HIMSS23—balancing AI fever with equity and patient-centric conversations
If you're going to walk around like you have two heads, the HIMSS23 exhibit floor is not the worst place to be. There are a lot of healthcare professionals to help you, diagnostic tools everywhere, and enough talk about artificial intelligence and machine learning to make at least one of those heads explode. But I digress. The reason I felt like I was walking around with two heads is simple: I was a marketing agency gal in a sea of health-tech geeks; a stranger in a new land.
At my first HIMSS conference, my eyes were wide and I had a big, derpy grin on my face (even while my feet were killing me). As I circled booths, sales reps made their way over to ask if I had any questions. Feeling the need to be transparent, I launched into my spiel about being a strategic account director with Nimble Works, a healthcare marketing agency that lives at the intersection of high science and high tech, and was there soaking it all in.
After 7 hours of criss-crossing the enormous exhibition hall, listening to myriad 20-minute presentations, shaking hands, handing out business cards, petting furballs in the Puppy Park (because, behavioral health), and meeting some lovely folks, a few themes surfaced for me, your friendly neighborhood marketing agency gal.
First: no hiding from it now, AI and ML are everywhere. But is it safe and equitable?
Even in that corner of the convention center where you went to sit on the floor and charge your phone in peace away from the masses, AI is lurking, waiting to tell you what session you might like to attend next. Even if it’s some amazing algorithm and not really AI, they’ll tell you it is and have you scan a QR code and send you on your way. The surface that is just being scratched, and what those who know AI are really talking about, is how to make AI and ML safe, equitable, standards-based and regulated without stifling innovation that most benefits providers and their patients. Because if technology is hurting, not helping providers and patients, it’s a non-starter. In Thursday’s keynote, Regional Director for Europe World Health Organization, Hans Kluge, pointed out that, “If you have inequity in access and representation, you’ll have inequitable tools.”
Second: change management and changing mindsets are integral to the implementation of AI-driven solutions
The effort to balance the AI and ML wave was palpable as presenters and exhibitors alike pushed to change the conversation about person-centric care (also using phrases like patient centricity or whole-person care) and address social drivers of health (drivers are defined as things that can be changed, which are unlike social determinants that relate to someone’s destiny). From the rise of payviders to hyper-personalization in healthcare, from the “slope of intervention” (a framework for moving from point solutions to holistically addressing issues reactively, proactively, and for the benefit of population health management) to intelligence-infused experiences, it is clear that recognizing the full, lived experiences of healthcare providers and their patients is the first step in transforming healthcare. Promoting health equity was a core goal of HIMSS this week, with a focus on cutting down administrative chaos for providers, patients, and their families, a charge in which healthcare technology plays a key role.
Third, but definitely not last for this marketer: in the face of complexity, we need clear, concise, and compelling communications
Did I mention I spent 7 hours absorbing branding, messaging, taglines, buzzwords, and marketing campaigns? Many times, I came away from a booth or a presentation asking myself,
But what is it?
What does it do?
These questions came from deep within my curious soul. Just like with conversations about AI, healthcare tech messaging is highly nuanced, to a point where unless you’re pushing specific features and functions it all starts to sound like the same offering. There were some nuggets in there, and I’m saving those to share with my team. But this is where we see the biggest opportunity for those of us in marketing to harness the power of generative AI: to simplify complex scientific concepts, to explain and help others demonstrate the unique ways our clients can differentiate their solutions and brands. These capabilities are central to who we are and what we do at Nimble Works, but even the most sentient and soulful beings will take a helping hand from Big Data sometimes. HIMSS President and CEO, Hal Wolf, said it best last week, “We need to embrace digital health more than ever to be able to move forward.” And we’re ready for a big hug, Hal!
Hal and everyone involved in putting on HIMSS23 deserve major kudos. What a feat! At the end of my day at McCormick Place, I felt a stranger no more, and I am grateful for that sense of inclusion. I am beyond grateful I was able to experience even a small part of it and am excited to bring my Nimble Works team into the fold as I share my learnings. Next year, we’re coming for you, Orlando!
PS—this post was 100% written by a real-live human!