In an uncertain environment for healthcare reform in the United States, the National Quality Forum's (NQF) 2010 spring conference will bring together the nation’s top healthcare leaders—including decision makers and senior executives—to share their insights and strategies for advancing and strengthening quality improvements in the U.S. healthcare system.
Experts will offer state- and national-level perspectives on catalysts for achieving a healthcare system that provides high-quality, affordable care, including care delivery systems, payment models, health information technology, and raising standards for healthcare performance.
WHAT: NQF’s national conference—“Beyond Reform: Healthcare Quality's Next Chapter” (Complete conference agenda below)
WHO: Hundreds of leaders in U.S. healthcare representing diverse groups — consumers, purchasers, practitioners, and policymakers throughout the public and private sectors.
Key speakers include:
- Howard Koh, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, will provide the latest insights on the Obama Administration’s and Congress’s efforts to advance healthcare reform in the current political environment.
- Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief, Health Affairs, and health policy analyst, PBS NewsHour, will provide a valuable media perspective about the future of healthcare reform and its potential impact on quality, cost, and coverage.
- Judy Ann Bigby, secretary of health and human services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will share lessons learned from her state reform efforts and discuss what they could mean for quality improvements in other states and the nation.
- Rosemary Gibson, author of The Treatment Trap, will share insights on how we can approach overuse from the consumer and patient perspective and will explore concrete steps to eradicate unnecessary procedures that can cause more harm than good.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 3, from 5:00 – 6:00 pm and Thursday, March 4, from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. The 2010 NQF National Healthcare Quality Award will be presented to North Shore-LIJ Health System on March 3 at 6:00 pm.
WHERE: Hilton Baltimore, 401 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland
WHY: By 2011, government healthcare programs are expected to account for more than half of all healthcare spending nationally; and by 2020, about one in five dollars are projected to be spent on healthcare, far exceeding that of any other industrialized nation. Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors, 15 million instances of medical harm occur each year, and preventable injuries are on the rise.
America can no longer afford—in lives or in dollars—to accept the status quo in a fragmented system of care that rewards volume over value. Regardless of the uncertain outcome of federal healthcare legislation, quality improvement cannot wait. We have a wealth of tools and innovative programs that, if harnessed correctly, can propel quality improvement efforts in 2010. Areas such as health information technology, payment reform, and performance measurement can play a vanguard role, now more than ever, in giving Americans higher-quality care. Quality is at the center of increasing access, reducing costs, and serving American families' health and wellness needs.
NQF is working to raise standards for healthcare performance in concert with organizations that develop and implement measures to create a system of high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare.
HOW: For media registration, e-mail press@qualityforum.org
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The mission of the National Quality Forum is to improve the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs. NQF, a nonprofit organization (qualityforum.org) with diverse stakeholders across the public and private health sectors, was established in 1999 and is based in Washington, DC.
Conference Agenda
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
5:00 pm Keynote: Implications of Reform on Quality, Cost, and Coverage
Susan Dentzer, Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs and Health Policy Analyst, PBS NewsHour
7:00 pm 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award Dinner
Dinner honoring 2010 Quality Award winner North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System
Thursday, March 4, 2010
8:30 pm Welcome and Opening Remarks
Janet M. Corrigan, PhD, MBA, President and CEO, National Quality Forum
8:40 pm Morning Keynote
Howard Koh, MD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Heath, Department of Health and Human Services
9:15 pm Making Reform Real: Overview of State Efforts
Judy Ann Bigby, MD, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Alan R. Weil, JD, MPP, Executive Director, National Academy for State Health Policy
10:30 pm Emerging Models of Payment
Harold Miller, MS, Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement
Eric Schneider, MD, MSc, RAND
11:30 pm Building Effective Systems of Care Delivery
Julie L. Lewis, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
Diane Rittenhouse, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF
12:15 pm When Overuse Happens: What it Means for Patients
Rosemary Gibson, MSc, Author of The Treatment Trap
2:00 pm The Potential of HIT to Measure and Improve Healthcare Quality and Patient Outcomes
Jonathan P. Weiner, DrPh, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
Donald W. Kemper, MPH, Center for Health Policy Research, School of Medicine, University of California
3:00 pm Closing Keynote
Cam Marsten, Generational Insight
4:00 pm Adjourn
