What Happens at HFMA ...

Lisa Reichard, RN, Director of Business Development, Billian's HealthDATA; and Cynthia Porter, President, Porter Research
June 28, 2010

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Last week's HFMA ANI 10 Healthcare Finance Conference at the Sands Expo Center and Venetian/Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas offered those in the industry a great chance to meet, greet, promote and learn - all in a fun atmosphere that presented plenty of opportunities to take business off the trade show floor and out into the bright lights of the Vegas Strip.

The Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research teams had a great time. Like so many others, the somewhat last-minute change of venue from Nashville to Las Vegas didn't hinder plans to exhibit and fully take advantage of the numerous networking and educational opportunities the event presented.

Lisa Reichard, RN, Director of Business Development at Billian's HealthDATA and her colleague Cynthia Porter, President of sister company Porter Research, came away from the show with several observations.

"HFMA was great," says Reichard. "Show traffic was steady, especially on day one. Breakout sessions were interesting and well attended, especially the one on Medicare inpatient reimbursement changes.

"Numerous big-name companies came by our booth to mention how happy they are with the Portal and its continuously updated data," she adds.

"Everyone seemed happy to be in Las Vegas and the Venetian was a great venue, with many options for hosting customer events."

Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research hosted a successful party for new prospects Monday evening at the Venetian's V Bar Ultra Lounge. Sharon Rossi, Principle Sales Consultant at Oracle, was the party's lucky winner of a Sony digital pocket Reader; and Bob Goeddel, Applications Sales Manager, Oracle, won an iPhone case.

Sharon Rossi, and Bob Goeddel

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A great time was had by all at the Billian's HealthDATA/Porter Research party for new prospects held at the Venetian's V Bar Ultra Lounge.

"Everyone at the show seemed to be talking about 'meaningful use' hitting the physician market, which in turn brings a need for new solutions including technology," Porter says. "We couldn't have picked a better place to present the Billian's HealthDATA Portal.

"Clinical companies made a big splash as pay-for-performance and quality-based pricing are becoming so key to getting paid.

"Credibility marketing was the standard and demanded way of selling solutions," she adds. "Executives from healthcare providers wanted to know the ROI, benefits and success stories from vendors. This just reaffirms projects that Porter Research has recently done, such as the recent white paper developed for Payformance Corp., " Overcoming Healthcare Electronic Claims Payment/Settlement Hurdles."

"Being in healthcare for so long, it was nice to meet and hear the new National Chair of HFMA's Board of Directors speak. Debora Kuchka-Craig, FHFMA, is vice president of managed care for MedStar Health in Maryland, and interestingly enough has a great payor background. HFMA seems to have a good balance of men and women making key decisions," Porter says.

"George Will, the political columnist who kicked off HFMA Monday morning, had some wonderful insights and a great sense of humor on the tough subject of healthcare reform."

Lisa Reichard (left), RN, Director of Business Development at Billian's HealthDATA, stepped out in Vegas with Porter Research President Cynthia Porter.

Joyce Metzer, Billian's HealthDATA's Editor in Chief, met Dallas Cowboys football star Troy Aikman at the show.

The Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research teams found the HFMA conference a very worthwhile experience, and are looking forward to the same next year in Orlando.

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