{"id":37,"date":"2014-02-24T21:17:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T02:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/n2value.com\/blog\/?p=37"},"modified":"2014-02-24T21:32:28","modified_gmt":"2014-02-25T02:32:28","slug":"himss-2014-meeting-the-online-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/n2value.com\/blog\/himss-2014-meeting-the-online-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"HIMSS 2014 Meeting – The online experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

I attended the first day of #HIMSS 2014 via the web (schedule conflict). \u00a0I haven\u2019t been to a HIMSS conference before, and wasn\u2019t really sure how relevant it would be to me as a physician interested in healthcare tech. Here is my takeaway.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Very different than a medical conference. \u00a0 Conflicts of interest were a bit more obvious. \u00a0However, in fairness, since industry is providing these solutions (not private research in most cases), you hardly would expect people not to toot their own horn.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Keynote opener from Aetna\u2019s CEO Mark Bertolini – was pretty consistent from what I\u2019ve seen from insurers in the past. \u00a0Not right, not wrong, just really the point of view from an insurer.\u00a0 Differences –\u00a0 The usual slides on waste in healthcare were trotted out ($800 billion, but waste exists in the insurance industry too!) \u00a0Discussion of unsustainable increase in healthcare premia and progressive cost shifting to the consumer from employers who remain focused on defined contributions. \u00a0Some trends towards commodization of care, but also discussion of ACO\/PCMH focused factory model of selecting the doctors that provide the best care at the lowest cost (a great #bigdata application if there was ever one). \u00a0What was interesting was how he seems to have seized upon #hotspotting of healthcare \u2018super-users\u2019 (1) as a tool for future care delivery and cost savings. \u00a0As these super-users tend to have two or more chronic conditions (and be elderly or disabled with serious medical conditions), they account for a disproportionate amount of care and spending – 1% of the plan members account for 47% of the costs. \u00a0He discussed a commitment to these individuals to get their costs down over time. \u00a0That\u2019s interesting, because now under the ACA, risks must be underwritten (before they could be avoided, denied under pre-existing conditions, etc\u2026) \u00a0 I thought that this was a new and constructive approach – I\u2019m curious to know how many of the other large insurance CEO\u2019s are taking this approach. \u00a0From an executive perspective, I agree with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

One other thing that was discussed was the use of connected devices in #heart failure. \u00a0He discussed the partnership of Aetna with Medtronic in the realm of pacemaker data – briefly discussed looking at how electrical impedance which was being routinely collected and data sent back to medtronic – could be used as a predictive analytic of impending CHF (heart failure). \u00a0This to me is significant – first because it is a great use of #bigdata analytics, second because it touches on the reality that there are huge private databases of clinical data that can be tapped in new and creative ways to improve patient care. \u00a0If this isn\u2019t an argument for #opendata, what is?<\/span><\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Next Web Transmitted Lecture \u2018Securing Patient data in a mobilized world\u2019 was about mobile data security. \u00a0Well done, nothing ground shaking, a good introduction to cybersecurity for the uninitiated. \u00a0Take away point – either use Citrix or Mobile Data Management software to remain HIPAA compliant!<\/span><\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Next Web Transmitted Lecture was \u2018Do you have hidden ROI\u2019 was a decent high level discussion of challenges and benefits of technology implementation, with much emphasis on change management. \u00a0Good high level discussion, but the \u2018ROI\u2019 discussed was more of a soft return on investment (we see things are working better, and our patients\/providers like it) as opposed to a quantifiable number.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I thought the web based sessions were solid, I would liked to have had more variety and certainly some of the titles in the meeting which were not broadcast would have been my choice over these two topics (aside from the keynote). \u00a0Twitter under the #HIMSS2014 hashtag was insanely active – a firehose of information. \u00a0 We\u2019ll need some filtering there to make it useful! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FYI – while Hillary Clinton is scheduled to speak to the live crowd, there will be no webcast, live or delayed. \u00a0A number of participants are upset over this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, there seems to be a good amount of additional material on the website – a number of lectures were placed online pre-recorded, and there are \u2018e-sessions\u2019 which appear similar. \u00a0I watched about half of a presentation on big data, which seemed to be well-done & I plan to go back and finish it.<\/span><\/p>\n

I may post more on this topic if encouraged to do so. \u00a0<\/span>
\n(1) http:\/\/medcitynews.com\/2014\/02\/hot-spotting-healthcare-growing-trend-hospitals-find-super-users\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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