While we are all interested in seeing how evolving policy will drive healthcare change, the industry is now eager to begin a constructive dialogue on tying policy to tactics, action, direct economic impact, and real results. There will be an event in Boston at the end of the month that will put this dialogue in the spotlight, the Transforming Healthcare 2009 Summit. Thought leaders featured at this event include

• James Roosevelt, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tufts Health Plan and member of the Obama Presidential Transition Team,
• Charlie Baker, President and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare and former Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services;
• Jonathan Bush, co-founder, President and CEO of athenahealth, a leading provider of Electronic Medical Record and Practice Management solutions for physician practices;
• Valerie Fleishman, Executive Director of the New England Healthcare Institute, an independent policy institute dedicated to transforming health care for the benefit of patients and their families;
• John Glaser, PhD, Chief Information Officer of Partners Healthcare, a major integrated healthcare system founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

We believe the Summit can help catalyze this dialogue around tying policy to action. As one of the organizers, I would like to encourage you to consider coming and joining the conversation on February 26, 2009. For more information or to register, go to http://hilforum.com/transforminghealthcare/