Ad Hoc is here in Las Vegas for HIMSS18, the 2018 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, which “brings together 45,000+ professionals from around the world for five days of education, innovation and collaboration to help uncover the promise of health information and technology.”
Our contingent includes me, CEO/ co-founder Greg Gershman, CTO/ co-founder Paul Smith, and a new team mate — Sara Ansari, Director of Health Quality. Following is a look at some of the things we’re looking forward to.
Tuesday, March 6
How CMS is Leveraging Information and Technology in Medicare and Medicaid
8:30am - 9:30am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Palazzo K
Seema Verma, Administrator, CMS will “discuss her efforts to advance interoperability and patient ownership of healthcare data, to most effectively leverage the latest technologies for patients in Medicare and Medicaid”. Ad Hoc is the prime contractor on CMS Website Development Services and Quality Payment Program Front End Development Services.
Beyond the Pilot: Value-Driven Innovation
8:30am - 9:30am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Palazzo G
This session coverages “pilot fatigue”, and the phenomenon of technology implementations that last a few months but lasting changes in workflow and culture are elusive. Presenters are Rebecca L. Kaul, Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer, and Daniel P. Shoenthal, Executive Director, Innovation Center, of the The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The handout is detailed and easy to follow.
The Adoption Gap: Challenges and Strategies in Emerging Technologies
8:30am - 9:30am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Galileo 901
This session has an interesting premise— the last decade in health IT “has been dominated by the implementation of large electronic health records, billing, and financial systems”, and now it’s time to look at new technologies “aimed at maximizing the value health systems derive from their enterprise installation. These new technologies are not dependent on external, forcing functions like mandates to drive adoption. Instead, adoption is driven by the need to implement technology that will help lower a caregiver’s cognitive demands to improve care and outcomes.” The handout details the challenges.
2:30pm - 2:50pm, Las Vegas - Sands Convention Center Level 1, Hall G, Booth 10219
Alex Loehr, Deputy Chief Technology Officer, VA. will detail how the Digital Service at Veterans Affairs (DSVA) team partners with VA to solve important, Veteran-facing problems. The team utilizes design and technology best practices to provide Veterans with the best digital tools to empower them to discover, apply for, track, and manage their benefits online. Ad Hoc is the prime contractor for Vets.gov.
Quality Payment Program Year 2
2:30pm - 3:30pm, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Lando 4204
This session, led by Molly MacHarris, MIPS Program Lead, CMS and Jean Moody-Williams, Deputy Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS will cover details of year 2 of the Quality Payment Program, including eligibility and requirements for each performance category, reporting and data submission options, and scoring. Our Quality Payment Program Front End Development Services combines three existing Medicare reporting systems— Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Meaningful Use, and the Value-Based Modifier— into one.
The Washington Perspective: A Fireside Chat with the ONC National Coordinator
5:30pm - 6:30pm, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Palazzo K
Donald Rucker, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, ONC, will cover topics like the 21st Century Cures Act and health IT interoperability and usability.
Wednesday, March 7
Shaping the Future of Innovation at HHS: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Town Hall
10:00am - 11:00am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Sands Show Room
Bruce Greenstein, Chief Technology Officer, and Mona Siddiqui, Chief Data Officer, of the U.S. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide an in-depth view into the Office of the CTO’s work with public-private partnerships, public sector innovation and data integration.
Quality Payment Program: Advancing Care Information
10:00 am – 11:00 am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Lando 4204
Elizabeth Holland, Senior Technical Advisor, CMS, will discuss how to participate in the Advancing Care Information performance category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2018.
Thursday, March 8
Quality Payment Program Developer Tools & EHRS Town Hall
1:00pm - 2:00pm, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Lando 4204
The Quality Payment Program Developer Tools team at CMS launched new tools for developers in 2017, including a Submissions API for Qualified Registries and QCDRs. In this session, they are looking to “engage with EHR software vendors who are interested in helping their clients report to the Quality Payment Program. This session will provide an opportunity for Product Development and Engineering executives from EHRs and other Health IT vendors to hear from and provide feedback to the QPP Developer Tools team.”
The Digital Veteran Platform/Lighthouse
1:30pm – 2:30pm, Las Vegas - Sands Convention Center Interoperability Showcase, 11955 Theater
Kim Nazi, Blue Button Project Lead, Office of Connected Care, Veterans and Consumer Health Informatics, VA; Neil Evans, Chief Officer, Office of Connected Care, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Shawn Hardenbrook, Director, Web & Mobile Solutions, VA will provide an overview of VA Telehealth and current projects, as well as national VA telehealth targets and planned activities.
Friday, March 9
It Takes a Community – Delivering 21st Century Coordinated Care for Those In and Out of Uniform
8:30am - 9:30am, Las Vegas - Venetian Convention Center, Palazzo Ballroom
David J. Shulkin, M.D., Secretary of Veterans Affairs, will talk about medical care for veterans, as well as the changes and innovations occurring at the VA. Vice Admiral Raquel C Bono, Director, Defense Health Agency, will discuss advancements in military health to ensure seamless data delivery and care coordination.
There are other sessions, events, and gatherings we’re interested in the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase, Hall G, Booth 11955. We liked the handout for the What’s App Doc? Canadian Adventures in Secure Messaging session, we’re curious about The Trap of Reporting Quality and Open vs. Closed: APIs to Enable Interoperability
Follow Ad Hoc on Twitter as the week progresses!
