One Way to Obtain Good HIMSS Conference-related Information via Twitter

Each year, more and more people and companies are sharing their health information technology conference-related insight, experiences, facts and opinions before, during and after the event. Whether you're able to attend the 2017 HIMSS Conference or not, following along virtually via industry newsfeeds, LinkedIn Group discussions, and social media platforms like Twitter can be a good way to maximize the informational value of the conference.

For the past five years, I've been curating, creating and sharing HIMSS-related conference 'content' via my primary Twitter account known as @ShimCode, accounts like @HIMSS12, @HIMSS13 & @HIMSS14 and also  @HITConfGuy - a "health information technology conference-only" companion account to this blog.

For 2017, I expect I'll be using a combination of the above three approaches to share with my followers.

Why Follow @HITConfGuy?

Quite simply, to get 'good' HIMSS conference-related content without having to sift through all the advertisements, spam, stale and repetitious tweets. 

Note: The official HIMSS hashtag for the 2017 HIMSS Conference is #HIMSS17 and I'm already seeing an increase in the amount of spam, and what I think many would agree are useless tweets, containing the #HIMSS17 hashtag. 

What this Account Will Do

1. Only share information related to the HIMSS conference and relevant healthcare IT topics. With some occasional deviation, the focus will be on sharing information about the following topics

#ACO – Accountable Care Organizations and programs in bundled payment, episodes of care-shared savings, and growing participant base

#consumerism - improving member’s overall well-being – medical, social, financial, and environmental

#cybersecurity - protecting the privacy and security of consumer information

#digitalhealth – digital health and connected health

#mhealth – mobile health for improving disease management, member engagement, and data collection/distribution

#pharmacy –pharma costs vs benefits to quality of care and total medical costs

#telemedicine – telehealth and telemedicine for acute and chronic care needs

#interoperability - interoperability and integration topics

2. Monitor alternative sources of information other than Twitter such as blogs, news releases to health industry media sources, content made available to me by followers, and various search mechanisms I've developed over the years.

3. Accept good information and content from others and share it out. Send info to shimcode@gmail.com.

4. Include links to supplemental content and resources associated with certain tweets.

5. Share select vendor info (whitepapers, surveys, content, offers, etc) that are not clearly a sales pitches. Veiled sales pitches may be passed along at my discretion.

6. Verify that all embedded links and embedded content can be accessed, warn about need to login to access content, and other practical considerations.

7. Spare you the excess of the “over-tweeters”

8. Share select info on "booth-bling," tweet-ups, parties and contests.

9. Keep an eye out for the off-beat, intriguing and humorous - and the edgy stuff you'll rarely see others share. 

What This Account Won't Do

1. Overuse the #HIMSS17 hash tag

The #HIMSS17 tag is already being used by spammers and way over-used by certain people who should really know better. This account will strive for judicious use of the #HIMSS17 tag.

2. Share the same tweet more than once. 

Except for periodic “public service tweets” calling attention to administrative, logistical and general information itemsal service this account provides.

3. Like and re-tweet every tweet mentioning this account.

4. Repeat the same tweet over and over and over and over and over

Good #HIMSS17 Information - Before, During & After 

So if you're planning on attending the HIMSS Conference in Orlando or want to follow along virtually, be sure to follow @HitConfGuy on Twitter and consider subscribing to this blog.

Almost 30 Tips for Attending the 2016 HIMSS Conference (Or Any Conference)

Sometimes the comments on a blog post have information that is just as good – or even better – than the post itself. This blog post titled “12 Ways to Get the Most Out of Attending a Conference” is a perfect example of where reader comments were every bit as insightful as the post itself. I’ve pulled out ideas and tips for attending conferences from that post and am sharing them here for your conference-going pleasure. Thanks to all the commenters who supplied these ideas.

Pre-planning & Travel

1. Consider investing in a nice looking backpack or messenger bag. You’ll need it for chargers, snacks, water bottles, jackets, etc. And all those conference materials and vendor handouts.

2. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in comfortable, nice-looking clothes!!

In the words of Thurstson Howell III’s wife Lovey, one never knows whom one might meet. And you never know what could come from that meeting.

3. Plan ahead for quick trips to charge your phone/device charge and get a snack.

4. And don’t forget the freebies. Only pack your bag half fill with clothes to make room for them. And be choosy about what you take. If there’ something really good, take as many as they’ll let you get away with.

5. Don’t be fooled by maps. Get clear directions to where you are going. Orlando isn’t Vegas but it’s not Mayberry either.

6. Bring a sweater or jacket to every session. So many of those big conference rooms are FREEZING. Recommend layers. You can take one off and put it in that backpack or messenger bag mentioned above.

7. Maximize your conference: pick up new skills, learn about trends in your field, and make networking contacts

8. Set aside a “vendor block”. HIMSS conference have LOTS ofvendors which means lots to discover as well as specific vendors you'll want to see. Pick a 2+ hour block out of your schedule to do nothing but walk the vendor hall. And make sure you have some downtime after that block too. This is easier than trying to sneak in vendor visits between sessions.

Conference Sessions

1. Go to a session that has a subject you know little or nothing about; you just might learn something and find a new passion.

2. Pick out alternative sessions to attend if your first one does not work out, and your route to get there quickly. Sometimes the room is full. Sometimes presenters don’t show. Sometimes the session just plain sucks and is nothing like the description.

3. Don’t be afraid to leave a bad session. If it is clear that a session is not what you thought it would be, leave. Go to one of your second choice sessions and do not spend 30-60 minutes sitting in an unproductive session.

4. When you are in an awesome session, tweet about it. People stuck in bad sessions will see your tweet and can move to your room to see a great speaker they would have otherwise missed.

5. Don’t tweet about how bad a session is; but if the speaker doesn’t show or something similarly disastrous happens, alert others to that so they do not waste their time walking down there.

6. Consider occasionally splitting your sessions. If the first speaker of one session is interesting, and the third speaker of another, get up and go to the other session. Make sure you sit at the back of the room so you can leave unobtrusively between sessions. Do not do this all the time, because you want to end the session in a room with people you want to talk with.

Networking at Conferences

1. Talk to the celebrities of your profession. Those hot shot people who do keynotes, lightning talks, etc? They are normal people too. And most of them are very excited about what they do and want to share with others, so they can give you some great conference advice.

2. Be nice and introduce them to other folks you know.

3. Don’t be afraid to approach strangers.

4. Look for semi-professional social gatherings like user group meetings, meetups, sub-discipline meetings, etc. There are many unofficial and official tweetups in various public areas and restaurants near the conference and they're a good way to force yourself out of room service and into meeting more people

5. Make time to socialize outside your pack. If there’s a luncheon, let them know you are going to sit with others to spread your wonderfulness.

6. Want an easy excuse to talk to industry celebrities? Do a photo safari. Set a goal to collect as many pictures as you can of yourself with those industry celebrities. Feel free to even tell them that you are doing a photo safari, it makes a good ice-breaker. It will also help you plan out how to meet these people.

Using Twitter at a Conference Session

1. Use Twitter socially. You can find out about networking opportunities and where people are going for dinner or early evening drinks. This is especially a great tool for the introverted, as you can gather good information and focus your social time to be as effective as possible before you start to tire out.

2. Tweet. If you don’t use twitter, start learning, because a conference is one of the most useful professional situations for twitter.

3. Follow the conference back channel on Twitter where you can found out about neat things on and off the agenda. Sometimes there is a Tweet Up before the conference, a gathering where people can put faces to handles for conference twitter users.

Warning…Warning!

1. Don’t make non-work plans for the evenings.

2. A late night in the bar will trash you for the whole of the following day.

3. Think twice about going to the hotel bar after 9pm to talk further with conference people. This is generally when the hooking-up-at-conferences stuff starts getting kicked off

4. Don’t use a professional event as your opportunity for social justice warrioring or politicking or proselytizing.

Ending Each Day

1. End each working day by reviewing your notes, the panels you attended, the people you talked to, etc and jotting down action items or ideas to bring back to the office.


2. Doing so at the end of the day nets better results than doing it at the end of the conference. Once you’re back in the office, it’s too late — the pressing matters of the delayed work waiting for you will be overwhelming.

For more information on the HIMSS conference and healthcare information technology, consider following @HITConfGuy and/or @ShimCode.

Tips for Sharing Content at the 2016 HIMSS Conference

Here are some ideas and tips about making the information you share on Twitter more easily identified, consumed and shared with others.

Share Well – It’s Going to Be Around Forever

1. “Understand what you share because you can’t pull it back”

It’s ok to call out the value of what you share, add an opinion and/or point out possible contradictions – don’t be shy! Just remember that what you post on Twitter does not go away - even if you delete it.

2. Integrate hashtags into your tweet – if it makes sense
By integrating hashtag(s) into your tweet sentence on a contextualized basis, it may read better and you will also save space; therefore you can include more info.

Ex "2016 HIMSS Value of Health IT Survey: 6 Trends to Know" http://ow.ly/WXAXe

could be...

"2016 HIMSS Value of #HealthIT Survey: 6 #Trends to Know" http://ow.ly/WXAXe

Tidy Up Your Tweet Before You Share It

3. Cover your tracks!

You may want to remove tracking tags and keys from the URL’s you share – especially if any personal information like your email address is embedded in the URL.

For instance, instead of this:

http://www.business2community.com/strategy/6-clever-nudges-build-culture-experimentation-01421096?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+B2CMarketingInsider+%28Business+2+Community%29#7yzvCYuX4TILO0Jz.97

Use this:

http://www.business2community.com/strategy/6-clever-nudges-build-culture-experimentation-01421096

4. Leave room for others to RT and share your information

Keep your tweets to about 110-120 characters so it can be RT’d by others without them having to edit your tweet. Be concise. Remove unnecessary words like “the” “a” “is” “are” – and use a link shortener; which is typically built in to most tools nowadays

5. Validate links before posting them

At a bare minimum, click on links you intend to share and make sure they lead to something – even if it’s not the content you think it is! There’s nothing worse than a “404 – Page Not Found” error! :)

Point People in the Right Direction

6. If a link leads to a site that controls access to the content, inform user of the need to login to access the content. 

Add “[Login Reqd]” to the Tweet.

7. Identify special digital media formats at the end of the tweet

– Is it video? A huge document? A Podcast? Consider calling it out by adding [Video] or [Large File] etc.

8. When sharing a large media source, point to specific locations within the document, video, or podcast that you want to call out.

Ex. “See pg 18-22” or “See 3rd paragraph” or “Starts at 1:35”

Tag It!

9. Use hashtag(s) to help categorize your content and make it easy to find.

Hashtags are also used by certain web services to summarize and index tweets – making your content more likely to be read. But don’t use too many hashtags!

Example: "#Free #today #icd10 #testing #tips for #payers and #providers”

10. Don’t use punctuation or special characters within a hashtag.

Using “#ICD-10” results in a hashtag of “#ICD”

11. You can use a question mark or exclamation point as the last character in a Tweet as it will be ignored. The following are all acceptable:

“#ICD10?” results in a hashtag of “#ICD10”

“#healthit’s a great space to work in” results in a hashtag of “#healthit”

“I love #HIMSS16!” results in a hashtag of “#HIMSS16”

By incorporating some or all of the above tips and approaches into your Twitter shares, you’ll make it easy on your readers and improve the value of the information shared. For more information on healthcare technology and conferences, consider following @HITConfGuy. You may also want to follow @ShimCode for information on healthcare data, technology and services.

Why should you follow the @HITConfGuy Twitter Account before and during #HIMSS16?

Why? To get the good HIMSS conference-related tweets without having to sift through all the advertisements, spam, stale and repeated tweets. That’s why!

HIMSS conference attendees can be freed from being glued to a popular hashtag that’s experiencing increased levels of spam and abuse so they can focus on the conference, presentations and vendor booths. Those who aren’t attending the HIMSS conference will have an enhanced means to eavesdrop on the proceedings remotely.

How are Tweets Selected?

Twitter, popular blogs and other sources of information are monitored using various automated and manual methods using terms and phrases expected to describe the HIMSS conference. A human with 20+ years of experience in the healthcare IT and services industry will review each tweet before it’s surfaced in Twitter.

What This Account Will Do

1. Only share information related to the HIMSS 2016 conference and only share relevant healthcare IT topics. I’ll focus on the following:

#digitalhealth – Mobile health, Digital Health and Connected Health

#telemedicine – Telehealth and telemedicine
#mhealth – Mobile Health
#ACO – Accountable Care Organizations
#ehr – Electronic Health Records
#hix – Health Insurance Exchanges
#icd10 – ICD-10
#interoperability - Interoperability and integration topics

2. Monitor alternative sources of information off Twitter’s oft beaten path. This includes blogs, content made available to me by followers, various search mechanisms I use, etc.

3. Include links to supplemental content and resources associated with certain tweets.

4. Share select vendor info (whitepapers, surveys, content, offers, etc) that are not clearly a sales pitches. Veiled sales pitches may be passed along at my discretion.

5. Verify that all embedded links and embedded content can be accessed

6. Spare you the excess of the “over-tweeters”

7. Share select info on "booth-bling," tweet-ups, parties and contests.

Keep an eye out for the following “unofficial HIMSS16 hashtags” suggested by others:

#HIMSS16GoodStuff - Identify good presentations, speakers, etc
#HIMSS16DanceOff - See #HIMSSanity
#HIMSSanity - General craziness
#HIMSSFood - Places to eat – good and bad – note them!
#HIMSSPickuplines - See #HIMSSanity
#HIMSSTips - Tips and How-to’s to maximize conference value
#HIMSSwag - Booth bling and handouts worth noting

What This Account Won't Do

1. Share the same tweet more than once. Except for periodic “promotional tweets” to call attention to the service this account provides.

2. A primary value of this account is that you can just periodically review its timeline and get the scoop as to what’s going on at #HIMSS16. No need to do special searches and/or monitor the #HIMSS16 hashtag - that's my job. :)

3. Retweet every tweet mentioning this account. This isn’t about me. I really didn't even want to have my real name on this blog but it's a Google term of service item. I'm doing this because I want to share good good healthcare IT info related to the HIMSS conference.

4. Repeat the same tweet over and over and over and over and over

5. Post content requiring login or special add-ins unless a warning is given – such as [requires login] or [Requires yada yada add-in]

So click here and follow @HitConfGuy 

Summary of Today's #HITMC Tweetchat - Tuesday, April 21, 2015

I missed the #HITMC tweetchat hosted by HIT Marketing and PR (@HITMarketingPR) this morning so I grabbed the tweets and culled out all the responses. Here they're for those who also may have missed it:

Here's @Symplur's analytics on the #HITMC Tweetchat.

T1: How does healthcare buyer engagement differ from sales and marketing in other industries? #HITMC 

@billians	T1: Security and compliance are a bigger priority in healthcare; Patients = very precious cargo buyers entrusted with! #HITMC
@jslentzclifton	T1 Wide array of stakeholders, very busy professionals w/ limited desk time - need new creative ways to engage. #HITMC
@ehrandhit	T1: One major difference from many (although not all) industries is how regulated healthcare is. #HITMC
@cnluken	T1: differs in the buyer dynamics... doctors, boards, C-levels & some floor staff all may have influence #HITMC
@porterresearch	T1: Credibility, while important in all industries, is especially of concern to potential buyers in the healthcare industry. #HITMC
@dz45tr	#HITMC T1: I think the complications come from the complexity of the systems. Many stakeholders get to say "no."
@askjoyrios	T1: Healthcare buyers want to avoid the services vs. other industries where they're actively looking to use products/services. #HITMC
@billians	T1: Security concerns in the healthcare industry too are very important whereas other industries may not need to worry about this #hitmc
@nateksu	T1: peer influence seems to be of greater importance than anything else #HITMC
@ehrandhit	Docs trust docs more. Med school bonds people. RT @NateKSU: T1: peer influence seems to be of greater importance than anything else #HITMC
@shilling_brian	RT @ehrandhit: Docs trust docs more. Med school bonds people.  RT @NateKSU: T1: peer influence seems to be of greater importance than anyth…
@dz45tr	#HITMC T1: It's more than #providers, though. Many systems have to consider #Patient, #Peer, #Payer, #Purchaser = different messages.
@porterresearch1	@HealthcareScene @dz45tr T1 HIT specifically is a very complex arena, often w/ multi-org impact; longer sales cycles. #HITMC

T2: What are effective ways to succinctly present complex healthcare solutions in marketing? (videos, case studies, etc) #HITMC 

@porterresearch	T2 A brief client story w/ clear benefit/outcome as bottom line required to snare initial attention #HITMC
@billians	T2: case studies, to me, seem to be the best way to showcase solutions. Good to learn from a been-there-done-that situation. #hitmc
@jslentzclifton	T2 Personally a visual learner; Into diagrams, charts, drawings more than video (maybe an age thing?) #HITMC
@ehrandhit	T2: A well done video can do an amazing job at describing complex solutions. Doing it well is a major challenge though. #HITMC
@nateksu	T2:well placed video for a high level hook followed by case study #HITMC
@dz45tr	#HITMC T2: key to any marketing is understanding and planning for audience. Match the channel to the receiver. Good planning = success.
@dz45tr	#HITMC T2: writing out your key points in your messaging plan helps provide framework for how you channel.
@cnluken	T2: We demonstrate subjectmater expertise; when they want2 no more-weLISTEN 2their issues&make specific plan #HITMC #IfYouBuildItTheyWillCome
@ehrandhit	T2: Regardless of the method you use to tell your story, you have to invest in the distribution of the story as well. #HITMC

T3: In your experience, what’s been the single best marketing resource for building trust with healthcare providers? #HITMC

@porterresearch	T3: This is a really good question. I'm excited for the answers! #HITMC
@nursenadeen	T3 Word of mouth references from THEIR peers plus caring about end user feedback #HITMC @billians
@jslentzclifton	T3 Market education; Studies that bring trends, adoption benchmarks to light. Providers largely in uncharted territory! Want insight #HITMC
@porterresearch	T3 Our clients report success validating solution #ROI w/ objective 3rd party & using that to establish trust from word go. #HITMC
@cnluken	T3: Setting expectations & Meeting/Exceeding them. #HITMC
@billians	T3: Providing thought leadership too can be important, you need to show you KNOW what you're talking about. #hitmc
@dz45tr	#HITMC T3: Definitely word of mouth, but finding your champions and getting them to your audience is key. & getting over barrier to change.
@porterresearch1	@PorterResearch T3 Clients report success validating solution ROI w/ objective 3rd party & using that to establish trust from word go #HITMC

T4: How important is it for companies to quantify solution ROI with hard numbers in marketing collateral? #HITMC

@billians	T4: Very important. #ROI can justify a marketing expense. #hitmc
@jslentzclifton	T4 People love stats, numbers. Quick way to cut through the healthcare sales & marketing noise, IMHO. #HITMC
@nateksu	T4: Suspicious buyers poke holes in ROI alone, they need to want to believe… then the ROI collateral is just confirmation #HITMC
@bryan_pasaribu	#KCA #VoteJKT48ID dz45tr: Not to mention #HealthIT is developing so quickly, by the time you get to market, you're probably too late. #HITMC
@porterresearch	T4 Sellers will be cautious re: over-promising, but ROI (transactional & otherwise) should always be part of the pitch. #HITMC
@dz45tr	#HITMC T4: I think some ROI numbers are fine, but better to anticipate ROI for prospect can be more powerful
@cnluken	T4: Quantifying ROI is key. Putting it in different terms is good too tho, like increased efficiency by X, #clicks, hours, etc. #HITMC
@shilling_brian	T4: Buyers gravitate to ROI numbers. ROI calculators are a great asset and marketing tool. #HITMC

T5: What marketing initiatives offer the best channels for building brand credibility? (blogs, research, testimonials, etc) #HITMC

@porterresearch	T5: providing thought leadership via blog or other source where you can showcase knowledge in concise, but thoughtful manner. #HITMC
@ehrandhit	T5: I'm somewhat partial to blogs ;-) Although, look for blogs tied to a solid email list, social reach, and SEO profile. #HITMC
@jslentzclifton	T5 Horns are louder when someone else is tooting them ;) Client endorsements, research citations stand out. #HITMC
@nateksu	T5: Well written blogs develop brands over time #HITMC
@nursenadeen	T5 #HITMC Strategic partnerships, research blogs, bulletin board focus groups @billians
@cnluken	T5: Weve been seeing gr8 results from educational webinars (showcases expertise). Going 2start blogging (this month fingers crossed) #HITMC
@ehrandhit	Too many people miss the "over time" part and fall short. RT @NateKSU: T5: Well written blogs develop brands over time #HITMC