One thing top of mind at the 2025 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Global Health Conference and Exhibition this week wasn’t who was there, but who wasn’t.
Some federal government officials canceled plans to attend the Las Vegas conference after the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “indefinitely” paused travel for its agencies—the CDC, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), FDA, NIH, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, to name a few—Hal Wolf, HIMSS president and CEO, confirmed on March 4 during a press briefing.
The US has also pulled out of a number of other commitments since the Trump administration took office—the World Health Organization, for one—and funding for future health research and projects remains uncertain.
“There’s little question that we are fundamentally in a time to listen, to understand, and frankly get ready to change at an unparalleled level,” Wolf said during an opening keynote.
The consequences
In prior years, government officials have used HIMSS—one of the largest annual gatherings of healthcare technology professionals—as a place to announce news and answer attendees’ questions about policy changes and common issues.
Though some government workers still attended—including leaders from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and House and Senate committee staff—some were noticeably absent. A planned panel on interoperability between CMS and the VA, for instance, ran as scheduled, but lacked CMS officials.
Despite the last-minute exits, attendance reached 28,000 compared to last year’s 26,000, Wolf said during the keynote. He added that HIMSS is still collaborating with the government even though some members didn’t attend.
Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.
“It doesn't mean we're not engaging with them in Washington,” he said. He added that he’s also “concerned” about future NIH funding, though that topic is still up in the air. Just this Wednesday, a federal judge blocked proposed cuts, with experts saying it could “endanger patients and cost jobs,” according to the Associated Press.
“We’re beginning a very shaky period,” Wolf said.
Zooming out
Meanwhile, government workers who were at the conference fielded questions from audience members about the future.
At a Wednesday afternoon panel, “Views from the Hill,” members of several House committees were asked during an audience Q&A about threats to cybersecurity as Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees review data from CMS and other health agencies.
Panelist Gable Brady, a senior health policy advisor for the US Senate Committee on Finance, said DOGE employees were not able to access any personal health information, including Medicare IDs, in their review of CMS. She said she could not speak about what’s going on at other agencies.
“There have been a lot of protections put into place on what data is being accessed by DOGE,” she said. “None of the data they were looking at had personal health information.”
Panelist John Harry, staff director of the subcommittee on technology modernization for the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, was less confident that safeguards are in place as DOGE reviews VA data. The VA has previously assured outlets including HuffPost that DOGE employees won’t have access to veterans’ personal data.
“It is my biggest stressor right now,” Harry said.