Nick van Terheyden, MD, is the chief medical officer of NTT Data and previously served in a similar capacity at Dell and Nuance.
And as one of the Social Media Ambassadors van Terheyden, widely known as Dr. Nick (@drnic1), is already plotting how to weave social tools into presentations and sessions to give them scope beyond the conference center itself.
Healthcare IT News asked Dr. Nick what is top-of-mind among his strong social following, what he’s looking forward to at this year’s conference and who his health IT hero is. That last one? It’s not an actual person but rather interesting nonetheless.
Q: What are you most looking forward to at HIMSS17?
A: I am excited to be presenting a talk on the first day of the conference, together with Nathalie Corredor from Hilton, titled: “The Second Best Marigold Hospital - View from the Top." The presentation builds on the extensive experience and knowledge of the Hilton group and their attention to delighting their customers. I've found that some of the best innovations we have in healthcare are learned from other industries. By applying the creativity and lessons from other business we can speed our learning and bring innovation to healthcare. Hilton has developed extensive knowledge and experience around integrating digital tools to personalize the experiences of their hotel guests. I hope we will inspire some of the attendees to use that knowledge to integrate digital tools within healthcare. These tools can help provide a well-rounded patient engagement approach that customizes the patient experience and not only improves satisfaction but improves quality and reduces cost. I will of course be integrating social media into our presentation, which will extend the learning opportunities of this session to beyond the confines of the physical room or even the geographical location.
Q: What issues do you think are top-of-mind for your social media followers?
A: As HIMSS approaches I think many people are looking to derive maximum value from the event. There are so many activities, educational sessions, meet ups and of course the vast expanse of the exhibit floor. Social media offers a way of extending your participation, offering rapid insights into the latest happenings on the show floor and educational sessions, as well as providing a real time feed to multiple sessions. Tapping into the collective intelligence and expertise of all the attendees (this includes virtual attendees as well) creates an experience that is richer and more complete, with content that is captured and shared through multiple channels. Throughout the conference I hope to share real time insights and tips to help new and experienced attendees capitalize on the many learning opportunities and networking events available
Q: Who's your favorite healthcare hero? Why?
A: I thought long and hard about this and was unable to pick one individual out from the incredible collection of inspirational healthcare leaders, movers and shakers. On a daily basis I am inspired and motivated as I read, listen and watch others who bring so much innovation, insight, knowledge and passion to fixing and improving our healthcare system – not just here but around the world. Healthcare is personal – it affects us all in many different ways and our experiences, while enabled and supported with technology, ultimately are defined by the human aspects of the care. It is through their stories of success and failure and their journey interacting with the system directly or through family and friends that we share in their highs and lows and together help move towards an improved, frictionless, compassionate system that serves everyone equally. If I was to name these heroes I would tag them “Digital Health” – it is not just the online social media tag but rather a moniker of change and revolution that is sweeping through healthcare – enabled by technology and social media but driven by the Digital Health advocates that inhabit every part of our system and understand they have been enabled to effect change.
Q: What's your pet peeve? (Either on- or off-line?) What is something your social media followers do not know about you?
A: Failure to acknowledge and accept differing opinions – I strongly believe everyone has the best intentions and while we may often disagree with their opinions or viewpoints we have to be prepared to listen, respond, argue with civility and humility and reach a reasonable conclusion that accounts as best as we can for all perspectives. Sometimes we may not be able to agree and that's OK but ongoing mutual respect is essential if we are to stand a chance of fixing our healthcare system.
Q: What is something your social media followers are unlikely to know about you?
A: Some of my friends will know my passion for Scottish Malt Whisky especially single unique casks – my online friends get to share in this delight some weekends as I share my tasting notes and details under the #TonightsTipple hash tag. I have managed to accrue quite a collection over the years living in different countries and areas and on some of my travels around the world. I enjoy exploring this wonderful amber nectar sometimes called “Writers Tears.”
HIMSS17 runs from Feb. 19-23, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center.
Related HIMSS17 Social Media Ambassadors:
⇒ Meet Drex DeFord: Former Air Force CIO who started as a rock-n-roll DJ
⇒ Health IT guru Brian Ahier: A big fan of analytics, Don Berwick and Jerry Garcia
⇒ Linda Stotsky: She writes poetry, sticks up for underserved and loves ... boxing?
⇒ Charles Webster: Find him in the first Innovations Makerspace at HIMSS17
This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.
