This past week, Practice Perfect EMR setup shop at the APTA’s 2017 CSM conference. This year’s event attracted record breaking crowds to sunny San Antonio. Check out our recap of the convention below:

 

Day 1

 

Located in the southern part of Texas, San Antonio is home to nearly a million and a half people. Despite its size, it’s still a relatively difficult place to reach from Toronto.

 

Our day began at Pearson Airport in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Bleary eyed and barely awake, Steve and I met up at the gate and awaited the boarding call. While sitting there, a kind elderly woman noticed me on my iPad.

 

“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “Can you help me with my iPad? It won’t turn on.” And that’s how I ended up answering my first support call of the day.

 

Our flight from Toronto only brought us as far as Dallas. From there, we’d have to board another plane to Austin. After arriving in Austin, we rendezvoused with the third member of our party, rented an SUV, and we were off to San Antonio.

 

We made it to our hotel, the Marriott Riverwalk, in the early afternoon. But be warned—it is not the same hotel as the Marriott Rivercenter, conveniently located directly across the street—and apparently we are not the first ones to confuse the two. After checking in we walked over to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to setup our booth.

 

All that was left to do for the day was to take a bit of time to unwind before meeting a couple of our newfound friends from DataHEALTH for some delicious Tex-Mex at the Iron Cactus.

 

Day 2

 

This was the first day that the 2017 CSM conference attendees were permitted to enter the exhibit hall. There were hundreds of exhibitors who had setup shop there. And by some stroke of luck, our booth was placed beside Physiotec—one of Practice Perfect’s oldest partners.

 

In the evening, we spent some time exploring the San Antonio’s famous River Walk. This beautiful man-made river is lined with cafes, trendy restaurants, and a lot of people. The most impressive part about it is how it seamlessly blends in with Downtown San Antonio’s existing infrastructure. At the end the River Walk, the manmade river pours into the San Antonio River, which eventually merges with the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Day 3

 

While it was our third day in San Antonio, it was only our second day at the conference. Things were in full swing.

 

A large number of those in attendance were students. Some of them had even mentioned using Practice Perfect EMR in the classroom. We also had a few opportunities to connect with current clients, too. In the early days this was normal, but as the business expanded it became virtually impossible to meet face-to-face with all of our clients—but these conferences give us an excellent opportunity to do this.

 

Day 4

 

This was our last day at the conference. It was fun while it lasted, but it was finally time for us to pack up our booth and hit the old dusty trail. We were to be flying out of Texas on Sunday morning.

 

All in all, the trip was a lot of fun and we’re glad we had a chance to connect with the APTA community. Be sure to stay tuned for our blog for the latest updates on Practice Perfect and to hear about our next stop at a convention. And feel free to check out our album below:

---