Designing Healthcare Solutions with Microsoft Biztalk Server 2004 (VertiGuide)

Book Description

The main challenge of business process integration is in the design - not in the implementation. A well-designed IT infrastructure creates the agility necessary to compete in today's challenging healthcare market.

Tech edited by Jeff Wierer, Sr. Technical Product Manager at Microsoft, this book explores the techniques and approaches essential to designing sustainable solutions in the healthcare world using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 with the latest standards - HL7 and HIPAA. With this book in hand, you have everything you need to begin designing healthcare solutions with Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 today!

The book is written for anyone who needs to understand how to use Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 and the BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA. Whether you are new to BizTalk Server or the healthcare industry or a seasoned integration professional, this book is for you!

Customer Reviews:

this book changed my life.......2005-03-29

This book was awesome. It was a perfect intro to Biztalk in the Healthcare space. It dealt with common HC industry problems well, and offered clear and useful solutions using Biztalk.

Thank you, Jim Casey, for making my life easier.

At the Right Level for Me.......2005-03-11

This book has an interresting positioning philosophy. It is too technical for the president or board of directors. It is too simplified for the systems analyst who will be implementing a system. For someone inbetween these positions, this is an excellent book.

If you go try to learn about BizTalk at the Microsoft web site it sends you to page after page, written at the two extremes given above. At the teckie level you can download the package and go into it as deeply as you wish. At the high level the discussion is so high that it is almost meaningless, an example: "In today's global economy, companies need to integrate applications, systems, and technologies from a variety of sources." OK, so what?

In this book the authors have presented the BizTalk system with the two specialized packages (Accelerators, whatever those are) that are aimed at the health care marketplace. There's a fairly clear description of what we are trying to do with this software, a bunch of diagrams showing what data goes where, and discussion of what you can do, with a minimal amount of how to do it.

This is a small enough book that you can read it fairly quickly and come away with a fair understanding of the Microsoft philosophy of meeting the HIPAA and HL7 standards.

Use the HL7 / HIPAA online help instead.......2005-02-07

The 250 pages of the book dedicate very little to healthcare solutions in integration problems using BizTalk 2004. Only chapter 8 and 9 are used for this to cover HL7 and HIPAA respectively. And that goes no further (even less) than what can be read from the BizTalk Accelerator products online help.
In the earlier chapters the authors outline the challenges of integration on a superficial level. If you know about it, it is useless, if you don't you won't get much wiser. The same is true for BizTalk itself. It touches a few things but never enough to get you started if you didn't know how to do it already in the first place. For novices you need the BizTalk tutorials or get Scott Woodgate's "BizTalk 2004 Unleased" to understand the BTS2004 architecture and artifacts and how to use them.

The book should have covered practical use of the BizTalk Accelerators and how to make the most of them or circumvent some of their limitations by customizing them. For example, how to modify HL7 schemas to your specification given the rather odd way the Accelerator builds up these schemas from three other parts. It should tell you how to cope with the ways some hospital (mis)use HL7 messages - like adding their own Z-segments, adding more separators than there are fields, how to route on only MSH header fields, ignoring whatever the message body contains (I know - some hospitals work like that!). How to make the very American HL7 messages fit local (german, dutch, french...) versions. How to have application acknowledgement between sender to receiver (works only after a BTAHL7 hotfix). How to use custom pipelines for specific HL7 situations rather than stating it can be done.

It does none of this. It tells in fact nothing new. If you know BizTalk, you can read the accelerator help file and do the tutorials that come with it and you know more than the book will tell you. If you know nothing then this book will not help either. It doesn't even manage to make a proper explanation of a port and its location/pipeline/map components.

The two blurb recommendations of two Microsoft managers on the backcover can only be interpreted as marketing blurb. I doubt they read the book.

Also the book is badly published. Pictures have been copied from the online help or presentations which are in colour. The book is in black and white, resulting in some diagram blocks that are black with black captions. How am I to read that?

There should be a money back policy on this book as this is a total waste of money.

Who needs such a book.......2005-02-01

The first and foremost thing which causes frustration is that a book as big as 700 pages (BizTalk Unleashed) and covers a lot of topics is same as 200 page book (this) with even fewer details when we compare the price. If we were to assume that BizTalk Unleashed is worth (I know for sure this book is not worth what I paid) for what it is then this book is not even worth a couple of dollars.

First let me start with the contents of the book. This book explains fundamental challenges of Health care industry. Nothing new in here. Anyone with common sense/knowledge can see the problems. Next it explains Biztalk 2004 in as few words as possible. Then comes HL7 followed by HIPAA. These two topics are the primary reason why I bought this book and this section is covered in no more than 70 pages with a huge font, few lines and a lot of pictures. IMHO just a few key strokes in Google can get you all the information present in this section (Contact me if you are unsuccessful, I can help you with it if you want to). Also, there are a couple of EDI examples on Scott's blog. I thought for a while and came to a conclusion that I (technical background) might not be the intended reader for this book. Then who could be it? Managers? How can they become managers if they don't have the slightest knowledge of HL7 and HIPAA. So, I don't have a clue as of now the intended readers for this book. May be this is intended as a marketing tool for Biztalk 2004 and accelerators (HL7 & HIPAA)

Conclusion: Basics of BizTalk 2004, HL7 and HIPAA are covered. IMHO anyone without these basics should not work on integration project. I am completely disappointed with the content of this book. I don't recommend this book to anyone. Initially I thought of writing this review tomorrow. But, I woke up from my bed (11:45 PM) to write this review so that no one makes the same mistake as I did after seeing this review.

Book Description

This book examines Mikhail M. Speranskii's attempt to codify Russian law in the 1820 and 1830s -- that was the last major bureaucratic project of this important Russian statesman and an aspect of his long career that has been largely ignored by historians. Based on material from the Manuscript Division of the Russian National Library, the Russian State Historical Archives, and the Archives of the Academy of Sciences (all in St. Petersburg, Russia) a complete picture emerges of the codification efforts.

Book Description

This first volume in The Phanerozoic Geology of the World series devoted to the Palaeozoic is an assemblage of contributions dealing mainly with fragments of the former Gondwana. Data is included which is not readily available elsewhere. Each chapter contains a comprehensive bibliography to serve as a resource base for more detailed study.

Sedimentary Environments Offshore Norway-Palaeozoic to Recent (Norwegian Petroleum Society Special Publications)

Average customer rating:

Sedimentary Environments Offshore Norway-Palaeozoic to Recent (Norwegian Petroleum Society Special Publications)

Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Soil Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0444502416

Book Description

Required reading for geologists working in the offshore areas, Volume 10 continues the series from the Norwegian Petroleum Society.

This work provides an up-to-date review of the late Palaeozoic to present sedimentary history of the Norwegian offshore areas in the North Sea and Mid-Norway basins. Case studies, overview articles and analogue examples from adjacent areas such as Greenland and Denmark, present new ideas on the development of the Norwegian margin from the Carboniferous through the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

In particular, new evidence and interpretations are presented on well-known major reservoir-bearing successions such as the Statfjord Formation and Dunlin Group in the Northern North Sea, and the Åre and the Tilje Formations in the Mid-Norway area. Furthermore, the Upper Jurassic succession in the Haltenbanken area is described, giving new evidence on the interplay between extensional tectonics and sedimentation during the second major rift phase in the area.

The Cretaceous and Cenozoic periods are treated extensively, showing their importance as overall deep water sedimentary systems with proven and potential reservoir rocks, such as in the Ormen Lange Field, and for causing burial of Jurassic rocks to advantageous depths for hydrocarbon generation. The Recent sedimentary history of the Norwegian margin is treated with examples of the glacial history and giant submarine slides which understanding is vital for the placement of offshore installations.

Book Description

The interval between the Carboniferous and Jurassic eras is marked by major changes in the structure and character of the Earth and is associated with massive earthquakes, volcanic activity, and large-scale changes of life at the Permian-Triassic and the Triassic-Jurassic boundaries. In this volume, an international assemblage of geologists reveals a wide range of information about these events in the circum-Pacific region, as a conclusion to International Geological Correlation Programme Project 272. They explore the nature of the changes in the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic, and suggest issues for future investigation through the study of paleontology, biostratigraphy, tectonics, magmatic and volcanic development, ore deposition, paleography and climate. As the circum-Pacific region becomes increasingly important for hydrocarbon and mineral exploration, this book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and students in stratigraphy and paleontology.

2 offprints: Late Glacial and Post-Glacial Changes in the Lower Dee Valley and The Lower Palaeozoic Rocks of the Llangollen District.

Average customer rating:

2 offprints: Late Glacial and Post-Glacial Changes in the Lower Dee Valley and The Lower Palaeozoic Rocks of the Llangollen District.
L J Willis
Manufacturer: Quarterly Journal of Geological Science 1912 - 192.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NKFYEE

THE BRITISH PALAEOZOIC ASTEROZOA: TABLE OF CONTENTS, SUPPLEMENT AND INDEX: PAGES I-XII; PLATES 541-583.

Average customer rating:

THE BRITISH PALAEOZOIC ASTEROZOA: TABLE OF CONTENTS, SUPPLEMENT AND INDEX: PAGES I-XII; PLATES 541-583.

Manufacturer: Palaeontographical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HH80E4

British Palaeozoic Fossils (British Fossils)

Average customer rating:

British Palaeozoic Fossils (British Fossils)
Natural History Museum
Manufacturer: Stationery Office Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

British Palaeozoic fossils (Publication - British Museum)

Average customer rating:

British Palaeozoic fossils (Publication - British Museum)
British Museum (Natural History)
Manufacturer: The Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

BRITISH PALAEOZOIC FOSSILS.
No author.
Manufacturer: British Museum (Natural History)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JSMXRG

Average customer rating:

BRITISH PALAEOZOIC FOSSILS.

Manufacturer: British Museum [Natural History]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CM77R

A CATALOGUE OF THE LOWER PALAEOZOIC FOSSILS IN THE COLLECTION OF MAJOR-GENERAL J.E. PORTLOCK, R.E., LL.D., F.R.S.,F.G.S. ETC.

Average customer rating:

A CATALOGUE OF THE LOWER PALAEOZOIC FOSSILS IN THE COLLECTION OF MAJOR-GENERAL J.E. PORTLOCK, R.E., LL.D., F.R.S.,F.G.S. ETC.

Manufacturer: Ulster Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Catalogs | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000HHA5ME

Book Description

The generation of radiation with well-defined frequency and wavelength, and the ability to precisely determine these quantities, are of fundamental importance in physics and other natural sciences. Monochromatic radiation enables both very accurate structure determinations and studies of the dynamics of living and non-living matter. It is crucial for the realization of standards of time and length, for the determination of fundamental constants, and for many other aspects of basic research.

Bragg backscattering from perfect crystals is a tool for creating, manipulating, and analyzing x-rays with highest spectral purity. It has the unique feature of selecting x-rays with narrow spectral bandwidth. This book describes the theoretical foundations and principles of x-ray crystal optics with high spectral resolution. Various experimental studies and applications are presented and the author also addresses the development of instrumentation, such as high-resolution x-ray monochromators, analyzers, wavelength meters, resonators, and interferometers. The book will be a valuable source of information for all students and researchers working in the field of x-ray optics.

Book Description

Theres something magical about Billy Nolan. Its not just that the Brooklyn bar owner is wickedly handsome; its also that any woman he dates and dumpsand he dumps them allimmediately goes on to marry the next person she meets. But Kate Jameson is immune to Billys charms. She left Brooklyn for upward-mobility in Manhattan at the first chance she got, and shes not about to fall for some cad from the old neighborhood. But when her best friend Binas engagement is broken off, Kate hatches a plan: All she has to do is get Billy to date and dump Bina. Then, theyll wait for Binas wayward fianc to return and for the magic to happen. But the one thing Kate hasnt counted on is how Billy feels about the whole plotand how she begins to feel about Billy. She may have changed her style, but her roots are showing.

Download Description

There's something magical about Billy Nolan. It's not just that the Brooklyn bar owner is wickedly handsome: It's that every woman he dates and dumps (and he dumps them all) immediately goes on to marry the next person she meets.The only woman seemingly immune to Billy's charms is feisty, upwardly mobile, 28-year-old Kate Jameson. She left Brooklyn for Manhattan the first chance she had, and she's not about to fall under the spell of a handsome cad from the old neighborhood. Besides, she's dating the eminently suitable Michael, a rising star in the world of academe. But perhaps the "Billy effect" will work for Kate's best friend, Bina Horowitz, who has fallen apart after her longtime fiancé broke off their engagement in order to work overseas and "explore his singleness."All Kate has to do is get Billy to date Bina and dump her-then wait for her wayward fiancé to return, and watch the magic happen. It's a great plan that at first seems to be working brilliantly. But the one thing Kate hasn't counted on is how Billy feels about it all...and how she begins to feel about Billy.

Customer Reviews:

A great book by Olivia Goldsmith.......2006-11-17

I don't know why this got so little ratings. It was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Very funny with a good storyline. I couldn't put the book down waiting for what would happen next. Lots of suprises and I give it 5 stars!!!!!!

Quite possibly the worst book i have ever read. .......2006-09-02

This is a hideous book, with trite, barely one-dimensional characters, an unlikable, annoying, narcissistic heroine, an inane plot, poor dialog, and unimaginative language. Sadly, I believe the book has been optioned as a movie, good luck chuck, starring Jessica Alba.

This could have been a light, escapist read, but suffers from a lack of editing and an author who's been taking psych one and can't help but casually drop her newfound knowledge, thinly disguised as self-involved introspection by the heroine.

Do not buy this book. Do not check it out from a library. If you find this book on a bench in the park, do the world a favor and recycle it. If you put your mind to it, you could probably write a better, more enjoyable romantic comedy yourself, and believe me, you'd have more fun trying than you would reading Dumping Billy.

Thought It Was Fun and Lighthearted!.......2006-08-20

This is a fun and easy read. While I agree that I could have heard less about Kate's internal battles, they were easy to get through. I found the book fun and upbeat. I enjoyed spending time someplace else. The ending was happy...and why can't we all have a little more happiness?

Title should have been "Dump Kate, PLEASE!".......2006-08-12

Yikes, the pacing of this book was glaciar, the plot predictible, and the "magic" ending ridiculous. I found myself skimming entire pages where the main character is whining about the same thing she just whined about twenty pages back. Enough already; I just wanted to shake some sense into her. The main character really needed to get more humor and less self-importance.

The same themes were mentioned over and over again: dad is alcoholic, unhappy childhood, bad choice of men, Brooklyn is bad, Brooklyn friends are loud and tacky, Max is creepy (never explained why), Michael is stick-in-mud, and Kate is better & smarter than Brooklyn friends. BUT the author never has Kate talking to or visiting her Manhattan female friends or explains how on Billy could possibly forgive Kate for scheming against him and not apologizing for it.

Torn Between Two Boroughs.......2006-06-28

Kate Jameson had a difficult childhood. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her in the care of an alcoholic father. Kate was taken in by the Horowitz family, including big-hearted, no-nonsense Mrs. Horowitz, a surrogate mother figure, and Bina, Kate's best friend. The Horowitzes and Kate's other friends, dubbed the Bitches of Bushwick, all live on the wrong side of the river for Kate, however, and embody everything about Brooklyn that she strove to leave behind. Kate made a new life for herself as a psychologist for an exclusive private school in Manhattan, developing a veneer of sophistication and a new group of polished, educated friends. From her urbane boyfriend to her new best friends, a gay couple, Kate has everything she ever wanted except marriage. She has even learned how to balance her two worlds without ever having them collide.

Then, one night, Bina shows up brokenhearted because the man she thought would propose told her he wanted space instead, and Kate's two lives begin to merge. Her gay friends, Elliott and Brice, begin showing up for baby showers and weddings in Brooklyn, and that's when they hatch their plan to bring Bina's boyfriend back to her. They want her to date Dumping Billy, a bartending, French-speaking Lothario whose ex-girlfriends always wind up marrying the very next man they date. Kate goes along reluctantly, denying the attraction she herself feels for Billy while she and her friends coldly manipulate him for their own ends. When the time comes for Billy to dump Bina, Kate makes her move and starts falling for him herself, plagued by worries that she's just like all the others. That ceases to matter when Billy learns he'd been manipulated, and he dumps Kate for her perfidy. Kate deals with her past and present, feeling bleak about the future until all is put to rights.

While I could relate to some of her emotions, I found Kate an unsympathetic character: snobby, self-righteous, and cold. While her Brooklyn crowd treats her as if she never left the neighborhood, she holds them in contempt for their lack of taste, sophistication, and success. Not only that, she's always so busy being pissed off at everybody for not seeing things her way, she misses important things that are going on in their lives. Bina is genuinely hurt by her boyfriend's behavior, as he nails everything with a pulse in Hong Kong, but Kate never takes the time to actually listen when Bina tries to talk to her, merely telling her to shut up and get him back because they were together for six years. Meanwhile, everyone down to her across-the-hall neighbor is genuinely concerned and interested in Bina's life. Though often mildly amused by their taste, Elliott and Brice develop a genuine affection for Kate's Brooklyn friends and seamlessly integrate themselves into the crowd. I hoped that Kate might come to realize she was superficial and judgmental and become a better person, but was disappointed in that regard. Instead, everything falls into place and she gets everything she wanted without a single epiphany.

Though I found Kate's character arrogant, she was nonetheless well-drawn, as were all the other prominent characters. I also liked this book for the underlying depth that had been missing in a couple of Goldsmith's fluffier books. While I'm glad I don't have to live in Manhattan, it's always fun to visit, and this book does not disappoint.

Average customer rating:

Dumping Billy
Olivia Goldsmith
Manufacturer: Brilliance Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books