Sydney, Australia–Here We Come! - HL7

Work Groups Evaluate theRio WGM ExperienceBy Karen Van Hentenryck, HL7 Associate Executive DirectorKaren Van HentenryckHL7 International is committed to ensuring that itsworking group meetings (WGMs) are productive, financiallyviable, and provide a positive experience forboth HL7 members and non-members. To that end, theorganization recently implemented a project to gaugehow well it is meeting those goals. The project solicitedfeedback from the co-chairs of the work groups andBoard appointed committees that attend each meetingand will subsequently share those results with the HL7membership and leadership.HL7 International’s most recent meeting convened May16-20 in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting was attended by210 individuals from 26 countries. There are currently57 work groups and Board appointed committees withinHL7; of those, 39 met in Rio.Co-chairs of the 39 work groups that met in Rio wereasked to complete a survey to evaluate the meeting experienceand 33 work groups responded. Despite relativelylow attendance, all but six of the groups that respondedto the survey indicated that they reached quorum formost of their Rio sessions. Only one group indicated thatthey did not set objectives for their work group meeting,citing such reasons as reduced sessions due to expectedlower attendance and the fact that they were conveningwith an interim chair. While the steering divisions werenot asked to respond to the survey, it is notable that twoof them, Domain Experts and Structure and SemanticDesign, did not meet quorum on their Monday eveningmeetings. The Technical and Support Services SteeringDivision did not meet on Monday evening.Not surprisingly, most work groups’ objectives for theRio meeting consisted of working on existing projectwork (89.2%), providing existing project work statusupdates (83.8%) and engagement with other work groups(56.8%). One surprising fact is that only 17 (45.9%)respondents identified ballot reconciliation as an objectivefor the Rio WGM, coming in behind networking (56.8%).Of the groups that convened meetings, only three indicatedthat they were not able to accomplish their objectivesand meeting business. Respondents were asked to identifythose areas that supported their ability to achieve theirobjectives and planned work. Sufficient quorum (73.4%)and participation by key members (73.4%) were the twohighest responses, with clearly defined meeting objectives(68.6%) and pre-meeting preparedness (65.7%) also scoringhigh among respondents.Respondents were also asked to identify those areas thathindered their work or their ability to achieve objectives:missing key members (56.5%) and technical supportproblems (52.2%) were most often cited.The survey concluded with an area for general comments.Respondents were almost evenly split on thequestion of whether they would recommend the venueand location again. Numerous comments were submittedaround a variety of topics, but several focused on a commontheme: recognizing that while international meetingsare valuable and this venue and host were very nice,the location led to inadequate participation. Of the 33groups that responded, only four had additional participationfrom local attendees which was very disappointing.Additional comments in support of this theme includedtravel restrictions on US government employees, problemssecuring visas, and general difficulties with traveling toBrazil. There was also the perception that Rio is considereda recreational rather than business venue, and thatless expensive venues should be considered. A numberof respondents also reported problematic technical issuesdetracting from the overall meeting experience, whichincluded the high cost of internet in the guest rooms, itsunreliability in the meeting rooms, and a lack of projectorsin meetings.In conclusion, given the lower attendance and the challengesof the location, a surprising number of the co-chairsreported that their work groups were able to accomplishtheir overall objectives – largely due to the dedication andunwavering attendance of the members. This survey willbe conducted following all future working group meetingsand we look forward to being able to use this informationto make each meeting better than the last.Meeting survey responses can be viewed at: http://www.hl7.org/Library/Committees/pi/SurveySummary_06242010.pdf10 SEPTEMBER 2010