Interoperability is one of the most important and most vexing issues facing health IT today. And once again HIMSS is addressing it at its Global Conference and Exhibition with the HIMSS19 Interoperability Showcase specialty pavilion.

The showcase is designed to get at the heart of what the true value of interoperability really is, said Christel Anderson, senior director, interoperability initiatives, at HIMSS.

"The Interoperability Showcase will uncover an entire health ecosystem where standards-based health technology enables individuals to securely access, contribute to and analyze their own health data," said Anderson, and will offer attendees the chance to "discover the value that an interoperable health ecosystem can have on all us" and "engage in technical demonstrations, cutting-edge education and unique networking events."

A wide-ranging pavilion

This year the showcase will feature 82 organizations demonstrating 121 health IT systems across 16 different use-cases. Premier sponsors include Allscripts, BD, Dell Boomi, Cerner, CDC, The Da Vinci Project, Epic, ICU Medical and the VA. Each will demonstrate the value of interoperability. The showcase's use cases and educational sessions will tackle the value and evolution of health data.

Questions the Interoperability Showcase will explore include:

• How can the healthcare data that supports all patients evolve and change the conversations around research? Around social determinants of health? Around the progress made on the road to interoperability?
• How can this data drive interoperable advances in technology such as AI and telehealth?
• And how can interoperability efforts through groups like IHE and HL7 provide the needed infrastructure?

On the HL7 and IHE front,  Amit Trivedi and Wayne Kubrick will present "Interoperability Moonshot: Project Gemini" (Tuesday, February 12, at 2:30 p.m.). In this educational session, they will share how the "standards twins" of HL7 and IHE are working together to advance interoperability.

Showcase programming kicks off this year with "Artificial Intelligence – A Solution for Interoperability?" (Tuesday, February 12, at 10:30 a.m.) in which Dr. Anthony Chang of CHOC Children’s will explore how AI offers a potential solution, but not without its own set of unique challenges.

"The Veterans Administration will be debuting a new area at the Interoperability Showcase that will bridge interoperability and innovation together, and we mean that physically, too, as the two areas are connected this year," Anderson said. "The VA will be sharing the latest in connected care and providing information on its journey with telehealth, FHIR, Blue Button, open source APIs and much more."

A personalized health satellite

Each year at HIMSS19, the Interoperability Showcase – traditionally the most-visited area of the whole conference – has expanded its footprint. At HIMSS19, the showcase will debut a new demonstration area outside the four walls of the showcase.

The new HIMSS Interoperability Showcase Satellite will be located within the Personalized Health Experience Pavilion. Attendees will experience a connected, interactive demonstration focused on engaging patients in their own healthcare journey.

"The Interoperability Showcase will uncover an entire health ecosystem where standards-based health technology enables individuals to securely access, contribute to and analyze their own health data."

Christel Anderson, HIMSS

The showcase also will debut a "Women in Interoperability" panel on with Christina Caraballo, Didi Davis and Judy Murphy, RN, and moderated by Anderson (Thursday, February 14, at 1:30 p.m.). Anderson said attendees will meet with HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT award winners and interoperability trailblazers to discuss the technical side of the healthcare infrastructure equation and how interoperability initiatives will benefit from a more diversified workforce.

"From first-timers to experienced attendees, the Interoperability Showcase explores a wide range of initiatives, products and technologies used by individuals, providers, payers, employers and researchers to improve individual care and population health," said Anderson. "We hope that each of our attendees walk away from the showcase with our 'Top 5.'"

The "Top 5" refer to takeaways that show how attendees can be energized by how interoperability initiatives, interoperable technologies and interoperability content can:

1. Create the seamless ability to securely access and use data from different sources using standards-based infrastructures.
2. Portray longitudinal pictures of health, not just episodes of care.
3. Enable public health agencies and researchers to rapidly learn, develop, test and deploy the best in clinical, evidence-based guidelines and effectively utilize secondary use of data.
4. Enable analytics to integrate diagnostic, health history and social determinants data with genomic and environmental data.
5. Provide a runway for innovation to make the best use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

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