The Center for Health Research has has hosted numerous conferences on health care. Read more about the conferences below or see their respective web sites for more detailed information.
Information about upcoming conferences is available on the Events page.
Building on the success of the first conference, the Second Annual Bay Area Health Care Quality and Outcomes Research Conference was held on Tuesday, May 11, 2004, in the Lipman Room of Barrows Hall, on the UC Berkeley campus.
The conference--sponsored by the University of California at San Francisco and was sponsored by the Center for Health Research at UC Berkeley, the Department of Health Research and Policy at Stanford University, and the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF--provided a stimulating environment for research discussion and interaction among Bay area colleagues.
While the conference papers are accessible only by the conference participants, abstracts can be viewed at the conference web site, hcqo2.berkeley.edu.
The Center is proud to announce that the Second Annual Science and Society Research Conference, Confronting Obesity: Science, Health, and Society, was a phenomenal success. Held on Thursday, April 15, 2004 at the Berkeley City Club, the conference featured a thought-provoking look at the growing epidemic of obesity in this country and its ramifications for personal behavior and public policy.
Conference proceedings will be available from the conference website, ss2.berkeley.edu, in late summer.
On April 25, 1953, a short article in the journal Nature laid out theories regarding the double-helix structure of DNA. In doing so, it changed forever the way we look at our world.
Fifty years later, the Human Genome Project has completed the decoding of the human genome, the puzzle that is human DNA. Leaders in science and industry are poised to use this knowledge and its attendant technology in ways that have vast and deep societal implications. Yet there has been very little public discussion of how our new understanding of genomics can best serve the genuine public interest.
On April 25, 2003, the Center for Health Research hosted Advances in Genomic Research: Implications for Science & Society, a one-day conference that seeked to promote open and reflective communication among thinkers in science, industry, and bioethics. Our goal was to stimulate ongoing educational activities related to genomics in the academic and wider communities.
Many of the speakers' presentations, as well as links to a number of 50th Anniversary events, information about DNA, and genomic research in general are available at the conference web site, gr-ss.berkeley.edu.
The inaugural Bay Area Health Care Quality and Outcomes Research Conference was designed to provide an opportunity to bring together Northern California researchers interested in health care quality and outcomes research for a day of interaction and discussion of new research.
The conference was held Thursday, May 22, 2003 at the University of California at San Francisco and was sponsored by the Center for Health Research at UC Berkeley, the Department of Health Research and Policy at Stanford University, and the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF.
Although the conference papers are accessibly only by the conference participants, you can read the accepted abstracts at the conference web site, hcqo.berkeley.edu.
Successful implementation of technology in the tumultuous "real world" of the California health care system is not without its challenges. In response to these challenges, the Center hosted the Health Care Information Technology 2003, a conference focused on selecting, financing, and successfully implementing technology applications in health care as a way to help enable quality improvement initiatives.
This two-day conference, held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on January 14-15, 2003, featured case studies that highlighted the experiences of a diverse group of California health care organizations, from mid-sized physician groups and community clinics, to commercial health plans and the Veterans Administration. It provided a unique opportunity for health care professionals to learn about several major health care technology initiatives in California and to interact with and gain insights from the experiences of their peers across the state.
The conference program and many of the speakers' presentations are available at the conference web site, CaHealthIT.berkeley.edu.
Sponsored by the Center for Health Research, the Fourth Annual Health Care Organizations Conference (HCOC4) was held on June 6-7, 2002 in the Seaborg Room of The Faculty Club, on the Berkeley campus of the University of California.
Abstracts of the conference papers are accessible from the conference web site, hcoc4.berkeley.edu.
There has been much discussion about the use of clinical connectivity to improve provider-patient relationships and health care outcomes. A 1999 Institute of Medicine report estimated that 98,000 patient deaths per year are due to medical errors-errors that could be substantially reduced through such means as automated drug order entry and better communication between and among providers.
Although many new digital devices have been successfully used to improve patient care and reduce costs, a recent study indicated that only 13% of providers are taking advantage of these new digital technologies. Among the reasons for this slow adoption rate are the lack of investment capital, the complexity of health systems, and simple personal resistance to change.
The Symposium on eHealth & Technology Stategies to Improve Care Delivery in California sponsored by the Center and supported by a grant from the California HealthCare Foundation examined the above issues and develop specific actions for removing the barriers to more rapid and widespread diffusion of digital technologies in the provision of care to improve patient outcomes throughout California and the nation at large.
See the conference website, eHealth2001.berkeley.edu, for the conference agenda and presentations from many of the speakers.
© 2005 UC Regents. All rights reserved.
