What’s often missed when you’re attending any conference is that in between long lines, and a scarcity of good coffee, is the thrill of being around a large group of people all moving in the same direction—metaphorically conferences like ViVE and HIMSS gather the people and technologies that matter most to the vast contingencies within healthcare and literally…people moving in mass down a long corridor to learn more about what’s impacting patient care, provider satisfaction, quality outcomes with a keen eye toward cost containment.
ViVE and HIMSS are quite different and though I’m often asked which one I prefer, it’s akin to asking me to choose coffee over chocolate or a beach vacation vs. the slopes of Utah. For me personally and as the leader for Connection’s Healthcare Practice, I’m fortunate that I can apply the same lens to these two industry events and happily attend both. As both conferences reach their respective maturity benchmarks, I’m struck by how different these events are from one another in form, yet the messaging from our healthcare communities and their voices coalesced over the same themes.
1. AI has quickly moved from hype to fatigue to full production use in the last 12 months.
2. “Kill the Clipboard” and whingeing about interoperability impediments
Siloed EHR data is taking some earned criticism as a real barrier to the effective use of AI, but let’s not pretend that this hasn’t been an issue long before pajama time became the standard for most providers. There’s nothing financially that incentivizes EHR vendors to give access to their data within their IP. Epic, Oracle, and Meditech have all stated that they understand that they can help drive the near elimination of certain emergency department / urgent events, better MRI readiness, and high engagement when patient data has tight integration with third-party digital platforms, but their concerns around fraud and theft of patient data are real. TEFCA is gaining federal momentum and the CMS push to eliminate redundant forms and give patients easier, AI-supported access to their longitudinal health records throughout their lives. This type of integration is as essential as it is expensive and barring an overhaul of how healthcare is paid for in the U.S., even with the high appetite for integration and a willingness to do it safely, I’m not sure how we get there.
3. Oh, NOW we care about Rural Health!
Both ViVE and HIMSS framed rural and underserved communities as a critical testbed: The $50B Federal Rural Health Transformation Program, combined with AI, remote patient monitoring, and virtual care is repositioning this service from ‘nice to have’ to a survival strategy for rural health. Not adopting technology is now regarded as a greater risk than adopting, especially given the staffing shortages and chronic unmanaged diseases facing our rural communities. Still, these grants will come by drips, not oceans into a tech and service delivery community built on venture capital-backed start-ups and million-dollar quotas. Health equity is important and I’m hopeful that the health IT vendor community will retool their models so that they help improve rural health access, one small grant at a time. Unlike other industry challenges, there is real, grown-up money allocated to improving rural health and setting aside the political volley to secure that funding, there is urgency. California, where I live, is 82% rural and the care disparity in a state known most by its urban core is significant. Better care for our rural neighbors—closer to their homes—can measurably improve their lives.
Stepping back from both shows, I keep coming back to the same takeaway: the next era of healthcare isn’t going to be won by the flashiest demo. It’s going to be won by the organizations that can operationalize AI safely, move data where it needs to go (goodbye clipboard), and extend modern care models to the communities that have historically been asked to do more with less. That’s exactly where Connection fits. We help health systems translate conference ambition into real-world execution by aligning the right architecture, devices and digital workspace, cloud and security controls, and the services needed to deploy, integrate, and support these solutions at scale. Engage our Healthcare Practice to see how we can assist with your IT goals so innovation doesn’t stall in pilot purgatory and clinicians, patients, and rural providers actually feel the impact.
Jennifer Johnson
Jennifer Johnson, Director Healthcare Strategy and Business Development, joined Connection in 2010 starting in field sales and joined the healthcare practice in 2015. Jennifer has more than 20 years in IT, including prior roles in distribution and manufacturing. Jennifer holds her Certified Digital Health Leader designation from the CHIME organization and is a member of HIMSS, where Connection is a diamond sponsor. Jen was named CRN Women of the Channel in 2023 and 2024 and holds certifications from NVIDIA (AI Advisor- Sales) and Dell Technologies (AI Champion- Partner Sales).
