HIMSS has announced that its European health conference and exhibition will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, 7-9 June. 

Lisa Thomlinson, HIMSS senior director of content and programming EMEA, said the conference will deliver practical, evidence-based sessions showcasing solutions to healthcare’s toughest challenges in areas such as workforce, sustainability and resilience, chronic disease management and health equity.  

“This conference will stand out for its emphasis on implementation and results, with every session including frontline healthcare professionals, who will share real-world experiences,” added Thomlinson. 

Exploring key healthcare topics 

Europe's health and care workforce crisis is currently a burning issue with a plague of vacancies and employee dissatisfaction surfacing across the continent. A dedicated content track at the event will explore options and pinpoint technologies that can ease the burden on healthcare systems. 

The European Health Data Space features high on the agenda, as it is set to stimulate major healthcare changes right across Europe.  Other European cross-border initiatives will also showcase their plans, helping the ecosystem embrace the changes they are making, including Gravitate Health and Label2Enable. The conference will also look at how the non-EU states in Europe can co-create digital transformation with their EU counterparts.

Thirdly, with the European Recovery and Resilience Fund currently deploying more than €16bn to prompt digital transformation in many EU states, the conference will prioritise digital maturity, including the need for national measurement initiatives such as Germany’s DigitalRadar and France’s Maturin-H.  

HIMSS is working with governments and regional commissioners in Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, France and the UK, to help boost the digital maturity of their hospitals and healthcare systems. A key advantage of locating the conference in Portugal is the presence of three leading European Stage 7 maturity hospitals: Hospital Lusiadas Porto, Hospital Lusiadas Lisboa and Hospital de Cascais Doutor José de Almeida. Stage 7 maturity refers to the most digitally mature stage measured using HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM). Delegates will receive first-hand exposure of what Stage 7 looks like for patients, clinicians, and management and how it impacts outcome. Hospital staff will also share their experience of what worked well and what worked less well in their digital transformation journeys. 

In addition to focusing on these three key topics, the conference will deep dive into other core areas including HIEs and interoperability; AI and cybersecurity; and person-enabled health. The five main conference tracks are: digital maturity, data and analytics; innovative care pathways; prevention, precision and population health; workforce crisis solutions; and health system value and sustainability.

“As custodian of multiple digital maturity analytics models, deployed by thousands of healthcare providers, HIMSS is uniquely placed to deliver a conference that actively advances digital health in Europe,” said Thomlison. “This is the reason we have subtitled the conference "Unlocking Digital Health: Less Hype, More Action".”

Portuguese debut 

HIMSS23 Europe opens with the support of national institutions including the Shared Services of Ministry of Health (SPMS), Portugal, Health Cluster Portugal, the Portuguese Agency for Investment and External Commerce (AICEP) and the Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI).   

“SPMS is thrilled to be part of the biggest European healthcare event in Lisbon. It's a great opportunity for professionals in the healthcare field to learn about the latest innovations in healthcare, including the advancements in digital health and telehealth in Portugal," said Luís Goes Pinheiro, president of the board, SPMS. "It's also an opportunity to learn from the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to use that knowledge to prepare for the future."

The conference and exhibition being held at the Centro de Congressos de Lisboa from 7-9 June 2023. See here to find out more.