HIMSS27 Global Health Conference & Exhibition

HIMSS by the numbers

Every figure links to where it came from. Attendance for an event that has not happened is a projection, and each row says so rather than presenting it as a count.

• Dates5 to 8 Apr

  Official HIMSS27 site. Preconference on Monday 5 April, with the main conference and exhibition Tuesday to Thursday, 6 to 8 April. HIMSS27

• Attendees24,000+

  HIMSS26, the previous edition, per the official site. No projection was published for HIMSS27 at the time of checking. HIMSS27

• Preconference5 April

  Requires separate registration and is not included by default. Worth confirming before assuming a four-day pass covers it. HIMSS27

• RegistrationNot published

  No tier or pricing detail was carried on the official page checked on 30 August 2026. HIMSS27

What is HIMSS?

The HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition is the largest gathering of health information technology professionals, and the 2027 edition runs 5 to 8 April at McCormick Place in Chicago. HIMSS26 drew more than 24,000 attendees. It sits at the intersection of clinical practice, hospital operations and technology procurement, which makes it a genuine buying event rather than a purely academic conference.

Who goes to HIMSS?

Hospital and health system CIOs and CMIOs, clinical informatics staff, health system procurement, and the electronic health record, medical device, cloud and increasingly AI vendors selling into them. Government and payer representatives attend in numbers too. It is one of the few events in this directory where clinical and technology audiences genuinely mix.

HIMSS side events

Vendors run extensive private briefings, customer dinners and hospitality across Chicago's South Loop and downtown during the week, and for health system executives these account for much of the value of attending. HIMSS also runs its own preconference programming on the Monday. Aspire does not run any of the surrounding events.

HIMSS tickets and costs

Registration detail had not been published on the page checked, so no prices are quoted here. Note the structure: Monday 5 April is a preconference day requiring separate registration, with the main conference and exhibition running Tuesday to Thursday. Chicago in early April is cold and changeable. McCormick Place is large and some distance from the Loop.

• RegistrationNot published

  No registration tiers or pricing were carried on the official page when checked on 30 August 2026. The Monday preconference requires separate registration. HIMSS27

Getting to McCormick Place Convention Center

McCormick Place sits on Chicago's lakefront south of the Loop. O'Hare is about 45 minutes by road or an hour via the Blue Line plus a transfer, and Midway is closer. The Metra Electric line stops at McCormick Place directly, and shuttle services run from downtown hotels during large events.

Where to stay for HIMSS

The hotels attached to McCormick Place give the shortest commute, and the South Loop is close and cheaper. The Loop proper is a short ride and considerably better in the evening, which matters given how much of the week happens at vendor dinners. Chicago's hotel supply absorbs events of this size without extreme pricing.

What to know before booking HIMSS

The preconference is a separate registration, which catches people out when they book travel for four days assuming one pass covers everything. Note also that HIMSS moves cities between editions - HIMSS26 was in Las Vegas and HIMSS27 is in Chicago - so any guidance about the venue from a previous year does not carry over.

HIMSS: common questions