Florida Chapter of ANIA and the Central and North Florida Chapters of HIMSS celebrate Health Information and Technology Advocacy and Education Days at the Florida State Capitol, March 23-24th, 2015.
By
Krista Potthast-Haynes, RN-BC
Board Member and Vice President Education and Chairperson Advocacy & Regulation, Florida Chapter of ANIA
Board Member and Advocacy & Public Co-Chair, Central North Florida HIMSS Chapter
The Florida Chapter of ANIA joined the Central/North and South Florida Chapters of HIMSS in a collaborative effort focused on advocacy and education supporting the use of health information technology to positively impact healthcare delivery in our beautiful state that we are fortunate enough to call "home". This was the 2nd year that that the South and Central North Florida Chapters have held this collaborative HIT Advocacy and Education Days event at our state capitol in Tallahassee, Florida.
As the Florida Chapter of ANIA VP of Education and Advocacy and the Co-Chair for the Central/North Florida Chapter of HIMSS, I had the honor of introducing our outstanding speakers for the morning event as well as saying "thank you" to committee members who graciously volunteered their time, knowledge and resources in the planning stages for our event. Without our volunteers this event would not have been possible. I also want to personally thank Ms. Lisa Rawlins who serves as Board Member and Policy Advocate for South Florida HIMSS Chapter and to Mr. Paul Salmon who serves as Board Member Advocacy & Public Policy Chair. We are also very grateful to have the following sponsors for this event:
Presenting Sponsorship:
SRG Technologies
Health Catalyst
Supporting Sponsors:
Acusis
Boca Raton Regional Hospital
RGP Healthcare
Academic Affiliations:
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Nursing
Our speakers were gracious with their time and knowledge, sharing the positive impact of the use health information technology in their sphere of experience as well as speaking on current events impacting health care delivery with the use of health information technology. This event also was an excellent opportunity tailored to professional development and networking at a state and national leve
Our evening event started with a welcome reception and dinner held at Andrew's Capitol Bar and Grille and included welcoming remarks from the Florida HIMSS Advocacy Chair, Lisa K. Rawlins, and Paul Salmon, Chair of the Central and North Florida HIMSS Advocacy and Public Policy Committee. We were honored with speakers Lucretia Shaw Collins with Collins Consulting, LLC who spoke on "How a Bill Becomes a Law" and Mr. Robert M. Levy, of Robert M. Levy Associates, who spoke on "Hot Policy Topics Moving Through the Legislative Process That Affect you, Your Family, & Your Business. Both Ms. Collins and Mr. Levy shared a wealth of knowledge and experience on the background of our Florida legislative process.
We were privileged to have the following speakers for our morning event prior to heading to our state capitol to meet with senators and house representatives to discuss the importance of the use of health information technology in the State of Florida as well as we had the honor of meeting with State Senator Rene Garcia and House Representative Gayle Harrell. These two legislators have been instrumental in creating awareness and advocating for the use of HIT in healthcare delivery in our state. On behalf of the Chapters of Florida ANIA and Florida HIMSS, I want to personally thank Senator Garcia and House Representative Harrell for their focus and commitment to advocate for the use of HIT in our state and for their effort in pursuing the Senate and House Resolutions recognizing March23-29, 2015 as "Health Information Technology Week", Florida.
Speakers:
Elizabeth Dudek, Secretary, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Tallahassee, Florida. Secretary Dudek's topic was "The State of Florida Advances Supporting the Use of HIT".
Adrian Zai, M.D. M.P.H., Ph.D., Director of Clinical Informatics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Dr. Zai 's topic was "How the Nation's Leading Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Achieved Clinical & Financial Results".
Dr. Thomas Prewitt, Jr., Director of the Healthcare Delivery Institute at HORNE LLP. Dr. Prewitt spoke on "Reimbursement Methodologies Changing the Way Medicine is Practiced".
Our last speaker of the morning was Lisa K. Rawlins, Sr. Vice President, HealthCare with SRG Technology. Ms. Rawlins spoke upon her years of experience with the Florida Legislation on best practices for meeting with Senator and State Representatives.
I encourage everyone of you reading this article that are focused on impacting healthcare delivery with the use of HIT in our state to become involved in advocacy and regulation opportunities. Please contact me or access these links for information about our organizations.
http://cnfl.himsschapter.org/GetInvolved/content.aspx?ItemNumber=32881&navItemNumber=14
http://community.ania.org/floridachapter/home