What's going on over in healthcare IT?

CHICAGO - Based on the attendance figures for HIMSS15 at Chicago's McCormick Place in April, healthcare IT is a very healthy market.

Organized by the Chicago-based Health Information Management and Systems Society, the four-day event drew more than 40,000 attendees—an 11% increase over last year—while the more than 1,300 exhibitors set a new record.

HIMSS Executive Vice President Carla Smith said the event is “more than just socializing and getting information—it's an event that equips attendees to return to their care settings to play an active, transformational role for healthcare IT in their communities.”

'Revolution afoot'

Members of the Open Notes movement are predicting a groundswell of public support for giving patients access to physician notes as part of their medical profiles. Viewing physician notes will help patients understand their diagnoses better, clear up confusion about instructions and catch potential errors in their profiles, advocates say.

Dr. Susan Woods, a general internist with the Veterans Health Administration, told HIMSS15 attendees there is “a revolution afoot” with regard to the public demand to get access to “the rich source of patient information, which is physician notes.”

The value of IT

The 26th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey of more than 300 participants revealed that 72% of respondents believe patient engagement, satisfaction and quality of care will have a major impact on their organization's strategic efforts over the next two years.

The strategic value of information technology continues to be top of mind with healthcare leaders, as 81% of respondents indicated IT is considered “a highly strategic tool” at their organizations and 76% noted that their IT plan fully supports their overall business plan. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) indicated an improvement within the patient health experience, and more than half also felt that IT was reducing the cost of healthcare and improving population health.