HIMSS Preview: Big Show; Big Ideas—Big News?

They call New Orleans the Big Easy, and next week's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference, March 3-7 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, will be a chance to enjoy that unique city's style and grace.

But while some will hear a funeral dirge for the way healthcare used to be, others will detect the romping, stomping, second-line beat of technology-fueled change.

It will be big: Former President Bill Clinton will be a keynote speaker, as will political heavyweights Karl Rove and James Carville. As of this writing, I've already been contacted by 152 technology vendors and service providers asking to meet with me at the show.

But it won't be easy: I will be lucky enough to have time to meet with only few of them, though none is a former occupant of the White House.

Nevertheless, I'm excited about the lineup. More than ever, the HIMSS conference will be showcasing healthcare that fits in your pocket or tucks neatly onto your tablet. One workshop, led by Copper Mobile CEO Arvind Sarin, provides a direct hands-on experience of what it's like to develop a mobile app.