October 2007 Minnesota HIMSS Newsletter

Attention Minnesota HIMSS Members with photographic talents!

The HIMSS Board would like to customize our website and letterhead to be more “Minnesota friendly”. We have the opportunity to put up to 4 pictures as a banner on our web pages. We are inviting you to submit some of your best Minnesota photographs that you feel might represent what Minnesota is about.

If you would like to take a look at other chapters' web sites, use the dropdown box at the bottom of the following page on National's site: http://www.himss.org/ASP/chaptersHome.asp This will give you an idea of how our website organization uses the images to create the banner.  Buildings, Wildlife, Nature, anything that you feel might fit well into a banner.

The prize is showcasing your talent on the website. There will be no copyrights or royalties so just be sure you are sending us your personally taken photograph.

Submit your photo(s) by emailing secretary@himss-mn.org.  If the images are too large email the secretary a link to location where it can be downloaded.  All submissions must be sent by October 31st, 2007.

Dana Kimmel, FHIMSS, National Chapter liaison

It's hard to imagine when attending a Minnesota HIMSS chapter program today, that there was a point in time where there wasn’t a chapter providing these educational opportunities.  This year, the Minnesota HIMSS chapter celebrates 10 years and can take pride in the teamwork that got the chapter to this level.

How did it all begin?  Believe it or not, it was the brain child of a handful of work colleagues who met for lunch one summer day in 1997 at the Asia Grille in Eden Prairie. That same group of people became the foundation board for the Minnesota chapter and included:

• Joanne Horwitz - Chapter President  
• Patty Knight* - President-Elect
• Kris Johnson - Treasurer
• Bobbie Carroll* - Secretary
• Dana Kimmel* - At Large
• Jodi Desjardins - At Large

The first program topic offered was on Y2K preparedness, held at a local hotel conference room and sponsored by the employers of the originating board. In 1999 the "Meet your Peers" theme was initiated, and programs were hosted at local healthcare facilities with topics and presenters offering educational opportunities on current happenings. Abbott Northwestern shared experiences on implementing Eclipsys Bedside Terminals, Fairview presented on a Network backup strategy, and in year 2000 Regions hosted and presented on HIPAA.

Fortunately for the Chapter, and most importantly our members, a few more volunteers caught the bug and started helping out with programs over time.  The Chapter has consistently offered quarterly programs since its inception, leveraging opportunities by partnering with ITEC, MHIMA, and the Carlson Schools of Management. This enabled the board to grow and become more seasoned, and basically, the rest is history!

President’s Corner

Pam Graves, RN, CNP, FHIMSS

WELCOME ALL NEW MEMBERS AND WELCOME BACK TO CONTINUING MEMBERS!

I’d like to use the first newsletter of the 2007-200 HIMSS-MN year to welcome all of our new members and our renewing members!  As you might gather from the “Ten Years Ago” article, the Minnesota chapter exists to provide our members with educational programs and health information technology insights that assist you with your professional development.  Our volunteer chapter board members can help you in connecting with your peers.  Your board for 2007 – 2008 includes:

President- Pam Graves, FHIMSS, Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota
President-Elect - Dan Davenport, Healthia Consulting
Treasurer – Steven Due, Mercy Hospital
Secretary – Andy Galbus, Mayo Clinic
Communications – Sue Green, Healthia Consulting
Past-President – Susan Heichert, FHIMSS, Allina Hospitals & Clinics
Program Chair – Pete Palmer, Wells Fargo
Past-Program Chair - Margaret Senn, Mayo Clinic
Scholarship Chair – Ken Stensvold, Mayo Clinic
Sponsorship Co-Chair – John Eichten, Pro-Tec Design
Sponsorship Co-Chair – Dan Fitzgibbons, EMC Corporation
Advocacy Chair –Randy Lentz, Healthia Consulting
Outreach Chair - Dave Mann, Logic Information Systems
RHIO Liaison – Dr. Christina Stephan, University of Minnesota
Professional Development Chair - Dr. Ray Gensinger, FHIMSS, Fairview Health Services
Member Relations Chair – Mark Rubin, eDocument Resources
Twin Cities Regional Coordinator – Mike Leuthner, Logic Information Systems
North Regional Coordinator - Clark Averill, St. Luke’s
South Regional Coordinator – Lonna Stork, Mayo Clinic
Physician Liaison -  Dr. Andrew Mellin, McKesson
Student Liaison -  Jennifer Boehne, University of Minnesota
National Chapter representative - Dana Kimmel, FHIMSS, Healthia Consulting
At Large Member - Jeff Huxley, United Health Network
At Large Member (Programs) – Faye Torstenson, United Health Group

If you have any questions about your Minnesota HIMSS chapter, please feel free to contact any of the board members via our web site at www.himss-mn.org

We have many exciting events coming up this year.  Some of the program topics suggested by previous attendees that we are developing include Most Wired in Minnesota, Data Warehousing and more information on Advocacy.  In an effort to encourage HIMSS educational opportunities, we offer a drawing for a complimentary registration to the National HIMSS conference. Every time a member attends one of our educational programs, their name will be entered into a drawing for a free registration for the National meeting – so remember to mark your calendar to attend to attend the programs! 

In addition to our general membership educational events, we are continuing to hold our quarterly CIO Forums and had a great turnout at our July meeting. The input from the CIOs also assists us in preparing educational programs that help all of our members.  See the update below from Dan for more information.

The HIMSS National Conference is also coming up quickly – Feb 24^th - 28^th, 2008 in Orlando, Florida.  Minnesota will again hold our extremely popular chapter reception, so please stop by if you are attending the National meeting.  We look forward to seeing everyone at National and at our upcoming programs.

Programs Update

By Pete Palmer, Programs Chair

The HIMSS-MN Summer Social, held on July 17th, was a very big success.  Over 35 members and potential members attended.  The setting at Bar Lurcat was very nice, and the food and drinks were outstanding.  The potential member attendees came from diverse organizations, including many from support realms such as Office Supplies, Capital Investment, and Public Relations.

The program for the Thursday, September 20^th was “Data Warehousing” presented by Bruce Johnson, Unit Head of the Enterprise Data Trust effort for Mayo Clinic, Roberta Testor, Director of ITS Knowledge System and Corporate Systems for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and Karen Hase, Data Warehouse Lead also from Children’s. 

Bruce presented from the Mayo Clinic while Roberta and Karen presented from the Health Partners site in Bloomington.  Bruce’s presentation titled “Data Warehousing - Value and Challenges?” focused on Data Warehousing fundamentals.  Roberta and Karen’s presentation was titled, “Data Warehousing, Building a Foundation for Analyzing Hospital Efficiency,” and included practical examples of data warehouse use.   The program was very well received by the attendees and a podcast of the program is planned.

The November program will be held on Thursday, November 29^th.  Program details and registration information will be on the website and e-mailed shortly.

All in all it has been a very successful quarter for the Chapter programs.

Podcast and Program Slides on the Web

Please visit the Members Only section of our website for access to presentations from our recent program on Data Warehousing or the Podcast from last year’s Joint Commission representative’s talk on Medication Reconciliation. To access the slides or podcast, point your browser to www.himss-mn.org, hover on the "Members Only" option and select "Program Slides."  You will need to log in to get to the information in the Members Only section: enter your firstinitial/last name, e.g. jsmith, and your HIMSS ID as the password.

Sponsorship Update

By:  John Eichten, Sponsorship Co-Chair & Dan Fitzgibbons, Sponsorship Co-Chair

The Minnesota HIMSS Chapter wishes to thank our 2006-2007 sponsors for their past support.  We would also like to thank the sponsors who have already renewed their sponsorship for the 2007-2008 year.

PLATINUM

• Healthia Consulting

GOLD

• Health Partners
• University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management

SILVER

• EMC Corporation
• FCG

 Our sponsors not only allow us the to provide educational sessions with nationally acclaimed presenters but also to provide scholarships each year for candidates in the industry.  Without corporate support, an organization such as ours could not exist.  Thank you for your support!

HIMSS-MN offers a variety of sponsorship levels with exciting benefits - Silver, Gold and Platinum. Depending on the level selected, some of the benefits include complimentary chapter HIMSS memberships, exclusive sponsorship opportunities for our chapter socials (Platinum level) and visibility within the chapter with your corporate logo and link on the HIMSS-MN web site.

Please go to our link at http://www.himss-mn.org/sponsorship_program.pdf  for more information.

 Membership Update

By Mark Rubin, Membership Chair

Our chapter has had a very stable membership over the last three years and we appreciate all members who renew their membership. The networking opportunities at the educational events continue to draw a diverse membership and remote access to the events allow members from the entire state to register and attend events.

Currently, 450 members are from the following locales:

Twin Cities                                74%
Rochester (Southern Region)        9%
Duluth (Northern Region)              1%
Out State                                  13%
Non-Minnesota                            3%

If you know any colleagues that would be interested in joining the chapter, they can easily join by visiting http://himss.org/ASP/membershipHome.asp. They can join at the national level for $140 or the chapter level for $30. Both memberships provide for complementary registration at our evening or short education programs and a discount at the national conference.

E-Health Update

By Dr. Ray Gensinger, FHIMSS, Professional Development Chair

HIMSS-MN has been asked to serve as a representative on a statutory committee to advance e-health for the State of Minnesota. Ray Gensinger, professional development chair, is the assigned representative. Among other responsibilities, the committee is charged with roadmapping a plan for all Minnesota health care providers to have interoperable electronic medical records by 2015.

 The committee is currently looking for members to assist with 5 main Workgroups:

• Health Information Technology Statewide Implementation Plan
• Population Health and the public Health Information Systems
• Health Data Standards
• Privacy & Security
• Communications, Collaboration & Education

Volunteers can get further information from Ray (email) or from the website below.

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative Advisory Committee, http://www.health.state.mn.us/e-health, is a public-private collaborative whose Vision is to accelerate the adoption and use of health information technology in order to improve health care quality, increase patient safety, reduce health care costs and improve public health.

It is guided by a statewide advisory committee with 26 representatives from interested and affected stakeholders in health information technology (HIT).

The purpose of the initiative is to:

• Empower Consumers by supporting the adoption of Personal Health Records.
• Inform and Connect Healthcare Providers by promoting the adoption and use of Interoperable Electronic Health Record systems.
• Protect Communities and Improve Public Health by advancing efforts to make public health systems interoperable and modernized.
• Enhance the Infrastructure through:

• Adoption of standards for health information exchange.
• Policies for strong privacy and security protection of health information.
• Funding and other resources for implementation.
• Assessing and monitoring progress on adoption, use and interoperability.

Advocacy Update: Call for Volunteers!

By Randy Lentz

We are looking for volunteers to assist with Chapter Advocacy activities.  The HIMSS (National) Office of Advocacy and Public Policy was founded in February 2000 and focuses on expanding the organization’s visibility on Capitol Hill, in the Administration and in state legislatures, and works with all interested stakeholders including individual members, corporations, and collaborating organizations to coordinate and advance healthcare IT and management systems through advocacy and public policy initiatives.  The Minnesota HIMSS Chapter is gearing up to advance our advocacy efforts with the state legislature.  If you are interested in joining this effort, please contact Randy Lentz and sign up!  Randy.Lentz@HealthiaConsulting.com.

Scholarship Update 

By Ken Stensvold, Scholarship chair

If you are a full- or part-time student taking courses toward a degree in healthcare or information services, you could be awarded $1,000 by the MN Chapter of HIMSS scholarship program!

The MN Chapter of HIMSS annually awards a $1000 scholarship to undergraduates, graduates and PhD students studying in the healthcare information or management systems field.  Scholarships are awarded for academic excellence and the potential for future leadership in the healthcare information and management systems industry.

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2008. Winners will be notified by April 1, 2008. You can access a copy of the application by visiting our scholarship page.

For more information, e-mail Ken Stensvold at Stensvold.Kenneth@mayo.edu

CIO Forum

By Dan Davenport, President Elect

 The Minnesota Chapter kicked off its annual series of CIO Forums on July 26. The CIO Forum brings together Chief Information Officers from many of our local healthcare organizations to discuss current topics and issues relevant to their organizations and the industry as a whole. This event is valuable to our chapter as a way to gain insight into how our educational programs can best serve our members by addressing timely topics. Thank you to the following CIOs for participating in our July forum!

• Alan Abramson, HealthPartners
• Tom Anthony, University of Minnesota Physicians
• Pat Berger, Fairview
• Mark Gingrich, RxHub
• Kim LaReau, HealthPartners
• Greg Linden, Stratis Health
• Ron Strachan, HealthEast
• Joanne Sunquist, HCMC
• Pat Taffe, North Memorial

Treasurer’s Update

By Steven Due, Treasurer

One goal of the chapter was to be fiscally sound and to demonstrate that our non-profit chapter is beneficial to our members. Our chapter currently spends 93% of all funds on education, including scholarships for students pursuing a career in healthcare informatics.