Attend the premier patient safety and risk management conference
We are excited to announce that ISMIE’s annual Risk Management Symposium will spotlight six extraordinary speakers offering thought-provoking insights and actionable guidance on patient safety and risk management.
The event will be held online over three days, featuring topics such as substance use disorder, precision medicine, informed consent and more!
2024 Speakers & Sessions
Mahshid Abir, MD, MSc
Reimagining the U.S. Health System
Mashid Abir, MD, MSc
Mahshid Abir, MD, is a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a practicing emergency physician. Her research evaluates the acute care continuum, including pre-hospital, emergency, inpatient, and ambulatory care, with a focus on policy-related issues. Dr. Abir's past work includes developing measures for hospital surge capacity funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. She also evaluated patient-centered outcomes as part of health system redesign initiatives.
Reimagining the U.S. Health System
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain challenges and staff shortages continue to affect the delivery of care for physicians and clinicians across the United States, and many healthcare professionals are left questioning what can be done to eliminate or reduce these issues. In this presentation, Dr. Mashid Abir will focus on how the U.S. health system can be redesigned based on learnings from the COVID pandemic. Additionally, she will discuss redesign considerations in the context of both societal changes and looming climate change threats, leaving participants with strategies for improving the care they deliver.
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Wendy Chung, MD, PhD
The ABCs of DNA: Understanding the Causation of Health Outcomes
Wendy Chung, MD, PhD
Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, is a clinical and molecular geneticist and the chief of the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chung directs NIH-funded research programs in human genetics of pulmonary hypertension, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, autism, and birth defects, including congenital diaphragmatic hernia and congenital heart disease. She is a national leader in the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics. She was the recipient of the Rare Impact Award from the National Organization of Rare Disorders and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Physicians. Dr. Chung received her BA in biochemistry from Cornell University, her MD from Cornell University Medical College, and her PhD in genetics from The Rockefeller University.
The ABCs of DNA: Understanding the Causation of Health Outcomes
Genetics contribute to many health conditions, some of which are associated with disabilities and death. Genetic testing is one tool physicians and clinicians can use to help identify the genes associated with those disabilities and diseases. While genetic tests range in complexity and completeness, no genetic test is perfect. Clinical scenarios and currently available genetic tests can be used in tandem to identify and determine the probability that a condition is due to a single gene disorder. Join Dr. Wendy Chung as she explores how and when to consider genetic testing and what it can and cannot tell us.
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Sarah Wakeman, MD
Substance Use Disorder: A Treatable Health Condition with a Good Prognosis
Sarah Wakeman, MD
Sarah Wakeman, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Medical Director for the Mass General Hospital Program in Substance Use & Addiction Services, Program Director of the Mass General Addiction Medicine fellowship, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Substance Use Disorder: A Treatable Health Condition with a Good Prognosis
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), over 48 million Americans aged 12 or older suffered from substance use disorder in 2022. Even more shocking to learn: 94% of Americans with a substance use disorder in 2021 did not receive treatment. People suffering from substance use disorder can often feel isolated with very little hope for the future, but recovery is possible. In this session, Dr. Sarah Wakeman will review the current epidemiology of substance use disorder. Additionally, she will discuss evidence-based treatment interventions, care models, and opportunities for system change, leaving learners with the tools to offer effective treatment for this good-prognosis, treatable health condition.
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Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH
Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Understanding the Rise
Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH
Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, is Associate Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She also serves as the Founding Director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center and Co-Director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at DFCI. Her research focuses on identifying dietary, plasma, and molecular predictors of improved survival in patients with colorectal cancer, with a special interest in the vitamin D pathway, microbiome, and young-onset colorectal cancer. She is the recipient of numerous NIH, foundation, and industry grants to support this work. Dr. Ng chaired the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Scientific Program Committee for the 2023 Annual Meeting and currently serves as a member of ASCO’s Nominating Committee.
Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Understanding the Rise
Statistically, young adults in their 20s and 30s are much less likely to get colorectal cancer compared to people 50 and older, yet by the year 2030 cases in these age groups are expected to increase in every ethnic and racial group by 90%. Young-onset colorectal cancer can be a frightening diagnosis for patients, but with the proper detection and treatment, it can be curable. In this presentation, Dr. Kimmie Ng will review what is known thus far about young-onset colorectal cancer. She will discuss the creation and implementation of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center, as well as outline several future steps that are needed to advance our knowledge of this disease in young people and improve prevention, early detection and survival.
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Gretchen Schwarze, MD, MPP, FACS
Doing Better: Engaging Patients and Families in a Deliberative Space about Treatment
Gretchen Schwarze MD, MPP, FACS
Gretchen Schwarze, MD, MPP, FACS, is the Morgridge Professor of Vascular Surgery and a professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She completed residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Her fellowship training in vascular surgery and clinical ethics was at the University of Chicago Hospital and Clinics.
Doing Better: Engaging Patients and Families in a Deliberative Space about Treatment
Join Dr. Gretchen Schwarze as she reviews the framework called “Better Conversations,” which aims to help clinicians provide context about clinical norms, establish the goals of surgery, and comprehensively delineate the downsides of surgery to generate a deliberative space for patients to consider whether this treatment is right for them. This paradigm shift meets the standards for informed consent, supports deliberation, and allows patients to anticipate and prepare for the experience of treatment. Although it focuses on surgical practice, this novel framework can be adapted to any setting where consent is required for treatment.
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Tait Shanafelt, MD
Charting a Course to Foster Clinician Well-being
Tait Shanafelt, MD
Tait Shanafelt, MD, is a hematologist oncologist whose clinical work focuses on the care of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In addition, Dr. Shanafelt is the Chief Wellness Officer at Standford Medicine, the Jeanie and Stewart Richie Professor of Medicine, and Associate Dean at Stanford Medicine. He served a seven-year term on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Leukemia Steering Committee from 2014-2020 and has been principal investigator on four R01 grants from the NCI, including two active R01s. Dr. Shanafelt has been the principal investigator on numerous clinical trials testing new treatments for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia including two national phase-three trials for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). He has published over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts and commentaries in addition to more than 200 abstracts and book chapters.
Charting a Course to Foster Clinician Well-being
Occupational distress is common among healthcare professionals and can have substantial personal and professional implications. An extensive body of research has demonstrated a strong link between clinicians’ personal well-being and the quality of care they provide patients. Recent research has identified a number of actionable contributing factors organizations can address to improve clinician well-being and mitigate the associated risks. Evolving research has also revealed specific dimensions of the culture of medicine that contribute to clinician distress. In this closing keynote presentation, Dr. Shanafelt will review the literature on clinician distress, discuss organizational approaches to promote clinician well-being, and highlight dimensions of professional culture that must evolve to create an optimal practice environment.
Read full speaker and session detailsWho should attend
ISMIE’s Risk Management Symposium offers valuable insights for physicians, clinicians and risk managers alike. Attendees are encouraged to attend as many sessions as they’d like over the three days, allowing them to tailor the program to their specific needs.
Here’s what past attendees said:
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Some of the best speakers I have heard!
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Excellent symposium. Very informative.
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Thank you for the topics presented in this Symposium, please continue doing it.
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You are doing a great job keeping us grounded and focused on good care while keeping our lives in balance.
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I appreciate the ongoing continuing education opportunities.
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Excellent Symposium; keep up the good work! ISMIE does a great job in providing cutting edge/current topics each year!