The healthcare industry spent two years adapting to a pandemic that forced rapid change. Those shifts are now being turned into lasting transformation.
Predictive care replaces reactive models
The HIMSS22 Global Health Conference & Exhibition runs March 14–18 in Orlando and online under the theme Reimagine Health. CEO Hal Wolf described it as a fundamental break from the past.
“There’s not a single part of healthcare that’s not been impacted by COVID-19,” he said. “New normals are still being established.” The pandemic sped up a move away from encounter-based care—where patients only show up when sick—toward predictive health that anticipates needs before they arise.
Data drives this change. Cloud-based services and predictive algorithms are becoming standard, with the potential to reshape care over the next decade. The aim is not just treating illness but preventing it, both for individuals and entire populations.
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HIMSS membership rose by more than 50% in two years, adding 33,000 members across North America and internationally. The event will include Volker Amelung, president of the German Managed Care Association, and Sylvia Thun, a professor at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Germany’s digital health push offers a model
Thun studies digital health, interoperability, and emergency care. At HIMSS22, she and Lisa Caplan, HIMSS’s executive vice president of Technology and Innovation, will discuss Germany’s national hospital assessment, which benchmarks digital maturity.
“Germany is going through an extraordinary shift,” Wolf said. The European Union funds electronic health records and adopts standards like the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), which evaluates EHR implementation globally. Germany has already surveyed hospitals on their EMR adoption and will reassess in 2023. France follows a similar path with its EMRAN standard.
The opening keynote will be delivered by Ben Sherwood, former co-chair of Disney Media Networks. His session, Daring Greatly: Leading and Succeeding in the Age of Disruption, will focus on leadership amid uncertainty.
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Last year’s conference was delayed to August due to the pandemic. This year, falling Omicron cases have made in-person attendance easier, though safety protocols remain. Wolf noted the pandemic made one fact clear: “Each individual is a breath away from being a patient.”
Healthcare inequities will also be addressed. The focus reflects a broader recognition that innovation must serve everyone, not just those with access to the latest tools.
The event runs both in-person and virtually, with sessions available through HIMSS22 Digital. It typically draws tens of thousands, though final attendance depends on pandemic conditions in the coming weeks.