Live from the HealthCon show floor: Recap from the first half of day 1!

This is an exciting day for Imprivata and a milestone for the company as we kick off our first ever user conference! Amidst a Nor’easter and a Presidential election that took us into the early morning, the crowd came engaged and the atmosphere was electric.

The show kicked off with Imprivata’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Gaudet, who led us through a brief introduction that highlighted why we’re gathered here today: for Imprivata customers and partners to come together to share industry experiences, insight, and lessons learned on the changing healthcare IT landscape.  

John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, practicing ER doctor and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School was the first of our keynote speakers. Halamka discussed the innovation that can be achieved through Meaningful Use and the evolution of healthcare IT as organizations move toward Stage 2 & Stage 3. He opened his presentation by sharing some personal experiences that highlighted the archaic systems in place at even the most advanced medical facilities. Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and centralized patient information through the cloud were two topics that resonated throughout the crowd, particularly the need for a centralized point of access for all patient information, such as a patient portal.

The morning session would not be complete without an appearance from Imprivata’s President and CEO, Omar Hussain. No matter the crowd, Omar has a way of capturing everyone’s attention. Through wit, experience and industry insight he never disappoints and always leaves you walking away with a new perspective. As one of the visionaries from the leading healthcare IT security company, it was no surprise Omar focused his conversation on two areas that have made Imprivata so successful: improving clinical workflows and enhancing security.

When it comes to security in healthcare, Omar made a great point: in all other industries security is about keeping the intruder out; in healthcare, it’s about keeping Protected Health Information (PHI) in. As technology evolves to embrace BYOD and allow employees roaming capability, the need for remote access will only grow. Consequently, the demand for remote access will put a greater emphasis on how IT secures their data without slowing patient care.

The morning session also hit on new product releases and new feature updates with OneSign. Belinda Hayes, VP and GM Mobile Products Group, provided further insight to Imprivata’s new HIPAA compliant text messaging solution, Cortext, and its impact on the future of patient collaboration and care.

After an exhilarating first half of the day, I think I can speak for all employees when I say we are looking forward to seeing what’s next at HealthCon!

Be sure to check back to the Imprivata blog, Facebook page and follow #HealthCon12 for the latest show updates.