January, 2004
Volume II, Issue 1

Healthcare News Trends
Will healthcare technology be a factor in the presidential race?

It may not be as important as taxes or job creation, but both parties have already cited its benefits and championed its cause.

President Bush in his Jan. 20 State of the Union address, noted "By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care."

HIMSS said he was the first U.S. President to mention it in the annual speech and called it a "momentous occasion for our industry." HIMSS promptly sent an email to all members, urging them to contact Congress to provide incentives for technology adoption.

On Jan. 22, Senator Ted Kennedy proposed a new, $100 billion plan to provide subsidies for low-income workers to buy health insurance. He said much of the expense could be offset by trimming existing healthcare costs through the use of more technology.

Many of the Democratic candidates have advocated tax credits for companies to invest in "technology infrastructure." CIO magazine's current issue has a 12-page report on technology issues and the 2004 election, see the special report.

PR Workshop
The annual HIMSS conference will be held in Orlando Feb. 22-26. HIMSS has much tighter press contact rules this year. Only exhibitors and their "designated PR contacts" will be allowed access to the media briefing room and only by appointment. They have abolished press conferences (which is no loss, since few reporters went to them anyway).

HIMSS projects that more than 180 editors and reporters will attend this year. These folks are being sought after by the 800 plus exhibitors many of the 14,000 attendees, so competition is intense. Many of the major trade publication editors are already fully booked for appointments. If you are exhibiting at HIMSS and want to schedule interviews, or just distribute your news release, you need to act quickly. A skilled PR firm, that has worked at HIMSS in previous years and knows the reporters and editors, can be extremely helpful in this situation.

To learn more about HIMSS media contact, see the conference home page.

On this page, look for the "exhibitor service manual" download. There is a 4-page file on "Marketing and PR" rules. If you are an exhibitor and have questions, the HIMSS conference office can be very helpful, telephone 312-915-9237.

Industry Insight
"In 2003, the merger and acquisition market was downright boring. Only 41 deals were done by mid-December--compared with a total of 90 deals in 2000--and most were small pickups of niche technology vendors. Only four acquisitions in 2003 topped the $100 million mark, a far cry from 2000, which saw five blockbuster deals worth more than $1 billion each."

" Some observers believe the improving economic climate and increase in acquisition activity in the last half of 2003 indicate a busy time ahead...Industry experts see several vendors as attractive candidates for acquisition in 2004, including: Quality Systems, Eclipsys, QuadraMed...Per-Se Technologies."

" In addition to these companies, a whole category of health care I.T. vendors could be in the acquisition radar...(according to experts) any public company with revenue under $100 million and in decent financial condition is a good candidate for acquisition."

-from "Consolidation," in Health Data Management, January 2004.

Resources
The Medical Records Institute (MRI), organizers of the annual Toward an Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference on e-health and clinical IT issues, is holding the EHR Summit II next month in Los Angeles. This is a follow-up seminar to the EHR Summit I held in Chicago last year. The program will be held Feb. 9 and 10 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles Airport.

Topics at the conference will include domestic and international efforts in the EHR field and U.S. governmental initiatives including the impact of the Medicare Reform Bill. Speakers are scheduled to include Jerry Bachman, MD, Professor of Primary Care, Mayo Foundation; Alan Ying, MD, CEO MercuryMD and Bob Elson, MD, MS, VP Medical Affairs, RxHub. For more information, see the conference home page.

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