Joseph Kvedar

Director
Center for Connected Health

Joseph C. Kvedar, M.D., is the Founder and Director of the Center for Connected Health, applying communications technology and online resources to increase access and improve the delivery of quality medical services and patient care. Dr. Kvedar is also a board-certified dermatologist and Vice-Chair of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. In his role with the Center for Connected Health, Dr. Kvedar launched the first physician-to-physician online consultation service in an academic setting. He is also leading important research into novel approaches for connected health in a variety of medical specialties, including post-operative care in the home, wound care, and remote monitoring of patients with chronic diseases. Dr. Kvedar is a past President and member of the governing Board of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). Dr. Kvedar is also Chair of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Task Force on Telemedicine. Dr. Kvedar is internationally recognized for his leadership and vision in the field of connected health and the application of communications technologies to improve healthcare to patients. Dr. Kvedar is co-editor of a new book, Home Telehealth, which was published in May 2006. He is a frequent lecturer and has authored over 60 publications on telemedicine and connected health. In 2003, Dr. Kvedar was honored by the New England Business and Technology Association for his extraordinary leadership in the field.

Michael Barrett

Managing Partner
Critical Mass Consulting

Mike is Managing Partner of Critical Mass Consulting, a healthcare and life sciences consultancy focused on information technology use by physicians, consumers, hospitals, health plans, and medical device and pharmaceutical firms. Before founding his own firm, he was Senior Analyst at Forrester Research for health care. Mike has evaluated hundreds of products, companies, business models and business plans in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. He’s also written extensively on IT’s role in healthcare and the life sciences for the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and Forrester. Reports for CHCF include Patient Self-Management Tools: An Overview (June 2005) and Electronic Medical Records: A Buyers’ Guide for Small Physician Practices (October 2003), both available for viewing at www.chcf.org. Projects for Forrester include When EMRs Meet Clinical Trials (March 2003), Making ePrescribing Pay Off (April 2002), and Web Clinical Trials Break Through (July 2001). Mike is the originator of Forrester’s Healthcare Unbound concept. He conceived the idea and wrote Forrester’s early, seminal report of the same name. Critical Mass Consulting focuses much of its research and strategic analysis in this area, in conjunction with work for clients on personal health records, disease management programs, and physician-patient messaging. Prior to embarking on a consulting career, Mike served as CEO and General Counsel of an independent practice association (IPA) consisting of 95 surgeons specializing in ear, nose, and throat disorders, and of a healthcare system composed of 70 home health nursing agencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Mike ran daily operations and legal affairs as these operations contracted with insurers, delivered services to patients, purchased technology, and negotiated with medical supply and pharmaceutical companies. Before entering the private sector, Mike practiced law and ran successfully for four terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. As Senate chair of the Committee on Health Care, he focused on HMO reform and biotechnology’s role in the state economy. Mike graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude and from the Northeastern University School of Law. After law school, he served as law clerk to Federal District Court Judge June L. Green in Washington, DC. He is an active member of the Massachusetts Bar. Mike can be reached at mbarrett@cmass.us.

James Fisher

Director
PricewaterhouseCoopers