At HIMSS11, Size Matters

Reflecting on my four full days at HIMSS 11 in Orlando, “size” is what struck me most. I know we live in a big country, and I know we all get lulled into believing that “bigger is better”.  But sometimes, small may be better. In the journey of building US Health IT, being big may be getting in our way.

I think HIMSS has become too big. Estimated at +33,000 participants and 450,000 square feet of exhibit space (approximately 11 football fields), participants constantly heard from HIMSS executives at the  podium how a bigger HIMSS means better.  Celebrating 50 years of HIMSS left me thinking:  what was everyone up to during the last 49? MU (Meaningful Use) is the incentive needed but I still do not have a fully digitized health record that is interoperable with the hospitals and physicians either I or my family engages with.  Enter Zweena and the work that we do to make this a possibility for consumers (see what we do at www.zweenahealth.com).

Dr. David Blumenthal, during his parting keynote speech (which was noticeably short)made it a point to highlight how 75% of the newly Certified ONC health IT companies are composed of 50 employees or less. Other speakers during the educational sessions pointed to innovation and how smaller organizations embody entrepreneurial nimbleness and may lead us to achieving our Meaningful Use metrics.

Instead of wasting time in the thousands of display booths, some of which were bigger than my house (and I have a big house), I loved the time I did spent in the Interoperability Showcase. Here, the future of health IT was alive and well. A more manageable 80 participants actively shared how they were able to get a health care document/image from one side of the health neighborhood to the other. Engaging with these professional was so beneficial because the focus was on the solution, not the marketing sales pitch. I could see how my record was now being shared and used by many important people.

For me, Michael J. Fox, the last keynote speaker, cut though all the” size matters” stuff. Hey, this is all about us, we, the people…or in his case, me, the person. Passion is the key. His 20 year continuous battle with Parkinson’s disease, his way of telling his story, of staying engaged and not resigning himself to be a victim of PD, and starting his foundation will stay with me for a very long time.

Real stories and real solutions, whether successful or not, is what we need now to succeed in building a better US health IT system.  For me, it keeps coming back to us as healthcare consumers. I, like Michael J. Fox, want solutions. Our passion for solutions will make this happen. As the CEO and Founder of Zweena, my team and I remain focused on providing rich solutions for healthcare consumers. We celebrate our size and forge ahead constantly reminded of our mission and vision.

Size may be on our side.