What Is HIMSS 2026

HIMSS 2026 — formally the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition — is the flagship annual event of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, one of the most influential nonprofit organizations in global health IT. Held March 9–13, 2026 at The Venetian Convention Center in Las Vegas, the conference draws together health system executives, clinical informaticists, technology vendors, policymakers, and digital health innovators under one roof for five days of education, networking, and deal-making.

HIMSS has been running its annual North American conference since the 1960s, and the event has grown into one of the largest gatherings in the healthcare sector anywhere in the world. In recent years attendance has consistently exceeded 35,000 registered participants, with over 1,200 exhibiting companies filling more than 1 million square feet of exhibit hall space. The 2026 edition continues a multi-year expansion into artificial intelligence, interoperability, cybersecurity, and value-based care technology — areas that now dominate the healthcare IT investment landscape.

Unlike single-track specialty conferences, HIMSS casts a wide net. Clinical informatics leaders sit alongside EHR implementation teams, health equity researchers present next to cloud infrastructure architects, and startup founders pitch on stages that enterprise CIOs walk past on their way to keynotes. That breadth is both a strength and a navigational challenge — first-time attendees frequently describe feeling overwhelmed by the sheer scale.

Who's Coming to HIMSS 2026

HIMSS draws a uniquely diverse professional community. The core audience consists of health IT professionals from hospitals and health systems — CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, and their teams — but the conference has expanded significantly to include vendor representatives, consultants, government officials, payers, and investors.

A breakdown of typical HIMSS attendance by segment includes:

• Health system executives and clinical leaders — CMOs, CIOs, VPs of IT and clinical informatics from community hospitals, academic medical centers, and integrated delivery networks
• Technology vendors and solution providers — from Fortune 500 companies like Epic, Oracle Health, Microsoft, and Google Health down to early-stage digital health startups
• Nurses and allied health professionals — HIMSS has invested heavily in nursing informatics content, and clinical staff now represent a growing share of registered attendees
• Government and public health officials — representatives from CMS, ONC, VA, and state health IT agencies regularly participate in policy panels
• International delegates — attendees from over 90 countries attend each year, giving HIMSS a global flavor that distinguishes it from US-only conferences
• Investors and venture capital — the conference co-locates startup pitch competitions and VC networking events, drawing a growing number of healthcare-focused investors

Over 600 educational sessions are offered across the five days, spanning tracks on AI in clinical decision support, digital transformation, nursing informatics, cybersecurity, interoperability and FHIR standards, population health, and revenue cycle management.

Want to know which companies are exhibiting? Lensmor tracks exhibitor profiles, booth data, and product categories for HIMSS and 1,000+ other trade shows. Explore HIMSS exhibitors on Lensmor →

Confirmed Speakers / Key Sessions at HIMSS 2026

HIMSS 2026 features a robust slate of keynote and general session speakers drawn from health system leadership, technology industry, policy, and clinical practice. While HIMSS doesn't always announce its full speaker roster months in advance, the 2026 lineup reflects the organization's emphasis on AI-powered clinical applications and cybersecurity resilience.

Key themes driving session content at HIMSS 2026 include:

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare — Sessions examining how AI is reshaping diagnostics, clinical documentation, prior authorization, and patient triage. Practical case studies from health systems that have deployed large language models in production environments are a particular focus, moving beyond theoretical discussions of AI potential.

Cybersecurity and Healthcare Resilience — Following high-profile ransomware attacks on US health systems in recent years, cybersecurity content at HIMSS 2026 receives an elevated profile. Sessions cover zero-trust architecture, incident response playbooks, vendor risk management, and regulatory compliance under HIPAA and emerging frameworks.

Interoperability and FHIR Implementation — With CMS and ONC interoperability rules continuing to drive mandate deadlines, HIMSS 2026 devotes significant content to FHIR API adoption, patient data access, care coordination across disparate systems, and the practical challenges of connecting legacy infrastructure.

Digital Health Equity — A growing track examines how technology can address — or inadvertently worsen — health disparities, covering broadband access, algorithm bias, culturally competent care tools, and community health worker technology.

The HIMSS Innovation Showcase hosts early-stage startups demonstrating products across diagnostics, remote monitoring, care coordination, and payer-provider data exchange.

Sponsors and Exhibitors at HIMSS 2026

The HIMSS exhibit hall is one of the most consequential gatherings of health technology vendors in the world. More than 1,200 companies exhibit across roughly 1 million square feet of floor space, spanning established enterprise vendors and early-stage startups.

Major categories represented on the exhibit floor include:

• Electronic Health Record (EHR) platforms — Epic, Oracle Health (formerly Cerner), MEDITECH, and athenahealth are perennial anchor exhibitors with large booth footprints
• Cloud and infrastructure — Microsoft Azure for Health, Google Cloud Healthcare API, Amazon Web Services, and IBM Watson Health maintain major presences
• Revenue cycle and financial technology — companies addressing claims management, prior authorization automation, coding, and billing efficiency
• Clinical decision support and AI diagnostics — an expanding cohort of AI-native companies offering tools for radiology, pathology, sepsis prediction, and ambient clinical documentation
• Telehealth and remote patient monitoring — following pandemic-era acceleration, virtual care platforms continue to hold significant floor space
• Cybersecurity — a dedicated cybersecurity zone within the exhibit hall groups security vendors, reflecting the elevated priority of this category across health systems
• Interoperability and health information exchange — vendors focused on FHIR APIs, care coordination networks, and patient data portability

Lensmor provides real-time exhibitor intelligence for HIMSS, including company profiles, product categories, and booth locations. Access the full exhibitor list →

Diamond and Platinum sponsors typically include a mix of large health IT incumbents — companies like Salesforce Health Cloud, Deloitte, and major EHR vendors — alongside newer entrants competing for mindshare among health system buyers.

Why You Should Attend HIMSS 2026

If you are a health IT vendor or startup, HIMSS is one of the highest-concentration venues in the world for reaching hospital decision-makers. No other event puts 35,000+ health system stakeholders — including budget-holding CIOs and clinical informatics leaders — in one place over five days. The exhibit floor generates an extraordinary volume of qualified conversations that would take months to replicate through outbound sales alone.

If you are a health system leader, the depth and breadth of educational content is unmatched. Over 600 sessions means there is substantive content for every role, from frontline nursing informatics staff to C-suite strategy. The conference also serves as a forcing function for competitive intelligence — seeing what your peer institutions are deploying, and which vendors are gaining traction, is strategic information that is difficult to gather elsewhere.

If you are a digital health investor, HIMSS functions as a de facto deal-sourcing environment. Startup pitching events, co-located investor programming, and informal hallway conversations with founders and buyers give investors an efficient way to assess market traction for health tech categories.

For policymakers and regulators, HIMSS provides unfiltered feedback from practitioners and technologists about the practical effects of mandates and programs — information that is genuinely valuable in shaping implementation guidance.

Beyond formal sessions, the conference's networking value is substantial. HIMSS facilitates tens of thousands of scheduled meetings through its event app, and the informal density of hallway, dinner, and evening conversations among the city's concentrated health IT community creates relationship-building opportunities that take years to replicate in day-to-day work.

Travel & Logistics

Getting There

Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) is served by virtually every major US carrier and many international airlines. The Venetian Convention Center is approximately 3.5 miles from the airport — roughly a 10–15 minute drive depending on traffic. Rideshare services (Uber, Lyft) are reliable and widely available. Taxis pick up from the airport's designated taxi queue. The hotel's shuttle is not typically available for non-guests.

Accommodation

The Venetian and its adjacent Palazzo tower are the obvious on-site choices but book up very early — often by late October for a March conference. If you are booking in the 60–90 day window, the Wynn, Encore, Resorts World, and Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Strip are all within 10–15 minutes by car. HIMSS typically publishes a housing block with negotiated rates; use this block if available, as rates for non-block rooms during the conference period spike dramatically.

Navigating the Venue

The Venetian Convention Center is large. Allow 15–20 minutes to walk between the farthest exhibit hall sections and session rooms. The HIMSS mobile app includes indoor navigation and is essential for first-time attendees. Comfortable footwear is non-negotiable — serious HIMSS veterans report walking 8–12 miles per day.

Getting Around Las Vegas

The Strip is walkable for short distances, though Las Vegas's heat can make longer walks uncomfortable even in March. The Las Vegas Monorail stops near several major hotels and can be faster than ground-level rideshare in high-congestion periods. For off-Strip restaurants and evening events, rideshare is the most practical option.

Registration and Badges

HIMSS offers multiple badge types: full conference, exhibits-only, and various specialty tracks. Full conference registration is significantly more expensive but required for session access. Early-bird rates typically close 90 days before the event. Badge pickup lines at peak registration hours (Sunday afternoon, Monday morning) can be lengthy — arrive early or use the mobile badge option if available.

FAQ

How large is HIMSS, and what are the typical attendance numbers?

HIMSS is one of the largest healthcare conferences in the world. The annual North American conference typically draws 35,000–45,000 registered attendees, with over 1,200 exhibiting companies and representation from 90+ countries. For context, the exhibit floor alone spans roughly 1 million square feet — comparable in scale to some of the largest consumer trade shows.

Is HIMSS primarily a vendor event or an education event?

Both, and the tension between the two identities is part of what makes HIMSS unique. The conference offers over 600 accredited educational sessions spanning clinical informatics, policy, AI, cybersecurity, and more — content that stands independently of vendor marketing. The exhibit hall, by contrast, is a major commercial environment where vendor-client relationships are established and deals move forward. Attendees can prioritize either aspect depending on their goals.

What should a first-time attendee prioritize?

Plan your session schedule in the HIMSS app before arriving — popular sessions fill quickly, and the volume of options is paralyzing without a pre-made shortlist. Prioritize one or two specific areas of focus rather than trying to cover everything. Block dedicated time for the exhibit floor separate from session time. And budget at least one evening for informal networking, where some of the most valuable HIMSS conversations happen.

How should I prepare to meet exhibitors effectively?

Research companies before arriving. Know which vendors are relevant to your organization's current priorities, and have a clear set of evaluation criteria. Tools like Lensmor help you research exhibitors before arriving — you can filter by industry, company size, and product category to build a target list. Walking in with a pre-qualified list of 10–15 companies to visit makes the exhibit floor far more productive than wandering.

Are there opportunities for startups at HIMSS?

Yes, HIMSS actively supports startup participation through its Venture+ program, the Health 2.0 programming track (now integrated into HIMSS), and dedicated innovation showcase areas. Pitch competitions provide early-stage companies visibility with both health system buyers and investors. Many health IT accelerator cohorts use HIMSS as a launchpad for market entry.

What is the difference between HIMSS North America and HIMSS Europe?

HIMSS runs two major annual conferences: the North American conference (held each spring, historically in Las Vegas, Chicago, or Orlando) and the European Health Conference & Exhibition, held in a European city — Copenhagen in 2026. The North American event is significantly larger in scale and commercial activity. The European conference attracts a strong contingent of European health system leaders, NHS and government officials, and international health IT vendors. The two events share thematic alignment but are programmatically independent.