This year’s HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition brought together healthcare professionals, policymakers, and technology leaders to discuss the future of digital health. AI, cybersecurity, and — unsurprisingly to anyone in the healthcare space — interoperability dominated the conversation. The event highlighted both the opportunities and challenges shaping the industry. Here’s a look at the key […]
This year’s HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition brought together healthcare professionals, policymakers, and technology leaders to discuss the future of digital health. AI, cybersecurity, and — unsurprisingly to anyone in the healthcare space — interoperability dominated the conversation.
The event highlighted both the opportunities and challenges shaping the industry. Here’s a look at the key themes that emerged at this year’s HIMSS25 conference in Las Vegas.
Artificial Intelligence: Beyond the Hype
AI in healthcare was a central discussion point at HIMSS25, with industry leaders focusing on its practical applications rather than just theoretical potential. From clinical decision support to workflow automation, AI is already transforming the way healthcare operates.
Joe Brennan, VP at TytoCare, highlighted AI’s role in remote diagnostics as he demonstrated their AI-driven wheeze detection system. While many clinicians’ first reaction to AI integration into healthcare was fear of job losses, Brennan explained that AI-driven diagnostic tools should be used strictly as decision support for clinicians rather than making direct patient diagnoses.
“We’ve chosen to focus our AI attention on provider decision help rather than flagging concerns to patients directly. It enhances the efficacy of virtual care while giving peace of mind to both the provider and patient,” Brennan said.
Philips also showcased its AI-powered Smart Reading platform, which allows radiologists to analyse MRI scans remotely while a patient lies in the scanner. This speeds up diagnosis and ensures that patients don’t need to be recalled for additional scans by providing immediate feedback on scans.
Philips showcased its radiology monitoring tech at HIMSS 2025
“This technology helps prevent delays and reduces unnecessary patient callbacks, ultimately improving clinical efficiency,” a Philips representative noted.
However, experts emphasised the importance of responsible AI governance to ensure accuracy, fairness, and compliance.
Leonard Kim, chief product officer at Hyland, noted that agentic AI is already making an impact by helping healthcare organisations manage unstructured data and automate complex workflows.
Hyland’s Content Innovation Cloud (CIC) leverages AI to classify medical records, extract key data fields, and improve interoperability across healthcare systems.
“By eliminating manual tasks and surfacing insights within existing workflows, agentic AI is reducing administrative burden and enabling care teams to focus more time on patient care,” Kim explained.
Meanwhile, Epic’s AI-driven enhancements in electronic health records (EHR) are being widely adopted. Epic’s Seth Howard highlighted that AI is now integrated into clinical workflows across 330 healthcare organisations, supporting tasks like auto-drafting patient messages, summarising records, and automating discharge notes. “AI adoption in healthcare is moving faster than expected, but regulatory frameworks and governance remain critical,” Howard said.
Cybersecurity in Healthcare: A Growing Priority
As cyber threats continue to increase, healthcare organisations are doubling down on security measures. The latest HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey revealed that social engineering attacks such as phishing and ‘smishing’ remain the biggest threats to healthcare providers.
According to Lee Kim, senior principal of cybersecurity at HIMSS, ransomware attacks may not be as frequent as other threats, but their impact can be devastating. “Only about 11% of healthcare providers report being hit by ransomware, but the consequences can be catastrophic when it happens,” she said.
Healthcare organisations are responding by implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), enhancing network isolation, and leveraging AI for real-time threat detection. However, Kim warned of emerging challenges, such as deepfake technology being used for social engineering scams.
“It takes just 10 seconds of audio to clone a voice using AI, making impersonation fraud a major concern for healthcare security teams,” she added.
Interoperability and Digital Transformation
Interoperability remains a critical focus as hospitals and healthcare providers work toward seamless data exchange across different systems. This is particularly vital in regions where patients frequently cross borders for treatment.
Tom Leary, government relations at HIMSS, shared an example from Europe: “A patient living in Luxembourg might have their nearest hospital in France, yet due to policy barriers, ambulances are forced to take them 50 miles in the opposite direction. Addressing these interoperability challenges is essential to improving healthcare access.”
Tom Leary oversees government relations at HIMSS
To tackle such issues, Philips has introduced remote access technology that enables radiologists and clinicians to collaborate across multiple hospital locations. Its Remote Operations Command Centre (ROCC) allows experts to provide guidance on MRI and CT scans from anywhere in the world, helping to bridge the skills gap in radiology and reduce patient wait times.
“A shortage of radiographers means that some hospitals are forced to close imaging rooms. With ROCC, one expert can support multiple sites remotely, improving efficiency and patient access,” a Philips representative explained.
The push for centralised monitoring solutions was also evident. Philips demonstrated its AI-powered monitoring tools designed to reduce alarm fatigue among nurses, improve workflow efficiency, and enhance patient safety.
“Nurses can now receive mobile alerts, triage alarms, and even trigger a blood pressure reading from their phones, reducing unnecessary interruptions,” a spokesperson explained.
Hyland’s Kim pointed out that fragmented, siloed data remains one of healthcare’s biggest challenges, slowing down processes and affecting patient care. “By eliminating silos and delivering seamless interoperability, AI-powered solutions like the Hyland Content Innovation Cloud are helping healthcare organisations unlock the full potential of their data, driving improvements in both care delivery and operational efficiency,” he said.
Healthcare Workforce Challenges
The global healthcare workforce shortage was another pressing issue discussed at HIMSS25. According to HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf, the world is currently 8-9 million clinicians short, which is expected to rise to 13-18 million over the next decade.
The industry is looking to digital solutions and AI-powered automation to ease the strain on overworked healthcare professionals. AI-driven patient monitoring tools can help filter out unnecessary alerts, reducing ‘alarm fatigue’ for nurses.
Philips demonstrated how its AI-enhanced central monitoring units can help address this issue.
“Nurses are bombarded with up to 350 alarms per patient per day. AI helps filter out the noise, ensuring only the most critical alerts reach clinicians,” a representative explained.
UKG’s AI-driven workforce management platform, Bryte, was also highlighted as a tool to combat burnout and improve staff well-being. According to Megan Brown from UKG, Bryte analyses workforce data to detect early signs of burnout, allowing healthcare organisations to intervene before staff reach critical stress levels.
“We use data from trust index surveys and 30 years of benchmark data from Great Place to Work to predict employee burnout. The goal is to provide proactive solutions before high turnover or absenteeism become a problem,” Brown explained.
Remote work options were also discussed as a way to improve healthcare staffing. Philips’s remote scanning technology offers a hybrid work model that could attract new talent. UKG’s workforce management tools further support this shift by optimising shift scheduling and balancing staffing levels.
Regulatory Uncertainty Around AI and Cybersecurity
From a policy perspective, AI governance and cybersecurity regulations remain uncertain, particularly in the US. Tom Leary noted that the Biden administration had introduced an executive order establishing a Chief AI Officer in each agency, which was eliminated on day one of the Trump administration.
“The European Union’s AI Act has already set a regulatory framework, and without clear US policies, multinational healthcare companies may default to EU regulations, shaping global AI standards by default,” he explained.
Cybersecurity regulation was also a major discussion point. The US has yet to introduce a national cybersecurity framework, while the EU has already passed cybersecurity legislation. US healthcare organisations risk falling behind in security compliance without a unified approach.
Meanwhile, healthcare leaders are pushing for greater investment in digital infrastructure. HIMSS has called for a $36-40 billion investment in public health data modernisation, but current US funding levels remain at just $190 million — a fraction of what is needed to address system inefficiencies.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Healthcare Technology
The overall sentiment at HIMSS25 was that while AI, cybersecurity, and interoperability remain top priorities, healthcare organisations are moving beyond the initial hype to focus on tangible, real-world applications.
Joe Brennan from TytoCare believes the next major development in AI will be image-based diagnostics, with TytoCare’s AI-powered ear infection detection set to launch by the end of the year.
“We’ve done a lot for stethoscope-based diagnostics, but the next evolution is in visual AI, helping detect conditions like bulging in the ear,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philips is advancing AI-driven pathology to improve cancer detection rates. “With AI-enhanced digital pathology, we can improve cancer detection by 33% while reducing the number of biopsies needed,” a representative explained.
The balance between automation and human oversight will remain crucial as the industry progresses. AI is expected to assist rather than replace clinicians, enhancing decision-making while maintaining trust and transparency in healthcare.
HIMSS25 highlighted how healthcare is evolving rapidly, with AI, cybersecurity, and interoperability leading the way. While the potential is vast, ensuring regulatory clarity, workforce readiness, and robust cybersecurity measures will be key to realising the full benefits of digital health innovations.
With AI-driven diagnostics, remote scanning, and digital pathology all making significant strides, the next few years will be pivotal in shaping the future of healthcare.
