Due to COVID-19, most of the in-person conferences have been changed to virtual events. I recently attended my first-ever fully online technology conference, the Virtual HL7 FHIR Connectathon. This article details my experience and recommendations, in general, for all future conferences post-COVID-19.
Introduction
First, let me give my kudos to HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Product Director Grahame Grieve, the planning team, track leads, FHIR community and HL7 for the excellent execution of the Virtual FHIR Connectathon. The conference includes healthcare data interoperability topics with different tracks, expertise and both technical non-technical skills.
I have attended many in-person conferences in the past. Over time, I realized people attend conferences for primarily for two reasons:
- Learning new skills
- Networking
Let me share my thoughts based on my first Virtual FHIR Connectathon experience.