Your Practice Transformation Companion

Monday, October 22, 2012

San Francisco Quality Summit



Q: What do cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman’s Wharf have in common with PTI?

A: The URAC Quality Summit conference with Carla Irvin and Lisa Allen attending!

Carla and Lisa spent 4 wonderful days in San Francisco attending URAC’s Quality Summit and Best Practices Awards conference. The theme of this years’ conference was “Framing the Future of Health Care and Health Insurance Exchanges: Quality, Value and Innovation.” Much of the joint sessions of the conference were dedicated to discussing the exchanges and preparing health care organizations, health plans, physicians and patients on navigating the upcoming health care challenges. One speaker said it best when he referred to our current progress in building a new health care system as “the ground zero” point. The hardest work is occurring now because it hasn’t been done before.

J.D.Kleinke, medical economist, author and Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, delivered the keynote address, “Countdown to Meltdown? Preparing Your Organization for the Affordable Care Act, Market Reform and the Brave New Healthcare World.” This dynamic session was followed by a federal and state level health policy panel discussion with a lively debate between Joel Ario (Manatt Health Solutions), Christopher Koller (state of Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner), Brent Barnhart, (Director, California Department of Managed Care), and The Honorable Greg Wren (Alabama House of Representatives). Carla and Lisa participated in several break-out sessions on patient centered medical homes, radiation calculator tracking, patient wellness programs, medication management, and behavioral health. All breakout sessions were facilitated by the finalists for the Best Practices awards. The Best Practices are based on those health care organizations that actively pursue practices to advance consumer empowerment and protection in an exceptional, measurable and reproducible way.

The second keynote speaker, Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, delivered enlightening comments with her speech on “Improving Health Care Quality through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Care.” Rounding out the conference was updates from URAC on new products and revisions to current programs. All in all, it was a great opportunity to network with colleagues and enjoy the sights and sounds of the little city on the bay-San Francisco. 

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