6 - 8 May 2014, Berlin, Germany.Fascinating, stimulating and informative: that is what conhIT promises to be when it presents the topic of health IT over the next three days. 359 exhibitors from ten countries will be providing a market overview of the latest healthcare IT solutions on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. The programme features around 150 events which will provide opportunities for education, information exchange and networking. Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe has agreed to act as patron of the event.
Around 6,000 trade visitors are expected to come to Berlin where, at the conhIT Industrial Fair, they can find out about innovative health IT products and services. These range from complex IT architecture and dictation devices to a pharmacy app for ordering medication. The display area at conhIT 2014 has expanded and now covers 13,500 square metres. For the first time the event will occupy three instead of two halls.
Exploring new horizons
23 per cent of the exhibitors at conhIT 2014 are from abroad, which is slightly above last year's figure. Various national pavilions will provide visitors and exhibitors with an overview of innovations from these countries, as well as opportunities for exchanging information and exploring new horizons.
Denmark, the partner country of conhIT 2014, will be hosting the displays of 32 exhibitors at the Danish pavilion and will also be represented at numerous events. At the Innovation Exchange Project Pitching Contest Danish startups and university projects will be showcasing their ideas and visions for a future society in which health IT will play a major role.
According to Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin, "Hospitals, doctors practices, health insurances, pharmacies and not least patients themselves are all part of an increasingly digitised world. At the Industrial Fair and at the many events taking place at conhIT 2014 the industry can find out how that world is taking shape. Compared to last year, exhibitor numbers have risen by 12 per cent. The event continues to expand and has impressively underlined its role as a showroom and marketplace for the healthcare IT industry."
According to the German Association of Health IT Vendors (bvitg), which together with its members launched conhIT in 2008, this renewed growth shows the importance of IT for the German healthcare system.
"IT solutions can increase productivity and improve the quality of cooperation in the healthcare system, optimise processes and help people to make better use of resources. The industry already has the right solutions," said Bernhard Calmer, chairman of the board of bvitg, and added: "Only if all those concerned - the industry, associations, service providers, health insurances and administrations - share their information will we be able to pave the way for a forward-looking healthcare system. That is why, with the wide range of information, training courses and opportunities for exchanging knowledge it offers, conhIT is vital for the industry. Cooperating with the industry associations gmds, BVMI, KH-IT and ALKRZ is very important, in particular where the programme is concerned, with its focus on practical issues and specific audiences."
Congress, Academy and Networking Events
Taking as their slogan ’Modern healthcare with IT’, 18 Congress sessions will be covering the entire spectrum of health IT topics. Key topics include telemedicine and improving efficiency using IT. The focus will be on up-to-the-minute industry issues such as 'Health insurance apps: a success or flop?' or 'Health data and the NSA - do patients in Germany have an espionage problem?'. The conhIT Congress has been certified by the Berlin Medical Association, which awards participants two advanced training points for each day of attendance.
This year's conhIT will again feature four Academy seminars lasting several hours. For the first time, participants who take the test at the end of each seminar will receive an attendance certificate.
Numerous workshops, panel discussions, a visit to a hospital, as well as themed tours of the Industrial Fair will cover theoretical and practical aspects. conhIT's traditional Networking events, with opportunities for establishing new contacts, will round off the fair.
Parallel with conhIT, the mHealth Summit Europe will also be taking place on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. Held in English, and combining a conference and exhibition, this event focuses on mobile healthcare applications for patients. Holders of tickets to conhIT can also visit the mHealth Summit.
conhIT - a springboard for careers
As the organiser of conhIT, bvitg will be taking the opportunity to highlight the industry’s many attractive aspects and to encourage students and trainees to look into a career in health IT. The career events, the highlight of which is the Recruiting Day on 7 May, are much in demand with visitors and exhibiting companies. 14 universities have organised excursions to conhIT, and exhibitors will be posting numerous vacancies at the Job Exchange. The Career Guide introduces exhibitors and hospitals as potential employers and is currently available on the conhIT website. On 7 May, following the Career Worskhop, visitors and exhibitors will have an opportunity to meet at the Career get-together.
About conhIT - Connecting Health IT
conhIT targets decision-makers in IT departments, management, in the medical profession, nursing, doctors, doctors' networks and medical care centres who need to find out about the latest developments in IT and healthcare, meet members of the industry and make use of opportunities for high-level advanced training. As an integrated event, over a period of three days conhIT combines an Industrial Fair, a Congress and Networking Events that are of particular interest to this sector. Launched in 2008 by the German Association of Health IT Vendors (bvitg) as the meeting place for the health IT industry and organised by Messe Berlin, this event recently recorded 320 exhibitors and 5,980 visitors in 2013 and has now become Europe's leading event for the health IT sector.
conhIT is organised in cooperation with the following industry associations: the German Association of Healthcare IT Vendors (bvitg), the German Association for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (gmds), the German Association of Medical Computer Scientists (BVMI). The National Association of Hospital IT Managers (KH-IT) and the Working Group of Directors of Medical Computing Centres at German University Clinics (ALKRZ) have provided contributions to the subject matter.