2025 Year in Review from the HIMSS Physician Committee Chair
Dr. Roosevelt De Los Santos, an active HIMSS member and chapter leader, served as Chair of the HIMSS Physician Committee in 2025. In this role, he guided committee members through collaborative discussions and facilitated meaningful dialogue with invited guest speakers. He posed thought-provoking questions and served as a strong advocate for physicians beyond the committee. Dr. De Los Santos also contributed as a physician author to the 2025 HIMSS Physician and Nurse Informatics whitepaper, Empowering Patients Through Digital Health: Insights from Two HIMSS Community Surveys on Wearables, Apps, and AI.
Below is a brief reflection on his experience serving as Chair of the HIMSS Physician Committee.
Reflections on My Year as Chair
Serving as Chair of the HIMSS Physician Committee in 2025 has been a defining milestone in my healthcare technology leadership journey. This role was far more than leading meetings—it was about shaping conversations with physician peers that influence the future of healthcare delivery and IT, while ensuring that physicians’ voices remain central to innovation.
What it meant to me
Being entrusted with this responsibility was an honor and a privilege. It meant representing clinicians in critical discussions on use of Artificial Intelligence, patient perspectives on technology, government relations and policy, and creating a space where diverse perspectives could drive meaningful change.
What I gained from the experience
This year broadened my global perspective on healthcare transformation. Collaborating with visionary leaders across HIMSS communities—especially our Nursing Informatics colleagues—reinforced the power of interdisciplinary teamwork. I deepened my understanding of emerging technologies and gained valuable insights into patient and clinician perspectives on their practical application.
What I was able to contribute to
I was fortunate to have contributed to initiatives that matter: authoring HIMSS whitepapers on AI and digital health, supporting webinars that educated clinicians worldwide, and influencing policy discussions that balance innovation with patient safety. Highlighting our Physician Committee members’ contributions to healthcare leadership and technology was also a deeply rewarding aspect of my role. My professional experience implementing ambient AI documentation tools and driving enterprise informatics and population health strategies informed these efforts, ensuring they were grounded in real-world practice.
What possibilities I see for the future
The future is bright for physician leadership in health IT, but it comes with important challenges. As technology evolves, government policy and regulatory frameworks will play a critical role in shaping adoption and implementation. Physicians have a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to influence these areas.
I see possibilities to advocate for equitable telehealth access by shaping policies that ensure continuity of care across diverse populations, and to guide AI regulation in a way that balances innovation with patient safety, ethical standards, and transparency. Equally important is advocating for evidence-based medicine as we integrate new technologies, ensuring that clinical decisions remain grounded in rigorous science and patient-centered outcomes. At the same time, reducing documentation burden by promoting standards and tools that prioritize clinician well-being and patient care will continue to be a critical focus.
Our Committee is uniquely positioned to lead these conversations, bridging clinical expertise with policy advocacy to deliver solutions that improve care delivery globally.
Final Thoughts
I am deeply grateful to every Physician Committee Member for your passion and commitment, and to our Senior Program Manager, Gwynne Jelbaoui, for her unwavering support. Together, we’ve continued to build on the momentum started by our predecessors and that will carry forward into 2026 and beyond. It has been an incredible journey, and I am excited to see how this community continues to innovate and inspire.
To learn more about the Physician Committee, click here.
2025 Webinar, Highlights and Resources
Our committee delivered impactful education this year, addressing some of the most pressing topics in healthcare IT:
- Global Perspectives on Implementing AI: Real Stories of Strategies, Challenges and Innovations from Healthcare Experts
- Empowering Patients Through Digital Health: Insights from Two HIMSS Community Surveys on Wearables, Apps and AI
- Operationalizing AI: A Strategic Framework for Safe Deployment in Healthcare
- Hot Topics in AI: Agents and Agentic Frameworks
- The Role of AI in Clinical Documentation, Diagnosis, and Decision-Making; Focusing on Primary Care and Oncology Clinicians
- Advancing Device Connectivity: How the Argonaut Project is Powering FHIR-First Interoperability
- AI in the Exam Room: What Patients Need to Know
- 6 Physician Committee Member Spotlights (see Physician Committee page for each Spotlight)