ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Oct 21, 2015) -  In a consumer-driven healthcare market, providers must begin to think of themselves as retailers, offering mobile payment options and cost-effective services, says John Bardis, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of MedAssets and keynote speaker for this year's Health IT Leadership Summit.

With more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, Bardis will share these insights and more at Atlanta's leading healthcare IT conference that draws hundreds of professionals from across the healthcare continuum. This year's Health IT Leadership Summit will be held Tuesday, November 3 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel, 2450 Cobb Pkwy SE, Atlanta.

"As the 'nation's health IT capital,' the Summit draws the best and brightest minds to Atlanta, coming together in an effort to improve healthcare through differentiating HIT products and services," said David B. Hartnett, Vice President, Metro Atlanta Chamber, one of the Summit's sponsors.

Other featured speakers lined up for the event include Reid Coleman, MD, FACP, CMIO, Nuance, and Matt Gove, Chief Consumer Officer, Piedmont Healthcare.

In a recent interview with Next Wave Connect, an online health community partnering with the Summit, Gove spoke about his passion for the future of healthcare, echoing Bardis' sentiments that one day he hopes healthcare will operate more like Starbucks.

"I can pull out the Starbucks app and order my favorite beverage, pay for it right on my device, and then walk into the store where it will be ready and waiting for me on the counter," he says. "How can we get healthcare to that point [in healthcare]?"

Discussions about healthcare efficiency and a renewed focus on consumer satisfaction will be threaded throughout this year's summit.

Coleman, a practicing internist who also teaches medical residents, will discuss the need for an electronic personal assistant to help clinicians perform their jobs more effectively.

"There is a need to help clinicians do their job -- not a need to find tools that do their job for them," he says. "So I am very interested in the concept of a personal assistant that automates routine tasks such as finding information, contacting other caregivers, and contacting patients. Such a tool would allow me to do what I do best -- that is, diagnose and treat."

In addition to these speakers, 15 other HIT professionals will share their insights in a jam-packed day of informative sessions on healthcare and technology.

About the Health IT Leadership Summit

Now in its sixth year, the Health IT Leadership Summit brings together leaders from across the healthcare continuum to discuss how the industry can drive innovation to enable better healthcare delivery at lower costs to more people. Supported by a founding partnership that includes the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and the Technology Association of Georgia's Health Society, the event will offer attendees a full day of informational sessions, innovative exhibits, and networking opportunities centered around the theme of "Connecting Healthcare...Making IT Work for You." Key presentation topics will focus on interoperability, IT security, clinical applications, and funding.

To learn more about this year's Health IT Leadership Summit -- including information regarding sponsorship and registration -- visit http://www.HealthITLeadershipSummit.com, or follow @HealthITSummit on Twitter.