Hospitals produce enormous quantities of waste and consume energy 24/7. Forward-thinking providers make improving environmental performance a priority because it is the right thing to do, and also because waste reduction and energy conservation increases efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Operating rooms (ORs), with disproportionately large environmental footprints, are one place where a few thoughtful changes can make a huge impact.

The Healthcare Information Management and Information Systems Society (HIMSS) seems to have packed more into the 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition than ever before. That comes as little surprise when there are so many different initiatives and efforts for attendees to consider.

Patient-centered health received a boost from a $1.9 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to PatientsLikeMe, an open network in which nearly 200,000 patients document their experiences with diseases for outcomes research.

Healthcare reform, accountable care organizations, readmissions and reimbursement rates are just a few of the challenges facing today’s healthcare leaders. Balancing costs and savings potential for new technologies also weighs heavily on their shoulders. A watch list from the ECRI Institute provides a roadmap to 10 technology issues that healthcare leaders should have on their radar in 2013 and beyond.

M*Modal, a developer of clinical documentation, computer-assisted coding (CAC) and speech understanding technologies, will provide its M*Modal Fluency for Coding workflow platform to Mercy Health System. This cloud-based application delivers workflow and CAC services, as well as ICD-10 support.

In comments submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) largely supported the agency’s plans to play a coordinating role in support of health IT safety.

Recently, I published a book, titled Innovation with Information Technology in Healthcare, which contains the stories of almost 20 organizations that have been innovative in their approach to using health IT. I wanted to share some of the lessons from these stories to help guide your journey of using clinical innovation and technology to deliver better, faster and more cost-effective care at your organization.

From innovation officers and centers to innovation grants and awards, innovation certainly seems to be front and center in the healthcare industry.