HIMSS Virginia Chapter
2026 Data & Analytics Symposium
April 20, 2026
Hotel 24, Staunton, Virginia
10:30 am – 4:00 pm
KEYNOTE
Ben Pollock, PhD
Associate Professor of Health Services Research
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Benjamin D. Pollock, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., is an associate professor of health services research and the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern scientific director of Mayo Clinic’s Science of Quality Measurement program. His research combines health services research and hospital quality, with a recent focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital quality outcomes and hospital ranking and rating methodologies.
He has published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings on Mayo Clinic’s team-based analytic response to predicting COVID-19 hospital census and the effects of the pandemic on patient safety events. His research on COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness among asymptomatic patients during pre-procedural safety screening was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and featured on Good Morning America.
As scientific director of Mayo Clinic’s Science of Quality Measurement program, he led the development of Mayo Clinic’s Quality Data Platform, which provides real-time, risk-adjusted quality performance data and dashboards displaying more than 150 measures used in hospital rankings, ratings, and pay-for-performance programs. The platform serves as a central analytics hub for predictive analytics and signal and trend detection, giving Mayo Clinic insight up to two to five years ahead of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other quality-reporting stakeholders. Users can customize views and performance measures for operational areas across Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Pollock has published more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts on hospital outcomes and quality measurement, including a 2025 publication in JAMA Network Open describing a novel approach to classifying hospitals that are reliably excellent across multiple domains of quality.
Format and prize information for 2026 to come soon!
Awards will include:
improve
improve. People’s Choice
innovate
innovate. People’s Choice
inspire
inspire. People’s Choice
Best Case Study
$1,000 cash award for best student project
Best ‘First Time’ Presenter