Rough Start
February 26th, 2008Wow!… Not quite the HIMSS I remember.
First off, it took me longer to get from the airport to my hotel than from Durham to Orlando. One might think that a travel destination and frequent convention hoster like Orlando would have ample transportation from the airport to hotel destinations. One would be wrong.
I arrived at the convention hall bright and bushy tailed just before noon on Monday. I was anticipating that a client of mine was going to be able to secure a guest pass… alas, no such luck. I tried reaching out to many acquaintances, but it was difficult to reach them. Most everyone was inside the hall.
I eventually decided that I would buy a day pass for the exhibitor floor, but learned that they are only available on Tuesday and Wednesday. It would have cost $550 to walk the floor.
After several hours of walking the lounge, I became fascinated with the fact that there were no Starbucks anywhere. Apparently the convention center has figured out that it has a very large captured audience and why bother giving most of the margin on a $5 cup of coffee to Starbucks. Instead, they offer coffee reminiscent of a ship’s wardroom at 3am. Worse still, I am a vegan and got nothing but blank and confused stares when asking for soy milk. Soy milk? Wus that?
Finally, a colleague brought me a ‘temporary’ pass so that I could get on the floor. For many, Disney world is just down the road. For me, stepping onto the floor is like walking into the Magic Kingdom for the first time as a wide-eyed and goofy 8 year old.
Definitely worth the wait and the frustration. Since I did not have as much time on the floor as I expected, I can only offer a few observations. First of all, the major middleware and hardware vendors, including Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, HP and a few others, seem to be gobbling up floor space. Just a couple of years ago, these same vendors occupied only token booths to show their support to healthcare. There is no question that healthcare has become mainstream.
Second, while I cannot confirm it with any factual information, there seems to be far more consolidation. The major HIS vendors just seem to be getting bigger and more obnoxious with their booths, while the smallish, newer companies seem to be fewer or just harder to find.
I was able to reconnect with several acquaintances which was fun and educational, but Tuesday promises to be far more productive… Stay tuned.
HIMSS’08 Bound
February 22nd, 2008Ah… What to expect?
I missed HIMSS last year for the first time in 7 years. My family and I were on vacation in Australia. We had a great time, though I did miss the trip to New Orleans.
I have always found that 3 full days of walking, talking, and checking out the latest wares is worth more than 362 days - give or take - researching companies online. It’s also a whole lot more useful to put your hands on the latest software and gadgets and decide, first hand, which ones are market-ready and which are vaporware.
I am heading down to Orlando on Sunday and expect to be hitting the business development scene shortly thereafter. This year, I am particularly interested in connecting with start-up and early-stage companies, determined to solve healthcare’s many woes. I have a strong interest in private equity financing, and helping the right companies take the next step.
Unlike years past, when I have been preoccupied with either a specific company or specific segment, I am flying completely unencumbered. I am looking forward to an “eyes-wide -open” show, not unlike my first show.
I will be reporting daily from HIMSS and welcome any who either cannot attend or cannot fully pursue market strategy and information gathering to solicit my assistance. This is a brand-new blog, so I don’t necessarily expect much response. If I get more than a few questions, I will select those that are the most interesting and do my best to track down the answers… If I get none, I will write about those companies and solutions I find the most interesting and promising.
Please…. fire away!
Welcome to the bcc: Blog
February 15th, 2008As part of our new website, bcc: has joined the ranks of countless others who feel the need to express their views through an ongoing, web-based dialogue.
Our overriding goal is to make healthcare better and more affordable by challenging healthcare participants - providers, patients, payers, vendors, the government, and anyone else - to do things smarter through better policies, practices, technology, or whatever the case may be.
The one thing that everyone can agree upon is that the current system is unsustainable. Change is necessary. Change is also uncomfortable. If our off-the-cuff discussions do not generate some discomfort, then we will have failed. By the same token, if we cannot espouse new ideas without thoughtfully considering the full ramifications of those ideas, we will have failed reason.
The bcc: blog is intended as a forum for generating friction- through the process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. As such, we ask that readers and participants not attribute views expressed herein literally, without first considering the full context in which they are expressed.
Let’s figure this thing out together!