Big Announcements at 2015 Annual Meeting of Heathcare Information Management Society

MDalert.com staff.
Save to PDF Technology By

According to reports from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society annual meeting, HIMSS15, which concluded today in Chicago, there were a number of important presentations:

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Announced $1 Million Grants to Support Community Interoperability


Karen DeSalvo, MD

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Karen DeSalvo, MD, announced $1 million in new grant programs to support the Community Interoperability Health Information Exchange Program. The new program is open to a wide range of providers, including those not eligible under EHR incentive programs: long-term and post-acute care providers, behavioral health providers, individuals and their caregivers, safety net providers, public health, social service, emergency medical services and other nontraditional caregivers.

According to HealthcareDive.com, IBM made a number of interesting announcements:

  • The acquisitions of leading population health management software provider Phytel to help bolster the company's analytics offerings; and of big data cloud service Explorys, a former Cleveland Clinic spin-off.
  • The launch of IBM's new Watson Health unit. To be headquartered in Boston, MA, Watson Health is a dedicated company arm to help healthcare organizations employ meaningful analytics to improve outcomes. The unit includes the development of the secure health cloud.
  • New, non-exclusive partnerships with Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic to leverage information collected from personal health devices.

CareCloud’s Damian McNamara posted a unique blog entry about Apple Inc.’s new ResearchKit

“Amidst all the buzz about the new apple Watch, Apple also announced its new ResearchKit — which holds the potential to affect many people’s lives by revolutionizing medical research.

“Perhaps the most profound change and positive impact that iPhone will make is on our health,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a March 9, 2015 unveiling of new products and enhancements.

Apple worked with a dozen leading medical research institutions to develop ResearchKit. This new software framework could significantly change the way medical researchers find study participants and gather data.

During development of their health information platform, apple HealthKit, “We came across an even broader impact that iPhone could make – and that is on medical research,” Cook said.

See the full post here.


© 2024 /alert® unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Editorial Policy | Advertising Policy