HIMSS19, here we come

FEB. 11-15: I’m going to Disney World! No, the Modern Healthcare team didn’t just win the Super Bowl. But we will be joining more than 40,000 other healthcare leaders in Orlando for the madness that is HIMSS19, which is branded “Champions of Health Unite.” Of course, the latest and greatest health IT innovations will be on display among the nearly 1,200 vendors. (Visit us at Booth 4843.) Top level HHS officials, including Alex Azar, Seema Verma and Dr. Donald Rucker, are scheduled to speak. Modern Healthcare will bring you daily coverage online and in our newsletters. We’ll also have a conference wrapup in the Feb. 18 magazine.

FEB. 12: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee scheduled a hearing that will delve into the opioid crisis. The committee will hear from experts on treating pain, including Cindy Steinberg, national director of policy and advocacy at the U.S. Pain Foundation, and Dr. Halena Gazelka, assistant professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine and chair of the Mayo Clinic’s Opioid Stewardship Program.

FEB. 12: Another week, another hearing on drug prices. This time it is the House Ways and Means Committee, in a hearing called “The Cost of Rising Prescription Drug Prices.”

FEB. 12: Drug prices, approval of generics and other key issues are sure to crop up when a House Appropriations subcommittee grills FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb about his agency’s operations. This is a routine status reporting hearing that committees hold regularly.

FEB. 13: A House Appropriations panel will look at the “challenges” of long-term care for veterans.