From HIMSS 2/23/14

For those planning to visit the HIStalk booth (#1995), here’s a celebrity addition: Vince Ciotti will be on hand Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 until noon.

3M announces that it will acquire analytics and BI vendor Treo Solutions.

Vonlay is doing some cool social media coverage of the HIMSS conference as they always do. Check out their page.

CVS MinuteClinic announces that it will replace its homegrown EMR with Epic.

The HIMSS opening reception was a disaster in my book, rivaling the Chicago one as the worst one ever. HIMSS decided for some reason to hold it in the Hyatt Regency across the street rather than the convention center itself as has always been the case, and International Drive was full of people who were lost since that hotel complex is almost as big as the convention center. Someone told me that HIMSS screwed up and had some of the directional signs reversed, which probably didn’t help, and I saw one HIMSS person running around with “follow me” hand-held signs to try to herd the puzzled  crowds through the bowels of the endless building to its southernmost point that seemed like a mile from the main entrance. The room was the usual cheerless airplane hangar, so the impetus to move from the convention center is unclear. HIMSS went back to the much-hated drink ticket concept that was a welcome deletion a few years back, but it didn’t really matter since the bar lines were at least 40 people deep at every location and the incessant din that could have been a band, recorded music, or a plane passing overheard made it impossible to think, much less hold even a shouted conversation. I lasted about two minutes and left without eating, drinking, or talking to anyone since it was about as pleasant as as dental surgery. There’s a lot to dislike about how HIMSS conducts business, but clearly botched conference logistics isn’t usually one of them.

We had a nice reception for HIStalk sponsors Sunday evening. Thanks to the really cool people who actually showed up, which unfortunately was only about 40 percent of the total who RSPV’ed. Because of the thousands of dollars I spent to guarantee the 60 percent who were no-shows whom I suspect were registered by their clueless admins, I’m pretty sure I won’t do another one, especially thinking of the time and effort required to manage all of their never-ending requests to bring extra people who joined them in going elsewhere. Thanks to Dr. Gregg and Lorre for running the event. Those who attended had nothing but compliments about it.

We gave out some really cool mugs with healthcare IT news headlines from the past year at the sponsor event, and because of all the folks who blew it off, we’ll have some to give away at our booth. Stop by and Lorre will hook you up. One of our longest-tenured sponsors proclaimed the mugs as, “The best favors I have ever seen.”

Monday will be the usual crazy day with the opening keynote (an insurance vendor CEO, which makes no sense), the exhibits, and the rare educational sessions that are actually worth discussing. Inga, Dr. Jayne, and I will use Lorre’s Twitter throughout the day to tell you about what we’re seeing out on the show floor. Then we move right into HIStalkapalooza, which always generates discussion and hopefully some fun pictures and videos.

Dr. Gregg has a brilliant booth idea that he describes as follows.

HIStalk Reverse Giveaway

Laaaaadies aaaand gentlemen! Announcing, the HIMSS 2014 HIStalk Reverse Giveaway!!!

You don’t want to miss this one. Stop by the HIStalk booth out in the hinterlands of the HIMSS 2014 Exhibit Hall on Monday, February 24th, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM and be part of our completely unique Reverse Giveaway. (A first for ANY exhibitor at HIMSS… we’re pretty sure.) Dr. Gregg will be there at that time and has promised to accept any and all gifts you want to unload.

Reverse Giveaway items include:

• Tokens
• Tchotchkes
• Swag
• Bling
• Freebies
• Trinkets
• Baubles
• Doodads
• Lagniappe
• And any general largesse or pure graft (larger denominations preferable.)

Dump that heavy load you’re carting around and make room for more. Enjoy the show (and hope to see you at HIStalkapalooza!)

From the trenches…

"If it wasn’t for graft, you’d get a very low type of people in politics.” – Preston Sturges

Dr. Jayne’s HIMSS Report – Sunday

I’m moving a little slower at HIMSS this year thanks to the half marathon on Sunday morning. It was muggy, hot, and crowded, so on some level was good preparation for the upcoming week of slogging through the exhibit hall, trying to find my way to sessions, and looking for the next great thing in healthcare IT.

The opening reception seemed a little more upscale this year. Inga and I didn’t see as many people in vendor logo polo shirts, but we did see lots of sassy shoes and some pretty high heels. It’s only day one, though, so I’m looking for those heels to get shorter as the week progresses if they’re not retired after the “Inga Loves My Shoes” contest Monday night.

Registration was a breeze and I spent most of the day catching up with old friends that I only see at HIMSS. One good friend works in the public sector and was happy to report that not a lot has been changing in her world. Hospitals in her area are largely focused on meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements and preparing for ICD-10 with little else on the horizon due to budget and staffing constraints.

I managed to catch up with both Dr. Gregg and Dr. Lyle which was a nice surprise since I know how busy everyone’s schedules are. I also had a chance to expand my network with introductions to other CMIO types. At least two of them are in the vendor space, so I’m looking forward to getting their take on events from the vendors’ chairs. Inga and I also hit a couple of social events – the Divurgent-SummHIT party at the Funky Monkey was definitely hopping.

Last but not least, I heard one juicy rumor although I’m sworn to secrecy until it’s announced later this week. I’ve got a packed day of sessions and meetings tomorrow and a couple of calls to deal with issues back home so I’m turning in early. Looking forward to HIStalkapalooza and definitely need the rest!