World Congress - The Leader in Health Care, Pharmaceutical and Marketing Conferences

Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans in four states are integrating the medical data of more than 11 million clients into a single electronic health records (EHR) system as they look to eliminate unnecessary treatment and encourage preventive care. more»

The retail giants want to tend to your minor pains and miseries, and CVS last week was the first to make a play in the Southland. Health clinics opened Wednesday in five Chicago-area CVS stores, including ones in Mokena and Lockport. more»

Sometime back we had carried a story about Wal-mart’s foray into healthcare. This program took off in 2005 as a pilot project which involved the lease of medical space in a few Wal-Mart stores. Today there are 76 clinics actively functioning at the Wal mart stores across 12 different states. more»

At the 4th Annual World Health Care Congress, Leo Scott, the President and CEO of Wal-Mart disclosed their plan to possibly enhance their pilot program currently in place by opening a total of 2,000 health clinics within their stores over the next five to seven years. more»

As I recall, it was sometime in the 1970s when Dr. Walter McClure’s idea of “Buying Right” emerged from the Interstudy think tank in Minnesota. This was after I left said tank, but when I still had occasional contact with its thinkers, including McClure. I expressed my doubt at the time that it would catch on, and though it was adopted by many employers at the time, it was ahead of its time. more»

Every once in a while, someone at a conference makes a statement that stands out from the usual platitudinous palaver. Earlier this week, that honor belonged to William Plested, the president of the American Medical Association. At the World Health Care Congress in Washington, DC, he was asked to comment on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' efforts to set quality standards to inform (and, let's face it, one day determine) how doctors get reimbursed by the government's health care programs. He declared: more»

The familiar duel between employer- and individual-based healthcare played out on stage this week, but this time, the audience was high-ranking business executives who overwhelmingly said they believe employers have a role to play in healthcare. more»

At the 4th Annual World Health Care Congress, Leo Scott, the President and CEO of Wal-Mart disclosed their plan to possibly enhance their pilot program currently in place by opening a total of 2,000 health clinics within their stores over the next five to seven years. more»

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ’s top executive called Tuesday for sweeping improvements in health-care information technology as one step toward reining in rising medical costs. more»

Just who is responsible for transforming the U.S. health care system? The private sector? The public sector? Health care providers? According to one of the nation's top business leaders, transforming health care is a shared responsibility. more»

Information technology may be the best way to reform the ailing U.S. healthcare system, said a number of leading employers at a session of the Fourth Annual World Health Care Congress held April 23-24 in Washington, D.C. more»

A real-time survey taken yesterday at a panel session of the Fourth Annual World Health Care Congress in the District of Columbia revealed that 69 percent of attendees feel the federal government isn't moving fast enough to establish pay for performance. more»

Wal-Mart Stores will open health clinics at as many as 400 of its U.S. stores in the next three years, and as many as 2,000 in the next five to seven years, the company announced on Tuesday, Bloomberg/Boston Globe reports ( Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 4/25). more»

Wal-Mart Stores will open health clinics at as many as 400 of its U.S. stores in the next three years, and as many as 2,000 in the next five to seven years, the company announced on Tuesday, Bloomberg/Boston Globe reports ( Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 4/25). more»

In our society, we value choice very highly. Sometimes, however, choice is not a universal good. A tip of the hat to Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters for linking to the California Health Care Foundation report on consumer choice in health care (both benefits side and services side), which concludes that the clutter of information and the dizzying array of choices are more harmful than helpful to consumers. more»

Many people –not just proponents of consumer directed health care– liken the shift toward employee responsibility for health care costs to the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution retirement plans. I heard several times this week at the World Health Care Congress that if they’re given the tools to do so, consumers will take responsibility for their health care as they’ve taken responsibility for their retirement savings. We were reminded of how companies like Fidelity and Vanguard have prospered by offering compelling products, information and customer service. more»

The Washington Convention Center was abuzz as nearly 2,000 health industry and policy wonks gathered for the 4th annual World Health Care Congress. The standard policy topics of cost, quality, and coverage were up for debate, along with competition, effectiveness, transparency, and, of course, reform. For comprehensive blogging on the event, check out the official World Health Care blog. Here are a few “snapshots” from yesterday’s speakers: more»

Even in healthcare, the battle for the hearts and minds of fickle American consumers is shaping up to be an epic struggle of convenience vs. privacy - though the scales currently seem heavily weighted toward the latter. more»

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to open up to 400 in-store health clinics over the next two to three years, building on a pilot program begun in 2005, in an aim to implement customer solutions to America's health-care crisis, the company's chief executive said Tuesday. more»