Reverse trade shows are all the rage as conference organizers get creative to ensure that attendees get the most out of their time and investment. For instance at the Health Connect Partners (HCP) conference in Tampa last week, more than 100 hospital radiology executives hosted and staffed the exhibit booths while the vendors, suppliers and manufacturers walked the trade show floor. It's a clever way to turn the typical meeting on its ear.

"It was nice for us because we're a supplier and we were able to visit a lot of our customers and potential customers and get some face time," said Wendy Abbott, marketing specialist for ETS-Lindgren. "By visiting with them we were able to find out about a lot of new projects and some of the needs they may have coming up."

On the meeting agenda this year, Shay Pratt, managing director of The Advisory Board Company, a consulting firm and Washington, D.C.-based think tank, presented an analysis of the health care industry and what to expect from the Capitol in terms of reform legislation in the coming months. Overall, the atmosphere at the conference was one of "guarded optimism," said Radiology and Imaging Conference President Nelson Hendry.

"I think the general perspective out there is that, by and large, health care providers as well as suppliers are going to deal with whatever comes forth, but the thing we hate is the uncertainty," said Hendry. "Most of the attendees left with an optimistic view, even though people have different ideas about how this is all going to play out. There is concern and consternation, and we've got a lot of challenges ahead, especially in imaging as far as reimbursement is concerned, but we'll find a way to work it out."



Other highlights included a key note address from National Speaker Hall of Famer Giovanni Livera, who received a standing ovation at the conference. There were more than 350 attendees and 150 supplier companies represented, including ETS-Lindgren, which provides RF shielding and other health and safety technologies.

DOTmed.com representatives were also in attendance and made the rounds to visit hospital radiology executives.

"Our agenda at this year's conference was to promote two main services that DOTmed provides to the hospital directors exhibiting at HCP," said David Blumenthal, DOTmed's sales director. "We wanted to promote our service as the largest marketplace of new and used medical equipment and our full-service managed auctions; and we also introduced our new Certified Parts Vendor Program, which allows hospitals to purchase used parts directly from certified parts vendors while earning rewards points."

DOTmed also hosted a hospitality suite and party and sponsored a popular iPhone giveaway and Wii bowling tournament.

"DOTmed's hospitality suite was a huge success," said Blumenthal. "More than 150 people attended the open bar and nine people went home with Starbucks gift cards." (The iPhone winners were Lynn Hanks, Executive Director Cobb Medical Imaging, WellStar Health Systems and Kathleen Holton, RT, Director Medical Imaging Services, St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital.)


The HCP event also included educational sessions, and tremendous networking opportunities since the ratio of vendors to radiology executives was 3:1.

The next HCP Spring Radiology and Imaging Conference is scheduled for April 14-16 at the Marriott San Diego. Rather than hold two separate radiology conferences as HCP did in 2009, Next April's conference will be considered the annual meeting, and organizers will debut a hospital O/R and surgery center reverse expo October 13-15, 2010, in Nashville Tenn. This reverse tradeshow will have nurse managers and O/R directors at the exhibitors' booths. HCP will also be running two pharmacy conferences as usual.

Kathy Mahdoubi contributed to this report.