Reflections from HIMSS 2025: Conversations, Challenges & The Future
Another HIMSS is in the books, and after days of conversations, sessions, and navigating the Vegas maze of healthcare tech, a few key themes really stood out—especially around clinical communication.
The Conversations That Stuck with Me
One of the most interesting (and honestly, concerning) conversations I had at the booth was about how healthcare teams rely on Epic’s secure chat, only to discover its limitations when it’s too late. A recurring frustration among informaticists and clinicians was that while secure chat feels like a built-in solution, it lacks escalation and role-based alerting—two things that are non-negotiable when minutes (or even seconds) matter.
After HIMSS, I went down a bit of a Reddit rabbit hole (as one does) and came across a case that really stuck with me. A clinician shared how a patient developed abdominal compartment syndrome after an intern missed a secure chat message in Epic—for six hours. The attending physician never saw the message, and as a result, surgical intervention was dangerously delayed. This was exactly what I kept hearing at HIMSS: messages go unseen because they don’t escalate, and there’s no guarantee the right on-call provider sees them in time.
Another recurring theme I heard on the HIMSS exhibit floor was that while hospitals have multiple communication tools embedded within their tech stack (pagers, Microsoft Teams/Slack, multiple secure phone apps, you name it), none unify routine collaboration with critical alerting in a way that’s both secure and workflow-driven. And BTW, that’s exactly the challenge we’ve been helping hospitals solve—by placing our CC&C platform at the center of their communication ecosystem. OnPage integrates with existing medical applications, devices, chat collaboration tools and other systems to streamline not just daily communications, but also ensure that urgent notifications escalate when needed, all within a single app.
Key Themes from HIMSS 2025
Beyond the conversations at the booth, HIMSS 2025 highlighted some major industry trends and challenges shaping healthcare technology:
1. AI-Powered Healthcare
AI was the undisputed star of HIMSS 2025, with discussions on how AI-driven diagnostics, administrative automation, and patient care improvements are changing the game. Many sessions focused on generative AI in clinical decision-making, with concerns around bias, patient safety, and data privacy taking center stage.
2. Cybersecurity & Data Protection
With healthcare breaches on the rise, cybersecurity was another hot topic. Speakers emphasized the importance of zero-trust security models and real-time threat monitoring to protect patient data. As healthcare digitization accelerates, leaders stressed that security can’t be an afterthought—it must be baked into every process.
3. Digital Health & Interoperability
A major focus was seamless data sharing across systems. Healthcare organizations are demanding better EHR integrations, more efficient workflows, and reduced clinician burden. There was a clear shift towards centralized, interoperable platforms that improve care coordination without adding complexity and technology debt.
4. Addressing Workforce Challenges
With staffing shortages and burnout still pressing concerns, healthcare IT leaders explored how automation, AI, and streamlined communication tools can help reduce administrative overhead and improve staff well-being. Companies like Siemens Healthineers showcased solutions designed to simplify IT landscapes and empower overburdened clinical teams.
5. Global Collaboration for Better Care
HIMSS reinforced the global nature of healthcare challenges, with international leaders sharing insights on policy shifts, technology adoption, and strategies for improving care across borders.
6. Simone Biles’ Keynote on Mental Health
Closing out HIMSS 2025, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles delivered an inspiring keynote alongside former UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field. Biles shared her journey with mental health, emphasizing the importance of seeking support and prioritizing well-being. She reflected on her experiences in foster care and the lessons she’s learned about resilience—lessons that hit home for many healthcare professionals managing burnout. “The greatest you’ll ever be is asking for help because we can’t do this alone,” she said, a statement that resonated deeply.
What This Means for Healthcare Communication
If there’s one takeaway from HIMSS 2025, it’s that critical communication can’t just be an EHR add-on—it has to be purpose-built for reliability. Secure messaging is what we do at OnPage, and it’s built for high-stakes, time-sensitive communication where reliability isn’t optional—it’s everything.
With OnPage, you gain:
🔹 Role-Based Messaging – This ensures that the right provider gets the right message every time, with HIPAA-compliant communication.
🚨 Critical Alerting Workflows – This includes receiving urgent, critical notifications with precision, speed, and reliability—combining paging, scheduling, escalation and automation. Messages include an audit trail that tracks delivery status, read receipts, and escalations, ensuring accountability and compliance for critical communications.
🤝 Collaboration – Mobilizing the right team members at the right time on a secure chat platform designed for real-world workflows.
📞 Escalation & Automated Call Routing – ⏳ Making sure critical alerts and patient calls aren’t just sent—they’re seen, acknowledged, and acted on in time.
🔗 Seamless Integration with Medical Systems – 🏥 Connecting with EHRs, medical devices, and other critical systems so essential updates don’t get lost.
Beyond Messaging—A Safety Net for Critical Care
At the end of the day, OnPage is more than a messaging tool—it’s a safety net for critical communication. When every second counts, we make sure the right provider gets the message, acts on it, and nothing falls through the cracks.
Did any of this align with your experience at HIMSS? Let’s chat!
