David Blumenthal, HHS National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, to Speak at Lucian Leape Institute Third Annual Forum & Gala on Sept. 16

BOSTON, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation will host an interactive afternoon discussion and special evening program at its Third Annual Forum & Gala on Thursday, September 16, 2010.  David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., will deliver a keynote address at the dinner, offering his perspectives on health information technology as a patient safety lever and the focus placed on its development by the Federal government.  Since March of 2009, Dr. Blumenthal has served in the US Department of Health and Human Services as National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

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Prior to his appointment, Dr. Blumenthal was most recently the director of the Institute for Health Policy at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System in Boston, and was the Samuel O. Their Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.

"Health information technology is a critical part of President Obama's strategy to reform our health care system, and we're honored to have Dr. Blumenthal join us to discuss his thoughts on harnessing the incredible potential of HIT to keep patients safe," said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, President of the Lucian Leape Institute and the National Patient Safety Foundation.

In addition to Ms. Pinakiewicz, Institute members include Lucian L. Leape, MD, Chair of the Institute and Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health; Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; James B. Conway, MS, Senior Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement; Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital; James A. Guest, President, Consumers Union; Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Mason Medical Center; Julianne M. Morath, RN, Chief Quality and Safety Officer, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Dennis S. O'Leary, MD, President Emeritus, The Joint Commission; Paul O'Neill, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alcoa, and 72nd Secretary of the US Treasury; David M. Lawrence, MD, LLI Member Emeritus, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (retired), Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and Pamela A. Thompson, MS, RN, Immediate Past Chair, NPSF Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer, American Organization of Nurse Executives.

The September 16 event will include afternoon educational sessions led by Institute members, who will offer insights into their work and seek attendee reaction and input.  Dialogue with attendees will also focus on HIT and its implications for patient safety, in lead-up to the dinner presentation on this topic.  The LLI Forum & Gala afternoon session will take place from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the reception and dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Registration details and more information are available at www.npsf.org.  Those interested in learning about opportunities to support the work of the Institute should contact David Coletta at [email protected] or by phone at (617) 391-9908.

About the Lucian Leape Institute

The Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation, established in 2007, is charged with defining strategic paths and calls to action for the field of patient safety, offering vision and context for the many efforts underway within health care, and providing the leverage necessary for system-level change.  Its members comprise national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety whose expertise and influence are brought to bear as the Institute calls for the innovation necessary to expedite the work and create significant, sustainable improvements in culture, process, and outcomes critical to safer health care.  The Institute challenges the system to address the structural impediments to more expeditious and comprehensive adoption of patient safety solutions.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation has been diligently pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997 - to improve the safety of the healthcare system for the patients and families it serves.  As the widely recognized voice of patient safety, NPSF is unwavering in its determined and committed focus on uniting disciplines and organizations across the continuum of care, championing a collaborative, inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach.  NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.

SOURCE National Patient Safety Foundation