The annual gathering of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will take place February 11-15 in Orlando this year. HIMSS will host its usual blend of leading healthcare thinkers and policy makers as well as cutting edge technology vendors while staging collaborative sessions.
Making sense of a HIMSS conference can be challenging if you don’t plan ahead. There’s plenty to be excited about, from education sessions, to symposiums, expos and networking opportunities. You’ll want to take a look at the schedule for yourself, but here is a sample of the things we’re looking forward to at this year’s event.
Opening Reception
Monday, February 11 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Valencia Ballroom
The opening reception is a good time to catch up with people you’ve not seen since a previous conference or that you’ve been chatting with online but have never actually met in real life. It’s free to all registered attendees and usually features some live entertainment.
This year’s event is superhero themed, so don’t forget your costume!
Opening Keynote
Tuesday, February 12 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Valencia Ballroom
Atul Gawande is a talented storyteller and eloquent writer when he’s not working as a practicing surgeon and the CEO of the healthcare initiative recently formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase. He’s a staff a writer for The New Yorker and has written a New York Times Bestseller.
Gawande’s opening keynote speech is titled Bold Visions for a Healthier Society, a subject the Founder and Chairman of Ariande Labs is well positioned to talk about given his experience with health system design, systems engineering and implementation science.
It’s a tall order to beat last year’s opening keynote from Alphabet Inc.’s Eric Schmidt, but Gawande has enough valuable perspective from within healthcare to provide content that should kick the event off in style.
HIMSS: What’s the Scoop? A New Member Ice Cream Social
Tuesday February 12 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Room W340A
If you’re new to HIMSS, Tuesday offers a great way to reward yourself for taking the opportunity to learn new things and meet new people at HIMSS19 in the form of an ice cream social.
At a conference with so much to offer, this event may not seem like a high priority. But it’s important to take time to digest all that’s happening around you and give yourself another opportunity to catch up, ask questions of HIMSS staff and make new connections. Meeting other new members and first-time attendees can pay off in ways you can’t predict and at worst, you end up with free ice cream.
Views from the Top Sessions
A daily occurrence, Views From the Top sessions offer a chance to hear inspiring stories from leaders across a variety industries. There will be a total of 12 sessions over the course of the conference and details are emerging about new sessions on a regular basis.
“The Views From the Top lineup is a chance for HIMSS to reserve some space to invite thought leaders or groups that we think are doing interesting work,” Kerry Amato, Director of Professional Development for HIMSS said. “We have four confirmed so far and that are up on our website. We will be updating the site as the other sessions are confirmed.”
USF Lightning Session
Tuesday 10:15 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. Hall D, Booth 7145 Lightning Session Theater
Lightning Sessions are back after a successful first run at HIMSS18, offering 20-minute fast paced sessions that feature presentations from experts across a variety of fields. After the sessions, participants are invited to stay and ask questions and spark invigorating discussions with the presenters.
USF has taken the opportunity to lead a Lightning Session for the second year in a row, this time on the topic of HomeSense. You might remember, that was the subject of the first episode of our new podcast, The Health IT Beat. The session will feature USF professors and lead researchers on the HomeSense project, Dr. Ali Yalcin and Dr. Carla Vandeweerd. They’ll be discussing the project as well as how they integrate elements of it into the student experience.
Interoperability Showcase
Hall F- Booth 9100
One of the busiest areas of the convention hall is the Interoperability Showcase floor, featuring 20 demonstration areas and an education theater. On display are systems that can exchange and use data in real time with the purpose of improving care and health outcomes. There is a demonstration, education session or community meetup every 15 minutes.
Some features include a single-story use case demonstration conducted by six to eight vendors who specialize in interoperability solutions. In addition, the education theater hosts 60-minute sessions on emerging topics around interoperability.
Did you know? USF Health Online will be at HIMSS 19 on University Row in booth UR12! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to stay tuned with what we’re doing at HIMSS 19!
