Health IT

#himss15 day 4 buzz: Fears of a DeSalvo departure and the end of EMR data transfer fees

Tangible details are starting to overtake the carefully constructed press releases (somewhat) as HIMSS 2015 starts to wind down. All of the news is fascinating - not all of it is good.

HIMSS 2015 is winding down – there are still some events today – and as a result some of the tangible details from the conference are starting to overtake the carefully constructed press releases (somewhat).

The biggest tidbit is concern that Karen DeSalvo could be leaving her post at ONC in the coming weeks. No official feedback on this yet. While unknown to some, DeSalvo was front-and-center at HIMSS and considered a down-to-earth and effective leader for healthcare technology innovation within government.

Real interoperability change

Will this year’s HIMSS be most remembered as the year real change pushed interoperability forward? Epic’s announcement that it’s dropping fees for data transfer to non-Epic customers could be among the most important moments of the conference.

How CIOs see patient engagement

Summary of the HIMSS survey from HealthData Management:

  • Definition: For CIOs, patient engagement is about technology and driven by meaningful use. But for patients and providers, patient engagement is about relationships.
  • Ownership: CIOs say they own patient engagement since it requires technology, providers say patients need to take responsibility for their care/outcomes, and patients say providers need to spend more time with them.
  • Barriers: For CIOs the main barriers are the attitudes and expectations of patients and providers. For providers, time demands and training were their top barriers and for patients it was the providers’ time.

More government news: HIPAA audits and security

HIPAA audits are “under development” but no real dates have been set. Meanwhile, a new guide to privacy and security is “meant to help inform small and medium-sized medical practices and health IT professionals on ways to ensure privacy and security of their systems.”

Where do you stand on “booth babes?”

HISTalk’s Dr. Jayne breaks down the concerns around “booth babes” and how women were used at HIMSS.

Shortly after that, I saw a tweet from Jessica Kahn that highlighted images of women at HIMSS with the hashtag #overit. Sex definitely still sells, as proved by a vendor event I attended that featured scantily-clad Go-Go dancers. I did overhear several attendees comment that they thought there were fewer “booth babes” than in previous years. The wildest thing I remember seeing was in 2011 when one vendor had contortionists on stage in their booth. As a clinician, it was fascinating, but still not appropriate.

HIMSS, as the destination health IT conference, should set the standard. But, unfortunately, as any review of top popular Internet searches will show you, we’re all still growing up when it comes to women in health IT.

UPMC at HIMSS

Via FierceHealthIT:

We’re at a point where we have shifted to a consumer model. We talk about enabling the consumer in their healthcare journey. That’s great, but enabling a consumer isn’t necessarily just developing a portal and expecting them to go there. It’s really the convenience of how the individual wants to be communicated with within their healthcare experience.

HIMSS: Bigger than ever

Organizers are crowing about 11 percent year-to-year attendance growth

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Hot topics, cool after parties and more at HIMSS15

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