HIMSS18: Healthcare Innovation Requires More Than Technology

“Better health through information and technology” is HIMSS’s guiding principle. Attending HIMSS18 in Las Vegas this week, I witnessed more than 40,000 healthcare technology leaders converge on a single mission: to solve the country’s most pressing health challenges.

Each session, keynote, and vendor booth echoed the same call to action – the industry must move beyond technology and focus on people, processes, and partnership.

Below are the four themes that dominated the conference:

1. Security – Cyber‑risk is a universal threat. Every presentation and booth highlighted the need for a holistic security strategy that evolves with emerging threats. No single vendor can claim a complete solution; the real challenge lies in defining what “complete” means. The consensus is that providers must own the burden, but choosing partners that deliver best‑in‑class products today and will continue to support them long into the future is critical.
   
   
2. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – The excitement around AI/ML has tempered. We now understand that electronic health records (EHRs) were designed for billing and contain only a fraction of the data required for real clinical impact. The keynote from former Alphabet/Google executive Eric Schmidt introduced a “second‑tier data store” for patient‑generated data, separate from the EHR, as the key to unlocking cost savings and better outcomes. This aligns with RTI’s focus on edge computing and data‑centric architecture.
3. Data Access – Patients and consumers increasingly demand transparency and control over their health information. With widespread internet access and smartphone penetration, the expectation is that personal data can be readily shared and analyzed. This pressure forces payers, providers, and vendors to accelerate digital strategies that empower patients while protecting privacy.
   
   
4. Delayed Innovation – Eric Schmidt bluntly stated that the delay in healthcare technology is not a technical problem but a cultural one. “Everything is buildable today or in the next few years; we just need to figure out how,” he said. The solution is collaboration across the entire ecosystem. RTI remains committed to delivering the embedded connectivity framework that will support a secure, real‑time network of medical devices, enabling the second‑tier data store and accelerating innovation.