T-minus 7 days till HIMSS 2013. Preparing for HIMSS is like planning a trip to Disney World. You are excited to jump on your favorite rides and see your favorite attractions (education sessions and exhibits in our case!) that you have come to love over the years. But when you get there, somehow they have managed to make everything even more spectacular than you remember.
A good example of this at HIMSS, from my perspective, would be the Interoperability Showcase. It was at the HIMSS Conference in Chicago, in 2009, when I experienced this event for the first time. It was about the time when EHRs were really starting to gain momentum within the provider space. Providers were beginning to understand and accept some of the obvious benefits of EHRs, but the one question that was still of concern and that I heard over and over again was, “will my EHR be able to share information with another EHR?” It was amazing to see how, through these mini HIEs within the Interoperability Showcase, seamless sharing of patient information was being demonstrated across various clinical systems. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Physicians were witnessing the power of HIEs to improve the continuum of care.
Year after year, I have seen the Interoperability Showcase evolve to now exhibit how the collaborative exchange of patient healthcare information can improve the quality of care. Vendors, clinicians and government agencies use actual patient scenarios, from different health settings, to collectively demonstrate one thing- optimal patient care. In 2011, in Orlando, the Interoperability Showcase introduced Live Exchange, where practicing clinicians shared interoperable solutions that they had already implemented in their hospitals and clinics, proving that the safe exchange of health information, from different systems, across care settings can be achieved. It’s like one year you’re walking around Disney’s Tomorrowland, mesmerized, just trying to take it all in and the next year, you’re living in it.
The HIMSS Interoperability Showcase seem to get better and better each year. What will the interoperability showcase have in store for us in New Orleans? One can only imagine. But if it is anything like years past, like Disney World, I can assure you, we won’t be disappointed.
