Healthcare Conferences

The healthcare conferences worth knowing

Healthcare events split by what you make or practise more than by size. A device engineer sourcing components, an oncologist, a hospital CIO and a pharma ingredients buyer would each pick a different show. Here are the main ones by type, with who each is built for. Dates for all of them are in the list above.

Medical device trade shows

• MD&M West (Anaheim, February), MD&M East (New York, May) and MD&M Midwest (Minneapolis, October). Best for: medical device engineers and manufacturers sourcing components, materials, contract manufacturing and packaging. Informa Markets runs all three, and West also covers automation, plastics and packaging on the same floor.
• MEDevice Boston (May) and MEDevice Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, November). Best for: device OEMs, engineers and startups meeting suppliers close to home. They are Informa's regional medtech shows, formerly called BIOMEDevice.
• MEDICA and COMPAMED (Düsseldorf, November). Best for: the international market. MEDICA is Messe Düsseldorf's fair for medical technology and healthcare; COMPAMED runs alongside it for the components, materials and manufacturing suppliers behind the devices.
• WHX Miami (formerly FIME) (Miami Beach, June) and WHX Dubai (formerly Arab Health) (Dubai, January). Best for: manufacturers looking for distributors and buyers, across the Americas in Miami and the Middle East in Dubai. Informa Markets runs both.
• The MedTech Conference (October; San Francisco in 2027) and LSI USA (Dana Point, March). Best for: medtech executives, investors and founders. AdvaMed, the device industry association, runs The MedTech Conference; LSI USA is built around emerging companies and the investors who fund them.
• AAMI Exchange (Fort Lauderdale, June) and Medtrade (Fort Worth, March). Best for: the people who maintain and supply equipment once it's in use. AAMI Exchange is for biomedical and clinical engineers, technicians and hospital administrators working on the safe use of technology in care; Medtrade is the home medical equipment show for providers, manufacturers and distributors.

The big clinical meetings

• RSNA Annual Meeting (Chicago, late November into December). Best for: radiologists and the imaging vendors that serve them. It pairs scientific and educational sessions with technical exhibits.
• ASCO Annual Meeting (Chicago, June). Best for: oncology professionals. New research is presented through abstracts and sessions, with CME and MOC credit and an exhibit hall.
• ACC Annual Scientific Session & Expo (Houston, April) and Heart Rhythm (San Francisco, May). Best for: cardiologists and electrophysiologists, and the device makers that sell to them.
• AAOS Annual Meeting (Las Vegas, March) and the ACSM Annual Meeting (Indianapolis, June). Best for: orthopaedic surgeons at AAOS, and sports medicine physicians and exercise scientists at ACSM.
• ADLM Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo (Chicago, July), ASM Microbe (Chicago, June) and the AABB Annual Meeting (Anaheim, October 2027). Best for: the lab side of medicine: clinical chemistry and diagnostics, microbiology, and blood and transfusion medicine.

Health IT and care delivery

• HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition (Chicago, April). Best for: hospital IT leaders and the health-tech vendors that sell to them. It's the annual conference of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. More on the digital health page.
• Home Care Innovation Forum (Pasadena, May) and HealthSpaces (Broomfield, May). Best for: executives in home health and hospice, and in healthcare real estate and facilities. Both are invite-only retreats with pre-scheduled vendor meetings.
• Environments for Aging (Charlotte, April) and HCD Conference + Expo. Best for: architects, designers and operators of senior living and hospital buildings. HCD's next dates haven't been announced yet.
• EMS World Expo (New Orleans, September 2027). Best for: paramedics, EMTs, medical directors and EMS chiefs. It runs alongside the NAEMT Annual Meeting.

Pharma manufacturing and development

• CPHI Americas (Miami Beach, May) and CPHI Europe (Frankfurt, November 2027). Best for: the pharma supply chain: ingredient suppliers, manufacturers and service providers. CPHI Europe moves between European cities.
• DCAT Week (New York, March) and Interphex (New York, April). Best for: business development in drug manufacturing at DCAT Week, and buyers of pharma and biotech manufacturing equipment and services at Interphex.
• PDA Annual Meeting (Raleigh, March) and the ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo (Chula Vista, October 2027). Best for: manufacturing, quality and engineering staff keeping up with regulatory compliance.
• AAPS PharmSci 360 (New Orleans, October 2026; Anaheim, November 2027) and the DIA Global Annual Meeting (San Diego, June). Best for: pharmaceutical scientists working on formulation, bioanalytics and manufacturing at AAPS, and regulatory and clinical development teams at DIA.
• Pharmapack Europe (Paris, January). Best for: pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery. More on the pharma conferences page.

Biotech partnering and science

• BIO International Convention (Philadelphia, June). Best for: biotech and pharma executives doing partnering deals. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization runs it.
• Biotech Showcase (San Francisco, January) and BIO's investor meeting, the BIO CEO & Investor Conference, now called the BIO Investment & Growth Summit (Miami Beach, February). Best for: private and smaller public biotech companies presenting to investors.
• Bio-Europe (Cologne, November). Best for: European biopharma partnering, built around one-on-one meetings.
• PEGS Boston (May) and PepTalk (Carlsbad, January). Best for: protein and antibody scientists. Cambridge Healthtech Institute runs both.
• World Vaccine Congress USA (Washington, D.C., March) and Advanced Therapies USA (Boston, November). Best for: vaccine research and manufacturing, and cell and gene therapy developers. More on the biotech conferences page.

Pharmacy, dental and veterinary

• NCPA Annual Convention & Expo (San Antonio, September 2027). Best for: independent pharmacy owners.
• RDH Under One Roof (Nashville, July). Best for: dental hygienists earning CE credit. More on the dental conferences page.
• New York Vet (New York, October). Best for: vets, technicians and practice managers, with CE-accredited sessions and an exhibition of animal-health suppliers.