Last year, the annual HIMSS conference drew record-breaking crowds with more than 30,000 people from around the country gathered to learn about the latest health information technology (health IT) and to share ideas and experiences. Electronic health records (EHRs), meaningful use, and how to use technology to improve care dominated the schedule. Presentations by ONC staff were among the best attended.

HIMSS 2012, held February 20-24 in Las Vegas, NV, is also sure to offer content of interest to health IT professionals as well as physicians, nurses, and administrators whose practices and facilities are making the transition to health IT.

2011 proved to be a momentous year of progress in the effort to modernize the U.S. health care system through health IT.  Regional Extension Centers surpassing their recruitment goals and recent data shows accelerating momentum on hospitals and providers across the country adopting and meaningfully using EHRs and health IT. Come see ONC at HIMSS 2012 where you will get a look at how we will build upon this progress in the year ahead.

This year, the HIMSS line-up is impressive. ONC staff—as well as representatives of other Federal agencies —will be there in force, talking about everything from how to leverage clinical decision support software to increase quality of care to the nuts-and-bolts of assuring the privacy and security of digital patient information .

Here’s a quick look at some of the great ONC offerings at HIMSS 2012:

Keynote and Town Hall Meeting Led by Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM

Dr. Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will offer the keynote on Thursday, February 23 at 8:30 a.m. and lead a Town Hall session on Wednesday afternoon, February 22 at 2:15 p.m.

While 2011 marked tremendous progress in health IT and the adoption of EHRs, and achievement of meaningful use among the nation’s hospitals and physicians, Dr. Mostashari will report on the road ahead, which includes breaking down the barriers to electronic exchange of important clinical information and the use of health IT to encourage consumers to get more involved in and informed about their own health care than ever before.

Showcase Theaters on Hot Health IT Topics

Do you have burning health IT questions? ONC staff will be on hand to answer questions about:

• Workforce development
• EHR certification
• Health information exchange
• Regional Extension Centers
• Privacy and security

ONC staff will also present a series of presentations on these topics in the Showcase Theater in the exhibition hall.  Each presentation will include time for your questions. Come get answers from the source!

Pre-Conference Symposium on Best Practices and Innovations for Using Health IT to Increase Patient Engagement

The National Priorities Partnership of the National Quality Forum has identified patient engagement as one of the six priorities for quality health care. Used correctly, health IT can help patients become more involved and invested in their health and health care.

Judy Murphy, ONC Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy, will present a pre-conference symposium on “Optimizing Your EHR Value through Patient Engagement”.

For more information on the times and locations of these presentations, visit HealthIT.gov.

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

In addition to being onsite at HIMSS, ONC will be engaging people online through its social media properties by:

• Hosting discussions on LinkedIn
• Tweeting live from the event
• Loading all handouts from the conference on Scribd

If you are not already a member of our LinkedIn group, or following us on Twitter (@ONC_HealthIT), sign up today to join the discussion!

New content on HealthIT.gov

In preparation for the conference, ONC has added great new resources to its website, HealthIT.gov, which is the leading online location for health information technology resources.

Visit the ONC Exhibit Booth #14824

HIMSS promises to be an inspiring and exciting week. We at ONC can’t wait to meet and greet attendees.

Will you be there? What are you looking forward to? Let us know what’s on the top of your HIMSS agenda in the comments below. And be sure to come see us at the ONC booth.

For More Information

• HealthIT.gov Events
• HIMSS 2012 website