HIMSS Preview

Jazz Up Your HIM Education at HIMSS13
By Heather Hogstrom

HIMSS13 is set for March 3 through 7 in New Orleans, a city known for jazz music, Mardi Gras, and Creole cuisine. While you’re enjoying your gumbo or beignets, take time to examine the parade of exciting things happening in the HIM field.

Meaningful use will be a hot topic for HIMSS13. A meaningful use workshop focuses on addressing the new requirements of the EHR incentive program for small ambulatory practices, while the “Meaningful Use Symposium: Transform MU From an IT Project to an Organizational Initiative” will discuss the challenges involved, share success stories and lessons learned, and help attendees prepare their organization for a meaningful use audit and the 2014 certification requirements.

And be sure to stop by the new, interactive Meaningful Use Experience on the exhibit floor where you can check out proven, certified EHR solutions; connect with vendors; and view side-by-side demonstrations to compare products and determine which meet your facility’s needs. The experience also features presentations, where you can hear about meaningful use compliance in areas such as emergency departments, specialty medicine, and multidisciplinary mental health practices.

Think achieving meaningful use is too complicated? Then get some tips from one provider’s successful experience during a presentation that suggests “Meaningful Use Can Be Easy.”

For more hot topics, stop by the three Knowledge Centers on the show floor for information on mobile health, clinical and business analytics/intelligence, and ICD-10.
You can explore exhibition booths, meet experts, and enjoy exhibitor case study presentations and HIMSS peer-reviewed education sessions all in one location.

Another unique event is HIT X.0: Beyond the Edge, which provides a peek at emerging technologies and industry innovations. The future of healthcare delivery could include health and wellness integrated into cars, wearable sensors for fitness and digital health, and aerospace technology. Register for this special program to guarantee a seat in the front row of innovation in IT.

You won’t want to miss the lineup of keynote speakers, which includes former president Bill Clinton, founder of The William J. Clinton Foundation; Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, HIT national coordinator; Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health System; and Eric J. Topol, West Endowed Chair of Innovative Medicine at Scripps Health and a professor of genomics at The Scripps Research Institute. Political consultant James Carville and Karl Rove, FOX News contributor, Wall Street Journal columnist, and former deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to former president George W. Bush, will close with a dynamic debate on key topics such as politics, economics, and healthcare reform.

For more information or to register, visit www.himssconference.org.

— Heather Hogstrom is an editorial assistant at For The Record.