Just returned from the annual HIMSS conference, and it’s great to be off our feet (albeit briefly). Very interesting show this year – of course, Meaningful Use was still at the forefront. But the mood was decidedly more positive than last year, and attendance was up as well – about 27,000 attendees.

In our view, competition is a good thing, and there are always plenty of providers who offer ‘point solutions’ to address specific challenges within the hospital. Plenty of reconnaissance missions going on in that respect. In fact, many of the companies in our space are quite good at what they do, when it comes to their singular focus or specialty.

What continues to strike us though – as well as resonating with the hundreds of customers and potential customers who stopped by to talk – is that when it comes to mobility solutions (with emphasis on “solution”), we continue to be the only organization in attendance with the capabilities and resources to span the full scope of people, process, systems and technology for mobility. Nobody else has the clinical experts who understand technology, as well as the complex workflow redesign issues involved in developing an integrated EMR implementation and mobility strategy.

For an industry that typically moves at a somewhat slower pace than other markets when it comes to technology adoption, we’re at an inflection point where that rate is about to increase well beyond historical norms. And while much of the technology out there is good, what tends to be lacking is the proper context to make it successful.

Here’s the litmus test: when examining a technology solution, is your discussion with the vendor simply about the device and how it works? Or does the discussion include areas such as how it fits into your EMR strategy, quality of care goals, RTLS plans, best practices, and so on?