This week in Orlando was a time to reconnect and gather with friends to “Reimagine Health” at HIMSS22. According to a HIMSS spokesperson, the total estimated attendance for HIMSS22 is roughly 28,000, including both onsite and virtual registration. The main value of the conference this week was in gathering together, meeting friends in person, and sharing hugs after over two years of isolation as a result of COVID-19. HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf highlighted the urgency of health equity. Former Disney executive Ben Sherwood celebrated the power of storytelling. AWS’ Dr. Taha Kass-Hout and GE Healthcare’s Vignesh Shetty discussed the need to break down information silos, in order to move the industry forward. From addressing clinical burnout to understanding value-based care, this week’s conference asked attendees to reimagine healthcare. We were not onsite, but attended virtually. Here’s a few of our takeaways from the digital conference taking place in Orlando:
Technology Should Support People
Much was discussed this week about the need for peaceful coexistence between vendors, all working toward a common goal of supporting clinicians and patients. How do we reduce burnout, improve health equity, and increase the availability of data to support population health goals? We need to remove the burden of desktop medicine, allow physicians and clinicians to operate at the top of their license, and not just in front of computer screens. Taking care of patients should be the number one priority, not inputting information into disparate systems that are incapable of connecting data points. What that means may not be an entirely new platform, but we need to recognize the importance of including patient generated health data (PGHD), wearables, apps, and devices so that we can create a more comprehensive health record, improving health outcomes. We need better regulatory initiatives that support patients, not EHR vendors. Healthcare and HealthIT are at an inflection point, and it will take the desire to work together across vendor lines to change the current challenges and improve healthcare.
Interoperability
Another topic of much discussion this week was interoperability in healthcare. Yes, we’re still talking about it. No, we’re not there. In fact, we haven’t made huge strides over the last 20 years. Steven Lane, MD, Clinical Informatics Director for Privacy, Information Security and Interoperability at California-based Sutter Health, moderated a discussion revolving around interoperability issues beyond standards and technology. The panel discussed the need for patients and clinicians to be involved in how products are being designed and developed, so that greater usability and benefit can be realized. Dr. Lane noted the role of competition in limiting interoperability, whether it’s competition between Health IT vendors or between provider organizations. There continues to be a sense of creating walled gardens, not enhanced data sharing between systems and provider organizations. There’s an increased desire from patients to contribute to their health records. Healthcare delivery takes place outside the four walls of a provider office, yet how we aggregate and include PGHD into the health record needs to address the barriers and challenges to workflow, physician time constraints, and general communication issues. Sending one blood pressure reading per day via your iPhone to the patient portal creates even more work for clinicians. There has to be a way to include these data points without being overly intrusive to clinical workflows and time constraints.
Retail, Patients, Apps, and Devices
Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, SVP and Aetna Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health, explored how the healthcare industry should think differently about patients, transforming them into empowered healthcare consumers. Dr. Rhee shared how CVS Health is addressing this shift through its strong retail DNA, digital offerings, and clinical solutions so that every patient and family has access to healthcare services with a focus on health equity. The overall theme during the online sessions was, “keep it simple.” Don’t try to boil the ocean. When you’re building something new, think about scalability, the end-user experience, and the outcomes you’d like to achieve. As Paul Amadeus Lane, Founding Member of the Tech Access Group at the United Spinal Association stated, “do the right thing.” With connectivity, access, patients, and solutions. There is no one-size-fits-all in healthcare. It’s a team sport. Design well, disrupt when needed, and continue moving forward. That’s what we think of in this year’s theme, “Reimagining Health.” How do we humanize the experience, at every opportunity?
How Do We Help?
Boston Software Systems has been the global leader of healthcare-specific RPA solutions for 30 years. We’ve made it easier to migrate data from disparate EHR silos, portals, and kiosks, and send the information to the right system, for the right user, at the right time. We’ve powered the revenue cycle claims management process, eliminating weeks of waiting for reimbursements, and allowed providers to continue ‘business as usual’ despite the limitations of a global pandemic. Our 2022 KLAS score was at 93.8% out of 100 in customer satisfaction. We’d love to help you reimagine health, by sharing our successes with you. Let’s chat for 30 minutes, continuing the discussions that began at HIMSS22. We look forward to helping you reduce tasks, improve manual processes, and increase bottom line revenue in the coming year.