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Recap of 7th Annual World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress 2011

November 22, 2011 at 7:19 am Leave a comment

The seventh annual World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress was held November 7-8 in Virginia, a convenient taxi ride away from Dulles.   The conference focused on new payment and delivery models, patient engagement, and the technology required to support them.  While there were no major surprises or launches, the conference did a good job connecting the high-level discussions in the keynotes with real-life examples from payers and providers in the panels.

Attendance seemed sparse (~100)  to the disappointment of exhibitors and reflected in a listless Twitter stream.  However, it did include a robust group of payers and, from that standpoint, the networking was good and a welcome contrast to the Health 2.0 conferences where payers are far out-numbered.  The Health 2.0 conferences differ in scope (larger) and focus (more technology and desire for more profound change), though, and remain a better bet for staying current on HIT innovation.

Overall, there was clear support for the idea that HIT, ACOs, and PCMHs, would increase quality and drive down costs, and many examples of payers and providers taking concrete steps to develop new collaboration models and advancing their technological capabilities to do so.  Highlights:

• Todd Park kickstarted the conference with his high-energy speech that “right now is the greatest opportunity in our lifetime” to successfully transform the healthcare system.  He spoke about how HHS is encouraging the two “megatrends” driving this change:

1. New incentives i.e. new payment models
2.  “Data Liberacion” i.e. greater data liquidity enables innovation

• Premera Blue Cross and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan both presented innovative plan designs they have launched into their respective markets.  In addition to financial “carrots and sticks”, both plans use smart personalization to engage members and to find the health program that best fits them.  Neil Sofian presented from Premera and Cindy Bjorkquist presented from BCBSM, and both were compelling and clearly dedicated to finding new ways to help members.  I recommend learning more about their efforts or catching them at future events.

• Zachary Myer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, nicely outlined four strategies to drive engagement:

1. Integrated solutions and information, delivered seamlessly to members whenever and wherever they want them (ex: no triple data entry)

1. Messaging has to be personalized (engaging, cultured, relevant, and timely)

2. Motivation: incentives, gaming, social media

3. Sense of community

• Anadeep Parhar, CIO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota presented how he is re-focusing and re-organizing his entire IS organization to support their new contracting model.

• Karthik Shyam, from the American Institute of Research, has been researching the most engaging uses of cost and quality information, and identified the following five guidelines:

1. Always report cost with quality information
2. Report cost data that are meaningful (e.g. members’ out-of-pocket costs)
3. Use language to describe or frame the cost info and explain why and how to use it
4. Follow best practices for labeling and displaying info for ease of use
5. Align with a trusted source to develop, report and disseminate cost and quality information (e.g. independent, non-profit community health organizations)

Please feel free to comment on your perspective from the conference or post questions about its content.

Entry filed under: Health. Tags: conference, healthcare, reporting.