There was a brief period of time in which healthcare IT industry experts believed in-person events would become a thing of the past. That explosion of tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet had eliminated the need for facetime (not to be confused with FaceTime). But as the lockdown slowly dissipated, the need for human interactions did just the opposite. By the time ViVE was launched in 2022, it was clear that many leaders were ready to leave their home offices and return to the world of conferences.
For Zafar Chaudry, MD, Chief Digital Officer at Seattle Children’s, a “craving for human connection” was the catalyst. Terri Couts, Chief Digital Officer at The Guthrie Clinic, said “being physically present in a dedicated space for learning, networking, and collaboration offers an immersive experience” that makes travel worth the while.
And that’s just a sampling of the responses we received when we posed the following question: Despite what some people predicted, in-person conferences are alive and well. What do you think was the biggest factor behind that?
Below are the top responses:
Healthcare is built and run on trust and relationships. Much in the same way, conferences are the synthesis of relationship building. If you attend the right events, such as ViVE, Epic UGM/XGM, and more emerging conferences that purposely curate new knowledge, they are a worthwhile investment for you and your team. CIOs are absolutely getting much pickier about where they place their bets and send their team, but there is no substitute for investing in good educational content and growing your team.
– Aaron Miri, SVP and Chief Digital & Information Officer, Baptist Health
Several factors have likely contributed to this resurgence, but here are some of the biggest: craving for human connection; limited value of purely virtual events; hybrid model adoption and evolving event formats. Specialized conferences focused on specific niches or communities create a strong sense of belonging and shared interest and organizers are placing greater emphasis on creating unique and memorable experiences, with immersive technologies, interactive booths, and engaging activities, making in-person attendance more appealing.
– Zafar Chaudry, MD, SVP and Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer, Seattle Children’s
One important factor is the experiential aspect of conferences. Being physically present in a dedicated space for learning, networking, and collaboration offers an immersive experience that can be more motivating and memorable than virtual attendance.
– Terri Couts, SVP and Chief Digital Officer, The Guthrie Clinic
At their core, humans are created for relationships. That can be established through virtual events; we’ve had some good and creative outcomes from those events. Still, I think deeper connections come from being together and that serves our purpose of advancing health. Of course, people should consider their own health and what is good for them. We should support those who choose to wear masks – remember, they may be protecting us from a simple cold.
– Scott MacLean, SVP and CIO, MedStar Health
I do find myself being more selective with my conference attendance these days, but there’s no better way for me to get a broader understanding of what others are working on and solving for than spending a few days ingesting information and building relationships at a conference. Also, I’m sick of sitting in my basement.
– Tarun Kapoor, MD, Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Virtua Health
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