Looking Ahead
On Tuesday, December 9th, the Kelsey Research Foundation held the 15th Annual Health Services and Outcomes Research Conference at the Houston Marriot at the Texas Medical Center. Entitled, “The Impact of Healthcare Reform on Quality of Care and Research,” the conference was designed to connect the fields of health services research and medical practice.
“One of the principle reasons that we’re here today is to consider the evolving implications of the Affordable Care Act on quality of care and research,” said Anthony J. Greisinger, Ph.D., executive director of the Kelsey Research Foundation. “Since the legislation was passed in 2010, our conference has focused on some of the leading health care institutions in Houston. Each of them has shared how they’re prepared to face the changes in health care reform.”
Presenters included Arthur (Tim) Garson, Jr., M.D., MPH, director of the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute, Tracy Spinks program director of Cancer Care Delivery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Craig Cordola, chief executive officer of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Workshop leaders and poster presenters provided additional tools and methods to enhance the collective goal of improving quality of care.
“It’s important to examine what problems was the Affordable Care Act trying to solve, what was it designed to do, what it has done to date, and what do we do next,” reflected Garson. “I want to look at those issues from the perspective of the four pillars of health policy—coverage, access, cost and quality.” Garson’s presentation, “The Affordable Care Act: What is Next?” offered a national perspective on the future of health care reform.
In 2000, the Kelsey Research Foundation initiated the first Health Services and Outcomes Research Conference in Houston to provide a forum for health services researchers, healthcare providers, policy makers, purchasers and consumers to address the challenges that we face in striving to improve the quality of healthcare. Addressing both local communities and the United States as a whole, the conference has become a vital collaboration, uniting a wide audience of those concerned with meaningful and innovative initiatives.
