Report From HIMSS 2012: Toward Interoperability and Openness

I was wondering how it would feel to be in the midst of 35,000 people whose livelihoods are driven by the decisions of a large institution at the moment when that institution releases a major set of rules. I didn't really find out, though. The 35,000 people I speak of are the attendees of the HIMSS conference and the institution is the Department of Health and Human Services. But HHS just sort of half-released the rules (called Stage 2 of meaningful use), telling us that they would appear online tomorrow and meanwhile rushing over a few of the key points in a presentation that drew overflow crowds in two rooms.

The reaction, I sensed, was a mix of relief and frustration. Relief because Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, promised us the rules would be familiar and hewed closely to what advisors had requested. Frustration, however, at not seeing the details. The few snippets put up on the screen contained enough ambiguities and poorly worded phrases that I'm glad there's a 60-day comment period before the final rules are adopted...