I’ve been busy.
Ok, I jest – busy is an understatement.
I’ve been really busy, with quite a fair bit of things. Things that in my humble opinion, is meaningful (well, to a certain extend… lol)
So what have I been busy with? Let me start with HIMSS.
On the international level, I’m serving on the CPHIMS Technical Committee and we are working on a bunch of stuff. However, the ‘load’ is manageable so no complaints there.
On the local level, I’m busy with;
- HIMSS Asia Pacific 2012, which will be held in Singapore (where I am based)
- I am a Speaker this year but preparation of the slides didn’t take too much time (I’d be presenting on the 18th Sep so catch me at the Interoperability track)
- HL7 Singapore (where I am serving as Vice-Chair) is a supporting Organisation, so there are some minor duties there
- I also initiated a joint networking event (essentially tapping on the HIMSS Asia Pacific networking event for HL7 Singapore members) and I took on quite a fair bit of responsibility in organising the event (logistical, liaison with internal and external parties) – there is a lot of work involved but thankfully, there are members of HL7 Singapore helping out too
- I’m serving as the Interoperability Showcase Manager for HIMSS Asia Pacific 2012. I’m not going into details but there is a TON of work involved (and I just finished a related telcon)
- I almost served as the instructor for the CPHIMS review course but couldn’t as I serve on the actual CPHIMS Technical Committee (there was a potential ‘conflict of interest’ since I had ‘access’ to the actual exam questions) so I’m kind of glad I didn’t take it up (I’ve no time)
- There is also the NYP-HIMSS Centre of Excellence, which focuses on Nursing Informatics.
- I’m not going to reveal too much but I am the only member of the organising team that is not from NYP or HIMSS (no, I’m not representing any solution provider). There is a decent level of ongoing work (I just had another Telcon earlier this afternoon)
The above is just HIMSS. Let me share some of the recent stuff I’ve been doing for HL7 Singapore.
As the lead for HL7 Singapore’s Education Sub-Committee (in addition to the Vice-Chair of the society), I recently delivered a lecture on “Interoperability in Healthcare IT” at a local university (one that I do not teach on a regular basis).
In addition, immediately after HIMSS Asia Pacific 2012 would the Annual General Meeting for HL7 Singapore and I am helping to clear the administrative paperwork as I am the Vice-Chair (e.g. Audit – which is a lot of work) plus helping with the organisation of the actual AGM as I also serve as a member of the Communications Sub-Committee. I would also be the host of the AGM (so catch me there).
That’s just Singapore, I’m also helping a few countries in the region with their initiatives in setting up their local HL7 Chapters and/or helping to raise awareness on HL7 Standards + concepts on semantic interoperability. That’s a fair bit of work.
Contributing to HIMSS and HL7 is meaningful as I am helping to bring awareness and help build capabilities on good robust standards like IHE and of course – HL7’s Standards – which will be free, which is beneficial not only to Singapore but also the region.
I’ve not touch on other professional societies that I am contributing to like AMBIS ( national representative body to IMIA) and more (not just one or two more, quite a few more).
The good thing is, September is a ‘lax’ period for my studies (I am doing 2 masters program at the same time – both from rigorous UK universities) so I devoted allocated ‘study time’ to the sudden influx of ‘duties’ to Professional Societies.
Of course, there many more stuff that keeps me busy like speaking at conferences, lecturing (I teach at both companies and in-house on topics pertaining to ehealth) and writing (I’m starting on my 3rd book but I did realised I have not written much articles since June).
And yes – for the curious – I do have a job (as an educator and a consultant on ehealth) since the above activities are done pro bono (yes – I do not get paid for all these, its my personal contribution to the Healthcare Informatics industry in Singapore / ASEAN).
Note: I usually allocate 30% of my time for Pro Bono work although the involvement for this month way exceeds the 30%.
Of course, if you know of any major MNC dealing in Healthcare IT who is willing to sponsor me to contribute to the industry – send them my way! Until then, I actually have to work so I can pay my bills (passion is one thing, reality where one has to make a living is another).
Fortunately, I’m pretty good with what I do for a living (consulting and teaching) so I’m making enough money (not much but enough) that allows me to keep doing what I’m doing – contributing via the above (and work done via binaryHealthCare – there are more stuff that keeps me busy there).
And yes, I do maintain some sort of a social life (I do have friends you know).
So how do I manage all this? – a REALLY supportive wife and a wonderful daughter (I did mentioned about having a family didn’t I. They keep me busy at times too) plus really good time / project management skills (I am a certified Project Manager afterall.. lol).
Phew, that was a long blog post.
Oh yeah, I do apologise for the somewhat “lack of buzz” for this year’s International PACS Administrators’ Day. I was hoping that the Ambassadors for the event would do more but I guess I’ll have to ‘fix it’ after September.
However, right now, I’m getting all excited about HIMSS Asia Pacific, not because I’d be speaking at the event but because I know I’ll be catching up with friends from all over the world!
3 more days to go till HIMSS Asia Pacific 2012. See you there!
BinaryHealthCare (BNHC) 