CHICAGO - Supporting the benefits of health information technology and management systems in healthcare delivery, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will convene its inaugural conference in the Middle East on 12 -14 May 2009 in Manama, Bahrain. The three-day meeting will focus on health IT business practices in the Gulf Region and healthcare IT and management excellence.

Governments throughout the Gulf Region are demonstrating clear commitments to improving the healthcare delivery systems of their countries through information technology," said H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, HIMSS president/CEO. "We are working with the Ministries of Health in the region to develop HIMSS MiddleEast09, and therefore, bring world class education and professional development to the region's IT professionals and healthcare management executives.

For HIMSS MiddleEast09, the Society, with representatives from the Ministries, has appointed an educational advisory committee that is guiding program development. This group also will advise HIMSS on important regional HIT issues, selection of the final education sessions, and promotion of the conference in the region. In addition to the primary audience in the Gulf Region, the conference also expects to attract professionals from a broader area including Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, India and other countries.

Faculty will include leading governmental, HIT and healthcare leaders from both the region and from around the world. Selection of the faculty will be based upon responses to a Call for Papers. Papers may be submitted through 3 October; information is available on the HIMSS MiddleEast09 Web site.

The first day of the conference will focus on HIT Business Practices in the Middle East. This symposium will be designed to help healthcare leaders better understand the Middle East business climate, business practices and business opportunities. The second and third days of the conference will focus on the theme of Healthcare IT and Management Excellence.

With more than 30 educational sessions, the program offers three education tracks: IT, Healthcare and IT Management and Clinical IT. The educational sessions, presented in case study/best practices format, will provide information on the practical use and application of health IT. Topics of interest for the region include interoperability, health IT standards, health IT project management, electronic medical records, data repositories, clinical information systems, business information systems, patient safety and more.