Healthcare Trends and Forecasts 2007, a September 27, 2006 audio conference on CD-ROM, examines what trends will continue to impact the healthcare industry in 2007.

During this 60-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, Dr. Peter Kongstvedt, a partner in the health and managed care consulting services division of Accenture, will delve into the trends that are shaping today's healthcare industry. Dr. Kongstvedt will draw on his 12 years consulting experience and almost 20 years of experience at the senior-most levels of health plans to provide inside information on healthcare trends likely to impact the industry in 2007.

Click here to listen to some pre-conference comments from our audio conference presenter.

You will get details on:

• What's driving changes in the healthcare industry;
• What new trends will emerge in 2007;
• How healthcare organizations can best position for 2007;
• Performance expectations for the healthcare industry in 2007;
• Problems affecting the healthcare business climate; and
• How 2007 will compare to 2006.

This third annual conference provides healthcare executives with a look ahead to the new year to help shape strategic plans.

Here's what participants said about the live program:

"Good overview of industry dynamics," said Robert Mars with Siemens.

"Provided a broad overview of directions that IT and HCPs are taking," said Pamela Garbarino with Columbia Mutliservice Market Management Office.

"Good consice overview of challenges, issues, and trends," said one participant.

You can "attend" this program right in your office and enjoy significant savings – no travel time or hassle; no hotel expenses. It’s so convenient! Invite your staff members to listen in.

Listen to some pre-conference comments from our expert presenter:

Dr. Peter Kongstvedt, a partner in the health and managed care consulting services division of Accenture, evaluates hospitals' response to requests for quality data from federal and private agencies:

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS AUDIO CONFERENCE?

Analysts, business development executives, CFOs, chief operating officers, consultants, directors, executive directors, financial/business managers, managers, marketing executives, medical directors, presidents/CEOs, principals, strategic marketing executives and vice presidents.

ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:

PETER R. KONGSTVEDT, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Dr. Peter Kongstvedt is a senior executive at Accenture in the Reston, VA office. He has 12 years consulting experience and almost 20 years of experience at the senior-most levels of health plans, including managed care, health insurance and Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

In addition to his industry experience, Dr. Kongstvedt is the primary author and editor of three books currently in print: The Managed Health Care Handbook, Fourth Edition; The Essentials of Managed Health Care, Fourth Edition; and Managed Care: What it Is and How it Works, Second Edition. New editions of these books are currently in progress. Dr. Kongstvedt has also led the industry benchmarking studies, worked in medical management, and his primary focus is in strategic planning. Lastly, Dr. Kongstvedt serves as Accenture’s primary thought leader in this industry sector.

Examples of Dr. Kongstvedt’s relevant experiences, include:

• Creating and leading three ground-breaking health plan benchmarking studies, with over 850 discrete performance measures, controlling for process differences between health plans. This rich database has allowed for the quantification of performance improvement opportunities, the creation of senior executive dashboards, and focused improvements in administrative cost and quality.
• Leading numerous strategic planning efforts
• Conducting numerous board presentations and retreats for clients in both the for-profit and non-investor-owned communities.
• Creating thought leadership white papers, monographs and presentations on a wide variety of subjects, including The Top Issues Facing the Health Insurance Industry, Challenges in Growth, Metrics-based Performance Measurement, The Application of Complexly Adapting Systems Theory (Chaos Theory) to the Healthcare Market, and Attributes of High Performing Health Plans.