No matter what your role in health information and technology — or what your challenges — HIMSS20 has you covered. Get inspiration from our world-class speakers and thought leaders.

The speaker: John D’Amore

The inspiration:

How do you view the intersection of healthcare and technology? Please answer this question as it relates to your own subject matter area.

I am a informaticist by training, which combines computer science with medical and healthcare operations knowledge. When we design software and workflows, our primary goal is to understand what users need and how to deliver that in the most expedient manner. Digital information has a tremendous opportunity to advance care. But for that technology to work, it has to be tuned to a world with unique vocabularies, regulatory requirements, privacy and time considerations. Some people think that artificial intelligence and machine learned “black boxes” will radically change healthcare in the next couple years. I think not. Instead, watch for software and devices that augment rather than replace clinicians.

Can you share one take-away from your presentation at the HIMSS20? What will attendees learn that they can use in their work setting or on the job?

Don’t wait for the future, digital transformation has already begun. There are national standards for interoperability (specifically HL7 and C-CDA) that have already been baked into every certified EHR. Similarly, there are nationally adopted terminologies for medications, labs, diagnoses and more. Although these standards and code systems do not eliminate all variation, they present foundational building blocks for the next generation of a clinical data infrastructure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enthusiastic about new standards like FHIR but I know that we’ll be in a much better place for the future if we begin putting data to good use today.

The session: How to Tame Your “Data Dragon”: A Statewide Approach