PCPCC Executive Director Marci Nielsen, Ph.D., Will Be a Featured Speaker at The Atlantic's Fourth Annual Health Care Forum

Panel discussion to focus on the evolution of patient-centered primary care

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Marci Nielsen, Ph.D., MPH, executive director of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, will be a featured speaker at The Atlantic's fourth annual Health Care Forum on April 19 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.

She will participate in a panel titled "The Evolution of Patient-Centered Primary Care," slated for 10:30 a m. The panel discussion, as well as the rest of the event, will be live streamed at events.theatlantic.com/-2012-health-care-forum/2012/.

"We know that primary care transformation is the foundation for changes we need to see across the health care delivery system," Nielsen said. "It is increasingly clear that the medical home can transform health care delivery and enhance health in both patients and the communities in which they live."

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative works to provide resources to help patients, purchasers and health plans to become active in this transformation, and Nielsen looks forward to including other thought leaders in the conversation.

"We are all participating in a tremendous learning process. We are learning about the best ways to engage patients, overcome challenges to implementation for health care providers, and determine the role that payers can and should play," she said. "I believe it is particularly important to keep consumer engagement at the forefront and focus on the needs of the patient as well as the health of populations."

The Health Care Forum will include discussions on a range of related issues, including the future of wireless health, the potential of data innovation, and how to finance health care in the current economy. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be the keynote speaker. To learn more about the forum, visit events.theatlantic.com/-2012-health-care-forum/2012/.

Media interested in attending the event should email Natalie Raabe at The Atlantic ([email protected]).

About the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative
The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 1,000 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians, and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient-centered medical home. The Collaborative believes that, if implemented, the patient-centered medical home will improve the health of patients and the health care delivery system. For more information on the patient-centered medical home and a complete list of the PCPCC members, please visit http://www.pcpcc.net/.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative