Peter A. McClennen
President
dbMotion Inc.
Platinum-level HIMSS Corporate Member
HIMSS: Your company is a Platinum-level HIMSS Corporate Member. What led your company to join HIMSS in the first place?
McClennen: Without question, HIMSS is the premier organization where informatics, customers, vendors and system integrators come together under a single forum. Whenever you think about where you can access those various constituents, HIMSS is the place to do it.
HIMSS: What are some of the ways you leverage your benefits as a HIMSS Corporate Member?
McClennen: We always participate in the Annual Conference. We try to maximize the opportunity, not only to have a technical exhibit but also to be a part of all the associated HIMSS events-whether it is meeting with other vendors, networking with clients or hearing what other people are doing in the industry. We also use that forum as an educational opportunity for ourselves. When we want to get our company's teams up to speed with what is happening in the market, it is the ideal forum. Outside of the annual meeting, we utilize the HIMSS Analytics Database to understand market trends and market needs, and also to target our message and R&D. In addition we are taking a look at the newer HIMSS events, such as the Virtual Conference & Expo.
HIMSS: What role do you imagine your company playing at HIMSS this year, particularly event participation, networking, volunteerism, etc.?
McClennen: We are actually looking at some of the regional activities—meetings that take place around the country. That's probably the primary objective we have with HIMSS right now. We haven't taken advantage of that in the past, so now we are considering it. This will also be the first year we participate in Connectathon and the Interoperability Showcase at HIMSS2010.
HIMSS: Health reform and economic recovery are two major issues affecting the health IT industry. In what ways does your HIMSS membership help your company in the face of such enormous challenges?
McClennen: I think HIMSS has been invaluable in that regard. There is a lot of valuable information on your Web site. We have attended nearly all the Webinars hosted by HIMSS to learn about the latest health reforms-not just about the stimulus, but also to stay on top of the changing nature of what's happening with healthcare in Washington in general. We also leverage HIMSS' global platform in that we are an active member of the European business and Asia.
HIMSS: You were an exhibitor at HIMSS09 last year. What specific challenges or trends in the health IT industry do you see as we draw closer to HIMSS10 in Atlanta?
McClennen: We are working to manage this wave of opportunity that's happened because of ARRA. This is an unprecedented time for healthcare IT and having an understanding of how we can best collaborate across vendors and customers is the most important thing. I think this is where HIMSS is so important---continuing to push the stories and case studies demonstrating the value of true interoperability.
This article can be found at HIMSS Corporate Member Connection.