It is only day three of the 2011 HIMSS Conference and Exhibition, but I am excited to report that attendance has made history with a record number of registrants. An estimated 30,947 people are currently attending this year’s conference in Orlando, compared to an estimated 27,800 registrants at the 2010 event in Atlanta.
The success of HIMSS11 reflects a broader understanding of the important benefits of healthcare IT, and the readiness of these technologies to be implemented immediately. It also reflects the hard work of many dedicated individuals – including elected officials, healthcare practitioners, IT product developers and my colleagues at HIMSS – on an ongoing basis.
This year’s conference features more than 400 education sessions, and more than 1,000 exhibiting companies and organizations. Keynote presenters this year include: Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and member of President Obama’s economic transition board; the Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department of Health and Human Services; Michael J. Fox, Actor and Founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and Richard Boyd, Chief Architect for Lockheed Martin Virtual World Labs.
For more information about HIMSS11, visit www.himssconference.org.
