Innovation in Healthcare Is the Focus of Conference

The eighth annual Yale Healthcare Conference, presented by the Yale Healthcare and Life Sciences Club, will take place on April 13 at the Omni Hotel, 155 Temple Street, in New Haven.

The theme of this year's conference is "Innovation in Healthcare: Forging Transformative Solutions." More than 400 healthcare industry professionals, academics, and students will gather to discuss ideas to solve the growing number of complex challenges in the healthcare system, from containing rising medical care costs and improving the quality of care to adapting to new regulations and maintaining competitiveness in the market.

Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, will present the morning keynote address. Bernard Tyson, president and COO of Kaiser Permanente, will present the closing address.

Dr. Robert Galvin, CEO of Equity Healthcare at the Blackstone Group, will moderate the executive panel discussion, "How Does the Money Know Where It's Supposed to Go in a Time of Uncertainty?" exploring the challenges of healthcare investing, impact of reform, and types of investments in the healthcare market. Panelists include Andrew Bhak, managing director of the Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group, Morgan Stanley; Marina Bozilenko, head of Biotechnology and Pharma, William Blair & Company; Michael Dal Bello, managing director, the Blackstone Group; Adam Feuerstein, senior columnist, TheStreet; and Sarah Nayeem, MD, principal, New Enterprise Associates.

Industry practitioners will lead 16 breakout sessions on topics including the new landscape of pharmaceutical R&D as blockbuster drugs face competition from generics; personalized medicine and the future of individually-tailored treatments; reviving the traditional role of venture capital in discovering new medicines; alternative models to address the challenges facing primary care; understanding and implementing Accountable Care Organizations; and new interventions aimed at improving the global health crisis.

For the full conference program, please visit the conference website.

The conference is sponsored in part by Emergent BioSolutions, Magellan Health Services, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Lumleian, Boehringer Ingelheim, Mevion Medical Systems, Allsec Technologies Ltd., Clinical Insights, and Cornell Scott Hill Health Center.