In March 2024, Bamboo Health took part in the 2024 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition in Florida, which centered on the theme of “creating tomorrow’s health.” The conference brought together experts from across hospitals, health systems and other healthcare technology-focused organizations.
We sat down with the Bamboo team members who attended HIMSS to learn more about their key takeaways from presentations, conversations and more.
Q: Leveraging technology has been discussed across the healthcare system, and this discussion continued at HIMSS. What insights were shared at the conference about how providers can use data insights to improve patient satisfaction and retention rates within their own organizations?
A: To move the needle on patient outcomes, retention and patient satisfaction, you need data that key healthcare coordinators (registered nurse care coordinator, care manager, social worker, etc.) can use in the moments that matter.Health systems are inundated with data from interoperability frameworks, health plans, electronic health records (EHRs) and more, so they don’t need more of those inputs in 10 different places. Organizations need simple, actionable and easily accessed insights. There are several pivotal moments in which engaging patients in real-time could lead to better outcomes. For example, many organizations could benefit from identifying a patient at risk of readmission and ensuring prompt primary care follow-up when they are discharged from an out-of-network hospital or by identifying a patient spending over a week in a skilled nursing facility for an issue that could have been discharged sooner. These are the moments that will drive the greatest impact on the bottom line, but more importantly, those are the patients that drive the greatest impact on high-quality, low-cost care.
– Ellen Solomon, Senior Growth Director
A: One of the key approaches we take is identifying where and when patients have care transition events. Superb care coordination requires an understanding of when and where patients receive care – but it must be real-time, actionable and embedded in daily workflows.
– Ken Cassell, Vice President of Growth
Q: One of the hot topics at the conference was about qualified health information networks (QHINs) and EHRs. How do you see the role of interoperability standards evolving in the context of these tools?
A: As technology continues to advance and the healthcare landscape becomes increasingly data-driven, the role of interoperability standards must continue to drive the path forward toward efficiency, transparency and speed to insights. Interoperability standards will likely continue to focus on standardizing data and structure to ensure that information can be seamlessly interpreted across platforms at speed. As a result, we’ll see a continued push towards Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based API adoption to access the wealth of information available in EHRs and QHINs. Partnering with the right kind of facilitator will be crucial to any data insights-driven initiative in the healthcare industry.
– Kamilla Ionesian, Senior Partnerships Manager
Q: During HIMSS, what were some of the key challenges and opportunities highlighted that health plans are currently facing?
A: Navigating care transitions with provider organization partners can be a challenge, especially when capturing those transitions in a timely enough fashion to positively influence outcomes. Health plans are working to find opportunities to improve real-time collaboration with provider organizations. In this way, HEDIS quality measures and STAR ratings offer ongoing opportunities for improvements. There is an opportunity to improve outcomes tied to these quality measures by increasing the engagement/alignment of all the members of the healthcare team.
– Tony Murdoch, Vice President of Growth
Q: HIMSS partially focused on utilizing EHRs and qualified health information networks (QHINs). How can technology vendors work with these organizations? How can organizations better leverage and understand these data-sharing tools?
A: While initiatives like the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and advancements in EHRs are improving data accessibility and integration, the persistent existence of healthcare silos (EHRs, state-lines, full care continuum / community-based providers, etc.) underscores the crucial role of technology vendors beyond EHRs in organizational success. Technology vendors can play a pivotal role in advancing interoperability and driving innovation in the healthcare industry by focusing on specialization and alignment with existing healthcare infrastructure. This approach fosters collaboration with key stakeholders and enhances the delivery of high-quality care to patients.
– Ellen Solomon, Senior Growth Director
Q: Bamboo Health also received the Black Book award for highest client satisfaction at HIMSS. Can you tell us more about this and what this means to you as part of the customer success team?
A: It’s an honor to receive the Black Book award among many of our esteemed peers. Our entire team is only further committed to maintain these high standards of customer success and to continue to be a trusted and helpful partner in the healthcare community.
– Jennifer Schmidt, Senior Manager of Customer Success
If you missed us at HIMSS this year, contact us to continue this discussion or meet us at an upcoming conference.
