The first-ever Vizient Clinical Connections Summit in Dallas, Texas, attracted 1200 health care leaders from member organizations. The September 28-30, 2016, event attracted attendees from 350 academic medical centers (AMCs), health systems, community hospitals, pediatric facilities, and other health care organizations, who came together to share knowledge and best practices on performance improvement. The Summit drew avid interest from Vizient members as they celebrated the first full year of the integration of VHA, University HealthSystem Consortium, Novation, MedAssets SCM, and Sg2, trusted leaders focused on solving health care's most pressing challenges. Vizient is the nation's largest member-owned health care service company. Its mission is to connect members with the knowledge, solutions, and expertise that accelerate performance. Deploying All Facets of Innovation The Summit's theme-The Future Awakens-spotlighted multiple dimensions of innovation, from digital 701070A JMXXX10.

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The unstoppable pulse of change was found everywhere during the UHC Annual Conference 2013, where more than 1300 UHC members were joined by 170 UHC and Novation staff and nearly 300 business partners to explore new ways to improve patient care and organizational efficiency. Held in Atlanta, Georgia in October 2013, the meeting was a much-anticipated annual event for academic medical center (AMC) leaders and their teams and network partners. Gaining Fresh PerspectivesPlenary speaker and creativity expert Tom Kelley described "vuja de" as the ability to look at a challenge with fresh eyes to create new solutions. This phenomenon was very much in evidence as UHC members learned from each other during 70 rapid-fire presentations and nearly 60 poster demonstrations that unveiled improvements in readmissions, patient experiences, workforce productivity, cost control, and other urgent challenges. Attendees were energized by preconference activities and plenary and rapid-fire sessions that offered information on powerful new solutions with promising results. During conference breaks, receptions, and dinners, participants eagerly engaged in networking with their peers to discuss presentation highlights and share ideas. Optimizing InnovationTechnology pioneer Eric Topol, MD, predicted that biosensors and other digital devices will completely transform the health care landscape, providing more data-driven care to patients beyond the hospital. The next day, attendees viewed some of these innovations during the interactive UHC Start-up Challenge: Innovation Delivered, which was held on October 18, 2013. Five digital entrepreneurs presented their innovative concepts in health care to a live 519567A JMXXX10.

, where nearly 3000 Vizient member organizations-including academic medical centers, complex teaching medical centers, community hospitals, pediatric facilities, and other specialty providers-gathered to discover, learn, and explore together. Featuring a "Dive Deep" theme, the 2018 summit offered Vizient members, business partners, and staff educational offerings, networking opportunities, and collaborative activities to help health care leaders from across the country learn how to achieve their clinical and operational goals. As the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the United States, Vizient works closely with its members to improve patient outcomes and lower costs. Byron Jobe, president and chief executive officer of Vizient, commenced the proceedings with a fresh perspective on the health care landscape. Jobe linked his video presentation-which focused on the mimic octopus and its ability to camouflage-with the disruptive changes experienced by today's health care organizations and advised that members must adapt to achieve "best-inclass" quality and cost performance. The shift to beyondthe-walls care, system consolidation, blurred lines between payers and providers, and the digital disruption of consumerism are affecting all health care organizations. Leaders' ability to succeed in this climate hinges on their ability to adapt and thrive. In turn, Vizient is responding by changing and adapting to meet members' needs.

Published for Joint Commission accredited organizations and interested health care professionals, Sentinel Event Alert identifies specific types of sentinel events, describes their common underlying causes, and suggests steps to prevent occurrences in the future. Accredited organizations should consider information in an Alert when designing or redesigning relevant processes and consider implementing relevant suggestions contained in the Alert or reasonable alternatives. Please route this issue to appropriate staff within your organization. Sentinel Event Alert may only be reproduced in its entirety and credited to The Joint Commission. To receive by e-mail, or to view past issues, visit www.jointcommission.org. __________________________ A complimentary publication of Issue 49, August 8, 2012 The Joint Commission Safe use of opioids in hospitalsWhile opioid use is generally safe for most patients, opioid analgesics may be associated with adverse effects, 1,2,3 the most serious effect being respiratory depression, which is generally preceded by sedation. 4,5,6 Other common adverse effects associated with opioid therapy include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, sedation, delirium, hallucinations, falls, hypotension, and aspiration pneumonia. 4,7 Adverse events can occur with the use of any opioid; among these are fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, and sufentanil. While there are numerous problems associated with opioid use, including underprescribing, overprescribing, tolerance, dependence, and drug abuse, this Alert will focus on the safe use of opioids that are prescribed and administered within the inpatient hospital setting. The Joint Commission recognizes that the emergency department presents unique challenges that should also be addressed by the hospital, but may not be directly addressed in this Alert. This Alert will provide a number of actions that can be taken to avoid the unintended consequences of opioid use among hospital inpatients.* The reporting of most sentinel events to The Joint Commission is voluntary and represents only a small proportion of actual events. Therefore these data are not an epidemiologic data set and no conclusions should be drawn about the actual relative frequency of events or trends in events over time.