What to expect at HIMSS25: AI, cybersecurity and more

In a healthcare landscape that seems to get more complex with each passing day, healthcare leaders are hunting for new solutions. What better place for this search than at a conference like HIMSS25, with thousands of professional healthcare attendees and exhibiting companies?

At HIMSS25 in Las Vegas, attendees can expect to hear from top industry experts on new solutions in AI, cybersecurity, health equity and more. In a year that is full of uncertainties, speakers will offer use cases and strategies in these subject areas to help leaders steer their organizations.

On March 4-6, 2025, with preconference sessions on March 3, attendees can connect with peers and potential partners while learning about a broad span of subjects from digital health solutions for Indigenous peoples to employing AI in risk management.

Albe Zakes, director of corporate communications for HIMSS, highlights what to expect at HIMSS25.

What are some key topics to expect at HIMSS25?

Albe Zakes: The key topics at HIMSS25 reflect the key topics that are top of mind for all health and technology professionals: Things like cybersecurity, of course; artificial intelligence and its applications in healthcare; as well as things that get a little more detailed into the health industry itself; interoperability, which is the exchange of patient data and health information between health systems; the use of smart technology in hospitals; as well as policy issues. We'll have global dignitaries and government leaders from North America and all across the globe, so policy issues will also be top of mind.

But, definitely, the two big ones that we're focused on and excited about at HIMSS25 are cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and those are items that are top of mind for everyone in the global health ecosystem right now.

What will be unique about the conference's approach to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in 2025?

Zakes: We're excited to have two preconference forums that will cover each of those topics. On Monday, which is the preconference day because the official kickoff is Tuesday, we'll have the AI in Healthcare Forum as well as the Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum. Both of those events will be opportunities to do deep dives on those specific topics.

It's important to remember patients in all of these topics. Technology is the 'how.' Technology is how we drive digital health transformation. It's how we improve care delivery. But the 'why' is patients. Everything we're doing is about protecting patients, benefiting patients and improving patient outcomes. When it comes to cybersecurity, making sure that we're able to grow trust with patients and protect patient data is critical as we continue to look at the rise of cyberattacks, especially against health organizations.

There are also going to be some great AI panels. A variety of leaders from different health systems are doing a panel called, 'Dear AI Vendors, This Is What We Need.' There's a gap between what technology companies are working on to develop AI applications and what the clinicians and health system leaders who actually use the technology really want. That's going to be an interesting conversation.

Then, there are other panels diving into real-time analytics and monitoring, how AI can be used in action, live reports and insights from folks who are using live data streams at health systems and large language model applications as well for specialty and specific care optimization. This is going to be an interesting one because it will teach attendees how to use AI-powered language models and revolutionize patient care by tailoring solutions to the specific needs of patients.

This year, with the healthcare industry and public policy in flux, there are many unknowns. How might the conference help healthcare leaders navigate this uncertainty?

Zakes: We don't necessarily know what policy is going to look like a month from now, six months from now, a year from now, but what you can control are the technologies that you are deploying at your health systems, at your hospitals, what technology you're outmoding and what things you're adapting that are new. That's where the HIMSS conference is going to be so valuable to the industry and to attendees. It's going to help highlight: 'Here's what we can focus on.'

So, the best way of combatting the unknowns is to lean into the things that you do know. And so, in those spaces -- again, interoperability, workforce development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence -- what we can do is help clinicians, executive leaders and technology partners to collaborate, work together, network, share insights and fix the problems that we have at hand. And then, we'll have to see what comes from policies and from government regulations in the future. But what we can do right now is improve the care delivery, improve the service that we're providing to our patients.

What else should attendees be on the lookout for when they come to the conference this year?

Zakes: I definitely want to highlight our exhibit floor. We're going to have close to 1,000 different exhibitors, so that's where you're going to see the cutting-edge technology.

And one thing that we're doing that's new this year is a First-Time Exhibitors Pavilion. Obviously, an exhibit floor with 1,000 exhibitors, even over the course of a couple of days, is difficult to navigate. So, one thing we wanted to do was to create an area for first-time exhibitors. Many of our exhibitors have come back year over year, so the New Exhibitor Pavilion is going to be a great chance to expose folks to technology partners and service providers that they've never heard from before.

Going back to HIMSS, HIMSS is a nonprofit organization, and our real goal, our vision and our mission are all about health equity. We talk, again, a lot about technology. I mentioned earlier how technology is the 'how,' but the 'why' is our patients, and that really goes back to health equity. It's expanding equitable access to healthcare around North America and around the globe. To that end, we're excited to have a preconference forum focused specifically on health equity where we'll hear from health equity leaders, from federal and local agencies, healthcare organizations, community-based nonprofits, as well as academics, on how we can help promote fair and equitable access to healthcare for all people.

Editor's note: This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Kelsey Waddill is a managing editor of Healthcare Payers and multimedia manager at Xtelligent Healthcare. She has covered health insurance news since 2019.