HIMSS or Bust

Next week is that proverbial event we all, in the HIT industry, look forward to with some trepidation – HIMSS’14. For an analyst firm such as ours HIMSS provides us a great opportunity to talk with end users, vendors of all stripes and just reconnect with like-minded folks. HIMSS is probably the only annual event that is a must attend to get a good perspective on where we are, as an industry, in advancing the adoption, deployment and use of HIT in the provider setting. That’s the upside.

There is a downside to HIMSS as well. Like most conferences of its type, HIMSS is a huge cheerleading event for all things HIT. In many ways, HIMSS is like the town of Lake Wobegon, where all of the children are above average. You will almost never hear anything called into question – no negativity here folks. Everything looks rosy and as one cruises the exhibit hall vendors pitch what they believe is the next big thing in healthcare.

HIMSS is the epitome of buzz-card bingo. Be forewarned ye vendors for which meetings between us have been scheduled for every time I hear “Big Data” I will yell out, BINGO! 

As Naveen pointed out in his recent post, HIMSS and the vendors therein must be approached with a healthy bit of skepticism. But as analysts, we must do our best to not let that skepticism slip into cynicism, for a cynic often paints a broad negative brush, losing their objectivity in the process and not see the good things that are happening as well.

HIMSS is also a fairly large event and I know that no matter how comfortable my shoes, no matter how much rest I get beforehand, by the time I take that flight back to Boston, I will be absolutely spent.

Despite these downsides, I am actually really excited about HIMSS this year and can’t wait to get there.

First and most importantly, this year’s event will be the first time that we have our entire team attending. Not only has this lessened my own meeting burden (last I counted, this year I only have 24 meetings in 3 days vs last year’s 35), it also gives us a great opportunity to interact with a far broader range of stakeholders in the HIT market with analysts focused on analytics, patient engagement, HIE, EHR and the biggest buzzword from last year, population health management (PHM).

I have always returned from HIMSS with new, invaluable contacts and an updated perspective on where the industry is truly at – not the picture the vendors paint, but the composite, the collage that is created from countless conversations over those three to four days of attendance. In having the Chilmark team there, I hope they will also walk away from HIMSS with a similarly refreshed rolodex and some nuanced thoughts on how their respective research domains will evolved in the years to come.

Secondly, we are seeing some interesting trends in the market as of late that need further validation. For example, today PHM is whatever a vendor decides it to be based on their own core competencies. Our conversations with healthcare organizations (HCOs) has not been all that insightful either as their PHM definitions are as disparate as the vendors. Where there is convergence though is on the need for strong analytics to drive PHM initiatives. So if analytics is the engine, what is the steering wheel, what are the tires, is HIE the gas tank, or the fueling station?

Looking to HIE, as we mentioned in late 2013, we see a need to redefine this sector. Where is the next opportunity for value realization for a provider once their HIE is live? Yes, we are looking beyond referrals! We have our own ideas, but we want to bounce those ideas off of others – HIMSS is a fabulously opportunity to do just that.

These are just a couple of my own thoughts. Our analysts; Cora for analytics, Naveen for patient engagement, Rob for EHR and Brian on HIE, all have their own questions they seek answers to. Hopefully, HIMSS will prove fruitful for us all in finding some of the answers we seek on the future trajectory of HIT, where the value is to be found and how together, we can all work towards a healthcare system that delivers ever higher quality care to all.