Tuesday at the HIMSS show was all business, with a multitude of new product releases and alliances announced. While no one human could cover everything in such a mammoth show, a key trends is interoperability, which may be moving a little past the hype. Every vendor I spoke with described how they were integrating their product with everyone else's system. No one wants to be an "island" of information any more.
Two other important trends are automation of high acuity areas like the emergency department and preoperative suites--Picis and MedHost are two companies making some noise there--and Wi-Fi based communications and tracking. Vocera's hands-free badge VoIP product has around 200 installs in the last two years, while a gaggle of companies (including but by no means limited to Innerwireless, Radiense, AeroScout, Ekahau and even consulting shop Accenture) are in the early stages of rolling out equipment and people tracking systems. All these trends point to improved efficiency, labor productivity, and patient safety. But it's early and there remain many challenges ahead, while over 800 vendors try to show you how they can save healthcare.
- see this report on HIMSS from iHealthbeat
PLUS: UK watchers were playing the "where's Granger" game. The head of the largest health care IT project in the world was a no-show as his deputy presented a rosy view of the UK's Connecting for Health project's progress so far. In particular the "Choose and Book" system is doing better after a rocky start, and full penetration of GPs using it is expected next year.