HIMSS 2009 Conference Day I

Hello Readers!

Today was the first day of the HIMSS 2009 Conference (although they did have things yesterday, but I wasn’t here so it doesn’t count…right?)  Before things got started, however, I have a few experiences to share from Saturday.

Dr. Kochendorfer and I kicked off our Saturday morning by driving to Milwaukee (from Chicago) and meeting with the Health Informatics folks at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.  There we introduced from of the work we’ve accomplished at MU and then shared out thoughts about the stimulus package, our NIH Grant, and potential collaborative with UWM.  We were very encouraged by the meeting and I am happy to share more with all of you’d like.  Just comment on this post.

We then ate at a local Korean BBQ.  The UWM folks were quite impressed with my courage to eat there since I have never had Korean food before, but were also quick to comment on how foolish it might be :)

From Milwaukee, we drove straight to downtown Chicago for a meeting with Bernard Ewigman (Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago).  Dr. Kochendorfer, Dr. Belden, and I spoke with Dr. Ewigman about evaluation approaches to our NIH grant proposal.  He also agreed to write a strong letter of recommendation and assist with the grant proposal as much as possible. EVENTS OF THE HIMSS

We attended on education session today because it seemed the most interesting.  It was titled “Value-Driven Health Care: Leveraging Data to Improve Efficiency, Productivity, Quality”.  The presentation was given by David Katz MD, JD.  You may remember him from some classroom readings.  He outlined how EMR data could improve efficiency, producitivity and quality.  EMR data would help to identify outliers, empower management and physicians to address these outliers, control them.  Once controlled, the organizations could implement measures to improve the group as a whole.  Dr. Kochendorfer and I had a few reservations about his methods, solutions, and conclusions, but I will leave that for another time if I get comments showing interest.

After the education session, I set up a meeting with Mark Anderson (CEO of AC Group).  Dr. Belden was interested in discussing out HIMSS Usability White Paper.  We got that and MORE.  It was evident that Mark was very passionate about his chosen professions and loved the chance to speak with me and two docs about his ideas, expertise, and experiences. Ask always, leave comments and ask questions.