Patient engagement. Most people working in or paying attention to healthcare consider it the future and a necessity in the move to population health, value-based care and the Triple Aim.

That’s not to say it will easy. But it will be among the hot topics at HIMSS17, where education sessions will demonstrate how connected health can play a critical role in improving health and wellness.

Multiple sessions and forums will highlight challenges, innovations, and the big promise of patient engagement.

Here is our rundown:

Advancing patient engagement in behavioral health
This session will offer a look at the strategies Ontario Shores has employed to advance engagement, as well as technologies an EHR-integrated patient portal, an offline mobile experience for patients, and the piloting of a virtual clinic for e-therapy.
Speakers: Wendy Odell, Manager, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health
Sarah Kipping, Clinical Practice Leader in Professional Practice, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
When: February 21, 2017 — 10 AM – 11 AM
Where: Room 208C

Patient engagement and financial Health: A roadmap
Speakers will shed light on the business case for patient portals, outline revenue opportunities, and look at how the technology can be used to empower patients and increase satisfaction. They will also laydown the five steps to implementing and using a portal, achieving a high adoption rate and boosting bottom-line performance.
Speakers: Paul Shenenberger, CIO, Summit Medical Group
Todd Rothenhaus, Chief Medical Officer, athenahealth
When: Feb. 22, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST
Where: Tangerine Ballroom, F3

The patient perspective on patient engagement: One year later
Officials from the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum will present the Year One results from a campaign, including patient feedback, about why they will and why others will not engage with health IT. They will also share strategies for replicating the success they earned.
Speakers: Jamie Martin, Marketing and Communications Manager, Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum
Nadine Robin, Health IT Program Director, LHQF
When: Feb. 21, 2017 — 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Room 304E

Balancing patient privacy with patient engagement efforts
This session will highlight federal policy drivers that enable patients to control and access data. The speakers will also explain how providers can leverage these opportunities to craft policies that meet these requirements and patient expectations, including a look at relevant information security issues. They’ll also evaluate Office for Civil Rights guidance and share best practices for allowing patients to access and share their data.
Speakers: David Holtzman, vice president of compliance, CynergisTek
Mercy Del Ray, Chief Privacy Officer, Baptist Health South Florida
When: Feb, 22, 2017 — 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST
Where: Room 331A

How to overcome misconceptions about digital patient engagement
In this session, Cleveland Clinic chief experience officer Adrienne Boissy will dispel several myths: that achieving scalable patient engagement programs is a difficult challenge, that clinicians resist the technologies and tactics, and that statistical measurement fails show that engaging patients leads to better outcomes. She will also offer advice about improving patient education and empowerment.
Speaker: Adrienne Boissy, MD, chief experience officer, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
When: Feb. 20, 2017 — 12 PM – 1 PM EST
Where: Tangerine Ballroom F3

Driving patient engagement through mobile-enabled care management
This case study will examine how Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska deployed a mobile care management approach to better engage patients with clinical services—an approach it said has had a profound impact on patients and care mangers alike.
Speakers: Jacob Sattelmair, CEO, Wellframe
Norine Domenge, Manager, Case Management and Care Coordination, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska
When: Feb. 21, 2017 — 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST
Where: 304A

Improving outcomes, efficiencies and engagement with PGHD
Patient-generated health data (PGHD) holds considerable promise to improve health, and as the amount and sources of it continue expanding, first-mover health systems are leveraging PGHD to glean insights about what the best ways to communicate with patients. The speakers will address how providers can navigate the new world of PGHD by understanding regulation and evolving payment models. And they’ll make recommendations about implementing apps, remote clinical devices and wearables.
Speakers: Drew Schiller, Co-Founder and CEO, Validic
Jodi Daniel, JD, MPH, Partner, Crowell & Moring
When: February 21, 2017 — 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Where: 307A

The patient experience paradigm
Speakers will share lessons learned from Holy Redeemer’s patient experience transformation. Topics include integrating technologies, researching motivators for improving engagement and experience, as well as the challenges. The speakers will also share best practices.
Speakers: Christine Holt, chief experience officer, Holy Redeemer Health System
Nancy Ragont, senior manager, customer insights, CDW Healthcare
When: Feb. 22, 2017 — 4 PM – 5 PM EST
Where: Tangerine Ballroom F3

Using multidisciplinary teamwork and technology to enhance patient experience
This session will focus on the implementation of interactive patient care technology, such as a real time portal and discharge calls. The speaker also will provide an outline for engaging frontline staff and leaders to help design and implement best practices, describe the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and discuss the roles of nurse, doctor, and administrator when creating a patient experience and engagement program.
Speaker: Susan Murphy, Senior Staff, University of Chicago Medicine
When: February 22, 2017 — 1 PM – 2 PM
Where: Tangerine Ballroom, F3

Uncover beliefs about patient-generated health data
Speakers will share the results of two Web surveys designed to determine alignment and discordance in patient and physician perceptions on the value of Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD). They will also identify barriers and success factors for both clinicians and patients.
Speakers: Christina Hoffman, vice president of strategy and quality, Medscape Education
Jamie DeMaria, senior vice president, WebMD/Medscape Education
When: February 20, 2017 — 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Where: Tangerine Ballroom, F3

Portal use factors - the keys to patient portal adoption
This session will examine the factors studies have identified as affecting patient portal use. Speakers will describe potential ways to address such factors and improve both adoption and utilization. They will also identify organizations and their experiences where patient portal adoption and utilization surpass norms.
Speakers: Jon Burns, CIO, University of Maryland Medical System
William Reed, executive vice president and partner, The Huntzinger Management Group, Inc.
When: Feb.y 22, 2017 — 4 PM EST – 5 PM EST
Where: Room 311A

Healthcare consumerism: Understand the person behind the patient
The speaker will discuss how cloud, mobile, and social technologies can be used to transform engagement. This session will explain how organizations are using analytics to better understand continuous engagement as well as ways to empower patients via targeted health information.
Speaker: Joshua Newman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Salesforce
When: February 22, 2017 — 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Where: Room 204A

Measuring value-based care with patient-reported outcomes
With case studies and real world examples of patient reported outcomes, the speakers will share best practices for data collection. That includes describing Patient Reported Outcomes how they are different from patient satisfaction ratings. Speakers will also assess clinical use cases for patient reported outcomes supporting value-based care.
Speakers:  Scott Bradley, vice president, OM1
Laurence Higgins, MD, MBA, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
When: Feb. 20, 2017 — 3 PM  - 4 PM EST
Where: Room 207C