Industry leaders gear up for strengthening health IT infrastructure across region

September 21, 2011, Melbourne: The HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Asia Pac'11 Conference and Exhibition incorporating the HIMAA 2011 National Conference, opened on Tuesday, bringing together leading international experts in healthcare information systems and technology.

The three-day event, which is being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, is particularly relevant, given Australia's National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) is establishing a national eHealth infrastructure. The organizers have put together a special Australia and New Zealand track for country-specific sharing and learning opportunities.

“It is the first time that we've held the HIMSS Asia Pac conference in Australia and we've brought together some of the world's best health IT practitioners. It's great to be able to facilitate information exchange for effective deployment of healthcare IT solutions to improve patient care and delivery across the region ," said H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, HIMSS President/CEO.

Dr. Mukesh Haikerwal (AO), National Clinical Lead for NEHTA, who delivered the keynote address to open the conference said that the release of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) Concept of Operations in September was a major step forward for eHealth in Australia and 1 July 2012, will be when all Australians will have the opportunity to register for an eHealth Record.

“Extensive engagement and consultation has been undertaken to get to this point. I am confident we are building an exceptional and world-leading eHealth system for Australia. ” he said.

The HIMSS Asia Pac'11 conference has several key features including a Leadership Summit and the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase.™

At the Leadership Summit, the presentation by John P. Hoyt, Executive Vice President, Organisation Services, HIMSS Analytics, will highlight the results of the first HIMSS Asia Pacific Leadership Survey with a view to anticipating IT priorities for the region as well as barriers to technology adoption. Preliminary results show that a third of the survey's 240 respondents are focused on clinical solutions such as computerized practitioner order entry (CPOE) or electronic health records that could help improve the quality of patient care.

The interoperability showcases are unique events that demonstrate the power and availability of standards-based health IT solutions by demonstrating clinical use cases that allow participants to create a patient record and watch it move from system to system across a continuum of care. For the Melbourne conference this year, the event is being organised on all three days in collaboration with Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise™ (IHE). “This year, we will demonstrate how health information exchanges can allow viewing of diagnostic images from multiple care settings,” said Mr Steven Yeo, Vice President, HIMSS Asia Pacific

The conference will feature about 70 speakers from around the world, 77 presentations and five panel discussions. From pre-conference symposia and the leadership summit, to thought leader programs and education sessions, HIMSS Asia Pac'11 offers an opportunity to network with the growing healthcare information industry's best minds.

“Victoria is particularly pleased to be hosting the first HIMSS Asia-Pacific Conference to be held in Australia . Participants are hearing directly from experts in different countries in the region who are dealing with very similar challenges, whether in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Chile, New Zealand or Australia and this is exactly the kind of information exchange we were hoping for,” said HIMSS Asia Pac'11 Organising Committee Chairman Dr. Andrew P. Howard.

About 75 leading companies offering healthcare IT products and services are showcasing their cutting-edge technologies and innovative health IT solutions at the Exhibition.

The conference and exhibition, which is organized by HIMSS Asia Pacific, is the sixth edition in the region. Since its establishment, HIMSS Asia Pacific has successfully organised HIMSS Asia Pacific Conferences and Exhibitions around the region, in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Korea. It returns next year to Singapore, where it will be held at the city-state's exciting new destination venue of Marina Bay Sands.

For media enquiries and interviews, please contact:

Yvonne Lim
Manager, Marketing & Communications
HIMSS Analytics Asia
Tel : +65 6664 1184
Email : [email protected]

Micaiah Tan
Senior Account Executive
Ogilvy Health
Mobile: +65 8123 3928
Email: [email protected]

About HIMSS
HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 38,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations.

HIMSS also includes over 540 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems' contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care.

To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org

About HIMAA
The Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) is the peak professional body of Health Information Managers in Australia. Health Information Managers are tertiary qualified professionals who design, implement and manage the sophisticated information systems that support patient care, health planning, financial management and clinical research.

Membership of HIMAA is open to all graduates of HIMAA accredited HIM courses and others involved in the health information management sector. A member of Professions Australia, HIMAA is committed to improving the health of Australians through professional information management; and to promoting and supporting its members as the universally recognised specialists in information management at all levels of the healthcare system.

HIMAA is also a Registered Training Organisation conducting, by distance education, “industry standard” training courses in Medical Terminology and ICD-10-AM, ACHI and ACS clinical coding.

Diamond Sponsor
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Their broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services helps customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, GE Healthcare partners with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.