Strategic Planning

Hal Wolf, HIMSS CEO, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, talk about how using digital tools, including AI agents, can help Americans manage their own care and stay healthier longer, potentially unlocking massive economic gains.

Healthcare IT News, Healthcare Finance News and MobiHealthNews editors discuss happenings from the first official day of HIMSS26, including the keynote speakers' thoughts about AI's future role in healthcare and how to master scaling and innovation.

HIMSS26 kicked off Tuesday in Las Vegas with informative keynotes and discussions on healthcare's hottest topics. Hear from HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf and catch some of the insights that leaders shared at the HIMSS TV Insider news booth.

Kaiser Permanente's Surya Shenoy and Jerri Westphal say that intelligent AI agents can help provide patient education and post-discharge support, but stress that nurses must guide content creation to avoid misinformation.

Anne Snowdon, HIMSS' chief scientific research officer, cautions that AI tools won't improve operations or care delivery unless the technology fits into existing workflows; clinicians and staff must also be trained in their use.

At HIMSS26, keynote speaker and former president of Tesla Jon McNeill shared the framework Tesla used when first developing the car company and how those lessons can be used in healthcare.

Hal Wolf, HIMSS president and CEO, says HIMSS helps leaders assess their AI readiness with the AMAM maturity model before deploying AI and offers neutral guidance on governance and implementing AI tools responsibly.

As CMS removes procedures from its Inpatient-Only (IPO) list, Allison Oakes, Trilliant's chief research officer, recommends that hospitals establish a clear outpatient strategy to avoid losing the income these procedures bring.

Dr. Thomas Keane of ASTP/ONC discusses the agency's initiative that is piloting programs in nine states to ensure that behavioral health data can flow securely between providers, vocational programs and housing authorities.

Cleveland Clinic CIO Sarah Hatchett talks about how the health system is leveraging AI for use cases like clinical documentation, coding and sepsis detection to boost productivity for clinical and non-clinical staff.