HIMSS FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about HIMSS and Its Members

What are HIMSS' individual member demographics?

HIMSS represents more than 30,000 individual members, of which two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations.

Who leads HIMSS?

HIMSS is led by a Board of Directors—a group of HIMSS volunteers elected by the membership. The current Chair of HIMSS is Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH, FHIMSS, Chief Medical Officer of DocsNetwork, Ltd. in Boston The Vice Chairwoman is Liz Johnson, RN, MSN, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, Vice President for Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare in Texas.

What percentage of HIMSS’ revenues come from vendor firms?

A significant portion of HIMSS' revenue comes from vendor and consulting firms. Those funds, however, are used to create education, tools, and resources by and for our members. In the past year, HIMSS has published more than 200 new resources and hosted multiple education programs, both nationally and regionally through our chapters. You can learn about our latest tools and resources on our Web site.

Is HIMSS vendor dominated?

HIMSS is not dominated by any one voice and is known as one of the few not-for-profit membership associations that has successful integrated multi-stakeholder members from diverse constituency groups under one umbrella. HIMSS membership includes individual members, corporate members, organizational and affiliate members. All members are welcome and encouraged to actively participate in the Society's efforts. The HIMSS Board of Directors works to ensure a balanced view is achieved, representing consensus among the various member constituencies.

How does HIMSS use its resources to contribute to the healthcare IT industry?

HIMSS provides a unique forum for its vendor and provider-based members to collaborate on programs and initiatives that contribute to the common good. HIMSS uses its resources to fund these activities which enable individuals and groups to gain consensus on shared topics and positions. Examples include Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), the Alliance for Nursing Informatics, the Clinical Engineering-IT Community, and the International Organization of Standardization Technical Committee 215 U.S. Technical Advisory Group.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about HIMSS’ Government Activities

Does HIMSS lobby?

The Society does not employ a registered lobbyist. There are specific definitions of lobbying that were created by the U.S. Congress, and HIMSS’ activities do not meet the defined thresholds. The Internal Revenue Service requires that certain functions performed by not-for-profit associations be non-tax deductible by its members for specific advocacy-type activities. Each year, HIMSS carefully calculates how many resources have been spent on these specific activities (such as HIMSS annual national Advocacy Day - in which nearly 300 HIMSS individual members meet with their elected members of Congress), and therefore, not tax deductible. For the past 12 months, such IRS-designated activities represented 4.6% of each individual member's dues ($6.44 of a $140 individual membership).

What is lobbying?

Lobbying is defined by both the U.S. Congress and the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. Congress definition of lobbying is governed by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. The law says that a lobbyist is anyone who spends more than 20% of their time to conduct lobbying activities that includes lobbying contacts with designated Executive or Congressional branch officials or their staff and any efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation or planning activities, research and other background work that is intended, at the time of its preparation, for use in contacts and coordination with the lobbying activities of others. HIMSS staff members do not meet this threshold.

Who Chairs the HIMSS Advocacy and Public Policy Steering Committee and Healthcare Reform Committee?

The Public Policy Committee Chair is Neal Ganguly, VP and CIO of CentraState Healthcare System in New Jersey. View the full committee membership list.

Does HIMSS ever forward a position that is advantageous to one constituency or entity (like one hospital or one type of vendor)?

No. All of HIMSS' positions are designed to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of care through the best use of IT and management systems. We encourage you to read HIMSS’ Principles of Government Initiatives document which is developed each year via our volunteer committees, and approved by the Board of Directors.