HIMSS 2025: Trends and Takeaways

Healthtech leaders discuss the future of patient engagement and AI

From March 3-6, 2025, I had the pleasure of attending the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Las Vegas. This year’s conference, themed “Creating Tomorrow’s Health,” brought together nearly 30,000 healthcare professionals to explore the latest trends and innovations shaping healthcare. The event was a deep dive into key topics like:

In the recap below, I explore these trends and share key takeaways from the 2025 conference.

 

Engaging and retaining patients

HIMSS 2025 emphasized the importance of patient engagement in driving patient satisfaction and retention. Several sessions focused on strategies for creating patient-centric care models and leveraging technology to improve the overall patient experience.

The Accelerate Healthcare Innovation: Putting Patients at the Heart of Care talk provided valuable insights. Attendees learned ways to use smart technologies and patient-driven innovations to transition to patient-centric care models. The session focused on engaging patients through digital platforms and consumer-centric designs that improve communication, accessibility and overall healthcare experience.

Another standout session was Reimagine Patient Experience with Thoughtful, Effective and Human-Like Self–Serve. It addressed the common frustration of healthcare providers using multiple, disconnected communication tools. The session highlighted successful strategies for creating personalized, human-like experiences.

Our session, Unlock Better Care: Engaging Patients with Imaging Access and Intelligent Insights, explored how patient engagement isn’t just about satisfaction; it’s also about preventing revenue loss, improving follow-up compliance and reducing risk. According to a 2021 study, 60% of recommended imaging is not followed up on, which significantly impacts patient care.

Rethinking radiology image exchange can effectively bridge these gaps and improve patient engagement, care coordination and ultimately patient outcomes. This creates efficiency for providers and translates into upwards of $300,000 in annual savings. To wrap up the session, we discussed how imaging systems must be part of the larger care coordination puzzle to bridge the gaps in patient care.

The HIMSS 2025 sessions reinforced the importance of creating a personalized and connected experience throughout the patient journey. PocketHealth Patient Connect ensures that patients never miss a step in their care. It provides patient-driven imaging record access, enabling patients to easily access and share their records.

PocketHealth also offers interactive patient engagement tools and automated follow-up management to keep patients on track with their care. After using the platform, 87% of patients are more likely to return to a PocketHealth-connected facility*. This increases revenue, drives follow-up compliance and reduces enterprise risk, allowing providers to close the loop with every single patient.

 

Realizing the benefits of AI

AI’s transformative potential in healthcare was a major theme at HIMSS 2025. The conference offered several sessions exploring AI’s role in improving diagnostic accuracy, streamlining workflows and improving patient care.

The ROI of AI in Enterprise Imaging session offered strategies for identifying cost-benefit opportunities for different AI applications in enterprise imaging.

The session on Defining and Operationalizing Strategies that Realize the Promise and Power of Artificial Intelligence was another highlight. The speaker’s emphasis on a comprehensive approach that includes strategic alignment, ethical considerations and robust governance provided a roadmap for successful AI implementation in healthcare settings.

PocketHealth’s AI-powered engagement tool, MyCare Navigator, improves both patient satisfaction and retention. It gives patients an interactive look at their radiology results for better understanding and suggests relevant questions for doctor visits based on those results. These tools educate patients and encourage them to take an active role in their healthcare journey, improving both patient experience and safety.

PocketHealth also uses AI to improve follow-up compliance and build stronger relationships with patients. Follow-Up Navigator detects and surfaces recommendations to patients and physicians to close the loop on patient care and ensure crucial follow-up recommendations aren’t missed. Improved follow-up compliance and simplified workflows give healthcare workers more time for patient care, which enhances operational efficiency and patient experience. This can lead to a 30% improvement in follow-up rates and $2.4 million annual incremental revenue.**

Learn how PocketHealth’s Patient Engagement Platform improves patient satisfaction and retention.

HIMSS 2025 was an inspiring and informative conference that provided valuable insights into the future of healthcare. The exchange of ideas on interoperability, patient care and leveraging AI will undoubtedly shape the future of the field. As I reflect on the conference, it’s clear that technology has the potential to improve healthcare for both patients and providers.

Ready to improve patient retention and drive follow-up compliance? Book a demo with PocketHealth today.

*2023 PocketHealth patient survey
**Projected based on annual imaging volume of 500,000