URAC Standards for Consumer Education and Support: What You Need to Know to Comply, a July 26, 2005 audio conference on CD-ROM, examines the new Consumer Education and Support (CES) standards released by URAC and explain what steps organizations should begin to take to meet the new standards.

URAC is an independent, nonprofit organization that offers accreditation, certification and other quality improvement activities.

The standards are the first step toward addressing the unique demands of CDH products, which call upon consumers to make more of their own decisions about health coverage and personal health choices.

During this 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, your expert panel of speakers, Annette Watson, vice president, URAC and Guy D’Andrea, founder, Discern Consulting, provide you with:

• A detailed overview of the new standards
• Lessons learned from organizations who beta-tested the standards
• What health plans should begin to do now to comply with these standards

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.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS AUDIO CONFERENCE?

CEOs, medical directors, health plan executives, performance improvement and quality improvement managers, executives responsible for consumer-driven healthcare plans, case managers, risk managers and business development and strategic planning directors and pharmaceutical executives.

ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:

Guy D'Andrea

Guy D’Andrea is the founder of Discern LLC, a consulting firm focusing on healthcare-related strategy and project management. He has worked in healthcare policy and quality standards for over 12 years.

For seven years, D’Andrea led product development and government affairs for URAC, a private accreditation organization. Prior to joining URAC, he held leadership positions in healthcare policy and legislation at the American Association of Health Plans (now AHIP), the American Managed Care and Review Association and the Maryland Association of HMOs.

D’Andrea is a frequent speaker on the topic of healthcare quality and oversight, and has authored numerous articles on accreditation and compliance issues.

He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and earned dual Masters of Business Administration degrees from Columbia University and the London Business School, where he graduated as the valedictorian of his program.

Annette Watson

Annette Watson joined URAC as senior vice president in 2001. She is a well-known expert and thought leader on quality and patient safety in medical management in the United States.

Prior to joining URAC, Watson was the vice president and chief operating officer of Alicare Medical Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York based Amalgamated Life Insurance Company, overseeing all aspects of the delivery of their medical management services to major insurers, unions, HMOs, PPOs and the self-insured market at their operations center in Salem, N.H. Previously she worked for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire in Concord, New Hampshire, developing and implementing utilization and case management programs. Watson began her healthcare career as registered nurse at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Watson was a long standing member and a past chair of the URAC Standards Committee before joining the organization as staff. For many years, she served on multiple committees for the American Association of Health Plans and its predecessor organization, AMCRA, the organization largely credited with founding URAC in 1990. It was through AMCRA that she originally became associated with URAC.

A frequent presenter at national conferences, Watson speaks and writes on behalf of URAC on quality issues and contributes a regular column, Inside the URAC Standards, for The Journal of Care Management.

Watson holds an MBA in Leadership from Franklin Pierce College, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from New England College, an Associate of Science in Nursing from Bristol Community College, is licensed as a Registered Nurse in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and is a Certified Case Manager.