Introduction

There has been much talk in recent years about the need for disease registries to improve the quality of health care. According to a report by the American Hospital Association, treatment of chronic disease accounted for 75 percent of health care spending in 2000. In its 2003 report Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine stated, “Those with chronic conditions are better served by a systematic approach that emphasizes self-management, care planning with a multidisciplinary team, and ongoing assessment and follow-up.”

Studies have shown that tools such as disease registries can help physicians provide better care to patients with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and coronary heart disease. This one-day conference, aimed at physicians in primary care practice, will provide an overview of disease registries. Speakers include physicians who are using disease registries and can describe their experiences and lessons learned.

You will learn:

• Why disease registries have become necessary in physician practice
• The business case for disease registries and why they are cost effective compared to Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems
• How disease registries can be used by themselves in practice or integrated into existing practice EMRs
• How disease registries contribute to the quality of patient care
• How disease registries help document outcomes and prepare physicians for pay-for-performance
• How Web-based resources, such as the personal health record, can link to disease registries

Program Committee
Chair: William Mattern, MD (UNC Health Care System)
Martha Adams, MD (Duke University Health System)
Patricia MacTaggart (EDS)
Franklin Maddux, MD (Gamewood, Inc.)
Katherine McGinnis (Eastern AHEC)
Vicki Onisick (Siemens Medical Solutions)
Stephen Willis, MD (Eastern AHEC)