Join Us!

I hope you can join me in Boston this autumn at the Partners Center for Connected Health's annual Symposium, set for October 27-28, 2008. The title of Symposium 2008 is Who Pays, Who Provides, Who Decides: Consumers, Clinicians and Business Models in the Connected Care Era. I promise you, this will not be your usual healthcare conference.

Content for the two days will revolve around three unifying themes: the search for viable business models, the clinician's take on healthcare information technology, and the direction of consumer demand. Attention will be on developments around the world as well as in the US. This meeting is special:

  • Because it takes place one week before US elections for President, Congress, and state legislatures, Symposium 2008 will home in on government's role in connected health.
  • Because we've been struck by the broad expertise and experience of our attendees, this time we're taking steps to involve audience members in dissecting the most challenging questions facing telehealth, patient self-management, and remote chronic disease management.
  • Because forces as diverse as wireless telecom, smart consumer electronics, and personal access to one's health data stand ready to re-arrange physician, patient, workplace and home connections in profound ways, the Symposium will spotlight a handful of the most interesting products under development in universities, hospital research labs, and technology firms.

Panels and plenary sessions will take up a broad range of issues, including chronic care coordination, disruptive technologies and healthcare, global connected health and medical tourism, technology tools for caregivers, business models in home health, and the roles of health plans and employers as potential trendsetters. (And expect to debate what the emerging field of behavioral economics can tell us about improving personal decisions on health.) Early commitments (there will be many more) to co-chair Symposium 2008 and address participants include:

  • Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Founder and Director, Center for Connected Health, Partners HealthCare System, and Past President, American Telemedicine Association;
  • John W. Loonsk, MD, Director, Office of Interoperability and Standards, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, US Dept. of Health and Human Services; and
  • John T. Mollen, MBA, Exec. Vice President, Human Resources, EMC Corp.

All of this takes place at the Conference Center for Harvard Medical School, in the heart of Boston's famed Longwood Medical Area. If you want to be certain that physicians and nurses are part of the discourse on these topics, this is perhaps the best location for a healthcare technology meeting in the entire country.

I should mention that last year's Symposium sold out. Click here to register and ensure a place at an educational and networking forum you will find most helpful in your work. Early-bird discount registrations of $650.00 are now available.

If you have questions, comments or advice, do not hesitate to contact me (jternullo@partners.org or 617-726-4207) or Margaret Spinale (mmspinale@partners.org or 617-643-3905).

Warmest regards,

Joseph L. Ternullo
Associate Director, Partners Healthcare's Center for Connected Health
Vice President, Continua Health Alliance
25 New Chardon St, Suite 400D
Boston, MA 02114

 

Symposium 2008