I’ve just been informed by an RSNA spokesperson, in response to my informational request, that RSNA will not be releasing daily registration tallies this year (as it always has in the past) because of the volatility of registrant estimate fluctuations. The spokesperson did, however, project an estimate of between 57,000 and 60,000 attendees this year, compared with a final tally of about 58,000 last year.
In raw terms, that’s a huge number, and it confirms RSNA once again as the largest annual health care conference in the world, by undigested numbers. However, attendance numbers for this conference are down from a peak of nearly 65,000 a few years ago, so there has been some slippage. Still, considering the global economy, who could complain about having 58,000 attendees…?
Meanwhile, Tom Miller, CEO, Workflow & Solutions Division, at Siemens Healthcare, told attendees at the Siemens media breakfast earlier this morning that, whatever the final shape of any healthcare reform legislation to pass the U.S. Congress in the next couple of months, it will be very helpful for the industry to know what the outcome of healthcare reform, and in particular, expected cuts to diagnostic imaging procedures. “If anything, I actually believe the market has been more constrained through uncertainty,” he told the assembled media. “As things become more certain, the market will adjust,” he added. What’s more, Miller said, he believes that Siemens is well-positioned, both as a modality provider and as an IT provider, in the U.S., citing the fact that its modality customers tend to be larger hospitals, health systems, and affiliated imaging centers, as opposed to the smaller, more rural, and more independent hospitals and imaging centers he believes will get clobbered by provisions in both the U.S. House and Senate bills.
