Today, the Nashville Health Care Council hosted member executives for a conversation with Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Senator William H. Frist, M.D. facilitated the discussion on measuring value in health care.
“There are many schools of thought about how to effectively measure value in health care. This issue is compounded by the idea that each contributor – for example, patient, economist or provider – has a different definition of value in mind,” Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt pointed out that the industry is moving toward pricing transparency and discussed the need to eliminate unnecessary administrative costs in health care as one way to reduce waste in the system. “The government can be an important facilitator in this effort, but we need great entrepreneurs, like many of the people in this room, who know how the system works and can develop new ideas to make health care more efficient,” he said.
Nearly 300 Council executives heard from Dr. Reinhardt, who is recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on health care economics. He is a past president of the Association of Health Services Research and served as a commissioner on the Physician Payment Review Committee, established by Congress to advise it on issues related to the payment of physicians.
“Nashville Health Care Council members represent the many different sectors of the industry – all of whom are impacted by this topic. The leaders in this community, both established and early-stage entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to make a difference in the health care value discussion. It’s an exciting time to be in health care,” said Frist.
The Council hosted Reinhardt in Nashville in conjunction with the Fellows initiative, the Council’s premiere educational program providing senior executives with a forum for thought-leadership and strategy around the future of health care.
“The Council continues to offer one-of-a-kind opportunities for our member executives to hear from nationally-recognized speakers like Dr. Reinhardt on current topics affecting our industry,” said Council President Caroline Young.
Today’s program was presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. Supporting sponsors were Bass, Berry & Sims, Cressey & Company, LifePoint Hospitals and SpecialtyCare.
About Dr. Uwe Reinhardt
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About the Nashville Health Care Council
The Nashville Health Care Council, founded in 1995 as an affiliate of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, is an association of health care industry leaders working together to further establish Nashville’s position as the nation’s health care industry capital. Worldwide, Nashville’s health care industry generates more than 400,000 jobs and $70 billion in annual revenue. The industry is Nashville’s largest and fastest growing employer. For more information on the Council, please visit www.healthcarecouncil.com.