Geisinger chief medical officer for population health featured speaker at D.C. Value-Based Healthcare Summit Sept. 12

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Population health management is more than an industry buzzword or the latest Affordable Care Act fad.  Put simply, it can best be described as maintaining a healthier overall population that maximizes patient satisfaction while minimizing resource consumption.

This shift in perspective is shaping the future of health care – one driven by accountability, transparency and value.  Long at the forefront of health care reform, Geisinger Health System has focused on population health for more than a decade: delivering value-based care across a continuum - from the healthiest to the most critically ill.

Thomas R. Graf, M.D., chief medical officer for population health and longitudinal care at Geisinger, will discuss the health system's pioneering population health efforts at a one-day summit that will attract leaders from across the health care spectrum to the nation's capital.

Dr. Graf will serve as featured speaker for the Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014, slated for Friday, Sept. 12, in Washington, D.C., where he will share Geisinger's innovative delivery models, including its sophisticated electronic health record efforts that have enabled the health system to use best practices, predictive analytics and electronic tools to manage specific patient populations.

"Re-engineering health care delivery models to make them more clinically effective, more cost effective and safer has been Geisinger's driving organizational strategy," said Dr. Graf, who is also chief executive officer of the Keystone ACO.

ProvenHealth Navigator® and ProvenCare® Chronic, Geisinger's expanded medical home model, for example, have demonstrated quality improvement and lower total costs all while enhancing patient and professional experience.  ProvenCare® Acute, Geisinger's hospital-based redesign, in the meantime, has also reduced mortality and length of stay for various hospital-based specialties.

"Population health offers the opportunity for health care systems, public health agencies and community organizations to work together to improve health outcomes in the communities we all serve," Dr. Graf said.

Co-sponsored by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), and the National Board of Echocardiography (NBE), the Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014 will bring together an unprecedented gathering of influential thought leaders in health policy, along with clinicians, insurers, patients and researchers.

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), a leading voice in the health care debate for over two decades and a member of the Government Reform Committee, will kick off the summit.

For more information about the summit, visit http://asecho.org/summit2014/.

About Geisinger Health System
Geisinger Health System is an integrated health services organization widely recognized for its innovative use of the electronic health record, and the development of innovative care models such as ProvenHealth Navigator® and ProvenCare®. As one of the nation's largest rural health services organizations, Geisinger serves more than 2.6 million residents throughout 44 counties in central and northeast Pennsylvania. The physician-led system is comprised of more than 21,000 employees, including a 1,100-member multi-specialty group practice, eight hospital campuses, two research centers and a 467,000-member health plan, all of which leverage an estimated $7.4 billion positive impact on the Pennsylvania economy. The health system and the health plan have repeatedly garnered national accolades for integration, quality and service. In addition to fulfilling its patient care mission, Geisinger has a long-standing commitment to medical education, research and community service. For more information, visit www.geisinger.org, or follow the latest Geisinger news and more on Twitter and Facebook.

CONTACT:
Mike Ferlazzo: 570-214-7410, 515-450-2908 (c),
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SOURCE Geisinger Health System