In a few days, 40,000 healthcare leaders, enthusiasts and educators will land in Las Vegas for the annual HIMSS conference. The HIMSS conference this year will take place February 29-March 4 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. As we do our best to prepare for the event I wanted to take sometime to get some different perspectives on the conference this year.
I sat down with Imran Kareem, a strategic account manager and healthcare 
solutions specialist from Perficient to discuss #HIMSS16. Imran has more than 15 years of strategic account management and has worked with hospital executives, front-line clinicians and technologists to advance the use of healthcare information technology to address industry challenges.
What are you looking forward to most at #HIMSS16?
IMRAN: It’s always inspiring to see such a large gathering of people that are eager to learn how we can collectively leverage IT to ultimately improve the lives of patients. HIMSS is a great place to network and connect with people who want to make healthcare better.
What trends/topics do you anticipate being a focus at #HIMSS16?
IMRAN: I expect to see innovations in technology that impact point of care decisions and improve patient engagement. Advanced analytics and population health solutions will be prominent again this year and interoperability, specifically among different EMRs will be a topic of discussion. I am sure there will be a lot of buzz around predictive analytics as the industry continues to focus on preventing and predicting healthcare outcomes.
If you have been to HIMSS before, what one piece of advice do you have for a first-time #HIMSS attendee?
IMRAN: It’s easy to be intimidated by the scale but spend some time planning ahead of time and it will make things much easier when you get there. By planning ahead you will already know the tracks you want to participate in. And of course, bring comfortable shoes!
Thank you to Imran for his time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at HIMSS and joining the social conversation on Twitter using #HIMSS16. Stop by and say hello – I will be at the Perficient booth #2871.
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