This week, I’m in Chicago for HIMSS, the largest trade show we participate in. There are something like 40,000 attendees. I’ve never been sure if being here is a good idea or not, but we do worry about the perceptions that would result if we stopped showing up, so here we are. It’s like an annual neighborhood barbecue: we get a chance to catch up with old friends, meet new people, and get a sense of what everybody’s been up to. And sell stuff.

Looking out over that sea of exhibit booths is one of the most dramatic illustrations of just how big the marketplace for healthcare information technology really is. Real estate on that show floor costs just about as much as a house, only instead of owning the house at the end, you tear it all down three days later.