Great Stories From the Ground at HIMSS

For years, some of the country’s brightest minds have tried to do it. The government has put billions of dollars behind it. Many health systems have failed to make it happen in their own institutions. So, what makes the Trump administration confident that it can help healthcare finally achieve interoperability?

We’re at HIMSS 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’m Jack Murtha, and I’m senior editor of Healthcare Analytics News. I’m on scene with my colleagues Tom Castles and Ryan Black. We’re covering the most exciting stories around, cutting through the noise to bring valuable insights and good old-fashioned narrative stories. Here’s what you need to know about what has happened so far.

The federal government kicked off yesterday with big news: It’s launching an initiative called MyHealthEData, designed to give patients control of their data and spur interoperability. Some of the details are a bit vague, but CMS will essentially be the guinea pig. The feds also say they’re going to strong-arm companies and health systems into sharing their data. This news, of course, pleased the HIMSS crowd. But most people are asking this question: Will it work?

Some people are wondering the same about Uber Health, the new healthcare transportation service from the famed ride-share tech company. The venture made headlines when it was announced last week, and a lot of people are talking about it at HIMSS. We’ve been reporting on Uber Health, and specifically its HIPAA side. One interesting fact: Drivers don’t know when they’re driving patients as opposed to typical riders.

We’ve also been speaking with a ton of KOLs, from leading health-tech venture capitalists and attorneys to Mayo Clinic and start-ups like Cota, and we’ve got it all on film. Look for those videos and more great stories on our website, iDigitalhealth.com.

In the meantime, we’ll continue sprinting across the convention, hunting down stories on AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, value-based care, and more.