Meaningful Measurements is Focus of ASQ Healthcare Conference

Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 24, 2012
Achieving and sustaining healthcare quality results with clearly defined measurements is the focus of the 2012 Quality Institute for Healthcare, hosted by ASQ, the leading global community of quality experts.
QIHC will take place May 21 – 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.  
QIHC addresses healthcare’s most pertinent quality improvement issues with sessions led by nationally recognized healthcare experts. The conference is designed for all healthcare leaders and quality practitioners — from professionals working in hospitals and surgery centers to medical laboratories, blood banks, or physician clinics — who are interested in learning new and classic quality improvement tools and techniques.
Participants can build a customized itinerary with in-depth, hands-on learning opportunities offered in short sessions or interactive workshops. Focus areas for 2012 sessions including Patient Satisfaction; Efficiency, Cost and Reducing Waste; Patient Safety; Care Coordination; Quality Systems and Organizational Excellence and Sustaining a Quality Culture. Short session highlights include:

• Improving Access by Improving Utilization – Nathan Hurle and Hanh Briggs, Cleveland Clinic, Monday, May 21, 3 to 4 p.m.
• Will My Patient Satisfaction Scores Ever Improve? – Elisa Hammond, The Medical Center of Plano, Tuesday, May 22, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.
• Rapid Change from a Clinical Performance Group – Barbara LaBranche and Michael Parris, Banner Health, Tuesday, May 22, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.
• Improving the Hospital Discharge Process – Susan Peiffer, Sacred Heart Hospital, Tuesday, May 22, 10:45 to 11:45 a.m.
• The ISO Quality Management System in Healthcare: An Accreditation Journey with Det Norske Veritas – Elizabeth York and Judy Sporles, The Methodist Hospital, Tuesday, May 22, 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.

Hands-on workshops will include:

• From Function to Flow in a Healthcare Laboratory – Cheryl Hild, Aegis Science Corporation and The University of Tennessee, and Darcie Wallace-Duckworth, Aegis Sciences, Monday, May 21, 12:15 to 2:30 p.m.
• Kaiser Permanente’s Quality and Execution Strategy – Alide Chase and Lisa Schilling, Kaiser Permanente, Tuesday, May 22, 2:45 to 5 p.m.
• Measurements that Matter in Hospital Pharmacy – Keith Poole and John Vrontos, Hospital Corporation of America, Wednesday, May 23, 8 to 10:30 a.m.

To learn more and to register for QIHC, please visit qihc.asq.org.
Co-chairs for QIHC include Dr. James Levett, chief medical officer at the Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa and past chair of ASQ’s healthcare division, and Laura Kinney, organizational effectiveness consultant and Baldrige expert at MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Wash., and past treasurer for ASQ’s healthcare division.  
"It’s more important than ever for healthcare professionals to develop the right management structures to support quality efforts, systems improvement, measure outcomes and encourage accountability," Kinney said. "The Quality Institute provides an excellent education and networking opportunity to help accomplish this."
  
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