Finding Focus at HIMSS

Conferences like HIMSS can seem overwhelming with information overload. Certainly the opportunities and excitement surrounding the ARRA funding is center stage, and there are many outgrowths from it. One that I believe is involved but even supersedes it in importance and history is the issue of patient privacy and security. It’s on the minds of patients and providers, and we’ve seen it’s a concern when providers consider adapting to electronic health records. Going back to the establishment of HIPPA and looking where we are now with increasing online patient portals and the relationships with Microsoft HealthVault and other patient empowering tools is important. The HIMSS conference has privacy and security workshops in place, and over the years ONC’s Policy and Standards committees have created workgroups just on privacy and security. And we know ONC’s Interim Final Rule on meaningful use has asked the EHR community to offer guidance on privacy and security in public comment to the IFR. If we are truly going to have a national health information network and truly interoperable delivery, the privacy and security of patient records is an area where there must be proven best practices, and this year’s conference is a watershed opportunity for that.