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William Shatner, world-renowned as Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, opened the 2007 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans telling a record-breaking 25,000+ attendees and 885 exhibitors that electronic health technology allows them to "boldly go where no man has gone before." Keynote addresses from HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer and General Colin Powell echoed Shatner's sentiment about the limitless possibilities of healthcare IT.

With the sponsorship of anchor exhibitors such as Cerner, Eclipsys, Epic, GE Healthcare, McKesson, Misys, Philips and Siemens, the Conference addressed Electronic Health Records and the related topics of patient safety, HIPAA requirements, and state and federal anti-trust laws.

DOTmed Associate Reporter Alex van Klaveren of Medicexchange.com, who attended HIMSS'07, noted that much discussion focused on meeting the e-health demand among small to medium-sized businesses and instituting appropriate levels of government regulation.

Health Level Seven (HL7), a preeminent healthcare IT standards development organization, had a major presence at the Conference. The organization discussed the progress toward the establishment of a national healthcare information network, which will lead to improved patient care and reduction in medical errors. H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, President and CEO of HIMSS said that such standards are "fundamental to our abilities to build and afford interconnected systems."

A major challenge identified at the Conference concerned the ease of technological implementation and adaptation on the part of consumers.

Despite the seeming isolation of the Convention Center from the outside world, HIMSS did not forget its responsibility to help rebuild City of New Orleans from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. The Society called upon members to donate medical supplies and EHR equipment to the Common Ground Health Clinic, a free clinic in the Algiers section of the city that sees more than 200 patients per week, many of whom do not have health insurance.

Monetary donations can be made to the Common Ground Clinic by visiting www.himss07.org/commonground/index.aspx.