Most of GIA’s patients would be understandably unaware that the practice’s physicians are national leaders among gastroenterologists and that its managing partner, Dr. Bergein “Gene” Overholt, co-founded an important national GI physicians conference.
After all, how much could a physicians’ conference have to do with actual, day-to-day patient care? In fact, patient care and patient experience are the focus of the conference. The subjects that will draw GI physicians to Boston in March directly relate to advancing the practice of gastroenterology and improving the patient experience at the point of care in a time of sweeping change.
GI Roundtable, now in its third year, has become the signature event for gastroenterologists to keep abreast of the latest information and innovations in their specialty, hear national experts speak on important issues and collaborate with their colleagues. The gathering was founded by Dr. Overholt and colleague Dr. Klaus Mergener of Digestive Health Specialists in Tacoma, Wash.
The theme of the 2013 GI Roundtable is “Dealing with Disruptive Change” – a topic health providers and patients have become all too familiar with lately as health care and insurance reform actually change the way physicians practice and patients receive care.
Keynote speaker Dr. Donald Berwick, former head of Medicare, will discuss the direction of health care reform over the next few years. He stresses that physicians need to lead the way in this reform by placing the emphasis on delivering the highest quality patient care and focusing on patient satisfaction.
Toward that end, Bridget Duffy, CEO of ExperiaHealth, will offer physicians strategies for keeping physicians patient-focused. In addition, Harvard Professor Regina Herzlinger will provide business expertise, focusing on changing physicians’ view of their clients from “patients” to “customers.”
With the disruptive and sweeping change physicians and patients are facing in health care, it is more important than ever that physicians take time to learn from each other and jointly develop successful solutions to continuously improve the quality of care we provide.