Hats off to NESCO and the group of MMIS 2008 Conference volunteers - (the “blue shirts”) that acted as registrars, porters, tour guides, nurses, dance instructors, and presentation aides-de-camp - these good folks put on an excellent MMIS conference in Nashville this year!Over 870 people attended the conference this year, which took place at the Gaylord Opryland Resort just outside of the city of Nashville. The facility was cavernous, covering something along the lines of 90 acres, much of that enclosed under a big glass bubble. The resort itself was a bit eclectic in its design, looking and feeling as if Salvador Dali had taken the Jungle Cruise from Disney World, Bourbon Street from New Orleans, and the set of Gone with the Wind and connected them all together (sort of) with winding and distorted passageways. It was actually a nice location, just a bit difficult to navigate at times. After saying farewell to the sun before descending below 10,000 feet on Sunday afternoon on the approach to Nashville, I did not see the big orange ball again until sometime on Tuesday evening. I overheard one of the Gaylord employees making reference to someone as a “bubble rat”; by Thursday afternoon, I felt that I fit the bill.
Back to the conference – it was terrific! There were over 40 breakout sessions, excluding the vendor tracks, that spanned MITA, new technologies, MMIS operations and HIT/HIE plus a couple of good plenary sessions. I found the MITA sessions that I attended to be relatively superficial but helpful just the same. I also “hopped” (new conference term) a few of the new technology and HIE sessions; these I found to be very informative and very interesting. **Mikey Tip: One should not attend these conferences with the primary intent of getting information from the breakouts sessions; the breakout sessions are good, but not really the major reason for attending in my opinion. Rather, attend the MMIS conference to meet and network with others in our industry - so many smart people in one place at the same time, you need to take advantage of that opportunity!
Some highlights for me included the PSTG TAC session (as I was not aware of just how much progress is being made on the MITA Technical Architecture), the panel of States that related their MITA SS-A experiences, hearing about the progress that is being made by the HL7 MITA project team, and the demos of various HIE and EHR products being either under development or available for use.
I thought that the meals were good and discovered again that breakfast and lunch provide great opportunities to meet and chat with others. This was probably when I spent the most time talking with folks from State Medicaid Agencies. Again, smart and competent – having the opportunity to share experiences and information with folks in similar situations across the fruited plain is one of the biggest benefits to attending this event.
I thought that the vendor area was well organized and the participating vendors were, for the most part, professional and courteous. This is the first year that I managed to visit every vendor booth and I can say that it was well worth the time. It occurred to me that for years I have viewed vendors as either cunning competitors or shady salespersons, never stopping to think that they could actually be real people with real families, interesting backgrounds and yes, feelings! I think I made a few new friends this year by shedding the burden of that stereotype and actually engaging in some real conversations. Perhaps another tip for attendees next year, don’t be afraid to dig a little below the surface, you will probably be pleasantly surprised.
With each succeeding year that I attend this conference, I get more of a feeling that although we come from private sector, state government, federal government, wherever – we are more of a community than exists in most other industries; I was actually a little sad boarding the bus on Thursday afternoon and leaving my Medicaid family. Thanks again to Nancy and her crew and to all of the vendors and presenters, this conference was well worth the price of admission.
Okay, enough of the gushy stuff – I’m going to watch a Chuck Norris movie now and crush a few beer cans on my head…Egad man, I’m going softy in my old age…
7 comments:
We missed having our CMS regional rep from Denver at the conference, does anyone know why they did not attend?
Good conference. A little to confusing at time with the size of the resort and the other conferences going on but the conference was worthe the trip.
While I cannot speak to the specific absence of the Denver rep, I know travel dollars seem to be tight everywhere. There is such value to having CMS onsite at the MMIS Conference! Central Office and Regional Office representatives provide valuable perspectives imperative to Medicaid success. Hopefully there will be more attending next year...???
I would like to echo the thanks to NESCO and all participants for a great conference this year in Nashville. I too made some new friends and found that there are others experiencing the same challenges as I am regarding outdated systems and uncertain budgets. I am already looking forward to the next conference.
Totally agree with you, MITA Zealot. Not to further spread rumors but it would be beneficial if all the Regional Office representatives had the same view about their presence (and the presence of their peers) at the conference, which unfortunately may not be the case. Let's hope that those who take this view are in the minority and can reconsider their view based on the overall positive feedback on the conference and presence of the Regional reps there.
My observations -
This year focused too much on the past and not enough on what is coming over the next year.
The state staff need to find a way to network outside of the VERY loud receptions where converstaion is next to impossible. I think that the vendors missed an opportunity as well because no one could approach them about their products during the reception unless the wanted to engage in a yelling match.
More tofu, less dead animals.
Well organized and managed.
Agree with other commenters on the absence of qualified federal staff to answer questions and meet with the states.
buzz... I was at last year's receptions and had hopes that things might get better this year. oh well, so much for that. no matter the reason, unchecked volume control/food/entertainment/etc. at a "networking reception" will end up coming off like a lame excuse just to party. maybe some see it that way and think it's fine but I'd say that would be something that a Fed would see as detracting from the overall image of the conference. I mean, we want to have fun with our peers sometimes but we don't want to feel like we're at some wacked out dance club or drunken frat-house, either. (and i'm still trying to place nice here mikey)
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