Annual ISM Conference pushes IT professionals to change with the time

Published: October 10, 2013

HHSHealth CareHealth ITSocial Services

The 46th Annual IT Solution Management for Human Services (ISM) Conference, “Navigating the Course,” took place in beautiful San Diego, Calif., and did not disappoint. The conference is spearheaded by the American Public Human Services Association and is the nation’s premiere human services information technology conference.

Every year, the conference brings together a nice blend of federal, state and local government officials, in addition to IT professionals from the private sector, all immersed in health and human services-related development and implementation. Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, the presence of federal officials was rather low; however, the event was full of useful information for both private and public sector communities and provided critical updates on IT trends and innovations in the health and human services arena.

The event consisted of general sessions and various breakout plenaries under the following themes:

  1. New Service Delivery Models - how state and local agencies are leading the way
  2. Health Care Reform - the recent Supreme Court ruling and best practices from early-innovator states
  3. Emerging Technologies - cloud and legacy modernization in addition to non-traditional development methodologies 
  4. Best Practices - real-world lessons learned geared to the challenges faced by both public and private sector officials
  5. Data Analytics - how advanced data analytic capabilities and proven predictive modeling can be used to reveal patterns of behavior, and outcomes that were previously buried in mountains of data

This year’s conference focused heavily on mobile applications and the importance of getting technology to change with the time. ISM even created an app with full agenda information and provided updates throughout the entire event.

It is clear that more individuals are utilizing smartphones every year. For that, health and human services agencies must get their IT to adapt to these new changes in order to provide the same level of services. The conference also honed in on the importance of integrated service delivery and how it is just as important as interoperability. It is undoubtedly critical for systems within these agencies to “talk,” but the service delivery must also be integrated in order to truly allow for a “no-wrong-door” approach.

Stay tuned for a full recap of this year’s ISM conference!