The 2009 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference attracted an estimated 27,500 attendees to Chicago earlier this month, a drop of 5.4% compared to last year's meeting.
HIMSS attributed the decline to general economic conditions and fewer personnel staffing exhibitor booths. Last year's show in Orlando, FL, attracted 29,100 attendees.
Despite the dip, the organization said it was pleased with 2009 meeting attendance in the face of the economic slowdown and credited this year's traffic to a combination of employment growth in the healthcare sector, the $19.2 billion designated for health IT in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Chicago's central location, and educational programming and networking opportunities.
HIMSS 2009 featured more than 900 exhibiting companies and more than 300 education sessions, including 11 presentations that addressed healthcare IT provisions in the ARRA legislation.
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