Value-Driven Healthcare in Action: A Four-Pronged Approach to Meet Consumer Transparency, Quality and Access Demands, a May 30, 2007 audio conference on CD-ROM, examined the increasing use and implementation of the four cornerstones of value-driven healthcare: health information technology, public reporting of provider quality information, public reporting of cost information, and incentives for value comparison.

As employers and consumers demand more value for the healthcare dollar, healthcare organizations are employing this four-pronged approach in designing and providing healthcare services.

During this 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, industry experts Gary Austin, a healthcare industry consultant on corporate/product strategy and program management, Linda Davis, consultant to the Buyers Health Care Action Group in Minnesota, Sue Lewis, senior vice president, health and productivity solutions, IncentOne and Mark Xistris, director of provider relations & health information, The Alliance, examined how their respective organizations are using these four strategies to stay competitive in the fast-growing consumer-driven movement. Listen to pre-conference comments from Austin, Davis, Lewis and Xistris.

The conference will give you the details you need on:

• The role of transparency in pursuing improved value of healthcare delivery;
• Implementing interoperable health IT systems;
• Creating an effective consumer incentive structure; and
• Developing provider incentives that lead to high-value, high quality care.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS AUDIO CONFERENCE?

CEOs, marketing directors, sales executives, health plan executives, new product development executives, business development and strategic planning directors, human resource executives

Available in three formats

• CD-ROM for computer play
• CD-ROM for stereo play
• On Demand version accessible online

Please note the stereo version ships as two CD-ROMs, whereas the .mp3 version ships as one CD-ROM.

ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:

Gary Austin

After visiting more than 100 health plans and Integrated Delivery Networks in 32 states around the country, Gary Austin, finds that the biggest roadblocks to an open exchange of patient health information are not a resistance to technology but rather a lack of trust in how the information will be used and a fear of competition among healthcare organizations.

Gary Austin is a private consultant for corporate/product strategy and program management in the healthcare industry. Austin is completing a track as vice president interoperability competency center with MEDecision, a payer-side software vendor.

Austin brings 25 plus years of industry experience in seven verticals (healthcare, financial services/banking/insurance), aerospace, automotive, energy, event management, and transportation in a variety of roles (IT management, program management, operations, business development).

Previous careers have been with BCBSMA, Excellus BCBS, Preferred Care HMO, Ernst & Young, SAIC, and several other organizations and consulting assignments.

Austin holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business in Operations Management and Computer Science, along with additional degrees in Health Information Technology (HIT), Telecommunications, and Business. He taught at Rochester Institute of Technology and is currently a resident of Rochester, N.Y.

Linda Davis

When a physician practice's reporting mechanisms are transparent, it can create a significant cultural change and raise motivation levels in the naturally competitive provider environment, notes Linda Davis.

Linda Davis currently provides consulting expertise to the Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG), a Minnesota-based employer coalition on a pay for performance program, and MN Community Measurement, an entity formed to publicly report physician quality using a provider quality data submission program. She has a 20 plus year career in healthcare product and business development. Davis has consulted to PBMs, technology vendors, payers, providers and business coalitions in strategy, business and product development on quality improvement, electronic health information technology and exchange, and value-based purchasing.

Davis began her career in early stage HMO development, building care management capabilities. She subsequently developed HMOs and PPOs for VHA Consulting Services, and went on to develop products for multiple health plans including Partners, Aetna, MedCenters and HealthPartners. Davis’ PBM experience includes five years at Express Scripts where she designed, sold, and implemented PBM products for business coalitions and developed relationships and managed key accounts including several Fortune 100 companies.

Prior to consulting, she was responsible for accelerating adoption of e-prescribing and delivery of prescription claims history to large academic medical centers along the east coast including Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia and by State Medicaid programs through RxHub, a start-up, e-prescribing information exchange founded by the country’s largest PBMs.

Davis received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Minnesota.

Sue Lewis

Employers who offer consumer-directed health plans are in the best position tax-wise to extend incentives to dependents and retirees, advises Sue Lewis.

Sue Lewis is senior vice president of health and productivity solutions at IncentOne. She has over 18 years of experience in the healthcare and population health management industry offering a broad range of knowledge and expertise.

Prior to joining IncentOne, Lewis was vice president of strategic business development for Optum, a Specialty Health Division for UnitedHealth Group. At Optum, she specialized in partnership and acquisition development, sales management, product development and product management. Previous to Optum, Lewis was senior vice president of sales and marketing for Gordian Health Solutions, a leading population health management company.

Lewis is a member of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) and is actively engaged in numerous organizations that focus on health and productivity management.

Lewis earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Vermont and her Master of Education from The George Washington University.

Mark Xistris

Providers and payors have legitimate concerns about releasing cost information to consumers, explains Mark Xistris.

Mark Xistris is the director of provider relations and health information at The Employer Health Care Alliance Cooperative (The Alliance). He has been with The Alliance since 1997 and is responsible for managing the provider network, designing provider reimbursement mechanisms, and coordinating financial and quality analyses for both internal and external customers.

The Alliance is an employer owned and directed not-for-profit healthcare cooperative located in southern Wisconsin, serving 158 employers and their 85,000 employees and dependents. Founded in 1990, The Alliance has been actively involved in public reporting and quality-based purchasing since 1996.

Xistris serves as the treasurer on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Health Information Organization and chairs the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality’s Audit Committee. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Xistris earned a master’s degree in Health Care Fiscal Management from the UW - Madison School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Arizona State University, where he graduated summa cum laude in Accountancy.