HC 2004 Healthcare Computing Conference Harrogate 22-24 March 2004 A personal review by Rod Ward

These reports are written on the fly during the conference and posted on the web on a daily(ish) basis, as there are 5 concurrent themes I can not attend all sessions so these comments are based on my own experiences and views.

The official conference web sites is at: http://healthcare-computing.co.uk/

Social

The train journey to Harrogate on the Sunday was long but uneventful, with both Virgin & Arriva northern managing to run on time! I'm staying at the White Hart hotel & managed a nice pint of Black Sheep bitter in the the Old Bell before bed.

The registration process was easy and rapid (knowing the system helps), and a visit to the "speakers room" to give in my presentation worked well & having a USB drive on my watch didn't phase them.

The catering in the exhibition halls didn't seem quite as exorbitant as previous years and the cafe areas provided a good opportunity to meet new faces.

The Monday evening included a reception in the "Pump Rooms" with the Mayor of Harrogate and the launch of the new book "Information in Healthcare, by Bud Abbott. This provided another opportunity to meet up with a range of key players in the field - and begin the preparation for Wednesday's review session.

I concluded the evening with a curry with the team planning a bid about "Nurses use of technology in decision making".

The dinner on the Tuesday evening was themed as the conference 21st birthday and kicked off with fireworks. Entertainment included a juggler/unicyclist/escapologist, an oompah band, Robbie Williams lookalike, wandering magicians, fake gambling tables and balloon modelers.

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To discuss any of my comments please mail: Rod.Ward@uwe.ac.uk

Page Created: 21.3.04

Last Updated: 22.3.04