Why I go to e-Health
Michael Martineau, Digital Health Executive & eHealth Musings Co-Founder & Blogger
As winter ever so slowly releases its icy grip, my thoughts turn not only to spring and warmer weather but also to the approaching e-Health Conference. Since attending my first e-Health Conference in 2004, this event has become a tradition that I eagerly await with nearly the same anticipation I feel for major holidays. What is it about this Conference that makes it such a “must attend” event for me?
Linda Miller, a past COACH president, summed up the essence of the e-Health Conference in her welcome to conference participants several years ago. The conference, she noted, is a networking event, an education forum and a trade show all rolled into three jam-packed days. Indeed, it is this combination, coupled with the physical presence of health IT professionals, decision makers, and thought leaders from across Canada that makes the Conference so compelling.
Networking starts with the opening reception on Sunday evening. For two hours I have the opportunity to touch base and renew acquaintances with hundreds of people. It is, in the words of one my close vendor friends (and to borrow a phrase from the 1986 movie “Top Gun”), a “target-rich environment” and one of the highlights of the conference for me.
Major Draw: Impromptu Conversations
Networking opportunities abound throughout the conference and include organized activities such as a morning fun run, the Canadian Health Informatics Awards (CHIA) Gala, and numerous vendor events. In addition to these organized activities, there are the many impromptu hallway conversations sparked by chance meetings. A frequent and delightful occurrence, I find these unplanned and informal meetings extremely valuable. They are one of the major reasons I attend the e-Health Conference every year.
The education sessions reflect the conference’s historic roots as a source of information in the emerging e-Health environment. While we take the ability to attend a webinar or download a presentation for granted, it wasn’t that long ago conferences were a major source of lessons learned and insight. To keep pace with changing needs, conference organizations are continually introducing new forums and formats for the education sessions such as electronic poster presentations, the new e-Health rants (I will be presenting one of these rants on Wednesday morning), and the Hacking Health Design Challenge.
The Vendor Connection: Tradeshow Floor
Despite what many people feel are restrictive procurement rules, the tradeshow floor remains a vital source of information, insight, and, perhaps most importantly, an opportunity to interact with the vendor community. As a blogger and digital health commentator, I can, in a few hours, meet new vendors, touch base with my vendor contacts, and learn about new solutions that existing vendors have to offer. Equally useful, I can engage vendors in conversation to hear what they have learned from deploying their digital health solutions.
I have been critical of the e-Health Conference in the past, even suggesting in a blog post that the conference has “jumped the shark.” These criticisms reflect my concern that the technology about which I am so passionate might make the conference I look forward to attending each year less irrelevant. I offer my criticisms not as reasons why people shouldn’t attend the conference but as a plea to the conference organizers to find ways to keep the conference fresh, compelling, and, above all, thought provoking.
I hope to see you at e-Health 2015 in Toronto. Whether or not you are planning to attend the conference, please join me in talking about it on Twitter (#eHealth15).
Connect with Michael on Twitter @eHealthMusings or through the eHealth Musings Blog - eHealthMusings.ca