Prompted by concerns about COVID-19, HIMSS canceled its annual conference just days before it was slated to start. Conference leaders said they made the decision to pull the plug after recent reports from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A stream of speakers had dropped out of the conference leading up to Thursday’s announcement. Earlier in the week, Intel, Cisco, and Amazon Web Services announced they would not have a presence at the health IT conference. President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak at the event next week.
HIMSS had appointed an advisory panel of medical professionals to monitor the situation and advise leadership on what measures should be taken. According to a statement released by HIMSS, the advisory panel recognized that the “industry understanding of the potential reach of the virus has changed significantly in the last 24 hours, which has made it impossible to accurately assess risk. Additionally, there are concerns about disproportionate risk to the healthcare system given the unique medical profile of Global Conference attendees and the consequences of potentially displacing healthcare workers during a critical time, as well as stressing the local health systems were there to be an adverse event.”
So far, Florida has reported four presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, though Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state’s risk level is still low. Across the U.S., a total of 99 confirmed and presumptive cases have been reported, according to the CDC. 11 deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to COVID-19, though the majority of cases are mild.
This will be the first time that HIMSS has been canceled in 58 years.
“We recognize all the hard work that so many have put into preparing for their presentations and panels that accompany every HIMSS conference,” HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf said in a news release. “Based on evaluation of evolving circumstances and coordination with an external advisory panel of medical professionals to support evidence-based decision making, it is clear that it would be an unacceptable risk to bring so many thousands of people together in Orlando next week.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The conference does not plan to make its speakers and sessions available virtually, at this point. HIMSS said it would provide guidance on refunds for exhibitors that had purchased booth space as well as attendees who had purchased badges in the next two weeks.
Photo credit: HIMSS 09 courtesy of HyattMcCormick
