HIMSS Preview: Big Show; Big Ideas—Big News?

This makes sense from the system's point of view, but runs counter to what many psychiatrists have been telling their patients for many years: that their notes are not shared with other providers in the same system or other systems such as health information exchanges.

An audio from the 2012 Health Privacy Summit, features some disturbing experiences by patients who felt their trust was violated by this larger sharing of their psychiatric histories. Some are even reluctant to share information with their physicians due to this sharing.

At a time when the industry is struggling to accommodate HIPAA and deal with a variety of privacy breaches, it must also deal with the unexpected ways digital information flows within its own systems.

As I said, the show will be BIG—the conference brochure (PDF) alone is 51 pages—and I can't get to every session I'd like to attend, but I've selected a few specialized topics I will be delving into at HIMSS.

• Did you know that FICO, the credit score people, now markets a Medication Adherence Score with data purchased from large pharmacies? How will this data affect the cost and availability of care, and what issues does it raise, such as poor patients having to choose between paying for medicines and paying for food?
• In many states, patients can “self-refer” and order their own lab tests. How will this play out under accountable care organization models?
• Is ERP technology a blessing or a curse for providers? Or is it a bit of both?

For the answers to these and other questions, follow me to HIMSS next week. Don't be surprised if I've heard from upwards of 300 vendors by then... and maybe some Washington big shots.