The definition of irony
ORLANDO, Fla.—Today in the press room at the HIMSS conference was the following media advisory:
IBM Unveils Healthcare Island on Second Life
3:30 p.m. EST, Feb. 27, 2008
IBM Booth # 5563—HIMSS
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FloridaIBM will unveil its Virtual Healthcare Island on Second Life at this event. The IBM Virtual Healthcare Island is a unique, three-dimensional representation of the challenges facing today’s healthcare industry and the role information technology will play in transforming global healthcare-delivery to meet patient needs. Visiting “avatars” experience the private and secure creation of a functioning Personal Health Record as they progress through the island’s various stations, including a medical laboratory, clinic, pharmacy, hospital, and emergency room.
All this is from IBM. You know, the company that paid millions to air the following commercial during the Super Bowl:
There you have it, the definition of irony. Either that, or yet another reason to believe PHRs in their current state are mostly vaporware.
Not just irony, but swift irony. I mean, is the halftime show even over yet?The funny thing is that Second Life actually got monetized pretty quickly. A friend (like a real one) knows a couple that graduated with architectural degrees but couldn’t find work. They ended up designing homes on Second Life for real bucks. Enough that they quit looking for “real” work. That was the first time I had even heard of Second Life. It didn’t become a cultural phenomenon until sometime later.Maybe PHRs would work just fine as long as you restrict the patient population to homo silicanus.