WEDI Announces Sessions for its 25th Annual National Conference

Wedi200Healthcare’s Top Thought Leaders to Experience Deep Dives through Informatics Frameworks, Interoperability, Patient Matching, Big Data and the Future of Health IT

The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) (@WEDIonline), the nation’s leading nonprofit authority on the use of health IT to create efficiencies in healthcare information exchange, announced the keynotes and detailed sessions for its 25th Annual National Conference, which will take place at the Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah from May 23-26, 2016.

The four-day event will feature an opening keynote from Dr. Getta Nayyar, Chief Medical Information Officer at Femwell Group Health and a nationally recognized leader in healthcare and information technology. Dr. Nayyar was named one of the “Top 26 Smartest People in Health IT” by a Becker’s Healthcare report and one of the “Top 25 Minority Healthcare Executive” by Modern Healthcare. The session will focus on “Social Media & Patient Engagement – How to Reach the “Digital Consumer” of Today.”

In addition to the keynote, below is a snapshot of the general sessions that healthcare providers, payers, vendors, government regulators and other stakeholders won’t see anywhere else:

  • The Power of Design Meets Data to Drive Behavioral Medicine Insights – Sean Duffy, CEO, Omada Health
  • How Technology Has Changed the Way We Access Health – Ron Gutman, Founder and CEO, HealthTap
  • A Review of Concepts from CHIME’s National Patient ID Initiative – Russell Branzell, CEO, CHIME
  • CISO Panel: Developing Cyber Incident Response Procedures for the New Threat Landscape – Karl West, Intermountain; Thomas Olmstead, State of Idaho; Daniel Bowden, University of Utah Healthcare; Paul Calatayud, Surescripts; and Gavin O’Brien, NIST
  • KLAS EHR Vendor Metrics: The Game Changer – Bob Cash, KLAS Research
  • The Internet of Things in Healthcare – John Glaser, Cerner

“Every year, the Annual WEDI Conference assembles a deep field of healthcare’s most prominent thought leaders to collaborate, network and share invaluable experiences,” said Charles W. Stellar, Interim President and CEO of WEDI. “The enhancement of quality care, improving efficiency and reducing the cost of healthcare have always been key drivers for our association, and this year’s event promises to serve as a critical catalyst for better collaboration – propelling healthcare’s best to move this industry forward.”

Beyond general sessions, dozens of breakout sessions and educational workshops will take in-depth looks into everything from patient engagement strategies, telehealth, interoperability and cybersecurity to big data, fraud, genomics and vendor management. Back by popular demand, this year’s conference will also feature WEDI Think Tanks examining patient matching/patient ID and claims attachment.

WEDI will launch the conference with two pre-conference Summits. The first, in collaboration with the Sequoia Project, will investigate the concepts and outlook for patient matching, while the second will focus on HIT architecture and development.

Russell Branzell, CEO and President of CHIME and one of the presenters at this year’s conference addressed the role WEDI has in the industry: “Since 1991, WEDI has been at the forefront for working across the healthcare industry to accelerate information exchange. CHIME is doing the same on several fronts, including finding ways to improve interoperability and ensure accurate patient identification, which we will address at WEDI’s annual meeting in May. We look forward to continued partnership with WEDI and other stakeholders to break down the barriers to information exchange.”

Presenter Lee Barrett, Executive Director of EHNAC added: “For more than two decades, WEDI has served as an essential advisor to the US Department of Health and Human Services to invigorate and enhance the practice of healthcare in our country. The Workgroup’s Annual National Conference has become an annual touchstone for the industry – convening the most influential leaders to identify and reach consensus on the issues affecting the cost, efficiency and quality of patient care.”

The 25th Annual conference event registration is open to WEDI member and non-members. Interested attendees can visit the WEDI Annual National Conference page to download the complete agenda or register online for the conference with group discounts available.

About WEDI

The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is the leading authority on the use of health IT to improve healthcare information exchange in order to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of our nation’s healthcare system. WEDI was formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was designated in the 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS. WEDI’s membership includes a broad coalition of organizations, including: hospitals, providers, health plans, vendors, government agencies, consumers, not-for-profit organizations, and standards development organizations. To learn more, visit this website and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.