Speed Dating for IT

As a CIO, I gather information about new products and innovation in many ways.   I search the web for emerging technologies, read numerous publications/newsletters, and constantly meet with vendors and IT professionals who are creating novel applications.

However, it's not the most efficient way to rapidly assess whether products are operational or exist only in powerpoint.  

BluePrint Healthcare IT - a company founded in 2003 to provide security, privacy, compliance and risk management services to hospitals and healthcare systems - has created a new approach to solve the problem of connecting early stage innovators and customers.  They call it Speed Dating for IT.

Their BluePrint Health IT Innovation Summit Series is aligned with current innovation programs and initiatives sponsored by HHS and ONC promoting new technologies.

The idea is simple:

10 healthcare technology companies and 10 healthcare providers interact virtually within the framework of a "Health IT Innovation Matching System".  Then, in one place at one time, those that match can meet for a dialog about piloting these new applications, realizing that there is risk but also market differentiation for those early adopters that achieve breakthrough results.

I like it - a kind of eHarmony for IT.   I can pre-screen my vendors and we can determine if there is a fit before we spend time in meetings.

BIDMC will participate in the May 26 event.  I'll let you know how Speed Dating for IT goes.  My wife has given her approval.