HIMSS President and CEO H. Stephen Lieber spoke with DOTmed Business News on the eve of the society’s 50th anniversary celebration to give some insight about where the organization has been, where it’s going and why it’s poised to play a more important role in next few years than it ever has in its past five decades.

DMBN: What are you doing to mark the society’s 50th anniversary?

Lieber: It’s a significant milestone, so we’re doing a few celebratory things in recognition. Probably the most notable being the release of our “50 in 50” list. It’s a list of individuals who have made the most significant contributions to our field in the past five decades.

DMBN: How were the individuals chosen?

Lieber: We made a widespread call for nominations among our members and across the broader community to gather nominees. HIMSS has about 35,000 members and the community overall is at least double that. Then, we took those suggestions back to the individuals who served on our board of directors during each of those decades. The 1960s board members selected among the nominees from that decade, the 1970s from their decade and so on. We wanted to make sure the nominations were based on their contributions to the knowledge of that time.

DMBN: Was it difficult for members from the earlier decades to choose since so much time had passed?

Lieber: Actually, it was the opposite. Since information management was not a part of health care really until the 1980s, HIMSS was small in 60s 70s and 80s. So the selection process was easier for earlier board members because there were fewer names to choose from. But the anniversary isn’t the concentration for the show.

DMBN: What is this year’s theme?

Lieber: Actually, we dropped themes about 15 years ago. We feel themes are somewhat artificial and limiting. We cover IT content, biomed content and the big issues in health information technology. The show is more about the goal of linking people, potential and progress. That’s a goal that can be carried every year.

DMBN: How have the recent legislative moves pushing health IT affected the society and the show?

Lieber: Today we are going through a major transformation in health care and health care technology. First, we have the stimulus legislation passed just two years ago and just last year, new legislation was passed that will help to dramatically increase the positive impact health IT can have on patient outcomes.

DMBN: Are there any programs, booths or lectures that are “must see” for HIMSS
attendees?

Lieber: I think there are a couple particular highlights. The HIT X.0 Conference offers separately organized and presented series of demonstrations, content and contests and promises to be entertaining and informative. It’s aimed at subjects and an audience who might not have historically looked at HIMSS.

It had previously been viewed as a venue where the tried and true can be found in health IT. What we’re trying to do now is to bring forward what could be tried and true a few years from now. But we’re doing so in an entertaining way. We’ll be offering a couple of take-offs on some popular television – like Iron Chef (Iron Programmers) and one inspired by American Idol.

The second conference within a conference will be on accountable care organizations. It’s to assist attendees in recognizing the changes in the system where technology can drive the attainment of an accountable care organization.

A feature we’ve had for a number of years, the interoperability showcase, is always popular. About 100 different companies will be on hand showing the ability of their products to talk with a competitor’s product and displaying that ability in a real time live environment. The companies are required to prove their product by testing with us in advance, and showing the ability to move data from one network to another then they sign up for scenarios that take place at the conference. So a company with lab info space will sign up for a scenario with an EHR as well as another lab and maybe an imaging system.

DMBN: What challenges do you believe attendees will face in regards to health IT in the coming years?

Lieber: The biggest challenge will be the crush of activity that must be handled within the next three years. There are several major deadlines facing us that must be met — major changes in coding as the U.S. changes from ICD 9 to ICD 10, and on the financial side, another coding change is underway. If that’s not enough, requirements for meeting meaningful use start in five years to avoid penalties. We have the answers to these challenges, but the complexity will be dealing with all of these changes at once.

The one thing that’s most critical is the requirement to move to interoperability. In the past, anyone visiting a physician has been faced with walking in the door and being handed the clipboard. When you go to a health care practitioner, they should already know everything they need to know about you before you walk in the door. The biggest changes will be providing the knowledge to treat us and treat us right.

Technology just as we’ve seen it in every other business sector will be a driving force in the health care field. We’ve gone too far along to not bring it up to the level we see today even just in grocery stores. At the store, they can find who’s buying what — down to the individual can. Bar coding for example — relatively new for health care has existed in the grocery store for 25 years. We’ve allowed for too long to not have technology eliminate duplications and waste and care.

Society Snapshot:
H. Stephen Lieber has been president and CEO of HIMSS since 2000. The society is a cause-based organization backed by a volunteer membership. The mission is to drive change and innovation in health care and improve it through technology. The society cultivates relationships with doctors, nurses, IT professionals, administration and more.