As the second decade of the 21st century unfolds, the federal government finds itself with significant new authorities to catalyze improvement in the delivery of healthcare services. At the same time, rising federal budget deficits, the sheer number of agencies and departments involved, and the need for coordinated action across public and private payers all present significant logistical, fiscal, and political challenges. So how can the nation seize this unique moment to improve health system performance in the face of such complexity and uncertainty?
In this thought-provoking session, David Blumenthal will discuss the need for a comprehensive implementation plan that takes full advantage of the federal government’s new authorities and opportunities. He believes the nation must start with a vision for improving the overall health of the population, enhancing patient experiences with care, and lowering the growth in healthcare costs. One possible way to achieve these goals involves prioritizing improvement in the care of high cost patients with multiple chronic conditions through community-based initiatives.
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David Blumenthal, MD, MPP
Dr. Blumenthal is a renowned health services researcher and national authority on health IT adoption. With his colleagues from Harvard Medical School, he authored the seminal studies on the adoption and use of health information technology in the United States. He is the author of more than 200 scholarly publications, including most recently, "Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office," which tells the history of U.S. Presidents’ involvement in health reform, from FDR through George W. Bush.
David Blumenthal serves as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama. In this role he is charged with building an interoperable, private, and secure nationwide health information system and supporting the widespread, meaningful use of health IT. Prior to his appointment to the administration, Dr. Blumenthal was a practicing primary care physician; director, Institute for Health Policy; and the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Policy at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System and Harvard Medical School. |
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Topics will include: The Affordable Care Act, expanded coverage to new consumers, delivery system reform, healthcare spending, Medicare, reimbursements, and more. You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions at the end, so bring your most burning questions!
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Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PHD
Ezekiel J. Emanuel is one of the world’s leading scholars of healthcare reform and bioethics, bringing an extraordinary range of expertise to the healthcare debate. Dr. Emanuel is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School. He is also an op-ed contributor to the New York Times. He was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and held that position until 2011. He served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. He is also a breast oncologist and author.
Dr. Emanuel has authored three books, coedited four, and will have two books forthcoming in 2012. His book on medical ethics, The Ends of Human Life, has been widely praised and received honorable mention for the Rosenhaupt Memorial Book Award by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Dr. Emanuel developed The Medical Directive, a comprehensive living will that has been endorsed by the New York Times and many other publications. He has published widely on the ethics of clinical research, healthcare reform, international research ethics, end-of-life care issues, euthanasia, the ethics of managed care, and the physician-patient relationship in many medical journals. |
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Gail Wilensky, PHD
Gail Wilensky is an economist and a senior fellow at project HOPE, an international health foundation. She directed the Medicare and Medicaid programs and served in the White House as a senior adviser on health and welfare issues to President GHW Bush. She also served as the first chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
Her expertise is on strategies to reform healthcare, with particular emphasis on Medicare, comparative effectiveness research and military healthcare. Wilensky currently serves as a trustee of the Combined Benefits Fund of the United Mine Works of America and the National Opinion Research Center, is on the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Medical School and the Board of Directors of the Geisinger Health System Foundation. She recently served as president of the Defense Health Board, a Federal advisory board to the Secretary of Defense Health Board, a Federal advisory board to the Secretary of Defense, was a commissioner on the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and cochaired the Dept. of Defense Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. Previously she served as chair of the Physician Payment Review Commissions, a predecessor to MedPAC. Dr. Wilensky is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and has served two terms on its governing council. She is a former chair of the board of directors of Academy Health, a former trustee of the American Heart Association, and a current or former director of numerous other nonprofit organizations. She is also a director for UnitedHealth Group and Quest Diagnostics. Wilensky testifies before Congressional committees, serves as an adviser to members of Congress and other elected officials, and speaks nationally and internationally. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology and a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan and has received several honorary degrees.
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American healthcare costs continue to grow unsustainably despite decades of efforts to address them and despite the even more urgent need now due to the domestic and global economic crises. The risks of inaction are now dire. Solutions exist -- improve care and reduce waste, preserving everything patients, families, and communities need, but paring away activities that add no value. In other words, control costs by improving quality -- now and forever. The alternative approaches to cost reduction -- cutting care, withholding benefits, and limiting ambition -- are bound to damage vulnerable populations and, in the end, all of us. In pursuing the better path -- improvement -- shared will, transparency, improvement skills, and high levels of cooperation are essential resources. Dr. Berwick will explore how stakeholders can work together to accelerate progress toward better care and better health and lower costs through continual improvement.
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Don Berwick, MD
Dr. Berwick is the United States’ leading advocate for high-quality healthcare. He has just stepped down as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For
22 years prior, he was the founding CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement a nonprofit dedicated to improving healthcare around the world. A pediatrician by background, he has also served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School.
For his important role in designing Britain’s healthcare system, Dr. Berwick was
named a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London and Honorary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He is a professor at the Harvard Medical School and the recipient of many awards, including the Ernest A. Codman Award, the American Hospital Association’s Award of Honor, and the Heinz award for Public Policy. His more than 130 articles have appeared in professional journals on such topics as healthcare policy and healthcare quality management. His books include Curing Health Care and New Rules: Regulation, Markets and the Quality of American Health Care. |
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