HIMSS25 Keeps the Party Going. Can Everyone Keep Up?

Tech companies and healthcare providers flocked to Las Vegas this week to talk about the latest innovative tools and strategies. But amid shifting definitions of value, uncertain signals from Washington and increasing pressure to reduce costs and improve outcomes, are healthcare leaders struggling to just stay the course?

The almost frantic pace at HIMSS 25 this week hints at an industry struggling to keep up with the times.

The exhibit hall at the Venetian teemed with people rushing from one event or meeting to the next, making deals or looking to make deals. Technology vendors announced new partnerships, programs and product upgrades at a rate almost bordering on desperation.

Fueled by the advances of AI – in the consumer world as well as healthcare – and digital health, health system and hospital executives are dealing with a rapidly evolving industry. They're being forced to embrace change at a faster rate than they're used to, and in some cases struggling to connect the dots on innovation and ROI. Everybody knows that AI is a transformational tool, and no one wants to be left out.

But healthcare organizations are struggling on several fronts. Everyone is feeling the workforce shortage and looking for ways to keep who they have, attract whoever is out there, or use technology to supplement the workforce. Money is tight, so there's little to spend on new ideas or technology and a strong push to reduce costs and inefficiency.

For Susan Gutjahr, HIT Director for Sparta Community Hospital, the urgency is there to find technology that can help the 25-bed critical access hospital in Sparta, Illinois stay open. The hospital epitomizes the small, rural facility in farming and mining country struggling to keep up with the big boys in Chicago, several hours to the northeast, and St. Louis, 50 miles to the northwest.

"It's hard to find [technology] for us," she says, noting the hospital has had the same EMR since 1997. "We really need to get our foot in the door."

Gutjahr says hospital leadership is eager to find tools to improve patient engagement, an important strategy for small, rural hospitals that are often the linchpin of the community. She says they received federal funding during the pandemic, which they used to boost their virtual platform and reward stressed out staff, but that money is gone now and there's no indication that they'll be getting anything from Washington.

"We need to ask some hard questions about what this [technology] could really bring us," she says.

At the other end of the spectrum is the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a well-known health system looking to expand its innovation strategy. Lavonia Thomas, BSN, DNP, MSN, RN, the health system's Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, led a team of nine nurses to HIMSS with the goal of finding the right technology that nurses will actually value and use.

"What are the problems that nurses at MD Anderson have that [can be addressed] here?" she asks. "We want to know what the nurses think. We know that the nurses using [this technology] will determine its return on investment for us."

And that may be the key to HIMSS' sustainability, which took a hit during COVID-19 but seems to be rebounding quite well. The healthcare C-Suite may not be in Las Vegas in big numbers this week, but many have sent executives and, just as importantly, clinicians in their place to get a good look at what's available.

Thomas points out that nurses require different things from new technology than doctors, so they need to check out the tools themselves. An ambient AI tool that's winning rave reviews from doctors for capturing the patient encounter won't address nursing needs.

So while the pressure is on providers to find the technology that works best for them, there's also an increasing amount of pressure on the technology industry to give health system and hospital executives the tools they need.

Srinivas (Sri) Velamoor, President and Chief Operating Officer of NextGen Healthcare, sees an industry in a certain amount of turmoil, looking to keep up with a technology that's being embraced by consumers just as quickly as other industries. The rush to create AI tools that meet the demands of providers is daunting, as are the needs to validate data, monitor on a continual basis, and even share risk with providers.

There's no doubt that AI will transform healthcare, he points out, and some of the larger, more established players in the healthcare technology ecosystem may have to tear themselves down and completely rebuild to meet new demands. Others are changing how they sell their products, especially to not-for-profits, rural hospitals and clinics that have limited resources but need that technology to survive.

So amid all the popcorn, puppies, happy hours and magic tricks on the HIMSS25 show floor this year, there's also a certain amount of desperation. Jump on the bandwagon now or risk being left in the dust. Try out a new tool, forge a new partnership, make a new deal, and look for those KPIs and benchmarks quickly. The clock is ticking.