HIMSS: Developing Healthcare Information Technology in Oregon

by Linda Barney, founder and owner of Barney & Associates

Expanding the Role of Health IT
As part of a National Health Infrastructure Initiative (NHII), President George W. Bush and leaders in government, healthcare and business are calling for the expansion of health information technology (HIT) to address the problems of antiquated tracking of health records, medical records and to use information technology (IT) to solve other healthcare-related issues. For an in depth look at various health IT standards and proposals, see the SAO article “The Need for an Integrated Electronic Health Record System.”

HIMSS—optimizing health IT
A number of businesses, information technology organizations and software developers are working on health IT standards and ways of using technology to solve issues in the healthcare arena. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a national organization that is exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. The HIMSS organization believes that, “Information and data exchange is critical to the delivery of quality patient care services and effectiveness of healthcare organizations. The benefits of appropriate sharing of health information among patients, physicians, and other authorized participants in the healthcare delivery value chain, are nearly universally understood and desired. Few organizations and systems have taken advantage of the full potential of the current state of the art in computer science and health informatics.”

To help address the health IT needs, HIMSS is working in the areas of technology, interoperability, standards utilization, harmonization, and business information systems. HIMSS members are actively involved in evaluating how Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) or Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) can be used to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare delivery[1]. RHIOs are the building blocks of the National Health Information Network (NHIN) initiative proposed by David Brailer, MD, and his team at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT).

HIMSS Oregon—bridging the technical and clinical gap
The HIMSS Oregon Chapter has a diverse membership, including IT leaders at Oregon’s healthcare organizations (CIOs, VPs, and directors); health IT professionals such as business analysts, project managers, and network administrators; nursing and medical informaticists, clinicians and students from colleges and universities. According to Linda Brackett (HIMSS Oregon Chapter President), “HIMSS Oregon recognizes and embraces the ever-changing practice of healthcare and how information technology can play an important role in improving patient care, maintaining compliance with government regulations, and evolving the overall clinical experience.”

The HIMSS Oregon Chapter is actively involved in state and national advocacy efforts, meetings around specific health IT topics, an annual conference that looks at emerging technologies and their practical implications, as well as working on the Oregon Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) initiative. The RHIO envisioned in the Oregon initiative comprises a complete health system—it is made up of not only hospitals in the region but includes any facility such as physician practices, emergency care, retirement facilities or labs, that can provide care to a person across his or her lifespan.

A major focus of the HIMSS Oregon Chapter is how health IT professionals and clinicians can work together to solve health issues using technology. “Oregon HIMSS focuses on health IT and on people who have to deploy and use it. Our goal is to bring IT, clinical and business people together to explore developments in IT and how to best implement them. We have started an advocacy group whose goal is to increase awareness of healthcare IT in the legislature and the accomplishments we have made in Oregon,” states Brackett.

The HIMSS Oregon Chapter has a Nursing Informatics Committee and believes that “Informatics nurses play a critical role in the implementation and evaluation of information systems and communication technology in healthcare. They represent nursing’s active voice in healthcare IT strategic planning, keeping the patient at the center of the conversation. Informatics nurses provide expertise in the use of technology and data management to improve patient care quality and safety, support nursing work flow and work force management, and advance nursing practice as well as the development of nursing knowledge.”

Help shape health IT in Oregon
The HIMSS Oregon Chapter collaborates with other healthcare organizations in the state such as Oregon Health Forum, Oregon Bioscience Association, Oregon Nurses Alliance, as well as the Washington and Northern California chapters of HIMSS. HIMSS Oregon welcomes input from health IT professionals, businesses, software or hardware developers, healthcare professionals, and SAO or other professional group members in helping to define and implement an effective health IT strategy. To learn more about the Oregon HIMSS Chapter, its board members and how you can get involved, click on the following links:

HIMSS Oregon Chapter Overview page at
http://www.himss-oregon.org/aboutus/aboutus.html

HIMSS Oregon Board of Directors at
http://www.himss-oregon.org/board/board.html

About the author
Linda Barney is the founder and owner of Barney and Associates, a technical and marketing writing firm. Founded in 1990, Barney and Associates specializes in technical writing, documentation, online help, web content, and training. Barney and Associates also provides a wide range of marketing writing services including creating media articles, white papers, data sheets, solution briefs, case studies and reviewer’s guides. Contact Linda at linda@barneyassoc.com.

[1] Definition of RHIOs on the HIMSS site: http://www.himss.org/asp/topics_rhio.asp