During the last week of February, Cerner’s European Collaboration Forum (ECF) celebrated its tenth anniversary by bringing together 650+ attendees from over 16 countries. Attendees spent their time at ECF20 reflecting on the progress made in revolutionising healthcare around the world and engaging in stimulating discussions about what the next stage of the journey could and should look like.

Cerner’s Collaboration Centre in London Paddington was the setting where healthcare professionals and industry leaders came together to collaborate and learn from each other over two days packed with content and networking opportunities.

This year’s theme, NOW/NEXT, was woven throughout the event’s programme, which saw speakers from 35+ organisations from around the world share their successes and challenges with the audience, celebrating the achievements and insights gained through the first wave of healthcare digitalisation and network building. The content also encouraged attendees to look forward to the next era of digitalisation and think about what the next steps are for their systems and organisations to take advantage of the latest available innovations.

Inspiring keynote sessions

Deirdre Stewart, one of our own nursing executives, was responsible for the introduction of ECF20’s opening keynote speaker. She captivated the audience with the experience of her and her husband, as they navigated a healthcare system that had a long way to go in order to provide a truly optimal patient experience. Dee spoke to how this has motivated her and her role within Cerner to help deliver better health and care in different geographies.

Using patient experience and engagement as the hook to remind health and care professionals in the room the relevance of what each of them do every day, Dee then welcomed on stage BBC broadcaster and writer Deborah James – better known by her social media handle @BowelBabe.

Deborah did a fabulous job setting the tone for the event, and her presentation was referred to in nearly every session that followed. She spoke with passion about her experience as a patient and the real impact that technology, used in the right context, can have on a patient’s wellbeing and journey through the healthcare system.

Deborah used the space to emphasise the desire of every patient to feel part of the system that cares for them – to be listened to, to be at the core of every treatment decision, while also relying on a connected system that allows them to “get busy living” and not having to constantly repeat their stories.

The second day was kicked off by an experienced group of panellists featuring Andrew Way, chief executive of Alfred Health in Australia, Yasir Khan from the Ministry of Health and Prevention in the UAE, Patrik Sundström, head of digital health at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), and NHS regional director for London, Sir David Sloman.

Chaired by Monica Trujillo, CMO and CCIO for Cerner Australia and Asia Pacific, and Justin Whatling, Cerner’s vice president for Global Population Health, the session explored what the future of connected healthcare looks like across the four different geographies, the key drivers for each region, and what the top challenges could be as they seek to deliver their strategic visions.

Common themes mentioned during the keynote include the challenges presented by differing policy goals of local and regional governments, and wide ranges of provider and regulatory bodies with overlapping populations.

Patrik Sundström urged for a change in the order of priorities in most countries’ societies, where individuals currently hold greater control over their financial decisions and data than they do over their own health information.

Meanwhile, Sir David Sloman invited the audience to rethink the way that vision and desired transformation outcomes are defined and presented to key stakeholders. He encouraged leaders to “make sure the view is worth the climb”, for this has proven to be paramount in delivering transformation initiatives successfully.

Following each day’s keynote, participants then moved on to attend breakout sessions covering a multitude of industry hot topics and case studies of successful advancements in healthcare. These ranged from positive implementation methods, workforce engagement, and clinician burnout prevention, to practical examples of population health management initiatives in different regions, the use of analytics inside and outside acute sites, and the role of information governance to enable transformation at system-level.

Immersive Solutions Gallery

In between sessions and at the end of the day, delegates had an opportunity to chat with experts from Cerner and partner organisations to explore and interact with the latest innovations and solutions that will fuel healthcare’s next chapter – all showcased in the ECF20 Solutions Gallery.

This year, the floor also featured the Healthy Lounge – a shared space designed to encourage wellbeing and to remind participants that self-care and allowing time for a break is vital as we try to move from reactive care to proactive health approaches.

Attendees wanting to take the sharing to the next level were also given an opportunity to donate some of their time and help assemble essential personal care bags, sponsored by First Hand Foundation, that would then go to local charities to aid those in need.

What next?

The last day of the event was then followed by another day of extended collaboration between Cerner experts and ECF attendees. Thursday 27 February saw groups of experts come together again to attend Cerner’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) – an opportunity for attendees to deep dive into the topics that are most relevant to them, share their key takeaways from the Forum and discuss how to put these into action to start creating value for their organisations.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter to find out about further collaboration opportunities and how to start building value-based partnerships with us, our clients and our partners today. If you weren’t able to join us at ECF this year or if you’re already looking forward to another insightful event, don’t forget to save the date for Cerner Health Conference (CHC) in Kansas City 12-14 October 2020.

What attendees said...

• "We’re at the start of our journey, so the event has been eye-opening. It's about how data-rich we can be if we use our system properly. The potential gains are massive."

• "This is my third time at ECF. The sessions were more interactive this year (…) they were more engaging, and the opportunity to network is always appreciated!”

• “Brilliant day one at ECF20 - excellent speakers and shared learning points.”

• “Thanks for hosting. Great networking event as always.”

• “Thanks for all the hard work put into organising and hosting this event - we really enjoyed #ECF20 and are looking forward to #ECF21 already!”

• “I think [ECF] creates an atmosphere of true networking and of sharing. I see, in a lot of sessions, people are interactive, they are curious... I'm convinced that the future of healthcare is really going to build on the shoulders of the strongest of partnerships where private and public come together in new ways.”

• “I think the networking is fantastic... it's a wonderful place to meet colleagues and get inspiration.”