MALVERN, Pa., Feb 07, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Siemens Medical Solutions' customers and subject matter experts will participate in a variety of educational sessions at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2006 Annual Conference and Exhibition, to be held in San Diego, Feb. 12-16.

In addition to a rotating lineup of in-booth customer presentations, Siemens' speakers will be featured as part of the HIMSS core education sessions and roundtables, Nursing Informatics Symposium, and Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) Symposium. Featured presentations include:

-- Making the Most of Structured Terminology: Strategies for Success with Rosemary Kennedy, RN, MBA, chief nursing informatics officer, Siemens Medical Solutions, and Susan Matney, RN, MS, team lead, health data dictionary team, Intermountain Healthcare - Feb. 12, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., Nursing Informatics Symposium.

-- RHIO Disaster Response with Gary Austin, chair, RHIO Symposium Advisory Committee; Claire Annechini, executive vice president and chief information officer, MEDecision, Inc.; Edward Fotsch, M.D., chief executive officer, Medem Inc.; Russell Thomas, chief executive officer, Gold Standard, Inc.; and Charlene Underwood, MBA, director, government and industry affairs, Siemens Medical Solutions and chair, HIMSS EHRVA - Feb. 12, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., RHIO Symposium.

-- Building the Truly Valuable EHR: A Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue with Charlene Underwood, MBA, director, government and industry affairs, Siemens Medical Solutions and chair, HIMSS EHRVA; Dr. Karen Bell, director, office of health IT adoption, office of national coordinator; John Tooker, M.D., MBA, FACP, executive vice president and chief executive officer, American College of Physicians; and Jonathan Teich, M.D., Ph.D., vice president and chief medical officer, HealthVision (facilitator) - Feb. 12, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., an Invitational Symposium.

-- It's A Success! Achieving Cost-Effective Disease Management by Sherry Shults, RN, BSN, chief information officer and research director, South Carolina Heart Center - Feb. 13, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

-- A Strategic Alliance: Affordable Healthcare Technology in Critical Access Hospitals by Kenneth Abendshien, director, information systems, Midwest Health Systems Data Center and Brenda Olson, MEd, CHP, RHIA, vice president, health information management, Great Plains Health Alliance - Feb. 13, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

-- Katrina/Rita Story - The IT Solution with Lynn Witherspoon, chief information officer, Ochsner Clinic - Feb. 14, 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

-- Interoperability: Progress through Unprecedented Collaboration with Charlene Underwood, MBA, director, government and industry affairs, Siemens Medical Solutions and chair, HIMSS EHRVA - Feb. 14, 10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

-- Leveraging Health IT to Facilitate Interdisciplinary Communication and Workflow with Rosemary Kennedy, RN, MBA, chief nursing informatics officer, Siemens Medical Solutions and Ann Farrell, BSN, RN, principal and senior consultant, Farrell Associates - Feb. 14, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

-- Siemens Interoperability Strategy by Joe Auriemma, senior director, integration engineering, Siemens Medical Solutions - Feb. 14, 1:45 p.m. - 2:15 p.m., in the Interoperability Showcase.

-- Reducing Errors/Improving Care: The Outlook on Clinical Systems with Donald Rucker, vice president and chief medical officer, Siemens Medical Solutions; Bill O'Connor, M.D., vice president, medical affairs, McKesson Provider Technologies; and Mark Roman, president, healthcare and life sciences industry, EDS - Feb. 15, 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Siemens rotating in-booth customer presentations include:

-- IT Driving an Integrated Delivery System by Doug Colburn, chief information officer, Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital.

-- Clinical Optimization Through Workflow by Ray Hess, vice president, information management, The Chester County Hospital.

-- Realizing True Community Connectivity by Rick MacCornack, Ph.D., director, quality improvement and Network director, Northwest Physicians Network.

-- Driving Patient Care, Outcomes, and Quality of Life via Disease Management by Sherry Shults, chief information officer, South Carolina Heart Hospital.

-- Integrated Workflow Across HIS and Modalities by Chris Galanda, chief information officer, Wyoming Valley Healthcare System.

-- Attaining Revenue Cycle Excellence by Jeanne Dzintarnieks, project manager, Susquehanna Health System.

-- Clinical Optimization from a Community Perspective by Basil Holloway, RN, BSN, East Texas Medical Center.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG [SI] with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Employing approximately 31,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 120 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 7.6 billion EUR, orders of 8.6 billion EUR and group profit of 976 million EUR for fiscal 2005 (preliminary figures). More information can be obtained by visiting www.usa.siemens.com/medical-pressroom.