HIMSS aims to transform healthcare

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society is on a purposeful journey toward a highly desirable goal: the positive transformation of health and healthcare through the best use of information technology.

That means that for every patient-clinician encounter, the right information is available at the right time to the right people so the right decisions are made, all without breaking the bank.

This is a marathon; not a sprint. I've been in the health IT field since 1991 and have been part of a relentless quest for better and more cost-effective patient outcomes using IT. This is really tough territory. Harnessing the power of IT to keep patients safe and return them to health—all within desirable financial models—is not for the faint of heart. This isn't like re-tooling for a new car model; it concerns human beings, with all their complexities. But I am encouraged by the remarkable progress I have witnessed.

Many providers are already using IT in increasingly sophisticated ways. Data from HIMSS Analytics, our market research business unit, indicate a significant number of hospitals have moved to advanced stages of electronic health-record adoption, specifically since the first meaningful-use payments were processed in May 2011.

More hospitals now operate in a paperless environment, have real-time data flow between the emergency department and the rest of the hospital, and securely transmit data internally and externally.

Many ambulatory settings are also increasing their IT use. HIMSS Analytics is also tracking IT use within 20,000-plus U.S. ambulatory-care settings. We recently released the first findings from this ongoing study; more than 10% of these clinical offices have a tethered patient portal, using computerized practitioner order entry, electronic messaging and personal health records.

I can envision a future in which we've largely moved beyond basic IT implementation. We've already started focusing on innovative options such as remote physician-patient consultations to improve access to care, as well as wearable devices monitoring health-status variables from blood sugar to fluid retention to a person's gait.

Our mission to transform health through the best use of IT has taken years, and isn't done yet. I look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders, as we continue on our life's work.