Did HIMSS deliver on its Charter? Transforming Health through IT

HIMSS Annual Conference
February 29-March 4, 2016

By Robin Schroeder-Janonis

Another HIMSS has come and gone for me. I will not brag about how many times I have attended this conference, but I will brag about it being the first time with Wellpepper. Overall, the level of activity exceeded our expectations and validated the need for innovative patient engagement technologies like ours.

HIMSS Annual Conference
February 29-March 4, 2016

By Robin Schroeder-Janonis

Another HIMSS has come and gone for me. I will not brag about how many times I have attended this conference, but I will brag about it being the first time with Wellpepper. Overall, the level of activity exceeded our expectations and validated the need for innovative patient engagement technologies like ours.

Being with a new company gave me a whole new perspective on the HIMSS annual event. Reflecting back, years of HIMSS events can blur together and it can seem like the same old same old. This year was different: the healthcare ecosystem is going through a profound change and the providers and payers know this. Health systems are beginning to understand that the model is moving away from a passive engagement with the patient, to a model where the patient is taking more initiative to include their own wants/needs to participate in their care delivery.

With that, comes a whole new set of demands from the patient consumer and that I believe is where HIMSS is trying to make the transformation.  For the second year, HIMSS has partnered with HX360’s Innovation Pavilion to showcase pioneering health IT solutions that are addressing these challenges. As a start-up company, we can often get lost in the maze of vendors at a large conference such as HIMSS (estimates suggest more than 1200 exhibitors). The HX360 Innovation Pavilion provides an opportunity for entrepreneurial health IT companies to shine… and that we did.

Along with this venue, HX360 sponsors an Executive Program that runs concurrent with HIMSS. These educational sessions attract leaders such as Chief Innovation Officers, Nursing Informatics Officers and Vice Presidents of Digital Health who are looking for innovative solutions from companies like Wellpepper. Because of this venue and opportunity, we were able to have meaningful conversations with IT and executives that are looking to get a head of the curve and provide innovative solutions for their patients and systems.

Upon my travels home, I felt optimistic this shift to value-based healthcare will really drive innovation and allow companies like Wellpepper to part of the conversation and solution. The future appears to be bright and full of opportunity.  It is an exciting time for both the healthcare community and the consumer.

So, did HIMSS hit their mark? In part, yes. HIMSS is making great strides to keep up with the changing landscape of healthcare. No longer is it just about the EMR, servers, networks and storage in the IT back room. It’s about patient facing solutions that provide ownership and accountability for the patient while securing that brand loyalty for the provider.

The transformation of healthcare is now. Healthcare does not take to change lightly. But, companies like Wellpepper will continue to pave the way to innovation and the industry will take notice.