Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference to Focus on Health Information Technology

Press Release | Center for the Business of Life Sciences | April 25, 2011

The final event in the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series for this academic year, will be held on Friday, May 13, in Indianapolis...Robert M. Kolodner, M.D., executive vice president and chief health informatics officer at Open Health Tools Inc. and former national health information technology coordinator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be the keynote speaker. 

Proponents have argued that the full utilization of electronic health records will serve to improve patient care and safety and simplify compliance and regulation of the U.S. healthcare system -- at a cost savings -- if the roadblocks to success are identified and appropriately handled.

The final event in the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series for this academic year, will be held on Friday, May 13, in Indianapolis, and will bring experts from industry and the regulatory environment together to discuss what some are calling an experiment.

"With the federal government passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), much emphasis has been placed on the use of electronic health records to improve patient care, increase safety, streamline compliance and regulation as well as decreasing the cost of health care," said George Telthorst, director of the Center for the Business of Life Sciences in IU's Kelley School of Business. "This conference will look more deeply into the ramifications and opportunities associated with electronic health records and Indiana's opportunity to influence their use on a nationwide basis.

"Indiana is one of the leading states in the implementation of electronic health records," Telthorst added. "As one of the first adopters, it has the opportunity to help set a number of the protocols and precedents that will eventually be used throughout the country. Participants at the conference will discuss the potential improvements in patient treatment and hospital operations, and potential new business opportunities while protecting patient data."

The day-long conference, "Health Information Technology: Indiana's Role in the Development of a National Model," will take place 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., at Walther Hall Auditorium at the IU School of Medicine, 980 W. Walnut St., in Indianapolis.

Robert M. Kolodner, M.D., executive vice president and chief health informatics officer at Open Health Tools Inc. and former national health information technology coordinator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be the keynote speaker. Charles D. Kennedy, M.D., vice president of health information technology at Wellpoint, will speak at lunch.

The May 13 event is the last in a series of four conferences for academic year 2010-2011. The cost is $90. Registration and additional information is available online at http://www.kelley.iu.edu/CBLS/conferences/page19192.html or by contacting Kelli Conder at the Kelley School at 812-856-0915 or [email protected].

The conference series is presented by the IU Kelley School of Business and its Center for the Business of Life Sciences, BioCrossroads and Duke Energy. Primary sponsors of the May 13 event are the Indiana Clinical Translation Sciences Institute at the IU School of Medicine, Ice Miller LLP and Zimmer Holdings. Supporting sponsors are the Indiana Health Information Exchange, NoMoreClipboard.com and Symmetry Medical.

Following registration and networking from 8-9 a.m., J. Marc Overhage, M.D., chief medical informatics officer at Siemens Healthcare, will introduce the opening keynote speaker Kolodner, who will discuss the topic, "A Person-Centered Learning Health System -- Different Than You Imagine."

Kolodner will be followed by the first panel, which will focus on health information technology from a clinicians and hospital perspective. The panel, moderated by Charlie Young, vice president for corporate marketing at Zimmer Holdings Inc., will consist of Stanley W. Crosley of Crosley Law Offices LLC and director of IU CLEAR Health Information; Dr. Michael Mirro of Wayne Cardiology in Fort Wayne, Ind.; Douglas R. Horner, founder and chief technology officer of Medical Informatics Engineering Inc.; and Jon D. Duke, assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine.

At lunch, Kennedy will offer the presentation, "Your Federal Dollars at Work -- Early Signs the HITECH Act is Actually Transforming Healthcare." He will be introduced by Harry L. Gonso, a partner at Ice Miller LLP.

After lunch, a second panel discussion will look at health information technology and the business of medicine. Panelists will include Chuck Christian, chief information officer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Ind.; Todd Richardson, chief information officer at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind.; Eric M. Meslin, director of the IU Center for Bioethics; and Dr. Alan Snell, chief medical information officer at St. Vincent's Health in Indianapolis. Christopher S. Sears, a partner in Ice Miller LLP, will moderate.

Financial sponsors for the entire series include AIT Laboratories; Aledo Consulting; Anson Group; Baker & Daniels LLP; Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Beckman Coulter Inc.; BSA Life Structures; Cook Medical; Commissioning Agents Inc.; Eli Lilly and Co.; Indiana Health Information Exchange; Indiana University Health; Ice Miller LLP; the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute; the IU School of Medicine; Mead Johnson Nutrition; Meyer Najem; NoMoreClipboard.com; Purdue University; Symmetry Medical; Taft Stettinius and Zimmer.

Brochure sponsors are Cabello Associates Inc. and Miles Printing on Plastics. Marketing sponsors are BioCentury; BioConvergence LLC; Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership; Covidien; Deloitte Center for Health Solutions; Harlan Laboratories Inc.; Indiana Healthcare Businesswoman's Association; Indiana Health Industry Forum; IU College of Arts and Sciences; IU Research and Technology Corp.; the Kelley School's Evening MBA Program; the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association; IU Maurer School of Law, Center for Intellectual Property; IU Office for the Vice President for Engagement; IU School of Informatics; OrthoWorx; Prolifiq Software Inc.; Purdue University Regulatory & Quality Compliance Graduate Program; and the University of Notre Dame.