Health care professionals gather for the 36th annual conference focused on quality, safety, and equity in health care
Orlando, Fla. — December 10, 2024 – The 2024 IHI Forum kicked off this morning with a poignant keynote address from Dr. Kedar Mate, his last as President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Dr. Mate and Dr. Thomas Lee, Internist and Chief Medical Officer at Press Ganey, discussed the role of social capital – building connectivity between people and across boundaries – in health care.
“We are becoming more and more disconnected from one another and finding it harder to hear each other, but within this community of improvers, we have leaned hard into deepening human relationships,” said Dr. Mate. “At IHI Forums like this one all over the world, there has been an unofficial ‘track’ in the program featuring sessions on kindness, community, and connection – a steady, persistent undercurrent about leaning into human relationship.”
As the longest-running gathering dedicated to quality improvement in health care, the IHI Forum brings together clinicians, leaders, researchers, and students from more than 50 countries to learn about innovative, evidence-based approaches to improving health and health care. With the conference now in its 36th year, the 2024 IHI Forum features 175 learning sessions led by 470 presenters on a range of topics including health equity, patient and workforce safety, digital health care, leadership, and more.
New at the Forum this year is the World Café, focused on the topic of workforce, designed to connect and convene Forum presenters and attendees in a way that provides access, creates dialog, and fosters relationship building. The Forum Hall is always a draw, with exhibitors, Innovation Theater presentations, more than 500 improvement project posters, and the Forum Café & Bookstore.
IHI is unveiling new resources and capabilities in conjunction with the IHI Forum to help health care professionals prepare for current and future challenges:
IHI Care Operating System (IHI CareOS)
Described as the “new frontier in quality” during Dr. Mate’s 2023 Forum keynote, a new offering from IHI leverages its decades of experience applying quality improvement methods to transform the experience of health care delivery. The IHI Care Operating System (IHI CareOS) is an integrated suite of services and products that will significantly improve all aspects of care for both patients and health care providers. By designing and deploying technology-enabled workflows, IHI CareOS connects clinical care, operations, informatics, and analytics in a holistic environment that prioritizes and accelerates learning and improvement. The result is enhanced patient outcomes, improved clinician experience, and increased operational efficiency – all leading to cost savings. A video about IHI CareOS can be viewed here.
A Spotlight Session about this innovative new approach will take place tomorrow and is available with livestream access: SP05: Embedding Quality and Safety within Clinical Operations: How the Care Operating System Approach Designs Systems to Transform Health Care Delivery.
Self-Assessment Tool Aligned with New CMS Patient Safety Measure
IHI, together with the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, has released a newly updated Self-Assessment Tool and User Guide to complement Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety. The tool now aligns with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM) and the aims of the National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety. It is designed to be an effective method for health care organizations in any care setting to self-assess and continuously improve foundational areas that are essential for patient safety.
A Spotlight Session taking place this afternoon, SP03: Transforming Safety: Making Sense of the CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure & the National Action Plan, will include expert advice to help hospitals prepare for the new CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure in advance of the first reporting period that begins in January. Dr. Michelle Schreiber, Deputy Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS, and national safety leaders will lead this timely discussion. This session will also be available via livestream access.
New Toolkit Unveiled to Promote a Thriving and Diverse Nursing Workforce
IHI has released a new toolkit to equip nursing leaders with actionable insights and strategies to redesign care delivery and promote a thriving nursing workforce. Transforming Health Care Through Innovative Nurse-Led Care Delivery Solutions: A Toolkit for Transformation was developed as part of a 22-month project that was generously funded by Johnson & Johnson Foundation. It demonstrated how care model redesign, including virtual nursing, the use of innovative technologies, and creative use of support teams, can help nurses thrive. By utilizing the tools and structured approaches outlined in the toolkit, health care organizations can effectively redesign care delivery solutions tailored to the unique needs of their patients, workforce, and care settings, and drive meaningful improvements to foster an environment in which both nurses and patients flourish.
A workshop conducted at the IHI Forum explored this topic: MH04: Virtual Care Delivery to Promote a Thriving Nursing Workforce. The session demonstrated how virtual nursing presents a promising avenue to alleviate the burden on bedside nurses while enhancing patient care outcomes. Case studies were shared from five health care organizations that tested innovative care delivery solutions to improve nurse well-being.
Livestream the 2024 IHI Forum, Planning for 2025
For those unable to attend the 2024 IHI Forum in person, a livestream registration provides access to all main stage events, including Spotlight Sessions and Keynotes. Planning for the 2025 IHI Forum is already underway, with an announcement from IHI Interim CEO Melissa Panagides-Busch, “I’m thrilled to share that the 2025 IHI Forum will be held in Anaheim, California. One year from now, we’ll come together again to teach and to learn, to connect and collaborate, to engage and inspire each other at this wonderful annual convening.” The 2025 IHI Forum will take place December 7-10, 2025. A full line up of IHI’s conferences around the world can be found here.
About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a leading, globally recognized not-for-profit health care improvement organization that has been applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to meet current and future health care challenges for more than 30 years. IHI provides millions of people in health care with methods, tools, and resources to make care better, safer, and more equitable; convenes experts to enable knowledge sharing and peer-learning; and advises health systems and hospitals of all sizes in improving their systems and outcomes at scale. IHI’s mission is to innovate and lead transformational improvement in health and health care worldwide.
PRESS CONTACT:
Joanna Clark, CXO Communication
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