Presentation Title: An Overview of the Challenges to the Effective Use of Semantic Technologies in Healthcare

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Abstract: Semantic web technologies have been proposed, explored, reviewed, touted and criticized for a number of years, but have yet to become part of "mainstream" IT solution sets in healthcare.  In this presentation, Dr. Vogel explores the challenges of bringing semantic technologies into the "real world" of healthcare information technology. In considering how to make these technologies more "effective", he highlights the importance of integrating research processes into the clinical workflow, of attempting to work with highly proprietary data models and architectures, and in general of working to change paradigms of data management that have been in place for more than twenty years.

Biography: Lynn Harold Vogel, Ph.D., is Vice President and Chief Information Officer at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (UT-MDACC) in Houston, Texas, the world’s largest and consistently one of the highest rated facilities devoted to prevention, research, and the care and cure of cancer.  M. D. Anderson has been named to the CIO100 list of the most innovative IT organizations, to the top 100 of InformationWeek's Top 500, and as the inaugural recipient of the Transformation Leadership Award, jointly by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the Center for Healthcare Transformation.  Dr. Vogel has also been named as one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders, and was awarded one of ten “Best in Class” designations for his work in bridging clinical care and research through information technology.  This past year, MDACC was honored by Computerworld as a leader in the healthcare industry by designation as a Computerworld Laurate and by awarding the institution its prestigious 21st Century Achievement Award in Healthcare.

Dr. Vogel is also Associate Professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at UT-MDACC, and Adjunct Professor of Management at The University of Texas School of Public Health.  At UT-MDACC, Dr. Vogel serves as the senior IT executive managing a 700+ person IT division.  He also serves as a faculty member for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) CIO Boot Camp experience.

Dr. Vogel’s education at the bachelor’s, masters and doctoral level was completed at The University of Chicago.  He is a Fellow, Charter Member and currently Trustee of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), a member and Fellow of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and a member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA).

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