THMA 2026 Healthcare Technology Conferences

Executive Convening is THMA’s approach to bringing senior health system leaders and select industry executives together in an environment designed for candor, collaboration, and shared problem-solving. Each Forum maintains a carefully balanced 1:1 ratio of health system and industry participants and limits attendance so that conversations stay substantive, informed, and genuinely useful. Rather than focusing on transactions or promotion, the model encourages long-term relationships and practical insight exchange drawn from lived executive experience.

These events differ markedly from traditional large-scale technology expos. They emphasize peer-to-peer dialogue, small group settings, and sessions directly shaped by the needs and priorities of the health system members. There is no exhibit hall and no sponsored speaking time. Instead, each agenda is designed to help CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, analytics leaders, and a select group of industry partners examine shared challenges in an environment where frank discussion is expected and encouraged. The result is a pace and style of engagement that allows executives to step out of reactive mode and think more strategically about the work ahead.

These gatherings bring together senior-most technology, informatics, and analytics leaders from the nation’s largest and most innovative health systems—executives responsible for enterprise IT strategy, clinical workflow design, nursing informatics, and data governance. CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, and Chief Analytics Officers are represented consistently. On the industry side, participation is extended only to organizations whose expertise aligns with these executives’ needs and who demonstrate a meaningful commitment to collaboration rather than promotion.

While the specific focus varies across CIO, CMIO, CNIO, and analytics communities, all conversations revolve around the practical realities of leading complex technology portfolios inside health systems. Topics often include AI governance and responsible deployment; the tension between budget constraints and rising IT strategic importance; modernization of data architecture; the evolution of ambient and agentic AI tools; and the operational demands of downtime preparedness and resilience planning.

Leaders also use these sessions to compare team structures, discuss emerging roles, and reflect on where informatics and analytics capabilities should sit within the organization.

For industry leaders, the value lies in unfiltered exposure to the realities shaping health system decision-making. These technology executives rarely have time for exploratory meetings or cold outreach, yet they are candid and forthcoming in THMA’s settings. Industry participants gain a clear view into how CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, and analytics leaders are prioritizing investments, evaluating emerging technologies, approaching governance, and navigating internal constraints. This understanding fosters more productive, strategic commercial conversations long after the Forum concludes.

Participation is by invitation and grounded in THMA’s responsibility to its member health systems. Industry organizations are selected based on their subject-matter expertise, their ability to engage at an executive level, and their willingness to contribute meaningfully to peer discussions. Selection is not tied to sponsorship and cannot be purchased; instead, it is based on alignment with the strategic needs of the health system community and a demonstrated commitment to collaborative, non-transactional engagement.

Each agenda is shaped directly by the priorities of participating health system executives. Before every Forum, THMA conducts individual conversations with CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, and analytics leaders to understand what challenges they are facing and what questions require collective exploration. Topics such as ambient nursing documentation accuracy, agentic AI scheduling challenges, emerging data architecture models, AI governance scorecards, or downtime resilience scenarios begin as member insights and become facilitated discussions led by peers—not sponsors—ensuring the content remains grounded in lived operational reality.

While these Forums share a unifying focus on health system technology leadership, each serves a distinct purpose:

The CIO Forum explores enterprise-wide technology strategy, governance, infrastructure modernization, and the financial stewardship of IT investments.

The CMIO Forum focuses on clinical workflow design, documentation, digital clinical tools, and the governance needed to safely deploy AI and emerging technologies in clinical settings.

The CNIO Forum centers on nursing informatics leadership, documentation burden, operational resilience, and preparing nursing teams for the realities of AI-enabled care.

The Advanced Analytics Collaborative gathers data and analytics executives to discuss governance, architecture, workforce evolution, foundation models, and the shift from centralized analytics teams to product-driven approaches.

These communities intersect meaningfully but maintain distinct identities and priorities.

Each Forum blends facilitated working sessions, structured peer discussions, and open, informal dialogue. Their smaller size gives executives the time and space to exchange approaches, surface difficult questions, and test ideas with peers who hold similar accountabilities. The environment is intentionally relaxed: meals, receptions, and unprogrammed moments often generate some of the most instructive conversations. All sessions are closed to the public, enabling executives to speak candidly about challenges and what is or is not working in their organizations.

AI is now a central thread across all technology Forums. CIOs focus on governance models, vendor evaluation frameworks, and risks associated with shadow use. CMIOs examine the operational realities of deploying ambient and agentic AI in complex clinical environments. CNIOs explore how AI reshapes nursing workflows, documentation standards, training requirements, and literacy expectations. Analytics leaders discuss how foundation models, data quality, and architecture influence safe and responsible enterprise adoption. Across all groups, the tone reflects both the immense potential of AI and the discipline required to deploy it responsibly.

By hearing directly from CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs, and analytics executives, industry participants gain a nuanced understanding of the pressures these leaders face and the constraints shaping their decisions. This includes insight into internal governance, barriers encountered with vendors, reasons certain solutions stall during evaluation, what constitutes credible ROI, and how technology decisions align with broader enterprise priorities. With this context, commercial conversations become more informed, relevant, and constructive for both sides.