Event

2024 Merge User Meeting

Connect with industry leaders, partners, and peers at our annual get-together.

Hartland, WI

September 15-17

Join us for a homecoming at our new headquarters

We're delighted to invite you to our Merge User Meeting, set to take place at our newly renovated headquarters in Hartland, WI. This event offers a unique, more intimate experience, allowing for deeper connections and interactions. Register below to join us.

style

bg-white

Schedule**

Day 1 – Sunday, September 15

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. CT – Welcome Event

Join us for dinner and peer networking to kick-off the 2024 Merge User Meeting at the Red Circle Inn supper club.

Registration will be available to get your badge at the dinner.

Transportation will be provided to/from the conference hotels/dinner. Busses start to board around 5:45pm at the conference hotels. Travel time is about 10 minutes to the Red Circle Inn

Day 2 – Monday, September 16

6:45 a.m. CT - Transportation

Transportation will be provided from conference hotels to the office. Travel time is about 15 minutes.

First bus will leave the hotel about 6:45am. Last bus will leave the hotel about 7:30am.

7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT - Registration

Registration desk will be open to pick up your badge, and ask any questions you may have.

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. CT – Networking Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. CT – General Session Topics

Opening Remarks
Ashish Sant, General Manager Merative

Advancing Enterprise Imaging & Future of Cloud

Monique Rasband, VP Strategy & Research, Imaging, KLAS

8:40 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. CT – Networking Break

8:55 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. CT – Physician’s Panel

Finding a ‘Moderate Middle’ between Innovation and Legacy Tech

Panel Discussion moderated by

Dr. Raj Chopra, Chief Medical Officer, Merge

9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CT – Networking Break

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. CT - Breakouts

Cardiology

UHS Early Adoption Review

Roza Dinishenskaya, Product Manager, Merge Cardio & Deana LeCrone, UHS St. Mary's Manager, Clinical Technology

In this session, we will discuss how important feedback (from Sponsored users, Early Evaluators, and Early Adopters) was for the Merge Cardio 12.4 release.

Radiology

Current State of Unity and Edward-Elmhurst Health’s Journey to Imaging Suite

Jeff Hanson, Product Manager, Merge Unity & Patricia Rutkiewicz, Manager of Imaging Informatics at Edward-Elmhurst Health

In this session you will learn the current state of Merge Unity and Patty from Edward-Elmhurst Health will guide us through her journey from Merge Unity to Imaging Suite.

Enterprise Imaging

Cloudy with a chance of your last migration*

John Hally, Principle Product Manager, Merge VNA

In this presentation we’ll dive into medical Imaging and Cloud, how it can help accelerate adoption of innovation as well as protect against downtimes. We will share Merge’s Cloud vision, strategy and latest innovations from migrations to Kubernetes and everything in between. We will discuss how, regardless where your institution is at in their cloud journey, Merge can meet you where you are and find a path to your future cloud strategy in a step wise approach.

11:00 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. CT – Transition Break

11:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. CT – Breakouts

Cardiology

Merge Cardio and Merge Hemo Roadmap*

Roza Dinishenskaya, Product Manager, Merge Cardio & Greg Monroe, Product Manager, Merge Hemo

Join us on our journey of exploring the future of Merge Cardio and Merge Hemo.

Radiology

Move Up or Stay Put: A dialogue on Version Upgrade

Kepha Lee, Sr. Product Manager, Merge PACS, Dr. Raj Chopra, Chief Medical Officer, Merge, Shane Benson, PACS Administrator, Covenant, & Page Hobbs, Technical Analyst, McFarland Clinic

The panelists will share their perspectives and assessment on new versions of the application.

Enterprise Imaging

Enterprise Imaging (EI)*

Thomas Doherty, Principle Product Manager, Merge Universal Viewer

We'll delve into Enterprise Imaging, exploring how it streamlines workflows and optimizes clinical imaging across your healthcare organization. We'll discuss the benefits of a centralized archive for all medical images, along with improved access and collaboration for your care teams. By leveraging insights from industry experts, we'll explore how Enterprise Imaging can enhance patient care and operational efficiency.

12:05 p.m. - 1:05 p.m. CT - Networking Lunch

1:05 p.m. - 2:05 p.m. CT – Breakouts

Cardiology

Hemo 11.1*

Greg Monroe, Product Manager, Merge Hemo

Join us for a deep dive into the exciting next generation Merge Hemo.

Radiology

Merge PACS 9.x Overview ad Beyond*

Kepha Lee, Sr. Product Manager, Merge PACS & Jude Escobedo, Pre-Sales Consultant, Merge

Overview of MPACS 9.x line, and learn how the latest version of Merge PACS can impact customers.

Enterprise Imaging

Orchestrating work to flow*

Linda Bagley, Principle Product Manager, Merge Workflow Orchestrator

We're diving into some exciting advancements that are set to transform how we operate daily. By integrating AI and automation into our workflow, we’re not just keeping pace with technology—we're harnessing it to significantly improve patient care and clinical workflows. It's all about making our processes more efficient and intuitive to achieve synchronization in our work environment.

2:05 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. CT – Networking Break

2:50 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. CT - Breakouts

Cardiology

Cardiologist Merge Partnership

Dr. Sujith Kalathiveetil, Director of Advanced Imaging, Section of Cardiology, Duly Health Care & Bob Schallhorn Product Management Leader - Cardiology

Hear from our cardiologist consultant, Dr. Kalathiveetil, and his experience helping to shape product roadmaps and development for cardiology.

Radiology

Merge PACS - Mammography Solutions*

Kepha Lee, Sr. Product Manager, Merge PACS & Jude Escobedo, Pre-Sales Consultant, Merge

Learn how Merge PACS integrated mammography solution can impact your radiologists' experience.

Enterprise Imaging

Developing a Flight Plan for Your Imaging Journey to the Cloud

Tiffany Lemmen, Director IT Services at Queen’s Health Systems & Leonard Santos, Director of Imaging & Ancillary Systems at MultiCare Health System

The panel will share their cloud journey blueprint with the attendees. This digital transformation discussion will detail why the panelists elected to move to the cloud now, how they designed their deployment model and how they govern the transformation. Throughout the session the panelists will be sharing their thoughts on the requirements to gain successful adoption for your journey to the cloud.

3:50 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT – Transportation to Hotel

Transportation provided from office to the conference hotels. Buses will leave the office about 4pm.

Use this time to get ready for the baseball game.

5:45 p.m. CT – Transportation to game

Catch bus to the game from your conference hotel at 5:45pm. Travel time is about 30 mins.

6:40 p.m. CT - Customer Appreciation Event: MLB Game at American Family Field

Philadelphia Phillies at Milwaukee Brewers: Game start 6:40pm.

Bus will pick up attendees at the end of the game.

Day 3 – Tuesday, September 17

7:15 a.m. CT – Transportation to office

Transportation will be provided from hotel to the office. Travel time is about 15 mins.

First bus will leave the hotel about 7:15am. Last bus will leave the hotel about 8:10am.

7:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. CT – Registration

Registration Desk will be open to ask any questions you may have.

7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. CT – Networking Breakfast

8:30 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. CT – Imaging Suite

Bill Kazee, Sr Director of Product Management for Merge Enterprise Imaging and Cloud

Join us to better understand the value of Merge's Imaging Suite and the successful impact it is having in the market today. As an extension of sharing today's success stories, we will also unveil our vision for tomorrow.

8:55 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. CT – Why Healthcare is under Cyber-attacks and how Merge is defending against it

Nilesh Shah, CTO and Head of Engineering for Merge ; John Hally, Principal Product Manager Merge VNA ; Scott Sippel, Chief Information Security Officer for Merative

Healthcare data breaches are more prevalent than ever with by far the highest cost of any industry. Learn how the industry and Merge are approaching cyber security best practices to mitigate these ever-growing threats.

9:15 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. CT – Transition Break

9:20 a.m. - 10:05 a.m. CT - Breakouts

Cardiology

Optimize Your Training Experience: Presented by a Solution Consultant*

Jolynn Neitzel, Merge Solution Consultant - Cardiology

Learn how you can leverage training best practices to enhance your go live experience.

Radiology

Vendor Spotlight (AIDOC, Solventum)

Eric Draper, Director, Alliances at AIDOC & Russ Cardwell, VP Imaging Solutions Sales at Solventum

Learn how Merge PACS and our Vendor Partner combined solutions can improve your PACS workflows

Enterprise Imaging

Bridging Technology and Operational Excellence

Mike Diedrick, Vice President, Merge Consulting Services

Introducing the new Merge business dedicated to providing you with advisory, strategy and planning services, including staff augmentation, AI strategy and workflow optimization. Consulting engagements will be vendor-agnostic, actionable and sustainable, designed to help you achieve your goals by bridging technology and operational excellence. This session will be interactive, seeking your input and reactions in a roundtable format.

10:05 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. CT – Networking Break

10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. CT – Breakouts

Cardiology

What's Next for Cardiology

All users in attendance, Moderated by Product Management for Merge Cardiology

This is your opportunity to shape the future for Merge Cardiology via the Merge Cardio and Merge Hemo roadmap.

Radiology

What's Next for Merge PACS

Kepha Lee, Sr. Product Manager, Merge PACS

Participate in open discussion about future functionality, communication preference, and other feedback to help the Merge team improve the product.

Enterprise Imaging

Product Roadmaps*

Bill Kazee, John Hally, Product Management for Merge Enterprise Imaging and Cloud, Thomas Doherty, Product Management for Merge VNA, Merge Universal Viewer, and Linda Bagley, Product Management for Merge Workflow Orchestrator

Come and join us as we share our blueprints as to our plans for Merge's Imaging Suite. The discussion will include a comprehensive review of the Imaging Suite roadmap, as well as an open discussion to capture your feedback as we embark on our journey into the future.

11:05 a.m. - 11:35 a.m. CT - Networking Break

11:35 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. CT – Breakouts

Cardiology

Partner Session

Bob Schallhorn, Product Management Leader - Cardiology

Hear from our valued partners in cardiology as they share their insights and welcome your feedback on their offerings.

Radiology

What's Next for Merge PACS (Continued)

Kepha Lee, Sr. Product Manager, Merge PACS

Participate in open discussion about future functionality, communication preference, and other feedback to help the Merge team improving the product.

Enterprise Imaging

Expanding your Imaging Footprint with Digital Pathology

Todd Camp, Clinical Specialist, IndicaLabs

Dive into the essentials of digital pathology and discover how integrating Indica Labs’ HALO AP software can elevate your enterprise imaging strategy. Seamlessly incorporating these images enhances collaboration, streamlines workflows, enriches tumor board meetings, and provides richer multimodal data.

12:20 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. CT – Grab-and-Go Lunch

Grab-and-Go Lunch will be available.

End of Event

Merge will provide buses to the MKE airport leaving the office at about 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT - Optional Product Trainings

Cardiology

Optional Product Training for Cardio and Hemo*

Jolynn Neitzel, Merge Solution Consultant - Cardiology & Greg Monroe, Product Manager, Merge Hemo

This session will provide training for the entire cardiology portfolio, focused on the latest releases from the cardiology suite.

Radiology

Optional Product Training for MPACS*

Jeremy Green, Sr. Technical Support Engineer

This session will provide a 2 hour overview of the Merge PACS system. Get the most from your investment by gaining a deeper familiarity with the latest product components, management tools, tips and tricks. This presentation will be followed by 2 hours of open Q&A, so bring your questions!

Enterprise Imaging

Optional Product Training for MVNA and MUV*

Eric Jensen, Manager, Implementation & Joel Charbonneau, Sr. Technical Support Engineer

Join us for product training on two of the Enterprise Imaging Suite products - Merge VNA and Merge Univeral Viewer (MUV). This will be followed by 2 hours of open Q&A, so bring your questions!

5:00 p.m. CT – Transportation to MKE Airport

Merge will provide buses to the MKE airport. Last bus will leave about 5pm.

*This session or presentation offers ARRT Category A CE credit pending approval by the AHRA/ASRT.

**Subject to change

theme

purple

Traveling to Hartland

The nearest airport to Hartland is Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). It is recommended that you use Uber/Lyft, taxi or pre-arranged shuttle from the airport to event hotels (about 40 minutes from MKE).
Alternatively, you can fly into Chicago and drive 2 hours to Hartland.

Taxi Service

Locate the taxi pickup station outside of MKE Baggage Claim 3. Cross the Baggage Claim roadway and follow the signs to the taxi lane behind the rental car area.

Ride Sharing Services – Uber/Lyft

Uber & Lyft follow the signs near MKE Carousel 2.

Pre-arranged shuttle

Book here.

Event shuttles will be available throughout the meeting and to transport attendees from the office to the airport at the conclusion of the event.

Merge Office Address

900 Walnut Ridge Dr, Hartland, WI 53029

Accommodations

** Our room block at the Hilton Garden Inn Oconomowoc is now closed but you can still attempt to book online directly via the website here without our room block/discount rate.

You can also find options at the Staybridge Suites Milwaukee West- Oconomowoc here.

We have secured special rates at the hotels listed below for Meeting attendees. Attendees who are booked in the Merge User Meeting room block will have access to shuttles to and from the Hartland office. If you choose to stay elsewhere, you will be responsible for arranging transportation to and from the office and any other activities.

Secure your hotel reservation as early as possible as availability is limited. The last date to book your hotel reservation is August 25, but rooms can sell out prior to that date. After this date, reservations can be accepted based upon availability and at the hotel's current rate.

style

content-simple, bg-neutral-bone

Participating partners:

style

bg-neutral-carbon