Photo courtesy of HIMSS South Carolina Chapter
Editor's note: This contributed piece highlights an event put on by MobiHealthNews' parent company, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
The HIMSS South Carolina Chapter (SCHIMSS) will host South Carolina Health IT Day 2026 on Feb. 10 as a free, virtual event running from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The program is designed for healthcare, technology, academic and policy leaders who want practical insight into how digital healthcare transformation is changing care delivery across the state and beyond.
This year’s theme, Healthcare Digital Transformation, reflects a push many health systems are feeling right now: improving safety and quality outcomes, modernizing workflows end to end and expanding access in rural communities through better infrastructure and smarter operating models.
Attendees will hear from national and South Carolina-based leaders across research, provider operations, broadband strategy, payer and claims modernization, and state-level advocacy.
Proclamation recognition and opening remarks
The day will begin with welcome remarks from Dr. Elizabeth Regan, HIMSS advocacy chair, and Will Johnson, SCHIMSS president, followed by opening remarks and the presentation of the Governor’s Proclamation by Sen. Danny Verdin, chair of the South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Committee.
Digital maturity, safety and quality outcomes
The morning program features Dr. Anne Snowdon, HIMSS chief scientific research officer and University of Windsor professor, speaking on how digital maturity correlates with safety and quality outcomes.
As healthcare organizations make major bets on modernization, this type of evidence-based framing helps leaders prioritize the capabilities that translate into measurable clinical and operational impact.
Innovation in care delivery and the evolving tech landscape
Later in the morning, Dr. Nick Patel, CEO and founder of Stealth Consulting and an inaugural Prisma chief digital officer, will explore AI use cases, maturity models, governance, ethics of healthcare technology and innovation in care delivery.
The session is positioned to connect strategy to real-world implementation decisions, especially as health systems balance clinical demands, patient expectations and cost pressures.
AI in claims processing and real-time payments
One of the core operational themes on the agenda is administrative modernization. Sairohith Thummarakoti, technology leader, author and enterprise architect, will present AI in Claims Processing: Providing End-to-End Workflow and Real-Time Payments, including a walkthrough of the PRIME-A framework for best practices in migrating from legacy systems to agentic AI platforms.
The session focuses on how automation and AI can reduce friction across intake, adjudication and resolution, while strengthening feedback loops for faster decisions and payment workflows.
Rural health: Broadband as a practical enabler
In the afternoon, the program pivots to a key constraint in care transformation: connectivity.
Jim Stritzinger, director of the South Carolina broadband office, will present on statewide broadband as a rural health game changer. The premise is straightforward: Many digital health strategies fail at the last mile without reliable infrastructure, especially for rural populations and smaller provider organizations.
CMS Rural Health Transformation Program discussion
The agenda includes a session on the CMS Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), presented by Valerie Rogers, director of government relations at HIMSS.
The session will provide an overview of the five-year national program and its implications for South Carolina’s rural healthcare ecosystem.
Advocacy: Turning ideas into action
South Carolina Health IT Day is not just about technology. The program concludes with a virtual advocacy campaign segment led by Michelle Hager (Blue Cirrus Consulting), focusing on how healthcare professionals can engage policymakers on helping healthcare professionals amplify shared issues with key decision-makers.
This emphasis aligns with the broader event framing: Digital transformation succeeds when policy, incentives and implementation realities move together.
The event description also highlights the role of HIMSS, SCHIMA and SCHA in supporting needed healthcare change and encouraging broad participation across the healthcare ecosystem.
How to attend
South Carolina Health IT Day is a free online event, with registration available through the official event page. The Zoom access link is provided in the registration confirmation, and CEU credits are available for participants.
About the author
Sairohith Thummarakoti is a board member of the HIMSS South Carolina Chapter and a technology leader, author and enterprise architect specializing in Pega, cloud-native systems and large-scale automation in healthcare and regulated industries. He is a Certified Pega Lead System Architect (CLSA) and serves as Chair of the IEEE Computer Society – Columbia Section. His work focuses on building practical, ethical, and production-ready intelligent systems.
