Winter 2015 Newsletter
Message from the President
Happy New Year everyone! I know many of you had a very busy year in 2014, and it looks as though 2015 is shaping up to be another year of tremendous activity for those of us in the healthcare industry.
I would like to thank each of you for being a member of our award-winning HIMSS Southern California chapter! Your involvement is an important reason for our success, and we truly value your membership. As we kick off a New Year, I’d like to provide an update on how we wrapped up this past quarter for our chapter and share some breaking news just announced.
HIMSS National Honors 2014 Award and Scholarship Recipients
Southern California Awarded Best Large Chapter and SoCal Chapter President Jim Brady Selected for Distinguished Fellows Service Award
Recognizing outstanding contributions to HIMSS and the healthcare industry, HIMSS National has just named its 2014 award and scholarship recipients.
2014 Member Survey Results
By Karen Keating, PMP, CPHIMS
The results are in! We’re pleased to report the findings of the 2014 Member Survey, conducted in November 2014. There were 122 responses, a 6% response rate overall - Excellent!
Thank you for sharing your opinion! Your valuable feedback will help So Cal HIMSS develop programs and events that reflect your interests. Your input will also be used to guide the 2015 strategic plan.
CxO Corner
by Sri Bharadwaj, President-Elect, and Dianne Baker, Marketing and Communications Chairperson
For this quarter’s CXO Corner, Sri Bharadwaj, our Chapter’s President-Elect, and Dianne Baker, Marketing and Communications Chairperson, had the opportunity to visit with Lee Kim, Director, Privacy and Security, National HIMSS. Lee talks to us about her very interesting and diverse career and the upcoming Keynote address at our 5th Annual Privacy and Security Forum on January 30 2015, at Hoag Hospital. She also shares excellent insight and advice on helping to manage security and privacy threats in your organization.
Read Full Article
HIMSS SoCal Hosts First CPHIMS Course and Exam
by James Brady, President, and Dianne Baker, Board Member and Chairperson, Marketing and Communications
Our HIMSS SoCal Chapter hosted our first all-day CPHIMS Review Course on Friday, November 7th, at National University in Costa Mesa. The event generated significant interest and we had an oversold event with many members on a waiting list to attend.
New Feature - Organization Affiliates
by Karen Kennedy and Dianne Baker, HIMSS SoCal Marketing and Communications
Our HIMSS SoCal Marketing and Communications team is continually looking to expand the value of this Chapter’s communication to our members. In this Quarter’s Newsletter, we are pleased to introduce a new feature for our Newsletter showcasing our Chapter’s Organizational Affiliates.
First up is Scripps Health in San Diego!
New Feature - Our Chapter Members in Action!
We are continually looking to bring our Chapter Members important information and meaningful content to improve your industry knowledge and expand the value of your HIMSS membership.
While much of this information has been centered around Regional and National initiatives and events – we also want to share the many activities and accomplishments our very engaged members and Chapter volunteers have contributed in the growth of our industry.
Committee Profile
By Kim Green, Board Member and Chairperson, Membership Committee
The HIMSS SoCal Membership Committee is one of the few ‘lone wolf’ committees in the SoCal Chapter. Currently, Kim Green serves as Chair and the one and only member of this esteemed group. Thanks to the development and teachings of her predecessor, Dean Torres, Kim was able to quickly and easily track the ever-changing membership landscape of the Chapter and begin to address growth in specific demographics.
Academic Alliance Corner
By Bella Zaghi, Board Member and Chairperson, Academic Alliance Community
On October 14, the HIMSS SoCal Academic Alliance Committee was invited to present to a crowd of 30 MHA candidates at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. During the presentation, students were informed about the various events and opportunities held by HIMSS as well as the many benefits offered through membership.
Advocacy Corner
By Ian Slade, Vice President, Advocacy
The HIMSS SoCal Advocacy and Public Policy team is committed to representing the issues and concerns that matter most to our membership. The purpose of the trips to Capitol Hill and the local visits here in SoCal is to have robust dialogue with our legislative offices and representation. The intent is expand their awareness of our current issues and the impact to our business. We also obtain feedback regarding the bills they are working on that affects Healthcare IT.
Ambulatory Corner
by Angela Rivera, Board Member and Chairperson, Ambulatory and Sponsorship Committees
It has been our Chapter’s goal to broaden our reach to those organizations and participating members that focus on ambulatory care as much of healthcare’s future depends on strengthening our primary care approaches to improving population health. And while California is one of the most forward thinking areas of the country as it relates to managing healthcare costs while demonstrating high quality of care, there is still much work to be done. We are privileged to have so many industry leaders as members of the So. Cal Chapter who not only assist us with providing education to our membership, but share common goals of improving care for our community.
Clinical Informatics Corner
by Toon Prasertsit, RN, BSN, MBA, PMP
The HIMSS SoCal Clinical Informatics Committee has been working to bring quality programs to meet the challenging landscape of IT healthcare. Many innovations are emerging as relevant topics for discussion.
Patient engagement continues to be at the forefront. What tools will the healthcare sector provide to assist patients in managing their healthcare? Secure messaging and telehealth services are tools breaking down barriers and making communication and access to their providers easier for patients. Patient portals provide patients access to their current clinical data.
The Connected Patient Initiative
Climbing the Patient Engagement Hill at Intermountain
by Sri Bharadwaj, President Elect, HIMSS Southern California
This quarter we feature yet another excellent example of patient engagement with one of the country's largest hospital systems Intermountain Healthcare.
Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with 22 hospitals, about 1,100 employed primary care and secondary care physicians at more than 185 clinics in the Intermountain Medical Group, a broad range of clinics and services, and health insurance plans from SelectHealth. Intermountain employs more than 34,000 employees, serving the needs of Utah and southeastern Idaho residents.
Health Literacy: Beyond the Written Word
by Tim Jones, Vice President, Administration/Secretary
Much of the focus in health literacy has been on simplifying written information to the recommended 5th grade level to better match the reading skills of most Americans. However, there are other ways to improve health literacy that does not rely on the ability to read and write.
Another Serendipitous HIMSS SoCal Programs Fall Kick-off!
by Geri Pavia, Board Member and VP Programs
HIMSS SoCal Programs was off to a swinging success, as we teed off together in beautiful Newport Beach, California, this past October at our Annual Golf Charity Event in support of Make-A-Wish, Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Leading the way with our Annual Golf Charity Event, we linked up at the beautiful Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach. Joining us that day were some of our own most renowned healthcare executives, along with many of our own superb Chapter golfers.
Social Media Corner
The #hashtag phenomenon: What are you waiting for? Join Now!
by Nishant Jain, Co-Chair - SoCal HIMSS Marketing and Social Media
At HIMSS SoCal group's most recent event, we used the hashtag #CIOFORUM2014 to post tweets. So, if some of you are wondering what hashtags are, this article is for you.
Chapter Events
Plan to Calendar these Upcoming Chapter and National Events!
- 5th Annual Privacy & Security Forum at the Hoag Hospital Conference Center in Newport Beach on January 30, 2015
- CPHIMS and Certified Associate in Healthcare Information Management Systems (CAHIMS) review course at National University in San Diego, February 13th and 15th, 2015
- Nursing Informatics Prep Course that is currently scheduled to be on February 21-22, 2015 at the Hoag Hospital facilities in Newport Beach, CA
- Clinical Informatics Networking event in Rancho Mirage on Friday, February 27th
- 6th Annual Healthcare IT Conference at the Center for Healthy Communities in Los Angeles, CA on March 2, 2015
- HIMSS15 Annual Conference & Exhibition is the industry’s largest health IT educational program and exhibition center. HIMSS15 will take place April 12-16, 2015 in Chicago, IL. Learn more here.
- 7th Annual Clinical Informatics Summit on May 15, 2015 at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences & Engineering on the University of California, Irvine campus.