One piece of the Obama administration's economic stimulus package paid off for Las Vegas.
The annual Health Information and Management Systems Society convention, which concluded its five-day run on Feb. 24, posted a big attendance boost for the second consecutive year. While the convention attendance has improved generally in Las Vegas and across the country, HIMSS has outpaced the industry by a wide margin with this year's 37,032 running a third better than two years ago when it was in Atlanta.
A main driver came from the stimulus provision that set aside $20 billion for doctors and hospitals that install new computer systems, particularly digital health records to replace the decades-old handwritten notes clipped into folders. Coupled with the enticement comes a poke: medical professionals who stick with the old ways will face penalties in Medicare reimbursement starting in 2015.
DAVID BECKER | LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
COWs, or computers on wheels, are seen Feb. 23 at Stinger Medical's booth at the Health Information and Management Systems Society convention at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. 
DAVID BECKER | LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
A trick cowboy lures attendees to Quest Diagnostic's booth Feb. 23 at the Health Information and Management Systems Society convention at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. "Health care, in general, is a red-hot sector now," society President H. Stephen Lieber said. "The new technologies and the federal push to install systems have created a perfect storm. We have seen more adoption of medical information technology in the last two years than the previous 20."
Nearly 300 of the 1,123 companies represented on the exhibit floor rented booths for the first time, reflecting the wave of newcomers jumping into the market, Lieber said.
However, there was a layer of confusion and intimidation for medical professionals who often have only a rudimentary knowledge of system design. Because small practices could spend at least $20,000, and often much more, to bring their back offices up to date, the chance that a company touting a great new product today might not be around next year makes that task more daunting.
"Especially for sole practitioners or small grounds, they are challenged to navigate a complex environment with a multitude of possibilities," Lieber said.
The same week, the Western Veterinary Conference also posted higher attendance for its annual convention focusing on the health of four-legged creatures, but not enough to keep pace with its archrival.
The 14,900 that attended Western Veterinary, the only sizable annual show based in Las Vegas, marked a 0.9 percent increase from a year ago, including 1.7 percent more veterinarians at 6,449. The veterinarian count peaked at 6,600 in 2006, then dipped to 5,947 three years ago before starting to climb back.
While drawing fewer vets, the North American Veterinary Conference held in Orlando, Fla., in January boosted total attendance to 15,800, passing Western Veterinary by registering more guests and students. Last year, North American finished behind Western Veterinary.
Because few vets attend both, there is strong competition to get them in the door.
Partly as a marketing tool, Western Veterinary opened the $18.4 million Oquendo Center east of McCarran International Airport in 2009, with lecture rooms, pens for large animals and tables for small ones. There, said Western Veterinary CEO Dr. Guy Pidgeon, vets can hear not only about topics such as repairing injured dog knees or ultrasound diagnosis, but get hands-on practice.
"I think the Oquendo Center is paying off," Pidgeon said. "Word-of-mouth is slowly starting to reach people. Vets are hard to advertise to."
A majority of the 32 laboratory sessions sold out, he said, and vets are "starting to see a degree of optimism about the economy that is encouraging."
Although vets did not feel the effects of recession as much as other professional groups, he said many became more conservative as the economy around them deteriorated.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
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