The Retirement of a Healthcare IT Legend

On Monday, I had the privilege of attending the retirement luncheon for G. Octo Barnett, the founder of the MGH Laboratory of Computer Science (LCS) and the inventor of the MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-programming system).

Henry Chueh, Division Chief of LCS, served as master of ceremonies.

The attendees were the luminaries in the field of medical informatics - Donald Lindberg, Randy Miller, Clem MacDonald, Charlie Safran, Paul Egerman, Rita Zielstorff, Albert Mulley, Howard Bleich, Warner Slack, Chris Cimino, Peter Beaman and many more.

Everyone told stories about Octo's achievements inside and outside the lab.

In many ways, he is the catalyst that spawned companies such as Meditech, IDX, Epic, Intersystems, and many others.

Octo himself is a humble man and offered his sincere thanks to everyone who has worked with him over his 50+ year career.

He's a great man whose contribution to the healthcare IT industry is overwhelming.   I've said that in life the most important thing is to make a difference.   Octo made a difference.

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