My New Year's Resolutions - 2011

My 2011 New Year's resolutions are summarized in a single word - equanimity.

Webster's defines it as "Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, esp. in a difficult situation."

Wikipedia defines it "a state of mental or emotional stability or composure arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment.".  

Many religions highlight the concept of equanimity.   Buddhism, which comes closest to my own feelings about religion, notes

"Neither a thought nor an emotion, it is rather the steady conscious realization of reality's transience. It is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. While some may think of equanimity as dry neutrality or cool aloofness, mature equanimity produces a radiance and warmth of being. The Buddha described a mind filled with equanimity as abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will."

How will I strive for equanimity in 2011?

Family
 Wife - As my wife and I transition to empty nesters, we'll spend more time outdoors each day, walking for health and talking for mental health.
 Parents - I'll ensure their physical and mental well being are maximized by enhancing coordination among their healthcare providers.  I've already provided them with enough information about meaningful use to ensure they ask for care summaries after each encounter and transition.
 Daughter  - My wife and I will support my daughter as she blossoms into a collegiate woman.
 Self - Though exercise, a continued vegan diet, and a celebrating the joys of the world we live in, I'll keep myself physically and mentally fit.

Federal
 In 2011, via meetings of the HIT Standards Committee, the HIT Policy Committee, the Direct Project,  and their related workgroups (including the PCAST workgroup being formed), we'll ensure that the country has unambiguous content, vocabulary and transmission standards with appropriate security to support care coordination, population health, and other novel uses of health data.  I'll do whatever I can to bring outstanding open issues to closure.

State
 In 2011, we'll put the governance in place to support the procurement we need to ensure every provider, payer, and patient in the Commonwealth is connected to healthcare data.  I'll do whatever I can to break down barriers and accelerate enablers that support this goal.

Harvard Medical School
 In 2011, I'll focus on supporting all my stakeholders but especially the research community via governance committees.   I'll do whatever I can to build trust and enhance communication with faculty, staff, and students with scientific computing needs.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
 In 2011, I'll focus on governance committees and the new BIDMC Project Management Office to ensure that departments requesting new projects define their requirements formally before presenting projects to governance committees for prioritization.   I'll do my best to balance supply and demand, leveraging the wisdom of committees and workgroups to objectively decide which projects will be done and which will not.   Of all my efforts to achieve equanimity , this one is the hardest since the measure of its success will be the projects not done and the stakeholders successfully told "not now".

If I can achieve equanimity in an era of meaningful use, healthcare reform,  competition for resources, accelerating change, and ever increasing expectations for rapid innovation, I will have achieved my New Year's resolution for 2011!