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HIMSS' Second Virtual Conference & Expo Less Than a Month Away

Posted on: Thursday, 18 October 2007, 09:00 CDT

CHICAGO, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With studies from the National Center for Education Statistics showing the number of students and adults enrolling in distance education in the United States are on the rise, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will host its second exclusively online conference on Nov. 6-7. The HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo connects attendees with industry thought leaders, their peers and exhibitors right from their computers, without time away from the office.

(LOGO: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060801/CGTU009LOGO-a )

More than 2,200 healthcare professionals and exhibitors registered for the inaugural HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo in May. Among attendees, 82 percent said they are planning to attend next month's event. Eighty-seven percent of the inaugural attendees had never attended an online conference prior to the HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo.

"The Society introduced the virtual conference in response to the cost and time constraints of today's healthcare professionals, and HIMSS member research which indicated a strong interest in and preference for online educational opportunities," said H. Stephen Lieber, president and CEO of HIMSS. "That's why the Society has expanded the Virtual Conference's programming to deliver more educational content and networking opportunities to the many healthcare professionals who don't have the budget or time to attend a conference in person."

Registration for the exhibit hall, networking lounge, as well as the Tuesday and Wednesday keynote sessions is free.

Next month's conference features IT-focused educational programming applicable to all healthcare professionals. Featured topics include the business side of EHR implementation, purchasing systems with interoperability built-in, the impact of mobile devices on nursing workflows, and discussions on RHIO sustainability.

Keynotes

The conference features two high-level keynote sessions, including an opening presentation from Harvard Medical's Dr. Robert Crone and Dr. John Helfrick on the explosive growth of medical tourism and what it means in terms of establishing global standards for patient care and health information exchange.

"Attendees will not only take away how medical tourism will impact their organizations, but that there's a real opportunity for improving healthcare quality internationally," said Dr. Helfrick.

C. Martin Harris, MD, FHIMSS, CIO and chairman, IT division, of Cleveland Clinic, will kick-off day two with a discussion on eEnabled medical practices. He will discuss the transformation process to the information age at Cleveland Clinic and its implications for medical practice in the short and long term.

Education for Key Stakeholders

CIOs can learn proactive approaches to streamline IT integration, enhance emergency response through healthcare IT and buy interoperable systems; while nurses can learn data mining techniques, patient identification strategies for EMR implementation and the latest on IT mobile devices. RHIO stakeholders can discover how to develop a sustainable business model, and learn valuable lessons from a study published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Public health officials and emergency responders can both learn about real-world solutions for using IT to optimize response and surveillance systems.

Following the conference, all education sessions and keynote addresses are available to paid registrants on demand for 90 days.

New Program

Attendees can take advantage of the new HIMSS Interoperability Showcase booth where they can observe demonstrations on in-use, standards-based interoperability frameworks enabling secure, real-time information exchange.

Exhibit Hall and Networking Lounge

The virtual exhibit hall offers attendees the opportunity to chat with exhibitors and ask questions about today's top healthcare IT and management systems solutions. Users can also interact via chat rooms and instant messenger with their peers in the virtual networking lounge. Attendees easily connect with industry colleagues who share professional interests and expertise through a profile matching tool.

Registration for the exhibit hall, networking lounge, as well as the Tuesday and Wednesday keynote sessions is free; registration for the education program is $85 for HIMSS members and $110 for nonmembers. From Oct. 8-19, registrants who purchase the Virtual Conference & Expo education sessions will receive a complimentary State Healthcare Knowledgebase report from HIMSS Analytics, a $500 value. Visit http://www.himssvirtual.org/reg.asp?src=prN07 to register.

For more information about the HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo, visit http://www.himssvirtual.org/?src=prN07.

About HIMSS

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, and other locations across the United States and Europe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems' contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.himss.org/" http://www.himss.org/ for more information.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060801/CGTU009LOGO-ahttp://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

CONTACT: Joyce Lofstrom of HIMSS, +1-312-915-9237, jlofstrom@himss.org

Web Site: http://www.himss.org/

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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