Three Speakers Will Inspire You to Rethink Care Delivery

March 27, 2023 · Andy Reynolds

Quality Talks is about new and different ways of thinking. You might find that what you learn inspires you to change how you work.

Now in its eighth year, Quality Talks has earned its reputation as anything but ordinary. Deliberately different, the event features speakers with something new and important to say.

Three speakers who will be on the Quality Talks stage are rethinking models of care. (Find out about other speakers here, here and here.)

Changing the Quality Conversation

Ben Kligler, MD, is a trailblazer. As Director of Integrative Medicine at the Veterans Administration, his “whole health” vision of care is playing out—and working out—on an impressive scale.

Benjamin Kligler, MD, MPH National Director, Coordinating Center for Integrative Health US Veterans Health Administration

Whole health changes clinical conversations from a focus on “What’s the matter with you?” to “What matters to you?” Whole health at the Veterans Administration is a cultural transformation of the largest integrated health system in the country. The VA serves 9 million veterans at 1,300 facilities.

Although it prioritizes the classic goals of clinical medicine (preventive care, disease management), whole health adds well-being to the mix, and engages veterans in defining their own path. That is, veterans express why their health is important to them and what they want health to allow them to do.

Veterans who use whole health services report better health and well-being overall. The approach is also linked to faster reduction in opioid use among veterans, compared to those who receive conventional care.

Bringing Better Care Home

Eliza “Pippa” Shulman, DO, MPH, is a visionary redefining how, when and where care happens. She’s the top doctor at Medically Home, the world’s first virtual hospital.

Eliza “Pippa” Shulman, DO, MPH Chief Medical Officer Medically Home

Pippa is convinced that combining the “home hospital” model with modern logistics and technology means that home hospital can work at scale. In her hybrid model, physicians and nurses practice virtually to augment bedside care. Hospitalized patients have easier access to care, payers save money.

But the idea doesn’t stop there. “Once we learned how to do it for hospitalized patients, we realized we could enable the entire continuum of care,” Pippa says. “Are there patients who need emergency department care that could be treated at home?”

Pippa’s story puts primary care physicians in the leading role—and it’s a story you won’t want to miss.

Thinking Big About Big Systems

Another speaker leading a crusade to change the status quo is Bechara Choucair, MD. As Chief Health officer at Kaiser Permanente, his focus is on improving the health of communities—something he knows about, since he’s former Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health under Mayors Tom Daly and Rahm Emanuel.

Bechara Choucair, MD Chief Health Officer Kaiser Permanente

Bechara says the connection between community health and personal health is undeniable, and that education cannot be overemphasized. He points to programs in educational environments that focus on healthy eating, active living and building resiliency as difference-makers that can improve health.

And, he says, social needs are as important as physical and mental health needs. Affordable housing, food security, transportation access, economic vitality, social isolation… all can affect health, for good or ill. Bechara comes to Quality Talks with a proposal for building an infrastructure that meets social needs in the same way it meets physical and mental health needs.

Quality Talks: Be There!

NCQA will present Quality Talks to an in-person audience at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC, on May 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In-person attendees have:

• Unmatched networking opportunities with speakers and attendees.
• Access to the livestream and post-event recording.
• An opportunity for a (limited capacity) VIP experience.

Quality Talks is also available as a virtual experience.

Register today.