Symposium Continues to Grow

2016 Event Draws Record Attendance

More than 860 physicians, students, exhibitors and guests attended this year's Ohio Osteopathic Symposium, setting an all-time attendance record.

The event, sponsored jointly by the OOA and Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) featured Keynote Speaker Paul Grundy, MD, an expert on global health care transformation who’s known as the “Godfather of the Patient-Centered Medical Home.”

“The medical home is a human relationship of trust,” Grundy told a packed ballroom. Within the next 10 years, he said, we will live in the middle of an aging and chronic disease epidemic, but in a world where digital technologies such as social and mobile are pervasive, and where data is regarded as just another natural resource. But, there will also be the ability to analyze data in a cognitive way, which will do for clinicians’ minds what X-ray and medical imaging have done for their vision. Grundy, founding president of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, said this will be accomplished by turning data into actionable information and where computers can analyze the meaning and context of human language, quickly processing vast amounts of information to suggest personalized options targeting a patient’s individual circumstances. When the population is proactively managed with data, he said, we begin to see positive results.

An in-depth, three-hour session examining the many factors related to opioid abuse and chronic pain concluded the 4-1/2-day conference. The panel session included State Rep. Robert Sprague (R-Findlay) giving a legislator’s view of the state’s opioid epidemic.

Several national dignitaries attended and provided updates: American Osteopathic Association (AOA) President John W. Becher, DO; ACOFP President Larry W. Anderson, DO; and Advocates for the AOA President Pam Kolinski. Other notable presentations were Single Accreditation: An Opportunity and Challenge for Osteopathic Medicine from Heritage College Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Robert A. Cain, DO; and the always-popular dermatology workshop for primary care.

Several special events were held during the Symposium, including the installation of Geraldine N. Urse, DO, of Columbus, as OOA president; the OOA House of Delegates; an awards ceremony; and the Match and Mentor networking reception for OU-HCOM students.

Physicians who attended the entire conference, April 20-24 in Columbus, earned 33 hours of category 1-A credit with the opportunity to earn three additional credits by completing the Symposium Outcomes Survey.