Frankly I was not big fan of attending HIMSS in Chicago this year, not only did this move interfere with my yearly “rites of spring” effort to knock the rust of my golf game in traditional HIMSS venues like Orlando and San Diego, but mentally I had reserved the massive Chicago convention center complex for my other traditional healthcare IT pilgrimage the RSNA (Radiology Society of North America). So you can imagine my surprise when I found the place nearly full to the brim with vendors and conference show attendees crawling over nearly every inch of the place.
Attendance at the 2009 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Chicago was down 6% from 2008 in Orlando, when the event set a record for attendance. But attendance was 13% higher than the 2007 event in New Orleans. Despite the recession, this year’s show, hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, drew 27,429 attendees. Of that total, 12,564, or 46%, were “professional registrants” rather than exhibitor-related staff. That’s up from 44% in 2008. Some 907 companies exhibited at this year’s event, down 4% from 2008 but up 2% from 2007.
Net-net this is fabulous news; the truly committed where in full attendance with the educational and professional sessions looking to be packed all the time and while some big vendors took a pass (I understand budget compression all to well) the energy and enthusiasm at this year’s event was off the charts.
Next year’s HIMSS Conference will be March 1-4 in Atlanta, so be forewarned Cannongate, Bears Best and Druid Hills. I will be calling shortly for my tee times.
More information is available at himss.org.
Frankly I was not big fan of attending HIMSS in Chicago this year, not only did this move interfere with my yearly “rites of spring” effort to knock the rust of my golf game in traditional HIMSS venues like Orlando and San Diego, but mentally I had reserved the massive Chicago convention center complex for my other traditional healthcare IT pilgrimage the RSNA (Radiology Society of North America). So you can imagine my surprise when I found the place nearly full to the brim with vendors and conference show attendees crawling over nearly every inch of the place.
Attendance at the 2009 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Chicago was down 6% from 2008 in Orlando, when the event set a record for attendance. But attendance was 13% higher than the 2007 event in New Orleans. Despite the recession, this year’s show, hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, drew 27,429 attendees. Of that total, 12,564, or 46%, were “professional registrants” rather than exhibitor-related staff. That’s up from 44% in 2008. Some 907 companies exhibited at this year’s event, down 4% from 2008 but up 2% from 2007.
Net-net this is fabulous news; the truly committed where in full attendance with the educational and professional sessions looking to be packed all the time and while some big vendors took a pass (I understand budget compression all to well) the energy and enthusiasm at this year’s event was off the charts.
Next year’s HIMSS Conference will be March 1-4 in Atlanta, so be forewarned Cannongate, Bears Best and Druid Hills. I will be calling shortly for my tee times.
More information is available at himss.org.