The 20th Annual Conference of the Healthcare Ethics Consortium will feature a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and the director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University.

Embracing Change: Balancing Innovation and Our Humanity will take place Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21 at the Emory Conference Center Hotel on Clifton Road.

Margaret Edson, author of the play "Wit," will present "Word Streams," an evening of narrative, dialogue and scenes from the play at 5 p.m. Thursday. The event is free and open to the public.

"From Marcus Welby to the iPatient: Innovation and Myth in Modern Medicine" is the title of a talk by David Magnus from Stanford's biomedical ethics center.

Panel discussions and breakout sessions will explore a variety of topics related to the patient-provider relationship, including acute care, telemedicine and communication. Other issues to be examined are mental illness, the role of religion, extending life and end of life care and more.

View the conference agenda.

The conference and Edson's appearance are sponsored by the Emory University Center for Ethics, Emory Healthcare and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

The Healthcare Ethics Consortium is affiliated with the Emory University Center for Ethics and its membership comprises hospitals and health systems, home health agencies, hospices, long-term care facilities, and other health-related organizations.

For more information, contact Holly Korschun, 404-727-3990.