NJDVHIMSS 16th Annual Fall Conference 2023

NJDVHIMSS 16^th Annual Fall Conference 2023

Every October, we look forward to reuniting with all the vendors, providers, sponsors and members for insightful discussions on the dynamic healthcare landscape. This year marks the return of our 16th Annual NJDVHIMSS Fall Conference, hosted once again at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

We welcomed over 400 members from the New Jersey & Delaware Valley Chapters to participate in three days of golf, exciting breakout and keynote sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities. Our chapters got to hear insights into the latest trends that are shaping the healthcare industry across timely topics like the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, patient-centered care, interoperability, and so much more.

Day One – Golf Outing

On October 17th, the event kicked off with a highly successful and well-attended golf event that drew over 100 healthcare leaders from both the New Jersey and Delaware Valley Chapters. Our dedicated members gathered at the Ballamor Golf Club and generously contributed over $1,000 to support the local food bank in Atlantic City.

Day Two – Keynotes and Breakout Sessions

To kick off day two, NJHIMSS President Julia Staas and DVHIMSS President Gayle Stiden-Smith, from Virtua Health and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, gave opening remarks about how they’ve been working together on interoperability within our region for over a decade.

Edward Marx, CEO of Marx Advisory Group delivered the first keynote session of the day where he emphasized the importance of addressing the diverse needs of patient populations and enhancing community support. He emphasized the collective effort required to better serve clinicians, patients, and our fellow professionals with many powerful real-life examples. “Transformation happens when you bring together heart, empathy, and personalization,” said Marx.

After a quick break, the CIO panel discussion took place. Rich Temple from Deborah Heart & Lung Center moderated the event and was joined by the following panelists: Luis Taveras at Lehigh Valley Health Network, Shakeeb Akhter at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Edmund Siy at Hunterdon Health, and Tom Gordon at Virtua Health. This group of CIOs covered how the role of CIO has changed. “The role used to be very technology-based, now it is very clinical, and the role of the CIO has elevated,” said Luis Taveras. On the hype of artificial intelligence (AI), Taveras said, “It needs to make sense to implement it, you can’t just jump into something, you have to have a plan.”

Throughout the day, there were a variety of excellent breakout sessions that featured speakers from ChristianaCare, ECRI, Hackensack Meridian Health, HFS Research, Lehigh Valley Health, Virtua Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, and Penn Medicine!

The last keynote discussion of the day was presented by Jacob O’Leary of Microsoft who highlighted healthcare’s newest promise – generative AI. O’Leary discussed the different AI models, the pros and cons, in addition to all the use cases for generative AI. O’Leary described his first encounter with AI “like nothing he’s ever seen before,” and he indicated that “the world will never be the same,” after he first used it. He also covered the three eras of AI, which were rules-based AI, ML-based AI, and unsupervised-learning AI.

Day Three – Wrapping Up

The third and final day of the conference started with a nursing leadership panel. Panelists included Katherine A. Collard at ChristianaCare, Elizabeth Craig at Main Line Health, Marianne Everett at Virtua Health, and Mary Jo Louglin at Hunterdon Health. The discussion focused on the intricacies of healthcare today in a post-pandemic world. The panel also covered the urgent demand for 8.4 million more nurses by 2030 and tackled nursing challenges while attempting to provide care to patients wherever they are located.

The next session was hosted by Jennifer D’Angelo on interoperability in New Jersey from joint efforts between NJII, NJDOH, and NJDHS DMAHS. Jennifer presented how the three entities are ultimately working towards faster and more efficient transfer of PHI between entities, expanding acute care facility access to include CCD and MPI, while also adding more long-term care facilities, acute care facilities, and hospitals to the network.

Our last keynote of the event titled, Healthcare Strategy in a Digital World – A Systems Perspective,” was hosted by Michael Apkon of Sand Street Advisors. He discussed the opportunity to improve and shape our industry at a macro or population level as well as some trends that are driving the evolution of digital strategies in our industry.

We want to give a special thank you again to all our sponsors, members, vendors, and providers for supporting both chapters. This event wouldn’t be possible without every single one of you who joined us this year!