The 13th Annual Quality, Safety, and Service (QSS) Summit, hosted by the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, will take place on Friday, October 16, 2026. This interprofessional and interdisciplinary convening brings together clinicians, operational leaders, educators, and researchers committed to advancing healthcare quality, patient safety, and service excellence. To enhance shared learning across the industry, the summit will welcome registrants from outside of Johns Hopkins Medicine for the first time.
Through oral and poster presentations and networking opportunities, the Summit highlights innovative initiatives, fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration and promotes practical solutions to improve care delivery throughout the healthcare ecosystem. In its 13th year, the Summit will also highlight the important role of care transitions in safe, high-quality patient care.
Summit Details
Date and Location
Date: October 16, 2026
Location:
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Miller Research Building, Turner Concourse
720 Rutland Avenue
Baltimore, MD
Pricing
Individual: $549 Early bird discount
Student / Trainee*: $325 Early bird discount
Johns Hopkins Health System Employees**: Complimentary
Johns Hopkins University Employees: Covered by Tuition Remission
*Trainee includes interns, residents and fellows
**JHHS employees include JHH, JHBMC, JHACH, JHHCMC, SMH, Suburban Hospital, JHCP, Johns Hopkins Care at Home, Johns Hopkins Health Plan, JHASC, JHAH
Plenary Speaker
Adrienne Boissy, M.D., M.A.
Chief Medical Officer, Qualtrics
Neurologist and former CXO, Cleveland Clinic
Professor of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University
Talk title: Designing Human(e) Experiences: Neuroscience Required
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Dr. Boissy shapes the strategic direction of human experience across industries, including technology design, research, consulting, AI and innovation in experience management. She is the former chief experience cfficer of the Cleveland Clinic and a current staff neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis. During her tenure as CXO, Dr. Boissy led strategic, international initiatives to improve the patient’s experience with quantifiable impact. She created evidence-based relationship centered communication skills training, which improved clinician burnout and patient satisfaction and revolutionized the conversation on experience measurement.
Dr. Boissy previously co-chaired the Empathy and Innovation Summit, the largest independent summit on patient experience in the world. She is a frequently sought after global speaker, delivering powerful keynotes and engaging workshops, and also lectures in Harvard University leadership programs. She serves on the Editorial Board for NEJM Catalyst, as editor emeritus of the Journal of Patient Experience and on the advisory board for Option B. She publishes extensively about experience innovation and metrics, incivility, telehealth, burnout, digital design and empathy in healthcare.
Dr Boissy advocates for major operational changes in healthcare systems for a more humane experience, noted in her TED talk “Can empathy help heal healthcare?” She co-edited “Communication the Cleveland Clinic Way: How to Drive a Relationship-Centered Strategy for Superior Patient Experience,” describing the journey to top physician communication performance as a system. Her work has been featured in HBR, Worklife with Adam Grant, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Atlantic, amongst many others.
Dr. Boissy earned her doctor of medicine degree from the Penn State College of Medicine and bachelor’s degree from Boston University. She completed a master’s degree in bioethics from Case Western Reserve University and trained in advanced design thinking from IDEO. A Harvard Macy scholar, she is internationally recognized as a leading physician executive and healthcare industry pioneer.
Highlights from the 2025 Summit
Keynote Address Delivered by Alisa Khan, M.D. M.P.H.
The keynote address, Improving Patient Safety, Quality, and Outcomes for All by Partnering with Patients and Families was delivered by Alisa Khan, M.D. M.P.H. Dr. Khan is the director of the Program for Language Equity in the Division of General Pediatrics, a pediatric hospitalist and hospital medicine associate professor at Harvard Medical School. There she leads studies to improve family-centered rounds, family safety reporting, patient safety and language equity and her work has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Her passion, innovation and commitment to enhancing patient and family engagement in safety and quality was inspiring, and it was a pleasure to welcome her back to Hopkins, where she completed her residency.
71 Individuals were Acknowledged with Awards
- Dr. Sapna Kudchadkar received the 2nd Annual Sean Berhenholtz Award, recognizing a colleague who embodies the values that Dr. Berenholtz modeled and applied in his everyday work as a person, colleague, mentor, and healthcare provider.
- The Clinical Pharmacogenetics Program Team received the E. Robert Feroli Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety
- 57 people throughout JHM entities received Quality, Safety, and Service Star Awards as individuals or as members of an award-winning team.
- View a full list of awardees here.