The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) welcomed 46,000 people to the HIMSS18 Conference and Tradeshow. HIMSS18 brings together professionals from around the world for five days of education, innovation and collaboration to help uncover the promise of health information and technology. Digital Health Canada CEO Mark Casselman made the trip to Las Vegas to report back on what our digital health neighbours to the south are talking about.
HIMSS18 Conference Themes
- Data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, with labs offering an overview of the state of machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare, and describing the art of possible.
- Enhancing patient experience, including access, communication, and engagement, including a Patient Engagement & Experience Summit presenting a dive deep into patient engagement and experience and bringing together leading providers, payers, researchers, and government officials to share best practices, case studies, and expert insights into technology, tools, and strategies being used right now to deliver patient-centred care.
- Population health, precision medicine, and targeted delivery of care. Opening keynote from Damon Hostin, CEO, Precision Medicine Alliance, LLC, highlighted the ecosystem and the drivers impacting precision medicine and the role of clinical and business intelligence (C&BI). This session covered the current status of precision medicine and offered an overview of current regulatory, technology, and market drivers impacting key healthcare systems striving to implement precision medicine.
- Interoperability and the post EHR world. Interoperability was presented in education offerings, showcases, and discussions on how innovations in digital, analytics and fully integrated health ecosystems will advance the delivery of flawless healthcare, with a focus on understanding how technology advancements and lessons learned from other industry sectors can be applied in healthcare to reduce avoidable patient harm and support the journey to high reliability.
Canada Day at HIMSS18
Canada Health Infoway represented Canada with the “Advancing Digital Health in Canada” session featuring Michael Green, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Susan Sepa, Group Director of Clinical and Change Leadership. The well-attended Canadian Reception at HIMSS on Tuesday, March 6, (hosted by ITAC Health and the HIMSS North America Chapter) — a signature social event for Canadians and their guests attending HIMSS — was a great place to run into people you know.
What this means for Digital Health Canada members
The sheer size of the US healthcare marketplace means that HIMSS is easily ten times as large as Canada’s only national digital health event – the e-Health 2018 Conference and Tradeshow hosted by Digital Health Canada, CIHI, and Infoway. It’s offerings are impressive: enormous, multi-story booths; the latest in conference technology; and plenty of learning and networking opportunities. But is it possible for a conference to be too big? In some instances visitors waited in line for over an hour to get a coffee, and the walk from the hotel to the exhibitor floor, and around the exhibitor floor, was literally miles long.
e-Health offers the same professional opportunities in a reasonably-sized package, with a strictly Canadian focus. Delegates can meet, network, learn, and socialize in an manageable environment that offers rich content with relevance to our work as digital health professionals working to advance healthcare through information technology.
Register for e-Health 2018 here. Send your comments to Mark here.
