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McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics

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Las Vegas Hosts HIMSS16

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016

SBMI HIMSS 2016

For many in the health IT community, this time of year is much anticipated as thousands of industry professionals converge for the annual HIMSS conference. This year, for HIMSS16, more than 43,000 people will visit the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas when the conference begins on Monday.

Each year, SBMI is proud to have its faculty, students, alumni and staff in attendance. SBMI Associate Professor Yang Gong, Ph.D. is leading a March 3 session on “Leveraging Data Quality Through Predictive Text Entries” so add it to your conference schedule. As always, attendees should take time to visit the SBMI exhibition booth – 12518. But if you cannot make it to HIMSS16, you can still participate by following SBMI via social media for live tweets & photos of the sessions and events.

Here are the HIMSS16 Highlights to check out:

  1. Aside from gaining awareness about cutting edge health IT trends, technologies and solutions, HIMSS16 is a fantastic opportunity to network. There are almost 20 receptions for a variety of industry professionals including women in health IT, physicians and those interested in public policy initiatives. These receptions are the ideal locations for networking with new and old colleagues. Attendance to some receptions may include a fee so confirm ahead of time if registration is required and if the reception you are interested in is open to all attendees.
  2. There are hundreds of sessions to attend while you are at the HIMSS16 conference but there are several preconference symposia that attendees should take advantage of as well. The symposia will take place all day on Monday, Feb. 29th and they give participants the opportunity to be thoroughly educated on specific health IT topics. In that respect, HIMSS16 gives attendees targeted knowledge on germane health IT foci. The preconference symposia are not free and registration beforehand is required so if you cannot make it this year, mark it down for the next time around.
  3. When many people look to join the health IT industry, growth in job opportunities is oftentimes the reason those individuals are seeking out a new field. So if you are heading to Las Vegas next week, remember that HIMSS16 can help you market yourself and find a new career. The Career Services Center at HIMSS16 is an excellent asset which features prospective employers, free headshots (like the one SBMI offers students at Career Day) and sessions that key in on finding employment.

No matter what draws you to HIMSS16, take advantage of all the tools at your disposal during the conference and view the conference brochure for a complete list of event and session times. You know the old adage, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” so this time you should make an exception and return home with a pocketful of business cards, a notebook with countless tips and notes and a mind keenly intent on bettering the field of health IT.