Netgain

For anyone who has attended the annual HIMSS conference, you know it can be overwhelming. 2017’s HIMSS Annual Conference was no different, with over 40,000 health IT professionals and 1,200+ exhibitors sprawled across what seemed like miles of exhibit hall space at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. It was abundantly clear that this year, the healthcare industry is hungry for technology solutions to drive efficiency and improve patient experiences.

Much of the buzz at the event was centered on a handful of core topics, so we wanted to share some of those key takeaways here for those of you who weren’t able to make it out to Orlando this year.

As technology has advanced over the years, dependence on the internet for business reasons has increased significantly.  People conduct research online for everything from the cheapest hotels to the best primary care physicians.  This research generally includes online reviews of products, services, and professionals.  

While online reviews can be beneficial to a business, they can often have a negative affect as well.  Online review sites such as Yelp and others social media sites are often referred to as the internet "Wall of Shame," since users tend to try to shame businesses, and warn others not to use them. Therefore it's vital for a practice to have someone routinely check these sites in order to guard against disgruntled patients and to maintain their reputations within the community.