Wirelysis

Stop Reading, Start Learning: My 10 Favourite NotebookLM Prompts for PDFs

2026-08-05T09:41:37.084+05:30

I used to spend 45 minutes reading a report cover-to-cover — only to realize the 3 sentences that actually mattered were buried on page 37.

Now I get those 3 sentences - plus the context, the caveats, and a plan of action — in under 5 minutes.

The tool is Google's NotebookLM. Unlike general AI chatbots, NotebookLM is grounded entirely in your sources — it only answers from what you upload, so no hallucinations.

But grounding only gets you halfway there. The other half is the prompt. A vague prompt gets you a vague summary. A sharp prompt turns a 50-page report into a working asset.

Here are the 10 prompts I go back to every time — organized by what I'm actually trying to do with the document.

How to use these prompts

Once you've uploaded your PDF to a new Notebook, head to the chat interface. Copy and paste the prompt, replacing the bracketed information [like this] with your specific details. For the best results, use the 'Pin' feature to save the most important responses for future reference.

Section 1: For Quick Understanding (The “First Read”)

Prompt 1.1 — The Beginner-Friendly Summary

PROMPT

Summarize this PDF about [topic] for a [beginner/student/business owner/general reader].

Include:

• The PDF's main purpose

• Five key ideas

• Simple explanations

• Important facts or examples

• A “What this means for you” section

Critical: Define all technical terms in plain language before using them. If a term is essential, explain it in parentheses the first time it appears (e.g., “machine learning (a type of AI that learns from data)”).

💡 PRO-TIP

If the summary is too long, ask it to condense it further into a 'TL;DR' version using a follow-up prompt like, 'Now give me that in 3 bullet points.'

Prompt 1.2 — The Critical Review

PROMPT

Critically review this PDF in a fair and balanced way.

Evaluate:

• Main objective

• Argument strength

• Internal consistency (replaces “source reliability” — an LLM can't verify outside the PDF)

• Clarity

• Assumptions

• Bias

• Missing information

• Weak or contradictory points

• Practical usefulness

Then provide three strengths, three weaknesses, claims requiring external verification (since you can't verify outside the PDF), further research questions, ideal readers, an overall score out of 10, and a short final verdict.

💡 THE 'TRUST METER' FOLLOW-UP

After it gives the score out of 10, ask: 'What would need to change in this PDF for you to raise the score from [X] to a 9/10?' This gives you a concrete roadmap of the document's biggest flaws — and how to move ahead from there.

Section 2: For Deep Dives (The “Second Read”)

Prompt 2.1 — Detailed Notes From Every Section

PROMPT

Convert this PDF into organized notes for [purpose].

For each chapter or section, include:

• Main idea

• Key supporting points

• Important facts, examples, dates, or statistics

• Key terms with simple definitions

• Practical lesson

• One-sentence summary

Finish with the ten most important takeaways from the entire PDF.

💡 PRO-TIP

After it generates the notes, ask: 'For the most complex sections, explain them as if you are teaching a college student who missed the last 3 classes.'

Prompt 2.2 — The Personal Tutor

PROMPT

Act as a patient tutor and explain the most difficult parts of this PDF about [topic].

My knowledge level is [beginner/basic/intermediate].

For each difficult concept, include:

• A plain-language explanation

• A relatable analogy

• A real-world example

• Step-by-step breakdown

• Key term definitions

• One question to test my understanding

End with the best order for learning the concepts.

💡 ASK FOR A 'LEARNING PATH'

After it explains the concepts, follow up with: 'Based on these explanations, create a 3-day study schedule to master these concepts, starting from absolute zero.'

Section 3: For Information Extraction (The “Research Phase”)

Prompt 3.1 — Key Claims With Source References

PROMPT

Identify the [10/15/20] most important claims, findings, or recommendations in this PDF.

For each one, provide:

• The claim

• A simple explanation

• Why it matters

• Supporting evidence

• Page, section, or source reference

• Support level:

– Strong = direct evidence is provided within the PDF

– Partial = evidence is mentioned but not fully explained, or relies on assumptions

– Unclear = claim is stated but lacks specific evidence

Do not include information that is not supported by the PDF.

💡 ASK FOR 'DIRECT QUOTES' VS. 'PARAPHRASING'

Add to your prompt: 'For each reference claimed, provide ONE direct quote from the PDF that backs it up, AND one paraphrased explanation.' This gives you verbatim evidence to copy-paste into your own work.

Prompt 3.2 — Generate the Right Questions

PROMPT

Create 15 important questions a reader should ask about this PDF on [topic].

Organize them into:

• Basic understanding

• Evidence

• Practical use

• Risks

• Limitations

• Missing information

For each question, give the answer, source reference, and label it Complete, Partial, or Not Answered.

Finish with the five most important unanswered questions.

If you need more questions, ask for a follow-up batch of 15.

💡 ADD A 'MOST CONTROVERSIAL' CATEGORY

In your prompt, add: 'Include a category called “Controversial Questions” — questions that challenge the core assumption of the PDF.' This is where the most valuable critical insights lie.

Section 4: For Practical Application (The “So What?”)

Prompt 4.1 — The Action Plan

PROMPT

Turn the useful ideas in this PDF into an action plan for [business/studies/career/content/project].

For each action, include:

• Goal

• Recommended action

• Step-by-step instructions

• Why the PDF supports it

• Tools needed

• Possible challenge and solution

• Priority

• Suggested deadline

Organize the actions into today, this week, this month, and long term.

💡 ASK FOR KPIS (KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS)

Add: 'For each action, suggest 1–2 measurable ways to know if the action was successful.' This makes the plan accountable.

Prompt 4.2 — Compare the Main Ideas

PROMPT

Compare the main ideas, strategies, methods, or options discussed in this PDF.

Create a table covering:

• Purpose

• How it works

• Advantages

• Limitations

• Best use case

• Risks

• Key differences

If the table becomes too wide or repetitive, simplify to just: Purpose, Advantages, Limitations, Best Use Case.

Then explain which option is strongest, easiest, riskiest, and best for [specific situation], based only on the PDF.

Section 5: For Content Creation (The “Repurpose Phase”)

Prompt 5.1 — Repurpose Into Social Media Content

PROMPT

Turn this PDF about [topic] into content for [Instagram/LinkedIn/X/YouTube].

Audience: [target audience]

Tone: [friendly/professional/conversational]

Create:

• Five hooks

• One [7/10]-slide carousel

• One caption

• One [30/60/90]-second video script

• Five engagement questions

• Three calls to action

• Ten future content ideas

Keep every claim accurate and supported by the PDF.

Section 6: For Exam Prep

Prompt 6.1 — The Complete Study Guide

PROMPT

This one is a 2-step process:

Prompt 1: Turn this PDF into a study guide for [exam/course/topic] at a [beginner/intermediate/advanced] level.

Include:

• Topic overview

• Section summaries

• Key terms

• Important facts, dates, formulas, or frameworks

• Commonly confused concepts

• Revision checklist

Focus especially on [important topics].

Prompt 2 (follow-up): Now create 10 short-answer questions, 10 multiple-choice questions, and 5 scenario questions based on this study guide. Provide answers with explanations for each.

💡 GENERATE A 'WEAKNESS DETECTOR'

Follow up with: 'Based on the questions you've created, which 3 topics would a student be most likely to fail? Create a “Danger Zone” checklist for these.'

One Last Thing: A Note on Accuracy

NotebookLM is grounded in your sources, but it's still AI. Always double-check critical claims — especially anything flagged “Partial” or “Unclear” in Prompt 3.1. Use it as a brilliant research assistant, not a replacement for your own judgment.

NotebookLM is a powerful tool, but it's the quality of your prompts that unlocks its true potential. These 10 prompts are my go-to arsenal for tackling any PDF, from academic papers to business reports. They save me hours, boost my comprehension, and help me turn information into action.

Now it's your turn. Pick one prompt from the list that resonates with your current project and try it out. Which prompt are you most excited to test? Let me know in the comments below!

Why Crafting Better Questions is the Ultimate Life Skill

2026-07-29T08:22:26.984+05:30

The older I get, the more time I spend, as a percentage of each day , crafting better questions.

When we are young, we are obsessed with finding the right answers. We study, we memorize, and we grind to get the "10/10" on the test. But as time goes on, we observe and think about our actions and look at things in retrospect from time to time. A realization sets in: the quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask.

I’ve found that the difference between incremental progress and a true step-change in business, health, or relationships is rarely the product of just working harder. It is almost always the product of asking better questions.

Here is why shifting your focus from answers to questions is the highest-leverage thing you can do.

A Problem Well Put is Half-Solved

The philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey famously said, "A problem well put is half-solved."

Think about the last time you were stuck on a complex issue at work or in your personal life. Chances are, you were spinning your wheels because you were trying to solve the wrong problem.

When you take the time to meticulously craft the question, the answer often reveals itself. The question acts as a spotlight in a dark room; if you point it in the wrong direction, you’ll only see shadows. But when you aim it perfectly, the path forward is illuminated.

The History and Geography of Conscious Thought

We often treat thinking as this mystical, abstract process, but it isn't. Conscious thinking is largely just asking and answering questions in your own head.

Your mind is wired to solve the puzzle you give it. If you feed it a vague prompt, it will return vague, unhelpful ideas. But if you feed it a highly specific, well-crafted question, it will work tirelessly in the background to find the exact answer you need.

A Tip - It's also the best route to Self Awareness.

Life Punishes the Vague Wish

There is a simple, mechanical reality to how we process information: Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask. It’s just basic input and output.

If you want confusion and heartache, ask vague questions.

● "Why am I so unhappy?"

● "How do I get rich?"

● "Why is my business failing?"

These questions are too broad. They overwhelm the brain and lead to paralysis.

But if you want uncommon clarity and uncommon results, you must ask uncommonly clear questions.

● "What specific daily habit is draining my energy and joy?"

● "What rare and valuable skill can I master in the next six months that the market will pay a premium for?"

● "Which specific customer segment is no longer finding value in our product, and why?"

When you get specific, you get actionable. When you get actionable, you get results.

The Power of the Reframe

To see this in practice, consider a situation I witnessed a few years ago. A senior team member I was working with was pulling his hair out over his team's results and attrition rate. His people would leave just around the time he felt they had gotten to learning some skills he wanted them to work with. His default question was, "How do we get people to care more about the company's mission?"

It was a vague wish disguised as a question. It led to forced pep talks and superficial team-building exercises, usually lunches.

We sat down and reframed it. We asked: "What is the specific, daily friction our best people are experiencing that makes them look at other job offers?"

The answer wasn't about the company mission; it was about a broken, multi-layered approval process that was slowing his top performers down and was driving them crazy. We fixed the process. Team work increased, and personal accountability went up. The quitting stopped. The question didn't just clarify the problem; it solved it.

The Ultimate Leverage

Crafting a great question takes time. It requires you to pause, reflect, and strip away the noise until only the core issue remains. It might feel like you are slowing down, but in reality, you are accelerating. Spending 20 minutes to craft the perfect question will save you 200 hours of executing the wrong solution.

As you go about your week, pay attention to your internal dialogue. Catch yourself when you are asking vague, unhelpful questions. Stop, reframe, and ask something sharper, clearer, and more specific. You might just find that Lady Luck is waiting for you on the other side of a really good question.

But don't just wait for it to happen.

Take five minutes right now. Write down the biggest problem currently sitting on your desk or in your head. Now, rewrite it as a question. Then, rewrite that question to be 10x more specific.

That’s where you start.

Here are my favorite notebooks I use for my daily writing

For Personal Journal-ling : I love these refillable cloth/leather/paper diaries

For my work , business and research : I love these notebooks which I title and keep around

From Coder to Orchestrator: Best Practices for Tech Leads Using Claude Code

2026-07-24T00:08:54.909+05:30

The era of the Tech Lead as the "fastest coder in the room" is over.

"Beginners use Claude to avoid thinking. Intermediate users use Claude to think faster. Power users use Claude to think better."

Today’s top engineering leaders aren't just writing code—they’re orchestrating AI agents that can generate it at superhuman speeds. The new core competency? Writing detailed prompts, reviewing massive amounts of code, and investing in shared tooling.

Claude Code has emerged as a powerhouse in this new landscape (crossing $1B in annualized revenue within six months of launch). But raw AI power without discipline is dangerous. Left unchecked, it can easily destroy a working codebase.

Here is a comprehensive guide to using Claude effectively across the entire software development lifecycle, synthesized from top engineering managers and the Claude Code team.

Part I: The Mindset Shift

You Are the Tech Lead; Claude is Your Genius Junior The single most important shift is understanding your new role. Claude is your genius junior engineer: fast, brilliant, but requiring constant coaching and explicit rules. It can generate thousands of lines of code in minutes, but it needs clear specifications and architectural guardrails.

Think in Roles, Not Just Code Most developers open Claude and immediately ask it to build something. This is a mistake. Think of Claude in four roles: Architect, Tech Lead, Senior Engineer, and QA. Most people jump straight to Senior Engineer. A production-ready workflow requires Claude to act as the Architect and Tech Lead before writing a single line of code.

Part II: Architecting with Claude

Start with Documentation, Not Code Before generating code, create a persistent foundation of documentation:

CLAUDE.md: Your project's persistent context (tech stack, standards, testing, security).
ARCHITECTURE.md: System components, data flow, and security boundaries.
FEATURES.md: Explicit feature definitions to prevent Claude from assuming a feature is "done" when it isn't.

Use Claude as Your Architect Your first prompt shouldn't be "Build the app." It should be:

"Read CLAUDE.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, and FEATURES.md. Act as a Principal Architect. Review the architecture. Identify design flaws, scalability concerns, and missing components. Do not write code."

This single step often saves days of rework. Always design database schemas and API contracts before implementation.

Part III: Implementation Planning 🗺️

The Plan-Act Loop Your mantra must be: Plan first, ship in slices. Let speed amplify good process—never replace it.

Plan: Force Claude to think through the approach.
Review: Check the plan across multiple axes (architecture, dependencies, scaling, single points of failure).
Act: Once approved, let Claude execute.

Use Plan Mode for Complex Tasks Using Plan mode is like repeatedly aligning requirements with a PM before development. Once the plan is confirmed, execution can be handed over to the AI to run automatically with minimal supervision.

Part IV: Code Implementation at Scale

Run Multiple Sessions in Parallel The biggest productivity unlock is running 3–5 Claude sessions in parallel, each in its own git worktree. Use claude --worktree in the CLI. This breaks the traditional linear development mindset.

Multi-Agent Orchestration For large projects, use a lead-agent model. Prompt Claude to create a team, spin up teammate agents in isolated worktrees, and assign tasks (e.g., Backend API, Frontend React, DB migrations).

Delegate Research to Sub-Agents Context dilution is real. Keep your main thread focused by delegating heavy research and file-reading to sub-agents.

Implement Institutional Memory Set up a 'memory' folder for agents to automatically store important findings. This creates institutional memory that persists across sessions, preventing agents from redoing trivial research.

Part V: Code and Technical Reviews

Verification is the #1 Practice The Claude Code team emphasizes that the most impactful tip is verification—giving Claude a way to check its own output. Use automated tests, CI/CD pipelines, and review agents. If you only adopt one practice from this article, make it this one.

Don't Let Claude Touch Git Directly Allow Claude to do most things, but reserve Git privileges for yourself. Do frequent diffs, commits, and pushes. Comprehension ≠ compliance. In one documented case, an agent pushed directly to main despite explicit instructions to open a PR—and then pushed its own apology directly to main!

Part VI: Security and Production Readiness

Containerize Everything: Claude might attempt privilege escalation (like writing to /etc/shadow). Docker with no host mounts and restricted networks is non-negotiable.
Use Bot Accounts: Give each agent instance its own GitHub bot account for transparency and fine-grained permissions.
Make Tests Reliable: Flaky tests are worse than no tests. If CI is unreliable, the agent will use every failure as an excuse. Force the test harness to be reliable so it has to actually fix its bugs.
Define Hard Rules: Encode critical rules in CLAUDE.md (e.g., "Every function gets a test," "Never use global mutable state," "Insist on descriptive error messages").

Part VII: Team Standardization

Left to their own devices, developers will build fragmented Claude setups. A team with a shared configuration is 3-5× more effective than devs working individually.

Standardize your CLAUDE.md, permission configs, and security practices across the team. Regularly let Claude update CLAUDE.md itself—it's essentially reinforcement learning through agent feedback.

Conclusion: The Elevated Tech Lead

The technical lead's role in the age of AI is not diminished—it is elevated. You are no longer just writing code; you are:

Framing the constraints and plans.
Teaching agents how work should be done.
Orchestrating parallel agents across worktrees.
Reviewing plans and code rigorously.
Standardizing team configurations.

Sometimes, it's more satisfying to watch the agents operate than to ship the feature yourself. But satisfaction aside, the real measure is impact. With the right practices, a single tech lead can orchestrate what once required entire teams.

Discipline is the only thing that makes AI coding reliable. Plan first, verify always, and never confuse speed with quality.

Over to you: What has been your biggest challenge in transitioning from writing code to orchestrating AI agents? Have you experimented with git worktrees or multi-agent setups yet? Let me know in the comments below! 👇

(If you found this valuable, consider subscribing to my Twitter or Plus91's AI Academy for more insights on engineering leadership and AI orchestration.)

When using Claude as a TL to carry out a Technical Lead Code Review, how do you review each Plan andImplementation Cycle on a separate chat?

2026-07-22T20:41:17.164+05:30

The crux of this post is not just "How do you pass Context between chats?", but also how do you ensure relevant context is provided and nothing more. There is no need to waste tokens.

For carrying out a technical review for every work package, i would like to open a new chat instead of keeping one huge thread open for days, my typical development cycle can last 6-7 days and runs across 25+ work packaged. What all should I add to the beginning of the chat for continuity. Is the 1st prompt enough or should I add the SRS and PRD and the original implementation plan or something else, or none of these

My Main Question --> When using Claude as a Reviewer, how do you review each Plan and execution on a separate chat?

Here is what Claude guides us to do

Short answer: the full SRS and PRD — no, not needed. The specific WP's approved implementation plan — yes, that's the one document that actually matters every time. Here's the breakdown of what's load-bearing versus what's just bulk.

Include every time

The final approved implementation plan for that specific WP. This is the actual contract the code is being checked against — everything else is secondary to this. Attach it as a file.
Repo access + exact branch/commit. State the branch name and current HEAD SHA up front, and confirm the repo is public (or however you're granting access). This alone would have saved several rounds of back-and-forth in this conversation.
The git add -N . step, stated as a given, not discovered. Just open with "diff generated via git add -N . && git diff --binary --no-ext-diff" from message one. We only found this was necessary after two rounds of incomplete diffs — no reason to relearn that per WP.
A one-line list of what's already merged and proven, e.g. "WP-01A (outbox fencing, rate limiter, scheduler lock), WP-01B-1 (RBAC, session ambient-transaction guard), WP-01B-2a (sealed delivery, confirmation contexts) are merged and their patterns are the baseline to match." This is a cheap sentence that saves me from re-deriving "is this consistent with prior work" from scratch.
The specific review ask, with this structure: numbered focus areas, the mandatory invariants unique to this WP, the Blocker/Important/Follow-up classification, and the exact verdict options. This has been doing real work — it's what keeps my reviews from wandering.

Don't bother re-attaching

The full SRS or PRD. They're large, mostly stable between WPs, and pasting them wholesale risks me reasoning against a possibly-stale copy instead of the authoritative repo version. If a specific WP genuinely turns on an SRS clause, quote or link that one section instead.
AGENTS.md / DECISION_LOG.md / the Technical Architecture doc, in full. These live in the repo and are the actual source of truth — if you give me a repo link (or raw file links, same pattern as the code), I can fetch the specific section I need rather than working from a copy you pasted that might already be one commit behind reality.
Prior WPs' full review transcripts. The outcome of those reviews is now just... the merged code. I don't need the argument that got us there; I need the result, which is sitting in the repo.

One structural suggestion

Since AGENTS.md is apparently the living home for cross-WP invariants (transaction rules, fencing patterns, logging rules), it might be worth treating it as the one document that's always worth a fresh read at the start of each new WP chat — not because I need to be told about it, but because if it's been updated between WPs (which it should be, given how many corrections we've folded back into "the pattern" over this project), I want the current version, not my memory of an earlier one.

So, in practice: a short kickoff message (branch, HEAD, what's merged, the plan attached, the review ask) rather than a document dump. That's roughly the size of your very first message in this chat, just repeated per WP instead of accumulated.

How we build relationships using Contactually

2015-04-27T16:39:00.001+05:30

These are slides from a talk I recently gave on How we build relationships using Contactually. Contactually is an amazing Saas Software (which would be best categorized as a CRM) that I personally love and use.

How we build relationships using Contactually - Nrip Nihalani from Nrip Nihalani

Online Profile Management for Oncologists

2013-11-25T22:53:00.001+05:30

This presentation provides an understanding of Online Profile Management for Oncologists, with an Indian perspective.

Online Profile Management for Oncologists from Nrip Nihalani

It covers Digitally Aware Patients and Social Networks, The Need for Online Profile Management, an understanding of Local Reputation vs Global Reputation, Tips for How to do it while avoiding the traps and describing techniques for Maximizing Online Exposure for Oncologists

If you'd like any help regarding your Online Profiles and Online Reputation, please feel free to contact me.

Providing Patients with Access to their Personal Medical Records On-The-Go

2012-04-26T18:03:00.000+05:30

These are the slides from my talk on "Providing Patients with Access to their Personal Medical Records On-The-Go" at the 2nd Annual Wireless Healthcare Asia Summit 2012 in Singapore. Instead of talking about hard core tech and uber cool technologies, this time I touched upon the issues which have hurt the adoption of patient record technologies and driven the usage down, and caused consequent fragmentation of potential solutions. I strongly feel that actively driving adoption is the key to realizing the benefits of healthcare technology. And my talk was about a 3 point strategy to electronic patient records. INTEGRATE , ENGAGE AND SHARE...

Providing Patients with Access to their Personal Medical Records On-The-Go

View more Presentations from Nrip Nihalani

How does a Website help Promote a Gynaecology practice

2012-04-18T18:03:00.000+05:30

This is a simple presentation with some ideas for any Gynecologist who may be setting up a website for them self. Medical Websites are an important first step towards promoting Information Therapy. They help creating digital identities for doctors, and start the ball rolling for Digital Medicine to flourish. All the cooler stuff eHealth, Telemedicine, EHR's, Healthcare Gaming, HealthMaps and mHealth will be easier to implement on a large scale if all doctors had digital identities. N.B. and a Disclaimer: The Health IT Plus91( http://www.plus91.in) of which I am a co-founder has an initiative called Websites for Doctors which Works hard to ensure that All Indian Doctors (a tad short of a Million Doctors) will have a Website in the years to come. How does a Website help Promote a Gynaecology practice

View more presentations from Plus91 Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Do's and Dont's for Physicians on Facebook

2012-04-04T16:50:00.003+05:30

So finally Social Media has hit the spot with doctors. Its the first form of technology which Doctors have adopted worldwide on their own( without pressure, incentives or kickbacks.)

Recent statistics show that while 87% of the physicians surveyed reported using Social media for personal purposes, a significant 67% also claimed to be using it for Professional use. Social Media has ushered healthcare into an exciting world of free expression and multi faceted communication

There have also been some unfortunate cases coming to light, where doctors have been penalized for overdoing it on Social Media. Also 45 % of the organizations surveyed claimed to have no policy for Social Media. In this article we'll look at some do's and don'ts for Physicians so that they can use Facebook safely and not let it cause legal problems for themselves in the future.

1. Don't talk about your Patients - Talk about yourself, your cases, your peers ... But don't talk about your patients. Their privacy is protected by law ...

2. When you talk about yourself, your cases and your peers, make sure you are not identifying your patients

3. Dont practice medicine from inside Social Networks. Avoid the common traps of responding to seemingly harmless medical questions. The ones which go like "How many days before ..." or "What do you think ...."

4. Try to avoid getting drawn into negative discussions on a public forum. On facebook you can hold a private discussion with a colleague on "How you feel your hospital needs to improve ?" in the privacy of personal messages and chats ... Avoid this on your wall..

5. Try to create a facebook page for yourself or your practice. With this in place, you can avoid having to accept friend requests from patients, redirecting them instead to like your page.

6. Dont post objectionable content. Physician or not, inebriated pictures and vulgar comments are not cool. Even if they seem to be for a particular phase in life.

7. When something objectionable is posted, accept it , apologize for it and remove it.

8. Set your Privacy Settings on various networks appropriately to safeguard your information and content. This helps you protect yourself when Rule No 1 is crossed.

DO have fun, be transparent and DO voice your views. DO provide tips on where to gain trustworthy information online and offline , DO make connections but make sure you follow the above 8 points.

What we can learn from TCP/IP

2011-10-17T13:43:00.000+05:30

"I sent you an SMS to let you know I can't do it"

"I didnt get the message"

Time and again we see this common issue arise; sometimes simply as an excuse, but many a time, because the message is locked up in some digital chakravyuh, fighting hard to come out and reach the recipient, but not being allowed to move further due to various types of bandwidth bottlenecks, or because the receipient mobile is not available for that very instant.

Whatever the reason may be, it often leads to misunderstandings, conflict, trust issues and many a time a business loss.

Given that, what I find surprising, is that in typical SMS or eMail communications, how we shy away from responding to the original sender. "THANKS ...MESSAGE RECEIVED" ...

Thats something we must learn from our friend TCP ... the TCP of the TCP/IP fame...the protocol which is responsible for the internet... TCP or the Transmission Control Protocol provides reliable transmission of messages between programs running on 2 different computers. It is the protocol that major Internet applications such as the World Wide Web, email, remote administration and file transfer rely on. And the basic concept behind its reliability is simple ... "Acknowledgment of communication is the key to reliability" ....

On the right is an image showcasing "The 3 way handshake in TCP"

Imagine if we each of us simply responded with an 'OK' to the sender.

It would give us the freedom to believe that if an acknowledgement of some sort is not received, my message was not communicated. Saving us so many misunderstandings, conflicts and losses.

Information Therapy via Technology

2011-10-10T15:46:00.000+05:30

My presentation at the 2nd Annual Conference on "Putting Patients First". I alongwith my good friend Aditya, contributed a chapter to the book USING INFORMATION THERAPY TO PUT PATIENTS FIRST. This presentation touches upon some of the ideas from that chapter.

Information Therapy via Technology

View more presentations from Nrip Nihalani.

Happy Teachers Day

2011-09-05T11:23:00.000+05:30

This is to every teacher I know, man, woman and experience.

Some gave me long discourses,

Some created sparks,

Some provided clarifications,

and Some made me learn things new....

but I am what I am due to you.

Thanks for having taught me everything I know;

I wish everyone gets to learn from teachers like you...

N.B. 5th of September is celebrated as Teachers Day in India.

Here is a beautiful letter from Abraham Lincoln to the principal of son's school.

He will have to learn, I know,

that all men are not just,

all men are not true.

But teach him also that

for every scoundrel there is a hero;

that for every selfish Politician,

there is a dedicated leader...

Teach him for every enemy there is a

friend,

Steer him away from envy,

if you can,

teach him the secret of

quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that

the bullies are the easiest to lick... Teach him, if you can,

the wonder of books...

But also give him quiet time

to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,

bees in the sun,

and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him

it is far honourable to fail

than to cheat...

Teach him to have faith

in his own ideas,

even if everyone tells him

they are wrong...

Teach him to be gentle

with gentle people,

and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son

the strength not to follow the crowd

when everyone is getting on the band wagon...

Teach him to listen to all men...

but teach him also to filter

all he hears on a screen of truth,

and take only the good

that comes through.

Teach him if you can,

how to laugh when he is sad...

Teach him there is no shame in tears,

Teach him to scoff at cynics

and to beware of too much sweetness...

Teach him to sell his brawn

and brain to the highest bidders

but never to put a price-tag

on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears

to a howling mob

and to stand and fight

if he thinks he's right.

Treat him gently,

but do not cuddle him,

because only the test

of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage

to be impatient...

let him have the patience to be brave.

Teach him always

to have sublime faith in himself,

because then he will have

sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,

but see what you can do...

He is such a fine fellow,

my son!

Why use experts for a Medical Practice Website?

2011-07-15T07:11:00.003+05:30

I believe in Information Therapy and a Medical Website is a very powerful tool to facilitate it. But to effectively impart information therapy, requires more than putting up 5 pages of text with some fancy images. Its important to use medical web experts to help create a site which is visually appealing, medically correct and patient friendly. I see tons of bad sites, and to be frank a few years back my own firm provided what I regard as medical websites which were not up to the mark to a couple of its clients. Thankfully, these sites were upgraded for free when our team learnt all about "What makes a Good Medical Website".

Here is a 7 step rule which serves as the basic rule set of a Good Medical Website.
1. Ensure Simple Navigation. Follow Jakob Nielsen's rules.
2. Make text readable; on different devices.
3. Use Images and Audio Visual Aids to communicate and explain Diseases and Conditions
4. Provide contact forms and let patients and peers email you.
5. Keep the content fresh and updated.
6. Ensure that every paper one may have to read or fill in when visiting your practice is available for download and easy to locate in either a Doc or a PDF format on the website
7. Provide visitors/patients with easy to use tools such as medical calculators. Let patients have the option of sharing the results displayed by these calculators with you directly via the website.

Why Use Experts for Your Medical Practice Website Design

View more presentations from Nrip Nihalani

Why are there no Mac’s in the clinic?

2011-05-02T14:44:00.002+05:30

The Macs (Apple Macintosh) and most of what has come out from the Apple Factory of Kick Ass Design have been an inspiration to Product Designers and Solution Architects. That inspiration alone has helped todays Software products get Richer in User Experience

In the Health Care industry though, EMR’s, Practice Management Software’s and other Clinical Productivity Tools are primarily built for the ubiquitously available Windows platforms. A huge number are also available for linux, most of these Open Source, and a very small number for the Macs.

In the United States, where the EMR business is filled in with over 300 major vendors, there are apparently only 8 offering EMR’s which are natively built for the Mac. Read this report by Houston from Software Advice to see these 8 vendors and a fantastic comparison of their features.
Very few vendors actually support the Mac, although a number of them do keep posting news and press releases that they are making one or launching one soon.

This may be a reason why many doctors over the years would want a Mac, but would’nt get one due to the lack of Medical Softwares for it.

In the interest of the majority of doctors reading this, lets ask the questions: “What does one mean when they say that their EMR is natively supported on a Mac? What exactly does it take for an EMR to be supported on a Mac ? What is this native thing I’m talking about”

For an EMR to be natively supported on a Mac, it must be able to be used by a Mac User while the program is running ON the Mac. The program’s code must be understood by the Mac –> The program’s code must speak the Mac’s language and follow the Mac’s set of rules. Windows has its own set of rules and they are different from a Mac. So a program made for Windows unfortunately may not run on a Mac.

The Mac and the Windows are inherently different, and a software program built for one may not run on the other as the other operating system might not understand what the program is trying to say/do

For an EMR to natively run on a Mac, its underlying code must be understood by the Mac, and it must be following the rules of the Mac.

Smart question asked by Dr Vivek Patkar when I was explaining this above concept to him: Nrip, does this mean that if I have a software made for the Mac, and I can make Windows understand it, then it will run on Windows.

This is true and is the underlying reason why the virtualization industry is a boon and is bomming. A Virtual Machine is a type of software used to create a Virtual Environment, which is referred to as Virtualization. Virtualization may be used to run multiple operating systems at the same time on one Physical Machine. Through the help of a virtual machine, the user can operate software built for one Platform (Or Operating System) on another.

This brings us to a Grand Realization. A SOFTWARE NEED NOT BE NATIVELY SUPPORTED ON A PLATFORM TO BE USED BY IT ANY MORE, AS LONG AS YOU CAN USE A VIRTUAL MACHINE WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO USE IT ON THE INCOMPATIBLE PLATFORM.

Here is a link to 2 fantastic Virtual Machines for the interested. As always, feel free to drop me a line at n.nihalani AT plus91.in for any help.

Virtualbox

VMWare Fusion

In recent times, whether it is due to Apple’s advertising or the Word of Mouth spread that works with Doctors, a Number of Indian Doctors have told us that they are buying a Mac; and if the Clinkare EMR would be supported on it. Yes of Course! Both the desktop version and the SaaS version are supported on the Macs.

Talking of Saas, this category of SaaS and Web Based EMR’s is exciting. THEY ARE USUALLY PLATFORM INDEPENDENT, UNLESS THERE IS A PC COMPONENT WHICH REQUIRES NATIVE SUPPORT: LIKE A SCREENSHOT PLUGIN, OR A VOIP COMPONENT, OR A DICTATION COMPONENT;

In this article on MAC EMR Software, Houston from Software Advice states “Web-based EMRs are the best long-term investment for doctors using Macs. Unlike their on-premise counterparts, vendors offering web-based software won’t have to support two versions of their software (i.e. one for Windows, one for Mac) in the long run ”

One can’t agree more. Every Web Based EMR vendor, knows that their EMR can be used using a Windows , a Mac, a Ubuntu; Users can even use the EMR’s on Tablet PC’s as well as Low Cost Netbooks.

There has been a surge in the adoption of the iPads in many health care institutions(pictures below), here in India, and as reported in the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore. iPads with their form factor well suited for use by On Round Doctors in In-Patient Wards, Nurses while taking down Vitals in Charts and even Assistants in OT’s for Managing Checklists are a hit.

LabC: Pathology EMR on the iPad

Dr Bhosale trying the Clinkare EMR on her iPad

With Virtualization being available and Web Based EMR’s being the popular flavor with vendors, there are now choices available to Physicians and Clinics for Medical Software which can be used with their Mac’s.

If you are in the United States, you may want to use this comparison to help you select the Web based EMR which works best for you

If in India, you really should give the Clinkare Physician EMR a try ...

Want to acquire an EMR Vendor: Look out for these points:

2011-04-27T15:47:00.005+05:30

Considering the Electronic Medical Records space is heating up across the globe, and in India too in the coming 5 years there should be some Big Groups like Reliance entering it, lets look at what a Corporate Biggie looking at entering the EMR space via an acquisition should look for in an EMR Product.

The guys at Software Advice linked me to this very interesting article on their site by Austin on Intuit and a possible acquisition by them in the Health IT segment and requested a few added opinions on the same. http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/intuit-health-1042511/

Since Austin has done a fantastic job at listing the qualities Intuit should be looking at in an EMR Product for acquisition, lets list them out before going further:

Low price point product -
Dead-simple UI -
Friendliness for cash-based practices -
Web-based deployment -
Large market share / brand name -

In case the strategy is to go after Physicians and 1-3 Member clinics as mentioned in the article, most of these points are a given. The price point being low should not be an important factor in case there is a substantial subscriber base of Physicians - the eventual target market.

I'll look more at things to cover which if not looked at can and will lead to issues in the future:

1. Is it just an EMR or does it also help a physician do his job better?

There must be enough reason for a Phsyician to use this EMR as against pure digitization of records. Here is a list of a few features that help Doctors run their practice more efficiently:

What Patient Safety features are provided?
Are there Medico Legal Safety features to protect doctors against suits?
Does it allow operation for patients as an EHR ?
Does it allow Physcians to export Clinical Statistics and Trends which can be used in Presentations, Research papers or simply better planning.
Does it offer Administrative advice like a Hospital Information System does?
Can it generate Email and Text Messages alerts, Birthday and Anniversary Reminders, have some CRM functionality.
Can the doctors, nurses and staff have Intra-Team chats via the product.

(This list is compiled from requests by doctors who have been using an EMR for a minimum of 2 years)
One point which I'd also like to add is Does it interface with 3rd party PHR's or Patient Portals?

2. How does the EMR vendor provide training and after sales support? This is an important factor which directly influences the percentage of Physicians which will stay on with an EMR vendor in the long term.

Does the EMR vendor have a ticketing system?
Does the EMR vendor allow issues to be reported via the Phone to a person?
Does the EMR vendor provide Live and Online Support?
Can the EMR user simply email the issue with possibility of attaching a screen shot?
Does the EMR vendor have a Dedicated Training and Help portal with html and audio visual Training Aids?
Does the EMR vendor provide a DVD with audio visual aids for Training?

3. How does the EMR vendor collect feedback and feature requests. Health Care IT is still a nascent idea irrespective of the billions being pumped into it. As the user base grows, the improvements and feature ideas that this increasing mass of users provide will change how EMRs are built and function over time. If the EMR vendor you pick does not do it, some one else will.

P.S. Plus91 runs a Pain Point Analysis program for Physicians in India and we get almost half a dozen ideas each month. Every 6 months we go through that list of ideas to evaluate which of them should be the next feature to put in. This program lets us "Help Doctors Help Us Help Them". Look for an EMR vendor who has been listening to the users and has a dedicated process to solicit and collect feature feedback and requests.

4. How consistent is the EMR firm with regards their Business Model?
Different EMR firms have different Business Models. Comparing Practice Fusion vs AdvancedMD on a parameter like Subscriber Base doesn't make sense. Some have short terms models directed at Sales, other look at Recurring Revenue via SaaS and Value Added Offerings, while others look at real long term offerings based on Data Mining and Trend Analysis. Whatever be the model, consistency is important.

5. How future proof is it: The EMR and the Vendor?
Its important to look for an EMR company which is thinking ahead and is building its products influenced by the future. Look for mobile friendliness and features for a smart phone offered by the EMR, Does it have a smart way of integrating Social Media while following privacy norms.

6. Flexibility ???: Flexibility may mean ability to modify the UI, enhance the product features, add newer modules. Physicians and small practices usually don't have their requirements clear and these do end up varying over time. A flexible EMR permits additions and modifications to be made quickly in the future. Look for an EMR product which is flexible, modular and offers the scope for improvement. Note, that this is a very tough ask in spite of how simple it sounds. Too much focus on flexibility can easily lead to a non-product.

Useful Links:

Technology For Doctors

Physician barriers to EMR Acceptance

A Blog on EMR and EHR

Slideshare Love & Some Social Media for Doctors

2011-04-14T11:25:00.006+05:30

I woke up this morning to the familiar buzz of the phone alarm, and as always, on dismissing it went to check what emails awaited me at the start of the day. I saw a plethora of emails with Slideshare in the subject message. One of my presentations “Facebook for Doctors and Medical Practices” was featured today on Slideshare. :)

An educative presentation which is also available on Wirelysis, it focuses on explaining “the Why and the How” of using Facebook Pages by Medical Practioneers. I am happy to see that Slideshare’s editors have liked it and they have found the material beneficial for others. Lately there has been a surge in the number of Articles and Presentations being written and shared on topics related to “Using Social Media in Health Care”. Hence I am happy that my 3 month old midnight piece got featured.

Social media is for everyone. It’s about all people, networking on things they like, whether they are videos, conversations or information. Doctors are also a subset of this highly engaged group of people. Tons of them participate in social media; personally, professionally or both. And as always they have a lot to say

Using Social Media in Health Care has several advantages. It’s a cost effective way to use something you do for fun to help out your patients, by spreading information, providing support as well as in a providing a quick piece of advice. It’s also a great way to get feedback.

But take this next bit with a pinch of salt. If you do plan to bring in a professional aspect to your Social Media life, understand that you are now in the public domain. While you will gain publicity, you are now also exposed to being more abused. Don’t be oblivious to the fact that we have a Wall Feed where we will enjoy reading what you post. With great power, come great responsibilities. Be responsible and don’t do things which you wouldn’t do in public at a party.

A number of doctors had emailed me today asking me about Twitter and how they can leverage it for themselves. My reply: "Get on it, converse and engage: We'll talk more in a week, hopefully on Twitter". Well, besides the simple gyan on “the Why and How”, I have something cool coming up. I have been researching practically and building algorithms and processes related to Twitter as well as other aspects of Social Media, on how they can be leveraged effectively by the Health Care industry. The main onus being on how Social Media can be used to:

Help provide accurate information faster
Help patients interpret information more effectively
How physicians and hospitals can leverage these algorithms to improve patient care, patient safety and patient comfort
How physicians and hospitals can bring in more patients as a reward for being concerned about them

A lot of my work has pointed towards “unique forms” of collaboration and creation of information ecosystems. I feel I will take a few weeks to share my work in the public domain as some of the results have not been vetted and processes finalized due to constraints on my time and pocket. Within a few weeks I should be putting out an effective guide on Twitter use for both Physicians as well as Hospitals. In the meantime, I will recommend this simple yet beautiful post by one of my favorite blog authors Scott Hanselman titled Subtle but Very Important Twitter Tips and Techniques You Should Know (cause no one will tell you)

Useful Links:

The Facebook Pages presentation on Slideshare

Plus91's Website

Websites For Doctors : This is where you must contact to get Social Media profiles made and managed for your self or practice

Follow me on Twitter: @nrip

Follow Plus91 on Twitter: @plus91

Note:

A number of doctors in India and a few from the United States have contributed by either sharing the statistics from their Social Media Data and Profiles with me, while some have done so by actually getting on it and trying out what I’ve been asking them to do.

Any doctor who wishes to help out may simply contact me via emai or Contact me via Plus91 :)

Prayers for Japan and Learnings for everyone on the benefits of National Health IT Policies

2011-03-13T14:58:00.002+05:30

The past few days have involved almost all of us praying for Japan which was ravaged by a severe earthquake and tsunami. Japan's most powerful earthquake in 140 years struck the north-east coast on March 11^th 2011, triggering a massive tsunami leaving behind many homeless and stranded. (Information and Situation Report from WHO)

As we continue praying for hope in Japan, we are also learning all we can about how disasters can impact the way we live and seek to improve. Sadly, Japan now faces severe logistical problems and with the latest news on the mishap at a nuclear reactor, the situation only seems to be getting worse. While Japanese officials have more pressing issues on their hands, a problem that will arise as time progresses will be that those left alive may find themselves without their medical records. Natural disasters wipe out everything — including paper medical records as well as computer and communication networks.You can setup the network again, but you can't bring back the paper.

In this time of national crisis, it would have certainly been helpful for Japan to have a robust Healthcare IT network in place. A collaborative one where it is easy to share data, which is securely backed up redundantly in multiple locations that would leverage geographical diversity as a means of countering nature’s unpredictability: Geographical Division Multiplexing if you please;

While Japan does have a Healthcare IT strategy setup, with benefits and stimulus funds, it is relatively new and yet to mature. Health data digitization and Electronic Record Keeping is still in its infancy. Japan does not boast of large scale Electronic Medical Record coverage.

Wouldn’t any country ride out disasters better with health data sharing in place? This should be taken as a wakeup call as well as a learning lesson by all nations which haven’t yet devoted time and money to setting up Nationwide Health IT Infrastructures.

India for one must be looking at learning from this. Having a Nationwide Health IT Strategy should be treated as important as a Tsunami Alerting System (TAS). Purists will argue that a Nationwide Health IT System is not intended for alerting and helping contain situations like the TAS. And they are not completely wrong.

In many cases it has been observed that long term benefits are eventually forgotten. Instead, this concept of “Long Term benefits” must be replaced with Pre-planned Goals which must be “Sought” on maturity of a model. Now, any system can provide a set of benefits directly on implementation, and an additional set when it has matured.

Similarly, the use case of using a Nationwide Health IT System for predicting and alerting requires a certain amount of usage at first. A sophisticated and mature Nationwide Healthcare Network built using technology can identify the emergence of possible pandemics. Trends in symptoms can help identify risk areas, and collaborative diagnosis can help is sharing treatment plans and improving them.

One must understand that if maturity of a network is required for additional goals and since that takes time, one must seek to implement early.

Links of Interest

WHO Page on Environmental Health in Emergencies

WHO page on Myths and Realities in Disaster Situations

NDNC just got a bit "Smarter"

2011-02-09T15:30:00.004+05:30

The National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry is a short sighted solution to the nation's tele-marketing woes. Its strange that in a country built on a pedantic education system, the real life solutions which are implemented never seem to identify educating masses as a possible option.

Note: to those who implemented the NDNC: your intentions were great; However, its important to look at the impact on Indian business of all types... The fact is that Mass SMS solutions are used not just for Tele Marketing. Since a Bulk SMS plan (primarily for telemarketers) is sold for 5-6 paise per SMS vs a Bulk Priority SMS plan for 50 paise or more per SMS (For Priority SMS which routes around the NDNC), Most Indian firms(primarily SME's) were happily using the former for all their SMS needs: even for critical alerts...Customers usually would demand that decision due to the knowledge that a lower price is possible and most firms would jump at this opportunity to inflate margins; Rashmi Bansal and many others celebrate this spirit and call it "Jugaad"...

Well the NDNC was appreciated at first, but as it went along, it started having detractors. The ones who were affected: All the way from Solution providers, eventually to the ones who wouldn't receive Password change alerts, Medical Appointment Alerts, and so on and so forth became critics of the NDNC. A most interesting and worth mentioning example here is of a "Software Security" Institute which would send the password for newly registered users via an SMS and since half the nation had parked their numbers into the NDNC these guys would wait endlessly for the SMS ... I found it really silly on the part of this Institute: apparently teaching cutting edge IT Security, they could'nt take the basic effort to update their systems: Instead they put up disclaimers stating that this is not their fault but that of the govt. :).

But what else does one expect. In India, entrepreneurs and businessmen are driven by profit rather than anything else. Most Indian Business firms start talking RoI on day 1. The usual plan is to create quick and dirty solutions, as long as they work... and move to quick and dirty solution No. 2. Well getting back to the point, a number of cool firms locked in SMS solutions for their effectiveness and also for the coolness factor involved. The day NDNC came in, these guys were on plan 5 and plan 1 got hit. Most didn't care sadly.

Thankfully, the NDNC solution has been modified and made a bit more flexible and smarter. Now it allows mobile subscribers to register into the NDNC; but also specify their options on industry types do they find worth their time.

One simply has to dial 1909 from the mobile or send an SMS as following:

START [OPTION] and send it to 1909.

There are a number of options to choose from. For example, if you’d like to block all calls and messages, your option code is ‘0’ (ZERO). In this case, you should send an SMS as START 0 to 1909. Other options are:

To block all calls and SMS except from Banking/ Insurance/ Financial products/ Credit cards category
To block all calls and SMS except from Real estate category
Block all calls and SMS except from Education category. Similarly,
Allow only health related calls or SMS
Allow only consumer goods including automobiles related calls or SMS
Allow calls or SMS only from Communication/ broadcast/ Entertainment/ IT related fields
Allow calls or SMS only from tourism and Leisure segments.

As an example, to allow calls and SMS's from the Health care Sector and to block everything else

Compose an SMS "START 4" and send to 1909

On an other front, I am happy that more people can benefit from Plus91 's SMS Based Appointment Alerts Prescription Reminders. Further now more patients can take advantage of our Information Therapy Initiatives such as My Fertile Time.

Facebook for Medical Practices and Doctors

2011-01-01T14:21:00.001+05:30

Facebook has seen unprecedented growth in the last 4 years. From a small community site, specific to colleges, it has overtaken Google to become the favored haunt of the webophile. One of the reasons for this has been the number of applications that are built on Facebook, but a bigger reason is that because "Everyone is On Facebook". Lets face it, if you want to know what someone did last Sunday, or last month, Facebook is a bigger help than any friend that you have. Coming to the point, the last year has seen a serious growth in the number of doctors creating Facebook profiles.

Now I've spent a considerable amount of time helping doctors embrace technology for different reasons. Some want technology to help manage their clinic, some to help manage patients also, some simply want to use it to connect to friends and family far away while some other want to use it to see if it can help them learn more. Facebook is a brilliant technology for just keeping in touch, and to make regular announcements. Not too regular mind you.

The presentation below delves into the Why's and How To's of setting up a Facebook Page for a Medical Practice. It also provides some examples and contains a video showcasing samples of very effective techniques.

Facebook Pages For Doctors and Medical Practices

View more presentations from nrip.

Note:
As with all professions, Medical Professionals have started slowly empowering themselves using the benefits of technology. Over the years, I have analysed how each medium would benefit a doctor given his specific needs, and of course had to reason on factors such as the learning curve, investments on time and mindsets. Social Media is one such medium. This article is part of a series of 4 where I delve into how Doctors can use different Social Media avenues for different purposes.

You may wish to check out Websites for Doctors to start off with creating a digital Identity for yourself. By my calculation, its the largest provider of Medical Websites in Asia

Using the Internet to Create Informed Patients

2010-12-14T13:54:00.001+05:30

Earlier this year I spoke at the Putting Patients First conference on "Using the Internet to create Informed Patients". Here are the slides and the video recordings from my talk. The conference which was held in Mumbai aims to become an annual event where participants from different sectors of the Medical Ecosystem can meet and discuss strategies to promote and improve Patient Centered Health Care. You can read up about the conference at this link http://www.patientpower.in/

Slides
Using The Internet to create Informed Patients

Video Part 1

Video Part 2

Tripping for Sales ... June 1st Week

2009-06-06T19:03:00.001+05:30

Crash Boom Bang!!! Well that's what we expected when we arrived in Pune late last night from our very interesting and fruitful trip to Kolhapur. Ketan had called in late in the evening to inform us that there had been no electricity in the office for over 2 hours. There were rumours that there would be none of it for probably all of Saturday. Pune had finally been blessed with rain, unfortunately it had been really heavy and a number of trees had fallen all around town. However by the time we reached there, we found Pune to be pleasant and quiet, no rain, no thundering, no lightening... The almighty probably had decided to sleep for a bit... There was no electricity in most of the city though and our rickshaw ride was majorly through darkness. and it was a pleasant surprise when we saw lights on all around Dhole Patil , for we knew this wouldn't be a dark night for us.

As I look back at the past 2 days, very interesting 2 days, a smile comes upon me. I am happy to say that we now have an authorized distributor for Kolhapur, a city where the doctor density shocked me. On an average I am assuming 4 doctors per building... Now where have I seen this before. Actually lets go back 2 days to that bus journey in a Konduskar. As I woke up, to the sounds of Aaloo Chaat blaring on the screen, I looked outside and saw an advertisement of a Mercedes Benz. I was shocked. Was I in Ludhiana.... No...The posters outside informed me ...This was Kolhapur. Our destination had arrived. I was still shocked by that advert as I got down from the bus and looked around. I saw atleast 20 boards announcing different types of doctors. Where was I. This place was like the apt place for Plus91 to set up a marketing office. Paradise... We were to say.... As we went towards our hotel in a rick... All Aditya and me did was count the number of banners for doctors we saw ... 42 ... WOW!!! After a quick check-in ...into Hotel Ranjit ... A nice budget hotel... Nothing fancy...And nothing sub-standard either... We freshened up and went to meet the concerned party. An organization by the name of Orion Computers owned by a gentleman by the name of Prasad. After a good 4 hours of discussions and negotiations, we finally came to a set of mutually beneficial terms and conditions. We agreed on meeting the next morning and signing the documents which would take an hour in the night to prepare, and took off to enjoy the city. Which meant visit some doctors to get the feel of them...

Meeting doctors was easy. Aditya's contacts were available and after a phone call, we had a meeting waiting for us. We met a young gentleman who owned a small hospital, which was housed in a building alongwith 3 other hospitals. Add to that an Ultrasound Center and a Path-Lab, and this was a typical Kolhapur building. We were impressed at the the state of the hospital, and further by the interest the young doctor showed in our products. He found clinION and Ultrasite very interesting and quickly referred us to 5 other doctors also. Post this meeting, we went to another Maternity Hospital and an IVF center before retiring for the day. Back at Hotel Ranjit, I fell in love with the French Fries. The next day was smooth. We met Prasad, we had a quick meeting, a quick signing, some discussions about commitments and Bye Bye - Ta ta - See You ... We visited the ambadevi (Mahalaxmi) temple, a few stores in search of Kolhapuri chappals, and a restaurant which is pretty popular there called Hotel Gokul... and after pigging for 2 hours we were on our way back. Bombay and Aurangabad beckon us next week, and we hope to ring on board more distributorships and more doctors ...

Updates - May comes to a close

2009-05-31T14:53:00.003+05:30

Its been a hectic past few months. Unfortunately, I have found very little time to focus on my personal projects. And my promise to write regularly did not end up translating into actuality. Well then one night, instead of opening up mono, I opened up google and searched out some blogging tools. Atleast I have a tool to keep writing whenever I have time, in between journeys. And here I'm writing my first blog from w.bloggar.

The recessions ugly face is now being seen everyday and well everywhere. Plus91 has unfortunately been affected to. Its been 5 months since Plus91 commenced its operations in Pune. We are everyday wondering if expanding in the middle of a troublesome economy was a good idea after all. Its been tough and thankfully the burden is being shared by the entire team wholly. Almost every one of our clients has delayed their payments, and well we have passed on some of these delays to some of our vendors.

On the positive side, the marketing efforts are in full swing. Over a 100 doctors in Kolhapur, Solapur, Nasik and Miraj have been sent brochures. Aditya and me are following that up with visits to Kolhapur and Solapur next week. After this we have to make a short trip to Aurangabad where we shall meet Prabal too. The last month has seen new sales for Ultrasite and clinKare. clinKare now is offered for 12 more specializations and now we are testing out the ability of both to directly feed in data into infiniteHealth. Further to that, the Tele-radiology platform is progressing towards a release. The Preview launch for infiniteHealth is just a few days away. Sign up there for invites. As of now we already have over 50 sign-ups. The team is working overtime towards that.

On the non -Plus91 side, I have been helping my cousin Rahul, with Manovega, a venture that he along with one of his friends Raj has launched recently. Read up about them here.
Their concept is interesting, and their success will be a blessing for many verticals in developing nations like India and China. Especially Healthcare :). We will be keen on seeing how our telemedicine platform can benefit from manovega's technology.

More from me in a couple of days.

Applications I can't live without

2009-05-10T02:33:00.004+05:30

Sticky Notes
This is a really useful tool on my ubuntu boot. I wish i could email these notes to myself, or sync them up too...

Google Docs
Thank god for Google Docs, It can open both OO and MS Office Files.... Yippee

Teamviewer
This, I think is one of the best tools of the post internet era. Allows me to remotely support clients, remotely install applications, and even remotely carry out presentations

Skype
Its a lot heavier than GTalk, but i simply love it for voice over any other app in the segment

Filezilla
Simplest Free FTP solution i know of, works like a charm on XP, Vista and ubuntu... Supports SFTP ... for everything else I use Putty

Google Calender
Love the alerts, especially the SMS ones. This coupled with a Note-Taker can kick any Project Management Softwares ass.

Firefox
Love it majorly for its extensions. I prefer Opera as I always state, but the extensions make this less of a browser, more of a platform

Songza
Wow!!! This is one of the best apps of 2009. Basically a music based app; One can search for just about every song ever released. It streams songs and music videos from imeem and you tube, and allows you to access your music on one common dashboard.

Twitter
Its down, its up, and down again!!! doesnt matter. This silly application is useful. Its simple and effective, and defines a paradign for online group chats.

Facebook
Has the potential to be a Web Based OS with all those apps floating about it. Its logged onto each time one logs on their PC's nowadays. I use it to communicate, chat, play games, and even search new business leads.

Opera
Had to put it here. My fav browser, and also the email client i use nowdays.

Syncplicity
Its simply the best tool in its category I've found. Pity it doesnt have a software for my ubuntu boot. For that I have installed dropbox, but havent got around to using it much. I love the fact that I can sync with scribd and google docs...

Picassa
Love taking snaps, love playing with picassa. Nothing compares with this app.

MySQL
Love this database. Maybe coz its free :P

Ubuntu
Free again, but this is one OS, I would'nt mind paying for.

Windows Media Player
While I love winamp too, it seems to start getting heavier and losing it charm over the years.

7-zip
Its good.... real good. Heavy compression, quick, free

I still am looking for great apps for image editing (photoshop et all are too heavy), video editing, news reader, personal accounting...

The BBC List

2009-03-22T12:59:00.002+05:30

Lately Facebook has made it a point to ensure I get to see every quiz that any of my friends take... Besides logging into my facebook account to pry on my friends quizzing abilities...I have also found an interesting post bya lot of my friends...where inadvertently I too get tagged...
It goes by "The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?"

Ever the cat that I am...I tried to find if the source of the list mentioned there was really from BBC...I ended up finding 100's of blogs which were like mirror images of this post...some with a few minor alterations...but no BBC posting related to this...

I did find this interesting list though....referred to as The Big Read-Top 100(there are more...Top 20, Top 100 and Top 200)... Now assuming the list on FB was from BBC...I't would have been almost the same as this...(Can't imagine people at BBC making two different Book lists JUST FOR NOTHING...but then I've heard of stranger things that people and firms have done) ...well there are 57 in common...thats exactly 57 % ...(Mathematical Genius ;))

Anyways...I found the exercise interesting... besides marking the X'es I also decided to make a list of 50 movies ..of which I claim most people would watch only 15...watch out for that list on facebook.... ;)

Syncplicity

2008-04-28T08:42:00.007+05:30

10 days using Syncplicity and I am happy to have found a Great Storage and Backup Tool. And that with the added benefit of Automatic Synchronization. Its smooth, and luckily haven't seen a bug or an issue yet. The Interface is nice and even on the mockery of a broadband that we have here, its still fast enough while loading; and as transfers happen effortlessly in the background, syncing the shared folder on their server with the PC is smooth And if that's not all, it provides for Version Control and Management with Backup :-)

The Others that I have used : Diino, Skydrive, Xdrive, Boxstr

Comparing them all, Syncplicity definitely has neater features than the rest: I am still waiting for a Beta Invite from Dropbox though : The Auto_Sync definitely being a distinguishing factor: Avoids the need for Multiple Software's for Data Storage, Remote PC Access and Version Management.

My configuration has been with a Desktop Client, a Laptop and the Syncplicity Server, and its been great so far. The present Beta allows Unlimited Storage for Free::: However I don't think this will be the case for long. Assuming they do launch a Freemium service, I think this may well be a service worth paying for ::: But then it also depends on how much they do price it at :-)

...