HIMSS: Healthcare Technology Roundup

At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Atlanta this week, the show floor was over the top with vendors appealing to healthcare providers and other customers anxious to spend soon-to-come federal health IT stimulus funds.

The federal government is still hard at work hammering out its meaning of "meaningful use" requirements for health IT stimulus programs, but those uncertain requirements are already spiking IT spending among healthcare providers.

The $20 billion-plus healthcare IT stimulus program has more hospitals and doctors than ever planning to implement e-medical record and other health IT systems. But CIOs report they're finding it hard to recruit IT talent, especially those with the skills to work on EMRs and physician order entry systems.

There is a near-frenzy for HIT stimulus funds, and slew of healthcare IT innovation vying for clinicians' attention, as this week's gathering in Atlanta illustrated.

InformationWeek had a team of reporters at the show, covering the latest in electronic medical records, the government's meaningful use requirements, health IT careers, software solutions for hospitals and physicians' practices, and unified communications for the healthcare industry. To see photos from HIMSS, click here.

InformationWeek's HIMSS Coverage:
Health IT Jobs Hard To Fill
E-Medical Records: 10 Steps To Take Now
HIMSS: Meaningful Use Goes Over The Top
Guerra On Healthcare: EMR Standards Committee Struggles
Feds Set To Start Implementing Health IT Policies
Microsoft HealthVault Extends Access To Hospital Data
Quest Offers EHR Modules To Small Practices
Avaya Expands UC For Healthcare
Fujitsu Unveils Patient Kiosk, HIT Services