Today, after careful consideration and based on recent reports from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) about the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), we are announcing the cancellation of the AMIA 2020 Informatics Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Houston, Texas, March 23-26. Our primary concern at this point is protecting everyone involved with the conference from contracting or spreading COVID-19.
The decision to cancel the Informatics Summit was not made lightly; however, given that many of our members and attendees of the Informatics Summit work in health care delivery environments, we felt compelled to consider how holding the Summit could impact care across the country. The safety of attendees, AMIA members and staff, and the local community in Houston who would be supporting the conference would be placed at unnecessary risk.
Understanding that our registrants may be feeling disappointed about missing the opportunity to share the latest informatics developments, we’re actively considering alternatives for panelists and presenters to share their work. This may include virtual sessions held on the dates of the originally scheduled Informatics Summit. All accepted content will still be available in the Proceedings and on PubMed Central. Members of AMIA’s Board of Directors and the Informatics Summit Scientific Program Committee (SPC) will be convening with the AMIA staff early next week to explore how we can honor your original commitment to the AMIA 2020 Informatics Summit. We will communicate with registered attendees with updates.
AMIA recognizes and greatly appreciates the hard work and dedication many of its members put into developing the conference — especially our SPC and speakers who have undoubtedly been preparing for presentations. We also appreciate the support from our title sponsor, InterSystems, and partner sponsor, UTHealth.
The AMIA leadership is incredibly disappointed at this cancellation, but it also gives AMIA the opportunity to bring innovative and creative solutions to convening our members for future AMIA meetings.
AMIA’s upcoming Clinical Informatics Conference is scheduled to take place in Seattle, Washington, May 19-21. We will continue to monitor updates on the COVID-19 outbreak, along with CDC and WHO recommendations. We will continue to keep attendees and members informed of any updates to the conference.
We sincerely regret this necessary cancellation and apologize for any inconvenience it may cause you. Please review your airline’s COVID-19 cancellation policies for booked flights. Registered attendees of the Informatics Summit can contact AMIA staff beginning Monday, March 9, to make alternative arrangements regarding your registration.