Knowledge Center

October 15-18 event to convene payers, providers, government regulators and vendors for sessions focused on regulations, best practices and critical issues impacting health IT

WASHINGTON, DC — August 30, 2018 — The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), the nation’s leading nonprofit authority on the use of health IT to create efficiencies in healthcare information exchange and a statutory advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the WEDI National Conference 2018 will be held this October 15-18 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. Headlining the event will be several health care and policy thought-leaders including Dr. Donald Rucker, national coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), who will offer insights on administrative health IT policies as well as address patient matching and administrative simplification.

Hundreds of industry stakeholders across health IT – including payers, providers, government regulators and vendors – will gather during the three-day event to network and collaborate in sessions focusing on value-based care, administrative simplification, patient matching, data exchange, claims attachments, prior authorization, telehealth, artificial intelligence and blockchain.

“WEDI conferences offer attendees in-depth, educational sessions that raise awareness on key industry issues as well as deliver access to best practices and insights on the latest trends in healthcare information technology,” said Charles W. Stellar, president and CEO of WEDI. “Our National Conference will provide the setting for these high-level discussions with top thought leaders that continue to shape our industry. I’m looking forward to gathering with colleagues in Arlington as we continue WEDI's mission to improve health information exchange by enhancing quality of care, improving efficiency and reducing cost.”

Beyond general sessions featuring some of the top influencers in healthcare, the WEDI National Conference will offer attendees dozens of breakout sessions and educational workshops lead by industry thought-leaders, including:

• The Mission Continues – Controlling the Total Cost of Care – David Muhlestein, PhD, JD
• Deploying AI in Healthcare; The Importance of Data Interoperability, Quality and Monitoring – Dr. John Fahrenbach, University of Chicago Medicine
• Avoiding the Blindspot; Potential Solutions to Patient Matching – Eric Heflin, Sequoia Project
• Accelerating the Movement; How Do We Turn the Corner on Value Based Care? – Dr. Jack Lewin, National Coalition on Healthcare

Additional session topics that will be idea-focused, foster learning and provoke collaboration, include:

• Real-World Look at Blockchain, It’s Here to Stay
• Putting Artificial Intelligence to Use in Healthcare
• Federal Outlook on Healthcare
• Telehealth Panel: Beyond the Doctor’s Office
• “FHIR”-side Chat; A Multi-Stakeholder Discussion on The Future of FHIR
• Telehealth in Action; An Interactive Journey with Telehealth
• Leveraging Clinical EMR data to Reshape Healthcare; A Case Study
• Working Together to Find an Answer; A Multi-Stakeholder Look at Patient Matching

The National Conference will kick-off with WEDI workgroup meetings taking place on Monday, October 15. Typically reserved for current workgroup members, the meetings at the National Conference will be open to non-members who will be provided with a unique opportunity to discuss emerging developments in the industry with WEDI workgroups including the Prior Authorization Subworkgroup, the Attachment Subworkgroup, the Remittance Advice & Payment Subworkgroup, the Eligibility & Benefits Subworkgroup and the Provider Information Workgroup.

A complete conference agenda is available and updated regularly on the WEDI website. The conference is open to all interested healthcare stakeholders across provider, payer, vendor and government entities. Both WEDI members and non-members can register online for the conference with group and early registration discounts available through September 15.

About WEDI
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is the leading authority on the use of health IT to improve healthcare information exchange to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of our nation’s healthcare system. WEDI was formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was designated in the 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS. WEDI’s membership includes a broad coalition of organizations, including: hospitals, providers, health plans, vendors, government agencies, consumers, not-for-profit organizations, and standards development organizations. To learn more, visit www.wedi.org and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.