Navigating Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) gets easier each year with the help of tools designed specifically for DDW attendees. This year’s meeting begins in less than three weeks — May 17-21 at the San Diego Convention Center — so it’s time to get serious about planning.
DDW Mobile App
The DDW Mobile App is your on-the-go meeting companion. You can find complete session schedules and exhibitor information to create your own personal itinerary, as well as meeting news and other tools to navigate DDW.
The app is home to the most up-to-date, comprehensive meeting information, from speaker changes to schedule updates. Schedule information is organized by day, time, society and track, and every session is fully searchable.
“The app has a lot of depth to it,” said DDW Council Chair Grace H. Elta, MD, AGAF, FASGE. “You can message your colleagues, star sessions you’re interested in and really map out your whole meeting experience on your phone, which is in your hand anyway. The app and the DDW tracks combined are a great combination to help you navigate the meeting and save you time. Each year it gets more powerful.”
The app can help you network by searching for attendees through the network feature. Log in, touch “Network” on the home screen and search for a fellow attendee. From there, you can send a message or set up a meeting.
The app also allows you to search full-text poster abstracts and access e-posters through the “E-posters” button on the home screen. The app can also be used to track and claim CME credit. Simply log in to the app, tap “Claim My CME” and it will take you to the site to print your certificate.
Download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play. Just go the store and search “DDW 2019,” download and sign in with the name and number on your DDW badge. You will need to know your Apple ID and login information to download the app from the Apple Store, even though it’s free. You can also access the Online Planner before the meeting.
DDW Tracks
DDW planners have again organized this year’s programming into 17 color-coded educational tracks to help attendees organize their time. Attendees can browse tracks to find sessions in the mobile app, locate session news by track on the new DDW News website and look for color-coded printed materials in the convention center (see chart below) to locate sessions and posters of interest. Tracks are also the easiest way to create your personal itinerary on the app.
“The tracks help attendees navigate this very large meeting and tailor it to their interests,” Dr. Elta said. “I have to say it’s wonderful. You can look up your area of interest so easily, figure out what’s going on and what you might want to see. I think the tracks are really valuable for attendees to make the best of their time at the meeting.”
DDW Meeting planners made one slight revision to the tracks this year, adding “Quality” to the “Health Care Delivery, Disparities and Quality” track.
How to Use DDW Tracks
- In the DDW Mobile App, browse sessions by track. For example, sessions that relate to basic science are grouped together. The tracks include sessions and posters for each topic.
- On DDWNews.org, click the “DDW Tracks” tab to read articles pertaining to a particular track.
- In the Poster Hall, tracks are used to group posters. Poster locator signs help you navigate the hall by track.
- In printed materials, tracks are color-coded. Please refer to the graphic below to view each track’s assigned color.
DDW News
The official DDW news site got a makeover, too. The site has been rebranded DDW News (DDWNews.org) and optimized for mobile. It’s still the news you know and love but with a fresh, new look and easier navigation.
Find the most recent articles at the top and scroll down to navigate articles by society and track. Looking for articles pertaining just to DDW? Simply click on the “Society” tab and choose “DDW.” Choose the “DDW Tracks” tab to navigate articles by the 17 tracks.
Looking for general DDW information and meeting news? Check out the “Attendee Resources” tab and click on the “Attendee Planning Tools & Meeting Updates” card. Click the “Explore San Diego” card to discover things to do in San Diego, or the “Live Coverage” tab throughout the meeting for the most up-to-date meeting news each day.
You can also grab a printed newspaper at the convention center. This year, DDW News has been folded into two sections instead of three. The main news section will continue to bring you the latest session news from the meeting, including live coverage of educational sessions. The combined Program & Exhibits section lists exhibitors and floor plans to help you maneuver the large Exhibit Hall and each day’s session to help you plan your time at DDW and explore San Diego.
