Cost, Access, Quality – An Executive Perspective on Healthcare HIMSS Leaders & Innovators Conference

HIMSS President and CEO H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, introduced the program by challenging attendees to consider how best to address cost, access and quality, “the trifecta of healthcare” faced by patients, payers and providers.  Two national leaders, Governor Howard Dean, MD and Senator Bill Frist, MD, opened the conversation with their thoughts on the future of healthcare and the role IT plays in that future.  Ben Stein, lawyer and economist, offered his insights – both political and financial – on Thursday evening.

During the Thursday and Friday sessions, the give-and-take discussion looked at many angles and opportunities for improving healthcare delivery while reducing costs – now and in the future.  For example, as HIMSS Executive Vice President Carla Smith, MA, CNM, FHIMSS, details in her blog post, the group debated that convenience for the patient is indeed a component of quality care.

While each speaker had his or her own insights, the conversation covered consistent themes.  They are:

1.Continuing healthcare delivery at 18 percent of our nation’s GDP is not feasible; the economy is collapsing under the burden.

2.Collaborating is vital in healthcare, such as among providers, patients, and payers, to share the accountability.

3.Accessing and analyzing clinical and enterprise intelligence is vital to improving healthcare delivery and controlling costs.

4.Engaging patients in the delivery of care will help them, with their caregivers, be accountable for positives outcomes.

5.Implementing the electronic health record is the right thing to do.

6.Benchmarking will help lead to disciplined decisions in patient care.

“At a time when it feels like the rate of change and complexity in healthcare is increasing exponentially, it’s easy for health system leaders to get lost in the sea of data and details. At the recent HIMSS Leaders and Innovators conference, the presenters distilled these granular details into larger, thematic segments, focusing participants on the major trends in information and population management,” said John Friberg, Senior Vice President of Operations and General Counsel, for Elliot Health System in Manchester, NH, who attended the conference. “They also provided important insights into the most promising programs and strategies for preparing our healthcare delivery system to respond to these widespread trends.”

Throughout the year, members of the Senior Executive Community will receive research updates and information from HIMSS Analytics. The first of four white papers, ROI Research in Healthcare – The Value Factor in Returns on Health IT Investments, addressed what research teaches on measuring IT’s return on investment in the acute setting.  Since classic ROI methodologies are insufficient for a health setting, the white paper also provides research-based guidance on how to correctly assess ROI and outlines executive management’s strategic role with advice on how executives can improve the potential for success.

In addition to the research updates, participants in the HIMSS Leaders & Innovators program will continue to interact throughout the year with ongoing interactive opportunities, including sessions at HIMSS12, plus other hosted events and activities.

“The HIMSS Leaders & Innovators program brings together healthcare senior executives who will help drive leadership, innovation and overall strategic discussion and direction around current topics facing anyone in healthcare.  Executives have the authority and the vision to transform healthcare.  As a cause-based non-profit organization, our role is to convene these leaders and create an environment in which the transformation can happen,” said H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, HIMSS President and CEO.

Contact John H. Daniels, Vice President, Healthcare Organizational Services, at jhdaniels@himss.org, to learn more about the HIMSS Leaders & Innovators program. 

Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer, Department of HHS

Susan DeVore, President and CEO, Premier, Inc.

C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS

Chief Information Officer and Chairman, Information Technology Division, Executive Director, Cleveland Clinic

David Bailey, MD, MBA, President & CEO,

Nemours, A Children’s Health System

Ben Stein, Lawyer, Economist, and Commentator on Finance

Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO & President, Aetna

Ken Coburn, MD, MPH, CEO & Medical Director, Health Quality Partners

HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 38,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 540 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org.