The Budding Healthcare IT Spring

By Rick Dakin, CEO, co-founder and chief security strategist, Coalfire Systems

HIMSS12 took over Las Vegas for a week in February. Over 40,000 healthcare IT professionals and service providers descended upon a conference that will set the direction for a new wave to technology innovations for the healthcare industry. Almost every booth has a sign that extolls the benefits of cloud-based services delivered through mobile devices. The promise to shake the industry to its core is a common theme.

Why this message and why now? After talking with a few key CIO's, the underlying drivers for the rapid change became apparent. Several cited recent HITECH regulatory changes while others stated a recurring observation that "consumerization" of the entire IT space is finally creeping into healthcare. These obvious symptoms were easy to understand. However, the real driver is much more subtle.