While many people likely left after Monday it hasn’t been obvious from the crowds on the exhibit floor and hallways. The only major difference I noticed was that there were fewer people in the education session I attended. However, one I attended was first thing in the morning and there have been vendor receptions each night so maybe people are delaying morning meetings. In any event, HIMSS continues to be very busy between networking, speaking to people at our booth and learning in the education sessions.
On Monday my focus was on big data and analytics but yesterday I wanted to find out more about ACOs and who was implementing them effectively. I attended a great session where Banner and Aetna discussed their ACO. Not only was it very informative regarding the business structure, goals, incentives, etc. but it also emphasized the role that analytics play in an ACO. From evaluating prospective populations to changing health behaviors to required reporting, analytics is a cornerstone of a successful ACO and ties back into the message in the earlier sessions I attended. That key point here is that practically anything that involves healthcare in 2013 is heavily dependent on information and the most successful organizations are the ones that recognize this and make the investments necessary to ensure they have the data required to run their business.
