With HIMSS19 just days away, EHR giant Cerner has a lot on its mind. And its executives at the global health IT conclave are going to be focused on a variety of trends affecting EHRs and much more.

“Healthcare is a fast-paced industry defined by dramatic shifts in regulations, technology, care delivery and patient-physician interactions,” said John Peterzalek, chief client officer at Cerner. “At HIMSS19, we’re showcasing how our solutions integrate and help solve challenges and identify opportunities not only for today, but for the future.”

To that end, Cerner will be discussing trends including population health, seamless care and others, with an eye how those trends will transform the industry into the future.

“At HIMSS19, we’ll highlight the shifts from retrospective analytics to predictive analytics, a health system chart to a longitudinal record and plan, and population health to personalized health,” Peterzalek commented. “We also will focus on the future of healthcare through partnerships, improving national and local public healthcare, and continuing our mission to provide seamless care across the globe.”

The complexity required to move patients through a health system exceed those of any other industry – and the stakes are very high, Peterzalek remarked.

“Providers today are tasked with the challenge of managing the supply and demand equation, having to assess patients’ needs with available resources and staff without real-time or predictive capabilities to assist,” he said. “In order to perform and plan with excellence, healthcare organizations should embed real-time and predictive capabilities into operationally aware clinical workflows, which deliver action back into these workflows.”

"As we continue to rapidly scale innovation, open and interoperable systems will reach the full potential and benefits of these advancements."

John Peterzalek, Cerner

There are a variety of factors in the healthcare arena today that are pushing these trends along. In addition to digital transformation, pop health, patient experience, and the Silver Tsunami among those.

“We know that in order to improve, healthcare organizations need to be able to manage populations one person at a time,” Peterzalek said. “We’re focused on supporting our clients with a platform, solutions and services that meet their needs, no matter if they are just starting their population health journey or looking for new innovations.”

Another big trend is interoperability, which continues to play an important role in the future of healthcare. The sense of urgency in advancing open, interoperable systems and technologies is high while the industry makes strides with open data standards.

“Last year, we saw a leap toward nationwide interoperability with the connection of two of the largest interoperability communities — CommonWell Health Alliance and Carequality,” Peterzalek stated.

But as Cerner evaluates what comes next, Peterzalek said technology and healthcare companies will fight alongside each other in the push for interoperability, providing fresh perspectives and additional resources. This push is ultimately focused on the consumer and their experience to achieve better health outcomes throughout their lifetime, he added.

“As the industry continues to embrace advanced interoperability strategies, the volume of exchanged information will scale, making it critical to have the right data infrastructure to create actionable results,” he said.

Peterzalek noted that the healthcare landscape is changing.

“Our accomplishments in the now – such as the digitization of healthcare, an increase in patient-centered care and the promotion of evidence-based medicine – are the foundation for the future,” he said.

Everyone must do their part to help reach this future state – by encouraging other organizations to join efforts to promote interoperability across the industry, he added.

“As we continue to rapidly scale innovation, open and interoperable systems will reach the full potential and benefits of these advancements,” he concluded. “Improving the care delivered while reducing costs for both patients and healthcare organizations is not an easy undertaking. We all need to work side by side to make this next era of healthcare possible.”

Cerner will be in booth 2941.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com