WASHINGTON, Sept. 18. The eHealth Initiative announced today that Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt will deliver a keynote address Sept. 26 underscoring the vital role national leadership has cast for health information technology (HIT) in the drive to improve
healthcare quality, safety and effectiveness at the Third Annual HIT Summit. The Summit, co-sponsored by the eHealth Initiative and Bridges to Excellence, will be held Sept. 25-27 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Summit draws national, regional and state healthcare decision makers to consider emerging policy changes related to both quality and HIT emerging from the Administration, Congress, the fifty states, and the private sector. More information about the Summit, as well as a complete list of speakers, may be found at http://www.hitsummit.com.
On Monday, Sept. 25, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD will offer his insights in a keynote speech at the Summit. In addition, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Director Carolyn Clancy, MD will offer remarks at a special session
on pay for performance on Sept. 27.
Leavitt, as well as McClellan and Clancy, are expected to discuss the significance and implications of President George W. Bush's Aug. 22 executive order, which put forward the need for federal healthcare programs to "promote quality and efficient delivery of health care through the use of health information technology, transparency regarding health care quality and price, and better incentives for program beneficiaries, enrollees, and providers."
"This is the leading policy conference of the year," said Janet Marchibroda, eHI's chief executive officer. "HIT and quality are high on the agenda for leaders at every level-in the Administration, in Congress, and at the state and regional levels, and leaders from every stakeholder in
healthcare are looking for insights as to how this rapidly emerging policy affects their work."
This year, representatives from 45 states will convene a "National Assembly" of state leaders who are improving health and healthcare through HIT during the Summit. The National Assembly will provide an opportunity for leaders to share insights and offer in-depth, real-world solutions to
the many challenges health information initiatives encounter. A special Pay for Performance Mini-Summit will also be offered to support on-the-ground implementation of incentives to drive higher quality, more effective
healthcare.
The Summit will also be the venue for the much-anticipated release of the results of eHealth Initiative's Third Annual Survey of State, Regional and Community-Based Health Information Exchange Initiatives and Organizations. This year's report takes a special look at the role HIT and health information exchange play in addressing rapidly emerging expectations related to quality, taking the pulse of 165 multi-stakeholder efforts across the country, representing initiatives in nearly every state,
Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
"Our research shows that health information exchange initiatives are maturing, and are increasingly being tapped to support the use of an expanded set of clinical information not only at the point of care, but also for initiatives designed to improve the quality of care for larger populations," Marchibroda said. "The leaders of those initiatives value the Summit as a once-a-year look at one another's progress and a means to tap into those valuable 'lessons learned' which tackle financial, clinical, organizational, technical, legal, or privacy and confidentiality issues."
About eHealth Initiative and its Foundation
The eHealth Initiative and its Foundation are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through informationand information technology.
eHI engages multiple stakeholders, including clinicians, consumer and patient groups, employers, health plans, healthcare IT suppliers, hospitals and other providers, laboratories, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, public health, and public sector agencies, as well as its growing coalition of more than 280 state, regional and community-based collaboratives focused on improving healthcare by mobilizing health information electronically, to develop and disseminate common principles, policies and best practices for improving the quality,safety and effectiveness of America's healthcare through information and information technology.
For more information, go to http://www.ehealthinitiative.org.