Media Advisory - Inspire: 3rd Annual Health Care Quality Summit

April 10 and 11, 2013

Queensbury Convention Centre, Evraz Place, Regina

SASKATOON, April 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Saskatchewan's health care system is transforming itself, to deliver care that is patient- and family-centred and defect free, with no waiting.  More than 600 health care providers, managers, and leaders, will gather at the 3^rd annual Quality Summit, to celebrate improvements and be inspired for the work that lies ahead. The conference will also involve 80 patients and patient representatives from across the province.

This year's event features an exciting lineup that includes internationally recognized keynote speakers:

Let patients help: The most under-used member of the health care team (E-Patient Dave)

Dave deBronkart, a survivor of Stage IV kidney cancer, may be the leading spokesperson for the e-Patient movement. E-Patients are Empowered, Engaged, Equipped and Enabled and Expert. They know more about their own health, and their health care experience, than any other member of their care team. Dave will share his own story about becoming an e-Patient, and will leave us inspired and informed about how to "let patients help" improve health care.

Increasing value, saving lives: Healthcare in a new era (Brent James, Intermountain Healthcare, Utah)

Dr. Brent James will describe how Intermountain Healthcare is systematically, and successfully, bringing together clinicians, patients and leaders to: establish best practices; drive out waste in their system; and ultimately deliver better, safer care. Dr. James will share insights about the structures, strategies and relationships that have been pivotal in transforming their health system.

Building energy for change for the long haul (Helen Bevan, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement)

Energy, more than any other factor, makes the difference between improvement activities that are sustained for the long term and those that fizzle out. Energy fuels high performance. In this workshop, Helen Bevan will show participants powerful methods to unleash the latent energy for change from within organizations to increase the pace and scale of improvement.

Patient Safety Panel: Donna Davis became a tireless advocate for patient safety after her son died in a Regina hospital. She will share Vance's story, and you will also hear from an emergency room nurse about how Donna's efforts have changed how he practises his profession, and from a Saskatoon patient advocate and Saskatoon Health Region manager about a new patient safety alert system they are using.

Made in Saskatchewan Improvement Stories, including:

• Pooled Referrals: Pooled referrals are quickly becoming a very popular choice among patients being referred to a specialist. Some Saskatchewan specialists who are using pooled referrals are reducing patient wait times by as much as a half. 
• Creating a Client and Family Advisory Council: There are as many steps to creating and maintaining a client and family advisory council (CFAC) as there are benefits! Hear first-hand from members of one council, including two client/family advisors on what this process has been like for them.
• Incorporating the Patient Voice into Rapid Process Improvement Workshops (RPIWs): Incorporating the voice of the patient is critical to the success of our Rapid Process Improvement Workshops (RPIWs) and overall Lean work. Hear directly from one of our patient advisors and Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO) staff on what this experience has been like for them.
• Surgical Patient Experience Project: By seeing surgical care through the eyes of patients and their families, health regions in Saskatchewan have identified priority areas for improvement.  Learn about the Surgical Patient Experience Project, what went well for patients and what could be better, and the plan for improvement.

"The PATIENT is in" booth: This booth will be manned by patients, who will be there to answer any of your questions about how they think health care can be made better and safer.

20/20: Hear 5 physicians answer the question "what is possible in health care?" Each will use 20 PowerPoint slides, and 20 seconds per slide, to share what they've seen and experienced that tells them this is possible, right here in Saskatchewan. One session. 5 physicians. 6 minutes and 40 seconds each. And no telling what will happen.

Pursuing Excellence Awards: 10 individuals and teams from around the province will receive awards this year. Saskatoon urologist and popular blogger Dr. Kishore Visvanathan will emcee this celebration of achievements.

SOURCE: Health Quality Council

To arrange interviews with presenters or patient representatives at the Quality Summit, contact: 

Greg Basky, Health Quality Council: 306-370-9446 cell; [email protected].
or
Sheila Ragush, Health Quality Council: 306-668-8810, ext 113 (office)/ 306-370-2543 (cell) ; [email protected].

For the complete agenda, visit the Quality Summit website: www.qualitysummit.ca 

Follow the Summit on Twitter: #QS13