Calendar
Journalism Workshop on Health Information Technology: Program
Click red arrows to read descriptions of events and panels.
Thursday, Oct. 13 |
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2-2:15 p.m. |
Welcome
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Monterey |
2:15-3:30 p.m. |
Making health IT stories local How do you take the technology issues in health care — digital health records, big data, telemedicine — and not only translate them to your local audience, but make them relevant and interesting to readers? How do you find those compelling stories about startup founders, researchers and others relying on technology to improve the way health care is delivered in your community? This panel features experts who understand the world of startups as well as how those technologies are used in real-life medical settings and the ways they are expected to change the future of health care.
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Monterey |
3:30-3:45 p.m. |
Break |
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3:45-5 p.m. |
Gauging technology’s impact on quality of care While health IT can improve the quality of care patients receive by boosting efficiency and making it easier for multiple clinicians to coordinate and track performance, it can also result in harm when not thoughtfully introduced. New tools can be riddled with inherent risks, such as confusing interface and poor human-factors design. Panelists will speak to the gaps and challenges of health IT introduction and provide insight into lessons about how to integrate technology safely.
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Monterey |
5-6:30 p.m. |
Reception |
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Friday, Oct. 14 |
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7:15-8:15 a.m. |
Breakfast available |
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8:30-10 a.m. |
Health at a distance: The growth in virtual medicine Telemedicine has become part of the routine in some areas of health care, including psychiatry and radiology. But more uses are on the horizon, and providers are considering what can be done to help patients be comfortable in discussing personal issues with a health care provider over a computer monitor or smartphone. We’ll discuss the promise and pitfalls with leaders in the field.
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Franciscan |
10-10:15 a.m. |
Break |
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10:15-11:45 a.m. |
Big data: What it means for medicine As genetic sequencing has become cheaper and faster, the amount of data available to researchers, doctors and patients has exploded. How do people make sense of the data and put it to use? This session will take a look at how the era of big data is changing medical research. There will be a particular focus on how vast databases of genetic information are being mined for insights into human disease.
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Franciscan |
Will health IT help an aging population? What is “connected aging,” and how could the new generation of IT encourage more – not undermine – independence in the rapidly growing senior population? Will geriatric-tech products and systems be accessible and affordable, especially for the increasingly diverse older population? Will home sensors become angels in the floorboards – or invasive devils? And what can be done to get the tech world to stop underestimating older consumers in their adoption of social media? Panelists from University of California Berkeley’s Center for Technology and Aging, the Institute for the Future and Stanford Medical School will consider these and other questions.
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Monterey |
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11:45 a.m.-noon |
Break |
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Noon-1:30 p.m. |
Luncheon Over the past seven years, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology – in collaboration with federal partners and the private sector – has ushered in an era of widespread electronic health record adoption and use throughout the country. Vindell Washington will discuss this historic advancement and how it has set the stage for the seamless and secure flow of health information – also known as interoperability – to improve the health and care of individuals and communities. Specifically, Washington will address how these advancements laid the groundwork for progress on a range of national health priorities, including Delivery System Reform, the Cancer Moonshot, combating the opioid epidemic, the Precision Medicine Initiative, clinical innovation, and protecting and advancing public health. |
Franciscan |
1:45-3 p.m. |
The money connection: Insurers, providers and health IT Long gone are the days when health insurers simply collected premium payments and paid the bills issued by physicians. The rapidly changing health care landscape has altered the insurer's role permanently. These changes include pay-for-value arrangements (like accountable care organizations); adoption of electronic health records; and pressures to keep down costs while expanding coverage (see recent insurer exits from the exchanges). On this panel, insurer representatives will discuss these challenges as well as opportunities they see for health IT to improve payment models, provider collaboration and patient care.
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Franciscan |
Combating health disparities through technology and data Health IT tools are finding their way into medical research, but these new technologies are also increasingly used by community health leaders, city leaders and health providers to influence the health outcomes of the most vulnerable populations – including those with chronic diseases. Experts offer resources and story ideas related to how the explosion of new technologies are being used to address health disparities, rather than create further divides.
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Monterey |
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3-3:15 p.m. |
Break |
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3:15-4:30 p.m. |
Security and privacy issues for businesses, consumers Data breaches at the nation's hospitals, health plans and other medical providers are becoming alarmingly commonplace, and health information technology officials are working overtime to contain and prevent them. In this panel, you'll get a better understanding of the current threats and what's being done by governments and businesses to protect patients. How cyber-safe is your local hospital, doctors' office or health plan? And what can consumers do to protect themselves?
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Monterey |
Wearing health: What’s next in consumer-level technology? The gee-whiz aspect of wearable health technology has faded. Consumers today expect devices on their wrists, chest and elsewhere to help keep their health in check. Panelists will discuss devices that have and haven’t worked so far – and what questions health journalists can ask to sort out the snake oil from the legitimate products coming down the pipeline.
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Franciscan |