6 Things to Look For at the Cerner Health Conference (CHC ’16)

cerner health conferenceCerner innovations and client success stories take center stage in Kansas City from Nov 14 -17 at the 31st Cerner Health Conference (CHC). Some 340 diverse education sessions are planned, the majority of which will be led by Cerner clients.

If you’re a registered attendee, you should download the conference mobile app in advance to plot out your agenda. And check out our guide below to discover what’s in store for 2016.

Large and Diverse Crowds

Some 14 thousand individuals from 24 countries are expected at the conference. Most attendees are healthcare IT professionals, clinicians and hospital executives who, in some way, are part of the large Cerner ecosystem. But Ashley Crosby-Davidson, Cerner VP, Client Alignment says the conference is also a draw for data scientists, representatives of local and state governments, HR/benefits professionals, officials from universities and schools, and many others who hope to learn from Cerner’s experience as a global health solutions provider.

Cerner Physician Networking

The growing Cerner Physician Community (CPC) gathers prior to the main conference for their annual Fall meeting, two-days of networking and client-led sessions on solution enhancement, specialty optimization, and population health management. The learning continues during CHC with hundreds of physician-oriented sessions. The popular Solutions Gallery also showcases new advances of interest to doctors in acute and ambulatory practice settings.

Developer Learning Labs

The Cerner Open Developer Experience (CODE), announced by the company earlier this year, is an affirmation of “a commitment to open development across all of our platforms,” says Crosby-Davidson. CHC ’16 will host a CODE Learning Lab designed to provide hands-on training for developers and integrated system managers interested in building with Cerner open APIs. The Learning Lab at CHC is sold out, but additional labs—hosted at client sites—are in the planning stages for 2017.

Intriguing General Sessions

The importance of behavioral health is the topic of Monday’s opening general session. Kevin Hines, brain health advocate, will share his incredible survival story after he attempted to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. On Wednesday, the patient experience takes center stage as Dr. David Feinberg, president and CEO of Geisinger Health System, shares principles of Geisinger Health’s ProvenExperience™ portfolio, which places patient experience and satisfaction at the heart of the health system. Feinberg will share how a person-centered approach can elevate patient satisfaction, advance organizations and revolutionize the health care industry.

Pop Health in Focus

Outcomes-based payment models and an increasing focus on interoperability make Population Health one of the major topics of interest at CHC. Attendees will have a chance to see what’s new and what’s coming for HealtheIntent, Cerner’s  solution for Population Health management. “We have a lot of organizations that are interested in looking in an aggregate way across payers and all kinds of community and aggregate data sources to really be transforming around population health, so we’re going to be showing a lot of advancements around that space during our conference,” promises Crosby-Davidson.

Peace. Love. Bash!

The final event of the conference, an evening of entertainment known as the BASH, is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 16, in Kansas City’s famed Power and Light District. Music from the 60’s and 70’s is on tap, giving you a chance to let your hair down and get your groove on.  And you should definitely make room in your suitcase for a tie dye shirt and bellbottoms.