David Finn
Health IT Officer at Symantec
LinkedIn Profile
Well, this is the time of year when everyone involved in health information technology, directly and indirectly, from the providers, payers, government, banking, venture capitalists and vendors begin to turn their attention to HIMSS. This year HIMSS is in Las Vegas – – after a long absence from this venue. For many years, Vegas didn’t have the classroom capacity required but that has changed and HIMSS will be making a return engagement in February. First, remember we’re on a new schedule this year Monday through Friday (2/20 – 2/24).
If you haven’t booked rooms or travel, get on it! If you haven’t registered better get that done, too. And then start working on your “dance card”. The days fill up fast and five days at CHIME & HIMSS disappears very quickly. And that is just educational sessions, booth visits and professional association meetings or Symposia. Don’t forget to start making and finalizing your own meetings, personal networking and finding long lost friends, colleagues and others who can help you expand and grow both personally and professionally.
The theme this year is “Linking People, Potential and Progress”. To call health IT a dynamic and fast-changing industry is something of an understatement. There are new regulations, new technologies and much uncertainty but fortunately, there is no place better to find information, knowledge, expertise and insights than at HIMSS Annual Conference. Most importantly, perhaps, HIMSS12 is the one place where you can develop and enhance business relationships across the entire continuum of the Health IT industry.
Just the place for you . . . and 30,000 of your closest friends. After several years, two major EMR vendors who have been absent from the exhibit floor are returning – – re-emphasizing the importance of HIMSS, one imagines – – Cerner and Meditech. HIMSS is one event where you don’t want what happens in Vegas to stay there, it is the place to come, to learn, to share.
This is the largest event in our industry. There will be more than 1,100 companies, including Symantec; 30,000 professionals, decision makers and thought leaders, and; more than 300 educational sessions – -not including workshops and symposia.
Speaking of thought leaders and educational sessions, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Symantec’s special Ask the Experts sessions. As an extension to our primary booth, across the aisle is our “Ask the Experts” booth. Throughout the day, four industry experts will facilitate sessions on relevant issues we are all facing in this increasingly complex eco-system. Sessions will be 1 hour, informal and highly interactive. Links to ‘Experts’ bios below:
Tuesday, February 21
1:30 – 2:15 Mac McMillan Pending Regulatory Outlook: You’re Not Paranoid, They Really are Coming for You
3:00 – 3:45 Tom Walsh Clinical Systems Availability: What Goes Up Must Stay Up!
4:00 – 4:45 Chris Agpar HIPAA Audits: Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun
Wednesday, February 22
10:00 – 10:45 Mac McMillan Breach Notification: Excuse Me, I Meant to Tell You, That Stuff You Gave us to Keep for You . . .
11:30 – 12:15 Chris Apgar Encryption: You Can Make it Harder to Read than A Physician’s Handwriting!
3:00 – 3:45 Tom Walsh Risk and Compliance: So Happy Together
Thursday, February 23
10:00 – 10:45 Mac McMillan HIPAA Risk Assessment: Analysis, Prioritization, Remediation, Rinse and Repeat
11:30 – 12:15 Chris Apgar Data Loss Prevention: If You Don’t Want to Cry, Don’t Spill the Milk in the First Place
3:00 – 3:45 Dennis Seymour Mobility and Medical Devices: Have Data, Will Travel / Smart Phones to Syringe Pumps