KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, will host nearly 14,000 health care industry leaders, practitioners and Cerner associates for its annual Cerner Health Conference (CHC), Oct. 11-14, in Kansas City. Clients, partners and associates will gather to collaborate with peers, share best practices and gain hands-on experience with Cerner's innovative health care solutions and services.

Due to the continued growth of CHC, conference events will be hosted in more than one facility for the first time. In addition to the Kansas City Convention Center, Cerner will host CHC sessions, speakers and workshops at Sprint Center, the Crowne Plaza and Marriott hotels. CHC's annual networking event will again take place at the Power and Light District.

The event will be Kansas City's third-largest convention in 2015. The Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association estimates that CHC will generate more than $14 million for the Kansas City economy, based on spending by the company and attendees, more than half of whom travel from outside the area.

The 2015 conference theme, "Connecting what Matters," highlights the importance of connecting all aspects of health and care to achieve a truly comprehensive and integrated continuum of care. From personal relationships to interoperability, health care relies on connections for information, guidance and healing.

Cerner clients will lead the majority of more than 340 diverse education sessions, which will feature more than 700 speakers. These sessions will highlight innovations in some of the health care industry's most relevant areas, including population health, clinical and financial integration, care transitions and clinical mobility. Attendees will also learn from their peers and Cerner experts through demonstrations, interactive exhibits and networking opportunities.

Interoperability will be a focus for this year's CHC, with more than 20 industry leaders scheduled to discuss client outcomes, collaboration across the industry and device and electronic health record connectivity. On Oct. 12, Deven McGraw, deputy director for health information privacy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, will address overcoming compliance concerns to accomplish interoperability.

Cerner will welcome former Siemens Health Services (SHS) clients and associates to the conference. Specialized sessions and events for the newest additions to the Cerner client family will be part of this year's schedule.

The following is a sample of speakers who will provide main stage addresses during the conference:

(Subject to change)

Preview of 2015 General Session speakers include:

  • Sunday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.: Jamie Heywood is one of the foremost practitioners using technology to transform health care. He is the founder of PatientsLikeMe.com, an innovative web community that allows patients to control and access their health care information.
  • Monday, Oct. 12 at 8:30 a.m.: Ben Goldacre is a doctor, academic, campaigner and writer whose work focuses on uses and misuses of science and statistics by journalists, politicians and drug companies. Ben wrote the weekly Bad Science column in The Guardian from 2003 to 2011. He is also the author of the bestselling books, Bad Science and Bad Pharma.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 9:30 a.m.: Neal Patterson, Cerner chairman, CEO and co-founder, will provide an update on Cerner's vision for health systems, providers, and communities. He will welcome Dr. Karen DeSalvo, the acting assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and leaders from the U.S. Department of Defense as guest speakers.

Cerner clients and partners can register to attend at events.ucern.com/CHC15. To follow CHC, visit cerner.com/blog for guest posts from speakers and clients, and connect with presenters and attendees on Twitter using the hashtag #CHC15.

Media Note:

To attend as a member of the media, please RSVP to Victoria Guerra at victoria.guerra@cerner.com.

About Cerner

Cerner's health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 18,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients' clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner's mission is to contribute to the systemic improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities.  On February 2, 2015, Cerner Corporation acquired substantially all of the assets, and assumed certain liabilities, of the Siemens Health Services business from Siemens AG.  Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com, read our blog at cerner.com/blog, connect with us on Twitter at twitter.com/cerner and on Facebook at facebook.com/cerner.

Certain trademarks, service marks and logos set forth herein are property of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other non-Cerner marks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Cerner Media Contact: Victoria Guerra,
         (816) 724-7218, victoria.guerra@cerner.com

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