The 2016 ADSO Summit in Review

Now that the dust has settled from the recent ADSO Summit in Las Vegas, Group Dentistry Now thought it would be a good time to review the meeting.  In this brief summary we will analyze the meeting and measure it against previous ADSO Summits.

According to the ADSO, this year’s Summit had 791 attendees, with several of those attendees signing up at the last minute.  With this incredible growth (2015 attendance was 554), there were some issues with space and crowding.  The networking event, which is typically the highlight for the ADSO industry partners, was jam packed.  The ADSO reception was held at the Hyde Night Club at the Bellagio on Thursday, April 22nd.  There were so many attendees that the venue was just about maxed out and it made networking difficult.  Speaking to several ADSO industry partners, many referenced the 2015 ADSO Summit reception as being much less crowded and easier to network with DSO members.  The venue was different, as it was poolside and there was much more room to roam and network.  The ADSO team has taken feedback from industry partners and DSO members and is making adjustments so the 2017 reception will give industry partners and DSO members the opportunity to network more effectively.  There is also talk of more networking opportunities throughout the entire 2017 ADSO Summit.

Besides the crowding issue at the networking reception, the rest of the 2016 ADSO Summit earned an ‘A+’ from industry partners and DSOs alike.  Highlights included keynote speaker Charlie Cook from The Cook Political Report, as well as the general session presentation on the last day featuring the UK dental group practice, My Dentist.  Standout sessions included Kaiser’s session on emerging integrated care models, Jeffries, KKR and Cressy & Company’s private equity session, and the ADSO’s government affairs session.   We can only report on the sessions we attended, so there may have been other standouts that we missed. The sessions mentioned here were well worth attending.

The 2017 ADSO Summit moves from Las Vegas to Orlando, FL.  The event will be held at The Swan, March 7th -10th.  The ADSO has reserved the entire hotel for this meeting, so crowding should not be an issue.  Anyone you bump into in the elevator or by the pool will be there for the event, so networking should be at a premium.  As we look forward to next year’s event, Steve Thorne President of both Pacific Dental Services and The ADSO, predicts attendance will reach 1,000.  With the growth of DSOs and the level of interest industry partners have to engage with these DSOs, he may be right on.

To view all ADSO stories on Group Dentistry Now click HERE.

Camille Faye, contributing editor GDN