HIMSS Conference

Evidencing the strength of the health information technology (HIT) market, 25,000 people attended the HIMSS conference in New Orleans last week. HIMSS is a leading HIT trade association. HHS Secretary Leavitt and acting HIT czar Dr. Robert Kolodner both spoke at the conference, as did Captain Kirk (seriously). I recommend reading the speech given by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. The Governor made the following salient points:

What I ask you to take away from this and consider is not all these details and invention, but rather three principles:

–that we have to simplify, make concrete and make stable the standards that we build on—like the hugely successful example of the internet;

–that we should establish a beachhead somewhere and not try to win the whole war at once;

–that we can’t depend on experimenters and early adopters, we have to make it attractive to play and difficult to not play for everyone concerned.