#HIMSS16 Mix Tape

On February 29th the #HealthIT community will descend on Las Vegas for the annual HIMSS conference and exhibition.

One of the best parts about attending HIMSS is getting the chance to meet people in real life who I interact with through social media. There is nothing quite like meeting someone face to face for the first time yet feeling like you already know them. I think hugging and fist bumps are the official greetings at HIMSS. It’s an absolute blast to be able to share stories and laughs with likes of Mandi Bishop, John Lynn , Rasu Shrestha and Wen Dombrowski.

With an expected attendance of 45,000 this year, I’m hoping to meet even more people than ever before at the various HIMSS gatherings.

Last year, ahead of HIMSS15, I decided to do a fun blog post. I asked some friends to send me a song they thought reflected what was happening in #HealthIT at the time. I compiled everyone’s selections along with the reasons behind their choice. I called it the HIMSS15 Mix Tape. The response was amazing. I had so many people DM me and stop me at the conference to give me their song choice. Even John Lynn blogged about it.

This year, I asked an even larger number of friends to contribute a song. So without further rambling, here is the #HIMSS16 Mix Tape. Enjoy!

HIMSS16 Mix Tape

Night on Bald Mountain – Disney’s Fantasia. Chosen by Regina Holliday @ReginaHolliday. “Disney. Because although morning will come, we now walk among the terrors.”

Confident – Demi Levato. Chosen by Mandi Bishop @MandiBPro. “For a couple reasons: 1) it’s beyond time #HealthITChicks / #WomenInHIT got equal recognition and pay for their contributions to the field, and I’m seeing an increasing strength of voice supporting those efforts, 2) patients have had enough of their attempts to engage being discounted by clinicians and other caregivers, and we are all demanding respect and inclusion at the table of our healthcare decisions.”

Stronger – Kelly Clarkson. Chosen by John Lynn @techguy. “This should be the anthem of those of us in healthcare IT.  First, do no harm, but don’t be afraid to take some risks and make mistakes.  Not taking some risks is killing more people than doing something and sometimes making mistakes.  Healthcare will be stronger for the mistakes we make.”

Runnin’ Down A Dream –  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Chosen by Melody Smith Jones @melsmithjones. “I got into this industry because my grandmother died of cancer in rural USA in 2003. I’ve been running down the dream of care everywhere ever since. I believe 2016 will bring us the most growth in Connected Health that we have seen to date.”

Talk to Me – Stevie Nicks. Chosen by David Harlow @healthblawg. “The chorus includes the line: “You can talk to me/You can set your secrets free, baby” which can be read as a coded message to legacy systems … One of the verses goes: “Our voices stray from the common ground where they/Could meet/The walls run high/ … / Oh, let the walls burn down, set your secrets free” — a prescient call to interoperability, to communication, to enabling broader collaboration across provider, payor and health care information technology silos. We’re almost there, Stevie.”

Heroes – David Bowie. Chosen by Nick van Terheyden @drnic1. “Because I love that track and was sad to see David Bowie leave this universe. But also: We need to be heroes for Healthcare and I hope Healthcare Technology can beat the madness of our system and Ch-ch-ch-ch-change the world:

A million dead-end streets / And every time I thought I’d got it made / It seemed the taste was not so sweet…… / We can be Heroes, just for one day / We can beat them, for ever and ever … ICYMI – I blended the lyrics from David Bowie’s Changes with Heroes”

Another Brick in the Wall – Pink Floyd. Chosen by Rasu Shrestha @RasuShrestha. “In memory of Meaningful Use ‘All in all it was just a brick in the wall…’ “

Numb – Linkin Park. Chosen by me @Colin_Hung. I think many physicians, nurses, administrators and patients are numb from all the competing priorities this past year and from the years of chasing Meaningful User dollars. I think this verse sums it up:

I’m tired of being what you want me to be / Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface / Don’t know what you’re expecting of me / Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes / (Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow) / Every step that I take is another mistake to you

Fire – Jimi Hendrix. Chosen by Chad Johnson @OchoTex. “The reason is simple: HL7 FHIR continues to dominate the headlines and discussions around health data interoperability, and rightfully so. FHIR will bring exciting changes to interoperability.”

Taking Care of Business – Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Chosen by Charles Webster @wareFLO. “Taking care of business in healthcare means getting sh*%$t done. Effectively and efficiently accomplishing goals is only possible with great…wait for it…WORKFLOW”

I Want It All – Queen. Chosen by Joe Lavelle @Resultant. “Because we want it all – Interoperability, “our damn data”, #mhealth, Patient Engagement, Population Health, Telemedicine. etc.”

Robot Rock – Daft Punk. Chosen by AJ Montpetit @ajmontpetit. “We’re heading to the integration of AI into healthcare to create a streamlined experience, and assist in comprehension of all the multiple factors that each patient has individually.”

Upgrade U – Beyoncé. Chosen by Cari McLean @carimclean. “I’ll go with a song that not only always makes me dance but one that reflects a growing happening in healthcare. I chose this song because the EHR replacement market is growing as the rip and replace trend continues and health information exchange is prioritized.”

Give Me Novacaine – Green Day. Chosen by Linda Stotsky @EMRAnswers. “LOL- because providers are in PAIN!!! They need something to soften the blows”

Changes – David Bowie. Chosen by Brad Justus @BradJustus. “A classic from a classic and something that is a constant in #HealthIT”

Fight Song – Rachel Platten. Chosen by Jennifer Dennard @JennDennard. “I think it encapsulates the #healthITchicks ethos – not to mention patient advocates’ – quite well :)”

 What Do You Mean – Justin Bieber. Chosen by Sarah Bennight @sarahbennight. “For SO many reasons. What do you mean MU is going away? What do you mean you need me to fill out ANOTHER demographic profile, what do you mean you don’t have my allergies? What do you mean by interoperable? I could go on all day, but we all have real jobs to do….like to figure out this healthcare IT thing 🙂 Plus in the Justin B song…you hear a clock…do you ever feel like Health IT is running out of time? I don’t agree with JB on ANYTHING, but I agree we are running out of time.”

Shape of Things – David Bowie. Chosen by Pat Rich @pat_health. “In my mind this song evokes the futuristic world of health IT in a steampunk/sci-fi sort of way”

Hello – Adele. Chosen by Bill Bunting @WTBunting. “Because there is an emerging side of healthcare that’s trying to break free and be heard (i.e. adoption), and no one is answering the call to do so”

Under Pressure – Queen & David Bowie. Chosen by Joy Rios @askjoyrios. “There is so much pressure to get through these health IT initiatives unscathed and there’s so much at risk if they get it wrong.  I see providers across the country dealing with so much change, when they mostly just want to focus on their practice. Unfortunately, the changes are not letting up. I feel like the healthcare system is right in the middle of its metamorphosis… not a caterpillar anymore, but by no means a butterfly!”

Please Please Me – The Beatles. Chosen by Jim Tate @jimtate. “Providers want better EHRs”

New New Minglewood Blues – The Grateful Dead. Chosen by Brian Ahier @ahier. “Because I was inspired by this @healthblawg post ‘The New New Meaningful Use’ “

EHR State of Mind – ZDoggMDChosen by Andy DeLaO @CancerGeek. “Does it really need an explanation? J”

Dha Tete – Pandit Shyamal Bose. Chosen by Wen Dombrowski @HealthcareWen. “Some reasons I like this song:

  • Focus, Mindfulness
  • Flow states
  • Collaboration, Staying in Sync with each other (it is actually 2 people duet)
  • Speed, Moving fast
  • Precision, deciveness
  • Artistry, Beauty”

You Can Get It If You Really Want – Jimmy Cliff. Chosen by Steve Sisko @ShimCode. “I believe true, widespread interoperability is not that far away. The technology, standards (FHIR, OpenNotes), and group consensus (outfits like CommonWell, The Sequoia Project) are finally coming together.

You can get it if you really want / But you must try, try and try, try and try / You’ll succeed at last

Do you have a song you think reflects #HealthIT or healthcare at the moment? Add it to the comments below!

[Update: Here is a link to a Spotify playlist of the entire #HIMSS16 Mix Tape https://open.spotify.com/user/12163763158/playlist/7mO6DlpVa4MoJ7roW0bqiG or if you like videos, here is a YouTube playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOxadHqniaPTYUUY5cMSmW14VZQpngUOU]

About the author

Colin Hung

Colin Hung is the co-founder of the #hcldr (healthcare leadership) tweetchat one of the most popular and active healthcare social media communities on Twitter. Colin speaks, tweets and blogs regularly about healthcare, technology, marketing and leadership. He is currently an independent marketing consultant working with leading healthIT companies. Colin is a member of #TheWalkingGallery. His Twitter handle is: @Colin_Hung.

   

Categories