It’s time to ‘network’ down in Texas! 

DALLAS – The people! The products! The parties! By the time you read this, Medtrade will be in high gear, but as I write this on Valentine’s Day, we are sifting through educational sessions to attend and divvying up the party invites (as a small staff, we divide and conquer). Also, I’m not a party person. Now that I’m a grown adult, I can say that part OUT LOUD.  

However, it’s no secret the HME industry likes a good party. Or, as Medtrade show organizers like to call it, “networking event.” The results from our latest HME Newspoll (which garnered a paltry response – where y’all at?) certainly seem to back that up. More than half of the respondents checked off “networking” with peers/experts as their top goal for this year’s show.  

If there’s an open bar, along with free wings and sliders, so much the better!   

Exhibitors will be happy to know that products, both for categories they already dabble in, as well as new opportunities (CGMs, anyone?), are also high on the to-do list. After all, what’s a trade show without products? Bigger picture, it also paints a picture of an industry that is still healthy, still evolving, still growing.  

Not surprisingly, by far and away most poll respondents (and HME editors) say the biggest buzz at this year’s show will be around artificial intelligence. Seventy percent of you checked that box.   

Coincidentally, while speaking with providers this week, I threw in this question: “What are your thoughts on AI?” Post-show, maybe I’ll be able to ask something more specific.  

By comparison, payer issues/contracting only garnered 15% of responses as a buzzworthy topic at Medtrade this year. Now, I know for a fact payer/contracting issues weigh heavily on our readers, but hey, when you hit the biggest industry event of the year, it’s OK to put away the payer issues for a few days and seek out the buzz instead! Plenty of time for payer/contracting issues when you are back in the office.  

For those of us traveling to Dallas this week, checking the weather became an obsession. When heading West (and South!) from the icy environs of northern New England, we welcome the opportunity to feel the warmth of the sun, to linger outside, to leave the Arctic-rated parkas on the coat rack at home. In short, to almost feel like we’re on a mini-vacay to someplace more exotic than a convention center.  

Alas, Editor Liz “Radar” Beaulieu informed us that it’s a little chilly in Dallas this week. One can only hope, while “networking” at the aforementioned parties, we’ll be given a warm welcome!