HIMSS2012: Linking People, Potential & Progress
Meaningful use, mobile health, cloud computing and accountable care organizations (ACOs) are just a few of the buzz terms attendees will hear a lot about at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Meeting & Exhibition. Expert speakers will share their advice, keynoters will discuss the future of health IT and thousands of attendees will network during the educational and social sessions.
Attendance for HIMSS12, to be held in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24, is anticipated to be up from last year by more than 20 percent, according to the organizers.
The show will feature a keynote address from Farzad Mostashari, MD, the U.S. National Coordinator for Health IT, at 8:30am on Thursday, Feb. 23. He and other leaders from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) also will present during the ONC Town Hall: Advancing Health IT into the Future on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 2:15pm. This interactive session will include information about current programs and efforts, as well as future plans to advance the national health IT agenda.
Also for the first time at the annual convention, representatives from HIMSS Europe and HIMSS AsiaPac will present during the Global Executive Forum. Attendees of this forum will learn about international e-health investments and nationwide strategies from countries such as Germany, Denmark and Singapore.
Poster sessions were new at last year's meeting and due to the positive response, they are back this year. Topics include replacing legacy systems, the role of nursing informaticists and strategies for implementing new technologies.
There are at least 15 other sessions on meaningful use, such as attestation, case studies, quality reporting and Monday morning's opening keynote: Eye on the Prize—Capturing and Reporting MU Quality Measures (8:45am).
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Management Engineering and Process Improvement Community's synergy session features back-to-back presentations that will examine the practical application of Lean in hospitals and healthcare. The Yellow Brick Road, Transformational Journey of the Emergency Department (11:00am), looks at creating new workflow, waste reduction and the management of culture change. The second session, Healthcare Systems and Management Engineering: Past, Present, and Future (12:15pm), will cover the history and future of management engineering, with a look at new places to apply these techniques and what its effect could be at the national level.
"These are especially important concepts right now for everyone, as thousands of organizations move toward a paperless environment," Piechowski says.
Also new last year and back for 2012 is the Physician's Executive Forum which runs from Tuesday to Friday. The forum gives physician executives a chance to discuss IT strategy, challenges and upcoming issues. Moving to Stage 2 MU, mobile adoption and making the transformation to ICD-10 are just some of the topics to be addressed.
Another trend to keep an eye on, Piechowski says, is the growing importance of business intelligence. An Enterprise Intelligence Journey: Strategic Transformation from Data to Action is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 1:00pm. This presentation explains how to "go beyond the collection of data, turning it into a strategic asset, which is a natural evolution beyond meaningful use of the technology." On Friday, Feb. 24 at 11:15am, this theme continues with Clinical Transformation: BayCare's Journey to Meaningful Quality.
"Both of these presentations have been created specifically with CMIOs and other members of executive management in mind," Piechowski says.
No matter the topic of most interest to you, there is plenty to keep you busy at HIMSS12. If you can't make it to Las Vegas, you can get instant access to news at the show via our CMIO live coverage throughout the meeting on CMIO.net or by signing up for our daily e-newsletter at subs.cmio.net.
Attendance for HIMSS12, to be held in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24, is anticipated to be up from last year by more than 20 percent, according to the organizers.
The show will feature a keynote address from Farzad Mostashari, MD, the U.S. National Coordinator for Health IT, at 8:30am on Thursday, Feb. 23. He and other leaders from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) also will present during the ONC Town Hall: Advancing Health IT into the Future on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 2:15pm. This interactive session will include information about current programs and efforts, as well as future plans to advance the national health IT agenda.
New offerings
This year's meeting will introduce several new options for attendees, such as the Knowledge Centers. Located on the exhibit hall floor, the Knowledge Centers are designed to bring a one-stop experience to HIMSS12 attendees based around six hot topics: ACOs/value-based purchasing; mobile health; medical devices integration; clinical and business analytics/intelligence; cloud computing; and ICD-10. The Knowledge Centers will bring together HIMSS-generated education sessions, Knowledge Center-exhibitor case study presentations, exhibition booths, new products, HIMSS books/resources, networking and interacting with HIMSS-identified subject matter experts.Also for the first time at the annual convention, representatives from HIMSS Europe and HIMSS AsiaPac will present during the Global Executive Forum. Attendees of this forum will learn about international e-health investments and nationwide strategies from countries such as Germany, Denmark and Singapore.
Poster sessions were new at last year's meeting and due to the positive response, they are back this year. Topics include replacing legacy systems, the role of nursing informaticists and strategies for implementing new technologies.
Meaningful use stays in limelight
Meaningful use (MU) remains a prominent topic at HIMSS12 with a bevy of opportunities for CMIOs attending the show. On Monday, Feb. 20, the all-day Achieving Meaningful Use Symposium "will be filled with practical advice from those who have already been down the meaningful use path," says Rod Piechowski, senior director of healthcare information systems at HIMSS. "Now that healthcare organizations have been declared meaningful users of EHRs, learn what works and what doesn't work from those who know. Meaningful use is no longer a date on the calendar, and HIMSS will be a great opportunity to prepare an organization to meet and continue to meet the requirements."There are at least 15 other sessions on meaningful use, such as attestation, case studies, quality reporting and Monday morning's opening keynote: Eye on the Prize—Capturing and Reporting MU Quality Measures (8:45am).
More for CMIOs
CMIOs seeking to tackle their wide range of duties and responsibilities can attend the day-long Physician's IT Symposium: The Health IT Balancing Act: Managing the CMIO Workload on Monday, which "is all about real-world solutions to the problems faced by CMIOs every day," says Piechowski.On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Management Engineering and Process Improvement Community's synergy session features back-to-back presentations that will examine the practical application of Lean in hospitals and healthcare. The Yellow Brick Road, Transformational Journey of the Emergency Department (11:00am), looks at creating new workflow, waste reduction and the management of culture change. The second session, Healthcare Systems and Management Engineering: Past, Present, and Future (12:15pm), will cover the history and future of management engineering, with a look at new places to apply these techniques and what its effect could be at the national level.
"These are especially important concepts right now for everyone, as thousands of organizations move toward a paperless environment," Piechowski says.
Also new last year and back for 2012 is the Physician's Executive Forum which runs from Tuesday to Friday. The forum gives physician executives a chance to discuss IT strategy, challenges and upcoming issues. Moving to Stage 2 MU, mobile adoption and making the transformation to ICD-10 are just some of the topics to be addressed.
Another trend to keep an eye on, Piechowski says, is the growing importance of business intelligence. An Enterprise Intelligence Journey: Strategic Transformation from Data to Action is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at 1:00pm. This presentation explains how to "go beyond the collection of data, turning it into a strategic asset, which is a natural evolution beyond meaningful use of the technology." On Friday, Feb. 24 at 11:15am, this theme continues with Clinical Transformation: BayCare's Journey to Meaningful Quality.
"Both of these presentations have been created specifically with CMIOs and other members of executive management in mind," Piechowski says.
No matter the topic of most interest to you, there is plenty to keep you busy at HIMSS12. If you can't make it to Las Vegas, you can get instant access to news at the show via our CMIO live coverage throughout the meeting on CMIO.net or by signing up for our daily e-newsletter at subs.cmio.net.
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Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.