Annual Cerner Health Conference Set for Nov. 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner (Nasdaq:CERN) will host more than 11,000 health care industry leaders, practitioners and Cerner associates in Kansas City for the 29^th annual Cerner Health Conference (CHC). Clients, partners and associates from more than 25 countries will gather to collaborate with peers, share best practices and gain hands-on experience with innovative health care solutions and services. The conference begins on Sunday, Nov. 2 and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the Kansas City Convention Center.

The event is expected to generate about $7.2 million for the Kansas City economy, based on spending by the company and attendees. More than half of the attendees travel from outside the area.

This year's 2014 theme, "Together we anticipate, innovate, accelerate," describes anticipating the needs of the local community, innovating creative solutions to complex issues and accelerating toward a healthier tomorrow.

Cerner clients will lead the majority of the more than 240 diverse education sessions, featuring more than 400 speakers. These sessions will highlight some of the health care industry's most relevant issues, such as population health, quality outcomes, interoperability, clinical and financial integration, care transitions and clinical mobility. Beyond education sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about best practices from their peers and Cerner experts through demonstrations, interactive exhibits and networking opportunities.

The following is a sample of speakers who will provide keynote addresses during the conference:

(Subject to change)

Preview of 2014 General Session Speakers include:

• Sunday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. CT: Mitch Wasden of University of Missouri Health Care, Dr. Ronald Paulus of Mission Health System and Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson from Seattle Children's Hospital will speak on consumerism in health care.
  • Mitch Wasden is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of University of Missouri Health Care. Wasden will share the importance of patient engagement and leveraging technology to improve the patient experience.
  • Dr. Ronald Paulus is President and CEO of Mission Health System. Paulus will discuss the medical link between employee engagement and community health.
  • Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson is Executive Director of Digital Health at Seattle Children's Hospital. She is also a pediatrician and successful author of Mama Doc Medicine. Swanson will explain the opportunity for new tools and technology to create better partnerships with patients and families.
     
• Monday, Nov. 3 at 8 a.m. CT: Karen DeSalvo of the Office of the National Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will discuss the vision for an interoperable infrastructure.
  • DeSalvo, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will describe the journey to digitize information and discuss new models of care.
     
• Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 8 a.m. CT: Neal Patterson, Cerner chairman, CEO and co-founder, will provide an update on Cerner's vision for health systems, providers, and communities.
   
• Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. CT: Dr. William 'Tripp' Jennings from Palmetto Health and Dr. Charles Gutteridge from Barts Health NHS Trust will discuss interoperability and connecting across patients, communities, and nations.
  • Dr. William 'Tripp' Jennings is System Vice President and Medical Informatics Officer at Palmetto Health. Jennings will share his experience of seamless information flowing across disparate systems for the care of patients, enabled by the CommonWell Health Alliance.
  • Dr. Charles Gutteridge is Chief Clinical Information Officer and Consultant Hematologist at Barts Health NHS Trust in east London. He will explain his achievements improving the health of the population of east London by consolidating to one single electronic patient record system.

CHC is not open to the general public. To follow CHC visit the Cerner.com blog for guest posts from speakers and clients, or connect on twitter and follow the topic with the hashtag, #CHC14.

Media Note:

To attend as a member of the media, please RSVP to Dan Smith at dan.smith1@cerner.com.

About Cerner

Cerner's health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 14,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients' clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner's mission is to contribute to the improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com, read our blog at cerner.com/blog, connect with us on Twitter at twitter.com/cerner and on Facebook at facebook.com/cerner. Certain trademarks, service marks and logos set forth herein are property of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other non-Cerner marks are the property of their respective owners.