KANSAS CITY, MO – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will headline Cerner's annual user conference Tuesday in Kansas City with a speech on healthcare reform, IT and meaningful use.

Cerner officials say more than 6,000 healthcare professionals are expected to gather at the Kansas City Convention Center for the 24th annual Cerner Health Conference, which also marks the healthcare IT company’s 30th anniversary. Attendees from six continents, representing nearly 20 countries, have registered for the event, which runs Oct. 4-7.

Besides Sebelius, attendees will hear from social media expert Mitch Joel, author of the book "Six Pixels of Separation" and president of Twist Image. On Monday, Cerner chairman, CEO and co-founder Neal Patterson will discuss the role of innovation in health system reform and provide CHC attendees a glimpse of Cerner's vision for the future.

CHC offers more than 260 education sessions led by healthcare leaders and industry presenters about current topics in healthcare and best practices for the use of healthcare IT in improving operations, efficiency and patient care. These education sessions offer more than 300 hours of continuing education credits.

"I look forward to CHC week each year as the premier opportunity to get together with healthcare's most innovative professionals to exchange ideas about improving our health system," Paterson said. "CHC allows us to interact and demonstrate ways healthcare IT can help transform care delivery to make it safer for our patients and more cost effective for our society."

Cerner, university partner on innovation

Cerner and the University of Missouri announced on Sept 28 plans to create a Tiger Institute for Health Innovation. Cerner officials said the R&D pact would generate revenue for Cerner and save the university money while also potentially reduce healthcare costs statewide.

The financial details of the agreement were not revealed.

"The Tiger Institute is possible because of the close alignment between two Missouri organizations who want to see the latest technological innovations put into practice, who want the healthcare system to be more efficient and effective and who want to contribute to the economic prosperity of our home state," Patterson said in making the announcement. "This partnership will be held up as a model for the modernization of our current healthcare system."