HIMSS24 Sessions Decode Depression, Addiction, Sustainability, Gender Identity Workflows

Experts will deliver solutions to healthcare’s greatest challenges and important niche issues at the 2024 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition from March 11-15, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. 

All HIMSS24 sessions are selected through a highly competitive peer review process and are available for continuing education credits. 

In addition to hot topics such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, interoperability, and policy, many HIMSS24 cutting-edge sessions target specialty areas such as sustainability and sensitive subjects including mental health, addiction, handling sexual orientation and gender identity data in electronic health records and more. 

Explore the full program and learn more about these engaging sessions. 

Using Artificial Intelligence to Reduce Carbon Footprint of Healthcare Facilities 

Speaker: Mubaraka Ibrahim, Acting Chief Information Officer at Emirates Health Services Establishment 

Emirates Health Services is pioneering in sustainability efforts, and one of the key programs built is a first-of-its-kind AI solution to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of the health system. There were an estimated savings of 1.4 billion grams of CO2 by EHS in 2022, with the help of AI and an eHealth strategy, which is targeted for further reduction.  

Reengineering Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Workflows in Response to Novel Legislation 

Speakers: Charu Dhavalikar, Director of Medical Informatics at Hackensack Meridian Health and Lauren Koniaris, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health 

In 2022, the State of New Jersey passed novel legislation mandating the collection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data by acute care hospitals. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department at Hackensack Meridian Health spearheaded a workgroup to develop multiple operational, educational and technical updates, and ensure compliance with the law. After initial go-live, a number of downstream concerns and challenges were identified in the EMR. These were addressed through further technical updates, allowing for a successful go-live and a large increase in SOGI data collection. 

A Culturally Sensitive Approach to Acute Mental Health and Addiction Care 

Speaker: Kelsey Sjaarda, Clinical Program Manager, The Link at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center 

This presentation will examine the work of a community triage center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that provides 24/7 care and support for individuals struggling with mental health crises and addiction, with a patient population disproportionately represented by Native Americans and people of color. Since its opening, the center’s culturally sensitive care approach has reduced the number of custody holds (drug/alcohol emergency law enforcement holds) by over 90 percent.  

Universal Suicide Screening: Improving Detection of Patients Who Die by Suicide 

Speakers:  Alex Treacher, Senior Data and Applied Scientist at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation and Jacqueline Naeem, Senior Medical Director at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation 

As a vital first step in understanding suicide prevention from a population health perspective and improving risk recognition for treatment application, a large safety-net hospital implemented a universal suicide screening program in 2015, in which all patients ages 10 and older are screened for suicide risk during every provider encounter. This session will determine if the SSP reduces the number of patients falsely identified as not at risk of death by suicide in the cohort by linking mortality data to healthcare utilization data from five years pre- and post-implementation.  

Leveraging Analytics to Expand the Screening of Depression in Teens 

Speaker: Charles Golden, Assistant Chief Medical Officer; Vice President, Executive Medical Director Primary Care at Children’s Hospital of Orange County 

To identify mental health issues early and intervene to prevent severe manifestations, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, a pediatric healthcare system based in California, developed comprehensive mental health services and streamlined processes to improve the identification of depression among adolescent patients so it could further enhance the support and treatment offered. After implementing a general protocol of assessment, a standard screening tool and a data platform, CHOC was able to quickly identify patients’ risk levels and methodically intervene to achieve an 81 percent relative increase in depression screening rates for adolescent patients 12-18 years old in a primary care setting and saw a 40 percent relative increase in depression screening rates for adolescent patients 12-18 years old across all clinics.