Yes, HIMSS21 Was Worth Attending

Now that HIMSS21 is over, there are three questions people keep asking me: Why did I go to a known COVID hotspot? What was it like? and Was it worth it? The answers are: Because I and the business needed it; Smaller and more intimate; Yes.

What Was HIMSS21 Like?

I like to wait until the annual HIMSS conference is over before writing my review of it. I feel its like reviewing a meal. You don’t want to give an assessment after the appetizer, you must experience the whole meal.

HIMSS21, or HIMSS: COVID Edition as we jokingly called it, was a good conference. It could have been a disaster with empty hallways and sessions. It turned out to be far from the worst-case scenario. There were no throngs of people like in prior HIMSS Conferences, but there were plenty of attendees walking in the exhibit hall and meeting areas.

Almost every exhibitor made the same comments to me:

1. Foot traffic was well below a normal HIMSS Conference
2. Those that visited their booths were more interested in conversation vs looking for tchotchke’s or giveaways
3. Conversations were deeper, and were higher quality than previous years
4. The atmosphere was much more relaxed
5. It was nice to be seeing people in-person again

At past conferences, I would be running from one meeting to the next in the exhibit hall with barely any downtime. This year, I had ample time to wander and connect with new companies + meet new people.

There was also a sense of openness in the exhibit hall because of all the canceled booth spaces were converted into seating areas. These oases were a welcome surprise and allowed for impromptu sit-down meetings as well as peaceful lunches.

Other impressions from HIMSS21:

• The conference was spread out over 3 different meeting complexes – the Wynn, the Sands Expo Center and the new Caesar’s Forum. You had to go outside in the blazing 100-degree heat to get between them – a bit annoying, but not horrible, The  new Caesar’s facility is very open and well laid out
• There was a noticeable lack of glitz and glamor in the exhibit hall. Almost no one had any in-booth games or gimmicks. I didn’t see a single magician, card dealer or other huckster.
• The coffee and lunch lines did not snake around the corner
• You could get food delivered to your booth

I felt safe at HIMSS21. Everyone had to have their vaccination status verified. We all were wearing masks and people were not afraid to remind others that there masks were down (especially after eating). There was hand sanitizer everywhere. All the restrooms had plenty of soap and paper towels.

The only time I felt nervous and concerned was outside the HIMSS21 bubble: walking through the airport (double masked), in the Lyft (windows down), and walking to pick up food (tried to stay 6ft apart).

Best Giveaways

Not surprisingly almost every exhibitor was offering branded hand sanitizer or anti-bacterial wipes at their booth. I would guess that about 50% of the booths had one or the other as their giveaway.

The best hand sanitizer giveaway was from 3M. They were offering large 3 fl oz bottles of their Avagard sanitizer, double the size that everyone else was offering. Avagard is what is used at many hospitals. It’s fantastic stuff that doesn’t dry out your hands as much as regular sanitizer.

Most practical giveaway was from Qlik who had mini first-aid kits in a resealable plastic pouch. Not only were these pouches very compact, but it was filled with useful things like bandages (perfect for HIMSS-blisters), antiseptic wipes, burn cream, lip balm and more.

Best giveaway was Cox Business’s Swig water bottle. It was a lovely blue color and had a grippy rubber base to help it stay standing. It was a high-quality water bottle could handle both hot and cold beverages. Most importantly, it felt extremely sturdy.

Honorable mention goes to Cylera who gave away custom printed t-shirts. The designs were colorful and eye-catching.

Best Booth

For me, the hands-down winner of best booth design goes to Komodo Health. Their hexagon shaped booth had LED panels for walls which allowed them to use a moving background instead of a flat image. It made their booth look like it was in perpetual motion and was very noticeable from far away.

Inside the hexagon was a meeting area which was quiet and well-equipped with a meeting table, comfy chairs and a big monitor. Kudos to the Komodo team.

Honorable mention goes to Avaya who had a holographic projector unit in their booth. They were able to project a life-sized recorded image of a person in such a way that it looked like they were standing there. It was amazing.

The holographic system is commercially available and is typically used teaching classes. The quality of the image was phenomenal. If this is the future of education, I wish I was a student again.

Why did I travel to a known COVID hotspot?

Many in my family and circle of friends couldn’t understand why I would knowingly travel from the relative safety of Canada to Las Vegas, a known COVID-19 hotspot. I honestly struggled with my decision right up until the day before I was set to fly.

My decision boiled down to four considerations:

1. Business obligations
2. Personal desire to connect/reconnect with people
3. Contributing to the spread of COVID-19
4. Personal safety

I won’t lie, the desire to reconnect with people in Health IT was very strong. I’ve been cooped up for 2 years and only able to connect with people via video calls. While that has sustained me, it wasn’t a replacement for seeing people in-person. I cannot explain it, but I knew in my heart that if I didn’t get to a conference soon, it would start to affect my work and my mental wellbeing.

Not wanting to be a potential carrier for COVID or contributing to it’s spread by being part of a conference that brought people together was the top reason NOT to go. COVID-19 has disrupted and claimed enough lives.

In the end, I believed that the precautions implemented by HIMSS (vaccinations & masks required), and the precautions I would take personally (always wearing my mask – even outdoors, always getting takeout, forgoing any party that was being held in a bar/restaurant, and minimizing contact) would be enough to keep me safe from catching COVID-19.

I feel fortunate that I do not have young children, everyone I live with and interact with is fully vaccinated and I am not a caregiver to anyone who is at risk. If any of those had been true, I would have attended HIMSS21 virtually.

I am grateful to have returned home without any symptoms. I tested negative using my home test kit and I am going to get a COVID test done in a couple of days. In the meantime, I’m isolating – even though I don’t have to according to public health guidelines.

I know some will think it was selfish of me to travel during COVID. I can see and respect that perspective.

For me, attending HIMSS21 was worth it. It was tremendously valuable to connect with the innovative companies there and to have the chance to see products first-hand. It was soul-restoring to be able to see old friends and meet new ones IN PERSON.

Hope to see you at HIMSS22 in Orlando.