines a while
Though I suppose in some scenario
You could decide it's time to go
And as you turn to walk away
I'll turn you back gently to say
Not today
No baby not today
Not today, not tomorrow
Don’t you never, ever go away
No baby not today

© 2011 Ross D. Martin, MD, MHA
4/30/2011

NCPDP Telecom Island

Our esteemed President and Founder, Dr. Ross D. Martin, was recently called upon to provide his informatimusicology services for the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP). You may recall that one of Dr. Martin's earliest informatimusicology works was a song for NCPDP's 30th anniversary, "The Legend of Bob the DERF."  This time, Charlie Oltman of Target Corporation was to receive the Benjamin D. Ward Distinguished Member Award. He wanted a song about the NCPDP Telecommunications Standard to work into his acceptance speech and had drafted some words to the tune of the theme song for Gilligan's Island. 

Dr. Martin was far too busy for such an engagement, but wanted to help his venerated colleague. They agreed to an exchange wherein Mr. Oltman would make a donation to Dr. Martin's new pet project, Launch: An Emerging Artist Fellowship (more on this in a later post) in exchange for Dr. Martin editing and recording the song for NCPDP's Annual Conference award ceremony.

Here are the lyrics and the MP3 for "Telecom Island" published for posterity.  Those unfamiliar with the esoteric content will simply have to join NCPDP for enlightment. 

"Telecom Island"
(With apologies to Gilligan and Friends)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
Of a telecom journey
That started out with UCF’s
At N-C-P-D-P
At N-C-P-D-P

3.2 had a mighty run
Then 5.1 endured
As hundreds joined in all the fun
For a another HIPAA tour

Then HIPAA started getting rough
Our tiny DERFs got tossed
If not for the members and the fearless staff
Our standards would be lost
Our standards would be lost

Our Council set its sites on making sense of HIPAA II
Like Benjamin D Ward, to
Our mission we stayed true
Our mission we stayed true

In no time we had made the move
To version D-dot-Oh
Now we prepare for HIPAA III
We'll see how far we go

Remember this one rule
If you should let your cell phone ring
You'll have to tell a joke or dance
Or worse you'll have to sing
Or worse you'll have to sing

So join the fun four times a year
To get the chance to see
Our President
Her yeoman Staff
The Co-Chairs and the Board
The Task Group Leads
And the rest
Here at N-C-P-D-P

ACMI News: HITECH Interoperetta MP3 Now Available

A fan of the YouTube video "HITECH: An Interoperetta in Three Acts" recently requested a copy of the MP3.  ACMI does not know the intended use, but assumes that said fan is intent on world domination and plans to widely distribute the vocal musings of our President and Founder, Dr. Ross D. Martin, as a cover for subliminal messages that will cause the listener to helplessly follow the bidding of said fan. 

For the record, neither ACMI nor its President and Founder condone the use of medical informatimusicology as an instrument of evil or for the purposes of attaining world domination whether for good or evil intent.  But, as the Interoperetta was distributed under a Creative Commons license, we feel obligated to distribute the MP3 file as requested.  We do fear for the world, however, as the awesome power of medical informatimusicology, and the Interoperetta in particular, is undeniable; such a malicious use will undoubtedly be successful unless proper precautions are taken. 

While it would be best for the purpose of avoiding world domination by said fan to recommend that any person receiving a copy of the MP3 file that has been injected with subliminal messages immediately delete the file, this would be an unacceptable solution as unaltered copies of the MP3 might also be deleted in the process, an outcome which is counter to the mission of ACMI. 

A more palatable solution is to make use of the well-known surgical adage, "The Solution to Pollution is Dilution."  ACMI recommends that every person on the planet take the following simple precautions:

1. Download the original, unaltered MP3 file at: http://www.rossmartinmd.com/files/mp3/HITECHfinal.mp3 
2. Listen to the Interoperetta a minimum of 17 times. 

Our research has shown that persons who follow this procedure are effectively inoculated against even subtle alterations to the file, thus making them immune to subliminal messaging.  We estimate that if at least 85% of the world's population follows this procedure, it will create something akin to a "herd immunity" and save the world.

Please note that, in making this public announcement, ACMI and its leadership are effectively released of any liability resulting from personal injury or world domination in the event that the above recommendations are not precisely followed.  We will, however, accept awards, prizes, and other suitable accolades for foiling the nefarious plans of said fan. 

The Legend of Bob the DERF

From the ACMI Archives:

The Legend of Bob the DERF

Click here to listen to the song

The College has received several solicitations from potential members - requesting reviews of health IT related lyrics or recordings.  We thought it would be instructive to bring out some of the original works that led to the establishment of the College.  There is no better place to start than at the very beginning...

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP), is an ANSI-accredited standards development organization focused on pharmacy-related electronic information transactions headquarted in Scottsdale, Arizona.  In 2005, Dr. Ross Martin offered to compose a song for NCPDP for their Annual Conference.  His offer was accepted and a sponsor stepped forward to support the recording and reproduction costs for a CD.  Special thanks go to Lee Ann Stember, NCPDP's President, for sponsoring the song.  The lovely and talented Eric Schwartz (WARNING: he is brilliant, but uses his powers for evil, so his site is not for those of sensitive dispositions) produced and recorded the song, adding many of the vocals and most of the instrumentation.  Dr. Martin performed the song twice at the conference and several hundred copies of the CD, now considered a collector's item among devoted informatimusicologists, were distributed.  

The song, "The Legend of Bob the DERF," tells the tale of how we moved from our darker days of winner-takes-all standards setting to our current consensus process.  Those unfamiliar with NCPDP and its methods may be curious of the meaning of the term DERF.  It stands for "Data Element Request Form" and is the main document used in the NCPDP standards development process to establish or modify a standard.  Many who heard the song and are familiar with the history of NCPDP opined that the two characters depicted in the song - Bob the DERF and Margaret, aka, The Wacker - bore striking similarities to two long-time members of NCPDP, Bob Beckley of Surescripts and Margaret Weiker of EDS, both of whom are known for their strong leadership and equally strong opinions, which have occasionally put them at odds with one another, creating some of the more tense moments experienced at workgroup meetings.  Their southern accents and Margaret's diminutive stature (she is rumored to be around 4' 5" tall, though no one has had the kahunas to actually measure her or ask) provided reinforcement for some of these opinions.  In fact, the characters portrayed in the song are not based on any known individuals, living or dead.  Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' fer a fight!

The Lyrics:

Way back a hunert years ago
In a desert land devoid of snow
’Fore Scottsdale started dottin’ any maps
Snake Oil Salesmen roamed the West
Pitchin’ potions from their treasure chests
And shaftin’ any sucker wearin’ chaps

There was one man who had a dream
’Bout raisin’ druggists’ self esteem
By protectin’ the apothecary’s turf
He saw that standards were the key
For improvin’ drugstore quality
That man was known by all as Bob the DERF

Now any tale worth bein’ told
Includes a woman, guns or gold
Our hero’s rival ponied up all three
Margaret was her given name
But winnin’ gunfights brought her fame
So the name “The Whacker” fit her to a tee
And ev’ry time The Whacker flashed her gold incisor in a grin
The undertaker knew he’d soon be callin’ next of kin

CHORUS:
Hoo-ee ’n’ Yippee-ki-ee
Before the NCPDP
Consensus was a notion seldom found
Hoo-ah ’n’ Yippee-ki-yaw
The fastest shot laid down the law
The other laid down six feet underground

Now The Whacker had her standards too
And had in mind just what to do
To make sure things got done by her own rule
She called on Bob the DERF and said,
“You lily-livered pudd’nhead
It’s my way or the highway, ya’ dang fool!”

She knew her taunts would be enough
To razz him so he’d call her bluff
He slammed his whiskey down as if on cue
“Well we’ll just see ’bout who’ll be number one
High noon, tomorrow – bring your gun
But I’d skip town tonight if I was you!”

The bookies laid odds eight-to-five
The Whacker’d make it through alive
Her dead-eye aim was known throughout the land
It’s true that Margaret had her chance
But once they started in to dance
The DERF felt sure he’d be the last to stand
And so they set the stage to see whose standards would prevail
One slinger’d see sweet victory – and one the gates of Hell

REPEAT CHORUS

The clock chimed twelve – the wind was still
Too scared to see red rivers spill
And learn who’d bite the dust who’d survive
The two stepped out into the street
To face their fate at fifty feet
Then in a flash their pistols came alive

Bob the DERF’s resolve came through
His steady hand shot straight and true
A normal foe no doubt would have been dead
But one fact he failed to calculate –
The Whacker stood at four-foot-eight
And so her Stetson flew clean off her head

The DERF’s luck went from bad to worse
Didn’t even have a chance to curse
As The Whacker’s dental work gleamed through her smile
Her single shot was on the mark
It pierced his heart – the sky went dark
Right there he fell into a bloody pile
And as he died, The Whacker cried, “Oh, help me, Lord above!
All in the name of standards, I’ve just killed my one true love!”

REPEAT CHORUS

She lay her pistol down and swore upon her golden tooth
Consensus now will be pursued in healthcare’s quest for truth
“No longer will our blood be shed for standards to be set
We’ll gather round and talk until a compromise is met”

So now you know just how we formed the NCPDP
And how this modern standards settin’ process came to be
And after endless hours of meetings why my eyes will glaze
I’m dreamin’ ’bout how things got done back in those glory days when…

REPEAT CHORUS

Words by Ross Martin
Music by Eric Schwartz and Ross Martin
Lead vocals: Ross Martin
Background vocals: Ross Martin and Eric Schwartz
All instruments and sequencing: Eric Schwartz
Produced and engineered by Eric Schwartz, Claritone Music
Special thanks to Kevin So

United, We Stand - Reimagining an Anthem for our Nation

The American College of Medical Informatimusicology normally focuses exclusively on the intersection of healthcare, informatics and music.  On occasion, however, we discard the shackles of protocol and discuss other topics of interest among Fellows of the College.  Our President and Founder, Dr. Ross Martin, recently made this submission, which we readily accepted in anticipation of our nation's upcoming independence celebration. 

A couple of weekends ago, PRI’s Studio 360 asked listeners to think about updating a couple of our traditional icons as we approach our annual 4th of July celebrations. One was Uncle Sam – what would a “mascot” for our nation look like today? The other, our National Anthem (which, according to one pole, 27% of Americans believe has a last line of “And the home of the brave… Play Ball!”).

I personally like our National Anthem a lot – it is a beautiful song with brave and poetic lyrics. But it is undeniably a challenge to sing for all but the upper tier of vocalists, with its greater than 1½-octave range (for perspective, Madonna never sings anything with more than a one-octave range, not that this is a shining example, but I hear she has made some money as a singer).

So last weekend, I posted a reimagining of the National Anthem in response to the Studio 360 challenge based on some Infinite Poetry® I wrote after 9/11. Let me know what you think… The song and a quickly assembled video are posted on YouTube.

It’s a simple song with only five lines that intuitively cycle back on themselves, so they are easy to remember:

…United, We Stand
Standing, We Rise
Rising, We Soar
Soaring, We’re Free
Free, We Unite
United, We Stand…

The simplicity of the song makes it easy to add parts, variations on the theme and personal interpretations—which reflects, to me, the bedrock of what makes our nation such a compelling and inspirational place: simple principles that allow for diversity and creative growth to live in harmony.

If you like it, please vote for it (you may have to join the group to vote). You can also leave a comment or “like” the video (you will need a Google or YouTube account).

Thanks for taking a look. If my submission is one of their favorites, it will be mentioned on the show this holiday weekend. Fame and fortune are sure to follow, so my future is in your hands…

;-)

Happy 4th!