Closing Care Gaps with Wearables
American College of Cardiology (ACC) Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Ami Bhatt warned that wearable devices that flag disease risk must do more than alert users—they need to steer patients toward appropriate care pathways. As wearables become capable of detecting early signs of cardiovascular issues, the gap between data collection and clinical action widens. Bhatt urged manufacturers to embed referral mechanisms, education resources, and direct links to providers within their platforms. Without such support, users risk navigating a fragmented healthcare system alone.
Attendees Value Networking Opportunities at HIMSS26
HIMSS26’s TV floor interviews reveal that attendees consider networking the event’s biggest draw. Health‑IT professionals cite meeting peers, vendors, and former collaborators as a core reason for attending. The conference’s large, diverse audience creates fertile ground for both new connections...
Technology Is Optimizing Workflows, but Must Stay Human-Centered
At HIMSS26, health leaders emphasized that digital tools must prioritize people, enhancing patient care while easing clinicians' administrative load. The consensus highlighted human‑centered design as essential for technology adoption and workflow efficiency. Case studies showed nurse‑led dashboards cutting order entry...
Democratizing Innovation with Agentic AI
Microsoft’s new low‑code AI platform lets healthcare staff build custom agents without programming expertise, enabling rapid solutions for clinical and back‑office challenges. By offering drag‑and‑drop interfaces and pre‑built connectors to electronic health records and billing systems, the tool democratizes agentic...
Changemaker and HIMSS Michigan Founder Continues Lifetime of Leadership
Veteran healthcare IT executive Helen Hill, SEMHIE Vice President and CIO, continues to shape Michigan’s health information landscape. She founded the state’s HIMSS chapter and now serves on the board and chairs the interoperability task force for the Michigan health...
HIMSS26 Changemaker Reframes Healthcare IT Work as Public Service
At HIMSS26 Changemaker, Colorado Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera urged aspiring healthcare IT professionals to view their work as a public service. She emphasized building technology that is intuitive and directly improves patient experiences. Primavera highlighted the moral responsibility of developers...
Changemaker Spearheads Ohio's AI Center of Excellence
John Paganini, president of Paguar Informatics and former HIMSS employee, spearheaded the creation of the Northern Ohio HIMSS chapter’s AI Center of Excellence. The new hub now counts 140 members ranging from clinicians to IT leaders. Its mission is to...
Hospitals' Net Revenue Leakage Increases 25% Due to Denied Claims
Hospitals experienced a 25% jump in net‑revenue leakage in 2025, with total losses climbing to roughly $48 billion versus $38.6 billion in 2024. The surge stemmed mainly from clinical claim denials, especially for missing prior authorizations and questioned medical necessity. Medicaid accounted...
Healthcare IT Is Not a Solo Act, Says HIMSS Changemaker
Julie Luengas, DNP, RN, the Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Stony Brook Medicine, received the HIMSS Changemaker award and emphasized that no healthcare IT leader reaches the top alone. She highlighted collaboration, mentorship, and collective effort as essential drivers of...
Johns Hopkins Medicine and ATA Launch Interstate Telehealth Initiative
Johns Hopkins Medicine and the American Telemedicine Association have launched the LIFTT Initiative, a three‑year effort to push federal legislation that eases state licensure barriers for telehealth. The program seeks tailored federal pathways that complement, not replace, state oversight, aiming...
Changemaker Awardee: HIMSS Involvement Fosters Career Growth
Cedric Truss, a Georgia State University student, joined HIMSS as a member and progressed to volunteer on multiple HIMSS committees and task forces. His hands‑on involvement gave him industry‑relevant skills, mentorship, and a robust professional network. Today, Truss actively encourages...
Changemaker Defends Healthcare's Evolving Cyber Frontline
Samantha Jacques, senior leader at McLaren Health Care, is spearheading a public‑private partnership through the Health Sector Coordinating Council to safeguard connected clinical environments. Her team delivers unified guidance that addresses the rising tide of cyber threats targeting hospitals and...
Mark Cuban Adds Support to Break Up Big Medicine Act
Mark Cuban has thrown his weight behind the Senate’s Break Up Big Medicine Act, which seeks to separate insurers, pharmacy‑benefit managers and providers that are currently owned by the same conglomerates such as UnitedHealth Group. The legislation would bar parent...
HIMSS Global Conferences Provide Window Into Healthcare Technology Development
Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Vitaly Herasevich reflects on 17 years of HIMSS Global Conferences, noting that U.S. healthcare technology once lagged behind other sectors but has since seen rapid growth in digital tools. HIMSS serves as a barometer for health‑IT innovation,...
HIMSSCast: Self-Pay Numbers Continue to Increase
The expiration of ACA premium tax credits, Medicaid funding cuts, and rising benefit costs are driving a sharp increase in self‑pay patients and higher out‑of‑pocket balances. Hospitals anticipate a 10‑15% rise in patient cost‑sharing and uncompensated care. Even commercially insured...
Listening Underpins Changemaker's Chapter Growth Strategy
HIMSS senior director Sepi Browning announced a new growth strategy for its Changemaker chapters that centers on listening to local leaders. The plan will develop best‑practice guides to help chapter volunteers manage and motivate members more effectively. By amplifying the...
Digital Health Tools Must Reflect Stakeholders' Lived Experiences
Digital health developers are being urged to embed nurses, physicians, and patients directly into the design process, a stance championed by Susan Hull, the HIMSS‑ANI Nursing Informatics Changemaker honoree. Hull argues that tools built without real‑world clinical input often miss...
Cleveland Clinic Expands Hospital at Home in Ohio
Cleveland Clinic is rolling out its Hospital Care at Home program to the west side of Cleveland, extending services to Northeast Ohio. The initiative lets eligible patients within a 25‑mile radius of Fairview or Avon hospitals receive acute care at...
How $50 Billion in Rural Funding Could Help Kodiak Island Nonprofit
Kodiak KINDNESS, a nonprofit on Alaska’s remote Kodiak Island, provides infant feeding support to nearly all local families, including Coast Guard, Native, Hispanic and Filipino households. The program runs on a modest $150,000 annual budget, relying heavily on volunteers and...
Digital Tools Extend Care Outside Hospital Walls
Wearables, IoT devices and home‑based care are being deployed to reduce hospital stays and boost quality of life for South Korea’s aging population, according to Samsung Medical Center CMIO Dr. Meong Hi Son. The interview emphasizes remote monitoring as a...
CMS Considering Automatic Enrollment in a Medicare Advantage Plan
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is weighing a policy that would automatically enroll seniors into a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, shifting the default from traditional fee‑for‑service Medicare. CMS officials say beneficiaries could still opt out or select a...
AI Governance, Veteran Care Among Panel Subjects at HIMSS26
At HIMSS26, a dedicated panel examined AI governance alongside the Department of Veterans Affairs’ initiatives to embed artificial intelligence in veteran care. Speakers highlighted how AI tools can streamline clinician workflows, personalize patient interactions, and accelerate decision‑making. The discussion also...
AI-Enabled Device Provides Early Health Warnings
Cherish unveiled an AI‑enabled wearable that continuously records patient vitals such as heart rate and respiration. The device applies machine‑learning algorithms to establish individual baselines and flag subtle deviations that may signal health deterioration. Clinicians receive early alerts, enabling proactive...
How Biometrics and QR Codes Will 'Kill the Clipboard'
CMS is piloting a new patient‑centric data exchange model that uses biometric authentication to unlock electronic health records and QR codes to transmit them securely. Amy Gleason, administrator at U.S. DOGE Service and CMS strategic advisor, outlined how the approach...
HIMSS26 Brings Virtual Connections Into the Real World
The HIMSS26 conference highlighted the power of blending virtual platforms with real‑world interactions. Attendees reported that meeting colleagues face‑to‑face deepened relationships and reinforced teamwork focused on patient care. A video from HIMSS TV captured multiple stories illustrating how hybrid networking...
Mass General Brigham Health Plan Launches Interactive Wellness Hub
Mass General Brigham Health Plan partnered with mPulse to launch an interactive wellness hub for commercial, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and dual‑eligible members. The platform uses predictive analytics to deliver personalized nutrition, activity, sleep and stress‑management tools through audio, visual and...
Changemaker Awardee: Innovation Starts with Listening to Care Teams
Kassaundra McKnight‑Young, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Zebra Technologies, urges emerging healthcare leaders to partner directly with bedside clinicians. She stresses that understanding clinicians’ day‑to‑day technology needs is essential for creating people‑centered solutions. By listening to care teams, leaders can design...
Email Remains Organizations' Most Serious Cybersecurity Threat
AI is accelerating the frequency of cyber incidents, yet email and multi‑factor authentication (MFA) remain the dominant entry points for ransomware. Cybersecurity veteran Robert Herjavec notes that 85% of ransomware attacks originate from phishing emails or compromised MFA credentials. The...
Leveraging Analytics to Improve Mental Health Outcomes
Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services implemented a near‑real‑time analytics platform to anticipate and manage behavioral health issues. The system leverages AI‑driven predictive models that analyze patient data streams, flagging risk factors before crises occur. This proactive approach cut...
Day 3 at HIMSS26 Showcases Healthcare's Digital Transformation
Day three of HIMSS26 highlighted the accelerating digital transformation of healthcare. High‑profile keynotes from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and actor‑advocate Jeremy Renner framed the conversation around AI, population health, and home monitoring technologies. Sessions explored practical AI applications, interoperable...
HIMSS Changemaker Awardee Enjoys Engaging with Local HIMSS Chapter
Memorial Hermann Health’s Ini Ekiko Thomas, a recent HIMSS Changemaker Award recipient, praised the Houston HIMSS chapter for its vibrant calendar of meetups, panel discussions, and vendor showcases. The chapter’s programming is designed to cater to professionals at every stage...
Dr. Oz: CMS Getting a Technological Reboot
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced a comprehensive modernization of the agency’s billing platform to keep pace with the evolving digital health ecosystem. The initiative focuses on integrating advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to streamline claim processing and enhance fraud...
Nurses Need a Unified Voice in AI Development
Kaiser Permanente executives Surya Shenoy and Jerri Westphal urge a coordinated effort among nursing associations, academic institutions, and regulators to embed nurses in the design and deployment of clinical AI. They argue that without a unified nursing voice, AI tools...
HIMSS26: Embedding Clinical Intelligence for a Successful Medicare Shared Savings Program
The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) now includes 476 ACOs, aiming to cut costs and boost quality through value‑based care. Atlantic Health partnered with Innovaccer to embed AI‑driven clinical intelligence across more than 120 EHR systems. The collaboration generated $15 million...
How Ready Are Health Systems to Deploy AI Successfully?
Global health systems have reached roughly 65% of the key AI readiness indicators, according to HIMSS chief scientific research officer Anne Snowdon. Governance frameworks and workforce development programs have improved, yet substantial gaps remain in data infrastructure, interoperability, and change‑management...
Experience the Sights and Sounds of the HIMSS26 Preconference
At HIMSS26, the pre‑conference highlighted how healthcare organizations are deploying digital technologies and artificial intelligence to transform care delivery. Sessions showcased AI‑driven diagnostics, telehealth expansion, and data‑interoperability initiatives across hospitals and health systems. Demonstrations illustrated real‑world use cases, from predictive...
CEO Hal Wolf Recognized on Day 1 of HIMSS26
CEO Hal Wolf received a tribal honor on the opening day of HIMSS26. The award recognized his leadership in advancing digital health solutions for federally recognized tribes. The ceremony took place during the conference’s pre‑conference forums, underscoring HIMSS’s emphasis on...
Consumer-Centered Care Can Help Patients Better Control Their Health
Dr. Stephen Klasko, executive in residence at General Catalyst, urges health systems to move beyond treating illness toward a consumer‑centered model that partners with patients to sustain healthier lives. He argues that proactive collaboration can dramatically improve chronic disease management...
HIMSS26 Executive Summit: The ROI of AI – CIO Vs. CFO
At HIMSS26 Executive Summit, senior leaders from Parkland Health and AltaMed debated how to quantify AI’s return on investment in healthcare. They highlighted the difficulty of measuring hard financial gains while acknowledging that AI can free clinicians from documentation and...
HIMSS26 Panel Will Examine AI Tools' 'Attitude'
At HIMSS26, CEO Hal Wolf will host a panel examining AI tools' "attitude." Leaders will discuss why understanding both the data provenance and the designer's identity, values, and goals is critical. The session aims to guide healthcare organizations in evaluating...
HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf and AdventHealth CEO David Banks Kick Off Executive Summit
At HIMSS26, CEO Hal Wolf and AdventHealth leader David Banks opened the Executive Summit by warning the sector about mounting headwinds, from soaring technology spend to a looming clinical workforce shortage. They stressed that investors, including the federal government, now...
Optum Real, Microsoft Partner on AI for Claims and Reimbursement
Optum Real has teamed with Microsoft to accelerate claims and reimbursement using Azure, Dragon Copilot and Microsoft Foundry. The joint solution embeds AI‑driven coverage predictions, documentation assistance and prior‑authorization support into Optum Real’s real‑time platform. Pilot data show up to...
Building an AI-Driven 'ChatGPT of Human DNA'
Mount Sinai, the ARC Innovation Center, and Nvidia have announced a joint effort to develop AI models capable of decoding the human genome. Leveraging Nvidia’s GPU platforms and large‑scale machine‑learning frameworks, the partnership will create tools that translate raw DNA...
ASTP/ONC to Prioritize Interoperability in 2026
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) announced that interoperability will be its top priority in 2026, with a series of final rules aimed at strengthening health information exchange. Dr. Thomas Keane, HHS’s assistant secretary for technology policy, detailed the...
Demystifying the Smart Hospital at HIMSS26
Cleveland Clinic CIO Sarah Hatchett will lead a HIMSS26 panel that offers a practical roadmap for building new IT infrastructure and retrofitting existing hospital spaces to accommodate emerging technologies. The session targets health‑system leaders seeking concrete steps to transition toward...
Looking Beyond AI Implementation at HIMSS26
HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf announced that the AI track at HIMSS26 will move beyond pure deployment discussions. The conference will spotlight AI governance frameworks, the impact on clinical and administrative workflows, and concrete methods for calculating return on investment. By...
Evernorth Confirms Full Ownership of CarepathRx
Evernorth, Cigna’s health‑services arm, has confirmed it now fully owns CarepathRx after completing the acquisition last year. CarepathRx provides home and ambulatory infusion solutions to roughly 10% of U.S. hospitals, strengthening Evernorth’s specialty pharmacy footprint. The deal builds on a...
Model Context Protocols Can Serve as Healthcare AI Guardrails
FDB’s Virginia Halsey introduced Model Context Protocols, a set of contractual guardrails for healthcare AI. The protocols require AI models to achieve a predefined confidence threshold before influencing clinical decisions and restrict their behavior to approved use‑cases. By embedding these...
How $50 Billion Can Help Transform Rural Healthcare
CMS has launched a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program aimed at overhauling care delivery in underserved areas. Founder Michael Dalton of Ovatient argues the initiative will only succeed if the funding fuels new value‑based, virtual‑first models that leverage telehealth and...
Geisinger Names Humana Executive as President of Health Plan
Geisinger announced Jeremy Gaskill, a veteran Humana executive, as the new president of Geisinger Health Plan and executive vice president of insurance operations, effective Feb. 23. Gaskill succeeds Karen Murphy, who stabilized the plan and cut operating losses since March 2025. He...
