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By Huyen Cam, Clinical Applications Specialist, Ascom Americas
I attended the HIMSS North Carolina Chapter annual conference in Raleigh this week and left inspired, filled with forward-thinking ideas and practical strategies for the future of healthcare IT. Here are my top learnings and reflections from this year’s event:
Keynote speaker Christina Carabello, VP of Informatics at HIMSS, emphasized that true digital maturity in healthcare goes far beyond simply installing an electronic health record (EHR). She mentioned that less than 20% of hospitals have reached stage 6 on the HIMSS digital maturity model and challenges remain in ensuring meaningful use and integration of EHRs, not just their presence. Legacy systems and poor data governance continue to limit agility and increase costs, highlighting the need for a holistic approach to digital transformation.
The theme of AI recurred throughout the conference. With more than 7,000 types of AI systems available for healthcare, the focus is shifting to how we categorize, govern, and ethically deploy these technologies. Carabello suggested AI falls into three buckets within healthcare - clinical, administrative, and operational categories, and advocated for the FAVES principles, Fairness, Appropriateness, Validity, Effectiveness, and Safety, to help guide the safe and proper use of AI in healthcare, plus ethics, equity, and governance. Trust remains a major hurdle, and there’s even talk of “putting AI through a nursing program” to build confidence in its recommendations.
A standout session titled Smart Scheduling Analytics Unlocks Outpatient Rehab Capcity featured a smart scheduling model developed by Mahmoud Alwakeel, MD, Duke University Health System, Shahryar Farooq, MD, UNC Health and Carine Yehya, Duke University School of Medicine. Faced with long wait times and high no-show rates at outpatient , the team built dashboards to analyze demand, utilization, and appointment patterns. Their approach empowered leadership to make data-driven decisions, configure policies, and implement advanced strategies to reduce cancellations and improve patient access—a model with national relevance.
The age of AI is ushering in new types of jobs—more focused on thinking and problem-solving than routine tasks. Recruiting remains a challenge in healthcare, but AI is influencing where clinicians choose to work and how organizations structure their teams. There’s a growing need for policies that keep pace with how staff are actually using AI, both at work and at home.
Successfully deploying AI in healthcare requires a robust framework. Here’s one model as explained by Albert Villarin, MD, Nuvance-NorthWell Health:
With baby boomers retiring by 2030 and not enough human capital to replace them, technology will be essential to bridge workforce gaps. Most companies are now prioritizing both employee and customer experience, leveraging unstructured data and AI to unlock new insights and efficiencies.
How we prompt AI is becoming a critical skill. To grow AI capabilities, it’s vital to pilot projects with diverse populations, share best practices, and advocate for safe, ethical use. Platform providers must step up with education and resources to ensure success.
The NC HIMSS 2025 conference reinforced that while technology is advancing rapidly, the human element—trust, ethics, and collaboration—remains at the heart of healthcare innovation. As we continue at Ascom Americas to innovate products and solutions that help clinicians and IT staff with smarter workflows, we’ll keep these lessons top of mind.