Inside the Summit

Tip of the Week: Opportunities Come From Many Avenues

Tue, 08 May 2012 18:12:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, Bluegrass Business Media
With all the planning and anticipation that goes into the months leading up to the IDN Summit and Reverse Expo, it's easy to forget the significance of those weeks that follow.

One of the exercises we go through is to review the surveys we receive, both onsite and online, so that we can continue to provide you with the best possible IDN Summit experience.

Something that stood out as we began reviewing comments was that the attendees who seem to get the very most out of their IDN Summit experience are often the ones who indicate they have taken full advantage of all the opportunities available to them. By design, the IDN Summit is more than an education program and a Reverse Expo, as important as those two features are to the overall event. By taking part in more than just one or two facets of the show, you are more likely to grow the opportunities from your participation.

Networking has become such an overused term that our eyes sometimes gloss over when we see it, but the reality is, it takes that sort of professional mingling, meeting and interaction to capitalize on what happens during the IDN Summit and Reverse Expo. Making use of every potential avenue open to you onsite makes it easier to connect with key supply chain partners both during the Summit and in follow up afterward.

Certainly it's good to be consistent and confident on the show floor as you make the rounds at the Reverse Expo. That's an important step. But we have found that attendees who also fully participate in other areas of the Summit, such as team building, gain a great deal of value from doing so. Attendees gaining the most benefits by taking full advantage of their participation are often the ones who will seek out supply chain leaders during afternoon and evening events, or chat with a speaker after a session and exchange ideas that could open the door for follow up. They are also the ones seizing the chance to suggest a discussion over breakfast or set up a side meeting.

The take away from such experiences is to make the most of your time in the Reverse Expo, but make the most of your time outside of it as well. The IDN Summit and Reverse Expo can provide you with a wealth of ways to make critical contact with key leaders in the industry as long as you are ready to seize those opportunities.

A Time for Heroes

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:16:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, Bluegrass Business Media
A bright blue autumn sky greeted me Oct. 6 as I made my way to Mercy’s St. John’s Medical Center in the city of Joplin, MO.

The obvious signs of devastation this community had withstood were evidenced all around me, yet the sky seemed intent on mirroring the spirit of my journey and the spirit of the people I was about to meet.

The generous donations from attendees to the 2011 Fall IDN Summit were making it possible for me to present a check for more than $40,000 to benefit the Mercy Foundation for Health Innovation Joplin Relief Fund, a fund designated to help Mercy co-workers in Joplin who suffered great loss following the devastating EF-5 tornado that ripped through Joplin, destroying Mercy’s St. John’s Medical Center on May 22nd.

The donations came from a silent auction and individual contributions from the many healthcare industry colleagues inspired last month at the IDN Summit when Mercy and its supply chain division, ROi, presented, “Lessons Learned from Joplin” during the Summit’s general session. Dr. David Hagedorn, emergency department physician; Gene Kirtser, president/CEO of ROi; and JoAnne Levy, vice president of Integrated Sourcing Solutions, ROi, kept the crowd of IDN Summit attendees riveted with a video featuring Mercy and ROi co-workers, then provided first-hand accounts of the medical response and supply chain actions required by the tornado’s destruction.

There are a lot of heroes in the story of Joplin and in St. John’s response to this tragedy. Lynn Britton is one of them. While many CEOs would have taken an easier route and not made the decision he did—to immediately assure all the staff of St. John’s that yes, they had jobs, and yes, St. John’s would rebuild—the result is that Mercy, St. John’s and the Joplin community all face a brighter tomorrow because he made that clear and decisive choice, one that provided hope for the future when it was most needed.

I am humbled by the spirit of the many folks I met while in Joplin to present the donation from IDN Summit attendees. Their stories of courage and heartache were incredibly inspiring, and truly reflected the strength of the human spirit to endure great hardship yet face a new dawn with hope and optimism. I consider it a great privilege to represent all of you who gave with kind hearts and overwhelming generosity. Like the folks of Joplin, like Lynn Britton and like the people at St. John’s, Mercy and ROi, you truly are all heroes.

Keep that IDN Summit Momentum Going

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:29:00 GMT

IDN Summit offers a lot of opportunities for attendees, from educational sessions to networking to meeting with new or existing business partners.

A lot of excitement and optimism was generated when the 2011 Fall IDN Summit took place recently in Phoenix. There was enthusiasm in the air, as evidenced by the great questions and interaction occurring time and again in the educational sessions, and the many meetings and conversations generated though the Reverse Expo and networking opportunities.

Through the general session program and Relief! Reception, attendees also recognized the hope for the future that has sustained the staff of Mercy's St. John's Regional Medical Center and the steadfast dedication of the staff of ROi, Mercy's supply chain division, as they have continued to weather the aftermath of the tornado striking the community of Joplin. Hearing firsthand from those heroes of St. John's, attendees to the Summit responded generously, donating more than $40,000 through a silent auction and individual contributions to aid the workers of St. John's.

It's also wonderful to hear stories about the work others are doing to help this community. I recently learned that 20 employees from the VHA Mid-America office will volunteer in Joplin for a Community Day volunteer effort on Oct. 11. They'll be helping to sort and distribute supplies for the AmeriCorps Emergency Response Team.

Meetings and events can provide much-needed inspiration, interaction and insight. Too often, though, it becomes easy to come home from an event and get caught up in the day-to-day challenges and tasks at hand. Before you know it, you've lost that momentum, you've let some of those new ideas drift away and you aren't seizing all of the business opportunities that exist from the groundwork you laid only weeks earlier.

Don't let that happen to you. IDN Summit is focused on helping you get the most out of your Summit experience. That means, not only while you're at the Summit, but we want to ensure you have the best chance of putting all those good ideas and interactions to work for you and your organization once you're back home.

One way IDN Summit wants to help you make the most of your Summit experience is by providing copies of presentations from the Summit's educational sessions. In an effort to continue to deliver an exceptional education program for attendees, the 2011 Fall IDN Summit featured 33 speakers who were entirely new to the Summit, representing 66% of the Fall speaker lineup. You can view and download many of the presentations from the breakout sessions and general sessions here. Presentations are listed by track and time, so you can easily gather details from the presentations you heard or browse concurrent sessions and download the presentations you missed.

Beginning next week, audio and video of the educational sessions will begin to become available as well.

I hope you keep the excitement and enthusiasm of the recent IDN Summit going in the months ahead, and reap the full benefits a Summit experience has to offer for you and your organization.

Setting the Stage for a Rise in the Polls

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:55:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, Bluegrass Business Media
Forget the lawyer jokes and the bank bailout controversies. Apparently, Americans are more fed up with the healthcare industry than either of these oft-scorned industry sectors.

Results of a Gallup poll conducted just this month show that positive views of the healthcare industry have plummeted by 10 percentage points since a similar poll was taken in 2001. Only 27% of the more than 1,000 adults interviewed indicated that they had a positive perception about the healthcare sector. That’s lower than the legal, banking, and airline industries. The pharmaceutical industry fared slightly better, garnering a 37% positive rating, but still posting a drop of 6 percentage points since the poll a decade earlier.

When I saw the results of this research, I had to ask myself how, as an industry, the healthcare sector could rate so negatively with the public when the ability to provide care and comfort is at the industry’s very core?

Discussions about Healthcare Reform have drawn a lot of attention to quality of care issues and positive patient experience. Yet, if the Gallup poll is any evidence, the healthcare industry may find it has greater challenges stemming from public perception than anticipated. With high-quality patient care bringing greater financial reward in the new era of healthcare, the need to build better relationships between systems and patients seem an integral part of nurturing stronger partnerships between financial and clinical interests.

One of the roles the IDN Summit is able to serve for leaders in the healthcare industry is to provide them with a strong foundation for professional development and growth, coupled with the latest information and expertise available to the industry. The IDN Summit places an emphasis on providing you with strategies that don’t just sound good, but that have true applicability to your own organization. It’s the type of educational and professional development opportunity that can help you and your organization reverse trends like the one I’ve just shared. Technology and medical breakthroughs are not the only focus for today’s healthcare sector. An emphasis on development of the human factor and the building of relationships that strengthen both patient outcome and bottom lines is also necessary to drive the industry toward a solid future.

I invite you to take part in the 2011 Fall IDN Summit coming up Sept. 13-15 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix and see for yourself how important professional development can be for you and your organization. More information is available here.

Leading Healthcare Systems Find Value in IDN Summit

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:57:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, IDN Summit
The IDN Summit always attracts an outstanding group of IDNs and September’s event is no exception. It’s a testament to the quality educational programming and networking opportunities that exist for Summit participants.

Healthcare system attendees taking part in the 2011 Fall IDN Summit represent what are undoubtedly the leading providers in today’s healthcare industry. The opportunities for networking, sharing of ideas and insight, and forging of new business relationships are boundless, something these systems recognize as crucial to their organizations’ futures.

Looking over the list of participating IDNs for the upcoming Summit, I couldn’t help but notice that five appear on the Thomson Reuters 10 Top Health Systems list— CareGroup Healthcare System (Beth Israel), Kettering Health Network, Maury Regional Healthcare System, Mayo Foundation and OhioHealth. Also registered for the Fall IDN Summit is Virgin Mason Medical Center, one of two systems named “Leapfrog Top Hospitals of the Decade” by The Leapfrog Group, while two of the top three systems on the “Best Hospitals Honor Roll” developed by U.S. News & World Report are represented, along with the top children’s hospital as ranked by that same publication.

While I mention only a small number by name, the honors and rankings that these participating organizations have achieved are very much indicative of the caliber of all registered systems that find value in the IDN Summit experience. I hope you find your Summit experience to be just as valuable to you and your organization, and look forward to seeing you Sept. 13-15 in Phoenix.

For a full list of registered healthcare systems to the 2011 Fall IDN Summit, visit here.

Exceptional Educational Program Awaits at the Fall IDN Summit

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:05:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, IDN Summit
The 2011 Fall IDN Summit continues its tradition of high-quality content delivered by insightful speakers who have proven themselves to be exceptional leaders in the healthcare and business sectors.

Among those presenting will be the regional director for Region IX of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He joins a diverse line-up of qualified speakers, including executives from healthcare systems of various sizes and types, as well as a few presenters who come to us from research and academic circles, all aimed at providing IDN Summit participants with a high-caliber, thought-provoking educational experience. I think you’ll find numerous opportunities to glean fresh ideas and concepts from the program to take back to your own organization.

Tuesday's breakout educational sessions will be along five educational tracks: Strategic Management, Financial Operations, Clinical Integration, Purchased Services and Market Strategies. I want to take this opportunity to provide a snapshot of the speakers we have lined up for each of these tracks, but I encourage you to also visit the conference agenda and speaker bio page for details about general session content and speakers as well.

In the Strategic Management Track, as mentioned, you’ll have the opportunity hear from Herb Schultz, regional director, Region IX, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on analyzing reform from a payer’s perspective. Appointed by President Barack Obama to his current position, Mr. Schultz has built an impressive career in healthcare policy at both the state and federal level.

Joining him in the Strategic Management Track for this fall will be John Donnelly, Virgin Mason Medical Center, and John Sdanowich, Johns Hopkins Health System, in a session looking at enhancing the supply chain partnership. Jean Chenoweth of Thomas Reuters will provide her thoughts during a session in this track focused on maximizing physician alignment.

Moving to the Financial Operations Track, Brent Petty of Wellmont Health System will be joined by John Ortiz of Tatum Healthcare and Laurel Junk of Kaiser Permanente, in providing insight on successful strategies for maximizing your bottom line. They are followed by a session on strategic capital acquisition planning, with Carol Davis-Smith of Premier Consulting Solutions and Daniel Majka with Kaufman, Hall & Associates, discussing ways your organization can assess and prioritize current and future capital needs. The track is rounded out with a session on building a financially successfully ACO, presented by Greg Shufelt, senior manager with the Camden Group.

The Clinical Integration Track will begin with a session on bridging the gap between clinical outcomes and financial objectives. Carilion Clinic’s Director of Pharmacy David Harlow will join Brian Romig, VP, pharmacy services & supply chain for Cone Health, and Dennis Robb, senior VP of supply chain management with UC Health, for this timely session that takes a closer look at achieving a clinically integrated supply chain. Next, you can hear from ECRI Institute’s Anthony Montagnolo on using effective evidence-based decision making for supplies and equipment. Mr. Montagnolo has served as ECRI Institute’s executive vice president and COO since 2001, and will discuss the use of meaningful, clean data in managing decision making.
This track will close with a session on utilization of data to engage physicians. Mayo Clinic’s Susan Widhalm will join Gregg Yocum of Saint Francis Health System and Chris Toomes with Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in discussing how data can be used to formulate goals and foster better relationships with physician leaders.

As healthcare systems continue to look for margin improvement, purchased services becomes an area of growing importance. The Fall IDN Summit’s Purchased Services Track will start with a look at effective negotiation techniques for maximizing purchased services contracts led by John Kautzer of ROi. With purchased services now the third-largest cost area in a healthcare system, negotiating contracts effectively becomes even more critical. He will be followed by John Quinones, New York City Health and Hospitals, and Bill Mosser, FMOL Health System, discussing how to identify key areas of purchased services cost reduction and target specific areas for maximizing cost savings.

The Purchased Services Track will wrap up with a session on proven models for purchased services savings. You won’t want to miss Jo Ann Autenrieb of Intermountain Healthcare and Robert Handfield, North Carolina University, discussing potential savings in several key areas of purchased services, including vendor management and transportation.

The Market Strategies Track is aimed at helping suppliers to align their goals with those of their customers. Neil Olderman, of DrinkerBiddle, will join Patricia Tyson, VHA Physician Preference Management and Goodroe Healthcare Solutions, and Joel Sangerman, payer relations director with DePuy Mitek, to start off this track with their insight into understanding how Healthcare Reform will impact the way you do business. They’ll be followed by Gary McMann, chief, supply chain network, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and Tony Benedict of Abrazo Healthcare, on aligning customer and supplier goals.

That session will be followed by Jay Kirkpatrick, CEO, MidAmerica Region, Parallon Supply Chain Solutions, and Michael Langlois, vice president of supply chain at Beaumont Health System on how to identify, gather and analyze actionable data. The session will be moderated by Maria Hames, Healthcare Links.

You can learn more about content and speakers for the 2011 Fall IDN Summit, including general sessions, by following links to the conference agenda and speaker bio pages on the IDN Summit website. For more detail on content and speakers from the five educational tracks for breakout sessions, check out the links below:

Strategic Management Track Content

Strategic Management Track Speakers

Financial Operations Track Content

Financial Operations Track Speakers

Clinical Integration Track Content

Clinical Integration Track Speakers

Purchased Services Track Content

Purchased Services Track Speakers

Market Strategies Track Content

Market Strategies Track Speakers

Have You Asked a Nurse?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:06:00 GMT

By John Kelly, CEO, IDN Summit
Recently, as my mother has been dealing with some serious health concerns, I saw firsthand the importance of clinical integration in healthcare delivery today.

IDN Summit offers the opportunity to hear healthcare industry leaders discuss the latest strategies in optimizing a clinically integrated supply chain during the 2011 Fall IDN Summit. Let me offer some observations from a few days of sitting with my mom at UK Hospital. I realize that these few items are very simplistic and are just a few observations, but they would have really improved my mom’s patient experience.

1) Nurses should run the hospital. They get it. They understand what the patients and their family are going through more than anyone. And it’s the simple things like having deodorant optimized for a female instead of Speed Stick for males. No worries though, the nursing staff understood this and had a supply of baby powder that would provide my mom a bit of dignity.

2) Cheap water pitchers that had condensation dripping from them and almost impossible for a patient to hold. Does it really cost that much more for a decent water pitcher?

3) When you check into a hotel, there is generally a note from someone letting you know you are welcomed. How about the same kind of note from someone at the hospital giving a number or at least a name in case you need something and aren’t getting it. Maybe it’s a note from the chief supply chain officer explaining how to get something you need that would better highlight supply chain functions.

4) Is it really necessary to buy cleaning products that have offensive odors? It amazes me that clinical staffs could not wear perfume or cologne, but the cleaning supplies had an offensive odor that made my mom nauseous each time the floor was cleaned.

5) Much more emphasis on environmentally friendly products and services. It amazes me how many products were used that I have read can cause cancer. That is one of those ‘duh’ issues.

I could go on but I ‘interviewed’ each nurse or tech that worked with my mom and each of them had great ideas about improving the patient experience that were simple and, quite frankly, would have saved this hospital money. I wonder if they are being listened to, because they should be. As I write this blog post, I find it ironic that the new president of UK is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a consultant to assist with updating a business plan. My suggestion to him would be to just go ask a nurse about the UK Hospital and save your money on the consultants.

In the next few weeks, we’ll be announcing a lineup for the Thursday morning general sessions which will focus on learning from others and improved communications with the clinical functions of your system. It’s going to be a great lineup and will compliment the work of the IDN Summit Advisory Board for the Clinical Integration track.

IDN Summit Puts Spotlight on Industry Leaders

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:10:00 GMT

A hallmark of the IDN Summit, Chuck Lauer’s Thought Leadership Panel provides a unique opportunity for Summit attendees to glean knowledge and insight from some of the industry’s most experienced and respected leaders on issues impacting the healthcare industry today.

Take advantage of this opportunity on Tuesday, March 22^nd, from 10:45 a.m to 12:00 p.m. at the 2011 Spring IDN Summit in Orlando, Fla.

Chuck Lauer was the publisher of Modern Healthcare for more than 25 years, taking it from a struggling monthly magazine in 1976 to the nation’s leading healthcare news weekly. He is known throughout the healthcare industry, and beyond, as a knowledgeable leader, and is an author, public speaker, career coach and award-winning businessman. You can read Chuck's insights on the healthcare industry regularly by subscribing to the IDN newsletter.

During the Spring IDN Summit general session, join Chuck as he again engages industry thought leaders in a high-level panel discussion on the state of today's healthcare system and the daily trials these leaders face in trying to positively impact their organizations. Dialogue will surround the challenges of implementing recent healthcare reform legislation, the current state of healthcare delivery in the U.S. and future trends that will impact all healthcare stakeholders.

This year’s panelists include:

Alan Channing

President and CEO

Sinai Health System

Alan H. Channing is the President and CEO of the Sinai Health System (SHS) in Chicago, Ill., which is made up of Mount Sinai Hospital, the Schwab Rehabilitation Institute, the Sinai Medical Gropu, the Sinai Urban Health Institute, and the Sinai Community Institute.

Steven Goldstein

Vice Presdident

University of Rochester Medical Center

Mr. Goldstein is Vice President for the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), President and Chief Executive Officer for Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York, President for Long Term Care for the University of Rochester Medical Center and President, Strong Partners Health System. He has assumed leadership roles in a number of organizations and associations within the healthcare industry.

Frank Perez

CEO

Kettering Health Network

Frank Perez is CEO of Kettering Health Network in Dayton, Ohio, and also Chairman/CEO of the Network's four healthcare systems. During his more than 41 years in healthcare, Frank has served as chief executive officer at numerous organizations in the U.S. and overseas, ranging from 600-bed hospitals to systems with up to 2,000 beds.

Allen Weiss

President and CEO

NCH Healthcare System

Dr. Weiss is board certified in internal medicine, rheumatology and geriatrics, is active on numerous national and local organizations and boards, and has been published in the American Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

More complete bios on each of the panel members are available here.

For a look back at the 2010 Fall IDN Summit Thought Leadership panel, click here.

Record Number of IDNs Register

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:43:00 GMT

Thank you! With the addition of Western North Carolina Health Network and Yankee Alliance, we’ve reached a record number of registered IDNs compared to any previous IDN Summit.

As of January 31^st, 66 IDNs have registered for the 2011 Spring IDN Summit which represents a nearly 18 percent increase over last year’s Spring Summit.

To see the complete listing of IDNs, please visit Registered IDNs. If you need additional information about registering, please contact Josh Morita at 859.523.5701 or LaShawn Fugate at 859.523.5701.

A big part of this success is due to the healthcare leaders Chuck Lauer is able to secure for each IDN Summit. This spring’s heavy-hitting lineup includes: Alan H. Channing, president and CEO of Sinai Health System, Chicago, Ill.; Frank Perez, CEO Emeritus of the Kettering Health Network in Dayton, Ohio; and Allen Weiss, MD, president and CEO of NCH Healthcare System, in Naples, Fla. This panel will be featured during the General Session on Tuesday, March 22. You can see the complete lineup for the Tuesday, March 22^nd General Session here.

There is a lot that is new to the Spring Summit. A big change that is based upon feedback from previous meetings is the addition of a purchased services track to the lineup of the Summit’s educational tracks. You can see the lineup for the purchased services track here.

And don’t forget about the Innovations track that will feature the IDN Summit Supply Chain of Excellence Award winners. These leading IDNs will discuss their recent initiatives that are driving their organizations' ability to better deliver services to the patient. For more information, please visit the innovation track page here.

You can check here to see what IDN Summit content is available for CE credit. Content accreditation provider is Inquisit.

—John Kelly

Federation of American Hospitals Prepares for Policy Conference

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:45:00 GMT

As the voice in Washington, D.C., for the nation’s investor-owned and managed community hospitals and health systems, the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) has become one of the most respected and influential health policy advocacy organizations in the country and their annual conference is a ‘can’t miss’ event.

The FAH Public Policy Conference provides attendees with solid information and the perspectives of leading elected officials and policy makers impacting health policy issues in the U.S. This year’s event is February 27^th – March 1^st at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC.

As always, Bonnie Moneypenny, FAH’s senior vice president and her team have done a great job in putting together a stellar conference program. You can see the entire program here, but one update, which I believe is of interest to all attendees, is the recent speaker additions for the Plenary Session on Tuesday, March 1. FAH’s president and CEO, ‘Chip’ Kahn will moderate the session featuring: U. S. Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA), U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), U. S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), U. S. Representative Dave Camp (R-MI) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service Administrator Donald M. Berwick, M.D.

I recently had the chance to speak with Bonnie about the upcoming conference. “The FAH Public Policy Conference and Business Exposition is an executive forum where all hospital supplier companies—large or small—have access to the GPO/IDN purchasing executives. The meeting provides a unique opportunity for a hospital supplier company to capitalize on networking opportunities, interact and meet with healthcare decision-makers and participate in outstanding educational workshops,” says Bonnie. “In addition, the general sessions feature leading experts from the Administration, Congress and regulatory agencies. The meeting is truly a one-stop opportunity to increase your business.”

Since 1966, the organization has been dedicated to a market-based philosophy and has worked on behalf of its members on important healthcare issues, such as Medicare and Medicaid, the uninsured, health care quality, patient safety, health information technology, medical liability insurance reform, rural health care, long-term hospital care, inpatient psychiatric care, hospital emergency preparedness, antitrust, compliance, the healthcare workforce shortage, privacy and confidentiality, tax issues, and rehabilitation services, among other important issues.

—John Kelly

Savings Strategies

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:12:00 GMT

During recent surveys concerning IDN Summit content we heard very strongly you wanted to hear more real-world success strategies on cost reduction without impacting patient satisfaction.

We’ve worked hard to develop a Financial Operations track to provide you with real-world success stories that assist you in developing a culture of savings within your health system.

We begin the afternoon with a discussion surrounding bundled payments by focusing on the Acute Demonstration Project from Baptist Health System in San Antonio, TX. Natalia Wilson, MD or Arizona State University will lead this discussion between Daniel Hurry, VP of Supply Chain and Gary Whittington, CFO Region Services of Baptist Health System. We believe you’ll come away with more knowledge of how hospitals and physicians can share a single payment per episode of care to deliver higher quality and more cost-efficient care.

In the second session on Tuesday, September 21st we get to hear from Bob Simpson, CEO of LeeSar concerning how four IDNs are working together to design a purchasing model to bring costs more effectively under control and add value to their systems. Amy Newman, Purchasing Director is one of those systems working with Bob to accomplish this mission and she’ll join him for this presentation. Managing Partner of Appleseed Consulting, Nick Toscano will moderate this discussion.

In the last session for the Financial Operations track Dawn Cole, Assistant Vice President of Surgical Services, Medical Center of Central Georgia; Gregg Lauder, Senior Director, Capital Equipment, Banner Health System and Peggy Styer, Senior Director, Supply Chain Operations and Contract Management, Catholic Healthcare West will present on three distinct focus areas their systems have improved while cutting costs. David Hesson, CEO, Hesson Consulting will lead them through their presentations which will focus on capital equipment contracting, purchased service contracting and safe-patient-handling initiatives.

Our goal is to provide you with the critical education to assist you in leading through these turbulent times within healthcare. These real-world savings strategies, we believe, will assist you with this goal. If you have further questions about these tracks or the IDN Summit education program please contact Lisa Ponssa, Content Director (insert contact info), who can assist you in meeting your educational needs. Please also remember that all of our content is CE approved through Inquist. For more information please visit CE information page.

Supplier Education

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:53:00 GMT

In working through the Market Strategies track for the 2010 Fall IDN Summit it occurred to us that one thing we could do more of with suppliers is 'listen'! Even though we’ve had numerous surveys of supplier attendees we’ve never had a dedicated session where we’ve engaged the supplier community during a Summit. That is changing at the Fall Summit.

Many of you know Dr. Eugene Schneller of ASU and the fine work his department has done over the years with the healthcare supply chain. For the Fall Summit we are working with the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium of ASU (HSCR) to provide supplier stakeholders a forum to discuss their thoughts on the healthcare supply chain. You’ll be able to provide your input to their work, dialogue about your questions and concerns impacting the healthcare supply chain and also learn about future ‘listening’ projects from HSCR-ASU. We look forward to working with Dr. Schneller’s colleague, Dr. Natalia Wilson as she provides context to improving the healthcare supply chain by listening to supplier stakeholders. For more information please visit here. This session will last about ninety minutes and will begin at 4:15 pm on Tuesday, September 21st. (After a long day of golf/team building and four conference sessions we invite you to join the national GPOs as they host ‘Make it A Blockbuster Night! beginning at 6:00 pm)

Speaking of listening, someone who has built his career on listening to what others are REALLY saying is Chuck Lauer. He will present a one hour discussion on his observations on selling into hospitals and healthcare systems. It’s a talk you will not want to miss and Chuck will leave plenty of time for all of your questions. I’m looking forward as Greg Firestone (who is now running Mossberg Labs as its President) moderates the Q & A exchange with Chuck.

We’ve put together two panels of leading healthcare executives to provide you their thoughts on current and future trends that will impact their hospitals and health systems. Two professionals who I have really come to respect, Ed Kuklenski and Maria Hames will moderate these exchanges designed to provide the supplier community insights into the practices of health systems and GPOs. The panelists who’ll be joining Ed and Maria are: Mike Cassady, Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Product Strategy, MedAssets; Larry Dooley who recently joined Smith & Nephew as its VP of National Accounts but was formerly with ROi; Kevin Gray, Vice President Supplier Relations/Business Development, Premier, Inc; David McCombs, VP, ERP/Supply Chain Operations, Bon Secours Health System, Inc.; Bill Mosser, Vice President Materials Management, FMOL Health System and Steve Pitzer, System Director Supply Chain, Christus round out both of these panels. You can learn more by clicking here.

One of the goals of the IDN Summit is to continually provide quality education to all stakeholders of the healthcare supply chain community. We’d love to hear your comments as we continue to improve the education provided at the IDN Summit. Let me know your thoughts by emailing me john@bluegrassbm.com or give me a call at 859.523.5701.

Are Keynote Speakers Important?

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:34:00 GMT

In post event surveys we always inquire why people attend events. Generally the responses always rank networking and educational sessions one and two respectively.

The quality of keynote speakers usually ranks fairly low on the reasons attendees provide to us as to why they attend events. So why do we invest and promote keynote speakers so heavily?

Very simply, we believe it says everything about what the event offers you. Quality Keynotes = Your Importance to the Event Organizer.

In a world where you can get information anytime, anyplace, when you invest the time to attend an event we believe you should feel as though you couldn’t get that level of experience anywhere else. That experience is what makes events special. Keynote speakers set the stage for the interaction that will happen not only at the event but for the days, weeks and months after the event is over. Personally I believe it is the best way to build your brand.

For example, Marcus Osborne, Senior Director of Healthcare Savings Programs and Health & Wellness Global Sourcing for Walmart was the general session keynote speaker for the Fall Summit and I still have people email me asking to assist in getting a meeting with Marcus. You can Google Marcus to find information about him and you can even watch online videos of him but hearing him live provides you with a much richer experience. These experiences, and talking with peers after the talk, help you put issues into context, provide moments of clarity and reinforce or change your thinking. If you’d like to see Marcus’ talk from last year please visit the video of his talk.

This fall we are really excited about this Keynote lineup.

Butch Lumpkin will get you inspired, motivated and ready to fulfill your dreams once you hear his incredible and dynamic story. After my first conversation with Butch I was ready to climb Mt. Everest. If you haven’t seen a video of Butch check out this video.

John Hofmeister is the former president of Shell Oil and recent author of Why We Hate Oil Companies. For many of you I bet you are wondering why in the world we would select a former oil company leader to keynote a healthcare supply chain summit. We believe John has amazing insight into burning issues within the supply chain. He has led a large worldwide organization trying to fund healthcare for his employees, his supply chain is extremely well respected, and his insights into the importance of leadership make him a perfect choice to deliver the General Session Keynote. I guarantee you that you will take something away from his talk to improve your operations.

Chuck Lauer is going to have a very interesting discussion in the upcoming edition of his Thought Leadership panel. Two health system CEOs (Michael Israel, CEO, Westchester Medical Center and Thomas Sadvary, CEO, Scottsdale Healthcare) will be joined by the leader of a large healthcare insurer (Ben Cutler, Chairman of the Board & CEO USHEALTH Group, Inc.) as they discuss what they are doing to improve healthcare.

So we believe that the quality of just one morning’s experience cannot be replicated anywhere else and that you’ll leave this Fall’s Summit by talking about these in-person experiences. Next week we’ll be releasing the full agenda that we hope helps you answer important issues impacting your organization.

Please visit the general session agenda on www.idnsummit.com for more information.

Thought Leadership

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:57:00 GMT

Approximately one year ago Chuck Lauer agreed to assist us in growing the IDN Summit community and leverage his knowledge and contacts to positively impact the healthcare supply chain. Since that time we’ve been very fortunate to have Chuck’s guidance as we bring together all aspects of the healthcare supply chain.

At each Summit you’ll have an opportunity to engage the healthcare leaders Chuck has chosen to participate on the Thought Leadership Panel to assist you in improving your organization from the wisdom of these leaders. We’ll begin announcing the panelists next week but we believe this Fall’s panelists will prove to be very engaging and provocative for all parties involved. Chuck’s engaging style always makes these sessions something special.

Since we began discussing the IDN Summit with Chuck there is one thing he’s been eager to do and that is he wanted to get into a room with a number of suppliers who are selling into health systems and share his thoughts on selling. As many of you know Chuck is really the Master Salesman and this Fall he will be sharing his thoughts on successfully navigating the healthcare industry. We look forward to hearing Chuck’s insights this Fall.

Market Strategies Track: Survival Tips from a Master Salesman

Tuesday, September 21^st

Chuck Lauer, the legendary former publisher of Modern Healthcare magazine and a consultant to and director of many companies in the healthcare industry will share with vendor sales executives his insights on selling to the healthcare market.

Whether the client is a system or an individual hospital, selling in the industry takes intelligence, perseverance, intestinal fortitude, discipline, risk and creativity. Not everybody is cut out for this level of sales, and that means there are opportunities in healthcare for those with the tools and the aptitude to navigate these waters. Lauer believes that sales is a profession and a calling, requiring a special level of effort day in and day out. It takes special individuals who are probably going to face a “no” 90% of the time and still persist in their goal of selling a specific account. “These are the real warriors, and they bring success to every company they work for,” he says.

Lauer will detail strategies on how to approach system executives, make the presentation, close the deal and build a powerful and lasting relationship with the client.

Learning Objectives:

Learn the fundamentals that make a great salesperson.
Understand the specific needs of the health system marketplace.
Find out how to build relationships with your client partners.

If you’re a provider you still have time to participate in the second Healthcare Supply Chain Survey that is currently being conducted concerning the recently passed healthcare reform legislation. Click here to participate. Earlier this year, we issued our first report on the top areas of strategic importance. The anecdotes that respondents gave us revealed how many of them had the same challenges, underscoring again that need for a sense of community.

Serving Our Community

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:40:00 GMT

Like most organizations, IDN Summit and Expo has many goals. Of course, we want to put on the most informative and inspirational conferences possible. With your help, we are continually enhancing our Summit content, tailoring it ever more closely to fit your expressed needs.

But we also know that it’s not enough. With everything that is going on in healthcare today, the people we serve need more; more information, more insights, more opportunities to learn and share best practices and more data on which to base future decisions.

I can summarize those needs in one word—community. People who work in the healthcare supply chain often feel like they are in silos, isolated from the C-suite, clinical departments and even other aspects of their organizations’ supply chain. Without support from peers across the country, it is easy to believe you are “up against it,” that you are alone in facing the stiff challenges that today’s healthcare marketplace provides. We want to foster a greater sense that those who work in the healthcare supply chain share common challenges and opportunities. We seek to become a year-round resource for this community, a place where everyone can go to share ideas and information and to feel more connected.

The most visible manifestation of this new approach is our new website: www.idnsummit.com. We have redesigned the site to provide more options for interaction in our community. It has more regular features, including one called Inside the Supply Chain. There we’ll be providing research, analysis and links to important content. Soon we will update the site to include our Peer-to-Peer Research Reports and summaries of the discussions on those topics held during the Spring Summit in Orlando. We hope that you find this new site better fits your needs. And yes, your feedback is essential, so call us (859-523-5701) or email us to tell us what you think.

We are also putting together our second Healthcare Supply Chain Survey, to be administered in the summer. Twice a year, we will be asking executives who oversee aspects of the supply chain at integrated delivery networks and health systems what they think about key supply chain issues. Earlier this year, we issued our first report on the top areas of strategic importance. The anecdotes that respondents gave us revealed how many of them had the same challenges, underscoring again that need for a sense of community.

We’re also pulling together our fall agenda based on feedback from participants in Orlando. We so appreciate the comments we have received to date, and invite everyone who hasn’t replied to provide us with more. Please click here to take our survey. All of this information is crucial as we look to answer the need for community in the healthcare supply chain.