To HIMSS, or not to HIMSS, that is the question.

For those of you who have never heard of HIMSS, you are not alone. My family often asks me, “What is HIMSS?” The follow-up questions are typically, “Does HIMSS have a sister conference called HERS?” Ha ha. Very funny. “So, why are you spending so much time on this HIMSS thing? When is it over?”

For those of you involved or remotely involved with health technology, health IT or you’re a healthcare provider, you stand a good chance of knowing what HIMSS means and what it’s all about. And you’re probably chuckling to yourself as you’ve probably heard these questions a few times before.

HIMSS, which stands for Health Information Management and Systems Society, formerly the Hospital Management Systems Society, is a Chicago-based “global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on better health through information technology (IT).” HIMSS states that it “leads efforts to optimize health engagements and care outcomes using information technology.” Founded in 1961, HIMSS “encompasses more than 52,000 individuals, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare providers, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporations and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations that share this cause.”

At its annual conference, more than 1260 companies will exhibit in spaces larger than your average size home. Some companies design their exhibit booths to feel like you’re in a home, complete with fireplaces, comfortable leather sofas, coffee tables, vases, flower arrangements, decorative drapes and yes, cappuccino machines. Other companies even set up a fully-stocked bar in their exhibit booths that open promptly for happy hour – with lines of thirsty conventioneers making their rounds through the hall before descending on the multitude of company-sponsored after-parties.

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