Update: HIMSS20 has been canceled due to the coronavirus. Read more here.

It’s no secret that with tens of thousands of participants and five days of programming, HIMSS can be a little overwhelming. This year is no different — from former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) dishing out his advice on health investing to media guru Arianna Huffington’s talk on the humanity in healthcare, there's more than enough on display to keep conference goers busy. 

There are also events on the agenda specifically designed for startups and investors such as the all-day Venture Connect program, which includes panels of investors as well as startup competitions. 

MobiHealthNews combed through the program to put together a guide to our startup and investor audiences at this year’s HIMSS Global Conference. 

Consumerization of Health Forum (March 9, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Hyatt, additional fee)

HIMSS is kicking off with a day of pre-conference forums for those hoping to get an early start on the action. This will include a tracked dubbed the Consumerization of Health Forum, which focuses on the rising trend of patients becoming more like consumers when choosing their care. 

The forum will feature talks about everything from designing apps for consumers to a closer look at the rising FemTech industry. Ryan Howells, program manager for the CARIN Alliance and principal at Leavitt Partners, will be giving the keynote address on the role of healthcare consumerization in solving interoperability. 

Innovation Live (ongoing from March 10 to March 12, Hall E, Booth 8200)

This annual HIMSS tradition will be running Tuesday through Thursday of the conference and promises to feature over 50 startups. This year’s showcase will include a range of topics including AI, machine learning, video patient analysis and predictive analytics. These sessions will be quick, lasting anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, with a focus on new tech emerging in the market. 

In particular, don’t miss HHS’ Chief Technology Officer Ed Simcox, who will be speaking on Wednesday, March 11 at 12:45 p.m. 
 

Health 2.0 VentureConnect (March 11, 8:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m., additional fee) 

For the second year in a row Health 2.0 will be running its Venture Connect program, a full day of investor panels, startup pitches and business trends analysis. The panels will be diving into topics such as the role of validation in investment and how best to innovate for an aging population. 

One panel discussion to keep an eye on will feature Founding Partner of Cartmell LLC Emma Cartmell and President of OptimizeRx Miriam Paramoe, who will be talking about digital health exits. Their conversation comes after multiple recent digital health IPOs including Livongo, Phreesia and most recently, One Medical. 

Scaling Your Startup: A Workshop for Entrepreneurs (March 10, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Hyatt, additional fee)

This half-day workshop is geared at innovators looking to grow their startup. Presenters will discuss industry trends in digital health, attracting attention from investors and the realities of going global. Speakers from UNC Health Care, Accenture, Guidewell Innovation and Springboard Enterprise will offer tips on navigating the ever-changing startup ecosystem. 

Nurse Pitch (March 12, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Debut Square in Lobby E)

Unlike the broader pitch competitions being held throughout the show, this contest is specifically focused on nurse innovators. It's is geared towards Pre-Seed and Series A nursing startups. Last year Helpsy Health, a symptom management and navigation platform, landed first place. 

“Nurses bring nurse innovation to light in their efforts to advocate for patients’ needs. Yet, oftentimes we do not consider ourselves as innovators or leaders as we are used to seeing ourselves as mere extensions of doctors’ care,'' Sangeeta Agarawal, CEO of Helpsy Health, wrote in a HIMSS blog. 

First, second and third place winners will get scholarship money, according to the webpage. Prior to the competition, all of the finalists will have the opportunity for a mentorship meeting with Wambi and Healthbox. 

Mindset of a Champion: A Discussion with Alex Rodriguez (March 13, 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., Valencia Ballroom)

Rodriguez will be closing out the conference by speaking about his experience as an investor. His investments range from real estate to fitness and wellness products. He has also dipped his toes into the digital health investing space in recent years — last September he headlined a $4.5 million funding round for personal training app Fitplan, which delivers on-demand workout videos. His talk is sure to include some of investment insights, but no word yet on whether attendees will see an improvement to their batting average.