What happens in Vegas from March, 5-9, 2018, at the Venetian-Palazzo-Sands Expo Center, hopefully won’t stay in Vegas. The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference has returned to Sin City! Roughly 45,000 health professional, from across the globe are expected to attend this year and given the current state of healthcare, we are all counting on a few industry-changing insights, regarding how to leverage information technology to improve the healthcare, escape Sin City.
The Future of Big Data
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I would bet all my Vegas winnings (and please let there be plenty!) that the following three trends will be a part of many formal and informal discussions throughout the conference:
- Cloud Services: Healthcare organizations are increasingly considering turning to the “cloud” as a means to access, analyze and share information, not only to increase collaboration to improve quality of care, but to do so in a timely and cost efficient manner. Many organizations want to start capitalizing on their investments in Big Data, to run more robust, meaningful analytics, to allow for more informed clinical and business decisions. Cloud computing services allow them to do so by offering a greater capacity to store and access their massive and complex integrated data sets. Despite cloud computing’s many benefits, concerns around security and data privacy often times prevent healthcare providers from moving forward on its implementation. HIMSS18 will surely have numerous sessions and forums discussing these challenges and how healthcare organizations can implement a cloud solution (public, private, or hybrid) that aligns with their business needs to begin reaping the benefits associated with this technology.
- Patient Experience: The healthcare consumer continues to take center stage and further push the healthcare industry from volume to value. Patients (consumers) are taking far greater interest in their own health and demanding the type of care they want, when they want it and how they want it. This change in behavior, paired with the regulatory initiatives to improve patient satisfaction scores, is forcing healthcare organizations to change their historic ways and begin to adapt technologies that improve how they communicate and deliver patient-centered care. Providers need to ensure they are meeting the patients every need – clinically, financially, emotionally and socially to improve their overall experience. In order to achieve this, providers must look at a patient from a 360-degree view, taking a deeper look into nontraditional data points, such as education, income, culture and values, work and social environments, lifestyle preferences, etc. HIMSS18 will provide attendees many opportunities to understand and explore options on how best to engage patients through technology, such as mobile and wearable tracking devices, Connected Health tools and strategies, and much more, to ensure patients are not only receiving personalized, quality care, but a quality experience.
- Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are no longer just buzz words within the healthcare industry. They are technologies proven to improve decision support and deliver optimal care and outcomes. With the ability to ingest, analyze, and utilize large amounts of data to learn, predict and solve complex problems, these technologies enable healthcare organizations to accurately make real-time decisions – improving overall clinical care, operational and financial efficiency, and patient experience – thus achieving the much desired Triple Aim. However, integrating these technologies into every day practice requires insights into what these technologies are and what they are not as well as understanding the necessary organizational and cultural change required to implement these tools, which is daunting for many healthcare provides, who fear they will be replaced by a machine and the art of medicine forever lost. Understanding the benefits and challenges, witnessing the positive advances and outcomes, and learning from and speaking to those organization who have overcome barriers to use these advanced technologies to drive the much needed change within our healthcare system, will well be worth your attendance at HIMSS18.
Apart from these hot trends, the odds are in your favor that you will, without doubt, experience thousands of exhibitors and vendors showcasing innovative healthcare technology, hundreds of educational sessions, formal and informal, on today’s more relevant healthcare topics, and be a part of the most extensive collaboration and networking between healthcare IT professionals, clinicians, and executives from around the world. Are you all in? Hope so, because you are sure to win big at HIMSS18! Stop by and see us at booth #2671 to discuss these trends and more!
What would you bet will be hottest topic at HIMSS18?