National Healthcare Leaders Partner with Cleveland Clinic for Fifth Annual Patient Experience Summit

CLEVELAND, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleveland Clinic's fifth annual Patient Experience Summit: Transforming Healthcare through Empathy and Innovation will take place May 18 to 21, 2014, at the newly opened Cleveland Convention Center in downtown Cleveland.

Patient Experience programs have become a "must-have" as healthcare organizations across the country navigate the changing healthcare landscape. For the first time in the summit's history, Cleveland Clinic has partnered with nationally renowned healthcare organizations to host the Patient Experience Summit – the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), the American Medical Group Association (AMGA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and the Association for Patient Experience (AfPE).

More than 850 people from 34 states and 30 countries attended Cleveland Clinic's Patient Experience Summit in 2013, making it the largest independent summit of its kind. As a result of the annual record-breaking attendance, Cleveland Clinic is changing the venue and hosting it at the Cleveland Convention Center. The new and larger venue allows for an expanded agenda – with more speakers, workshops and breakout sessions – increased attendance, and more opportunities for networking with patient experience thought leaders from around the world.

"The prominence patient experience plays in the delivery of healthcare and its impact on an organization's direction is truly seen during an event of this magnitude," said James Merlino, M.D., Chief Experience Officer at Cleveland Clinic. "Partnering with some of the nation's top healthcare organizations for the summit is a turning point for the practice of patient experience and is very promising for the future of patient care."

The Patient Experience Summit is a four-day, inter-professional conference devoted to exploring patient experience as an essential element of healthcare delivery. The summit gathers global thought leaders from various disciplines in healthcare, academia and business to solve shared challenges and inspire solutions that will transform the patient experience and elevate customer service.

"Improving the overall patient experience is a key attribute that defines a high-performing health system," said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and Chief Executive Officer at AMGA. "The summit offers a great platform for continuous learning and dissemination of best practices for our members and their patients." 

The goal of the summit is to engage in a global discussion of patient experience; what it means to the future of healthcare; and how to ensure that patients and families receive the best clinical, emotional and physical experience possible.

"We are delighted to partner with leading health care organizations at this important summit with its focus on improving the patient experience and perspective," said Dr. Steven A. Wartman, AAHC president and CEO.

Speakers are being considered for a variety of sessions, including podium presentations, panel participation and workshops. Abstracts are being sought to address a variety of topical areas, healthcare settings, professional disciplines and patient populations. The deadline for speaker and abstract submissions is Dec. 16, 2013. More information on the submission process is available at empathyandinnovation.com.

"By better connecting with the patient experience, hospitals can proactively anticipate actions necessary to improving the safety and quality of care provided to patients," said Maulik S. Joshi, president of the Health Research and Educational Trust and senior vice president of the American Hospital Association.

The registration fee for the full conference is $950. Register by Dec. 31, 2013, to receive an early-bird rate of $850 for the full conference. The daily fee, is $500.  To register – or for more information – please visit empathyandinnovation.com.

"Patient and family engagement is a fundamental component of UHC's Imperatives for Quality program, which focuses on the factors critical to achieving an optimal healthcare delivery system," said Irene M. Thompson, UHC President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to sharing important knowledge and insights developed in collaboration with our members that contribute to elevating the overall patient experience."

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals and 16 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and, currently under construction, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 167,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org.  Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

About AMGA
The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing medical groups, health systems, and other organized systems of care, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated delivery systems. AMGA is a leading voice in advocating for efficient, team-based, and accountable care. AMGA members encompass all models of organized systems of care in the healthcare industry, including: physician-owned, independent group practices, integrated delivery systems, hospital-affiliated medical groups, independent practice associations (IPAs), academic and faculty practices, accountable care organizations, and high-performing health systems. More than 130,000 physicians practice in AMGA member organizations, providing healthcare services for 120 million patients (approximately one in three Americans). Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for these organizations, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs, publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org

About AAHC

Based in Washington, DC, AAHC is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the nation's health and well-being through the vigorous leadership of academic health centers.

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes more than 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 42,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at www.aha.org.

About the Society of Hospital Medicine

Representing the fastest growing specialty in modern healthcare, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is the leading medical society for more than 40,000 hospitalists and their patients. SHM is dedicated to promoting the highest quality care for all hospitalized patients and overall excellence in the practice of hospital medicine through quality improvement, education, advocacy and research. Over the past decade, studies have shown that hospitalists can contribute to decreased patient lengths of stay, reductions in hospital costs and readmission rates, and increased patient satisfaction. For more information about SHM and hospital medicine, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org.

About UHC

UHC is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. Based in Chicago, Ill, UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 120 academic medical center and 300 affiliated hospital members through its renowned programs and services in the areas of comparative data and analytics, performance improvement, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Formed in 1984, UHC's membership includes the leading nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

Contact:
Maureen Nagg, 216-636-5879, [email protected]

SOURCE Cleveland Clinic