Good, Good, Good – Good ViVe-ations!
So, that happened. And what a happening it was.
As one of the OG attendees at the inaugural 2018 HLTH event at the MGM with Wyclef (good times,) it's been interesting to watch the evolution of the brand and the many franchise spinoffs that have emerged. Clearly, they found a niche, filled a need, and delivered value to the industry.
With my patient hat on, I remain skeptical and critical of the absence of the patient's voice represented writ large permeating the event. However, this year, thanks to the influence of rebels like Jen Horonjeff, Grace Cordovano, Liz Salmi, and others, progress is progress.
With my nonprofit hat on, I'd like to see an option similar to the Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation Foundation's work with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) smaller charity and individual patient advocate scholarships, as well as a dedicated area of the exhibit hall (not tucked away in the back corner) to showcase their programs, network with this community, and build collaborative opportunities that leverage mutual value. Not everyone attends by way of their employer's expense accounts.
With my (thankfully) former startup/investor hat on, I totally get it. HLTH and ViVE are industry conferences, pure and simple, for a highly specialized vertical sector of the larger consumer healthcare market. While it would be nice to see some of the major players in Pharma attending (akin to ASCO, ESMO, ASH, SABCC, etc..) I don't quite yet grasp the value exchange for their participation — although I am sure Rich Scarfo and Jonathan Weiner have some aces up their sleeve to remedy this down the road.
Of course, it's always nice to sync up with friends and colleagues (old and new) to swap war stories and compare notes.
Anyway, that's my humble opinion — and you know what they say about opinions.