Abbreviation HIMSS Legal status NPO Founded 1961 | Formation 1961 (1961) Website himss.org | |
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Membership 50,000+ individual members
570+ corporate members
225 not-for-profit associations members Chair Scott MacLean, MBA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, United States Profiles | ||
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care in quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and access through the best use of information technology and management systems. It was founded in 1961 as the Hospital Management Systems Society. It is now headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The society has more than 50,000 individual members, over 570 corporate members, and more than 225 not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS is a US 501(c)6 organization.
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History
HIMSS was organized in 1961 as the Hospital Management Systems Society (HMSS), an independent, unincorporated, nonprofit association of individuals. The society was co-founded by Edward J. Gerner and Harold E. Smalley. In late 1961, the constitution of the HIMSS was drafted and approved, and in 1962, the first national convention was held in Baltimore. In 1963, the second national HIMSS convention was held in Chicago, and the following year the HIMSS national headquarters were moved there. In 1967, the Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of HIMSS were written and approved. By 1982, HIMSS had 15 affiliated chapters (14 in the US and 1 in Australia). In 1986, the HIMSS was renamed to include "Information" in the title. By 1996, membership had grown to 7,500. As of April 2014, HIMSS has more than 52,000 individual members. Its annual conference was attended by more than 38,000 in Orlando, Florida.
Governance
Elected by the membership, the HIMSS Board of Directors serve a three-year term. H. Stephen Lieber was named president and CEO in 2000.
Industry collaboration
Along with the Radiological Society of North America, HIMSS is a sponsor of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative. HIMSS is also home to the Electronic Health Records Association. Supported by both the American Medical Informatics Association and HIMSS, the Alliance for Nursing Informatics represents more than 2,000 nurses and brings together 18 distinct nursing informatics groups that function independently. With 76 partnering organizations, HIMSS sponsors National Health IT Week, a collaborative forum during which key healthcare constituents - vendors, provider organizations, payors, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, governmental agencies, industry/professional associations, research foundations, and consumer protection groups - work together to elevate national attention to the necessity of greater health IT (information technology) adoption.