The first HIMSS conference took place on April, 1, 1962 in Baltimore, with 54 attendees. Fast forward 58 years, and the 2020 conference in Orlando will bring together more than 45,000 health information and technology professionals. While there’s no denying this is a huge number, there are many more Changemakers who won’t be at the conference but will play an active role in shaping the future of technology in healthcare.
If you’re one of these people, get ready. The 2020 HIMSS conference is coming to you!
Unite with Fellow Changemakers
This year’s social media experience is going to be better than ever, with top-tier coverage coming from the HIMSS team and hundreds of social media pros, like me, who will be bringing you the action directly from the show floor. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of HIMSS if you’re not in Orlando.
1. Follow the Hashtags
Each year, HIMSS does a great job of developing relevant conversations around a host of hashtags. If you’re only going to follow one, #HIMSS20 will get you the most bang for your buck when it comes to overall coverage. If this feels too much like drinking from a firehose, you can pinpoint the coverage and conversations that matter most to you by following one of these topic-driven hashtags.
| Hashtag | Topic |
|---|---|
| #GovHIT | Health IT Policy |
| #HealthcareInnovation | What’s New & What’s Next |
| #HealthcareStartup | Launching and Growing a New Venture |
| #HealthConsumer | Dive into the Consumer Mindset |
| #HealthyAging | Supporting Older Populations |
| #HealthyMargins | Healthcare Finance Strategy |
| #HIMSSTV | Interviews with Changemakers |
| #HITcloud | Cloud Computing |
| #HITsecurity | Health IT Security |
| #IHeartHIT | Inspiring Health IT Stories |
| #InnovativePharma | Pharma Innovation |
| #Nurses4HIT | Nurses’ Use of IT |
| #PatientEngagement | Patient Satisfaction, Empowerment & Experience |
| #PopHealthIT | Population Health |
| #RethinkRCM | Revenue Cycle Management |
| #SmartHIT | AI & Machine Learning |
| #TIGERInitiative | Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform |
| #WomenInHIT | Women in Health IT |
2. Connect with HIMSS Digital Influencers
If you’d prefer more of a guided tour than a see-everything approach, this year’s line-up of official HIMSS Digital Influencers is the way to go. Here’s what HIMSS has to say about this group.
“At HIMSS we call influencers and the passionate communities who energize them changemakers. Changemakers are innovators who rigorously challenge the status quo in their journey to build a brighter health future for everyone, everywhere.
Meet this year’s Digital Influencers.
3. Engage
The previous tips helped connect you with people and conversations that matter to you, but that’s only half of the equation. To get the most out of HIMSS20, it’s important to engage with the content that’s coming your way. This can be as simple as liking or commenting on the posts you see. Comments can lead to discussion, help you meet new people, and are the perfect opportunity to share your thoughts and insights.
If you’d like to take a more active approach, create your own posts and include relevant event hashtags. Just because you’re not at the conference doesn’t mean you can’t be a key part of the conversations taking place at the event.
If structure and guided conversation are more your speed, join a Twitter chat. These live events are open to everyone and typically last an hour or less. If you’re following the official event hashtags, you’ll see HIMSS participants promoting twitter chats on a variety of topics. Twitter chats are based around a chat-specific hashtag, and most consist of a host driving the conversation by asking questions or supplying discussion topics. You can follow along and add as much or as little as you’d like to the conversation.
Get Started Today
Another great thing about the wealth of social media coverage surrounding HIMSS20 is that you don’t have to wait until the conference starts on March 9th to join the conversation. It’s already started. So follow the event hashtags, follow the HIMSS Digital Influancers, and consider following Connection as well. We’ll be sharing live coverage from the show floor, along with helpful insights from our own healthcare technology experts. You’ll find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
We hope you join us for the best HIMSS conference yet!
Richard Hostler
Richard Hostler leads the social media team at Connection. He is also a multi-time Ironman triathlete and marathoner living in southern New Hampshire.
