If this year is your first time attending Health Datapalooza - welcome to the party, pal!

In the years since Datapalooza kicked off as a DC health data geek fest (2010, for those keeping score at home), it’s grown into one of the biggest gatherings of all points of the health data policy and health system innovation compass. And since it’s a #PatientsIncluded conference, there are plenty of savvy “end users” in the house, too, for real-time reality checks on your new app or policy tweak. Which can make figuring out how to see, hear, and do all the things on your “what I want to get out of Health Datapalooza” list a challenge.

If a “what I want to get out of Health Datapalooza” list isn’t something you’ve done yet, I’m here to help you sketch that out. Ready? Let’s dive in.

OK, take a breath. It’s a lot of information, and there are a lot of choices. The key to figuring out your meeting flow is to circle back to that question I asked at the beginning: what do you want to get out of Health Datapalooza? My personal “what I want” list is:

  • Learn more about how blockchain might empower people to take control of their health data.
  • Meet at least one person who can help me with my wild idea about health data sharing at the ground level (if you want to know more about that, ask me on Twitter).
  • Since I’m a science and health literacy writer with a special interest in evidence based medicine, I want to attend at least one session in the Life Sciences and Real World Evidence track. I’m leaning hard toward two right now – which two? Ask me at Datapalooza!
  • Have fun with long-time friends, and make at least one new friend.

Write your own list of your objectives for attending Datapalooza. Then work your way through the agenda, and pencil in the sessions that are “must see” for you. Don’t forget to build in some breathing/processing room. Also available is the Health Datapalooza app, download it, and start building your timeline.

When you arrive at Health Datapalooza, if it’s your first time attending, I recommend you snag one of the “First Timer” ribbons for your badge, if there isn’t one in your registration package. I also recommend keeping an eye peeled for badges with the “Steering Committee” ribbon – I’ll be one of those people – because we’ll be looking out for you. When you see one of us, if you have questions, all you have to do is ask. If we don’t know the answer, we know who does. We also want to hear about your experiences, and hear any feedback you might have on the event. What do you love? What could be better? Let us know, because we *want* to know what you’re thinking.

If you have questions, hit me up on Twitter, using the #MeetAtHDP or #HDPalooza hashtags. If you’re not a Twitter user, contact me via my main site, MightyCasey.com – there’s an email icon at the top of the right side of the page, along with the opportunity to connect with me on ALL the social platforms.

See you at Health Datapalooza!

Casey Quinlan
Committee Member

Casey Quinlan

Chief Message Officer - Mighty Casey Media

Casey Quinlan covered her share of medical stories as a TV news field producer, and used healthcare as part of... Read Bio

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