This appeared in Tuesday's Hardhats and responded directly and got a quick response which I wish to share with the list because I believe that it is important, particularly for healthcare, to reform the MUG/MTA organization in order to extract the benefits from the thirty year effort of the Community that is needed by society. It is not to be implied that the effort will "Be as it always used to be" but will, rather, reflect the spirit that was always in this community and which is now sorely needed by both society and healthcare (US and worldwide). Octo's effort was always the stimulus and this celebration in Boston, for those who are able to attend should also be seen as a celebration by the rest of us and as a call to address issues facing healthcare in particular.
Since Rick, as an officer in WorldVistA, is in my back yard and the VistA architecture is one example of the value of the (M)UMPS data management environment, their efforts should be as collaborative as is possible to make known all of the other related products and services based upon this environment. Much of the rest of the world has no idea of these contributions and how to place them into an "Enterprise View and Life Cycle Principles" context rather than the fragmented, "magic bullet" context commonly perceived. Each "bullet" contributes but not just in isolation but rather in context. The M community's John Glaser has expressed this context
in general terms in his Strategic Planning book. The M community and all of those active NE MUG members that have, and are, building on Octo's legacy need to pay true tribute by showing how the collaborative legacy of Octo's (and a whole host of others) efforts is leading to true positive changes that are now needed. The value of the (M)UMPS Community expression of this legacy is that it is all around us and permanent. It is also not just technology based, as some might represent, but rather comprehensive.
I therefore support NE MUG's celebration and will work with that organization as one member of the PNW segment to lead to an active re-activation of the Community and its efforts and activities and to recognize all of those who have contributed to its legacy.
___________________________________________________________ From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Jan 19 09:20:09 2005 Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:20:08 -0800 (PST) From: A. Forrey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] +$H=60000 pioneers recognition event at the MGH Holiday Inn, April 9
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[ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]Heidi:
With respect to the Hardhats, I have urged them to work with NE MUG in resurrecting the MUG/MTA here in the US and to do this conucrrently as part of a WorldVistA/Hardhats joint effort in collaboration with NE MUG. Here at UW we have noted Octo's contribution to the EHR in our EHR Web (http://www.ehrweb.org) site. I have asked Octo for some images of MGH and himself for this web page but havent yet heard. I also would put links to the NE MUG->MUG/MTA resurrection web information and insert other information about how the MUG/MTA community contributes to the achivement of the EHR if such information is sent. The MUG/MTA organization has a key role to play in showing how the (M)UMPS data management environment contributes to the implementation platform infrastructure via its historic emphasis on standards that began in 1972 with the MUMPS standard effort via the MDC; the MDC MUST be resurrected and activated as soon as practible. The MDC must be re-tied in with both the ANSI and ISO processes and their links to healthcare informatics issues. The NE MUG->MUG/MTA must be given a key role in depicting the relationship of the standardized data management infrastructure and what the VA (and federal healthcare sector)
was able to achieve with VistA. The NE MUG->MUG organizational contribution can be the forum by which the separate VistA and other implemented health care enterprise information architectures in (M)UMPS are explained to society through realting conceptual content to the fetaures of (M)UMPS. This is exactly the context that we here at UW and the PNW want to explain in our educational setttings and it provides the context for explaining how to use the various technologies in productive ways rather than this (or that) technology is THE answer to all implementations. Before its disassembly, the MUG/MTA forum was as leading player in that perspective and this must be quickly regained into the new context.
Octo could certsinly tell this story to the federal ONCHIT and how it could benefit healthcare; there are certainly many others in the Boston area who could contribute to this story and the national investment that brings benefits worldwide. Please let me know how to contribute to this re-activation through work with the PNW MUMPS community here and in the educational system. This should be more than just a retrospective celebration of a past achievement, it should be the launch of a very valuable prospective resource setting for healthcare to get to the state that Octo and others saw almost 50 years ago. (M)UMPS is not "old" as many maintain but rather it has been ahead of the curve for years because it has involved many key people over that time and its now time to take the ball and run like hell! The (M)UMPS commnity has always been ahead of the world in knowing that working together always yields much more than working separately and it has a solid record of evidience to illustrate that reality which is sorely needed as the route to the world problems. Just the effort in healthcare alone can illustrate that principle and the people are in place to provide that example. I'll be interested in NE MUG's thoughts on that and will work to restoke the boilers here in the PNW.
Arden W. Forrey PhD Dept of Restorative Dentistry University of Washington School of Dentistry
206-616-1875 Phone 206-543-7783 FAX
On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
So, yes, it isn't 60000, it's 59999, but who wants to celebrate on Sunday night!
Some of us in the Boston area are putting together an event that will honor our pioneers, nurturers and entrepreneurs. It's been almost 40 years, but we thought this would be a fun date to have the event. Octo Barnett suggested the Holiday Inn Select at Government Center in Boston, right next to the MGH, and the site of the first MUG meeting for our venue. We have secured the site and we are planning the program.
The NEMUG web site will have information as we get closer to the time. We hope you will consider joining in our celebration.
The MUMPS Celebration committee
Joe Crisifulli, NEMUG Elena Dobrynina, Partners Healthcare and NEMUG board Michael Gosselin, NEMUG board Heidi Pape Laird, Highland Laboratories and NEMUG Chair Bob Macauley, Partners Healthcare and NEMUG John Paladino, InterSystems Corporation Marilyn Paterno, Partners Healthcare and NEMUG Gardner Trask, Joel Solon, InterSystems Corporation
From,
Heidi Heidi Pape Laird Chair, NEMUG New England M (and Caché) Users Group _www.nemug.org_ (http://www.nemug.org/) "The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them." - Robert Frost
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 08:14:12 -0800 (PST)
From: A. Forrey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] +$H=60000 pioneers recognition event at the MGH
Holida...Heidi:
Of course you can pass on my comments. I will access the NEMUG website and I hope that you can put me on the listserve so I can forward interesting items on to our NW group as we rebuild our e-mail list. I will also forward my comments on to WorldVista and to the Hardhats. Please let me know of activities or issues in which I might be able to contribute or enlist other in the PNW to contribute.
On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Arden,
Your email would work very well for our NEMUG mailing list. Would you like
to join or can I send it out? Our list goes out to around 100 people in the
NEMUG interest area. I don't know who is on the list, Anthony Pilozzi
administers it through Intersystems mail list server. It would be perfect for a
discussion to start.
Please let me know if I may pass it on, or if you want to join at _www.nemug.org_ (http://www.nemug.org)
Octo is in his 80s and is busy with all sorts of communities besides MUMPS from what I hear.
I will pass your letter on to others who are interested as well.
Your message of looking to the future is very important. I am working in
DTM on DOS and we are moving to Caché on Windows and Linux. It is a challenge
to move the MUMPS into talking with html and javascript and using classes and
objects, but it is important. I am able to use my legacy code with these
interactions.
thanks for writing.
Heidi Heidi Pape Laird Chair, NEMUG New England M (and Caché) Users Group _www.nemug.org_ (http://www.nemug.org/) "The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them." - Robert Frost
Heidi Heidi Pape Laird Highland Laboratories, Inc. 159 Chestnut St. Ashland, MA 01721-1850 Wk # 508 881-1570x12 508 881-5862 (direct) 800 442-1599 Mobile: 781 424-9892 Home Off: 781 934-2171
