Back from HIMSS 2010

Well, I’m about recovered from the annual Health Information and Management Systems Society (i.e. HIMSS) conference in Atlanta 2 weeks ago. In the past, it often took me about 4 years to detox from this conference. This year’s conference was the first one that I actually enjoyed. We, at the SOAPware exhibit, were swamped with interest in how SOAPware can be a part of a solution to empower physicians deserving of their patient’s trust.
In the past, having a focus of using technology to empower physicians, and thus patients, seemed to be all but out of place. The conference has typically been more about industry-centric, rather than patient/physician centric solutions. Industry-centric solutions are more administrative in design with an intent to maximize profits. Don’t get me wrong, having solutions that improved quality and patient care were always considered to be the icing on the cake, but never were the core.
I can recall one of the more depressing HIMSS conferences I went to had one vendor of EMR solutions for ambulatory care raffling off a Hummer. They also had a stretch Hummer limousine that burned through a lot of gas during the conference. They used the limo-Hummer primarily to pick up prospective customers and transport them from the airport to their hotels. It was also used to take the same decision makers (i.e. for EMR purchases) to fancy dinners in the evenings. In visiting with several of those decision makers, it became apparent that improving the well-being of physicians and patients was not high in their priority list. Actually, a majority were fairly clueless as to the challenges in the trenches of delivering care, but they could not conceive of their cluelessness as even a possiblity. Even mysister could have seen through what was happening.
Unfortunately, an overwhelming majority of practices that installed the Hummer solution subsequently hummed right into a nightmare of failed implementations.
Interestingly, the "Hummer solution" received multiple (probably even the most) industry awards that year, and just about all the popular entities that rank medical software consistently had this solution at the top of their listings. The subsequent reality revealed this product was so bad that it is now in the process of being abandoned. Once the product actually tanked, another big boy acquired it, and now they are trying to move users to their other latest/greatest "solution."
HIMSS always includes an exhibit hall covering several acres with hundreds of similar “solutions.”
For me, at this year’s conference, the focus and tone had shifted enough that it was actually enjoyable. There were a greater number of conference attendees appearing to be better informed and less susceptible to the payola schemes. There is a growing interest in solutions that, collaboratively, better serve patients. I am even looking forward to the conference next year. It is my understanding that there is a real interest in making future HIMSS conferences more useful for physician attendees. I welcome and support that intent. If anyone identifies any other conferences/conventions that are proving useful for physicians in their efforts to implement more realistic solutions, please let me know.