Global Government Collaboration, Data Modernization at HIMSS23

World leaders will deliberate on public health data exchange and its modernization at the 2023 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, widely considered the international standard of substantive healthcare strategy and innovation, slated for April 17-21 in Chicago.  

“This is a critical debate to have, especially given the lessons of COVID-19 and how we, as a global community, were ill-prepared to meet the moment,” said Tom Leary, HIMSS senior vice president & head of Government Relations. “We learned that we couldn’t beat the pandemic until the world could share just-in-time data on the pandemic’s spread in populations. The time for digitizing healthcare and data sharing is here; we must work together to ensure the healthcare ecosystem can thrive and provide equitable care for everyone.”   

The EU is leading the movement and the U.S. is expected to soon follow as the push for a coordinated public health data exchange accelerated in the wake of a global pandemic. Healthcare leaders from Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Belgium will review the relationship between stakeholders and the EU on the use of data for care delivery and its reuse for planning, policymaking, research and innovation. 

Also, cybersecurity experts from the Ministry of Health of Romania, the French Ministry of Health & Prevention, and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will explore the policies and strategies governments implement to protect healthcare data from cyber threats.   

Conference Events on Data Modernization:  

• Changemaker luncheon — Talk public policy priorities with state, local, federal and international government officials and health IT experts at the Policy Changemakers Luncheon. A panel of U.S. federal and state policy champions will discuss data flow, interoperability, and modernization to advance public health and patient safety.  
    
• Join health information and technology thought leaders, policy advocates and HIMSS leadership at the annual Global Public Policy Breakfast.  
    
• U.S. state and tribal health leaders will debate public health data modernization in the session, Striving for 21st Century Public Health: Data Modernization Opportunities and Challenges. 
    
• CDC town hall — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state, territorial, local and tribal public health agencies host a townhall on public-private data modernization for 21st-century health transformation. They will illuminate how modern public health data infrastructure can improve health equity and outcomes.     

• Global discussion of digital transformation and health equity — A keynote panel will examine how to confront the challenges of access to high quality care and real-world actions to accelerate replicable solutions. Moderated by Harold F. Wolf III, president and CEO, HIMSS, the panel features The Netherlands Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Ernst Kuipers; World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge; Department of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Lester Martinez-Lopez; and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Ambassador for Health and Wellbeing Päivi Sillanaukee. 

Learn more about HIMSS23, including the full agenda, hotel accommodations, continuing-education credits. Join the conversation on Twitter or LinkedIn with #HIMSS23 or by following @HIMSS.